Early Turkey day ride - 35 miles in before 8 AM

The infamous "O" Street at 5 AM - No traffic!

Sure was cold out this morning. Wind chill was below 20 degrees. Busted out the Lake Winter boots and the winter mitts. It's tough getting up and out the door around 4 AM, but once you're moving it's all good.

Matt and Nathan - early morning regulars

Thanks again for hosting the ride today Nathan. Also thanks for the coffee and banana bread! Good stuff!

Dark gravel

We ended up doing a small loop North of town and called it good around 7:30 AM. Beautiful ride. The stars and the planet Mars were visible in the clear dark morning sky. The sunrise was epic. Also kicked up some deer from a corn field on the way back into town.

This early morning ride is really something I'm beginning to enjoy.

Cyclocross Rocks!

Lincoln Cyclocross 2009 from Cornbread on Vimeo.

Lincoln Cyclocross Weekend 2009

This happens every year. After the Lincoln Cross race I beat myself up for not racing cyclocross more often. Why? This weekend was an absolute blast, that's why. The course was awesome (as usual), the weather was ideal, Hooligan Hill didn't disappoint, the turnout was exceptional and no one got hurt. Yep, perfect.

Thanks to everyone who made this past weekend great. Next year will be even better. I guarantee.

"The Chute"

DK on the drums - Ah Yeah! Full band next year, baby!

Nate in The Chute. Too fast for my camera.

James B powerin' up The Chute.

MG headin' for the downside of Hooligan Hill.

Troy (Troy's rump in the pic) and Jesse dukin' it out. Jesse would go on to win the Nebraska Cat 3 State Championship. Congrats!

Nate, dollar bill in mouth, almost took me out in this pic. Whew.

Mark Studnicki got himself a pair of War Axe socks. Thanks for coming up for the race dude!

Matt negotiating The Chute with ease.

I've never had money spit at me, but it's always been a dream of mine. Thanks for fulfilling that dream, Nate! Next time make it hundies!

We even got the winner of Saturday and Sunday's races, Brian Jensen, to smile while hittin' The Chute. I think CVO said something about someone's sister.

Battle going on here. Best battle of the entire race.

More socks!?! Studnicki is cleanin' up on the War Axe Sox! Get some War Axe sox here!

Another great pose!

Carp throwin' down. Dude, you did awesome this weekend. Have fun on the bird hunt.

Mod! No wig today. All bizness.

Who wants to get PAID!?!

Battle for State Championship going on here. Troy up front with Jesse and Matt close behind.

Smiles, that's what it's all about. Well, that and pain. Lots and lots of pain.

Lincoln Cross Race this weekend!

The crew is ready for action tomorrow

This is one of my favorite weekends of the year. The Lincoln Cross race is always a joyous event. Everyone seems to have a great time before, during and after the race. And that's what it's all about.

It's been well over a month since my last and only cross race weekend of the year. Ah, I don't care, it'll be fun no matter how much it hurts.

Trans Iowa V6 postcard

Coming at ya Guitar Ted

After staring at the postcards at Avant Card for about 20 minutes, I finally gave up on the idea that I needed to find a postcard that "defines me" and just grabbed the stupidest one they had in stock. In doing so maybe I did grab the one that defines me.

Short Sunday ride

North 27th rollers - Hey, I see Matt and Jesse!

The crew was small today most likely due to the threatening weather. North wind kept the temps in the 30's with wind chill. Yep, it's about time for the Lake Winter boots.

Not a sound

Ninja dog ran with Schmidty and I for a bit. The pooch was stoked to have someone to play with. Not one bark.

Blood trail

Signs of the first weekend of rifle season for deer appeared a few times on the gravel.

Hat trick

Number three for Mark on the day. Couldn't find anything in the tire or rim strip. Bad luck I guess.

Big load

Wrapped up the ride at Cafe Indigo in the Hay Market for a free espresso. Anyone that rides to the cafe on Sunday gets a free espresso. Good stuff.

Saturday gravel fun

Rollin' out

The gravel posse reached double digits today. We headed North towards Valparaiso after some coffee at The Mill. The ride started out a bit chilly, but quickly warmed up when the sun came out.

Never thought I'd see the day - Wills on the smart phone

Hit "B road" on our way into Valparaiso. Those of you who rode the 2009 GLGA probably remember that road well. It was dry and fast today.

Rural lawn ornament

On the way back into town on the 27th street gravel just North of Kawasaki, Jim Winklepleck had a little run in with a pretty good sized dog. The dog came at Jim in a full sprint and T-boned Jim as he was clippin' along. I don't know how Jim was able to keep it upright, but he did. Jim, you got some skills and some bad luck with dogs.

The collision made a terrible noise. Kinda like picking up your bike and throwing it down to the ground as hard as you can. The dog was visibly injured. It tucked it's tail and limped back to where it came from. Jim's bike was fine.

I've never seen that dog before. Maybe it was over for a visit. Weird.

Tanker fly over

We wrapped up the ride with around 55 to 60 miles. Another great day on the bike. Thanks for the ride fellas! More of the same tomorrow.

Registration for Trans Iowa is open!

Registration for Trans Iowa V6 has opened for vets of the event. Guitar Ted has the info on his blog. 340 miles (or as many miles as my body will take me) of Iowa gravel in late April. Sounds good to me.

I need to stop by Avant Card and pick up my postcard on the way home from work. Who else is in for some extra long gravel fun?

Sunday fun day!

Double pace lining the Homestead Trail south

Another good sized crew of folks met up at Meadowlark Coffee for an 8:30 departure. The wind was stiff all day and taking a turn up front was a challenge. We don't have mountains, but we have plenty of wind.

Barely visible cemetery

On the way to Wilber for brunch at the Wilber Hotel, Aaron, Jesse, Sydney and I came across an interesting piece of history. I think it was Sydney who spotted it. At the top of a small mound hiding in the tall grass next to a corn field was a 19th century cemetery. The cemetery is on SW 72nd Street between Ash and Aspen Roads.

Not in bad shape considering the age

The whole Marsh family is buried here. Another smaller enclosed cemetery (the Sykes family) is only a few feet from this one.

Here lies William Marsh

Can you figure out the inscription at the bottom?

This marker is the wife (first wife?) of William Marsh. Only 33 years, 6 months, and 16 days old when she passed away. Sobering reality of the life expectancy in a world without modern medicine that was just five generations ago.

I tried to figure out the inscription at the bottom. German is the language. The first word is misspelled. It should read, "Selig sind die im Herrn sterben". Using several translating websites, I believe it's most likely, "Blessed are those that die in the Lord"

Note the headstone in the upper left - Jasper M. Sykes

The pic above is of the second smaller cemetery which probably pre-dates the larger one. This assumption is based on the date of death (1878) on the largest headstone of Mary A (wife of Jasper).

Jasper M. Sykes - Civil War Veteran and Grand Army of the Republic member

This goes to prove that you can find just about anything on the internet. A very brief and interesting read of the life of Jasper M. Sykes. Civil War veteran who fought with General Sherman, stanch Republican, successful farmer, and husband to Mary.

Finally dry enough for harvest!

Hey fellas!

Soon to be harvested

Another great ride today. Thanks everyone! Looking forward to hitting more gravel next weekend.