Saturday afternoon, 600 bicyclists from across Nebraska and beyond planned to converge in Callaway.

Early this morning, they’ll set out toward Dunning, 54 miles to the north, the first leg of the 28th annual Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska.

An Omaha Rotarian founded the ride in 1980 as a way of raising money for scholarships for Nebraska students who choose to attend state colleges and universities (and also a way to allow cyclists to see the state).

Monday, the cyclists will head to Ainsworth, then to Butte, and to Creighton, Petersburg and Shelby before ending up Saturday in Yutan.

They’ll cover 454 miles. They’ll camp in football fields and city parks. They’ll eat buffets in church basements and have cold beers in small bars.

Journal Star reporter Cara Pesek is among the cyclists this year. She’ll be writing daily updates from the road about the miles covered, communities visited, and people she meets on the road between now and Saturday.

Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska 2008

Stop one: Callaway, population 539

Cyclists planned to meet in this Custer County community Saturday for check-in and were to be greeted by a sign proclaiming Callaway had been voted BRAN’s best host community in 1997.

Stop two: Dunning, population 109

This Blaine County community is best known by BRAN cyclists as the home of the best church dinner in the history of the ride. It’s also the home of the Sandhills High School Panthers.

Stop three: Ainsworth, population 1,862

Ainsworth is the county seat of Brown County and also the home of the annual National Country Music Festival.

Stop four: Butte, population 366

Butte, in Boyd County, was named for its rocky terrain. BRAN riders also know it as the home of the yellow T-shirts first worn by locals on BRAN 11 that said “Welcome to Butte.”

Stop five: Creighton, population 1,270

Cyclists will roll into Creighton, in Knox County, 276 miles into the trip. Creighton is known as the home of the Berry Pepper (a frozen concoction combining strawberries and Dr. Pepper), and even celebrates Berry Pepper days.

Stop six: Petersburg, population 374

This Boone County community is perhaps best known as the home of the Punkin Chunkin Festival, where each fall spectators gather to watch pumpkins being shot out of air cannons.

Stop seven: Shelby, population 690

Shelby, in Polk County, was a stop along the very first BRAN. It was originally named Arcade, which was changed in 1880 or 1881 amid objections the name was too similar to Arcadia, the name of a community in Loup county.

Stop eight: Yutan, population 1,216

Yutan, in Saunders County, was named to honor Otoe-Missouri Chief Ietan. It is the last stop and home to the end-of-the-ride gourmet hot dog feed.