Best Laid Plans

Saturday was the SMNDFBR of course, it's almost every Saturday but it was also the celebration of another trip around the sun for me so I brought some birthday donuts to help fuel our ride.


Joe even brought me some tasty barley pops from his trip down to Stillwater last week when he was playing in the mud during Landrun.


The plan for the ride was to head out to Elmwood and then circle back to Eagle and meetup with the Great Plains Bicycle Club folks at Baily's Local for their St. Patrick's Day festivities but that didn't exactly happen as planned, more on that later. They were also having a costume contest so Joe got all snazzied up in his St. Paddy's Day best. The rest of us sticks in the mud just wore the normal cycling garb, so in theory Joe wins our costume contest. I guess I'll have to come up with a prize for him now.





Scooted through town on the MoPac and on out to Walton where we switched over to A Street and hilly gravel.


Gravel was dry and winds were minimal so speeds were a little vigorous out of Walton, I had hoped it would have been a little sunnier or a little warmer but I suppose you can't have everything. The sun and warmth would get there eventually but not for a couple of hours yet.





While the clouds might have been blocking out most of the sunshine, they were kind of cool in their own rights I suppose.



Even ran into a traffic jam or two out on the gravel. Saw a few tractors out on Saturday, I wonder if they are itching for nicer weather as much as we are so that they can get an early start tilling the fields.





17 miles in a straight line on A Street meant that we got a little stretched out now and again as often will happen on rides like this.



Several regroups were in order but on days like Saturday, stopping a chatting for a spell isn't all that bad.




286th Street meant we were almost to the halfway point and a refuel stop in Elmwood.


Some of us stopped at the COOP for refueling and looked around only to discover that the majority had gone elsewhere but where could they have gone?



Following the large pile of bikes up the street at the Quonset we figured that this must be the place and decided to go inside.


Sure enough, there were the missing members of the group. Carlos has a nose for beer, if there is any within a mile he can sniff it out and Saturday was no exception and they already had frosty mugs in hand.




Not to look a gift beer in the mouth, Dave bought me a birthday brew, we decided that we might as well eat here and hope to catch the GPBC folks on the tail end of their event. Given that the slogan at the Quonset is "Fast Service, no matter how long it takes" how could we go wrong.


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Roy and Stephanie even bought me a birthday cookie, it was delicious. Almost as good as the ice cream cone from the Thursday ride last year. Actually all of the food there was good, the beer was cold and the service was pretty good. They've only been open for a few months so if you find yourself out in Elmwood on a ride give them a try, you won't be disappointed. Plus it's always good to have places like this to stop at on a hot summer day which is even more reason to give them a few of your dollars while you're passing through and help them stay in business. Always support local when you can, that way your dollars go right back into the communities they service.


They even have giant trikes in Elmwood, if it had rubber it'd be a lotta fun to ride I bet.



Since the hour was getting late we high tailed the 7 miles to Eagle. Not much for pictures since it was almost a dead sprint to the finish so to speak to try to catch them.




Despite our best efforts, we just missed the GPBC group but from the sounds of it they had a good turn out, waitress said there had to be at least 50 of them.


Racing to Eagle made us pretty thirsty so of course we had to re-hydrate, Sarah was especially thirsty and opted for a pitcher rather than a glass.



Once properly hydrated it was time to push on to the hut and another regroup, one simply cannot just pass up the hut after all. Many a good time has been had at the hut and Saturday only added to that growing list.


I'd like to say that after the hut we all slow rolled back to Cycle Works but that wasn't the case, seems like there isn't much slow in this group but sometimes that's not a bad thing. While we didn't make Bailey's in time for the St. Patrick's Day ride, I'd have to say it was a great way to spend a birthday. Gorgeous weather, cold beer and a fabulous group of people to share it with, it really doesn't get any better than that.

We will have to see what next week brings for the ride, there are a few days in the forecast with rain but so far it doesn't look like it's going to amount to much. Hopefully we will find plenty of dry dirt or gravel to ride. Hope to see you next week and I hope you all had a fantastic St. Patrick's Day weekend. First day of spring is tomorrow!

It's Not Easy When It's Breezy

7 days and a world of difference weather wise between last Saturday and this Saturday, the warmer temps brought out the crowds as well for the SMNDFBR.




With the winds blowing out of the SSW at a steady 20+ mph with gusts up to 40 mph, the plan was to take the gravel out into the teeth of the wind towards Sprague and then coast back with it at our backs.



Quick stop at Good Life Fitness to strip layers and pick up a few more riders and then we were off again heading west towards the gravel on the western edge of Lincoln.



Second regroup of the day was at Coddington and Claire, wind must have been a bit more than I had realized because we had managed to have a few stragglers before we even made it out of town. There was a little confusion and the regroup here took a little bit of time to sort out, at the end of it all a few riders decided that 47 miles with this wind was not for them and they opted out from the rest of the ride.



The fellas up front must have eaten their Wheaties the night before because after the regroup the pace picked up and everyone was looking for a wheel to draft behind but after a few miles of this the group started to get a little strung out. I let those in the front know the general direction and decided to hang back so as to not strand anyone out on course.







A few of the usual suspects decided to fall back with me and we formed our own little back of the pack group, it was such a nice day that even the wind couldn't kill all our swagger.


Roadside barley pop probably didn't hurt either, Jamie couldn't decide which she liked better so what's a girl to do except drink both!



Rolling into Sprague Big Bird even started to make an appearance now and again which usually means morale is still high, seems like when bike life is sucking there's just no time for Big Bird shenanigans.


The white Steve Potts Trail Bike on the left is the first one I've ever seen in wild and it's a pretty rad beast. Old school looks but all the latest bells and whistles built into this one.



We invaded Traditions Pub in Sprague for a little refuel and we also met back up with the front half of the group.




MMRs were in perfect shape on Saturday and the group seemed to ride at similar pace on the way back, not sure if it was because the front had worn themselves out or the back had gotten their second wind but it was nice to cruise as a whole again. Big Bird even reared his yella head a time or two again.



Took the Homestead home once we hit Roca and had an impromptu train regroup, although regroup might be the wrong word as we split into two groups here. Those that wanted to do lunch went one way and those who didn't went the other way, bringing the official SMNDFBR to an end.



The unofficial lunch group continued on to Copal for some cold cervezas and great Mexican food. I know I've said it before about places we've eaten but I'll say it again; if you haven't been to Copal you really should give it a try. Some of the best Mexican you can get in Lincoln.

As the weather starts to get nicer and stay nicer, look for a few changes to the ride. Nothing crazy but we are going to try to bring back the idea of taking the ride on the road once a month to one of the other local trails in and around eastern Nebraska; trails like Tranquility, Jewel, Lewis & Clark, Swanson and Calvin Crest just to name a few. This year however, rather than trying to get the shop van and go as a group only to have it rain out our plans, we will just pick a weekend that looks good and meet up at the trail or carpool if necessary which will provide much more flexibility. Also toying with the idea of maybe even looking at a Switchgrass option but that one might take a bit of planning and coordinating but it's an awesome trail and worth the effort if we can get the details hammered out.

Also floating around in the world of possibilities is ramping up the gravel mileage once a month as well, these rides would probably start a bit earlier than normal and be at least 70 miles or more which is why they won't happen all the time. Those that love the ride the way it is, don't fear because there will still be plenty of rides in Wilderness or on the gravel around Lincoln in moderate distances, so there should be a ride for everyone while still giving the ride an opportunity to grow and expand.


Last but not least, new to the shop just to the south of the main doors is a new board chocked full of information about events, rides and in this case local articles about the shop and our rides. Make sure to check it out when you're in and stay up on the current events.