Although Summer is technically still about 2 weeks off, you wouldn't have known that if you stepped outside on Saturday. There was plenty of sun, heat and humidity to rival even the hottest of summer days.
Despite being hot and windy, we had a pretty decent turnout for the first sweltering day of the year and so we set off on what might have been considered a little too ambitious 50 miler out to Elmwood and back.
In addition to the heat and humidity, it was also very dusty and windy. It seemed like everything that moved kicked up a huge cloud of dust for you to breath in.
Lucky for us we just happened to have brought along a few things to help wet our dusty, parched throats.
Because the guys and gals that come out to the rides are a hearty, fun loving bunch, everyone seemed in high spirits as we set off down A St. to 286th and then up to Elmwood and didn't let the weather get to them.
The heat might have gotten to some of us more than others, I don't even know what's going on here but it looked interesting. Perhaps Dave was practicing poses for his upcoming photo shoot for Fat Bike Times magazine.
Once we hit the MoPac we knew we were close, the lack of hills and the addition of some shade was a nice change of pace. About 2 miles more and we made it safely to the Quonset Bar & Grill in Elmwood, it was perfect oasis on a hot almost summers day.
Once we finished eating it was time to head home but first a quick stop at the Co-Op for some refueling and hiding from the sun.
We headed out of town on Adams and hit both the hills and the headwinds immediately, I think both of them sapped a little spirit out of most of us.
The plan was to take Adams all the way back to Lincoln but the journey back was an arduous one and we had to make an unplanned pit stop in Eagle as people were already low on water. Once in Eagle we decided to just take the MoPac back and of course no MoPac trip is complete without a stop at The Hut.
A few more miles and we were back within the confines of Lincoln once again and the paved portion of the MoPac. It's a little hard to see in this photo but does anyone know what the new yellow boards are on two of the bridges on this section of the trail? To me they almost look like there were purposely put there as a sort of series of speed bumps, what they are trying to slow down I'm not sure. Bikes go over them without any effort or speed reduction required... baby strollers or rollerblades on the other hand might have a heck of a time navigating them.
There will not be a SMNDFBR next Saturday as most of the usual crew are heading to Prague NE to participate in the first annual Bohemian Sto Mil 100 mile gravel race. Should be a great time... speaking of great times, if you've ever wanted to come out on one of these rides but aren't sure if you would be able to keep up or just don't know much about mountain biking but would love to learn, you're in luck. The newest ride to the Cycle Works lineup is a Monday night Beginners Mountain Bike Ride, leaving the shop at 5:30 and lead by shop mechanic Brody. This is a casual paced ride through Wilderness Park with a focus on having fun and learning new skills or honing existing ones and again it's for beginners so don't feel intimidated to stop by and give the ride a try. If you're just starting out, this is the perfect ride for you.
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