BRAN

I ended up pushing on from shawnee and heading to Lusk, Wy after leaving Douglas. My old boss was at a Cowboy Mounted Shooting event and I decided to hang out in the morning and watch the first couple rounds of the shoot. What CMSA is is a cowboy rides a horse through an obstacle of ten baloons with two six shooters loaded with five blanks each. They must go through the course a certain way and shoot as many balloons as fast as possible in a select order. The fastest time wins and there are men's and women's and six levels.

I then headed to Harrison, Ne, where the Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska started this year. I got there before my mom and friends, so I set up and got a brake problem checked out on my bike. It was recommended I try replacing the pads, so I took my bike back and was working on that when they arrived. While working on my bike I talked with quite a few people who had questions about my ride. There was only one option for dinner that night (and BRAN brings in about 1,000 people) so we decided to drive to Lusk and get something before the orientation.

Some riders in BRAN believe each day is a race to get in first, as well as the hour gained from the time change, so people were up and going around 4am. I started moving a couple hrs later and went and had breakfast at my grandpa's pop-up camper, then packed up and headed out. It is a different experience riding with 600+ riders. I get a lot of questions and a lot of comments. I rode this ride last year the whole way with part of my gear. I was able to talk with a few of the people I had met last year and update them on my trip.

We have now ridden three days, though I didn't yesterday because I was feeling sick and didn't want to push it. Last night we had to hang out in the high school at Hyannis until a tornado storm system moved past. Eventually we were able to go back outside and sleep. Many people just stayed inside for the night. One pop-up trailer got spun 90 degrees and cracked the windshield of their car, among other things.

The winds were strong from the front the last two days, but today it was a strong tail wind. I rode back with my mom and our friends the first day, but today I went and rode at my own pace to meet other people and just enjoy the riding. I rode 65 miles in 3 1/2 hrs.

My mom's old college roommate lives in the town we are at tonight, so we are hanging at her place for a bit to recharge electronics, wash clothes, and shower. Now it's time to go take a shower.