28 Percent Of The Founding Fathers

Saturday was the 2nd annual Washington Jefferson Ride down in Hanover Kansas. Friday night I packed up all the cycling gear and hightailed it down to Lincoln to hook up with the regular crew and to shave 40 minutes off of the drive on Saturday. I thought it was all planned out so well, had everything packed and for the most part I did, until I turned on the camera to discover that the memory card was 2+ hours away in Omaha. So, there will be a lot fewer pictures this week but there will still be a few.




There was a little bit of everything on this ride, the temps were chilly to start but warmed up nicely, there was wind that just kept increasing as the day went on and the ditch beers were flowing on the ride as well. There was also a great group of folks from both Nebraska and Kansas, thus the name of the ride; Jefferson County in Nebraska and Washington County in Kansas.


There was even a half mile of beach to navigate.



The first 30 something miles was a blast, the winds were picking up but they were at our backs so everything was smooth sailing. As a bonus the winds also meant that the annual burning of the Flint Hills wasn't happening on Saturday, the lungs appreciated that little treat. The first spot for refuel was in the bustling metropolis of Endicott Nebraska and the tiny Cuppy's Bar, where they have a loose interpretation of the state's no smoking policy but the beverages were cold and cheap.



5 miles out of Endicott we met the full brunt of that tailwind as it became a head wind and it was not a welcomed event. Wind speeds according to Honeycutt's weather app were as high as 26 mph sustained winds with gusts much higher. 7 miles into the teeth of the head wind and we found ourselves in Steele City Nebraska and the Salty Dog Saloon.


Beverages were had and lunch was eaten before taking off for the remaining 20 miles into the head and cross winds back to Hanover. There are no pictures of this 20 miles because you were either making small riding into the headwinds or holding with all you had and hoped that your wheels weren't blown out from under you from the crosswinds. This was likely the windiest ride I've ever been on and for sure the windiest one I can remember.



Back in Hanover, pie awaited the weary group and it tasted like heaven after sucking down all that gravel dust that was being blown up by the gusts. Super fun ride, really great group of Nebraskans and Kansans and delicious pie at the end, not sure what else you could ask for. I am already looking forward to next years ride.

It Was a Joan Baez Kind of Day

If living in Nebraska has taught me anything it is to read the fine print, especially when it comes to late winter/early spring forecasts. 60+ degrees seemed like a really nice day, then there was the winds and oh how those winds sucked but it is Nebraska and we don't want to use one of our only two really nice days so early in the year.



The plan this week was to head out to Malcolm on a little bit of an extended loop to try to get in about 50 miles of gravel. Despite the wind, the sun was out and it was really a great day to be out on the bicycle getting in some base miles.



We met up with a farm dog on route, nothing special really about that as there are hundreds of them out there but this one was making sure it's owner got a little cardio before it decided to go home. Whose the good boy taking his owner for a run?



The plan was to stop at the bridge over the interstate to see if it was an adequate location for a bridge beer but a little fire ruined that plan.



As is usually the case when your first choice is closed, you look for the nearest dive and we just happened to stumble upon a dive bridge that was opened for business. While the bridge might have been divey, the White Elm Cinnamon Roll Stout was not.





Luck was with us and we caught a decent tailwind into Malcolm and found ourselves sitting on the porch, soaking up the sun and enjoying some refreshments before hitting the headwind home.






The winds picked up as the day went on and it got to be a bit brutal on the way back, folks were a bit spent from fighting and morale was sinking.



A command decision was made on Alvo and we made a little cross country B line for Fallbrook cutting off a few miles of the proposed route.


As a award for cheating ourselves out of those miles I decided to stop at Schillingbridge to show them that cheaters sometimes do prosper. This ended the ride, I mean some of us did ride back to the shop but most folks went there separate ways after a little chow. I think everyone was a little wore out from the breeze and ready to shower and relax. No ride next weekend as we will be heading down to Hanover Kansas for the 2nd annual Washington Jefferson Ride.