It was windy today from the south. I was headed WSW so it was mostly a cross wind but a slight head wind component. It was forecast to be slightly stronger in the afternoon so Kearney was a good spot to stop today.

I was also working with some tire punctures. Last night my front tire was soft again. As best I could tell, the slow leak came from a thorn, though I couldn’t confirm by removing it from the tire or finding the specific hole. Yesterday I had looked and Grand Island didn’t seem to have a good bike shop (two motorcycle repair places, an e-bike store, a used bike place open only on weekends). I was close to Walmart so ended up buying a Walmart version of a hybrid tire and also swapping it on the front. I have new tires ordered for delivery in Colorado but need something reliable enough until I get there. Today I also ended up with my first flat on the rear. I have a good Schwalbe Marathon tire on the back but I am almost to point of wearing off some of the rubber as little spots of the red underliner are starting to show.

In any case, other than some wind and some thorns, today was a straightforward ride. I came to US 30 and followed it through several small settlements to reach Kearney. Grand Island has ~50k people and Kearney has ~35k people so these are large for central Nebraska.

A screen shot from the Windy application. Blues are single digits, greens are double digits and then it gets stronger. It was a solid cross wind, even early and I would notice as trucks passed the other direction.

US 30 starting out. Sometimes some small gravel or cracks but overall a smooth ride.

After eight miles, I had a flat on the rear. I walked back to the last intersection and diagnosed the problem (goat head thorn) in center of the tire. Normally these tires don’t puncture in the middle, so another reminder the tread is wearing through. The front has my Walmart tire and the old front tire is on the back. I took the photo after fixing the tire.

Coming up on Wood River. The train line runs frequently, I saw at least six trains, so even small towns seem to have overpasses. Wood River has this first one for pedestrians and then one later for automobiles.

Mural in Wood River

Tall and healthy looking corn. Here is all seems to be irrigated, pumping from the aquifer underneath. Sometimes sprinklers overhead and sometimes pipes below.

Nebraska has numerous historical markers. When it is windy, I have an excuse to stop and read them…

Shelton. You can see these grain silos for at least five miles, so it felt like I was cycling from silo to silo.

I haven’t seen many Lincoln Highway signs yet, but Shelton had a visitor center.

One of the many trains coming past today. Amtrak service runs the line further south so these are all freight. This one had containers but I also saw, grain cars, oil cars and flatbed cars. Some of the trains were long with as many as five engines.

Another excuse to stop from the wind.

These folks had a giraffe and other artificial animals.

Once I got to Kearney, I found my way to the Bike Shed. Decided to get an additional spare tire so I have something better than my Walmart tire. I should be in good situation now.

It was still early, but this seemed like a good spot to stop for the day. Sunrise keeps getting slightly later (today was 6:45am) but next days will be good to get out early as forecasts are for hot afternoons but will not as strong winds.