The rains subsided and the sun came out for the Thursday Night No Drop Road Ride last night, we won't talk about the wind and just focus on the good.
Weaving our way out of town on Lincoln's trail system, 6 cyclists set sail for a three hour spin.
So nice even the fisher... people?... were out trying their hand at landing the grand daddy of all Oak Lake fish.
Took a bit of a different route out to Hwy 34 that took us through the Highlands and past the Kawasaki plant on NW 27th and Wild Rose Ln. Must have been the end of shift or something, I've never seen that many cars on NW 27th at one time, luckily they were very bike friendly and not in a super big hurry.
Safely across Hwy 34 and cruising west, Chris decided we all needed a break and took one for the team by getting a flat. Getting flats always sucks but on road rides "These Days" I think "What Hurts the Most" is that you have to "Stand" on the side of the road while "Fast Cars and Freedom" zoom past you.
With the tire successfully "Changed" quick and "Easy" it was time to say "I'm Movin' On" before we ended up "Prayin for Daylight". (All song titles in quotes are Rascal Flatts songs for those not familiar with the band)
While I wouldn't be heart broken if it didn't rain for awhile, it does make everything lush and green, which makes for some pretty amazing views on the country roads around Lincoln.
Hit up the Malcolm General Store for a little refuel, closed the place down as well... first time I've ever been able to use that phrase since I was in my 20s and never about a convenience store. Didn't realize they closed at 7 pm so our timing was almost perfect as we were able to get in and out with 5-10 minutes to spare.
Rolling out of Malcolm we started our hilly portion of the ride as we turned south, unfortunately the head wind we were riding into on the way out was rapidly diminishing so there would be no turbo boost assistance up the hills on this day.
Standing up on top of this hill last night I have to say I don't think I've ever taken this road before, which is odd since I had thought I'd been on most of the roads around Malcolm. Pretty nice view of the town of Malcolm from up here though so I'll have to put it on my roads to ride list.
The route took us past Pawnee Lake, which is always a great place to ride during the warmer months, and another regroup while we soaked up the sun.
The roads around the lake were pretty quite and peaceful last night and that pond was pretty spectacular, smooth as glass and perfectly reflecting it's surroundings on it's surface.
NW 84th took us through Emerald to West Van Dorn, into Pioneers Park and then onto the relative safety of the Bison Trail back within city limits.
A short push up the N Street Cycle Track and the ride was in the bag. 37 miles might have been a little ambitious for this early in the season but we made it back to the shop before the last waning light of sunset dissipated and nobody seemed to mind since it was a really nice night. I still think had it not been for the flat we'd have made it back with even more light to spare but flats happen, thankfully it was an absolutely gorgeous night to be stuck on the side of a highway.
Thanks to all who made it out, hopefully next week will be even nicer.
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