Lusk, WY to Valentine, NE - The winds of change.
6/30/26 - 7/4/26 - 220 miles over 4 days. 70, 50, 45, and 45.
If Wyoming is flat, then Nebraska is flatter. Actually, that is a lie. There are some interesting rock formations and elevation changes in Nebraska, but they are few and far between.
But there is far more of this.
What I notice about Nebraska the most is the weather going through cycles throughout the day. It is typically cold and calm overnight but the winds come up as the sun rises. When it gets to be about 10a the winds calm down a bit as the temperature stabilizes. Then there is a slowly building crescendo of wind and cloud formations that sometimes bring rain, and sometimes doesn't.
I can 'see' the attraction this area has for storm chasing since it's all out there on display. I wonder what separates the people who want to go towards the storm, as opposed to staying away?
The winds that made progress so easy to and from Casper turned North creating a cross wind for me as I rode from Lusk into Nebraska. The first day, I captured another 65 miles with legs that were still fresh. I stopped in Harrison for lunch. The local market advertised custom sub sandwiches.....what they didn't say is that you had to build them yourself. The store was small and the cashier was also stocking the shelf when I came in and asked about a sandwich. She took me to the back of the store where there was a fountain drink machine, a SoftServe dispenser, and a little kitchen with a cold counter filled with everything one would need to make a sandwich. She told me to 'put on gloves and get to work'.
She did say it with a smile, so I made myself a sandwich.
Bunny and Poodle arrived a little bit later after having explored a couple of historical places near Lusk. We chatted for a bit and then they headed out to Crawford. We had planned to camp at the local park, but once Bunny saw the Fort Robinson State Park, she called an audible. I rode to Crawford, but she took me a few miles backwards for camping that afternoon. I decided I would 'redo' a couple of miles to make up for some of the 'fast forwards' she had given me in Montana and Wyoming.
The next 3 days were fights against South Easterly winds. At best they were side winds. At worst they were in my face slowing a normal pace of 14-15mph down to 10-12. The ride from Crawford to Merriman was the worst, but Bunny ferried me into Merriman from mile marker 152 to the campground at Cottonwood Park just East of Merriman. The next day I would start out again from the same place and ride to a halt just before Cody, NE where I would again 'cry uncle' and we would return to Cottonwood State Park.
The final ride from Cody to Valentine started early enough to finish with only one van supported break at Crookston. I rode the last 12 miles with just earbuds pumping out 80s hair bands, and a water bottle almost completely full of ice.
I met Bunny just short of the turn off for 83 to go up to Fishberry RV park about 5 miles South of...South Dakota.
We are stopping here for another zero day and to celebrate the 4th of July.
There's a repeated phrase around Valentine, NE. "Small town. Big heart." I feel you Valentine. Thanks for a great 4th.
I’d love to see a family photo! If Bunny doesn’t want her photo taken, at least one with Poodle.