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.

Lunch Lurch, Thanks Google

Headed down to Lincoln a little early this week so that I could meetup with some of the usual suspects for a hearty breakfast at the always tasty Hub. It did not disappoint and as it turned out, it was a good thing that we had a bigger breakfast.


Warmer temps always brings a bit of a bigger crowd and with the mercury slated to rise almost to 50° on Saturday, a decent crowd is what we got.





We snaked our way through town out to the Bison Trail and eventually on to Pleasant Dale, the wind was supposed to be mostly NNW but there definitely seemed to be a bit more west in there than I'd hoped for.



Rode the 2019 Giant Revolt Advanced 2, that I'll be demoing this year, out on Saturday. I have about 4 good rides on it and hope to pop up my initial thoughts on the bike here soon. For now I will just say that it is fast, really fast... where the Journeyman (last years demo) was a great all around, ultra affordable, gravel bike; the Giant screams RACE ME.




Pace was pretty quick so not a whole lot of pictures of the ride, wind was definitely a bit more out of the north than advertised. This meant that the hopes for a decent tailwind on the way back was fading by every degree of wind change.





A quick zip up A Street and we found ourselves in the village of Pleasant Dale and what we thought was going to be out lunch stop. As it turned out Google had some outdated hours and the bar did not open at 11 as we had thought, it actually opened at 3 pm. Since it was not quite noon yet we decided not to wait the 3 plus hours for opening and pushed on.





As it turned out there was a slight tailwind on the way back, it was mostly a glancing crosswind but it was enough that we made pretty quick work of the gravel on the way back. Before we knew it we were gliding into Lincoln.





All the pedaling made for some thirsty and hungry riders, we stopped at Method for a quick libation before heading down for tacos at El Chapparo. It was the first time I'd ever been there and the food lived up to it's reputation, if you haven't tried it you need to go. That officially ended another fantastic SMNDFBR.


Likely an abbreviated ride next Saturday so that we can hit up the Bike Swap Meet out at Zipline, if you're looking for some bicycle parts, clothing or accessories this is a must go event. Hope to see some of you there.


Sunday was a special treat, Big Mike sent a group message seeing if anyone was up for a gravel ride. It's been ages since I had rode with Mike so I said I was down. We met at his house and rolled out toward the gravel on 132nd and State, glad to see that you can now get to the gravel part of 132nd from the neighborhoods without needing to get onto State Street; that was not ideal.



Temps were up on Sunday but so was the wind, the yang to the yin I suppose. It was still good to get out and enjoy the sun and warmer temps than we've been experiencing lately.


Mike also shared a good beer he'd brought back recently from the land of Cleve, the seller said it rivaled Founders KBS... I don't know about all that but it was good in it's own right. I'd purchase it again if it were available locally but alas it is not, maybe the next time I'm heading that direction.



The Revolt got the call up again for Sunday, it makes me giddy... also got a little custom touch on the top tube. You know, just in case anyone wonders what type of bicycle it is. Well, it's Gravel AF of course.