TdN Day 2

On day 2 we rode from Burwell straight north to Atkinson. This was the toughest day, as we had a headwind and there were only 2 stops on the way. Almost all of the climbing came in two or three big 10-12% hills.

To show how the wind can fool you, I stated in my last post that I thought that the first day was flat. It wasn't - but because we had a tailwind, it felt flat. Here are the stats for each day - the climbing stats are from Bill G.'s Garmin computer (sent to me yesterday after I had made my first post), the average speeds are from my computer:

Day 1 - St. Paul to Burwell - 61 miles - 2,676 feet ascended and 2,295 feet descended. Average speed = 18.48 mph.

Day 2, Burwell to Atkinson - 60 miles - 1,333 feet ascended and 1,350 feet descended. Average speed = 14.69 mph.

Day 3, Atkinson to Neligh - 60 miles - 466 feet ascended and 690 feet descended. Average speed = 19.25 mph.

Day 4, Neligh to Genoa - 60 miles - 3,421 feet ascended and 3,166 feet descended. Average speed = 17.60 mph.

Day 5, Genoa to St. Paul - 56.5 miles - 1,913 feet ascended and 1,627 feet descended. Average speed = 17.21 mph.

Thanks for sending me the climbing info, Bill.

Here are the pics from day 2:

First, some scenery as we ride through the Sandhills.


As there were no towns, we had two breaks arranged for us on the way - one hosted by a church and one by the Shirley Peterson ranch. The second pic shows cyclists climbing up the 10% grade to get to the ranch for the second break. It was a good thing that their house was at the top of the hill - if it had been at the bottom, people would have been staying the night rather than face climbing that hill after a break.



After dinner was served at the campground, a bunch of us made our way to town to go to a soda fountain that was situated in a five and dime store straight out of the 1950's.



We then proceeded back to the campground where we were entertained by some locals and by the storm clouds building in the distance.