Lincoln to Omaha Express

(edit: This post was originally done Monday, thought I lost it - really just had a d'oh moment and set it to the wrong date. here it is for those who didn't RSS it.. :))

ARRRRGGGHH I screamed at the top of my lungs as I was pushing up the hill, the wind seemingly pushing back twice as hard as every ounce of effort I could muster I AM SO SICK OF THIS (*!#$@@#!! WIND, ENOUGH ALREADY! It was all I could think to yell at the top of my lungs. 60 miles in, I'd been fighting a headwind and hills for the past 17 miles, and was just about beat by both of them. That's when I saw it, and let out a A HA HA HA HA!! worthy of Jack Black as I saw this sign:



That was it, finally the brutal climb out of the Platte River valley with a headwind that should have been a tailwind, it finally paid off - the NNW wind would give a nice westward push as I cruised across Omaha.

Of course rides like this start innocently enough. "How about a early Wabash ride on Saturday?" Oliver asked on Thursday, heck yes - I was in. I love the ride out to Wabash, and Saturday was looking to be a nice mild morning. In talking to my wife, she was thinking of heading to visit her folks in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Saturday as well. Somewhere during the conversation it was brought up - why don't I just ride my bike there and meet 'em there? 76 miles, lots of gravel, lots of pavement - all goodness - the route was planned out into the wee hours of Friday. As direct a route as possible - home to the Mopac, Mopac to Wabash, gravel to Highway 50, Highway 50 to 370, then 370 to S36th street, finally L street to the South Omaha bridge. Cross the bridge, 7 miles later I'd roll into their driveway. Cake.

Saturday morning I woke up and the winds were PERFECT, out of the SW in Lincoln from 10-20mph, in Louisville, NE they were due South 10-20, and in Omaha SSW - perfect as I'd be heading in a West/North/West/Northwest direction all morning.

The ride to Wabash was awesome, and pretty fast - that wind was letting us hold a great pace with no effort. Of course I was loving it, but Oliver and Cory P weren't fans thinking of the long ride back into it. I laughed and ribbed them a bit. In retrospect.. probably not the best idea :).

Bid 'em farewell in Wabash then headed solo on gravel for a couple miles. Amazing views on gravel:

And then on the one MMR of the trip:

(which was outstanding, btw) I wondered why it seemed like there was a headwind. "Must be the wind whipping around in the trees" I told myself. Sure. Whops.

After a couple miles on Highway 50 pushing into what continued to be more and more of a headwind I had to stop, and pulled up weather.com on the smartphone. Why I do this, I don't know - it's the cycling equivalent of watching a trainwreck. Seriously. Yup, fears had been confirmed - she'd switched on me to a NNW wind - ouch.

Stopped in Louisville after fighting with it for not long enough, but needed fuel. The gas station was closed, but the Subway was open - had the best tasting six inch subway club I've had in a LONG time, and met some of the nicest employees - who all were wondering of my sanity when I told them of my route. Hah.

After Louisville, NE I remember it being a constant uphill. I'm sure it wasn't, I'm sure there were downhills - but I don't remember them. From the west I could see a storm rolling in, and looking at my watch I realized my wife was probably on I-80 pretty darn close to me at that point, I came pretty close to pulling the plug. I was climbing forever, it seemed like, and it also seemed like I wasn't moving (I averaged - maybe - 12mph between Louisville and 370). Every time I'd either muster some extra energy or get out of the saddle, the wind would throw it right back at me. Close to the end (I had no idea it was the end) the iPod was playing Guns 'N Roses' "Estranged" and I couldn't help but listen to the lyrics as I ground up the hill:

An now that you've been broken down
Got your head out of the clouds
You're back down on the ground
And you don't talk so loud
An you don't walk so proud
Any more

Ironies, eh? :) After all that, the yelling - the screaming - I turned on to 370 and got a nice shot of tailwind then felt the drizzle. Put the phone(s) and iPod into the waterproof bag and headed out at a radpid pace across Papillion and Bellevue on 370. That part was completely epic, the drizzle enough to cool me off and the tailwind enough to keep me flying down the road. Stopped at S36th and 370 for a Cherry Coke (no idea why, sounded good, tasted even better), bananna and a final bottle refill.

Called the wife, found out the bridge I was planning on taking (South Omaha Bridge) was construction riddled and impassable-by-sane-folk on a bike. My alternate route - the Bob Kerrey Bridge - I hadn't researched enough on the Iowa side, so it'd be a crapshoot at best, and with my Sprint Navigation broken thanks to a "software update", Google Maps not being much help - I stopped attempting to reroute after trying for 15 minutes and just told her to wait about 20 minutes, then come the opposite way that I'd be coming - and we'd probably meet right before the bridge.

The climb on S36th into Omaha was fun, espescially in Bellevue. Two lane road, little traffic but one pretty decent climb in the Swanson area (considered just stopping there and trying a lap on the LHT.. sanity crept back), then into the urban jungle. Rode sidewalks when it came to be Omaha as the traffic was pickin' up, then L street surprised me, and I headed West again (with that glorious tailwind). Crested the hill before 25th & L, saw the family truckster headed the opposite direction so I pulled into the Walgreens parking lot and unclipped. Ride over, smiles from the wife and 14 month old, Mission Accomplished.

Driving back, yup, glad I didn't attempt the South Omaha Bridge - it and the 13th and L area were a mess. Yesterday after lots of looking I have a route using the Kerrey bridge, but it isn't ideal - going to have to research it more. Overall, awesome ride - 4h 45min (ish) of riding time with around 70 miles. You can go anywhere on a bike, just have to do it.

My "oops" moment came when I realized I forgot to give my wife a different set of shoes for me when off-bike. I won't lie, after pushing all morning my feet had started to get a bit sore (alleviated by spinning on 370/in Omaha) and while they're comfortable on the bike, the Bontrager RL's get a little uncomfy off-bike. By 3pm I had enough, and my daughter and I made a trip to Bass Pro Shops to pick up some mocs (and some DQ for her). With the LHT all loaded up, later in the evening we headed back:

All in all, an awesome trip. Here's the crazy part, for the first time in.. ever I think after a long tough ride I wasn't zombied post-ride. After a shower and some food, along with about an hour of lounging around I felt just fine - albeit my legs weren't full of jazz anymore. Pretty awesome.

That's all I've got. Novel over.. :)