The reality of my bike problems became apparent when we arrived in Ainsworth, the longest 48 miles I will ever pedal in my life. Through a slew of unlikely and amazing connections, we were directed to Tom who runs the grocery downtown. Once again, we had just been led to what seemed to be destiny... probably the only guy in town who could help me get to the bottom of my bike issues. He called his favorite shop, some 158 miles away, and had the mechanic help diagnose my dilemma. What it comes down to is that the pawls (no, not Pauls... though I love the idea of several small men named Paul running around in my hub)have worn out. This has caused the cassette body to come loose once again. Solution: replace the freehub. Unfortunately, that is not a commonly stocked item. I finally found one in Olympia Cycles in Omaha but the guy who was trying to sell it to me tried to sell me a set of Mavic Kysrium race wheels first. Obviously the guy doesn't have a clue what he's talking about if he is trying to sell me a set of 20-spoke superlight race wheels for me 80-ish pound touring rig. He snapped at me when I explained that they just wouldn't do the trick and said, "well what kind of wheel do you think you need?!" I explained to him once again that I didn't even need a wheel, much less a $300 set of race wheel unfit for the kind of riding I am doing. After I convinced him that I wasn't going to buy a new set of wheels, he some how managed to find the part that I needed. He quoted me a fee and said that he'd just have to guess on the shipping but shoot high and probably wouldn't reimbursh me any excess payment. It was then that I called Greenstreet. Once again, taken care of. They snagged one off of a bike and took it right over to FedEx and overnighted it. They just took my credit card info and said they'd figure out what it would cost later... without guessing and refusing to refund me any excessive costs.
Yesterday's ride was grueling. We pushed and pushed all day and barely made 48 miles. Riding into those winds, we were lucky to be pushing 11 mph. I would have to guess our average was 9-10 mph. Since we were getting no where fast, we took some stops and enjoyed the towns. We pulled into Bassett and found the soda fountain. Unfortunately, the owner wasn't doing lunch that day because the expo was in town which drew in nearly everyone for miles and miles it seemed. I was quite honestly shocked when the storeowner's partner walked in and he introduced him to us. My hat is off to Nebraska for forward progress. I can't imagine that a gay couple would survive in a town like that much less own the soda fountain less than half a century ago. Maybe it's just my ignorance, but the american frontier seems like it is making some progress.
Before heading to Tom and Pam's home for the evening, we sat in a proper Japanese martial arts dōjō and observed Tom instruct a class. Quite an experience. We were very impressed with the seriousness that the participants brought to the floor. I never thought that I'd be in a dōjō in the middle of nowhere Nebraska. We took a hike around their land once we got to the house so the mosquitoes could feed on us. They are relentless, I have never seen so many blood suckers in my life. While we were donating blood, we climb up and down some small canyons and saw the sunset. Nebraska is really a beautiful state. The strangest thing, it was light out until 10 pm.
Some may scoff, so scoff away. Rather than riding on my shoddy wheel, Tom arranged a ride for me to Valentine to the shop where my part was getting shipped to in a chip delivery truck. Here I sit, in Yucca Dune Outdoor Adventures, while Lee is pushing out the last 45 miles that I barely noticed.
bring that sign back with you, it's a classic.
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