The Plains of Colorado and Nebraska

The day got  off to an inauspicious start with a 20 minute wait for road construction on CO 14 just east of Fort Collins. A few miles after clearing the construction zone, fog descended, hanging low over the surrounding corn fields and range land. It was about 55 degrees, but I was dressed for the cool temperature, and when I reached Sterling, Colorado, 100 miles down the road, the fog had begun to disperse. I had breakfast (eggs Benedict - OK, but not as good as the waitress described them to be) at the Old Town Bistro. Sterling is a fairly large town, with a nice downtown area and stone buildings. I had noticed that the front tire on the Wee was beginning to "cup" (wear unevenly)  and from past  experience I know that  when a tire  begins to cup it wears at an increasing rate. While I ate breakfast I got on my iPhone in search of a motorcycle shop that had a tire for the bike, and that could install it on short notice. I called several motorcycle shops in North Platte, Grand  Island, and Lincoln, Nebraska and finally found a shop in Lincoln that had a tire in stock, and the man said that they could put it on Saturday morning.

With that taken care of I continued east on CO 14 to Holyoke, CO where I picked up Highway 23 which I followed northeast into Nebraska. This is a little traveled farm road with a small town every 15 or 20 miles and mostly local traffic. The weather cleared gradually and it warmed up to about 65 degrees. At US 83 I went  north to North Platte, NE where I picked up I-80. I'd intended  to go north and then east to Broken Bow, NE, but since I had an appointment in Lincoln early in the morning I didn't want to add another couple of hours to my day's ride.

I got  off I-80 in Brady for a coffee and muffin at a local Espresso shop, which was located by the Sod House Museum.

The Sod House Museum

The sod house

Standing by a buffalo sculpture

As I was getting back on the bike it began to sprinkle, and once on the Interstate (75 MPH speed limit) it rained off and on for the next couple of hours until I stopped for the night in Aurora, CO where I'm staying at Ken's Motel  ($40). It's actually a nice place and even Carol would approve. To balance my fancy breakfast I dined at Pizza Hut this evening.