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Home , Cowboy Trail, Sandhills (Nebraska), Smith Falls

STORY AND PHOTOS BY CHUCK HANEY s a longtime professional favorite states, . This wouldn’t photographer, I’m often asked be my first rodeo in the Cornhusker A what is my favorite environment State — I had previously documented, to shoot. Majestic mountains, giant in this fine publication, perhaps the forests, unspoiled coastlines? To the only bike/barbershop in existence surprise of many, my response is: the while sampling the singletrack . I’ve always been attracted around Chadron 20 years ago (“The to the vast skies, the sudden and Nebraska Outback,” Sept./Oct. 2000). dramatic storms, and the abundant A couple of years later, I embarked on wildlife and birds. But most of all, I a mountain bike tour of the remote love the sense of buoyancy I feel while badlands of the exploring the immense . pulling a BOB trailer. I saved my It came as no surprise when new road riding escapade for one of hatching my latest bicycling adventure the more unique places to roam on that I chose to return to one of my the Great Plains, a region of grass-

26 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2020 stabilized sand in north-central I needed for both cruising the plethora the region of Nebraska that I would Nebraska that was designated a National of local gravel roads and handling the visit. I felt that I could safely pull off a Natural Landmark in 1984. loads of pannier-laden touring. I told spartan trip. Riding a solo self-supported While planning this bike tour during Chris of my Nebraska trip in June, bicycle trip in a really remote region the winter months, I realized that I and when it came time for a paint, I sounded like the perfect recipe for both would have to retire my antiquated selected the school colors from one adventure and community safety. Social Bruce Gordon touring bike that I of my favorite college football teams distancing in the Nebraska can had purchased in 1988 for a lengthy growing up, the University of Nebraska. be measured by the mile. tour of the Northern Tier Route. I My new bike suddenly had its own I began my trip with an exploration needed a modern touring steed, one moniker, Cornhusker Red. in the small town of Valentine. This that I could retrofit my sturdy and As the tumultuous spring of 2020 town owes its charm to a multitude lightweight Bruce Gordon racks and transpired, I was concerned that my of heart-emblazoned red street signs. custom Bob Beckman hand-stitched scheduled bike tour might have to be Taking advantage of its name, each year panniers to. Lucky for me, I have a good canceled like so many other events due around 5,000 romantics from all over friend in my hometown of Whitefish, to the spread of COVID-19. By the time the country send their Valentine’s Day Montana, who builds custom bikes. June rolled around, however, I was letters to the Valentine post office in Chris Boedeker, of the one-man Boedie more confident due to the extremely order to have them stamped with that Cycles, was eager to build the exact bike low occurrence in both Montana and year’s Valentine postmark. There’s also

Bison herd at sunrise at Fort Niobrara in Valentine.

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 27 When completed, the Cowboy will be the country’s longest .

affection for the nearby Niobrara, a designated National Scenic River. The 76-mile scenic section is extremely popular with canoeists and floaters. Gaining traction are the number of cyclists coming to ride the , a rail trail that follows the old Chicago and Northwestern rail line and whose western terminus lies in the city park right along Valentine’s Main Street. The historic rail line spans 321 miles from Norfolk in the east to Chadron in the west. Currently, there are 195 continuous miles with a crushed limestone or granite surface suitable for riding from Norfolk to Valentine while loosely adjoining highways 275 and 20. Farther west of Valentine, there are several shorter sections that have been converted, but you can’t ride all the way to Chadron yet. When completed, the Cowboy Trail will be the country’s longest rail trail. Instead of just touring on the Cowboy Trail, I was more interested in doing a loop where I could check out the countryside north of one of my favorite rivers, the Niobrara. I headed out of town on Highway 12 in the early morning, paralleling the gently flowing river. I was soon reintroduced to the masochistic joy of lugging my fully loaded bike up the steep wooded incline out of Minnechaduza Canyon and chugging onto the outback of America, the rolling expanse of my beloved Great Plains.

From top: Long Pine Creek gorge in Long Pine.

Riding the Trestle on the Cowboy Trail in Valentine.

The author’s gravel bike, Cornhusker Red, at the trailhead of the Cowboy Trail.

28 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2020 I proceeded east on Highway 12, which is known as the Outlaw NUTS & BOLTS Trail Scenic Byway. This lonely road stretches for 231 miles east all the way to the Iowa border in Sioux City. I was nebraska sandhills impressed by the friendly waves from the few passing cars and trucks, whose WHEN TO GO PRECAUTIONS cabs mostly contained the silhouetted Visit anytime from spring through fall, Tubeless tires or tubes filled with outlines of cowboy hats. Nebraska is but be cautious of extreme weather. It liquid sealant are a must to avoid flat nicknamed the Cornhusker State, but can easily reach triple digits in summer tires. Some parts of the Cowboy Trail, in the Sandhills there are far more heat, and violent thunderstorms can especially in the eastern sections, cattle ranches and open than rip through, sometimes producing hail, were impacted by severe floods in cornfields. I’m not sure this highway lightning, and even tornadoes. A weather 2019 so there are a few short detours had seen many cyclists before as I app on your phone would be a good on the adjacent highway. As of the was even getting stare-downs from idea. The trail and roads are generally summer of 2020, the western section inquisitive cows taking a break from hardpacked except for the odd stretch had been completed from Gordon to their constant foraging. where sand has taken over. Early or late Rushville with another section due for I could see where the Outlaw Trail in the day are generally better for riding construction to Hay Springs and then got its moniker as the steep bluffs as the winds seem to be less extreme Chadron in the near future, opening up and deep, forested canyons of the and the heat less sapping. another 45 miles of trail. Although I did Niobrara River valley would have been not see any, there are rattlesnakes in choice hiding places in the late 1800s BIKE SHOPS the region. for notorious horse thieves like Doc There are no bike shops in the direct Middleton and his “Pony Boys.” Even vicinity, but the closest shops are RESOURCES famous bank robbers such as Jesse Sonny’s in Scottsbluff (sonnysbikeshop. Valentine: visitvalentine.org James were rumored to have holed up com) or shops in Rapid City, South Nebraska Tourism: visitnebraska.com in this region. Dakota. Both cities are a 3.5-hour drive The Cowboy Trail: bikecowboytrail.com One hidden gem, just a short detour from Valentine. In other words, be A good website with an interactive map south of Highway 12, contains the prepared for your own maintenance. and forum: outdoornebraska.gov/ highest waterfall in Nebraska. Smith It’s too bad that Mountain Mania in cowboytrail Falls is Nebraska’s newest state park. A Chadron, which was Herb Peterson’s Boedie Cycles: facebook.com/ short footbridge and nature trail lead incomparable combo bike/barbershop, is boediecycles to a viewing platform where you can no longer in business. watch the water gently descend over a 63-foot cliff. The park is also a popular stop for folks canoeing the Niobrara River. Tent camping, showers, and a picnic area are available at the site. Although it was a tempting camp spot, I had more miles to cover as I intended to reach Cub Creek Recreation Area NEBRASKA O UTL AW TRAIL ROBERTSON JAMIE near the small town of Springview, a SC EN ride of about 50 miles. State Park I C BY After pedaling most of the morning WAY Cub Creek VALENTINE Cowboy into a stiff headwind with increasing N Rec. Area SPRINGVIEW Trail Bridge I O B temperatures, I was glad to see the R A N R A small lake at Cub Creek. The rural E park contained several sheltered picnic B R Meadville A Ghost Town R I S K V E R A O sites that were large enough to pitch a S A L tent under, first to escape the heat and N D D C H second for a barrier from incoming O I L H W L W B S

O Y

thunderstorms that were building on Y

T 7 BASSETT the western horizon. I set up my camp RA COWBOY S. DAKOTA IL while noting many species of songbirds, TRAIL VALENTINE CHADRON NORFOLK AINSWORTH dragonflies, and, unfortunately, ticks. IOWA Long Pine LONG PINE NEBRASKA NEBRASKA M There were no other humans at the SANDHILLS I Creek Bridge SS KANSAS O lake with only the occasional semitruck COLORADO URI passing by on the nearby highway. I was 0 5 10 15 mi 0 10 20 30 km

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 29 Amazing sunrise clouds over a small lake at Cub Creek Recreation Area near Springview. settled in my tent reading a paperback seen in quite some time. I set a record valley, where the open plains were book and escaping the annoyance of the time exiting my tent and scrambled replaced by hilly ravines chock-full of ticks when the first strikes of lightning shoeless through the wet grass to a ponderosa pine and deciduous trees. I began to flash and the roll of thunder small hill. There I watched the sun’s reached the ghost town of Meadville, echoed across the landscape. I was rays light up the clouds to a fiery red where a historic general store and post really glad to have the awning over my while the fog lifted from the lake. My office were located. I stopped to admire tent as the rain began to descend. fears about lack of food were a distant the structures and remove the rain After napping in my tent, I prepared thought as I was truly inspired by what covers from my panniers. I could not to boil water for the freeze-dried Mother Nature allowed me to witness. quite ascertain whether the general dinners I had packed in my panniers. The photographer in me was very store was still operational, though I The only water at the site came from happy! Now the cyclist in me prepared did hear later that they do still open an antique hand pump that, much to for the day. I found several energy bars occasionally as the nearby river crossing my dismay, produced a bunch of black and some dried fruit in my panniers is a popular take-out for canoers. “floaties.” Things did not improve when and loaded the bike up as I waited out I crossed the Niobrara at a wide I discovered that my unopened cans a passing thunderstorm before hitting and handsome spot with rolling green of fuel had largely evaporated in the the road at 7:00 am. Heading east on hills and rigid bluffs contrasting with year since I’d purchased them for a Highway 12, I was grateful for the calm the brown sandbars littered across the backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon. conditions and solitude as I soaked expanse. A steep climb out of the river I was only able to muster one boil out up the beauty of my surroundings valley reduced me to my lowest gear as of two supposedly full cans of fuel! A greened up by the spring rains. I chugged up the broken pavement and valuable lesson to learn, for sure, but I had studied the maps the night back up into the open Sandhills again. not much solace when the nearest store before and decided to make a dash for The road was called Old Highway 7, so could be several hundred miles away. the next sizable town with a grocery I had assumed it would be paved, but I devoured my 800-calorie bag of mac store, Ainsworth, as finding my next instead it was hilly gravel with numerous and cheese wondering how to cope meal was important in such a remote soft sandy sections, which made the ride with a calorie deficit for tomorrow’s setting. I turned off the pavement south toward the town of Ainsworth a impending ride. onto the smooth gravel of Meadville bit of a slog. I had ridden no more than I awoke at dawn on Day Two to Road. There was zero traffic as I began 30 miles when reaching the outskirts one of the most amazing sunrises I’d descending into the Niobrara River of town, and I was definitely close to

30 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2020 bonking with my lack of food intake. My first stop was the local grocery store where I promptly inhaled a couple of Pop-Tarts outside the front door to revive my energy levels. It was around noon when I settled into the Ainsworth City Park under a large cottonwood tree. One noticeable downside to bicycle touring during a pandemic is the closure of numerous facilities, including public bathrooms and local restaurants. Like many small towns all across the region, it was sad to see so many of the shops on Main Street boarded up or going out of business. I was left with the impression that Middle America is withering on the vine. I guess in the future we’ll succumb to long drives to the next Walmart. I spent the evening visiting with YOUR CHEEKS MAY locals, reading a novel, The Big Sky by noted Montana author A. B. Guthrie, HURT FROM SMILING. and watching the local youth baseball (But not your wrists, back or saddle area.) team practice under threatening skies. As the city siren blared, a pair of elderly Map out your next tour knowing you will enjoy ladies drove by my campsite and let me every mile. Even on day five. Or on day fifty. know that if a tornado landed, I could No more wrist shaking, neck pain or chamois quickly run over to their basement for cream. Learn more at cruzbike.com/adventure shelter. It was a touching moment from strangers in these turbulent times. Starting Day Three with a revamped itinerary due to my fuel canister blunder, I planned to tour on the Cowboy Trail, ensuring there would be a small town every hour or so in which to acquire necessary food. I would ride from Ainsworth east to Bassett and back, enabling me to leave my burdensome panniers behind for the day. I embarked on the eight- foot-wide corridor of the old Chicago and Northwestern Railway that was originally built in the 1870s to haul gold out of the . The line was abandoned in 1992 before being converted to the rail trail in 2009. Following old mile markers still in place from the railroad’s heyday, I soon reached the impressive trestle spanning Long Pine Creek Canyon at 595 feet long and 145 feet above the creek. It’s just one of the 221 bridges along the length of the trail that help break up the monotony of long straightaways in open country. After a detour on the east side of the small town of Long Pine, it took about an hour to arrive in the town

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 31 Smith Falls State Park in Cherry County.

32 ADVENTURE CYCLIST oc tober /nov ember 2020 of Bassett. I reached the rustic Main my friends on the Maah Daah Hey six-foot smooth shoulder on the lightly Street just as another thunderstorm Trail in North Dakota (“Maturing of the trafficked Highway 20 for stretches rolled in. I knew from previous visits Maah Daah Hey,” Dec./Jan. 2019). I had before saddling back on the Cowboy. that one of my favorite breakfast also heard from a group of Iowa riders a Here in the heart of the Sandhills, haunts was at the Bassett Lodge and day ahead of me that the stretch of trail between Ainsworth and Valentine, the Range Café. The large cattle drive just west of Ainsworth was littered with landscape is more pronounced, accented photo over the counter gives a real Texas sandbur seeds that are notorious by old-fashioned windmills that draw historic flavor to the diner where fluffy for causing flat tires. The lowa group water from the vast . pancakes refueled me for the ride back was riding with standard 700c x 38mm Numerous shallow lakes and wetlands to Ainsworth. I chatted with friendly tubed tires and had numerous flats. dot the area as fresh ancient water seeps locals while waiting for the rain to Fortunately, I had experience riding in up from the aquifer, making the area subside. The historic lodge has been the Great Plains and had tubeless 700c critical for migrating birds. around since 1951. The lobby is like x 42mm tires and had no flats. One After several hours, the winds a time capsule of the era capturing a thing that was not stellar on this leg indeed began to pick up, but luckily in real retro feel and taking you back a of the trail was the excessive amount my favor, as I quickly approached the simpler time when cattle buyers from of pinkish crushed granite that had grandest sight on the Cowboy Trail, across the country were drawn to the been laid down on the surface. The the quarter-mile-long, 148-foot-high town’s sale barn. riding was loose compared to the white trestle spanning the Niobrara River On the last morning of my Sandhills limestone surface farther east on the just west of Valentine. It was a fitting journey, I set out for the nearly 50 miles trail. In addition, there were hoof tracks way to end another enjoyable two- back to Valentine to complete my loop. from horseback riders making for a wheeled journey in the Great Plains. I was out on the trail for the 6:00 am bumpy riding experience. It was no What unique cycling adventures sunrise wanting to beat the forecasted wonder that I kept seeing “No Cattle” will Nebraska serve up next time? 98°F coupled with 30 mph winds. The signs on signposts. I can safely say from Cornhusker Red awaits. hot day gave me flashbacks to exactly many years of riding in the Dakotas one year earlier when I suffered, and and Nebraska that hooves on trails Chuck Haney is an avid cyclist and photographer who could have perished, from a bout of are never a plus for bicyclists. I found lives in Whitefish, Montana. You can learn more about heat stroke while mountain biking with myself wandering over to the adjacent him at chuckhaney.com.

adventure

AN OPEN AIR ADVENTURE Serious cyclists and casual cruisers share the Natchez Trace Parkway and the multiuse trails in Ridgeland...some even lead you to cafes with outdoor seating and retail shops. Cycling events abound, adding to our undeniable vitality, energy and hospitality. Enjoy the ride…We’re ready when you are! For more information about visiting Mississippi, explore visitmississippi.org, #VisitMSResponsibly. Spooky ‘Cross Cyclocross: 10/30/2020 - 11/1/2020

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 33