A Boy Named Leslie

Had a great turn out for the Saturday ride this week, the fact that Nathan was back in town helped bump the numbers up. At the start there were 20 of us on this warm January Saturday.




The plan was to ride out to Malcolm taking the normal route backwards, unfortunately nobody told that to Rick's tire and he flatted before we even made it 3/10ths of a mile. So our first regroup was held within a stones throw of the shop.


Rick, Nathan and Joel went back to the shop to get Rick fixed up and the plan was to meet out at the Reinkordt farm and then all ride into Malcolm.


We made it another 10th of a mile before David got the second flat of the day, it wasn't a great day to be a tube.



The second flat allowed the group from the first flat to catch up with us before we even made N Street and as a whole we proceeded onward toward Malcolm.

Little know fact, besides having some of the best BBQ in Nebraska; Malcolm is also the birthplace of Leslie Nunamaker or Les as he liked to be called... I'm taking that last bit at face value since I didn't know Les personally. Who the heck is Les Nunamaker you might ask, well Les is a two time World Series Champion; once in 1912 (beating the then New York Giants, now SF Giants) with the Red Sox and then again in 1920 with the Indians. Les died in 1938 in Hastings NE and is buried just outside of Aurora Nebraska in the Aurora Cemetery... which was formed with the help of General Delevan Bates, a medal of honor recipient from the Siege of Petersburg during the Civil War. The troops that fought for the Union Army in the siege were led by none other than Hiram Ulysses Grant, better known as General Ulysses S. Grant and our 18th president. Grant is also the 7th generation descendant of Thomas Miner and Elizabeth Booth... what is the significance of that? Well I happen to be the 12th generation descendant of the very same Thomas Miner and Elizabeth Booth, which makes Ulysses S. Grant nothing to me really nor I to him but it does make us loosely related and brings the whole story full circle. I know this has nothing at all to do with Fat Bikes or the ride but sometimes it amazes me how much history can be found right around you if you just have a desire to learn a little something and how this seemingly large world isn't all that big after all.



So, back to the actual ride... gravel was in pretty good shape, not as good as last week but still mostly dry and solid.




Just a tad past Conestoga Lake was our third regroup, the first one more than a mile away from the shop and the traditional ditch beer stop.




Once the refreshing Hamm's was properly disposed of it was on to Malcolm, the cows looked a little accusatory as we rode past but they couldn't possibly know we were stopping for brisket, could they?



Due to cow protests, and basketball tournament; I did not partake in BBQ while in Malcolm as the line was longer than I wanted to wait in. Most of the crew opted to wait it out and had their fill of BBQ while I and a few others decided to just grab some items for the Malcolm General Store before returning to meet the BBQ portion of the group. A birdy told me that Lippy's might be in their new location as soon as early February, if this is true another ride out that way will be in order once they are in their new digs.




Fueled by smoked meats, it was onward back towards Lincoln and our next mechanical issue, Larry had a brake pad that kept rubbing and slowing him down. Gary, our ride mechanic, quickly fixed the issue and we were once again off; thankfully it was a beautiful day with the sun shine and warm temps.




A few miles later and we were back in the friendly confines of the Capitol City, which brought to an end the Official SMNDFBR.




A few of us continued the unofficial ride down to White Elm to partake in their Barreled Aged Champurrado release, I thought it was fantastic and that also seemed to be the consensus of the group. If you're a Stout fan, get some before it's all gone; you won't regret it.


Good beer, great company and 60 minutes later, the unofficial SMNDFBR came to an end as we all headed back to the shop or to parts we call home.

No ride next week as it's the Frosty Bike Ride but there is still time to get registered for that ride and a chance to win a bicycle. Click the link for more information and to get signed up, hope to see you there.