FBinNY 

Thanks for that. However, I'm not exactly a spring chicken and have plenty of experience in managing family politics.

I hove countless cousins in Paris, from several branches of my mother's extended family, and if I can get through a trip without one getting miffed I can handle one niece.

As a practical matter, I prefer to visit folks in their home when touring by bike, rather than having them make travel plans to meet me someplace and get locked into a rigid schedule.

bikemig 

Yeah, I'm grateful that almost all my riding out of Des Moines is along MUPs that have good tree cover. That's a huge help on hot days and really helps with the wind as well.

FBinNY 

Thank you everyone, I'm getting the kind of info I'm looking for.

It's easy enough to check weather patterns, but I 'm not looking for that as much as first hand impressions of what it's like riding and ways to make the best of it. Hints like picking the time of day to ride, and the height of crops offering shelter, are the kind of stuff that help the most.

Marcus_Ti

What time of summer are you thinking of doing this jaunt?

Don't count on any crops to offer shelter. A few years ago Nebraska, for example was, in extreme drought such that the Platte River ceased flowing entirely and you could race a car through it. ALL the crops were already completely harvested, and the fields completely mowed clean down to stubble, by Memorial Day. Which, for farmers locally, was unheard of in living memory.


Presuming something that historic doesn't happen again....in Nebraska for example you'll get better crop cover in the south of the state (maybe). BUT, TBH IME the local drivers are FAR more civilized to cyclists north of I-80. The closer you get to the Kansas border, the more likely you are to get harassed/buzzed/coal-blown in Nebraska.



If you want to get away from highways and fool drivers....a nice option in Nebraska is the Cowboy Trail. A rails-to-trails conversion of one of the 19th century rail lines that used to rn along the Pony Express route: Cowboy Trail Maps, Businesses, Events, Mileage, and more


On other thing....As you get West in Nebraska, and away from I-80 do not count on any cellphone service. Even roaming. Verizon, too, doesn't exist past Valentine for example up in them Sandhills.

FBinNY 

The working plan (so far) was to be in the plains near the end of June, or early July. I hadn't considered crops as providing shelter until someone mentioned it, but I prefer headwinds to heat, so won't be waiting on them

As for cellphone service, that doesn't matter to me. I was touring and leading bike trips long before cell phones existed and am perfectly comfortable going without. If I take a cellphone, it'll be powered down and packed away. I'll take a small tablet computer and look for hotspots if/when I need to reach beyond my immediate area.

BTW to give a sense of how much I use cell phones, I use a prepaid plan, and spend about $3-5 a month. If I need data I look for hotspots, or the plan allows me to buy unlimited service for a week for $10.00.

Tandem Tom

FB, How refreshing to hear you are "not connect"!! We also travel the same way. Doing prep work for our cross Canada tour and am using AAA paper maps.