Two Zero One Eight In Review

Man am I way behind this year, 2018 has already ridden off into the sunset two weeks ago and I am just now getting around to the year end recap.



January came in cold with ice beards and plenty of snow, it left pretty much still being cold but most of the snow had vanished by the waning days of the month.




February was a repeat of January, snowy at the beginning and not so much by the end but we did do the running of the goats at the end of February... I thought March was in like a lion out like a lamb. Yes I know goats and sheep aren't the same thing but if you ignore that for a moment, that's a funny line right there.






Things started to warm up in March and rides and ride related activities also started to wake from hibernation. Run for the Bridges bike assistance kicked the month off, followed closely by a pre-ride or two of the Solstice course to make sure things would be good to go for that. Lincoln saw it's first ever bike share stations popping up but the bikes would be about a month out yet. MMR roads were dry enough and rideable, which isn't always the case in March, temps were mild with a little chill in the air but not too horrible.








April saw the warm up continue and the rides outside of Nebraska pickup, we had the Renegade Gents Race and my first trip to the High Trestle Bridge early on, followed up by the Cool Hand Luke gravel race and then the Covered Bridges ride. The Covered Bridges was a lot of fun and was a ride and not a race so you could set your own pace, there was talk of an annual event but I haven't seen an actual date pop up anywhere yet. Tour de Brew season kicked of in April also and as promised, Lincoln kicked off it's bike share program with a ton of bike share bikes.



May started out super nice, short sleeves and shorts were the dress for rides and I started exploring more local Omaha gravel with a ride from one of the local shops on Wednesdays.




Wear Yellow is always a must do May ride, this year we opted for the gravel route even though it was a bit overcast and mushy for most of the day; sitting next to a fire at Mahoney State Park after made for the perfect end of a chilly day though.



The Ride of Silence was also in May, a little bit bigger crowd and a little bit more meaning this year with the death of Randy Gibson near the end of 2017.





The end of May we were riding the inaugural (maybe one and done) Schmidty's Single Speed Spectacular, 75 miles on a one speed bike. Such a dumb idea that I went and signed up for an even longer one this year in the C.O.G. 100.




Early June I rode a customized Buffalo Stampede ride, started with the roadies but veered off on the gravel and headed down towards Blue Hill and then back to Hastings. Was a windy day for sure but that area is super flat so that helped a ton.



By mid June the heat was on for the Loess Hills Enduro but we managed to push through and unlike last year, I was able to finish this year. Of course I also didn't have the Sto Mil and 40 mph winds like last year either.






The end of June was the 2nd iteration of the Solstice, running an event and being on your feet all day might just be more tiring than riding in it. It also saw two of our great friends tie the knot in a beautiful ceremony.




The Bohemian Sto Mil was at the end of July, a new date from last year and temps were hot but the wind was nowhere near as brutal as the previous year. Another good finish was a great way to end the month and being able to ride with friends all the way through was just the icing on the cake.



August was the annual Kolache ride out to Wilber for Czechfest and later on in the month a failed attempt at Gravel Worlds. Not sure what it is about that one but I seem to have a good and then bad year every other, something I'll need to figure out in 2019 and beyond.



September was the Pony Express, first time for me but some of the others had done it the year before and it looked like a good time. It was a little wet, a little cold and a more than a little bit of an ass kicker but a nice tall cold one at the end helped.



The end of September was the end of the season appreciation BBQ that we have at the shop for folks who came out and rode with us during the season and to round out the month was the Homestead 100 in Beatrice.


October was the annual Halloween ride as things started to slow down as the weather got colder and the days shorter.



November was the Bacon Ride and the annual Black Friday ride, wind and colder weather was the norm by the end of November.







December we saw some snow, unfortunately it was after the annual Global Fat Bike Day ride so we didn't get the white ride I was hoping for but it was still a great time as always. To wrap up the year it ended with the annual Holiday Lights Ride. It's been a great year of rides and friends, miles were a bit down this year from last year by about 200 miles but smiles were up and really isn't that what it's all about.