Had planned to get into Wilderness Park this week for the SMDNFBR but once again Mother Nature had other thoughts and dumped rain on our parade on Friday. With the park out the consolation prize was gravel out to Eagle since it had been awhile since we headed east and it seemed like the best direction to head as it was the opposite direction of Memorial Stadium and the throngs of fans descending on the stadium.
We did see the return of Tyler for this ride, he hadn't been out since June when he had an AC separation. It was good to have him back and we are hoping he keeps the rubber side down.
Sarah was showing off her Husker spirit with those rad Nebraska socks.
Took the MoPac out toward Walton where we would switch over to gravel when we intersected A Street. The milder temps and lack of humidity almost made it a bit chilly to start, I'm really hoping this fall weather sticks around for a month or two before we switch over to more winter like temps. Had two new faces come out for the ride, Carlos and Roy, seen here behind Sarah. Hopefully we see more of them in the future as it was a lot of fun riding with them on Saturday.
Initially the gravel was great, just the right mix of dirt and rock made it smooth and fast... just the way I like it. When it's good, it's almost smoother and faster than asphalt.
The further we got down A Street though, the worse the gravel got. As has been the trend lately, the road was covered in deep, speed sapping, sand/gravel the consistency and thickness of a litter box full of kitty litter. I'd almost miss the days when they would cover the roads with the bigger, chunky white rock instead of this stuff, in addition to slowing things down it is also highly susceptible to wash boarding which is just teeth rattling on a bicycle but can be dangerous in a motor vehicle.
A few more miles of gravel and a short section of pavement and we were refueling at the Casey's in Eagle.
Leaving Eagle via 214th and Adams Street we ran straight into a headwind that had been helping us on the way out and everyone was trying to become as aero as a Fat Bike can be.
Battling the winds and the hills made regroups more common on the way back.
Gravel might have been a bit soft and there might have been a bit of a headwind but that didn't stop us from having a great time enjoying the beautiful fallish day.
Even tried to get in on the pictures but it seemed like if I slowed too much Sarah was going to run me over so that was enough of that.
Left hook on 112th and a few miles saw us back on the MoPac heading back into town the same way we had come out.
I was so happy to see Tyler back on two wheels again that I plucked him a little yellow flower off the side of the trail as we rode by them, it lost most of it's pedals but as they say it's the thought that counts right?
And just like that the SMNDFBR ended with a little man on man affection, no ride next week due to the final race of the Psycowpath Series but if you aren't doing anything, come out to Camp Calvin Crest and cheer on the racers.
P.S. I apologize in advance for any spelling or grammatical errors, writing a blog and watching the NFL is sometimes more difficult than it sounds.
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