Today was Day Zero of Tobey’s bike ride across Nebraska. I will tell you how it came to get its name later …
As we were having breakfast before taking off, our “resident deer” and her two babies came to say goodbye and wish us safe travels. I hope they don’t eat all of the lilac bushes before we get back!
On the road, we met up with our friends, Phil and Marcia, in Cheyenne as we made our way north to start the guy’s journey on The Cowboy Trail across Nebraska.
The Cowboy Trail is a rails to trails route in northern Nebraska. It occupies an abandoned Chicago and Northern Railway corridor. Because it isn’t completed, they will be riding part of the trip along Highway 20.
We stopped for lunch in Torrington, Wyoming then took Road 47 north to Van Tassel. According to Google maps, it was supposed to be faster than going through Lusk, Wyoming. Google isn’t always right. We were cruising along when we saw a sign saying the pavement ends … and it did! This washboard gravel road became our “express” route to Van Tassel.
This sign seemed a bit unnecessary, but we heeded its warning. 
Tobey cruised along between 10-15mph for over an hour!
Driving that slow did give us an opportunity to see several trains going by and this cool concrete block fence.
And sitting on the fence was one of the many hawks in the area.
Further down the road another one was perched on a power line.
We finally arrived at Van Tassel and were able to turn onto Highway 20 – paved!!! It was only a few miles down the road before we stopped and unloaded the bikes so the guys could begin their journey. Tobey is determined to ride from border to border since he said he was going to bicycle across Nebraska!
Marcia and I went ahead to Harrison to the city park which offers free camping spots (but there is a donation box which was utilized by both of us) for two RVs. Lucky for us, both were open! There are even hookups for electricity and water!
Shortly after parking the guys arrived having ridden 8.9 miles! When we talked to Tyler, he said this was Day Zero since less than 10 miles doesn’t really count!
We unloaded our bikes and the four of us rode through town and discovered they have a great museum. The docent took us through five of the buildings and told us all about the history of the area.
The displays were all so well done with most of the items donated by local families.
The post office building was moved from down the street to this location and now houses the historical post office, as well as a barber shop and general mercantile.
The school house was moved from twelve miles away to this location and is still used for events. The fourth and fifth graders will be having a history day at the school this Friday where their classes that day will be held. What fun!
The blue and white building was built in 1905 by the sheriff. It housed his family and the town’s switchboard when telephones came to the area. His wife and daughters were the operators.
In the last building were several more current displays including quilts from the 1930s.
We spent about 1-1/2 hours enjoying the Sioux County Historical Society museum. While we did leave a donation, the museum is FREE! What a great find.
Back to the RVs, we fixed dinner then played a rousing game of Sequence. Marcia and I beat the guys two games to one.
Tomorrow starts the “real” ride for the guys so we are off to bed.
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