Part 2 begins

Part 2 - Day 1 - Lincoln to Council Bluffs Iowa = 89 miles, July 1

Water world - woke up this morning to water and ended the day with more water. I went to bed last night prepared for a rainy day knowing that there would be rain in the morning. I had my rain gear all prepared. The forecast showed rain starting about 6:30 and lasting for several hours. I didn't want to sit around and wait all morning. I was on the road at 6:00 AM and was hoping I could ride to Elmwood then sit at the C Store (gas station) and wait for the rain to pass before continuing to Omaha. When I got on my lightened down MTB it felt great. Because my dad would be driving the van, I would not have to carry 40 pounds of gear on the bike. It felt good to be able to stand up on the bike and dance on the pedals.

Just five minutes into the ride, a light rain started. But by wearing a raincoat, rain paints, shoe covers, rain gloves, and a cycling cap - the light rain was no problem, I felt good. An hour into the ride it started raining a little harder, but still no problem. Fifteen minutes before I would reach Elmwood, it started to rain hard. When I arrived in Elmwood, it was a full downpour. My plan almost worked. I walked into the gas station and told all the old farmers - I may be joining you for an hour or so. A guy that appeared to be the owner was very gracious and brought me towels to dry off with. I stayed at the store for about 90 minutes waiting out the storm.

As I was eating a cinnamon roll another trail angel appeared. My good friend Steve Morin had been following the tracker and came out to join me at the gas station. It was good to catch up with Steve as I shared my GAWR stories and he shared his Unbound stories. 90 minutes later the rain stopped and I was headed to Louisville then to Omaha.

I had never ridden to Omaha and was surprised not only how nice the bike trails were, but also how big Omaha is. It seemed like I was riding in Omaha for hours. I crossed the Missouri River and was in Iowa fearing that I would need to take detours due to flooding. I planned to meet my dad at Harrah's Casino. As I entered Iowa, I texted my dad that I would be there soon. I was only a couple miles from Harrahs, it wouldn't take long. But then I started running into flooding. What should have taken 15 minutes soon became more than a hour. My dad and I decided to just call it a day and stay at Harrah's Casino and relax. I had lost several hours due to rain and flooding, but still got in 89 miles.

I recommend that the Lincoln riders should go the extra miles and ride into Omaha - Omaha has some very nice trails. Tomorrow the forecast is for more rain. I would like to get in a big mile day, but I think will probably be a 100 mile day. It sure was nice to have a good dinner with my dad, then relax at the hotel with him. Much better than sharing a small hotel room with three other cyclists or being alone in the room. I also enjoyed praying together at the end of the day.