Pedaling the Past

"Pedaling the Past" returns to Kearney October 7 for Humanities Week.

The tour will take cyclists on a historical tour of Kearney landmarks along the hike-bike trail stretching from Yanney Park to Cottonmill Park and back. During the 8-mile round trip led by Drs. Will Stoutamire and David Vail, avid cyclists and history professors at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, eight stops will be made to discuss local history and field questions from participants. 

The tour progresses mostly chronologically, from Union Pacific Railroad’s arrival in the 1860s to changes in the early 1900s. Points of interest along the route include the Kearney Canal and state’s oldest hydroelectric plant, the Kearney Cotton Mill, which closed in 1901, the Nebraska State Industrial School (now the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center) and West Kearney, a large development that began in the early 1890s and is now a cornfield.

Saturday, October 7, 2023
1-3 p.m.
Meet at Yanney Park
 
Riders can park in the northern parking lot (north of the Yanney Park, Peterson Senior, main entrance), then go down to the trailhead at the gray gazebo (Sue Bush Memorial Arbor) near the Kearney Water Trail and hike/bike trail. The tour will begin there. 
 
Bring your own water (Two water stations will be available).
 
Rain date: October 14 (1-3 p.m.)

Sponsored by Humanities Nebraska and the University of Nebraska at Kearney History Department

Register now!

“Pedaling the Past” tour is free, with a limit of 20 cyclists, ages 10 and older (kids must be accompanied by an adult). Ride is approximately 8 miles and covers varied terrain. The ride is open to anyone interested in biking and local history, and each participant receives a free HN 50th anniversary shirt.

Please complete one form for each rider.