Seg #8 Keystone Trail: 6/19 sm 10/19/12

Start	Karen Pk Omaha	N41.227094 W96.012772	N-S miles  6*
End	FortStOmahaNE	N 41.305794 W96.047773	Trail lgth7mi Ride19mi





Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge Nebraska side
of the "Big Muddy" Missouri River. Longest
river in America. Sorry Mighty Mississippi

An economically painless way to collect latitude miles, is to combine a business rip and a trail ride. So Thursday we went to Lincoln, Nebraska to meet with Lee our financial advisor and then we drove to Omaha so I could ride the Keystone Trail and cross the Missouri River on the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. Thursday was a miserable day with steady rain and the wind gusting 25-40 mph most of the 315 miles it to get to Lincoln. I this was the first time, other than I was on the farm, that I noticed streaks of dirt with it raining and the windshield wipers running. Apparently there was dust blown in the air that attached to rain droplets which became tiny mud balls, creating a northern version of "Pine Pollen Plaster" an annoying event come March in Georgia. Good thing it's over by the Masters.  Thursday night Connie and I stayed in the largest Nebraska city, Omaha, allowing me an early start on my ride north on the Keystone trail. Omaha has a nice network of bicycle recreation/commuter trails running throughout the metro area. My goal was to go as far north on the trail from our hotel on Grove Street. The Keystone was the best option; however the wind was blowing 20-25 mph out of the northwest. Guess what direction I was riding in? Therefore a ride that should take less than two hours, took three hours. The good thing was it wasn't raining, just some mist. The trail went right through Rose Blumkin’s Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM) parking lot. Rose started NFM in the 30’s and grew it to the largest furniture business in North America. The Russian born Jewish woman worked the store until age 103 and then left this earth one year later. Warren Buffet, Mr. Rich Guy of the World, must have perceived Rose had what it takes to make money, because his Berkshire Hathaway Investment Company holds much of the NFM stock. Although the Omaha metropolitan area includes over 877,000 folks, expansion of the store to Kansas City has grown NFM even more. What else is important about the city named after the Indian word meaning “Dwellers of the Bluff”? Well, the Ruben Sandwich was first made in Omaha. The NCAA College World Series has been played in Omaha ever year since 1950. Among the many mega million dollar corporations headquartered in Omaha, ConAgra and Union Pacific Railroad lead the way. America’s largest private bank, First National Bank of Omaha anchors the downtown.



It was a bit chizzly and very windy yet I got my
buns from this Iowa side to the Nebraska side. I
can now say I've crossed the eastern and western
borders of the only state bonded by two rivers.

And then there’s the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge crossing America’s longest river, the Missouri River. This bridge is one of a kind for bicyclists. Its beautiful design mimics the Western Hemisphere’s longest Cable-Stayed Bridge, the phenomenal Arthur Ravehel Junior Bridge; joining Charleston, South Carolina with Mount Pleasant South Carolina; an eight lane traffic bridge son Chris and I rode in 2011. Like the Ravehel Bridge, the Bob Kerrey Bridge gave me the “willies” once I was out over the river and the wind was kicking me around. Bob Kerrey, was a Medal of Honor winner, Governor of Nebraska and a US Senator. Kerrey ran for president in 1992 and now is running for senator again to fill Ben Nelson’s seat. Although there were some smoke clouds around his service in Viet Nam, as a Viet Nam era veteran myself, I respect him for all his service to our country and feel privileged to have had the opportunity to ride the bridge named in his honor.  

We lived in Lincoln for ten years when I taught at the College of Dentistry, so it is fun to go back there and see how things have changed or stayed the same. Lincoln is second largest city in Nebraska and on Saturday afternoons the third largest population springs up when there is a home football game at Memorial Stadium on the University of Nebraska campus. More than eighty six thousand red and white clad fans scream for the beloved Cornhuskers. Since 1962, there has been a NCAA record 325 and still counting, consecutive sellouts. Sellouts were easy when Bob Davaney, Tom Osborne were head coaches but when Frank Solich and Bill Callahan lost that were supposed to have won, sellouts were threatened. Only when major corporations bought up extra tickets, would the record stand.