NUMB Tuesday

Sag stop north of North Platte.

NUMB Monday night

We make root beer floats if we can't buy them.

NUMB Monday evening

Honoring our veterans including Dave at Stapleton.

Roughing it on NUMB.

NUMB Monday afternoon

Relaxing in Stapleton's city park.

NUMB Monday

Where we ate lunch in Arnold today.

NUMB Sunday night

Spencer peeking out of the tent.

NUMB Sunday evening

Tent city at Brady.

NUMB Sunday afternoon

Our guys trying to find shade.

NUMB Sunday mile 68 of 78

SAG stop near Maxwell.

NUMB Sunday

Our group ready to ride.

Numb saturday meal

Riders enjoy a big, good and FREE meal in Ogallala.

Ogallala UMC donated $1000 to NUMB.

Numb saturday eve

Shirley and Steve arrive at 5:15 pm.

Numb saturday

Kerri and another rider approaching lake Mcconaghay.

Numb saturday

Ritter telling us about Saturday's ride .

Numb saturday

Made it to Arthur county line and back.

Nice weather in Ogallala.

Numb friday night

Gathering in Church basement during rain.

Numb friday night

Our sleeping quarters for tonight.

Numb friday night

Bikes are parked in Church basement.

Numb

Almost there at three pm.

Numb training ride

Riders taking a break at cortland.

Tour de Nebraska in full swing!

The 5-day Tour de Nebraska has now completed it's second day, and all is going well. They made the riders sleep in a gymnasium last night because of all the hail and storms rumbling through NE Nebraska. You can get a feel of this tour by stopping by the Nebraska Outdoor Addict's blog: http://www.nebraskaoutdooraddict.blogspot.com/ He has been posting photos and comments by mobile phone as he cycles through the Nebraska countryside. Hopefully, I will also be doing something similar during the NUMB Ride for Hunger which begins in almost 1 week!

Bikes in Church!

As the excitement from BRAN winds down, 8 of our cycling group are preparing for another multi-day ride, NUMB, scheduled for June 27 - July 1. "NUMB" stands for Nebraska United Methodist Bike Ride for Hunger and is currently going on it's 14th year. Participants gather pledges before the event, with a minimum of $100 required. These pledges go toward local, national and international hunger-related projects such as Heifer International and the Lincoln & Omaha Food Banks. A separate registration fee takes care of SAG support, supplies and other misc. items. The photo above shows Roger, Brad and Spencer participating in prayers offered by Pastor Larry Moffett at Lincoln's First United Methodist Church on Sunday, June 14. NUMB cyclists do not need to be Methodists. In fact, NUMB usually has a large contingent of Catholics and Lutherans every year. For more information, see http://www.numbride.org.

Video from Day 7 of BRAN

Here is a little video taken at the SAG stop just before Brad and Dave crossed the Lied Platte River Bridge on Day 7.

BRAN-29 Day 7 - the conclusion

The guys slept in Lincoln Friday night and left at 6:30am for Syracuse. The shoulders on Hwy 50 were horrible until they reached the Cass County line, then became much smoother.

Above is a photo of Brad and Dave in their cool BRAN29 jerseys. This was taken on the Lied Platte River Bridge at about the 25 mile point. All morning they fought a brisk NNE headwind, but after crossing the Platte and heading west along the river it wasn't too bad. However, the next 15 miles or so from mile 30 to 45 was all UPHILL! They finally turned east in Gretna and found some good shoulders and rolling hills again. The last few miles through Chalco Hills was great, following the lakeshore through the wooded areas in the park. Finally, they reached the end of the 50 mile route with all of the families cheering each rider as they came in.

BRAN-29 Day 6 completed but wet

Kerri sent me this interesting photo taken inside the Syracuse school building. Apparently cyclists can't read. The guys made it to Syracuse mostly dry. The rain storms were racing them all morning to see who could make it to Syracuse first. Although the riders stayed dry, the tents were another story. Brad's tent was wet from the previous day, and the rain coming down Friday afternoon wasn't helping. After eating in Syracuse, they all decided to make the 20 mile trek back to Lincoln in the Jeep and get a nice warm shower and a dry bed for the night. They would likely return to Syracuse for the final 50 miles Saturday morning. Stay tuned for the conclusion.

BRAN-29: Day 5 completed

I tried uploading this yesterday, and I lost my internet connection in the middle of the upload. Let's see if we can get this to work tonight.

One thing that our guys always want on BRAN is root beer floats. Brad took the initiative Wednesday evening at Wymore by asking the hosts if anyone had root beer floats in town. Well, guess what! They happened to have several 2 liter bottles of root beer and some ice cream handy! Way to go Brad!

Dave and Brad made it to Humboldt without incident on Thursday. However, the route to Syracuse was another story. Stay tuned.

Here are some good photos taken on BRAN by the Omaha World Herald staff: http://odc.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=5002&p=1369

BRAN-29: Day 4 Completed

The riders completed Day 4 of BRAN on Wednesday and are shown relaxing near the tents in Arbor State Park in Wymore, NE. Roger, Gayle, Amy, Spence and Sydney drove down from Lincoln to enjoy the BRAN activities and eat dinner with Brad, Dave and Kerri. The dinner at the American Legion Club was great!

BRAN Day 3: Dodging rain storms

Day 3 is completed! Dave and Brad said that they sat out some of the rain storms in a bar in Red Cloud. Out of 74 miles from Alma to Superior, about 70 of these were into the wind.

Bran-29 Day 2: Brad's amazing folding chair

Brad has had a few problems with folding chairs on BRAN. They don't seem to be built sturdy enough for a tired cyclist.

BRAN Day 2 completed

Brad just sent me a text message. He said that today's 63 mile ride from Cambridge to Alma was awesome, a complete opposite of Sunday. He averaged 17.2 mph. He and Dave are relaxing in the sun and drinking beers, and waiting on the root beer floats.

BRAN Day 1 completed

Brad called me a few minutes ago to say that he and Dave made it to Cambridge (55 miles). He said that they had wind in their faces all morning with 55 degree temps. At least last night they didn't have any storms, however they did have cowboys and rodeo-goers partying until 3am or so in Trenton.

Good luck tomorrow!

Weather forecast for BRAN-29

It looks like this year's BRAN (Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska) is starting out similar to last year, with stormy weather predicted for Saturday and Sunday. Let's hope the campers don't get awakened by air-horns on Saturday night like last last year!

Here is the updated weather forecast for the first few days compiled from various sources:

Sunday (Day 1):
Low 50F, High 79F, scattered thunderstorms, 20-30% chance rain, winds N at 19 mph

Monday (Day 2):
Low 50F, High 72F, partly cloudy, 20% chance rain, winds N at 15 mph

Tuesday (Day 3):
Low 56F, High 78F, showers, 20-30% chance rain, winds E at 10 mph

Wednesday (Day 4):
Low 56F, High 78F, showers, 30-40% chance rain, winds E at 10 mph

Good Luck guys!

Back on the bike again

I've gotten back on the bike again and it feels great. Most of the stress from the past few days seems to just dissolve when I am out cycling. I was out for a 10 mile out & back on the MoPac both Monday and today. Maybe I'll go a little farther out tomorrow. When I am by myself pedalling, I like the quiet solitude of the crushed rock trails, such as the MoPac, Murdock, Jamaica North and Homestead. The MoPac is my favorite, mostly because it is nearby. My favorite time is between 3pm and 6pm, however the car traffic on 84th St. gets pretty bad right around 5pm. When I am with a group of riders, low traffic paved roads are great, especially if they have good shoulders.

The job search is going slow. I've sent out about 6 applications so far, with one rejection. This is about what I expected. In my spare time at home (spare???), I am cleaning out the basement and putting a few items on Craig's List. Our daughter was home yesterday and today, and she has been a great help sorting out some of her old things to throw away, give away or sell.