Day 37, Tuesday, May 27

Norfolk, Nebraska to Ewing, Nebraska

It rained off and on all night, but when 5:30 rolled around there was a break. Packing up a soggy camp was not fun, but packing it up in the rain would have been much, much worse.

We sat in the pavilion long enough to have two cups of coffee each. We were cold, and it was raining, and we were not looking forward to the day. But Astoria would not get closer with us sitting on our asses, so we mounted up and got on the Cowboy Trail. 

Like many of the trail trails we have been on, the Cowboy Trail is mostly crushed limestone. For whatever reason, though, it has a reputation of being slow. We knew that with the wet weather it might be tough. The first couple of miles are paved, so we got it, planning to evaluate once the pavement ended. 

The trail turned out to me better than expected, at least for a while. It was definitely slower than being on the road, but we could keep manage a decent 10 mph.

The trail is lovely outside Norfolk. It avoids a couple of miles off suburban hell on the west side of Norfolk as it winds along the Elkhorn River. But it was raining, the trail was soggy and slow, and I found it to be tough going.

We knew there was a place with breakfast sandwiches and donuts at 18 miles in Meadow Grove. We were disappointed to find it was drive through only, but they let us shelter from the rain on a little covered porch. 

A mile past Meadow Grove the Cowboy Trail and US 275 converge and run parallel. The surface was definitely grabbing our wheels more, and we were getting slower. I longed to be on the highway but John was rightly concerned about safety. We stayed on the trail.

After 31 miles our hands were forced. There has been a bridge outage on the Cowboy for several years, and cyclists are forced onto the highway. Here we learned the highway was not that scary. Sure, you are riding alongside cars, but the shoulder is quite wide. When you can ride at 14 mph instead of 8, the miles fly by.

Of course, you don't get all the local flavor, like decorated bollards on the trail. 

We could have returned to the trail around mile 38 in Neleigh, but we elected to stay on the highway. After the slow beginning in the morning and the first 30 miles on the trail, it was late afternoon when we rolled into Ewing.

Ewing is a tiny town, and the municipal campground could use some work. However, we knew a meal at the highly rated DW's Bar and Grill was in our future. Once again the rain let up as we set up camp, so our spirits were reviving. Then John talked to a local who informed him that DW likes to close during Memorial Day week. Once again we were skunked. 

We went to the local grocery -- which does not sell beer -- and bought some sort of instant pho. We added canned chicken John had been carrying around for days, and we had chips. And some cheese.

Damn DW.