Today was the last “official” day of the ride for Tobey and Phil. They were on their bikes and ready to go by about 7:15 this morning. It was chilly, but the sky was mostly clear. There was some fog in patches as we all made our was east.
The trail was not good in many places – pot holes and loose gravel.
They went back and forth between the trail and the highway, especially when the trail was marked with detour signs.
Fortunately, they had a tailwind for a good portion of the morning.
Neligh had a mill museum on the trail that they stopped at. 
Marcia and I missed it, but the guys spent some time looking around at the original 1880s equipment there. The grist mill here is a surviving reminder of the grist mills that once dotted much of Nebraska’s landscape. The displays provide information about the other water-powered mills throughout the Midwest.
We caught up with them in Oakdale for a short break before heading on to Meadow Grove. Unfortunately, Phil had another flat tire near Tilden. As they were doing the repair, a farmer went by them and said, “I hate when that happens!” Who says folks from Nebraska don’t have a good sense of humor? 
While we were waiting for their arrival we walked all around the town. There was a cute little museum – closed, of course.
and the Victory Park
I guess when you can’t decide what color to paint your house, you use them all!
They were pretty cheerful when they arrived, in spite of the flat. Lunch and a short rest break here before the last leg to Norfolk.
They had us wait here for more than an hour before heading into Norfolk. They were doing great, so no rest breaks. The wind started to shift and when they weren’t in wooded areas or had tall corn fields to the south, they were getting blasted by side winds from the south.
They were pretty happy to see this sign – almost to the end! Unfortunately, Phil’s tire wasn’t seated properly on the wheel so they had to stop again and make a few adjustments.
Tobey leading the pace!
We arrived at the Ta-Ha-Zouka Park in Norfolk, Nebraska at the end of the trail just before 2pm after riding 45 miles today. Together they rode about 391 miles.
Phil and Marcia got everything loaded for their trip back to Colorado. We had such a good time with them! It is always fun when you travel with good friends.
Tobey is continuing on to the Nebraska/Iowa border, so after a short break he was ready to head north. 
He took off on Highway 81 north to Randolph which was 29 miles away. I waited almost an hour before starting off. He had a tailwind and the shoulder was good for the first 20 miles. 
He was really cruising! It was his little bit of Heaven for the day! Unfortunately, the road got worse and he had to turn east onto Highway 20 and had a cross wind again. He pulled into Randolph about 4:45 this afternoon after having ridden a total of 75 miles today. 
We spent some time at the library and met the director. She chatted with us and we played with her dog, Enzo, a cute Sheltie for a while.
We are parked by the city ballfield for the night and Tobey is planning to ride to the border tomorrow. The forecast is for really strong winds from the south, so we will see how it goes.
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