We rode 17 miles on the MoPac Trail into Lincoln to get breakfast at Good Evans. Brooke took good care of us. I couldn’t even finish my delicious “breakfast pie” and I ended up skipping lunch.
Since I read that the Nebraska state capitol building is the second tallest in the US (only Louisiana’s is taller) at 400ft, we decided to ride the trail to it. Sunday morning made for light traffic on the city street portions. Johnny, a local, and his Chihuahua told us the statue at the top is the sower spreading seeds. Thanks Johnny! Another interesting fact is that Lincoln for a short time was named Lancaster but was changed after Lincoln was assassinated.
We continued northward to our destination of Branched Oak Lake and one of the eight campgrounds there. The sign at the entrance said it was full but we found the last of 8 tent sites was still available. We took several swims to stay cool while we watched all the boaters churn up the lake. One father had customized his pontoon boat with a water cannon and his drivers seat was a John Deere riding lawn mower. His flag proclaimed PonDeer – nothing rides like a deer (a spoof on “John Deere – Nothing rides like a Deere”.
Just before sunset, a photographer with NebraskaLand magazine, named Eric Fowler stopped by to hear our story and take photos of us and our campsite and the nearby flocks of birds. This could be our big break! ; )
I got a request to explain more about WarmShowers. It’s basically a website that matches up bicycle touring riders with people willing to host said riders for free. Lifetime Membership is $30 but the rest is “free”. Of course we offer a “tip” since they often provide dinner, laundry, and breakfast. More info in Wikipedia here
Summary: we rode 44 miles from MoPac trail near Elmwood to Branched Oak Lake campground on MoPac trail west, city streets in Lincoln, more MoPac trail to city streets to get to capitol and highway 34 and M55 to get to Branched Lake.
Beautiful place to camp!