Day 35 - A Whole New World/My Guns are Not Your Problem - Maddie

We could not have started the day any stronger; we hopped out of bed and headed for our Super 8 SuperEats Breakfast. After devouring a plethora of yogurts, carbs, and fruit and prepping some ham sandwiches for the road, we hit Highway 20.

We had a feeling today would be a long day. There are approximately 140 miles between Valentine and Chadron consisting of towns ranging from 20-200 people every 20 miles or so. Our first achievement of the day was reaching the Mountain Time Zone, where Charlie encouraged me to “breath in that mountain air.” However, I have absolutely no interest in thinking about the mountains and their daunting elevation gain until we are there.

Charlie and I have both been interested in augmenting our experience in these tiny towns by interacting with locals and supporting small business. Today, we made an incredible pit stop at Niobrara Valley Vineyards, where we savored “A Taste of the Sandhills”. We had the opportunity to taste six wines, while the owner talked us through their backstories and life in Nenzel, Nebraska (population of 12). Neither of us wanted to depart after hearing the vineyard was having a pizza night, and we still had 35 miles remaining on the day. Also, I cannot help but think that a wine tasting is an adult version of our daily ice cream excursions.

We continued, but not without some adversity. The shoulder of Highway 20 has been our cozy and massive home for the past few days. As we progressed further and further into the middle-of-nowhere, the shoulder became uneven and bumpy; Charlie genuinely feared that his bike would crumble with each drop. To mollify our aching joints and shaky bikes, we road on the deserted road for the final 10 miles.

Throughout the course of the day, I felt as if I was one of the pioneers discovering America. The “country” is so vast, beautiful, and untouched that it is hard to fathom that the land is known to exist.

Upon arrival in Merriman, the day was anything but over. We saw masses of cowboys strolling into the Merriman Dance Hall, and I thought we were sent into a Wild West film. Minding our business, we started setting up camp and cooking dinner over our stove when Taylor Cady made his way over to us. This gentleman sporting a “My guns are not your problem” hat, a recent graduate from Cody-Kilgore high school, was having his graduation party in the dance hall and invited us to join. Blown away by his kindness, we followed him to meet dozens of ranchers who live in the minuscule towns we cycled through. Locals sat down beside us asking about our journey, but we took more interest in hearing about their wildly different lives. We began speaking to a Taylor’s friend and grandmother, whose intensely demanding ranch lives had us at a loss for words. COVID-19 has seriously impacted the cost of maintaining a ranch, making matters difficult given the already small margins. When we asked why they continued to ranch given how hard it is to be successful, they smiled and explained how much joy it brought them. Just as Charlie and I could never be cowboys, these amazing locals had no desire to bike across America, to each their own. We spoke about the struggle with education through the pandemic with children in the area without access to internet. Meanwhile, each grade has fewer than ten students. They bid us farewell with “Buy beef,” a comment I never thought I would hear, but hey, it’s their livelihood.

We concluded the night with a chat with Taylor. He is attending gunsmithing school in the fall but sees himself back in Merriman afterwards. He told us, “I was born in the middle of these Sandhills, and I can’t ever get away from them.” The connection and bond within these small communities is something Charlie and I will never understand, but we are so fortunate to have heard the experiences of the people who reside in the Sandhills.

Today was probably the most memorable and unique day of the trip so far. I could not have predicted anything that occurred, and that’s what makes this the experience of a lifetime.

-Maddie