It's Only Flat On The Bottom

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.

 

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.

Firecracker Fiddy

Not sure why (probably one too many blows to the head while biking) but for some reason it sounded like a good idea to get up at 4:30 am on the 4th of July so that I could ride in the Firecracker 50 in Seward Nebraska hosted by the Great Plains Bicycling Club, first time I've ever ridden it. Had a pretty good crowd already by 6:45 am when we got there so I obviously wasn't the only crazy fool up way too early on a day off.


Looking at the clouds while we were rolling out of Seward I figured rain would be the main concern we would have to deal with, ended up being the wind that would have it's say on the ride this day instead of rain, ended up feeling like I was biking against a blow dryer. I'm not math genius but our average speed for the first 25 miles was 17.8 mph, because of the 20+ mph head wind on the way back it dropped the average speed for the whole ride down to 14.9. Again not a mathematician at all but it's way slower on the way back if it drops the overall average down 3 mph but how much slower I couldn't tell you but it was a huge difference to drop it that much.


Since it was a free ride the SAG was limited to just this one station at about 10 miles out of Seward, because it was a loop however you encountered it again at mile 40 before heading back into Seward. It was much more welcomed at mile 40 on this day than it was at mile 10.

Once we made the turn away from the tailwind the real struggle began, this unassuming bar in Brainard at about mile 27 was a true godsend as an unofficial SAG station as I didn't see another gas station until we got all the way back to Seward. The awesome thing about small town bars, other than the fact that they still exist, is that they are not only a bar but they are the social hub (think Facebook before Facebook existed and people actually sat across a table from each other and talked to each other) of the community, the place where everyone goes to hang, even children until the evening hours. If it weren't for the fact that these bars are often the only place to go in a small town it probably wouldn't have had any thing but beer and liquor but luckily it was fully stalked with cooler of soda, Gatorade and other convenience store fare. Thank god for small town bars!

The push back to Seward was awful fighting a constant 25+ headwind all the way back, luckily I was able to hook onto the end of a 4 person pace line at about mile 35, even that little bit of wind block made life a lot more enjoyable for the last 15 miles. Unfortunately we all got kind of stacked up on the way back because of the fierce wind and I lost my riding partner somehow, kept looking over my shoulder and just catching a glimpse of another rider that I assumed was him... as it turned out he had a few leg cramps on the last push and had to go into survival mode. Even with the wind it still ended up being a decent ride, one I will probably do again next year how can you beat a free ride.

Warm, Windy and a bit of Wilderness

Any Saturday where the temps are in the 60s by 8 am is a good day to go riding and that's what I did.


While the temperature might have been ideal the wind was far from it, that's a huge flag standing straight out... 20+ mph winds.


The Arena is coming along nicely, won't be long before the face of the Haymarket is changed forever and finding a parking spot is slightly more impossible than it is now.



Slipped into the park for a little dirt while it's still dirt and not mud or frozen mud. Stopped by the ole closed bridge, still looks in good shape to me but it's be slated to be removed and replaced sometime in 2014. Sure to miss riding  through that section on a regular basis.


I've been known to listen to a country song before but never did care for Ms. Reba. This little honey might not have a grammy, might not be a member of the Grand Ole Opry or the Country Music Hall of Fame but she sure does sing real pretty in her own right.



This really has nothing to do with Wilderness Park and only loosely with biking but it's pretty darn good and it's only around for a short time. I recommend picking some up if you like dark beer, before it goes away or the label becomes reality.