Riding the Loess Hills with the Omaha crew

Crossing over the Missouri Rive on the Bob Kerrey pedestrian bridge

Wills, DK, and I headed up to Omaha to ride the unique, beautiful and challenging Loess Hills of Iowa with our cycling Brethren to the east. We have never ridden these roads, but have been eager to do so for the past couple of year after hearing about the topography. They are incredible!

Don't see many signs like this on roads near Lincoln

We really enjoy our gravel roads around Lincoln, but I must admit the stuff an hour to the east is much more enjoyable on many levels. Most of the roads surrounding Lincoln are on a grid system. Straight, straight and more straight. That's anything be the case in the Loess Hills. The roads weaving through the Loess Hills are twisty, steep and always provide some beautiful sights.

Regroup!

There was a great posse for the ride. The headcount was 15 at one point. Jim Winklepleck surprised us when we crossed over into Iowa on the Bob Kerrey bridge as he was waiting for us on the other side. That was a nice surprise. Hope you enjoyed the ride, Jim!

Snow and ice covered roads

The roads were in decent shape considering how much precipitation we've had. The descents were a bit sketchy and I have more "Oh shit!" moments than I care to remember. The softer snow almost pulled my front wheel out from underneath me on numerous occasions. Remarkably, I don't think anyone went down all day.

Cheesy photo time!

I don't have any pics of the big climbs. There were several large climbs throughout the day. Mark mentioned that a couple were categorized climbs. Much bigger climbs than what we have around Lincoln.

Headin' back to O Town

The snow started to fall around 3 and didn't let up until the early morning. Wills and I had planned on riding back from Omaha on Sunday morning, but those plans changed after we saw the updated forecast. The drive back to Lincoln was interesting. I haven't driven in stuff like that in years.

Wills rockin' the Soul Craft Holy Roller fixie stylee

Huge thanks to all that played a part in organizing the ride or came out and did the ride! It was great seeing everyone and meeting some new folks. We were stoked on the ride. I'm very excited to make more trips out that way for some more Loess Hills goodness. Expect me up there at least once a month! Seriously.

Ready for the artic blast

Got the Barr Mitts on the Surly Karate Monkey this morning for the commute to work. Wow, they work great. I was able to wear my Pearl Izumi softshell gloves and was toasty warm. In temps below zero I usually get cold fingers even with the lobster claw gloves. That wasn't the case this morning. I was also surprised at the ease of getting in and out of the Barr Mitts. Definitely a good investment if you plan on riding in below freezing temps.

So now I feel I have the ideal winter bike setup. Studded tires keep me upright, Barr Mitts keep my hands warm, Lake winter boots do a relatively good job at keeping my feet and toes warm, and the Karate Monkey setup single speed keeps me moving without many mechanical issues to worry about. Now all in need is B.O.B. trailer with an Easy Bake Oven for some fresh warm pastries and I will reach "winter bicycle self actualization".

KC Sprints at Duffy's

Saturday was a fun night of cycling culture. To me the Sprints are more of a cultural experience than a competition. Sure it's nice to win, but most are there to throw back a couple drinks and enjoy the show. And it was a great show indeed. Big thanks to all that had a hand in organizing the event. Sheclismo, KC Sprints crew, Screen Ink, Icon Graphics, Joyride, Specialized, Duffy's....

If ya missed out on the fun this past weekend never fear. There's another Sprints event in February at the Bricktop. Greenstreet Cycles is coming to town!

Sunday!

Small crew this morning for the ride

Rollin' back from Cortland with Wills

Janna and Aaron a ways ahead

Saturday!

Pre-ride ride on the Lincoln trails with CVO after registering for DK...we were up so we might as well ride

Big group this morning at Cultiva Cafe...16 at the start with many faces I haven't seen in awhile. Good times!

Regroup!

Posse rolling back to Lincoln via on Van Dorn

Gravel surrounding Lincoln is in great shape

Malcolm and Aaron joined me for the additional miles to Malcolm, Nebraska - Thanks guys!

The beautiful Kansas gravel beckons...

Cameron Chambers pushing a huge gear up a long roller in the 2007 Dirty Kanza

MG, Skip!, Dennis and Butch shortly after hitting the gravel with the ominous clouds looming in the 2008 Dirty Kanza

Mike Marchand (overall winner) changing an early flat on the rocky gravel of Dirty Kanza in 2009

Paceline of riders with cattle escort during first leg of the Dirty Kanza in 2010

Wilderness Park XC ski trails destroyed...

Beautiful and fast for the first half of the ski session

Some people...I know it takes all kinds in this world, but some people I just don't understand. Tonight on my after work XC ski session I had a run in with three very selfish guys. Before going into that let me say that the first half of the ski session was great. The XC ski tracks were nice and fast all the way from Old Cheney parking lot to the 14th Street entrance. I made relatively good time to 14th Street entrance. Temps were great too. It was ideal.

On my way back I spotted a guy coming at me on a quad on the Jamaica Trail heading east as I headed west. Two other guys were tearing it up on quads just off the trail in the corn field to the north. I stopped the quad rider on the Jamaica Trail and kindly informed him that he can't be on here with a motorized vehicle. He said he knew that, but he was looking for his dog. I asked him what kind of dog. He said a wiener dog with a smirk. Yeah, right. I asked him to get off the trail asap with his four wheeler and not to ride on it again. He agreed and sped off toward 14th Street entrance of the Jamaica Trail. His two buddies continued in the corn field toward the 14th Street entrance as well.

I was bummed, but not very upset for them riding on the Jamaica Trail. Yeah, it's illegal, but at least they weren't on the singletrack trails. So I continued on looking forward to more XC ski goodness all the way back to Old Cheney. As I was about to exit the Jamaica Trail and enter the single track trail two other skiers I crossed paths with earlier stopped me and informed me that the three guys on quads had just destroyed the trails. The trails were un-ski-able according to this guy and his spouse. They said it was hopeless trying to ski after the quads had gone through. He recommended that I stay on the Jamaica Trail back to Old Cheney. They also said the three guys about took them out when they came tearing through.

Alright, now I'm pissed off. After speaking with the couple for a bit I decided to continue on the singletrack trails to assess the damage. It wasn't pretty. Yeah, pretty much un-ski-able. See the images below.

Deep ruts with dirt churned up

All lines and tracks are gone

Really hard to find anywhere to ski in this

Give me a break...

Bridges didn't stop 'em

So I went through the entire hiker side back towards Old Cheney. On the way back I just crossed the bridge in the above pic when I heard the guys on quads. They were on the old rail road bridge that connects the biker and hiker sides. They were chillin' and laughin' and having a great time. I had already called the Sheriff a couple of times at this point trying to give them updates to catch these fools. So I walked up to them and asked if they had any luck finding the wiener dog. The guy that told my about the dog earlier just laughed. I called bullshit and things turned south fast. They knew they weren't allowed out there and they didn't give a shit. I told them about all the damage they had done and they still didn't care. Hours of work over the past week were wiped out in seconds. So when things started looking bad I wiped out the camera and started taking pics. Two of the guys immediately turned their backs and covered their faces. The other dude, red goatee guy, began to have words with me.

Say cheese

Red goatee guy thinks it's funny

Sheriff is on the way, guys.

If anyone can recognize these guys, call the Lincoln Police Department or the Lancaster County Sheriff. They need to learn it's not alright to destroy the park for their amusement.

Looking back...

2010 was one of the best of my life. I have a lot of folks to thank. Instead of listing everyone, I'll just say that if you rode with me or enjoyed my company in the past year, you're on the list. So thank you for sharing your time and livin' life to the fullest. If you're not on the list, I expect you there next year.

Favorite Ride of 2010 - Ponca Ride

I know I'm a little late for end of the year reflection, but something happened recently that has really got me thinkin'. It's nothing major really. I just changed my screen saver on my desktop at home to randomly throw up a pic from my ridiculous archive. There are lots of pics in that archive. If you ride with me you know how I like to snap pics. Hey, someone has to be the local cycling historian, right?

Favorite place to ride in 2010 - Leadville, Colorado

Many of the images on my desktop stretch back years ago. CVO, DK and I have found ourselves just chillin' in my room watching the images pop up. Each one brings smiles to our faces and usually a story follows.

Favorite over the top crazy challenge of 2010 - Trans Iowa V6

And that's why I ride, folks. The smiles, friendships and stories. If you're not riding for those, maybe it's time for a change. We're always looking for more folks to ride with.

XC Skiing!

The Weekend!

Posse rolling through town prior to the Singletrack/Gravel split

What a great weekend of cycling fun! Saturday we took advantage of the weather to get some miles in. Some more than others. Half of the posse hit Wilderness and other half hit gravel north of town. Cultiva Cafe has been the new gathering place prior to the usual Saturday and Sunday ride. It's been working out great. Get your caffeine fix and some pastry. Perfect.

Schmidty rockin' the wicked icicle danglers - it's a good look for him

The gravel posse headed out Claire Road and eventually worked it's way to Malcolm. Most headed back for home after the Malcolm recharge, but Bruce and I ventured further north up to Valpo. We need to get big miles in with Trans Iowa, Almanzo Royal 162, and Dirty Kanza on the docket.

Found a nice stretch of dirt east of Ceresco

Bruce and I ended up getting a long ride in. From Valpo we went east to Ceresco and then eventually by Waverly and Walton. Not sure on the mileage, but it was probably over 90. It felt great to get a long one this early in the year. I felt stronger as the ride progressed. That's a good sign.

Flowin'

Today the posse (14 at one point during the ride) hit Wilderness. We got a dusting of snow early this morning which made for some fun cornering. I think we only had one person slide out and go down.

Say cheese, Nathan!

The park felt really fast today. Might be the last ride through the park for awhile. The forecast for the next 36 hours calls for 7 to 10 inches of snow accumulation. Time to bust out the XC skis!

"Alright, cheesy photo time!"

More cheesiness (myself, Matt, Matt, and Matt)

Janna, Schmidty and Jim

Ghost tracks

We followed a fresh set of tracks this morning and instinctively thought of Jim Winklepleck. Eventually we crossed paths. Yep, it was Jim. We also saw Mike Johnson a couple of times. The park was ideal this morning.

Welcome back, buddy!

Great to have Jim back in town and out for a ride after visiting China to pick up his daughter. Congrats buddy! You look really happy and a bit thinner.

Well, now it's time to do some laundry and make some chili. Maybe some cornbread too. Seems like the right thing to do when the snow is fallin'.

Winter singletrack goodness

Wilderness Park - Lincoln, NE