Nerd Em's Adventures
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
May 1.
The next big cold front has arrived. Old man winter will just not let go this year. The rain began overnight. At 7am, it is raining and in the 40s F. The radar and the forecast indicate that this is going to last all day, and the wind is going to pick up. Yep, I’m not going anywhere today. Read more
Today is a day about forward progress. My pre-trip notes are pretty blah for this section – just details about potential places to stay plus food and water sources. And so ‘blah’ is pretty much what the day brings. Read more
The weather forecast last night included a wind advisory for today.
Yes, there were a few angry words thrown around in my head when I heard that. But I didn’t give up hope – I took the “we’ll just see what it’s like in the morning” approach.
Well, what we see from the window this morning are traffic lights being held out at a steep angle with the wind. The trees are all bent over to the south. I say a few things to myself. Curse word. Curse word. Curse word. Read more
It’s a day that starts out sluggish but ends with nearly 100 miles completed. Kermit, the mental health counselor, has a lot to do with my attitude readjustment today.
We start out under cold and windy conditions again. The northerly wind is only around 10 mph, though, so forward progress is somewhat slowed but achievable. The landscape is pretty flat and barren – 10 miles west of York we reach the limits of glacial till in Nebraska, though I have trouble picking out any terminal moraine. I guess 2.5 million years of erosion make detection of such things a bit more difficult. Read more
The fog is so thick in the morning, visibility is reduced to mere feet. The fog has enveloped everything in its misty embrace – the whole world is grey, fuzzy and WET. It will be a while before I’m going anywhere. Read more
Normally, a flat tire is not how you want to start the day. But the flat tire saves me from getting absolutely soaked first thing, so I see it as a blessing.
Of course, I had not detected the tire was flat until I had the whole bike loaded and ready to go. Seeing that rain is imminent, I just roll the bike down two blocks to the city park so I can fix it under a picnic shelter. Read more