To say it was a crazy June would be an understatement, it seemed like every week there was another race that kept us from having the SMNDFBR. While it was hectic and I missed the usual Saturday ride, there were some great events in the absence. The Bohemian Sto Mil in it's first year was a great event that required a colossal effort just to finish it, then there was the Good Life Gravel Gran Fondo in Iowa that was an equally great event but with a much different result. Finally, last weekend was the first year for the Solstice 100 out of Pleasant Dale, an event that I helped a good buddy get off the ground. Gravel events from the planning, coordinating and execution side are a whole other animal, that story will come out one of these days soon.
As much fun as all those events were it was good to get back to the SMNDFBR and we had a really good turnout considering it was the 4th of July weekend and some folks were out of town.
The plan this week was a familiar one, heading out to Malcolm and the always delicious Lippy's BBQ.
With a mandatory bridge stop for rest and refreshments, it was an absolutely gorgeous day to be out on a country road with friends.
Wasn't too long after the bridge before we had reached Malcolm and it's smoked meat haven.
If you're not a fan of your traditional beef/pork BBQ, I highly recommend their Chicky Wow Wow sandwich. Smoked, chopped chicken with bacon, cheese and onions on a bun to make your mouth water.
"Downtown" Malcolm and a stop at the Malcolm General Store after Lippy's... Lippy's isn't in their new location just yet but hope to be by the end of July. Looks like it's coming along nicely from the outside and it's also nice to see something back in the building.
While I probably could spend hours porch sitting at the Sac-O-Suds, what I affectionately call the Malcolm General Store, we did have a ride to get on with.
The initial plan had called for use to head west on McKelvie and come in on A St. but as I was sitting around Friday night getting everything ready for the morning, the calendar reminded me that I also had a wedding reception to attend on Saturday afternoon... thank goodness for reminders otherwise I probably would have completely forgot. So, with time being a bit more precious we headed east on McKelvie and back towards Lincoln, some of the group likes McKelvie better because it has less climbing but this picture shows that there are still a few good hills on the road.
Yup, flat as a pancake, with a few blueberries to climb.
As many times as I've gone out on and back in on NW 27th I had never seen a train on these tracks until Saturday and didn't realize just how close they were to the road.
"Safely" back on pavement, it was just a hop, skip and a jump back to Cycle Works and the end of another great SMNDFBR. Should be back again this Saturday but there might be a special little twist to the ride depending on how things work out but that's all I'm going to say just in case things don't work out.
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