You CAN Go Home Again

Day Two: Stratton/Trenton to McCook/Indianola 35-45 miles

Last night the group split up...Mike, Jim, and Ohio Mike went on to Trenton, while Bob and Noelle, Toby and Lauree, Al, and Mark and I stayed in Stratton. So some of us started today from Trenton and some from Stratton. And then some of us ended in McCook and some in Indianola. I'll explain below.

The day started off well enough, though there was no place in Stratton to eat breakfast. Luckily, I never leave home without a box of Cheerios. So I was set. Mark breakfasted on leftover barbecue potato chips, and we (along with Al) left the Motel Stratton for Trenton around 9:30 a.m. The day was sunny and warm, and THANKFULLY the wind had shifted and died down, so we had a mild tailwind as we started out. This would change, but for the time being, we were enjoying the ride. The shoulder was wide, though sometimes cracked and scattered with debris, and traffic was light.

As we got further away from Stratton, the road began to undulate in the up-and-down direction...our first hills. They weren't too bad, though...long, but not horribly steep. The breeze going down felt great, though the slog to the top wasn't quite as fun. My knees had chosen this morning to start complaining. I took some ibuprofen and motored on.

So we were slogging up one of these hills when I heard a voice call "Car back!" and I got over on the shoulder and sure enough, there was a car. I looked in my mirror and couldn't see anyone. But I had clearly heard someone giving me the warning call. I checked my mirror again: nothing.

I briefly entertained the idea that I was hearing voices...helpful voices, but voices from the great beyond never-the-less. Wow, I could write a book about my mysterious guardian angel who helped me avoid being flattened by a truck ...might compromise my humanistic principles a little to feature the supernatural, but hey, if the evidence is there...

There it was again, "Car back!", clear as a bell. I got over as another car passed. This time I could see something in the mirror, and a few minutes later, Bob and Noelle pulled up alongside on their recumbent bike and trike, respectively. (Goodbye book deal.)

And that's when I got the bad news: Lauree had taken a spill on this very road earlier, lost consciousness for about a minute and a half, and been taken to the hospital in McCook by ambulance. Toby, Lauree's significant other, was awaiting us at a cafe a few miles up the road.

!! This was not good.

I pedaled on, horrified and alarmed and worried. It sounded like she was probably okay and the trip to the hospital was a precautionary measure, but still. Look what happened to Natasha Richardson.

We arrived at the cafe and I called the Suiters, whom we were planning to visit in McCook anyway. McCook, Nebraska happens to be the childhood home of my dear friend Angela and the current home of her wonderful parents, Jim and Audrey Suiter. Making a long story short, Jim and Audrey demonstrated their wonderfulness ten times over today by going over to the hospital and taking care of Lauree, bringing both her and her bike to their house after a CAT scan indicated it was safe, and feeding all of us Coors beer, potato salad, pineapple, and roast beef sandwiches (just potato salad and pineapple for me).

Hajdu was the first to arrive in McCook and also met Lauree at the hospital. The rest of us, arriving sometime later, found Lauree reclining on the couch, in pretty good spirits but sporting some serious bandages on her grazed-up (but not broken) shoulder, as well as a prize-winning bruise on her hip.In good spirits, despite all.

Turned out she'd been trying to get over on that shoulder to let a car go by, and got tripped up by messiness, debris, and a bad lip on the shoulder.

Luckily, half our crew are doctors. Noelle rebandaged the shoulder and advised her on medication for the rest of the day. Lauree wanted to hop on the bike and keep riding, but the doctors had told her to take it easy today and tomorrow...so we figured out a plan which would include an overnight stay at the Suiters and a ride (thanks again to Jim and Audrey) in a truck tomorrow to catch up with the group.

Lauree and the Suiters

So that's how, after great effort by Bob and Noelle to fix up Lauree's bike, the rest of the crew rode on, ostensibly to Arapahoe (40 miles away)...well, perhaps not Arapahoe, but Cambridge (26 miles)...well, looks like a storm is coming, so we'd better stay put in Indianola...and that's where they are now, 12 miles from McCook.

So Lauree and I have our nice air-conditioned digs with a real bed and Tylenol to keep the pain at bay, and the rest of those goons are riding through the rain even as I type this, to find a nice sweaty campsite at the local picnic shelter in Indianola.

One thing that's been really nice, though, besides the warmth and hospitality of the Suiters, is just seeing Angela's house. It's full of family pictures and memorabilia from a whole lifetime of kids, and now grandkids. The Suiters have lived here since 1958. Angela's room still has her name plate on the outside and is still painted pink on the inside (though Mrs. Suiter's quilts have replaced Angela's childhood things).

My family home is gone, and I've lived in five different states. This kind of longevity amazes and touches me. For Angela, anyway, and in some vicarious way, me tonight, you can go home again.