Day 40: Family Time in Lincoln

On these long rides, I always try to plan routes that combine riding adventure with time for friends and family, getting the biggest bang out of my limited travel bucks.  Last night, of course, was time with Linda at the ranch.  Tonight in Lincoln, it was time with brother Kent and nephew Josiah.

Nothing much to report on the ride from Laramie to Lincoln.  An early start was called for in order to cover 500 miles while losing an hour in a time zone change (mountain time to central time), so we left Laramie at 7 a.m but not before checking the weather radar.  Rain showed up near the Wyoming-Nebraska border, but not heavy and we were already in our rain gear.

For the next 300 miles we set the cruise control at (or near) the speed limit, slowed down a little for about 30 miles of road construction, and ticked off the miles and the minutes.  But at our last gas stop, rain showed up again on the radar, so we donned several layers of rain gear and made a 50-mile run in moderately heavy rain behind a big blue truck that was easy to see even with rain drops covering my face shield.  At least my new rain jacket worked to keep the leaks in the Harley rain jacket from penetrating to my shirt.

When I arrived at our hotel in Lincoln, I called Kent and we made arrangements to be picked up for dinner.  Kent and Josiah took Mark and me on a brief tour of a bustling downtown Lincoln before settling on dinner at Billy’s, one of Lincoln’s premier eateries.  Billy’s is located in the completely restored home (picture left) of William Jennings Bryan, an orator and politician at the turn of the 20th century who was the Democratic/Populist nominee for president in 1896, 1900 and 1908. He later served as Woodrow Wilson’s Secretary of State.  Lincolnites are proud of their Bryan heritage as the various statues, photographs and plaques around town attest. Billy’s has a short but ambitious menu and everything we had tonight (I had Steak Diane) demonstrated the prowess of chef/owner Nadar Farahbod who not only cooked our meal but came by our table to chat for awhile.  Great food in a great setting always leads to great conversation, and we had a pleasant three hours catching up on family affairs.

Kent, Josiah and me.  Over my left shoulder is William (Billy) Jennings Bryan.

My family is spread out from Wisconsin to Louisiana, from the plains to the West Coast, and I don’t get to my kids and brothers enough, so including them in motorcycle adventures always adds to the value of these trips.

Tomorrow a short visit to Topeka where I grew up then we move closer to home as this Adventure winds down.