Saturday, February 18, 2012

Frosty Bike Ride

The ride was scheduled for two weeks ago but then mother nature stepped in and dropped a few inches of snow and ice on the ground postponing the ride until today. In the days leading up to the ride thanks to the ever constantly changing Nebraska weather it was a bit of a touch and go... might snow again, might rain on the day of the ride... nope now sunny and almost 50... oh wait, now sunny but only in the mid to upper thirties but chance of rain/snow the Thursday before. When it was all said and done there was no additional precipitation at all but it was cold enough that the snow stuck around from two weeks earlier but it was the FROSTY bike ride so the show must go on as they say. 

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The skies were sunny, the paths were clear and even though it was a chilly morning it was a great day for a ride. There were 150+ registered riders so I opted to ride to The Fox rather than add to the parking lot congestion, even though the temps when I left were in the mid teens the sun and lack of significant wind made it feel a bit warmer.

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Almost 11 miles later, the "start" of the Frosty Bike Ride... The Fox and the promised crowd.
 
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That's my, it's super chilly lets go already, face; after riding and getting warmed up sitting in the parking lot cooling down was not ideal. 

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My partner in crime for the ride, with that jacket I'm sure not to lose him. 

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And were off once again and getting warm, ear to ear smiles! Actually it felt colder heading this direction than it did heading to the ride. Not sure what it is about this section of the trail but it always seems to be 5/10 degrees colder. 

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While there was plenty of snow on the ground still the trails were mostly clear with just a few icy patches that were already starting to melt and turn back into water at this point. 

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At the halfway point we were treated to some very warm, very delicious hot chocolate. Never has a paper cup of hot chocolate hit the spot quite like it did today. 

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Felt kind of wrong laying the bikes down on the cold cement while we enjoyed our hot chocolate. 



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Back at The Fox post ride it was beer, as the hat implies, and free burger and fries time!

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All in all The Fox put on a good spread, it was a great ride put on by Spearman Adventures and best of all it was a great chance to get out for a casual ride with out the worry or prep time of a race. Guess we will have to get ready and do it again next year. 

Sunday, February 12, 2012

This used to be my way home...



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There used to be a time not to long ago when both of these bridges were open, there used to be a time when it also used to be my way home when I rode to work. A lot has changed in the years since I often traveled this route, it's funny how quickly things can change. I used to think I was happy riding this route, starting and ending in the house I knew as home, with the people I thought were in it with me for the long run. Gone is the house, gone are the people, gone is this route as "my" route... the bike I still have, bikes are ours to get rid of not the other way around. Time has a way of opening your eyes, bringing the perspective to our life's that we once could not or chose not to see at the time we were personally invested in the situation, when you are too close to be objective. Years have gone by since and many things have changed, heartaches have healed, tears long since dried and betrayals no longer as sharp; there was a time when it felt like the best times of life were slipping away. Fast forward a few years and I realize that those times and that place were not where I belonged and that in a weird way even the betrayals, in the long run, were blessing in disguise. Human emotions can and often do blur our perspective on reality. Today I might not have the same house, or the same way home or the same group of people but I think I am in a better place than I was back then. I have a new home, a new route and I have a new group of people surrounding me, that's not to say that I don't miss some of the people from my old life but over all I am in a better place... a happier place. I haven't been back there as it holds no place in my life or talked to that person as they no longer hold a place in my heart but I hope that who ever occupies that space can find more happiness in it than I could and that whatever she is doing now she too made the right decisions.


Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs
That just because he may not answer doesn't mean he don't care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers

Saturday, February 4, 2012

SNOW!!

Well it had been a pretty mild and snow free winter, that ended last night when it sounded like we might try to get our entire annual snowfall average in one weekend. As it turns out it wasn't quite as bad as they were saying it was going to be, we did end up with a very wet and heavy 10.5 inches of snow last I heard but the advantage of wet snow is that we didn't get the blowing, blizzard like conditions like they thought because the snow was too heavy to blow anywhere for the most part. I was supposed to be riding in the Frosty Bike Ride today but they wisely postponed it for another weekend due to safety reasons so that left me with a free Saturday. The snow seemed a little deep for biking and a little slick and deep for driving even so I decided to bundle up and walk around and see just how bad it really was out there.



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Snow was a little deep in the neighborhood but I've seen worse, the snow in the road could only be described as deep slush. 



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Breaking new trails in the snow. 



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Surprisingly quite a few places were closed and traffic was pretty light. 



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Red, Yellow or Green... kind of hard to tell. 



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Snow was still coming down pretty good even though it didn't look like it up close.


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Is this Huffy's new snow bike?



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One of the great things about wet snow is the way it sticks to the tree branches, makes it look like a true winter wonderland. Just a few pictures... 



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Couple of college kids decided to play a little snow football, brings back some memories of days gone by. 



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Of course it didn't take long for the football game to turn into a full fledged snowball fight. 



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As I decided to make my way back home wouldn't you guess I flatted... not really sure how it happened other than to say that the glue must have decided it had held long enough. I can't really remember how long I've had these boots but I can say with certainty that it has been more than 12 years, I guess one could say I got my moneys worth, first the front tread went and then the heel followed suit shortly there after. Walking home the last 1.5 miles with no tread on one boot was not what I would call the most comfortable walk I have ever taken but there wasn't really anything else I could do. 



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When I left both boots had soles that looked just like this one...



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The left one looked like this however by the time I got home, walking without tread was a bit interesting. Other than the blow tread it was a pretty good day and a pretty good walk.