No, not cereal, it’s a ride close to 500 miles across the back roads of Nebraska, organized by the Norwest Omaha Rotary club and the Omaha Pedalers bicycle club as a fundraising opportunity to help others, primarily scholarships for high school students. This year is BRAN’s 30th anniversary and they are going with the space theme, given it is 2010. They are calling it the Space Cowboy Tour. Costumes optional. 😉
This year BRAN will start in Harrison with the following route (approximate mileage to each city in parentheses):
Alliance – Home of Carhenge (84 miles)
Hyannis (59 miles)
Thedford (63 miles)
Burwell (85 miles)
Albion (64 miles)
David City (74 miles)
Strategic Air and Space Museum near Ashland (56 miles)
Support vehicles will haul our gear and bikes from the Space Museum on June 5th to Harrison. We then reassemble our bikes, set up our tents, enjoy the local fine food, attend a required meeting and head to bed ready for an early start in the morning. Support vehicles haul our gear from town to town. SAG vehicles will provide water, fruit and Band-Aids along the route.
Each host community has worked with BRAN to provide camping areas either at the high schools or in city parks. Various organizations in towns, such as churches and schools provide meals as a fundraising opportunity.
Registered riders receive a very nicely prepared booklet with information about the towns, historical items of interest, where food will be served, rout maps and even elevation maps (Nebraska is Not Flat!).
Be sure to read my daily blog entries on the trip for details about the unique things I find along the route and my experiences. It should be a very interesting ride for this newbie!