Hopkins 4K for Cancer

June 22, 2006

Fairbury, NE
June 22

Frankfort, KS to Fairbury, NE

68 miles

We were lucky to ride today. After seeing swiss cheese clouds and hearing of tornado warnings in nearby towns the night before, rumors were spreading about how we may have had to be shuttled. However, the clouds parted soon after we started riding, and we were off again. We are in the midst of our 11 day stretch without a day off, and it is starting to become very tiring for all of us. No more groups sprinting ahead to the end of the day; everyone is starting to chill out… Except for a group of four riders who went the wrong way during one of about 3 turns throughout the day, and ended up adding on 20 miles to their journey. They unfortunately missed the Nebraska (‘the good life’) sign, and the slew of picture taking that went with it. State signs are always an encouragement, especially as our daily scenery becomes much more consistent. Perhaps it was all in my head, but the terrain seemed to know that we had changed states and adjusted accordingly. The rolling hills that hit us so unexpectedly after St. Louis are slowly coming to an end, a trend that we will be lucky to follow until we hit the Rockies.

I never thought I would take so much interest in this part of the country. The towns here are not all that different from back East, but they are surrounded by true nothing-ness. They are islands in the midst of the vast plains. This changes the mentality and culture of the town residents, and I notice a much larger sense of community and identity out here.

Such was displayed in Fairbury. Much thanks to the members of the Grace Lutheran church for providing us with a lush assortment of food at their potluck dinner. As some on our trip would say, the cheesecake was ‘money’. The church was also nice enough to arrange showers for us at the local wellness center, where we commandeered their pool and hot-tub for a few joyous moments.

Although I am looking forward to the excitement and beauty of the Rockies, I think I will enjoy slowing down a little and living the good life at a nice, easy, Nebraskan pace for the next few days.

Ryan terMeulen