The 80 mile ride to Oshkosh was 7/8ths fantastic. The last 1/8th was ok, but there were climbs (Diane called them “hills” but Rob denied the adjective was appropriate—he claims they were relatively long “rises”) into the wind and temperature in the 80s. Oshkosh was once a lively town, but most of the downtown stores are now closed. There is one new business, though, that has excited the townspeople—Mark Ferrrari Specialty Coffees. VP Mike Piva was watering the outdoor plants when we came around the corner. A friendly guy, who returned to his roots (his dad still farms in the area) gave us a tour of the facility and gave us a snippet of his history and that of the coffee company. Of course we bought a bag which will be shipped to our dear friends Dana and Jerry, as just one small token of our appreciation.
No place served breakfast on Sunday morning, so we ate cold cereal and hot cocoa in our room, and headed out for Ogallala. The highway was smooth, the winds were neutral, the temperature moderate. But anyone who thinks Nebraska is flat has never biked US 26 between Oshkosh and Ogallala. Although the former is at 3412 ft, the latter at 3202 ft, we climbed to over 3800 ft three times before dropping back down to Ogallala. Thus our stats reveal only an 11 mph average over the four hours of biking these measly 43 miles. We are now positioned for another good run tomorrow. For now we are relaxing at the Quality Inn, watching TV and Blogging. Life is good.
Diane wanted to whiz past Chimney Rock.....
Diane spent the time first talking with a local cyclist and then we took a break for quick snack. 
Then it was off to speed by corn fields and the North Platte. 
Below is the first bad hill in Nebraska (outside of Lewellen) ... yep that is Diane way back there.
on boot hill (there was a boot on every other fence post up the whole hill). 
Once on top the vistas when on forever.
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