CREIGHTON — On her seventh birthday, Zoe Bohaty rode 30 miles with her mom on the back of a tandem bike.

It was a good day. Cyclists passing the mother-daughter duo wished Zoe a happy birthday. The wind was behind them (a change from the day before), and the red tandem bike reached 30 mph going down some of the biggest hills (though when they got going that fast, Zoe asked her mom to slow down).

Wednesday was the fourth full day of the 28th annual Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska. Zoe’s mom, Barb Bohaty, rode all 74.1 miles of Wednesday’s leg of the 454-mile route. When she wasn’t on the tandem — a red bike passed down from family friends, who also got the bike as a hand-me-down — Bohaty was on her Trek bike, a special, women’s road bike.

Together on the tandem, Barb and Zoe, who had done some practice rides on U.S. 77 between Wahoo and their home in Ceresco, are fast. When Barb wants to go faster, she tells Zoe to stand up and kick in the turbo.

“The minute she stands up, it’s two miles an hour faster,” Bohaty said.

Six hundred cyclists are pedaling across the state on this year’s BRAN, but that doesn’t necessarily equal 1,200 wheels. Cyclists ride tandem bikes (including a group on a 4-person tandem) and recumbent bikes, and one young cyclist sometimes rides around camp on his unicycle. One couple takes turns pulling their tiny, fluffy dog behind them in a trailer.

People ride old bikes and new bikes, Treks, Giants, Merciers, Cannondales, Sevens, Bianchis, Schwinns and Lemonds, among others.

And they get attached to their bikes, said Barb Markey of Lincoln, who is riding this BRAN on her Trek 2100.

Markey, who has ridden on three previous BRANs, did her first on a hybrid bike. Before last year’s tour, she bought her current bike.

It’s lighter and more comfortable. The seat fits better. The whole bike fits better.

After finding the perfect bike, she’s become picky about what she likes and what she doesn’t when it comes to cycling.

For her last birthday, Markey’s daughter-in-law wanted to get a fancy water bottle. Markey’s son told her she’d better ask his mom first exactly what kind of water bottle to buy.

Other equipment is important, too: Markey bought a new tent this year, a new sleeping mat the year before.

“You just get yourself more and more comfortable each year,” she said.

Some riders drape tarps over their bikes so they won’t get wet at night. Others bring their bikes inside their tents and sleep next to them.

Kim and Robert Bren of Council Bluffs, Iowa, pull their little dog, Buttons, along behind them in a trailer filled with dog toys.

Sometimes Kim pulls Buttons with her Cannondale. Other times, Robert hitches the dog trailer up to his Mercier.

They bought the dog specifically because they’d be able to take Buttons, a Lhasa Apso, with them on their rides.

“We like to ride bikes, and we didn’t want to leave her at home,” Robert said. “She has separation anxiety.”

Buttons is just a little over a year old, but she’s already been on five rides. This is her first BRAN. (It’s Robert’s first, too, but Kim’s third).

Buttons gets noticed in her little trailer. She also likes to ride, the Brens said.

And she does, everywhere, and not just on BRAN.

“I no longer have a car,” Kim said, “so Buttons goes with me all over town.”

Reach Cara Pesek at 473-7361 or cpesek@journalstar.com.