BRAN Report: Day Six

You go on with yer bad self then!

Day 6 of BRAN. Nearing the end of a week chock full of experiences and memories already, I awoke inside the cozy confines of one of Pork Belly Adventures' bunk houses made from a converted semi tractor trailer. The day would be shorter, only 53 miles, and would end up on another high school lawn, just like where it all started in Valentine. 

It was one of those mornings where, despite getting a head start due to my not having to break camp, we still didn't get going very early. Part of this was due to where we stopped for breakfast in Wayne. 

Michael and Jayme had been hankering for a "real" coffee stop for a few days now and Wayne offered a great option or two, probably having to do with it being a college town. We made our way down Main Street to HIS Bakery, a nice shop with really great coffee products and breakfast items on their menu. On this day it would be a foursome: Matt, Michael, Jayme, and myself. 

Looking pretty yummy here!

It was a hot day with no clouds and little wind to speak of. 

This bakery had a menu item called a "Kickin' Chicken Burrito". Now, I had been all about burritos for breakfast all week. So, my choice was an obvious one. The other guys got pastries or just coffee. Man.... Gotta fuel up when you get the chance, is what I'm thinking here, so I wondered about their choices a bit. 

We were there a while and now I was sure we were - once again - the tail end of the BRAN riders. No big deal. Michael even remarked how he was starting to see how the laid back, take it easier approach was perhaps a better way to ride BRAN than the typical rush to get to the next town and sit around way many folks employed as a tactic for the tour. 

Discussing options for the route with John from Berry Fast Cycles. 

This here road ain't big nuff fer the both of us!

Once we left Wayne, Nebraska I was struck immediately by how firm and fast the gravel was South of town versus how loose and shifty it was coming into town the day before. I thought it would be very loose, like it was to the North, but not so. Weird. At any rate, it was far superior riding in terms of gravel quality. I was pleased. 

We met John Berry early into the day and he reported the gravel was a bit shiftier a few miles ahead. Jayme and Michael conferred with each other and decided we should take a minimum maintenance dirt road they were aware of over to the paved route and go the three or four paved miles into Pender instead of chancing us running into loose gravel again. But before this we had a ways to go....

A good sign

 

This MMR was a bit rutted, but great to ride on. 

We had good gravel for quite a while though and we found some nice lines to ride. A MMR which started in shade had me a bit sketched out for a moment as I couldn't see anything and it was steeply pitched downhill. But I came out okay.   

 

Michael smiling about our alternative choice in routing.

The alternative route to Pender up the MMR and down on a paved road worked great and we think we avoided some looser gravel, at least this is what John Berry led us to believe. What we did not avoid was closed local businesses to eat at. Plus, there was debate about timing. Some felt it was too early and we should go to Bancroft. we ended up at a Cubies Convenience store where I had a quick bite to eat. 

There were a few impressive buildings in Pender, which this being but one example.

 

My Cubbies 'Big Dog' wasn't so big afterall. It was okay though. 

Ten more miles to Bancroft and hopefully a rest stop. It was as hot as it was the day I sagged in now and I was dogging it. However; I had ridden myself into better shape than I was on Day Three so I was holding my own. This was a good sign I was riding well and I was hopeful I would retain some of this fitness once I got back to Iowa. 

An old bridge heading out of Pender. 

Note the washboard in the road.bed. 

Between Pender and Bancroft I was catching up to the group as they waited at the top of a hill at a point we were to make a right hand turn. I tried unclipping my left foot but the pedal would not disengage and I fell heavily on my left elbow, hip, and knee. I bloodied my elbow and we had to stop for for a while to clean me up. I took my bandana off and Michael tied it around my left elbow to keep any blood from trickling down my arm. 

A bit of a scare there, but no real harm done. I think my spring was binding due to all the dry grit and sand we had been riding through all week so far. At any rate, the pedal worked fine after this!  Wouldn't you know it?

Getting the side eye in Bancroft.

 Bancroft proved to be a bust as well, so.....another ten miles to Lyons! Of we went in the heat and we pushed ourselves to get to Lyons and see what we could drum up for a place to stop and eat at. It was kind of ironic that Lyons was only about 7 or 8 miles from our overnight town of Oakland, but seeing as how hot it was, riding another ten was better than riding 17 or 18 miles to a rest! 

When we arrived in Lyons we were in between lunch hours and dinner hours, so nothing was open.....again! We happened to be standing in front of a Mexican restaurant when a young man popped his head out of the door and invited us in to cool down. That is when we discovered the ice cream and sodas which revived us and sent us flying into Oakland a little less worse for the wear. 

Michael posing by the town sign on the North end of Oakland, Nebraska. 

The run in to Oakland was along a busy highway and was not real pleasant, but once we were in town, it was all good. The high school was set up well to welcome us in and I set up camp and showered before we set off to find some grub. A shuttle van took us to downtown Oakland to a bar and grill which was serving prime rib and baked potatoes. I think our late arrival prompted the man cutting the meat to give me a double portion. It was good. I did not complain. 

Nightfall came with a directive from BRAN to plan on getting out of Oakland and into Arlington by noon the next day. There was to be a "goodbye feast" and then everyone would go their own ways. 

Or so we thought when we went to sleep.