New adventures in the old country

For the first time in a few years, it was actually worth it to bring a bike home around Christmas. The last two or three years have been either super-snowy, super-cold or super-cold and snowy. And I didn't have a 'cross bike until this year, anyway.

But it's actually pretty nice this time around, so I packed accordingly.

If there's one defining feature of my home territory, it's the complete and utter lack of elevation change. It's flat enough to see your turnaround point off in the distance. The few hills there are come from the vast network of creeks around the area. And those are 30-second hills - slight inclines, really - at best.

And while the area isn't particularly windy, when it is windy, it blows across the plains for miles and miles. That was today's scenario. In Omaha, when the icon on Weather.com just says "WIND," you can hide a fair amount in the valleys. Up here, you hide from the wind by staying inside.

I mapped out a route to a nearby town that was made up almost entirely of gravel or rails-to-trails surfaces. The initial stretch of pavement was only a couple of miles long and straight into the teeth of 20-30 mph wind. After that, it was gravel all the way to the turnaround town.

Only one section had big, loose chunks and the rest was pretty standard gravel. One section had a "No Snow Removal" sign on it, which was interesting at first, but it ended up looking exactly like the rest of the road.

After a quick bottle fill-up and a snack at the halfway point, I headed back west. The SSW wind was really ripping, and it felt like a block headwind a lot more than a cross-headwind. I was fortunate to be on the Rails-to-Trails section for the return trip, as it offered a bit of protection when I passed through brushy or lightly wooded sections.

Still, though, it was a long slog. When the trail finally kicked back north again, it was a sweet, welcome relief. Suddenly the cranks turned easily and the gusts stopped grabbing my front wheel. I rolled back into town with four hours on the clock and food on my mind.

I'm into my second cup of coffee by now. I think I still may take a nap.