Day Sixteen- Done (Over 1265 miles)

August 5th-

Well, I'm over half way on days, but under half way on miles. That's alright. I'll just go with the number of days and say I'm closer than I really am. That will keep a smile on my face.

So, I woke up in time to catch the sunrise. It was beautiful. It was so beautiful, I thought it deserved a respectful moment of silence. The moment of silence lasted almost three hours as I went back to sleep until around 9.

I packed up and headed out on the road of ups and downs for over 40 miles. I got sick of the hills and was getting close to the border of Iowa and Nebraska, so I jumped on the interstate in the hopes that the police wouldn't bother me that close to the border.

I stopped at the McDonald's in a fever to post a blog or two, but there were no outlets. So, I stopped over at the TA truck stop to charge up and they had no internet. There was a younger guy who is in his twenties and regailed me with stories of travel all over the US. Most often, he didn't even pay for the travel. Whether it be hitchhiking or train jumping, he had some interesting tales. But, once I was all charged up I got back on my way.

I rode into Nebraska on Interstate 80 and took the first exit I saw for Tourist Information. They were however closed for the night. So, I just rode on into Omaha.

As it was getting darker out, I stopped at a gas station to buy a more detailed map of the state. On the map I saw a campground just twenty miles or so down the road. Off I rode.

I stopped riding every twenty minutes or so because the police were hot on my trail and I didn't want my police record in Iowa to be matched in Nebraska. When I got about two miles from the campground, my tire went flat. I didn't feel like changing it at night, so I walked the bike to the camping area and looked for a spot to camp. Quite humorously, the area was intended for RV's. There wasn't a single tent there. It was late though, so I just found an area of the park to set up and bunkered down for the night. I had plans to wake up early to avoid meeting anyone whilst in my tent.

Daily Lesson: No matter how strange or incredible what you're doing is, there's always somebody with just as interesting story.

Feel free to spread the word and/or donate at http://www.rotary.org/en/endpolio/Pages/ridefault.aspx