The plan for the day is get from Ogallala, NE to Centerville, IA a mere 500 miles… The first 300 on the interstate (blah but helps put miles down).
Ogallala was fun, not! Anyway got on the road around 9:00 local and put down 140 miles, I had hoped to grab gas at 100 miles yet many gas stations don’t carry premium 91 octane fuel.
They claim to have “super unleaded” but it’s only 89 octane not good enough for my bike. After asking at one of the lesser stations I was told that the truck stops might carry 91 octane fuel. Forty miles later, here I am in a One9 truck stop, only 320 to go.
Then I found a H-D dealership in Lincoln, NE I hadn’t been to before but their shirts were low in blue hues so I got a couple of connected bungees and I’m carrying on.
Iowa is interesting in the fact that I’ve seen more corn fields here than in Nebraska. I was told that Nebraska had visual features and Iowa had rolling hills. So far both are true. My only question is where are all the people? I don’t see anybody in the corn fields, but maybe that’s the point. I keep expecting a horde of folks to come rushing out of that corn. Now you know why I avoid horror movies.
14:15 local, another 100 miles down (York, NE) about 270 to go, thankfully the smoke is thinning.
After 140 miles I started looking for fuel, and wouldn’t you know Iowa is very similar to Nebraska in their fue/gas stations. But I found a Fastway heading out of Clarinda and tanked up. Next the search was on for dinner, I looked for roadside bars and restaurants and finally found a place in Mt. Ayr, IA called Rumors. So having ridden all day I had to stop for a cold beer and some grub. It’s about 18:30 local, so why not.
After an excellent Prime Rib Sandwich and a cold drink I was back on the road for my final leg of the day,
I can’t remember how many miles I had left but safe to call it a 500 mile day. Time to put me and the bike to bed, bike first…
Not bad for an old biker! Good night and we’ll see you tomorrow. You can see today’s route below.
