Oh boy I can't wait for Wyoming

What do you call 3 trees beside each other in Nebraska? A forest! We are almost out of Nebraska and all I can say is whoa. It is our day off today and it is much needed (we get 3 complete days off this summer)! This week we biked approximately 495 miles with 104, 77, 88, 84, 95, 47. Whew! It was certainly the most challenging state I have biked through yet and I'm sure most everyone else can agree with this statement. Imagine 25mph winds. Now imagine biking straight into these winds for 90 miles while staring at cornfields for hours. Towns are few and far between. I have literally ridden through many "towns" here where the population signs read 50 people or less(one had 9 people!) We are in the middle of nowhere. This will drive anyone insane. Riding in these conditions and this atmosphere is what we did for the past 6 days. Although some days the wind was much better than on other days. If we got lucky, we rode into crosswinds which are a nice break from tailwinds. Yet strong crosswinds threaten to fling you off your bike and into oncoming traffic (if there is any) and fighting to stay on your bike can sure make one tired.

One of the biggest challenges of the week had to be staying properly hydrated. We're basically out in the middle of nowhere and if you run out of water then it can potentially be a problem. The trip leaders did a great job in making sure we got the H20 and Gatorade we needed. It's strange because this crazy wind will blow all the sweat off of you and one might be tricked into thinking that they haven't produced much sweat. Oh but they have. These past few days I've gotten into a situation where I wasn't consuming enough electrolytes. This can make for some pretty tough days. Without the aid of essential electrolytes, exhaustion comes much easier and faster. A few of the riders found me just siting in the sun on the side of the road. I just had one of those moments where I couldn't peddle another stroke. They took me into some shade, gave me some electrolytes, and off I went. Also one of the riders took it upon himself to make sure I had enough Gatorade when I got in from biking (because I was acting really stange)and was constantly making me drink the whole afternoon. Times like these (and many other times this week) have really shown me that none of us could get through without the constant help and encouragement of people in our group.

While it is a safe statement to say that Nebraska isn't one of my favorite states, the challenge of it makes one a stronger cyclist. The fact that we biked directly into the strong, prevailing winds for the majority of the time will certainly make the upcoming Rockies easier to handle. The large distances between each "town" allowed us opportunities to come up with creative ways to pass the time while on the bike. Aside from counting road kill (oh boy what fun), we managed to have "dance parties" on the side of the road. On certain days we do this in 13 mile increments so we can celebrate that fact that we are 13 miles closer from being out of the state of Nebraska. We get off the bike, turn on the portable speakers, and dance. Didn't I say Nebraska will make anyone insane? To give it credit this state did have some pretty cool things. There was a fossil museum that me and some of the other riders explored. It was worth biking 8 miles out of the way because you got to see some amazing fossils that had once roamed Nebraska (not the fossils but the actual animal). Apparently Nebraska once had a climate like Africa where Rhinos and elephants roamed. Well I could write so much more about this amazingly intense and awesome week but my time is running up in the library.