Greetings From Gothenburg

Greetings from Gothenburg - Pony Express Capital of Nebraska. I languished at the motel this morning, getting every last penny's worth of airconditioning and free coffee the Motel 6 had to offer. Needless to say, it was 9 before I left, but I had planned a short ride to Gothenburg, so no worries.

The Nebraska countryside is still dotted with cornfields, and it's obvious, by the corn kernels strewn along the streets here in Gothenburg, that a lot of corn moves through this town but there are more and more cattle ranches and fewer "bread basket farms" to see. Route 80 has more construction than last year and I'm amazed at how easily the traffic still flows and how I've only had to ride a few kilometers over "milled surfaces" (grooved pavement to everybody else).

With my mesh jacket on from the start I was riding on the cool side until about 1:45 when the still, dry heat descended like a blanket. But it was bearable knowing I was close to calling it a day.  Here in Gothenburg I decided to park it (at another motel, the campground looked a bit sketchy) and try to walk to the historic Pony Express Station (Garmin Dan said it was only 2.5 k away). I didn't know how hot 89F could feel until I'd walked 2 km and I decided to head back to the pool - I'll ride there in the morning. But I did get the chance to take a photo of the Historic Potter Drug Co. building with the Pony Express mural painted on the side as well as the  Sod House Musem (tribute to the first settlers in the area).