The Annual Purge

Saturday of course meant that the SMNDFBR was in session, I met Joe at Cycle Works at about 8 am as there was a breakfast plan for before the ride.




We scooted over to Carlo's house and met him and Roy before proceeding over to The Egg and I for some pre-ride fuel. It was my first time being there and it was pretty darn good food.


By the time we got done and made it to Cycle Works, most of the gang was already there and raring to go.


We still had a few minutes to kill before it was time to leave however so we hung out in front of the shop, Gary has some competition now for most flowy beard.


Eventually there was a ride to get to, we didn't make it too far before we needed our first regroup of the day. Dang traffic lights anyway.

Back as a whole unit again we made haste out toward the Jamaican trail, the plan was to try to catch up with the Intro to Gravel group that was leaving at the same time but from the Van Dorn trail head about 20 minutes a head of us.




It's a good thing that Wilderness Park wasn't on the docket as there was some ado going on in the Park. We later learned that they were looking for a burglary suspect that had managed to flee into the woods, last I heard they never did find him.



Out in the open on the gravel, the wind was picking up making the going a struggle, it didn't help that the south winds brought with it the ashes and particulates from the annual purge of grasses in Kansas. So perhaps the silver lining of the breeze was that if it hadn't been there the air might have been a lot worse than it was.


Remember kids, only you can prevent grass fires.


How close were we getting to catching the Intro to Gravel group? I didn't know and Carlos didn't either.


Like a sign, one of them went riding by in the opposite direction... with the tail wind and it looked nice, we must be getting close. This was confirmed when a larger group passed shortly after, letting us know that they rest of them were heading into Sprague.



We could see them riding into Sprague and decided to join them at Traditions Pub for a little refreshment, while not part of either group, we even had a local rider show up.


Pretty good combined group.


Gary was even Hamms-ing it up for the camera, with beverages that Carlos was nice enough to buy for the group.




Once properly hydrated and recovered, the two groups separated and headed back in their perspective directions. It was nice to have the wind at our backs for the return trip but it also meant that things were a little warmer with out a breeze to help cool us down.


Not wanting to take any chances, we made sure to stay hydrated and stop for brief recovery breaks.


A few more gravel miles and we were back on pavement and back in Lincoln.





Since we were going to be riding right by White Elm and none of us had ever been yet, we decided that we should stop in and pay them a visit. Indoor bike parking, while probably only temporary, was kind of nice to have and the beer was very tasty. Lots of great craft breweries have started to call Lincoln home in the last few years and I for one am enjoying the trend.

Next week we are going to try to get back into Wilderness Park, if it's dry, the currently the forecast calls for several days with the potential for rain between now and then... including Saturday itself. Let's all cross our fingers that the rains stay away and we can get in some dirt, see you all next week.