LIST OF BICYCLE RIDES

(First we show rides sponsored by the Great Plains Bicycling Club, then one-day rides sponsored by other organizations, and finally multi-day rides are shown at the bottom of the page.  We're not involved with bicycle racing; there are other sources of information that relate to bicycle racing.)

Rides sponsored by the Great Plains Bicycling Club - On weekend rides, we'll typically stop to eat at our turnaround point or on the way back.  Count on a leisurely meal with a bull session.  Please note that helmets are required on all rides.

Club rides are typically scheduled on weekends -- sometimes one on both Saturday & Sunday, and sometimes just one day each weekend.  Saturday is more common.  Virtually all Saturday rides start in the morning.  Sunday rides tend to be a little shorter and often start later.  There are occasional weekday evening rides; this is an area where the club is always trying something new.  Regularly scheduled rides typically start around St. Patrick's Day in March and continue into November.  During the winter, when we get nice weather, occasional rides will occur on fairly short notice, usually by e-mail.  We've had short rides many years on New Years Day.  In the meantime, if you have questions or concerns or suggestions with regard to rides, please contact Pat Bracken, the ride director in 2008.

Rides sponsored by other organizations (posted here for your convenience) -

Large Multi-day Rides -

Typically, multi-day rides are annual events, each with their own website.  Many of these rides fill up well in advance; some have lotteries to select the participants from a larger number of those that submit registration forms.  As such, they require advance planning.

In Nebraska, there are three organized annual multi-day rides of some size that are regularly held. Typically, all three of these occur in June.

BRAN (Bike Ride Across Nebraska) is a 7-day west-to-east tour and is the largest of the three with about 650 riders.  2008's edition is from June 8th - 14th and begins in Callaway, NE. For more information, visit bran-inc.org.

Tour De Nebraska is a 5-day loop tour with about 150+ riders run by Rich and Susan Rodenburg. In 2008, it will be June 18th - 22nd, beginning and ending in Burwell.  The advantage to a loop tour is that you don't need to find transportation back to the tour's starting point. For more information, visit the Tour de Nebraska site.

NUMB tour (Nebraska United Methodist Bike Ride for Hunger) is also a 5-day loop tour.  In 2008, it will be from June 28th - July 2nd.  It will begin and end in Wahoo, NE, with an approximate total mileage of 270 miles.

There are more rides held in other states, including plenty in nearby states, than space will permit showing, but no listing would be complete without mention of RAGBRAI.  The 2008 ride runs from July 20th - 26th.  As in every year, it goes from the western border to the eastern border of Iowa and is ostensibly limited to 8500 registered riders selected via a lottery.  It's really a good bit larger than that as many others tag along. It's hard for those that have never seen it to imagine that many cyclists taking over highways and small towns.  Much information about RAGBRAI exists on the Internet. If you're interested, the application deadline is typically around April Fool's Day (appropriate) with the lottery being held on May 1st.

There are other websites that list bicycle rides of this nature for those that want to travel to other states.  With no promises of completeness, three good sites include:

National Bicycle Tour Directors Association

Trails from Rails

Boulder Community Network (Colorado & Wyoming rides)