Last Saturday was The Frosty Bike Ride on a not so frosty day. When I lived in Lincoln this was one of the rides I tried to do almost every year as it was always a good time but I hadn't gotten back to one since 2013 so it was good to see how things have evolved during that time.
One of the changes that has happened is that the venue has moved to Cycle Works, which is how I got involved as I wasn't a registered rider but more of a helpful volunteer for the ride. The route followed the same route that we did for Global Fat Bike Day, being familiar with the route I was asked to lead the ride out of the shop but as anyone who has ever ridden a ride like this knows, there really isn't a lead rider as everyone tends to ride at their own pace.
Despite the abundance of snow on the ground the temps were in the 40° range and it really was a beautiful day for a ride. Not wanting to go too fast or too slow I decided to just cruise along and try to maintain a 10-12 mph pace.
On some of the shadier sections of the trail where there was still plenty of snow/slush/ice covering the ground, even that pace was a little on the fast side at times. I was really glad I had the tire girth of the Pugsley because the skinnier tired bikes seemed to struggle with keeping a straight line at times, some of them riding true road bikes opted to walk more than a few sections or turned back all together after a few miles. On a ride like this where there is no additional benefit of finishing the ride, safety is often the better choice plus you get to go back to the warmth, beer and food that much sooner.
The hot chocolate at the halfway point really hit the spot and was a welcome oasis.
We saw a few sledders on the east face of the Holmes Lake dam but most of them ended up being on the back side of the dam where the sun hadn't melted the snow just yet. Looked like a ton of fun, those kids were screaming down the slope, one flew between myself and Todd behind me so you had to keep on your toes so you didn't accidentally get taken out by one of the snot rockets flying across the trail.
One of the things I miss most about not living in Lincoln is the trail system, 17+ miles on the ride and 98% of it was all multi-use paved trail and as a bonus it wasn't just straight line or mostly straight line.
Unfortunately I was limited on time due to other plans later that evening so once safely back at Cycle Works I had just enough time to chit chat for a few minutes then had to throw the Pugs on the car and head home.
I even missed seeing who had won the Surly Pugsley that they were giving away, luckily nothing is a secret anymore thanks to the interwebs. Stole this picture off of the Frosty Bike Ride Facebook page... Cory Cotton was the big winner, congratulations Cory!
This also happened, a drop bar Beargrease... this would make an awesome gravel eating bicycle. If only the pockets were as deep as the desire but some lucky person will take it home and give it all the love it deserves.
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