To say that it's been a rough week would be a monumental understatement so it was good to get back on the bike and ride a little bit with friends and let the worries of the world fade away for a little bit.
Great group again for Saturday, two new faces even... maybe three but I feel Pat has been on a Saturday ride with us before but Larry and Matt hadn't so they were SMNDFBR virgins.
Being the last day of the National Bike Challenge, we decided to take the longer Malcolm loop and get in a few more miles than the shorter route.
There had been some talk of skipping Lippy's and getting lunch once we got back into Lincoln but once those smells hit you it's just so hard to resist. Not that any of us were disappointed in "settling" for great BBQ.
The nice thing about the long Malcolm loop is the I-80 bridge stop, one of my favorite places to stop and pop a cold one with friends. Bridge beer is after all a little higher class than our normal ditch beer stops.
A few more miles and we were back in Lincoln and thus the end of another Saturday Morning No Drop Fat Bike Ride. No ride next week due to an out of town fun ride but we should be back in two weeks, come join us.
I really do want to thank everyone who comes out and rides with us, especially the core group that shows up week after week to ride bikes and spend time together. I truly love each and everyone of you and I want you all to know that, events of this past week have shown that we aren't promised anything in this life so I wanted to make sure you all knew that. We always know when we are doing something for the first time but rarely, if ever, do we know when we are doing something for the last time but just like there is a first time for everything there is also a last time for everything, make sure that the time in between those two times is lived to it's fullest and that the people that are important to you know that they are important to you. This blog isn't one of my finest works by any stretch of the imagination but to be honest, I've sat down several times meaning to write it but nothing came. Sunday was a hard one and thoughts filled my mind but nothing I care to put out to the world came just yet... maybe someday, maybe never, maybe that will just be something for me. Anyway, if you cycle and live in Lincoln you know that the celebration ride for Randy Gibson was Sunday and it was more amazing than I thought it would be, so many people, so much support for Christy, Russ and Sofia and so much love. Below is a video that shows a few clips of the sheer number of cyclist that came out to ride, I don't think I've personally ever seen so many bicycles riding at one time for a ride that wasn't some kind of organized race.
My wife and I very much appreciated the ride and the Gibson family sharing Randy one more time with us. It was fun and somber at the same time and I think there were friendships reinforced and new friends made. One thought occurred to me after Randy's passing and the tragedy in Las Vegas: Folks will immediately go to your social media and look at your profile picture and last posted picture. I sure hope my last post or photo shows me doing something positive, pursuing a passion or with the folks I love. It is impossible to see Randy's Facebook page and not "get" what he was about.
ReplyDeleteIt was an amazing thing to see just how many people Randy influenced in the course of his time here. Thanks for coming out and being apart of the ride, I'll go check my profile pic now. :)
Delete