Today’s ride was the one I’ve been fearing ever since I left Salt Lake City way back in March.

It was an evil trifecta of things you DON’T want on a bicycle ride: heat, humidity, headwinds. Oh yes, there was also 50 miles of road construction and a fall off of my bike as I was trying to make my way from pavement onto grass in a rest area.

Temperatures in Ainsworth reached 104 degrees today. Fortunately, as I was plodding along towards Ainsworth at about 1:30 this afternoon, it was only 97 degrees. The headwinds were the biggest weather problem though. I was headed west all day long and the wind was steadily from the southwest at 15-25 with gusts to 30 miles per hour.

Near the town of Newport, there was a rest area complete with water and bathrooms. I made my way across the highway and onto the paved rest area access road. I spotted a nice, shaded picnic table in the middle of the grass, so I started turning towards it. There was no curb or anything, so I figured I would just ride right up to the picnic table. What I hadn’t figured on was the deep sand at the transition between the pavement and the grass. It looked well-packed and I thought I could cross it OK. What happened next was one of those slow-motion things. As soon as I hit the sand, I knew I was going down. All I could do was wait for it to happen. I broke my fall with my left hand and landed fairly gently in the grass that I was trying to get to on bicycle. The fall really didn’t hurt, at least not physically. I noticed traffic going by and recalled the rule about falls on bicycles — they never happen on isolated places; they always happen where plenty of people can witness it and get a good chuckle. This was my first fall on The Dream Tour.

After 30 seconds of relaxation in the cool grass, I decided I better get up before someone wonders if I’m OK. I pick up the bicycle and check it for damage. Everything seemed normal, except for the banana in the left, rear pocket of my cycling jersey. It must have helped break my fall.

The road construction actually wasn’t too bad. But it was 50 miles long. It started first thing in the morning as I was leaving O’Neill with an 18-mile stretch of pristine new pavement. Each town that I passed through saw progressively worsening road conditions plus huge orange barrels placed right in the middle of the shoulder on which I was riding. I had to either pass to the right where there was lots of gravel and debris or pass on the left where the shoulder was in better condition, but the traffic was uncomfortably close. I would pass left or right depending on the whether there was traffic approaching or not. The final three and a half miles of road construction was a section that the Nebraska Department of Roads was resurfacing. The road was limited to a single lane, so they had a pilot car guiding traffic through the resurfacing area one direction at a time. I made my way to the front of the line of cars and trucks and asked the flag person for some details on what was ahead. This also gave me the opportunity to make sure the pilot car would see me. I knew that I couldn’t keep up with the rest of the caravan, so I wanted to make sure he saw me so he wouldn’t lead east-bound traffic through the constuction area while I was still making my way through it headed west.

Well, that’s exactly what happened. I was at my limit trying to get through the construction area. At about 2 miles into it, here came the pilot car headed back east with a long line to trucks and cars. Fortunately, I found a usable shoulder to the left of the lane of traffic. I gave the pilot car driver a wave as he went by. Let’s just say it wasn’t a very friendly wave. I guess if you’re not driving a car, the Nebraska Department of Roads isn’t concerned about your safety in a construction area.

Meanwhile, Pat was waiting for me in Bassett, Nebraska. Bassett was about 5 miles after the road construction area ended. We don’t usually meet for lunch, but with the weather and road conditions today, we decided it might be a good idea so I could get refills on water and take a break from the wind. She was waiting in the Bassett City Park. When I arrived, she told me that a man who was mowing the grass in the park stopped by and asked her what the colorful minivan was all about. She told him the basics and gave him a business card.

I grabbed some lunch and water and was just climbing back on my bicycle when a car pulls up. The driver gets out, notepad and a camera in hand, and announces that she’s from the local newspaper, the Rock County Leader. The man on the mower must have contacted them. She said she didn’t have much time because she was on her way to another meeting. We gave her the details on the Bayer Dream Fund and The Dream Tour. We gave her a brochure, she took some pictures, and then she was on her way. She was very nice. It was great to have something positive like this happen on such a difficult day.
It sure helped me get through those last 17 difficult miles to Ainsworth.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006 at 5:55 pm and is filed under The Dream Tour, Bicycling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.