I have a child-like spirit – especially when there are lots of flashing bright lights and colors.
And the nice thing was that last night, when we arrived in the town of Hastings, Nebraska, after a long, painful (head-windy) ride, we discovered that so had the Adams County Fair.
Opening day of the fair – what could be more fun. So after a quick shower, I rushed out to the Fair, for a midway food dinner – corn on the cob, funnel cakes, etc. — yum.
Actually, funnel cakes don’t work all that well for me these days– considering that I don’t really (1) eat flour, (2) eat fried things or (3) eat sugar – and considering that the main (actually only) ingredients in funnel cake are (1) flour, (2) fried things and (3) sugar. Now that I think of it, maybe I should call my diet the “Funnel Cake” diet – because it seems that’s the main food group I’ve been working to eliminate.
We’re in the middle of Nebraska…, and let me tell they know how to do country fair’s right. They have a “swine house,” loads of livestock areas, carneys on the midway, scary rides – everything you could want for a night of country fair fun.
So I grabbed some dinner from the Texas barbeque stand – barbeque chicken (the healthiest thing I could find) – and strolled over to the cowboy bar (what else), right around the bend to sit down and enjoy my meal.
From the moment I walked in to the bar, it was obvious I was from a different world – them in cowboy boots and hats – me, a city boy rolling through town on a bicycle. I felt extremely out of place, yet at the same time had a strange sense of calm quiet confidence – feeling like I owned the world. It’s a great feeling – when you’re doing something big and challenging – and you’re proud of yourself, knowing that you’re doing something good – you walk into every place you go, standing tall and with your head held high.
Even in the middle of this country cowboy bar, it felt good knowing exactly who I was and what I was doing. Heck I even met one (very drunk) woman came up to tell me how handsome I was – and insisted on giving me a hug on her way out of the bar (it’s ok – her boyfriend had just been forcibly removed from the bar for public drunkenness – I told you these Midwest farm boys know how to do country fairs..)
As for the ride today – it went smooth and easy. First, there was no wind. My, oh my, how lovely that felt. After 5 days battling non-stop headwinds, it felt like a cord had been cut and I was free to ride freely down the road.
Better still, after looking at the map, I realized we weren’t as far off pace as I thought. We were only 140 miles outside of Lincoln, and by traveling a decent pace today and tomorrow, we’d be back on schedule for the rest of the Ride to come.
And at the end of the day we made a return visit to my Midwest summer fair – for another round of midway food (steak tacos and corn on the cob this time around) – before a good night’s sleep on my way to Lincoln in the morning.
Bye for now and good night, from Hastings, Nebraska,
along the Dog Cancer Ride Across America
