I’m naturally curious and one of the reasons I decided on a newspaper career was the opportunities the work provided to feed my curiosity. Over the years I have been privileged to get a close up view of many things.
For example, once when the natural gas pipeline company serving Superior was replacing a section of the line, the foreman invited me to observe the procedure.
In preparation he provided me with the procedure manual that described the work to be done. I read the manual and reported to the job site at the designated time.
When I arrived , I was asked if I had read the manual. After responding positively, I was given a fire extinguisher, told to stand in a specific spot and use the extinguisher if the procedure didn’t go as planned.
I’ve wondered ever since it the foreman wanted a story or if he was short a member of the safety crew and sneakily persuaded me to be a substitute.
This week I regret I can not accept an invitation from the Rails to Trails Conservancy. Though I have been a regular bicycle rider since my college days, I don’t think I have ever been in shape to accept the Rails to Trails invitation but I’m not going to admit that fact to those who invited me. Instead, I said I had to be in Superior to print that week’s newspapers and our subscribers were never forgive me for skipping a week to go bicycle riding.
With a goal of showcasing the transformative power of the cross-country Great American Rail-Trail In Nebraska members of the media will have an opportunity later this year to experience firsthand the economic and tourism benefits of a statewide trail system with a bicycle ride from September 23 to 27.
The Great American Rail-Trail is a signature RTC project and will be the nation’s first multiuse trail across the country, creating an entirely walkable and bikeable route that is separate from vehicle traffic across 3,700 miles between Washington, D.C., and Washington State. The trail will serve 50 million people within 50 miles of the route, and countless more who travel to it from across the country and around the world.
Nebraska’s portion of the Great American Rail-Trail is built on the legacy of the Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail—a rustic experience through the west and one of the longest rail-trails in the country. It provides an example of the trail’s potential to create economic opportunity and safe walking and biking routes that link rural, suburban and urban communities. In Nebraska, the trail is expected to generate $1.3 million in new tax revenue and more than $14.5 million in visitor spending annually, adding 170 new jobs and $6.1 million in labor income to the state.
I have been invited to join a 100-mile VIP bike tour departing from Lincoln on Monday, Sept. 23, and ending on Friday, Sept. 27.
The tour will kick off with lunch at the Bike Walk Nebraska Summit, where participants will meet with leaders working to connect trails across the state.
Participants will travel along the MoPac Trail through the Platte River Valley, with special stops hosted by the organizers of the famous MoPac Trail Pie Ride. There will be an opportunity for both photos and pie.
Overnight lodging will be available at the Glamping Barn.
On Sept. 25 participants are to travel nearly 30 miles after departing from the Eugene T. Mahoney State Park and enter the Greater Omaha area, riding over the Lied Platte River Bridge along the river for the first few miles of the trip.
Once entering Omaha, participants can explore the incredible Gene Leahy Walking Mall at the Missouri River and the Lewis and Clark National Park Service Headquarters, cross state lines into Iowa and the Missouri River over the 3,000-foot-long Bob Kerrey Bridge heading into Council Bluffs, Iowa.
On September 26 and 27, participants will ride nearly 36 miles between Neligh and Norfolk with an opportunity to travel west on the final days of the tour to explore the Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail. In Neligh, participants will pay respects to the White Buffalo Girl, the Ponca child lost as the tribe was forced to leave their homeland in the late 19th century.
Promotion literature describes the Great American as the nation’s first cross-country multiuse trail—a route that is entirely bikeable and separated from vehicle traffic. If I was in shape and had the time, I think it would be fun to ride the entire 3,700 miles.
But when I think about long distance bicycle rides I remember Tom Joy talking about riding a bicycle from Nelson to Blauvelt’s Hill to purchase firecrackers. The trip down wasn’t so bad but on the return he and his friens stopped at the Superior swimming pool for two or three hours. On the return to Nelson they counted on a passing motorist giving them a lift.
Their plan regularly worked but there are no passing motorists to rescue spent bicycle riders on the Great American Rail-Trail.
As a reporter, I’ve had the opportunity to interview many travelers, including a guy who was riding a tricycle from Canada to Mexico, another was riding a unicycle across country. Some have been flying airplanes or driving motor vehicles. There have been hikers walking the Oregon Trail. One fella was riding a bull and there have been many horseback riders. I was never tempted to join the bicycle riders but I wanted to join up with some of the horseback riders. I can’t say the same for the Great American Horse Race that passed through here about 40 years ago. After seeing the condition of the animals, I wanted to cry.
I don’t think I’m the man my grandfather was. When he maintained a barber shop in Webber, he regularly rode a bicycle between his home in Hardy and the shop in Webber.
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