This segment of our trip was unique in several ways. First of all, we headed out in the summer of 2020 during the Covid-
Our original plan was to begin in Lamarie, WY and head south into Colorado. But when we discovered that NE Colorado was a hot spot for Covid, we changed plans and started in Cheyenne instead and headed straight east through Nebraska. We were able to leave our car in Cheyenne in the care of the pastor of the Assemblies of God church, Rick McGraw, who kindly took us in when our other options for parking fell through. After a day tour of the capital city, we were on our way.
The first major stop outside of Cheyenne was in Pine Bluffs, named, as you could guess, for the pine studded bluffs at the edge of town. Pine Bluffs is noted for an amazing mural in Armed Forces Park, artistically depicting points of interest in America from coast to coast. We stood and stared for some time, trying to take in all the detail.
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he Nebraska route turned out to be quite fascinating, taking us through the Platte River valley. We followed Hwy 30, the “Lincoln highway,” the first coast to coast road completed across the USA. Predating Hwy 30 was the first transcontinental railroad, whose tracks paralleled our route and which is still heavily used today. Before that the valley hosted the pony express route and the Oregon trail. Who knows how many people have traversed this route over the years!
The darker side of the his
tory of this region are the infamous cow towns that sprang up along the rail lines. For weeks and months cowboys would drive their herds to railroad towns along the Platte River, like Sydney and Ogallala, get their pay, then “do up” the town. Drunkenness, gambling, debauchery and violence were everyday happenings. Sydney’s reputation was so bad that the railroad threatened to discontinue stops there unless they cleaned up the town. To this day Ogallala “celebrates” their bygone days by reenacting a shootout.
The higher altitudes of easte
rn Wyoming and western Nebraska had their effect. Days are warm to hot, and nights chilly. We would start out day’s ride layered in sweatshirts, just to strip down to t-
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he trip wasn’t without mechanical glitches either. Twice Nancy’s bike needed repairs for axel and derailleur ills. As you can guess, there are a lot of lonely miles in these regions. Yet Nancy’s breakdowns happened in places where repairs were close at hand. We were assisted in Stockton, KS by pastor Kurtis Coleman, who drove us to a nearby town, Osborn, where mayor John McClure (who also runs Blue Hills bikes) did the repair for free!
Another Divine intervention o
ccurred coming out of North Platte as we turned south into Kansas. Typically the prevailing winds are from the south, and can be pretty stiff. But the two days we traveled to Oberlin, KS we were pleasantly surprised by a strong north wind that made the 100 mile trip a breeze (pun intended). We also enjoyed the warm welcomes we received all throughout the trip with people showing a lot of interest in our adventures. Most notable was Phillipsburg, KS, maybe the friendliness town we’ve encountered yet.
Hays, KS, our destination! After covering 444 miles from Cheyenne it was a welcome site, especially after traversing the roller-
