The first day of spring was officially on Saturday but because we can't have nice things in Nebraska, it was also windy as all get out. It wasn't just your garden variety windy day it was a watch out for houses falling on the wicked witch of the west kind of windy, steady 25+ mph with gusts almost up to 40 mph.
Since we aren't very bright we weren't going to let a little thing like gale force winds stop us from riding gravel out in the open, on the wind swept plains. The plan, in fact, was to get in a half a hundy on this blustery day... maybe momma did raise a few fools.
If it hadn't been for the wind it would have been a really great day to be out on the gravel, the roads were running smooth and fast for the most part. The plan was to skirt the edge of Eagle and take that road out to Greenwood. We've done this route a few times before and there always seems to be a strong south wind when we do... this was the first time we decided to take that 12 mile stretch that runs north/south and do it in reverse so that we weren't into the wind for it. Like I said, maybe momma did raise a few fools.
Heading east out of Lincoln the wind wasn't horrible yet and it was mostly a cross wind which helped, although a strong cross wind can almost be worse than a head wind as it can knock the bike right out from under you if a gust hits you just right on a loose section of gravel. One of the nice things about the recent migration away from pea gravel to more of the chunky white rock is that once the white rock gets ridden off, which can happen quickly, it leaves a super smooth almost pavement like surface beneath it as long as it's dry. Pea gravel never seemed to ever clear out altogether so you were always riding on some aggregate on top of the dirt of the roadbed.
Once we turned the corner and started heading north life was good and speeds ticked up considerably with that wind at our backs.
That was right up until Roy got a flat, little did we know this was a foreshadowing of how the day would go.
Most of the group was not aware of the flat and they rode off leaving only the smaller group, which was okay because after all that flat repairing it was time for an I-80 bridge beer. Fewer thirsty riders meant more beer for the rest of us to pour into our Covid cups and wet our whistles.
We did rendezvous with most of the rest of the crew outside of the Uptown Saloon in Greenwood, some decided they had gone far enough north and turned around early so they didn't have to fight the wind as much on the way back. A quick little stop for some refreshments and we were off on the rest of the course.
Shortly after we left Greenwood Roy pulled off with his second flat and was a dozy, it just kept spewing Orange Seal no matter what we tried. Finally we gave up on trying to get the tire to seal and put a boot and tube in so we could roll on homeward again.
Sarah saw how much fun Roy was having with his flats and decided to have one of her own shortly after we got into Lincoln, I don't have any pictures of that one but fear not it is in the video so you won't miss out. Rolled into Cycle Works a bit after that, ending another great Saturday ride. Really hoping for some decent Saturdays coming up to get out and ride without the fear of rain, mud or wind but we will see how that goes.
This week I decided to make some Irish Tacos partially to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, even if a little late, and partially because corned beef was on sale after St. Patrick's Day... it's like a no brainer. Here is the brisket going into the Instant Pot with a full Buffalo Sweat stout and 7 cloves of garlic for additional flavor because flavor is good.
While the brisket was turning itself into corned beef I made a tasty glaze that would be added after coming out of the Instant Pot and before going into the oven, the remainder of the sauce would get drizzled onto the tacos.
Potatoes were mashed and made creamy and delicious.
The corned beef came out of the IP, got the glaze added and then spent 30 minutes in the over to let that glaze do it's thing before it was sliced and made ready for the finished product.
Tortilla, layer of mashed potatoes, corned beef, fresh, raw red cabbage for crunch and then the glaze sauce drizzled on top. These were beyond delicious and they might become a St. Patrick's Day tradition but the next time I think I will cook the corned beef in the IP a little longer so that it can easily be shredded. Once shredded it will get tossed in the glaze and then added to the tortilla, I think shredded will allow for better meat placement and make it easier to eat. Give it a try, it does not disappoint.
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