C
Cycle America
Guest
Faye Saunders offers this informative piece about Don Loomis's ride
thru Nebraska. And it sounds like, just like Skot Paschal on his ride
from Bose to Salt Lake City, Don is discovering a lot about the
Cornhusker state that most travelers in this area, never become aware
of:
========================================
7/14 8:00 pm
Feeling rather like a caged animal with mosquitoes as spectators, Don
called me from his campsite next to the highway in Hastings, Nebraska.
He has covered himself with DEET, has his tent tightly sealed and is
watching the mosquitoes swarming around outside trying to get in.
In Minden,, NE, he had the opportunity to tour the Harold Warp Pioneer
Village in the morning, and what an interesting place! Harold Warp,
the founder of the museum, came up with the idea of showcasing man's
progress over the last century and a half. He chose the year 1830 for
the beginning of each exhibit, corresponding to when man learned to roll
steel, draw wire and hold steam under pressure. In their exhibits are
most of the important scientific inventions used every day in homes,
transportation, communications and agriculture. As part of the
extensive transportation exhibit, Don visited the bicycle shop which
had, among other things, vintage bicycles like bone shakers (aka high
wheelers) and a modern Vision recumbent. Another exhibit contrasts
modern homes with old-time washing machines, refrigerators, and
bathtubs. There are even five complete period kitchens showing how our
ancestors cooked in a fireplace (1830), a wood-burning Franklin stove
(1860), an iron cook stove with an oven door on each side (1890) and a
stove that used natural gas (1930). He was also impressed by the
authentic pioneer sod house, consisting of eleven acres of prairie sod
which make up the three foot thick walls. Don highly recommends the
museum saying that it was a "neat place and not expensive".
Heading east on Hwy 6, Don rolled into Hastings where he stopped at the
AAA office to obtain maps of the eastern states so he can begin to plan
his ride beyond Chicago. He had lunch at a fast food restaurant,
something he has avoided as much as possible, where he ordered a hot dog
with a cappuccino oreo shake. On the way to Hastings, Don passed two
ethanol plants and a very large power plant.
Once he set up his camp along the side of the highway, Sheriff Heath,
stopped by to visit with him. Heath told Don that he was camped along
eight miles of bunkers where most of the ammunitions used in WWII were
manufactured. These bunkers consist of 80 buildings built underground
which are covered with dirt and separated from each other so that enemy
aircraft could not bomb all of them at once. Don was planning to
investigate the bunkers further as he rides along them tomorrow.
When I asked if he was feeling stronger now that he been on the road a
while, he said that he definitely was, but that may have been due to
the fact that he rode only half the day today. Or perhaps it is because
after crossing two mountain ranges, he is now riding over gently rolling
hills. He recollected the first day of his cross country bike tour when
he rode with me and Max and Martin and Barbara from San Jose to Palo
Alto, California, on a heavily overloaded and wobbly bike.
In addition to the mosquitoes hungrily looking in on him as we spoke, he
can see fireflies buzzing around outside his tent. Tomorrow he hopes to
stay at one of the few youth hostels in the midwest in Lincoln. He is
looking forward to hooking up with Robert Craddick for the ride into
Omaha.
"I'm having a ball" says Don.
thru Nebraska. And it sounds like, just like Skot Paschal on his ride
from Bose to Salt Lake City, Don is discovering a lot about the
Cornhusker state that most travelers in this area, never become aware
of:
========================================
7/14 8:00 pm
Feeling rather like a caged animal with mosquitoes as spectators, Don
called me from his campsite next to the highway in Hastings, Nebraska.
He has covered himself with DEET, has his tent tightly sealed and is
watching the mosquitoes swarming around outside trying to get in.
In Minden,, NE, he had the opportunity to tour the Harold Warp Pioneer
Village in the morning, and what an interesting place! Harold Warp,
the founder of the museum, came up with the idea of showcasing man's
progress over the last century and a half. He chose the year 1830 for
the beginning of each exhibit, corresponding to when man learned to roll
steel, draw wire and hold steam under pressure. In their exhibits are
most of the important scientific inventions used every day in homes,
transportation, communications and agriculture. As part of the
extensive transportation exhibit, Don visited the bicycle shop which
had, among other things, vintage bicycles like bone shakers (aka high
wheelers) and a modern Vision recumbent. Another exhibit contrasts
modern homes with old-time washing machines, refrigerators, and
bathtubs. There are even five complete period kitchens showing how our
ancestors cooked in a fireplace (1830), a wood-burning Franklin stove
(1860), an iron cook stove with an oven door on each side (1890) and a
stove that used natural gas (1930). He was also impressed by the
authentic pioneer sod house, consisting of eleven acres of prairie sod
which make up the three foot thick walls. Don highly recommends the
museum saying that it was a "neat place and not expensive".
Heading east on Hwy 6, Don rolled into Hastings where he stopped at the
AAA office to obtain maps of the eastern states so he can begin to plan
his ride beyond Chicago. He had lunch at a fast food restaurant,
something he has avoided as much as possible, where he ordered a hot dog
with a cappuccino oreo shake. On the way to Hastings, Don passed two
ethanol plants and a very large power plant.
Once he set up his camp along the side of the highway, Sheriff Heath,
stopped by to visit with him. Heath told Don that he was camped along
eight miles of bunkers where most of the ammunitions used in WWII were
manufactured. These bunkers consist of 80 buildings built underground
which are covered with dirt and separated from each other so that enemy
aircraft could not bomb all of them at once. Don was planning to
investigate the bunkers further as he rides along them tomorrow.
When I asked if he was feeling stronger now that he been on the road a
while, he said that he definitely was, but that may have been due to
the fact that he rode only half the day today. Or perhaps it is because
after crossing two mountain ranges, he is now riding over gently rolling
hills. He recollected the first day of his cross country bike tour when
he rode with me and Max and Martin and Barbara from San Jose to Palo
Alto, California, on a heavily overloaded and wobbly bike.
In addition to the mosquitoes hungrily looking in on him as we spoke, he
can see fireflies buzzing around outside his tent. Tomorrow he hopes to
stay at one of the few youth hostels in the midwest in Lincoln. He is
looking forward to hooking up with Robert Craddick for the ride into
Omaha.
"I'm having a ball" says Don.
