Reply to Why we rode the Cowboy Trail in Nebraska

June 23-30, 2017 One of the best ways to see and experience the United States is to bike through it. For the last 12 years, my friends and I, all women between the ages of 52 and 66, have chosen a long off road bike trail to ride. We’ve ridden the Katy, the Erie Canalway, the Ohio to Erie, the C & O Canal and Great Allegheny Trails, and others. This year we chose the Cowboy Trail in Nebraska, about 200 miles from Valentine to Norfolk. We go slow and stop often, averaging 30-35 miles per day. Some of us camp, and the rest of the group stays in hotels, B&Bs, or inns along the way. We visit local museums, restaurants, libraries (two of us are librarians), parks, and shops, and talk to the local residents. People are often interested in our story, and we are interested in theirs. We always have a fantastic time no matter what obstacles or hardships we encounter.
This year we drove to Norfolk, NE on Friday, June 23, 2017. We stayed in The Norfolk Lodge and Suites overnight and met up with Tony and Lita from Norfolk Outing the next morning about 8:00 AM. They loaded our six bikes into their trailer and shuttled us to Valentine. Tony and Lita were very accommodating and friendly. In Valentine, we stayed at the Niobrara Lodge. We had lunch at Frosty’s and then biked out to the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge. We stopped by the Visitor Center, where J bought an elk antler (a shed) and carried it across Nebraska on her bike. We saw lots of prairie dogs, birds, bison, and made a short hike to the waterfalls.
On Sunday, June 25, we rode from Valentine to Ainsworth (about 48 miles). The first 18 miles out of Valentine, which included a magnificent trestle bridge over the Niobrara River and the beautiful sandhills, was fantastic. There were open, rolling hills with the trail far from the road. We saw antelope cavorting, deer, and lots of interesting birds. Unfortunately, the trail then became overgrown and covered with loose gravel, so we abandoned the trail and road on Highway 20. Highway 20 is flat with a nice wide shoulder. We were expecting to find no amenities or water for 48 miles, but were pleasantly surprised when we entered Wood Lake. There was a small, welcoming park with an open bathroom and a water pump. We also saw a redheaded woodpecker with its striking red head. Farther down the road we stumbled across the L-Bow Saloon in Johnstown, which was open. Yeah! We enjoyed refreshing lemonade and iced tea, while Ruth, the proprietor, filled us in on the town history. Johnstown, NE, population 64, was the filming location for the TV production of Willa Cather’s, Oh! Pioneers. Ruth was welcoming and delightful. We arrived in Ainsworth in the late afternoon and stayed at The Rodeway Inn. The room was very large with a shed for our bikes. Two of our party were camping, and stayed at East City Park. There was water but no hot showers. The camping was very accessible all along the trail. Many of the towns had facilities in their parks with water and showers. We ate dinner at Big John’s Café.
Monday, June 26, we had breakfast at the hotel or the D & B Café on Richardson Drive. There is a nice downtown, and we visited several shops while we waited for the Sellers Barton Museum to open before heading out from Ainsworth to Bassett (about 17 miles). We were happy to find out that this part of the trail was very good, and we were told the road is very hilly. The area around Long Pine is hilly and beautiful. There is another handsome trestle bridge going into Long Pine. We ate lunch in a park near the trail. In town there is a drinking fountain and an old jail outside. So, of coarse, we took pictures of us in the jail. We arrived in Bassett in the late afternoon. We stayed at the rustic Bassett Lodge, and the campers stayed at the fairgrounds where there were showers and water. The folks at the Bassett Lodge were very accommodating. We wandered into the thrift store next to the lodge and met Carolyn and her friend. They invited

In my previous comment, I mistakenly referred to North Fork Outfitting as Norfolk Outing. Highly recommend.

Thank you for this excellent report. I'm sorry that the website cut off the end of your posting. Here is the rest:

They invited us to meet them at The Corral, the local bar down the street, for $2.00 hamburgers. When we arrived, we were greeted by the local ladies, who had saved a table for us. Carolyn, the secretary for the local Historical Society, is quite the ambassador for the community – she knows the history and the geology. We talked with her for over an hour. The next morning, Tuesday, June 27, we had a great breakfast and coffee at The Range Café, which is attached to the Bassett Lodge. We rode from Bassett to Stuart (about 22 miles). This was a tough day. The winds, out of the south, were 25-26 mph and we were heading SSE. There was a lot of loose gravel on about half of the trail, too. We stayed on the trail the entire time because the winds were so strong, and we didn't want to fight the wind on the road with the cars and trucks. One of our most delightful discoveries was in Newport. Right next to the trail is The Newport Pool Hall. A small white building with lovely wood floors, a pool table, snacks, and drinks, all run on the honor system. Enjoy, take what you want, and leave your money in the jar. We arrived in Stuart in the afternoon a little tired after fighting the wind and the gravel. We stayed in a nice little hotel, The Stuart Village Inn, and had lunch at the South Side Mini-Mart. The owners of the mini-mart also own the hotel and were extremely friendly. The campers stayed in the city park with showers and water. We visited the White Horse Museum and ate at the Caste Iron Bar and Grille, where we met the owner, Dustin, who is a Cubs fan and runs a nice restaurant. Unfortunately, we also had a run-in with the infamous Texas sandburs. We all had kevlar tires, but one bike still got a front and back flat. The rest of us used tweezers to pull out several thorns from our tires. One bike had 11 thorns. They were small, very hard, and white. On Wednesday, June 28, we ate breakfast at the South Side Mini Mart among several local folks. They serve tasty breakfast pizza and breakfast sandwiches. We also met Rochelle, who worked at the local paper. She took our picture in front of the mini-mart with the hopes of getting it into the local paper. We then headed out toward O’Neil (about 28 miles). We stopped in Atkinson, and were told not to miss the purple building at the end the street. Something Special by Marilyn is a large purple building, 4400 square feet of Christmas ornaments and other holiday gift items. It was pretty amazing. We also visited the soda fountain at the back of Goeke’s and we all had ice cream treats at 10:30 in the morning. A lady from The Atkinson Graphic, the local newspaper, stopped by to interview us and take a picture for the paper. We also stopped by “the bike store” which consisted of two shelves in the local hardware store with tubes with shrader valves only. Make sure to carry your own spare tubes!! We ate lunch at a picnic table in Emmet. About 14 miles of the trail was good, and we were on Highway 20 for the other 14 miles. We arrived in O’Neil in mid-afternoon. We stayed at the classic, Golden Hotel and the campers, again, stayed in the park with showers and water. We were able to do laundry at the hotel. We ate dinner at Chesterfield, visited the quaint Carnegie library, and chatted with the director of the library. Thursday, June 29, after having breakfast at McDonalds, we rode from O’Neill to Neligh (about 41 miles). We stopped in a tiny store in Inman for drinks and a bathroom break. At Ewing, we ate lunch in the mini-mart and had drinks and dessert in the café in Clearwater. We rode most of the way to Clearwater on Highway 20 because a storm was predicted and there was quite a bit of loose gravel on the trail. Our waitress at the café informed us that we needed to stay on the road because part of the trail had been washed out in a flood – seven years ago in 2010! Afte

One more continuation (I need to fix this to handle longer comments!):

After the washout, we jumped back on the trail and it was good all the way into Neligh. We arrived at our fantastic hotel, the Deluxe Hotel, just before a downpour. Tim, the proprietor, was very helpful and friendly and the rooms were great. We went into town for dinner, visited the old mill, and walked by a Carnegie library that is now a private home. Friday, June 30. One of our group was sick through the night and could not ride. So, she and B stayed at the hotel, while the rest of us headed to Norfolk and the cars (about 36 miles). First, we stopped for breakfast at Mama and Nana’s. We stayed on the road, Highway 20, the whole way because we wanted to get to Norfolk as quickly as possible. We didn’t stop anywhere except the mini-marts along the road. A couple of miles out of Norfolk we jumped back on the trail. It was paved and wound its way along the Elkhorn River. We saw a redheaded woodpecker and a Baltimore oriole, too. It was a lovely way to end the ride. We loaded the bikes, retrieved the friends we left at the hotel, and headed back to Chicago. Our friend recovered and was feeling better in the afternoon on Friday and was fully recovered by Saturday. The weather for our trip was beautiful – low to mid 80s. There was a breeze everyday, sometimes in our face (not so good) and one day 25-26 mph (not so good), which helped with the heat because the sun is pretty intense. But, you can’t control for wind or heat or rain. You just have to be prepared. If you ride hard and fast, this is not the trail for you. If you are up for meeting some lovely people and a bit of an adventure, you might want to consider The Cowboy Trail.

You Ladies are so Blessed to have one another! I am 60 y/o....how do I sign up for your rides!

Thank you for taking the time to write up such a wonderful review of your ride. My husband and I are looking forward to enjoying the Cowboy Trail in Sept.

Thank you VERY MUCH for the detailed info on the Cowboy trail. We will be starting our trip on Sep. 11 so this was very helpful!

I love your story, it seems you all found pretty much the same conditions Lisa and I found. It was really a great ride, and I am glad we got it done!.. We do have about 100 yet to ride, we just didn't have time to go further.