Steamboat Trace gets high ratings from bike festival

NEBRASKA CITY – The Radler Bike Festival drew cyclists Saturday with big goals, fat tires and appreciation for the Nemaha Natural Resources District work to re-open the Steamboat Trace Trail.

Arbor Day Farm sponsored the bike festival for the first time last year and designed two routes this year using the paved old Highway 2 to Dunbar and the chipped-rock trail to Peru.

 

Connie Van Nostrand: “That wasn’t something we could do last  year. They had terrible flooding in 2019, so they’ve been working on that. Our riders wanted some different rides, not the typically hilly, gravel kind of thing, so, what’s better than Steamboat Trace Trail?

Steve Campie of LaVista, a 69-year-old wood worker who put 11,000 miles on his bike last year, gave Steamboat Trace Trail high marks.

Campie: “It’s been great so far, really great. It looks like it’s been well maintained and I haven’t seen anything that would deter anybody from riding it. …  Here, it’s all shady with trees. It’s a nice ride. Especially on a day like today.”

 

 

Kraig Vanderbeek of Plattsmouth says his fat tire bicycle is ideal for both trails.

Vanderbeek: “A lot of people think it must be hard to ride, but it’s really not.  It rides pretty smooth, even on the concrete.”

Due to forecast of high temperatures of 96 degrees later in the day, Arbor Day Farm scrapped the mass start at noon in favor of letting riders start whenever they wanted from 8 to 11 a.m.

Linda Kastner of Oklahoma City, her husband and childhood friend were the first to depart from Arbor Day Farm with a national goal in mind.

Kastner: “I set a goal for doing a T-shirt bike in every state. I was looking for Nebraska and this one popped up and it was perfect.”

She said the home base at Arbor Day Farm and a multiple-day event were ideal for their 12^th state ride.