Nerd Em's Adventures
Paris, Iowa has none of the cosmopolitan atmosphere of its European cousin. Instead, it is a small collection of dilapidated mobile homes with junk piled high in the yards. The locality stretches along the road for about a thousand feet or so. The properties make me think ‘meth labs’, but maybe I’m just being judgmental. Read more
The temperature begins its slide from midnight. The rain continues its slide down my tent fly all night long. It just rains and rains, and gets colder and colder. The constant drumming on the tent is soothing. By 8am, however, it’s a battle between my bladder and my desire to stay in the warm sleeping bag.
About 8.30 am, the rain goes quiet! Perfect! I put on my clothes, slide my feet into my frigid shoes, and get ready to dash to the toilets. But as I poke my head out of the tent vestibule… it quickly becomes apparent that the rain has stopped, but the precipitation has not. It is now snowing! Read more
Oh dear. I have frozen snot on the pannier I’m using as a pillow. The NWS was expecting record low temps last night of 25F (normal lows are about 46F, highs in the mid-60s). My little thermometer says 25F. My fingers say… well, their comments are all expletives.
I take all of my gear to the bathrooms. I get dressed and pack up all my gear in the warmth of the heated toilet block. Then I go out to pack up my frozen tent. Read more
Chugga-chugga. Chugga-chugga. No “choo-choo”.
I’m just chugging along today, trying to keep my mind occupied with inane thoughts, instead of how cold I am and why I keep finding headwinds. The weather radio indicates there were record lows again last night in the mid-20s. It is slow to warm again today. Read more
The hills roll forth like fossilized ripples of mud. Take away the vegetation and it’s as if I’m riding upstream in the remains of a state-sized, gently-flowing, muddy-bottomed river. Up a ridge, down a valley. Up a ridge, down a valley.
In reality, I’m riding across a whole bunch of gently-flowing rivers and creeks, all of the drainages flowing north-south while I ride generally east-west. But I like to think about what the landscape would look like from high above – and all I can think is that these hills would look like ripples. Read more
There are some days that are perfect, even when they’re not perfect. Today was one of those days. In the morning, a cold and clammy fog has replaced yesterday’s wind. The visibility is decent enough, so I set forth, rear blinkie light flashing. Read more
Here is the email update I sent to family and friends from Lincoln, Nebraska:
So I’m waiting out an unusual and ‘historic’ (read record-breaking) winter storm in Lincoln, Nebraska. After record flooding in Illinois and record low temps in Iowa, 4 inches of snow just seems par for the course. Spring is waaaaay late this year – not an ideal start to a bike tour! Read more
Before leaving Indiana, I packed up two envelopes for my parents to send me on the road. Each package contained geology books, maps and notes. The first package, covering Nebraska and South Dakota, was sent for me to pick up in Louisville. The second package covering Wyoming will be sent to Spearfish, SD. Read more
The US postal system’s General Delivery is an incredibly useful, and free, service. This means at some point, they’ll do away with it, or start charging a fee. For now though, it is a great way to send yourself supplies or items. All that is required is that you address the package to yourself c/o General Delivery. Then you put down the town name, state and zip code, and they will hold it for 6 weeks for you. I write on the bottom of the package “please hold for bicycle tourist” – to satisfy small-town curiosity about why they have received the envelope. Read more
Today I unleash the nerd on Lincoln. First, I drop off the bike at a shop so it can be pampered with a new chain and rear brake pads. Then it’s off to be touristy.
My first, and most highly anticipated stop, is the University of Nebraska State Museum – my introduction to the natural history of Nebraska. I cram everything in in four hours, but you could spend the whole day here marveling at the exhibits which range from rocks and minerals to evolution to how genes and DNA determine who and what you are. Read more