2016 Year In Review

2016 was a year full of great rides, great friends and ever a few big changes that didn't involve a bicycle. This is a run down of the pictorial year in review by month, I take a lot of pictures so there could have literally been hundreds of photos but I tried to limit it to one or two per month, except for January. You'll understand.

JANUARY





January was a tough one as we said goodbye to one of our own who was gone way too soon. Kelly was a huge presence in the Nebraska cycling scene and always had a smile on his face and a kind word for everyone. I didn't know him real well personally but it was amazing to see how many people he had touched in his life during his funeral service. Ride and smile, every darn day!

FEBRUARY


February started out being really cold and I found myself racing the Fat Bike Frozen 40 up in Minneapolis in -14° weather but ended the month in shorts and t-shirts. Crazy weather for sure.

MARCH

March saw the second, slightly modified, iteration of the Omaha to Lincoln ride that we do on Good Friday. In 2016 we decided to do a Lincoln to Omaha ride but I think for '17 it'll go back to Omaha to Lincoln and back... and maybe even on road bikes this year.

APRIL

April was the official opening of the N Street Cycle Track in Lincoln, one of the things I miss most about living not in Lincoln anymore is their amazing trail network and the Cycle Track only adds to that system. Between the trails systems and residential roads that were built as a grid, it's possible to get almost anywhere in Lincoln without needing to use a major road.

MAY


By May rides were in full swing, the ThNNDRR, Tour de Brew LNK, the Tour of Dirt Roads and even zombies on the SMNDFBR. Plenty of reasons to rack up the miles with great folks.

JUNE


The annual pilgrimage to tiny Gothenburg for Odin's Revenge was in June, always a fun race. It wasn't until recently that we learned that 2016 was the final year for Odin, still lots of good memories. Another huge thing in June was the purchase of a house, so far it's been a great purchase but it certainly added to the day to day work load.

JULY

Hot and humid was the theme for July along with helping out with the Lincoln DEVO program, I think I found myself in Lincoln more this summer than I was in Omaha.

AUGUST


My second attempt at Gravel Worlds was in August and the second time was the charm for finishing. It was probably the best I've ever felt on the bike during a race but I had also put in some work to get the weight down, maybe there is something to this eating right thing they are always talking about.

SEPTEMBER


September was a great month on bike, first trip with great friends down to Switchgrass in Kansas. Such a different trail than anything we have here in Nebraska, definitely have to figure out a time to go back next year.

OCTOBER


October brought the Omaha Jackrabbit race, 2nd year for me and 2nd finish. Bigger group than last year but we all decided to ride it together and stuck that way for the whole ride, this was a blessing for me as I was not feeling real well before the race. No doubt in my mind I would have pulled out had it not been for the great group of friends on this one.

NOVEMBER



Things started winding down by November but there were still some great group rides in store including the annual Turkey Day Ride that is always a blast.

DECEMBER



What year would be complete without the Global Fat Bike Day Ride, even though it's only the second year we've had this ride it's still one I look forward to every year.




2016 was a great year on the bike, probably my biggest year so far even though I still haven't made it to an oil change worth of miles yet. Honestly I think if I could get some commuting miles locked in better I could really up that total as almost all of my miles tend to be recreational at this point. I guess maybe that will be a goal for 2017, more miles and more commuting by bike.

Last SMNDFBR of 2016

New ride leader this week, Bike Biggler, he loves all things bike but the bigger the tires the bigger the grin.



Yesterday was the last SMNDFBR of 2016 and despite the holidays we still ended up with a great group of riders.








The temps were fairly mild, hovering right around freezing but there was a fairly decent NNW wind, so we opted to seek shelter in the trees of Wilderness Park.




West side was in pretty good shape with just a touch of ice here and there in the usual spots, we even made a return to the troll bridge for a regroup. Some of us parked more traditionally and others opted for loftier parking spots.




Water crossings were a bit frozen and walking was not uncommon, those rocks were really slippery.


A brief regroup at 14th Street to determine the route back as the temps were starting to make the trail a little tacky.



Not wanting to tear up the trails we decided to take the Jamaica North back into town, even that was a little soft as the sun came out and the temps got warmer.


Decided to head to Blue Blood Brewing for some lunch and libations, along with a little warm up time.



Got caught by a train at the grain elevators behind Blue Blood, I've been stuck by a train before but never one pushed by one of these guys. Also kids, remember to keep your vibrators to yourselves unless you are using them in designated areas and even then only when loaded.



Safely past the train, it was just a hop, skip and a jump to food and beverage.



You expect a brewery to have good beer, it is after all what they are in business to do, but Blue Blood Brewing also has a really good menu of food options that aren't your typical bar food. This is their Spicy Rachel which is a thin sliced turkey sandwich with coleslaw and a spicy Russian dressing on thick cut sour dough, the soup is chicken curry and both were absolutely delicious. If you haven't made it out to the new Robber's Cave location, you owe it to your stomach to make the trip.




Refueled it was just a few more miles back to the shop and the end of the last ride of 2016, many more to come in 2017.





Speaking of rides coming up in 2017, the Frosty Bike Ride is just around the corner, on February 4th. Click the link to find out more details and to get signed up, first 175 entries get a free commemorative cycle cap and everyone who enters has a chance to win a Salsa Beargrease so don't doddle and get registered.






Quick parting note, with winter underway it's the time of year where thoughts turn to fenders to keep all that muck off of you. If you aren't crazy about some of the larger fenders that strap to the down tube or you just don't need that much coverage, the Mucky Nutz line of fenders might be just what you need. This one happens to be the Mucky Nutz Fat Face XL fender and it is ONLY for rigid forks, they do make a Fat Face fender that is compatible with suspension however if that is what you need. As you can see these fenders provide adequate coverage to keep whats on the ground from being sprayed onto your face while being small enough to leave on the bike for everyday use, plus all that blank black plastic is perfect for customizing with some of your favorite stickers. Stop in the shop and talk to someone about what one might work best for your needs, your face and riding gear would really appreciate it.