Day 15

Today's episode is brought to you by the word "prairie", and also by the word "tan". Say them with me now. Prairie... Tan... Now, close your eyes and say them for 7 straight hours. And just like that, it's like you were *there* on Day 15 of the 2018 Prefrontal Tour! We started the day late due to some expected repairs, which gave time for the sun to rise above the horizon, then Wyoming gave way to Nebraska within the first hour and a stacatto arrangement of, well, browns. Aside from the grey pavement the fields are tan, the corn is tan, the tumbleweeds are tan, and even the sky is sometimes tan, colored with the chaff from dusty combines harvesting crops of "wuzzat" and "beetsmee". The "Welcome to Nebraska" sign proclaimed it to be the home of Arbor Day, but I couldn't decide if the utter lack of trees we'd seen so far lent urgency or incredulity to the statement. The bobbing oil wells also gave way to fracking sites, which appear to be much more involved, albeit more self-contained, yet equally unattractive. The invasive species of wind turbine is also prevalent here. When we pulled into Sidney for lunch we were surprised to see the tall water tower emblazoned with "Cabela's World Headquarters", next to a Cabela's store and several official-looking administrative buildings which were,... tan. We were surprised because we hadn't seen a discernable habitat for 100 miles, so where do the people live that work in the Cabela's and the small cluster of restaurants, hotels, and the compulsory Wal-Mart that comprise the map-dot of Sidney, Nebraska? We couldn't miss a visit to Cabela's and I felt lucky to score a clearance deal on a life-size set of replica moose antlers. When I got out to the bike I realized I had to return them, because they didn't match my paint scheme as I had hoped. Better luck next time. We soldiered eastward, still leaning right into the wind so much that the few times it abated and we could ride upright we felt like we were leaning to the left. We've taken to forecasts from the website "www.windy.com" until we can get somewhere with more terrain and trees. Sometime around 2 PM I noticed the flags weren't standing straight out from the poles anymore, and the riding was noticeably easier, even if no less exciting. The only real visual interest was provided by the scintillating corn fields to either side, each pair of rows opening to reveal the long, straight space between them as you approached, before closing just as quickly as you passed by. And there was another, and another,... We started seeing a lot of deer sleeping along the road, all of them big and some of them with healthy racks of antlers, sometimes arranged in small piles. I began to suspect they have the same flawed cross-training for deer here as in the southwest. One thing we haven't seen much of is other motorcycles, even in the warmer climes, and we haven't decided if that makes us extra crazy, or extra awesome? We lost another hour to time-zone voodoo coming into Paxton, then came to rest under a growing dusk in Lincoln and headed next door on the desk clerk's recommendation to "Luckie's Lounge" for a low-expectations meal. We were lucky that they were having a fundraiser, and we had a good meal and a couple of refreshing malt beverages for only $8. The real penance might have been listening to the charity karaoke event that was going on at the end of the room. We're 3-5 days away from the end of the tour, miles and weather allowing, and we need route suggestions based on a 400-500 mile radius per day and what the weather will look like Wed/Thu/Fri. Do we go high into Wisconsin and take the lake ferry, crossing Michigan? Do we go low back into Kentucky and come up via West Virginia? Do we slog it straight through the Windy City and the Mistake on the Lake? Your vote counts, so vote early and vote often! Onward and upward.


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