USNA 1973 Ride-2-Remember

Saying Goodbye to Friends and a Day of Transition

Day 33, 5 September: Ainsworth to O‘Neill, NE

Our day started early as usual with breakfast at the Rodeway Inn. Brett Fernau showed up bright and early to see us off. The hospitality and genuine friendship that developed over the past two days was a wonderful experience for all of us. We can’t thank him enough.

Brett and the team prior to departure

Our 70-mile ride today started out chilly which was a far cry from the 100-degree plus days we had recently experienced. We all wore long sleeve under- and overgarments. We were finally feeling the Autumn weather that is normally associated with September. We left for our ride around sunrise and headed east on the Cowboy Trail looking directly at the sun as she rose.

One of the nicest sunrises we’ve seen, on the Cowboy Trail

We were making good time until we had to stop because the bridge over a ravine had been knocked out. We backtracked and found a way to reconnect to the trail, bypassing the ravine. This diversion set us back but not by much.

An unexpected gap in the trail. Luckily Dave wasn’t going too fast when he found it.

Mark, who handles all our bike issues, lent me his bike to traverse the Cowboy Trail today. His bigger tires helped me keep better control as we went through a gravelly stretch. His bike gave me enough stability to make for a fun ride. We had the wind at our backs which helped us keep our speed up through even the toughest terrain of the trail.

The view from another railroad trestle we crossed; a picturesque farm on the route.

We were making great time in our travels from Ainsworth to O’Neill, Nebraska. This exuberance was short-lived, however. I had the first confirmed “goathead” flat tire, my second flat of the ride.

The infamous goathead, and what it looks like embedded in your tire

Mark quickly came to my rescue and got me back on my way. I was welcomed into the town of O’Neill, which claims to be the Irish Capital of Nebraska.

An Irish welcome in Nebraska

The town has shamrocks painted on the intersections and you can see Irish flags throughout the town. Shortly after getting into town the clouds got darker and the temperature dropped. We even witnessed some rain drops. We stopped complaining about the hot weather and realized we were now witnessing some real September weather. We all agreed that tomorrow we would don a warmer wardrobe for our 75-mile ride.

Quarters was held where we honored Noe Salazar, Paul Fitzgerald and Jack Dempsey. These classmates were well known by the group which made it a pretty special occasion.

Afterwards, we went to dinner and dessert. We now look forward to tomorrow’s adventure after a good night’s sleep.

Tom Tesoriero

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