Day 34 Week 5, Friday 23 May 2025

A short day today! After a nice stay at the United Methodist Church in Arapahoe, a leisurely ride in cool cloudy weather to McCook Nebraska. There was not much in Arapahoe. We stopped by the Long Dogs distillery which was nearby and had a nice chat with the owner. I bought a bottle of his vodka made from grapes- nice flavor. I may prepare some bloody Marys for my next turn cooking! Had a long talk with the pastor at the church where we stayed- he sat with us while we were having our potluck dinner last night. He is a very talkative fellow and we learned all about his life history and how he came to be a preacher here in the boonies. Basically this church became part of the new Global Methodist Church, a more conservative version of the United Methodist Church, and they needed a preacher who was part of this new church. Makes sense that these churches out in the wilderness away from big cities would tend to be more conservative.

Below are the RidewithGPS stats for the ride today:

We stopped at a coffee shop in Cambridge for coffee after 15 miles, then stopped for lunch at Indianola at 28 miles. Taking our time today with such a short ride. Passed several cattle feedlots- what a smell, and sad to see all those cows packed together like that- but then I start thinking of the steak I am going to have tomorrow night….

We are slowly but surely gaining altitude as we head towards the western continental divide. At McCook we are now at 2,500 ft. We are all looking forward to tomorrow’s day off and exploring what there is to explore here in McCook, but in particular, having a good steak dinner at the Coppermill Steakhouse!

I got my replacement sleeping pad, it was mailed to the hotel and made it safely. It seems to be holding air which is good news! I also got shipped replacement SPD sandals. The ones I brought for riding in the rain fell apart weeks ago so I needed a new pair. These fit good and I will try wearing them in place of my current SPD shoes because my big toes for some reason have started to hurt something fierce after 40 miles. Did the shoes shrink? Are me feet swelling more than usual? Who knows, but I will try wearing these sandals to see if they reduce the pressure on my toes!