Day 6, August 7th 2007 (Taylor,NE to North Platte,NE)

Waking up wasn't easy this morning . The mattress from the hotel felt so good that it took a little longer to get up. I started south towards Sargent, a great 10 miles uphill to start the ride. I wanted to get some good miles in today so I could get to North Platte. I waited until i was a good 30 miles into the ride before I stopped for breakfast. After enjoying good food and cold air, I jumped back on to my bike in the mid 90 degree heat and headed west. After being in the afternoon heat for a while I started to feel pretty exhausted and it made the last miles into North Platte a little more of a challenge. As I entered North Platte I crossed the North Platte River and saw a campground on my left. I turned in and noticed that it was only $5 for a night in the campground. I had picked a spot and was just about to set up camp and pay the fee when an older man named Scott drove up. He asked me where I was headed and so I told him what I was doing. Instantly he was happy to hear of what I was doing and told me to camp anywhere free of charge. He told me that he had actually lived in Ames and was thinking about opening a bike shop while he had lived in town. He said he hadn't biked a cross country ride, but he had biked two 500 mile rides. One ride was on the west coast and started from Oregon and went to southern California. He had apparently done his riding on an 11 foot long recumbant cruiser with a five foot trailor on the back. All in all a 16 foot bike that he had ridden for 500 straight miles on. His whole story just blew me away and I was so thankful he had allowed me to choose a spot for free. I set up camp and treated myself to an incredible dinner in a restaurant that I had no way of being properly dressed for. I came in with bike shorts and took a seat amongst everyone else that was wearing nice khakis and a polo or a nice collar and tie. After dinner I was exhausted and instantly fell asleep, until about 1 AM when an incredible thunderstorm came through. I could hear the thunder and see the purple glow of lightning overhead. The storm continued for a couple of hours and then I was able to rest.
Daily mileage: 108.5 miles
Average Speed: 13.3 mph
Total mileage: 524.0 miles