Tale of Three Rides

It was the best of rides, it was the worst of rides, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness... It's been a pretty eventful half week as far as rides go, so instead of doing all three separately let's mash 'em all together and cover them in one post. Here we go.


Thursday was the annual Cycle Works "Hut Ride" but because it was cold, windy and not an ideal day for a ride, only 4 of us showed up.


Not to be deterred by a little cold, we ventured out despite the low numbers. Valarie and Shelby were troopers even though they were both freezing, we did take a little break in the tunnel to get out of the wind. It wasn't half bad in there when  you weren't being blasted by 25 mph winds.




We did make it all the way to The Hut, enjoyed a cold beverage and took in the sights before heading back. It's crazy how much light pollution Lincoln creates and you can really see it on cloudy nights, The Hut is 10.5 miles from the shop and it's visible all the way out there.


Of course Saturday meant the SMNDFBR and even though it was quite chilly, everyone was all thumbs up.





Since the Halloween Night Ride was later that day, we decided to do a casual in town ride instead of the usual gravel or dirt routes. While it was chilly to start, in the 20 degree range, the lack of wind made it quite a comfortable temperature for a ride.



Stopped to for a nature break and at almost 12 hundred dollars, we also happened upon what is quite possibly the worlds most expensive 18 pack of Busch Light.



With all the changing colors, it really was a beautiful day to be outside on a bicycle.





Just because we didn't go out of town didn't mean we didn't find a great spot to stop for food, this time it was Cultiva and the meal was brunch or breakfast depending on your preference. Food and coffee was good as always and as always the place was packed.



It was so nice out by the time we finished eating that we stood outside soaking up the sunshine for a bit before taking off back to the shop.



A quick spin back to the shop ended another Saturday Morning No Drop Fat Bike Ride. I'm not sure how often we will do these kinds of rides but I have to admit it's kind of nice to just have a casual ride once in awhile.


Saturday afternoon/evening meant the Halloween Night Ride, I threw on the costume and the purple bats and I was ready for the shenanigans to begin.




Roy, Stephanie, Karla and I rode over to the White House to pick up The Donald and his plus one.










We hightailed it over to Cycle Works to meetup with the other riders and check out some of the awesome costumes.


Of course, Mr. President could not be left alone with the ladies...


A quick group shot and we were off to Moran's.




It was a quick spin to Moran's and as you can tell by the lack of cold weather gear, it was a great night for a ride.


We kind of filled the place up, thankfully we weren't all sweaty and smelly yet. The two ladies at the bottom right of the picture ended up being our paid judges, along with Todd, for the costume and best bike contest... I say paid because each of them earned a cool dime for their efforts, which came out of my personal budget. No new shoes for me this month.





The judges made their way around checking out the costumes and bicycles, since I knew most of the riders I felt that impartial judging could be done best by people that knew nothing about any of us and they did a great job.


Sarah won best female costume, Carlos best male costume and the penguin duo of Rick and Debe won best bicycle.


With the drinks drank, the costumes contested and the prizes awarded, it was time to move onto White Elm.





White Elm puts out some really good beers and you can't hardly beat the location if you're coming by bicycle. Their Fluffaluffagus Stout is one of my favorites.






Lines were a bit long but since we were the line, I suppose it was our own fault.



We all did get a cold frosty beverage or two eventually, the two guys working were actually pretty fast all thing considered.



The final stop on the ride was Yia Yia's for some much needed food.







Great group for the Halloween Ride, Joe even learned that having ample cleavage can be a hindrance when it comes to drinking.


They even had the Husker game on the "big screen" there at Yia Yia's. Monstrous thanks to everyone who came out and rode with us on the Halloween Ride, it was a great time.

Unfortunately the evening ended on a sour note, someone cut Rick's lock and made off with his 2015 Salsa Blackborow. Not too many of these guys around in Lincoln so if you see it call the police and report it please, lets get the bike back where it belongs. Way too many of these recently, the last few images are for reference purposes so you know what to look for, the first two are Rick's bike and the last is the stock photo from Salsa.