BRAN Report: Day One

Pork Belly Adventures hauled our gear all week long

Well! That was a week and no doubt about it, one I won't be forgetting. The BRAN 44 ride is over, and I'm back at the wheel here in Guitar Ted Headquarters. This entire week I will be sharing more - mostly images - of the week long trip. There will be a little overlap with my journaling from last week in my "Notes From The Tent" series. I hope you will forgive this bit of double-story telling when it happens. 

I took notes almost everyday but for the last two, so I have hopefully not forgotten much. And yes.....there are things I won't be sharing. Either these were "you had to be there" things, they were personal matters, or confidential conversations. This will be mostly focused on BRAN, why you should consider it, and Nebraska as a gravel rider's destination spot for some fantastic riding. 

Any related "Notes From The Tent" will be linked for reference. 

Okay! That's enough of the introductory stuff. Let's dive into this trip. Four and a half hours on my own to get to Arlington, Nebraska. Then it was five and a half hours by tour bus to get to Valentine, Nebraska. And I wasn't even as far West in Nebraska as I could go! Not by a long shot. The two-day trip was fine, really. I did not get very good sleep in my Toyota 4Runner in Arlington, but at least I did not have to unpack, set up camp, and pack up again the next day. 

The busses stopped in O'Neal, Nebraska so we could eat and stretch our legs. 

Someone commented last week about my reference to how it seemed several riders on the bus and with BRAN 44, (not the staff though!) had "grossly misunderstood gravel" and the commenter wanted me to expand on this thought. So, here we go....

First of all, we all have some entrenched opinions and cycling is no different. Most BRAN riders are roadies. The desire to ride gravel roads does not compute with them in the first place. There is some agreement on the traffic issue and how gravel has less of this. However; from that point on it becomes something of a novelty subject for these folks. 

Worse yet, some spout off "knowledge" on gravel which is way, way off from reality. I'm not sure where this comes from, but this is mostly what I was referring to when I said gravel was grossly misunderstood. The bicycles, tubeless tires, the events, and how one even rides gravel were all topics I heard being discussed which had people putting forth such nonsense as truth it was amazing. I was not there to educate the masses, but my goodness! Cycling media is not coming through to these people with good information at all. Where these folks get information is anyone's guess, but wherever the source is, or from whomever it is coming from, is way outta whack. 

Nuff said.....

The tent is unfurled in Valentine, Nebraska

So, this is a camping trip, yes.....but with benefits. Pork Belly Adventures is contracted by BRAN to assist the riders in carrying their gear from town to town. But there is more they offer at BRAN. They have a recharging station which is critical for any modern day citizen, not to mention any cyclist. Your devices can get that needed recharge daily. Not only that, but e-Bikers also can recharge batteries at the recharging trailer as well. 

Probably the swankiest option Pork Belly offers are their "mobile hotel rooms". I'd liken these to bunk houses. But they have A/C, electrical power, and privacy. If you opt for these bunk houses you don't have to pack up or unpack your gear daily or set up a tent. Nice!

Pork Belly also has daily morning coffee for free, and a tent rental option if you do not have your own tent. 

Our first host town was Valentine, Nebraska, right in the Sand Hills area of Nebraska. It is a pretty cool little city. One thing I noted was the high schools we saw were all new-ish, spotless, and very nice inside with water bottle stations, modern HVAC systems, and super nice auditoriums and gymnasiums. Obviously Nebraska puts resources into their schools!  

Michael plotting on how he will obtain his next cookie. 

The BRAN staff couldn't have been kinder or more helpful to me. I stated when I was writing up my final post before this trip that I was "going alone". Well, that being alone did not last very long as BRAN staffers Jayme Frye and Michael Kolakowski took me under their wing and adopted me as a part of the gravel riders of BRAN without hesitation. But it wasn't just me. They treated every rider this way, and to be honest, this was most impressive. BRAN is a very welcoming ride, and despite its current make-up of mostly white, older folks, I feel it would be a very good ride for anyone, no matter their gender or race. The staff of BRAN would go out of their way to make anybody feel welcomed, and I know this for fact. 

There was a pre-ride meeting in the Valentine high school auditorium which was great for information about the week and what to expect. Plus they held a sponsor raffle and gave away some nice prizing. The atmosphere was relaxed and fun. Now I was really excited to get out there and ride. 

Then it was off to bed and an early rise. I think I was ready earlier on the first day than any subsequent day of BRAN. It wasn't that I didn't try to get ready quickly, but for whatever reason, the first day was the PR for getting camp broken down and packed away.  

Riders gathered at the First Baptist Church of Valentine for breakfast burritos. 

 I tanked up with a great breakfast burrito at a local church, the same place we had eaten the evening before, and then we were off. The pavement was smooth but we were not on it long before we dove off to the right into the Niobrara Grasslands and the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge. We were warned about bison the day before, but they seemed to be elsewhere in the refuge as we did not come across any on our ride. Bummer! 

We did come across some spectacular scenery though, and one major climb that had me walking the top third of its ascent out of the Niobrara River Valley. It was brutal! 

Michael leading us out of town on Highway 12, The Outlaw Trail. 

Not bad for a view, eh? We were just getting started. 

It was in the first section of gravel where I first met Carl. He is an 18 year old from Pierce, Nebraska, and on his second BRAN. He came out with his elder sister to ride for the week. Carl is a Type 1 diabetic, and he had to be super-disciplined to keep tabs on his blood sugar levels, but he never let any of that get in his way of having fun and an adventure. This young man has grit too. He was riding a Trek hybrid bike, again showing the world that any bike you like could be a "gravel bike". Maybe more cycling companies should take notice of this...... 

A cattle guard shows us we were about to enter the wildlife refuge. No bison sighted on this day however. 

 

But the views made up for it, I thought. 

The road we were on showed many signs of bicycle travel which got Jayme and Michael excited. They were hoping to see more gravel riders than they had in the past. The story was this "gravel" part of BRAN was borne out of BRAN staffer's desire to ride more adventurous terrain and see different things.. Last year BRAN opened things up to anyone on BRAN to try, but there was no support. This year they were able to acquire the services of John Berry of Berry Fast Cycles out of Madison, South Dakota. So we had sag support all week long, and we were very well taken care of, by the way. 

We spotted this little water fall from a bridge over the Niobrara River. 

A shot looking back down the climb out of the Niobrara River Valley. I'm about 2/3rds of the way up here. 

You know, we just do not have steep, long climbs around here. I'm not sure I could have prepared myself for this particular climb anyway, so I shouldn't be so hard on myself. But yeah..... That was a brutal ascent. I'm thinking it was Jayme who said he saw 16% on his GPS for incline. I just know this climb was steep and went on a long ways. 

I was not too proud to walk some of the top of this climb either. It was one of maybe two times I wished my gearing was lower, although on Day 1, I have to wonder if it would have mattered anyway. By the time I did manage to reach a spot to remount and ride, Michael and Jayme were long gone. It was fine.. I figured on seeing them later on in the day, perhaps. 

The Sand Hills region is made up of grass-stabilized sand dunes. 

 One thing I did see manifested in front of me as I walked up that big climb was an example of a grass-stabilized sand dune. The Sand Hills are known for this top layer of grass and detritus which holds the sand underneath it in place and prevents the dunes from moving with the prevailing winds too much. There is movement though! I witnessed sand being driven down a gravel road like snow in Winter across Iowa's roads. 

Sparks, Nebraska. Basically this building is all that's left and it is an outfitter for river floats. 

 Eventually there was to be a spot to get water and a bit of food at a place called "Sparks", which I had zero knowledge of other than it was "out there". I either read my GPS incorrectly or was directed Left instead of Right but after a quarter mile of seeing nothing I turned around and then found Sparks immediately where I had turned Left. I should have turned Right!

I resupplied, got a bathroom break in, and cooled down in the A/C. When I left, the Wahoo kept directing me in circles around the Sparks parking lot and street area. It was weird! I was knowledgeable enough to know Highway 12 East would get me to Springview, but other than this, I was clueless. I just decided to bail and take the pavement into the next overnight town.  

BRAN Barns For Jason

Then about two miles down the road the GPS squawked and wanted me to take a gravel road South. I knew the second gravel loop went South of 12, so I hesitantly took a chance. See, the wind had come in strong from the South and I would have a heavy headwind taking this turn, but I did it anyway. Two miles down the road I was prompted to turn right again, and the next cue after this was another right to......Sparks!?

Nope! Not buying that. I decided the Wahoo was a liar and I was going back to hop on to Highway 12 which I knew was a route. So much for that GPS nonsense! And I chewed on that as I sailed back Northward. (Later I learned from commenters on this blog it was due to the Auto Rerouting Feature and that I should turn it off, which I did. Thanks!)

Where I turned back after making a wrong turn to Sparks.

Lots of empty spaces out here near Springview, Nebraska.

I eventually latched onto three recumbent riders and used them to pace me most of the way back into Springview. There was an aid station stop, which was greatly appreciated. Then a few miles out of Springview there was a bunch of citizens trying to raise money to put up a sign at a local rural cemetery. They had some tasty, cold watermelon to eat plus some other goodies. 

The route for the day was 57.3 miles for gravel or 48 miles if you stuck to pavement. I figure I had something in between with my extra "bonus miles" and half the gravel section. 

So, if you aren't glamping with Pork Belly Adventures, you get to schlep your own gear after a hard day's ride! Yay!. (I think) I carried my heavy duffel bag and messenger bag to a good spot on Springview High School's grass and set up my abode for the evening. Then it was shower time at Pork Belly Adventures' Shower Truck, which anyone on BRAN can use. Once cleaned up I headed out to a fine spaghetti dinner at the local firehouse.  

'Merica

 And then it was time to SLEEP. In a tent with ambient temperatures hovering in the 70's. Nice.... 

More coming tomorrow on Day Two of Bran.