We rode the Cowboy Trail over a four-day period, and here are some beautiful sights on the Nebraska prairie. This is the first two days. The ride began with an amazing bridge!!! We would recommend everyone stop off and check this fun bridge out if you drive across Nebraska!!!
Things Forgotten and Memories Made
The morning before our ride was set to begin, we woke up the morning, excited for our drive to Valentine, Nebraska. We had planned the ride in coordination with Christina’s Dad Jerome and his girlfriend Johana. This dynamic duo agreed to drive a support truck and make their own adventure that would coincide with ours every night. We drove first to Norfolk to drop off our truck and load the bikes and gear into Jerome’s. Now it’s not often you see the end of a trip before it begins, but that’s exactly what happened. All we had left to do was hit the road for the last three-hour drive from Norfolk to Valentine, where we would soon start our odyssey the next morning.
Upon arriving at camp, we started to unpack and set up. We soon realized that we had left our tent poles with the stakes in the back of my truck! This is a bit of a problem as we didn’t want to inconvenience Jerome and Johana by staying in the camper. The funny thing about this is that the same thing happened on this trip as on the Des Monies ride. Thankfully then we had brought a second tent. This time was a huge nope. So after exploring any jerry-rigging options, we ultimately decided to buy a new tent at the feed store across the street from our campsite. Christina and I hope this isn’t becoming a bike trip tradition! We love solving problems creatively when on the trail, but we really need to double-check our gear with our own checklist.
Setting Off
We awoke to a beautiful sunrise the first morning of our ride, and after delightful family breakfast, we were off! We were excited to finally be hitting the trail after years of talking about it! Reading about the scenic beauty of this trail first inspired us to bike tour back in 2016. As we rode the first mile, we just had to say good morning to some resident cows along the trail. We received a few annoyed moos in return.
Bridges!
Within the first mile and a half, you will cross the longest bridge on this trail. The Cowboy Trail boasts a mile-long trestle bridge that offers stunning views of the ravine below. Of course, Christina and I had to take advantage of being the only souls on the bridge and dance! We often dance together at times of sheer joy to be present together at the moment. There are over 250 bridges on the Cowboy, some tiny and others long with epic views.
Dust!
After enjoying the stunning view, and an impromptu bike trip prom dance, we road 20 miles, ready for a quick snack and water stop. At one point, I knelt to check our tires and found so much dust on our bikes that they looked tan. My trek is candy cane colored, and Christina’s is black. I brushed my finger across her brakes then flicked, producing a small cloud! The trail surface varies wildly in appearance and texture, often changing quickly. It would be best if you remained attuned to the conditions at all times. The red crushed rock is often loose and unpredictably deep, where the gray crushed lime is more packed.
Christina’s Epic Fall
After leaving the small park, we stopped for water; the trail conditions deteriorated rapidly. Christina was cruising along at 15 mph than was stopped suddenly by deep sand. It slowed her down enough for her to lose forward mobility, and she went down slowly. Her reaction was very matter of fact; she said, Oop, I’m down”. We actually laughed about it as we road away, making fun of ourselves with these skinny tires. They are not well-suited for this type of riding.
Snake or Stick?
Now, on a bike tour, you can never truly know what to expect! Really anything can happen to include encounters with various forms of wildlife. On this particular day, it was snakes. Many just come out to sun themselves on the trail, and you can’t always avoid them. Christina and I made a game out of it. From a distance, you can’t distinguish a stick from the similarly shaped slithery counterparts. So when we saw something lying across the trail, we would make a bet whether it was a stick or snake. Christina won this one with 28 snakes to 10 sticks.
Why is it called the Cowboy Trail?
The US has thousands of miles of former railway corridors converted to multipurpose trails. These are often named after the Rail Road designations the tracks once had. The Katy Trail is named after the MKT or Missouri, Kansas, Texas Line. Now I don’t remember how the Cowboy Trail is named, but our prevailing theory is that it is so named because it continuously tries to buck you off. It’s a great trail with stunning views but come on, Nebraska, figure out how to surface your trail!
On to Ainsworth
After riding roughly 46 miles on day one, we came up to a large park on Ainsworth’s outskirts. Originally we were planning to stay 8 miles further down the trail, but Jerome found no power hookups. So he decided to go back to Ainsworths park. He randomly chose to walk towards the trail right as we were passing by! By this point, we were ready for a margarita after a hot long ride! After our arrival we pitched camp, napped, and enjoyed a lovely family dinner prepared with love by Johana. We also found out that Jerome and Johana are quite the card sharks at 3 to 13.
Ainsworth to Atkinson
Dawn broke the morning of Day two as we rode away from camp, feeling refreshed and ready to tackle whatever the trail could throw at us. The sun was just over the horizon, framing the stark beauty. However, we had to take a detour due to a closed trail. The trail has a few closed sections due to past storms. Sections of the trail and a few bridges haven’t yet been replaced. This particular detour took us down a mile, and a half of gravel and dirt, then turned onto over two miles of sand! The benefit of a sandy road is that when you go down, it will be a soft landing. Thankfully after the detour, we blazed down the trail for a few miles on Katy-style packed limestone!
Morning Pit Stop in Bassett
While ridding into Bassett, we decided to check out their Mainstreet. This is a favorite part of bike touring for us. Middle America is dotted with many small towns. It really transports you back in time a few decades, well, at least it feels like it. This particular town featured a park where the side facade looked like an old west town immersing us into a cowboy adventure picnic.
The trail leaving Bassett was nice and mostly packed. The locals of some towns really take pride in their part of the trail and invest in its maintenance. We can’t thank these unsung heroes enough. It was a pleasure to ride through your town, and thank you for sharing it briefly with us.
Day of Frogs
As with day 1, this day would present its theme also. It was the day of frogs. There were so many tiny frogs we had to try and dodge them with the uneven trail surface. I can’t stress enough how free and truly alive you feel on a bike trip. It feels like you are moving fast with the time to be fully immersed in your environment; you truly experience every part of nature. It helps to slow down and really enjoy being alive. That’s why we do this. not just to dodge random frogs but to really experience our time on earth. If nothing else, we have wonderful memories together and can look back later and say we were there. Thanks, Nebraska!
Newport Pool Hall
The middle of the day neared, and we found ourselves ready for lunch. Thankfully we rolled up to Newport Pool hall. This fantastic place featured one pool table and was open for cyclists to fill up on water and snacks. This was the first time we had seen anything like this. The snacks were very reasonably priced, and there was no one tending the counter. It was completely on the horror system. Christina and I are sincere people, as are most bicycle tourists. We enjoyed a little air conditioning while taking in a little of the small town’s history. I wish I could say that our stay in Newport was longer, but we had to get moving. We did eat lunch there, staying a little longer than we should have, but what a treat. We will forever remember the Newport pool hall.
Camels in the Middle of Nebraska!?
Setting off from Newport was a little bittersweet, but we had to continue our adventure. A few miles outside of town, we were cruising along, and I heard Cristina shout, “Camels!!” I’ve said it before you never know what you are going to see on a bike trip. Camels in the middle of Nebraska was not even the last thing I expected to see that day. I’ve seen them before in zoos and rode them while deployed to Qatar but in Nebraska?! This trail is rough but offers so many surprises and can truly be called an adventure.
Ending Day Two
After the majestic Camels, we rode another fifteen miles for the day into Adkinson, making it a 48-mile day. We rode into camp excited for Margajitas and time with the family. Jerome and Johana had made it quiet and adventure of their own doing some shopping at small-town flea markets, with Johana being particularly proud of the leopard print jacket she had acquired. The sunset that evening was a mix of purples, pinks, and orange. This trail truly feels like the open range. That’s really why it’s called the Cowboy Trail. It congers visions of cattle drives and a quiet expanse of wilderness dotted with modern farms. We are so thankful to have found a passion for bike touring. There is no measure of how much we love it and each other. I couldn’t imagine an adventure like this with any other partner.