SMNDFBR - Heavy Metal and Mullets, It’s How We Were Raised

Yesterday was the first truly cold start for the Saturday Morning No Drop Fat Bike Ride. While it was the first, it likely won't be the last as it is that time of year for colder days and the potential for snow.


Despite the chilly start, we had a really good turn out of warmly dressed cyclists.


Not wanting to even get close to the downtown area because of the early Husker game this week, we meandered through town on the cities magnificent trail system. Somehow we lost one rider before we even made it to the zoo so we regrouped while we waited for them to catch up.


MG, wheelies on either the front or the rear wheel, he makes them look simple. My dentist says I'm not allowed to attempt these.



Once we were all back together it was off to Wilderness for a little single track, the Park was in perfect riding condition.


Naturally a ride in the Park isn't complete without a stop at the new bridge.






After a little more single track, it was time for the gravel portion of the ride.


Despite being a chilly day it was a great day to be out on the bike so we decided to ride out to Sprague after Wilderness Park.






With harvest over, we had the roads almost all to ourselves.


Traditions Pub was our destination in Sprague for a little lunch before the return ride back to Lincoln.



With the game on, the place was hoppin but luckily we were able to find a table in the corner. Another drawback of colder temps is that there is a lot more gear you have to stow when you stop somewhere warm, cyclist sprawl I suppose you could call it.



As always, the food was really good. Got a pretty good kick out of how the waitress kept track of who had what, I ordered the Cubition so I was Cubibikers... I've been called a lot worse that's for sure.


While we were having a great day on the bikes, it seems that someone socked Herbie in the mouth, poor guy looked like he had a fat lip or two. Feel better Herbie.


Not sure if it's the food or the Deadwood that has Ed smiling ear to ear.




On the return trip we hit up an MMR in Bennet Road, it did not disappoint as it was dry, smooth and fast.



Bennet Road wasn't the only dirt we found on Saturday however, the Jamaica Trail reroute is currently just a dirt section and it was not as smooth or fast. Should be good to go once it's finessed into shape and then covered in crushed limestone.


While it wasn't a big deal for our group, the three trike type cycles in the background here looked more than a little concerned about it as they contemplated trying the unfinished reroute.


A few more miles and another SMNDFBR was in the bag. Thanks to all who made it out, as always, great riding with you guys and gals.

There will be a ride next Saturday but we will keep it short and sweet with just a spin through Wilderness, weather permitting, due to the Holiday. So, if you feel like you might have eaten a bit too much turkey or pie come on out and join us to burn off a few of those calories.

Hustlin to the Hut

Last night was the Light & Motion demo at the shop and we couldn't have scripted a nicer night for it. Quick run down on new features on their lights and what makes their lights a great choice.



After a quick run down, it was time to strap the lights on and go for a ride. I ended up with the TAZ 1200, the 1200 representing the number of lumen the light produced or how bright it is, they also have a 1500 lumen light in the TAZ family. I know what you're thinking... what the heck is a lumen? Not to get too scientific but a lumen is used to measure how much light is emitted from the bulb, to put it into perspective a typical car headlight is between 800-1200 lumen, which put the TAZ 1200 on par with a car headlight for brightness. That's a super bright light and for most cyclists you'll never need a light that bright but don't discount that light just yet and here's why. The TAZ has five settings, High/Medium/Low and then strobe and race settings, lets push aside the strobe and race and just look at the three most common settings. The TAZ will run at 1200 lumen for roughly 1.5 hours but if you knock that down to medium it will put out 600 lumen for 3 hours and on low it still produces 300 lumen for up to 6 hours. So while you might not ever need the 1200 lumen if you plan on riding longer in the dark the ability to run at 600 lumen for 3 hours or 300 lumen for 6 might make up for the slight price increase in an Urban 800 light. If you ran an Urban 800 you'd get the same three run times 1.5/3/6 hours on high, medium and low but at a lower lumen... 800/400/200 so upping the maximum lumen also effectively ups the run times at a higher lumen, so while  you might not need all that brightness it might be worth it for the run time vs. lumen ratio.



Whoa, that's enough of the technical mumbo jumbo. Once we had the lights strapped on it was time to rid, some of the pictures are a bit blurry but night time photography while moving is always a bit touch and go.



While the lights are great on the city trails, we really got to see just how bright they are once we crossed over 84th Street heading out on the MoPac where very little to no other light was available. I remember riding years ago at night with lights and they were so dim you didn't dare go too fast for fear of running into because you couldn't see all that far in front of you. With the modern lights that isn't much of a concern anymore as they will light the trail well in front of you, I'd be willing to bet you would be able to see and identify objects on the path out to 100 feet and maybe even a little beyond that depending on the lumen output of the light. This rang true last night as we were hurtling through the darkness at daytime speeds out to the Hut.


Our group for the ride.


Not only was there less light out at the hut, there was also less warmth. You could feel it getting cooler the farther from Lincoln we got, luckily we brought some items with us to help heat us from the inside out.




While out at the hut we decided to kill all the lights and enjoy the lack of light pollution to gaze at the clear night sky. I was also rather impressed with the camera's low light abilities, while a little grainy and blurry when someone moved, overall they turned out quite good considering the only light was what the moon was producing. Had I had a tripod on me they probably would have turned out even better considering these were shot holding the camera. Any way...


Lights of Lincoln off in the distance.


After a refreshment and some star gazing it was time to switch lights, to give every one a chance to experience the different lights, and head back to Lincoln. As always, we had a fantastic group of riders show up and the weather was equally great, anytime you make it to November and you're still wearing summer jerseys and shorts at night you can't really complain. Thanks to all who made it out.

Gravel On The Inside, Dirt On The Outside

Today was the Giant/Liv demo out at Wilderness Park, its been awhile since Giant has been to Lincoln so I was pretty excited to ride some of their bikes. Unfortunately for me, I had been suffering from a fall cold the week before. While I was starting to feel better near the end of the week I was still a bit drained and on top of that the voice had gotten really raspy and gravely, so if you really want to make the reading of this blog more accurate you'll have to use the froggy voice from the Little Rascals. That is pretty much what I sounded like, when I was able to talk at all.


It was an absolutely beautiful day for riding, just wished I would have felt better but I wasn't going to let that stop me. I've owned a Giant Anthem before, Michaela has sort of inherited it, so I knew what they rode like... yes they are not 27.5 and not 29 but I felt that they were close enough that I wasn't all that interested in those. The bike I came for was their new XTC Advanced + in 27.5+ .


They only had one medium however and it was already out, not wanting to just stand around on such a gorgeous day I opted to take the Farley out with Gary, Janelle and Ed while they tried out a few of the Giant and Liv bikes.


Even on the Farley it was a great ride through the park and the rest of the gang looked like they were thoroughly enjoying the bikes that they had taken out.


Ed had taken out the large XTC and it seemed to really hold the corners well and zip right along, I tried to get a good picture of the two tire sizes together but that's more difficult while moving than I anticipated. While they were wide, they were on the smaller plus size at 2.8" on the back and 3" on the front so there was still room for larger tires if you wanted to go that route.


We got back just in time to see the medium XTC take off for another ride through the park.


Not wanting to miss it again, I put my name on the list and decided to have a little snack. New to the shop are these Bully jerky snacks made by the Sweetwood Jerky Company. They are a hickory smoked beef bar blended with black pepper, cherries and blueberries, not only are they really tasty but they are softer than other jerky snacks making them easier to eat on the bike and they are compact enough you can stuff them in a frame bag or pack without any trouble. Don't let the cherry and blueberry throw you off either, neither was over powering and really complemented the saltiness of the jerky well.

They do make you a bit thirsty though and I would have washed it down with this Vanilla Bean Buffalo Sweat that someone had left on the table at the demo but because alcoholic beverages are not allowed in Lincoln parks, I decided the best course of action was to dump it out and place the can in the trash. Obviously there were some hooligans out in Wilderness today.


Probably the same hooligan that leaned his bicycle on the tire of the new shop van, that is very much a no-no and Rick spotted it right away and promptly had the offending party remove it... then they appeared to be looking for their beverage but I had already disposed of it properly for them. It was not a good day to be up to no good in the Park.



I finally did get to ride the XTC Advance and it was well worth the wait, those plus tires are almost the best of both worlds. They grip almost as well as fat bike tires but with less rolling resistance and weight they are a bit more quick on the acceleration and take a little less effort to keep spinning. If I had unlimited funds I might see what one was like long term but since I don't I probably wouldn't give up one of the fat bike for the plus but that's just me. While another bike isn't in the cards most likely, it did have me thinking about the possibility of setting up a 27.5+ wheel set somewhere down the road to use with one of the fat bikes that I do own, letting me have a more long term go on the wheel size without the financial investment of a complete bike. That also probably will be later rather than sooner but it is intriguing to think about. By the time I rode the XTC we were getting hungry and I was running on empty, as a side effect of being sick the energy goes super quick right now, so we said good bye to the awesome Giant and Liv folks and went in search of food and drink. Even in my weakened state I was able to make quick work of that, so there is a silver lining to the story. Hopefully I'll be back to normal in a day or two and be able to get out and really enjoy this unseasonably warm November we are having.