Into That Great Void (June 8th - June 15th)

After spending 6 more days in Iowa (26 days total), I crossed the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge into Nebraska, where I was welcomed by the fine city of Omaha. The city was mostly of interest to me because of its music scene. After all, Omaha is the birthplace of Elliott Smith and Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes). While Elliott Smith moved elsewhere before becoming a musician, Conor and Bright Eyes got their start in Omaha. In order to take in the current music scene a bit, I caught a local band at The Waiting Room, and then went to the Crescent Moon Ale House and tried a DL's Cafe Leche Stout from local Upstream Brewing.

My interesting fact of the day for Omaha is that it is nicknamed the "Gateway to the West", which makes it one of at least six US cities that use that nickname. What are the other five? I'm saving that for a trivia question one day. After Omaha, it was on to Bennington, which was originally called Bunz Town. I have no idea why they changed such a great name. I'm now shacking up for the night in Valley, NE, which does not have any cool former names.

Nebraska (according to Bruce Springsteen)

Real life: As of now, I'm at 12 straight days of riding at least 10 miles, including a 36.6 mile day, during which I rode from the north side of Chicago to the south end of the Lake Shore Path and back. As I rode home from work this evening, Chicago's tornado sirens started blaring. For those who are unfamiliar with what that sounds like, you can get a feel for it here. I got home safely, if completely soaked.

My view from Lake Shore Path at 39th street

Total annual mileage: 1734 miles (80.6 miles ahead of target pace).