Pronounced with an Umpty

Saturday I was supposed to be out of town and in Missouri for the annual Biketobierfest but the weather just did not cooperate for such festivities. During the time I thought I was going to be away however, Carolyn offered to lead the usual Saturday morning ride. Seeing no reason to change things just because I wasn't going out of town, I became a mere participant in the ride.




Carolyn had a route heading out to the always popular Quonset in Elmwood Nebraska, although she opted to take a northern route out rather than the normal southern route. The northern route had all the hills, which might be why we normally don't go that way but change is always good, even if it makes you wanna cry.


Ditch beer came early on Saturday, at about mile 10 or 12 of a 46 mile route, but after the initial hills it was a welcomed break. It was also a blast from the past, Matt had sent me some Zombie Monkie from Tallgrass taproom. Yep, that Tallgrass and ZM was always my favorite of their offerings, while the cannery is still closed they have reopened the taproom so if you're in Manhattan and love their beer, it might be worth a stop.




In addition to the hills, there was an awesome little MMR on route that thankfully was dry if not smooth. I was actually pleasantly surprised that it was dry as much as it has rained on us lately.




Since we rode into Elmwood from the north we also didn't have to climb that hill to the Quonset and that did not make me mad at all. I still say that if you've never been out to the Quonset, you should go; great food and they've always been super friendly to smelly cyclists.





Plus they really get into Halloween, which happens to be my favorite fall "holiday"... and that creepy ass blue baby was enough to give you nightmares. I must find one!


The ride out was pretty quick paced and the ride back was no less so, legs were feeling it so there weren't too many pics on the way back since some of us took the MoPac and some took A street. It was a great ride with some fantastic folks though and we just beat the rain back to the shop, nothing better than not getting caught in the rain. It was actually a really nice day to be out on two wheels, looking forward to more fall days with cooler temps. Thanks for the great ride and route Carolyn!


I was also gifted this Coleman cooler sleeve, it should help up the ditch beer game for sure. Thanks to all involved in that, I'm sure it'll be put to good use.

David was also giving dance lessons out in Elmwood, also stuff of nightmares.

The Well Went Dry and The Cow Did Too

Saturday was the Homestead 100 out of Beatrice Nebraska, Beatrice is the home of the Homestead Monument of American so I suppose it's only natural to have a Homestead ride. We've done this ride a few times now, twice on "gravel" and at least once on the road route.


I was told this was going to be a casually paced ride, I was told nobody was worried about going fast and finishing quickly... so Pugsley got the call up for the ride. I always thought that Lady Liberty was a lot bigger than this, or at least she appears so in pictures.




The roll out from town was fairly mild but once we hit the limestone trail things ticked up markedly but I should have know that casual pace rarely ever is.




Despite the brisk headwind heading south, we scooted along fairly quickly and rode into the first SAG stop at mile 10 seemingly minutes after heading out. Skies were dark and threatening and I was sure we were going to end up getting soaked at any minute.




Just outside of Barneston was the second SAG, while we didn't stop there on the way out we would visit Barneston on the way back. I am always amazed and a little jealous when I ride this trail, the facilities are amazing compared to what is around Lincoln on this same trail. This gazebo and bathroom, yep and actual bathroom that doesn't look like a tree or a bush, sits just south of Barneston; a town of 111 people.




A short 3 miles from Barneston is the Kansas/Nebraska border or the Nebraska/Kansas border, whichever you prefer. Always a good spot for a dual state beer stop and some of us got way more excited about the border than others.



The original plan was to turn around at about mile 32 which would put us just shy of Marysville but get us a metric century. When we got there however some of the group decided to push on without us, had I known that I would have been more than content with just hitting the border and heading back. Oh well, that tailwind was nice on the way back and we met Todd and Isabell near Barnston on the way back and talked them into a pub stop.




Grand Avenue in Barnston is probably one of the last remaining businesses in town and it's a throw back to days gone by. Unlike the bar in Memphis I bought two bags of chips, a coke and a Mike's for $4.50 which is only 50 cents more than one drink in Memphis. Now that's how small town drinking is done. Being just a block of the trail you'd think that they bar would have neon signs on the trail directing cyclists to stop in and spend some money but that's not the case at all. While they will take your money, the lady who runs the place seemed a little less than excited about "herds of cyclists" showing up unannounced but that could just be some of that small town charm you hear so much about. In all fairness she has always seemed friendly and social when we've been there and I suppose 15 sweaty cyclists just showing up could put a bit of a rush into an otherwise dull day.


A quick 20 mile spin later and we were back in Beatrice where the Octoberfest was in full swing, I opted not to partake but head home instead. We never did see a single drop of rain so that was good, the head wind was a bit harsh but that is Nebraska for you and as usual I think the winds shifted a little bit so that we were fighting it in both directions... not that it seemed to effect the pace. 14.2 on a 50 lbs fat bike is plenty quick for me but it was a good ride with friends and a great day on the bike.

Sprague-tember

The calendar says that it is mid September but the heat on Saturday was hinting more toward the dog days of summer than the end of it. The warmer temps brought out the crowds though, I think at our height we had 19 riders and three new faces in Ted, Marya and Brandon; thanks for coming out and we hope to see you all again.



The plan was to head out to Sprague and a visit to the Randy stop sign to change out the RG sticker since the two year anniversary is on the 23rd. Had a bit of a scary moment on Coddington where I thought for sure this truck was going to take out Todd and Ted, tried to pass with traffic coming at him and had to swerve back into his lane to avoid a head on collision. Yes that is the trailer less than three feet from Todd and Ted and yes it is in between the two of them. I will never understand what if the world could possibly be so important that you're willing to put another person's life in danger just to save a few seconds out of your day.



Thankfully we all made it onto the gravel and lived to bike another day.




Heading south into the teeth of the wind, we felt every mile per hour of it and it had to be in the upper teens to lower 20 mph range.



We made it to the Stop sign but discovered that someone else had already beat us out there and not too long ago as the new sticker was in really good shape so I held onto the one I had brought out for another day.



A short jaunt down Sprague Rd and we stopped into Traditions Pub for a mid ride refuel stop.



With a healthy tailwind to our advantage the ride back was much speedier and before we knew it we were back in Lincoln and enjoying the game day atmosphere with a few thousand other people. A quick spin back to Cycle Works brought and end to another fabulous Saturday Morning No Drop Fat Bike Ride. Thanks to everyone who made it out, there will not be one next week so that we can head down to Beatrice and support the Homestead 100. Hope to see some familiar faces down south riding with us.