Blowin in the Wind

Earlier in the week I planned a route out to Kramer Nebraska for the Saturday ride, somehow in all of our adventures we had yet to make it to Kramer so it seemed like a natural choice. Then as has been the case lately, as it got closer to the ride the weather turned crappier and crappier until we were facing steady 25 mph winds with 40 mph gusts and temps hovering in the low 40s.




Since the ride isn't a one person show I decided to post a poll on the event page with several options for alternative routes if folks didn't want to deal with a stiff head wind on the way back but in the end folks decided that we would ride the original route wind be damned. Fair weather riders we are not and I was glad that the group chose to stick with it.



The weather wasn't the only thing we would have to deal with on Saturday however, Mike snapped a pedal off and went down pretty hard before we even left town. I have heard stories about Crank Bros pedals breaking but had never seen one first hand until yesterday, thankfully he was alright but he did tweak his front wheel a little also in the crash.


Gary used his years of expert bicycle mechanic experience to beat the wheel back into shape so that Mike could get back to the shop. Don't try this at home folks.


Speaking of Gary, yesterday was the maiden voyage of his new Karate Monkey in Hi-vis black, she is a beaut Clark.




Once on the gravel we started the day heading mostly west and south, putting the wind behind us for the most part and making the ride rather enjoyable on the way out.



We even had two new faces, Tee and Mike, join us yesterday. Knowing the route that was planned I was a little leery when they showed up on 25 mm road bikes but they actually both did really well considering the lack of volume in the tires.



The route out was a familiar one to begin with, out SW 40th to Saltillo where we stopped for a ditch beer before venturing onto new roads, some of them not even much of a road.


Some of the best roads I've ridden start after you see the Gravel Ends sign and today would be no exception.






Now these are my kind of roads, who knew that this gem existed just a few miles down from one of usual routes. Might have to put this into more routes in future now that we know it exists.





We turned the corner onto 86th and it went from minimum maintenance to no maintenance just like that. There was some concern that it would just end and that we would have to eventually back track but we were all feeling adventurous so onward we went to see what lay ahead. As a caveat, there was a sign that said Dead End and we had to skirt through a small opening to get to this part of the road but there weren't any private property or no trespassing signs posted and Google Maps shows it as a road so we felt we weren't violating someone's land. We did talk to some locals once we got to Kramer and they didn't think it belonged to any one person either and thought even if it did, nobody would have cared that we were out there riding on it.



Now on the far side there was a bit more of a "fence" that looked like someone had just run down not to long ago with an authorized vehicles only on it but again all indications pointed to it still being a "road" and not private property. Likely closed due to lack of maintenance but for us that made it even more ideal not less so.




This was the only place where Mike and Tee's choice of tire size seemed to really hinder them so we had a little bit of time to wait at the far end.



After a bit though we did start to wonder if they had a flat, a mechanical or decided to turn back as we hadn't seen them, so a few of us went back to look for them.



None of the above ended up causing the delay, instead it was due to them sinking into the softer ground on the skinny tires causing them to need to walk their bikes more than they thought they would need to but all was good in the end.


Back as a group again we snapped one more group photo before setting off towards Kramer once more.




With the wind still mostly behind us or blowing across us we made good time to the Church at 114th and Panama for our last regroup before heading down the hill and into Kramer.





Kramer Bar & Grill was a welcomed site and it was nice to get out of the wind for a bit. Food was really good and inexpensive on top of that, we will definitely have to put Kramer on the rotation of small towns to hit up on Saturday's. Friendly folks too, even if we did scare the waitress initially we we all strolled through the door together... probably doubled their usual Saturday lunch crowd would be my guess.


The only other business in what could be described as downtown Kramer was the community hall, complete with two mud scrappers and a pay phone! I for one really dig these small towns that are a dying breed, there is no official population of Kramer anywhere that I can find but if I had to guess by looking at a map I'd say the population is less than a dozen people.



Once lunch was done it was time to get back on the road and into the winds for the ride back, if you could hold the wheel of the person in front of you and take turns as a group pulling or following it wasn't too bad but if you got left out in the wind it was tough going and we got a little stretched out at times.




Budget cuts have closed more than a few country roads due to a lack of money for upkeep making them impassible by automobile but totally passable via bicycle, two of these roads were on the route Saturday. The one off of Saltillo was a fantastic discovery, Martell road turned out to be a bust when we discovered that the bridge over the creek was completely gone and with steep muddy banks it was impassible. Win some and lose some I guess.


Remains of the last two wheeled vehicle to try to cross the creek perhaps.




Thankfully we weren't more than a half mile down the road when it just ended, a quick back track and we were slogging along on the gravel again. We got to Wittstruck road and decided to head east and pick up the Homestead trail and seek some shelter in the trees since the wind seemed to be picking up as the hours went on.


Once on the Homestead we only had about 9 or so miles left until we were back at the shop, not much for pictures as it was getting late in the day so it was mostly heads down and pedaling. Everyone was so wiped that there wasn't even the usual post ride beverage, everybody just sort of went home and called it a day.

Thanks to everyone who came out and shared in the suck yesterday, you all made it just a little bit more enjoyable.

No ride next week as most of the crew will be in Des Moines for the Gents Race, should be a good time as long as Mother Nature cooperates... and so far she is not playing nice.