Here we go again

Leaving this morning was tough. I'm not too macho to admit there were a few tears in my eyes. Erin made me a spectacular breakfast, and she indulged me in playing myself out to "Ecstacy of Gold" (which is the best ever music to make you feel pumped by the way). Somehow it feels a little odd that this is my first ever bike trip where I'm not going to visit Erin at the end. But there are other really good friends along and at the end of this road, so that helps.

I'm sore, of course. And I'm not going to complain about everything that hurts, because I knew it all would. It's not my first rodeo. I'm just happy I stayed dry. I kept expecting rain, getting in and out of rain gear (as said rain gear made me overheat), but it never came. It will come tomorrow though, I am sure, supposed to rain all day. Here's hoping I can handle setting up my tarp and hammock for the rain, in the rain. It's supposed to be even windier too. But, one day at a time right? And I made it through this day.

It was mostly uneventful. Riding the MoPac was easy going and full of nostalgia. Riding the highway was the usual tediousness that Nebraska highways are. And coming into Omaha was mildly terrifying and generally unpleasant. Seriously, this is the second least bike friendly city I've been to, only next to LA. It's got busy roads that often lack shoulder, I only encountered one bike lane, and the bike paths are few and far between (though the two I was on were fairly nice). I'm glad I have a straight shot North out of the city tomorrow.

So yeah, bike computer says I did 57 miles today. But it lies, because I forgot to reset the trip before I left (knew I was forgetting something) and didn't remember until just west of Eagle. Best estimate was that it was about 69. It's a start. Journey of a thousand miles, first step, yada yada.

I'm crashing with my friend Caitlin. She took me out to Mother of India and got me well fed, introduced me to her cute kittens, Sputnik and Scout, and chatted with me before letting me have the couch to myself. And now...I'm about ready to sleep. Day two comes in the morning.