{"id":17062,"date":"2015-07-31T17:15:38","date_gmt":"2015-07-31T21:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=17062"},"modified":"2015-07-31T20:49:00","modified_gmt":"2015-08-01T00:49:00","slug":"day-20-thursday-july-30-gordon-to-valentine-nebraska","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=17062","title":{"rendered":"Day 20. Thursday, July 30 – Gordon to Valentine, Nebraska"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rolled out of the two block town past a Vietnam War relic\"DSCN5375\"<\/a> and into the\u00a0beautiful countryside.\"DSCN5425\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Our rancher from last night, spoke of the “six mile hill”,\u00a0quickly explaining after seeing the look on our faces, that the hill was in<\/em><\/strong> six miles, not that it was six miles long.\"IMG_0760\"<\/a> We\u00a0approached and climbed it (while avoiding the crop-duster) with relative ease along with the few miles of ups and downs that followed. \u00a0This was the beginning of the Sand Hills. \u00a0These\u00a0fields of sand were softly painted\u00a0and the clouds in the distance seemed airbrushed\"DSCN5388\"<\/a> into our morning canvas. \u00a0Incredible to think that sand dunes can foster such lush grass and hold water, too. \"DSCN5407\"<\/a>\u00a0An hour into the ride we came to a freshly paved road that offered tremendous relief form the speed bump filled shoulder we had encountered since entering Nebraska.\"DSCN5413\"<\/a>A light cool morning breeze and\u00a0flat smooth road, we were feeling good\u00a0and started boasting about doing our long ride today, instead of tomorrow as scheduled. \u00a0All our giddiness was quickly squelched when we hit<\/strong> mile 40.\"DSCN5430\"<\/a> \u00a0Our flat road started rolling and rolling\"DSCN5432\"<\/a>and the un-forecasted northeast breeze\u00a0that had plagued us all morning was gaining strength. \u00a0We still made it to Buffalo Bill Cody’s hometown,\"DSCN5436\"<\/a> our planned stop for the night, shortly after noon, 55 miles done. \u00a0Slid into a booth at the local food trough, ordered a to die for<\/em> grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato, mayo and cucumber with super hot fries!! \u00a0Lunch was devoured way before the thought of taking a photo ever occurred. \u00a0We checked our pulse (not our sanity) and the wind direction (changing to NW any minute) and decided to forge on. \u00a0The wind did keep us cool, but\u00a0kept toying with us; coming from our side only to turn and hit us in the face. \u00a0But the scenery remained enjoyable\"DSCN5440\"<\/a> and somewhat distracting\"DSCN5448\"<\/a> as we rolled along waiting for the wind to change to our advantage.\"DSCN5433\"<\/a>Pedaled past a couple towns, the Minnechaduza Creek\"DSCN5459\"<\/a> and crossed the Central Time Zone sometime in the afternoon \u00a0The sky was crystal clear except for ever changing clouds in the south.\"DSCN5462\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Two doors before our hotel, the “golden arches” beckoned us in for a delicious chocolate milk shake; hot and very low on energy, it was well worth the stop. \u00a0Since we lost an hour with crossing the time zone, by the time we were showered and had downed a few ice cold bottles of water, it was time to go to dinner. \u00a0Hard to find pasta in these cowboy towns, but we hit the jackpot this time;\"DSCN5469\"<\/a> there were more tender strips of sirloin then pasta on this plate. \u00a0Perfect remedy for a 94 mile ride.<\/p>\n

As a side note, we\u00a0would like to thank all that have contributed so far, to the EOD Warrior Foundation. \u00a0Celebrating our first 1,000 miles, we contributed today, too.<\/p>\n\n\t\t