D12 Fremont Lakes to Omaha

Ride Video

As I was huddled under the awning of a stranger's house to escape a downpour, I thought my last day was supposed to be casual. It had started out that way with a quick trip into Fremont from my campsite and my discovery of Milady Coffee. They had pour overs! I felt I was home. The coffee shop anchored a renovated commercial building in a thriving downtown. The Milady manager knew about the work of Strong Towns and let me know about another non-profit in the same space, Community Heart and Soul. Clearly, the folks in Fremont have been busy.

While I was enjoying single origin Brazilian coffee with tasting notes of cranberry and milk chocolate, a new arrival announced it was raining. What? I had been clear just a few minutes ago. The budding storm had been at my back. My weather app showed me that this one was almost gone but another was behind it. It seemed like with the way it was going and the way I was going that I might escape. I managed to finish my coffee with civilized slowness then hopped on my bike.
Outside of town I was treated once more to a bit of gravel. All the while I watched the storm approach. My calculation was incorrect and I got caught. It was a downpour. Thankfully, there was more rain than lightning with no hail. After what seemed like a while, but probably wasn’t, I saw a house with a shallow awning running the length of the house. I steeled myself to knock on the door of a stranger in a rural area if I could sit under their awning. I rang the bell. No answer. I rang again. No answer. I decided to sit on the steps and wait. I hoped they didn’t have a doorcam that was alerting them to the weirdo. Was someone going to pull up angry. No, they could probably guess the situation and would be kind. I got the address and may send a thank you note.

(Last year I saw a lot of banana peels. I was happy to see these, the only ones I saw, on my last full ride)

Once the rain cleared, I enjoyed the last bit of rural riding. I like watching the transition from rural to urban. You start seeing what are clearly commuter houses spaced too closely to be farm houses. Eventually, I started to see small subdivisions placed in a single, former farm plot. In between it was still corn. I saw my first gated community with a Private Property, No Trespassing sign. A house in the country with none of the country community feeling. Suddenly, I passed a line and it was all subdivision. I had been surprised how close the cornfields are to Omaha, but now they were gone. 

(Corn and subdivisions)

(Hostile architecture for the squires)

I steered to the Dragon Wok near Standing Bear lake. The Lo Mein was super salty even for a sweaty cyclist, but it filled my tummy. The roads were getting scary. They were no longer low traffic country roads, but old country roads become suburban byways. Drivers were nice, but I needed to get off of them. At lunch I opted to take a more roundabout way to my Warmshowers host who lives downtown. This new way used a couple of regional bike trails. I forgot to unpause my tracker. Look for a weird straight line on my map. That goes from the Dragon Wok to where I turned it back on. 

(It's amazing to ride through people's living rooms!)

Once on the bike trail it was relaxed if slow windy riding. After the storm I got wind from my 2 o’clock most of the day. I was winding around through parks and light industrial areas. Eventually I turned north and into the heart of the City. By 5:00 I was in the revitalized Old Market area where my host lives.

(South Omaha Trail)

(Old Market)

Avid is overused, but Chris is an avid cyclist with the build to match. He and his dad go on a yearly multi-day tour and he does a lot of multi-day rides with his two sons. One day he and his dad who is in his late 60s pulled off a 130 mile day on tour! I am not worthy. He’s got an interesting job too. He buys locomotives and locomotive parts for Union Pacific. He also makes a mean vegetarian baked spaghetti. 

Chris could only host one day so I’ll move to an Airbnb September 20 - 22. It’ll be nice to have some time to chill by myself. I hope I have time to do some sightseeing between bike packing logistics. 

I am wrapping up this day in his kids room with toy dinosaurs and monster trucks. I am sleeping in a bottom bunk in a cool room with original brick walls of a building that was once a warehouse in the early 1900s. Good night all!

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