Same Time, Different Place - SMNDFBR Does Omaha

This week we took the SMNDFBR on the road, not all that far as it was just up to our neighbors to the east but a road trip none the less. Around the normal start time we gathered at the Alamo Drafthouse off of Giles to join in on the monthly Pint-a-gon ride which is a beer tour of sorts of the local taprooms on the southwest edge of Omaha. Who exactly it's put on by I'm not sure as their Facebook page doesn't really say but someone is organizing them.




Even though the event page said that the event was from 10 am to 3 pm, it turned out not to be the case as 10 am was the "registration" time... even though there wasn't anyone doing registration that I ever saw, nobody really taking the reins or leading this at all that I could discern. Luckily the Liquid Sunshine Taproom was on the ball and opened early for the ride so there was some place to go and sit while we waited, generally they don't open until 11 am and it was only 9:45 am. Those more familiar with the ride must have been in the know by coming to previous events because the crowds did eventually show as it got closer to 11 am.



There wasn't a posted route but more a list of breweries in the order that we were supposed to go in and no official ride leader, so we decided to leave a little bit before 11 am and ride on to Lucky Bucket. Thankfully I am a somewhat familiar with Omaha and where each of the taprooms are located, if you weren't at all familiar you could Google them but finding the best route would be a crap shoot left up to a mapping system primarily designed for cars.




The plan was a pretty good one because it wasn't long after we got there and ordered our drinks that folks started showing up and the line was out the door for beverages. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend the Certified Evil Blood Mary that they serve here. There isn't much for garnish but what it lacks in show it makes up for in taste, one of my favorites.





Sticking with our plan to try to stay ahead of the crowd, we left shortly after the line got super long... it wasn't like you were going to get a second drink quickly.



The next two breweries were just a few doors down from each other in the same strip mall, I was actually pretty excited to visit them as I drive by them weekly but hadn't ever stopped in until Saturday.





I was really digging Kros Strain and am sure I'll be back to this one, the beer was good and the ambiance was pretty rad as well, you could tell that someone had put some thought into the taproom when the decorated it. I think it's a must stop if you're deciding where to go for a beer on the southwest side of Omaha, it was that good.


I need one of these jerseys in my life, now to go and hunt it down on the interwebs.


Our next stop was Pint 9, as I said it was just a few doors down as you can see from this picture Kros Strain is at the left and Pint 9 is just to the right of the light pole. Didn't even need to repark the bikes to get there.





As much as I liked Kros Strain, I just wasn't feeling Pint 9. The decor was meh, meets the industrial look and it just didn't have the feel of a place that you would want to hang out it as much as Kros Strain. Another hit for me was that they had 12 taps but only had 5 beers, the best being their Peppercorn Wit which was a seasonal and not a regular, the others I found to be rather pedestrian as far as craft beer goes. In a booming craft beer scene in Nebraska, you really have to bring something that's going to get the butts back in the seats a second, third and subsequent times; I just wasn't buying into what they had going on here. Don't let my opinion sway you however, what one doesn't like, another finds fantastic... it just wasn't for me.



Because the two taprooms were so close together, we probably spent a little bit too much time at them and were a little behind the leaving early curve. The climb up 108th to Nebraska Brewing Companies taproom didn't help either, that sucker is steep and long.



NBC is probably one of my favorite taprooms in Omaha and one I used to come to weekly when I lived just down the road at 96th and Harrison, it was good to be back. There was a bit of a line already here but the staff behind the bar were on the ball and had it moving quickly. I had their new Gimme S'More brew and it did not disappoint, smelled just like s'mores and had just enough s'more taste to it to be recognizable without being over the top sweet. We probably spent a bit more time here than we did at the other places with the exception of Kros Strain but it was getting hotter and we were enjoying the A/C and good beer.


Twins!





We rolled into and out of Infusion Brewing's new taproom fairly quickly, we were way behind at staying ahead of the crowds at this point and Infusion was already really busy by the time we got there, on top of that we were all getting hungry so we pushed on back toward Alamo.


I have never quite figured out if they are supposed to be a bar/restaurant with a movie theater or a movie theater with a bar/restaurant but they have a pretty outstanding selection of craft beers for being a theater regardless if that's their primary or secondary business.


Our plan to skip Infusion was a good one as we beat most of the crowd back which enabled us to snag a table large enough for the whole crew. On top of a good selection of craft beer they also have some really good food as well, which was good because we were all starving at this point.



If beer isn't your thing they also have really tasty adult shakes, Joe was enjoying his a bit too much perhaps.


Too worn out to lift your own hands, they have that covered too as someone will come around and feed you if need be... ok, maybe I made that last one up but at least Stephanie got that treatment.


Once fully gorged on food it was time to take a picture with the Darth Vader chair and put a fork in another Saturday Morning No Drop Fat Bike Ride. Thanks to all who braved the drive from Lincoln to Omaha and made it out, one of the things I wanted when I started this ride was one that could remain flexible and not get bogged down with the same routes, the same riding surfaces or even the same ride format. To all of those who put up with my shenanigans week after week I am truly grateful, you guys help to make this a really fun, one of a kind ride and I am glad to call all of you friends.

Will we do another Pint-a-gon ride in the future? Who knows at this point, there was some feedback that these aren't the types of rides that everyone likes so I'll take that into consideration, discuss it with a few people and decide from there. I thought the ride was a blast, with a little more organization, someone to plan it a tad better and lead the group; I think someone could take the ball and really run with it turning it into a bigger ride than it already is; perhaps even snagging more of the Lincoln craft beer folks as well and enticing them to come up and ride. That's just my two cents though, whomever puts these on can of course run it however they chose and they obviously have quite a following already so what do I know.

Next Sunday is the gravel rides for the Cornhusker State Games so we will likely either do a shorter gravel ride or if weather permits,  more than likely we may just duck into Wilderness Park for a little dirt therapy and some easy miles.

As it turns out calendars are beyond my comprehension, the MTB races for the CSG are on Saturday the 22nd and the Gravel events on Saturday the 29th... so in light of this new discovery Saturday will most likely be a normal SMNDFBR and there will not be a ride on the 29th as I'll be racing in the gravel events for the CSG. Unless of course things change, as the often do, I'm helping with setup for the MTB races on Friday but if they need extra people on Saturday thing might change but only time will tell.

Garland, Not Just For Christmas

Saturday was once again time for the SMNDFBR and this one was a hot one but we still managed a decent sized group of brave individuals not afraid to sweat a little.


Unfortunately there has been a lot of bike thefts in Lincoln as of late, David fell victim last week and had his Cannondale Fat CAAD stolen. (So if you see a turquoise fat CAAD with orange accents around Lincoln, let us know) Luckily for him Joe has quite the loaner fleet to lend to friends when their bike or wheels get stolen so David was present and/or accounted for on Saturday. Pressures in the tires of the loaner Blackborow weren't quite up to Dave's exacting standards so he decided to put some more air in them before hitting the gravel. No bounce, no play as they say. I had thought to myself that it would take all day to pump them up with that tiny frame pump that David whipped out...


To my bewilderment and awe however, it only took a few expert flicks of the wrist and that darned ole pump magically swelled up to 4 times it's original size. That Dave has got the magic touch and might consider a career in massage if his current job doesn't work out. You never know, could be a happy ending for all involved.



Once Dave had his tires to the right PSI and allowed his pump to return to it's normal size so as not to need to worry about it getting it caught in the zipper, of his frame bag. Once it was properly disgorged we were off once again sailing the seas of gravel.





The plan was to head out to Garland, the village not the Christmas decoration, eat lunch and then turn around and head to Malcolm and then back Lincoln. Ironically the last time we had gone out to Garland, the village not the Christmas decoration, was shortly after Christmas in January of 2015. It was a tad cooler then than it was on Saturday but it wasn't nearly as sloppy Saturday, so a little give and a little take.





Since it was near 100 on Saturday but felt closer to the temps one might experience on the surface of the sun, we stopped a tad more frequently than we might have otherwise but safety first as they say. The regroup stops didn't last too long though, when you stopped it got noticeably hotter due to a lack of any sort of breeze other than the one you made while riding so breaks were kept short and sweet.


It was so hot even the cows were contemplating a little skinny dippin, just look at those guilty faces. You all should be udder-ly ashamed of yourselves, y'all are related.




Made it to Garland and the Outlaw Steakhouse tired and sweaty but remembered to lock our bikes before going inside because that's the world we live in now, one that's not safe for bicycles to be left unattended without good quality locks, lest they wander off.


We made quick work of lunch and were in and out in no time... we must have stunk to high heaven as well since the waitress suggested that we order quickly before the "softball team" arrived shortly with 26 strong which would cause the food and beverages to take a little longer to come out. We never did see a single soft baller, or any ballers for that matter, soft or otherwise the entire hour we were there but the food and the service were both good and we probably didn't need to dawdle any who.


Left out of Dodge, uh, Garland, the same way we came in and noticed this beautiful mound of MMR hill on the way into Garland and I wondered to myself why we had never taken 182nd into or out of Garland to Bluff road rather than turning on Waverly and missing this guy.



It was a glorious road and a nice change from the crunch of the gravel.


About a half mile in we learned why we had never taken this road previously, it abruptly ended and we had to back track to Waverly Road but who doesn't like a little adventure now and again.


Gary DOWN, we have a Gary down! Single speed was probably extra tough on Saturday with the hills and the heat. 

One thing Garland lacks is a convenience store so our next stop was 10 miles down the road at the Malcolm General Store, a familiar place for Pirates of all types. A cold beverage and a little porch sitting was just the ticket for weary travelers on Saturday and the Sac-O-Suds never disappoints in either department.



As we got back into Lincoln folks started to split off into whatever direction home was as is usually the case, bringing the official SMNDFBR to an end for another week.


The rest of us homeless heathens ended up in search of a frosty one to wash down the gravel dust, where we met up with Carlos who has missed the last two rides but never the beer stops. Priorities in check!


Eventually even the beer stop came to an end, ending the unofficial extended SMNDFBR for another week. As a bonus there was even a really nice 70s LeSabre outside on our way back to the shop; while maybe not the most highly sought after car in the 70s, I'd still take one in this nice of shape today but maybe that's just me. That is a whole lotta Detroit steel sitting there.

As always, thanks to all of those who came out. Always great riding with you.

Don't Call It a Comeback

To say it was a crazy June would be an understatement, it seemed like every week there was another race that kept us from having the SMNDFBR. While it was hectic and I missed the usual Saturday ride, there were some great events in the absence. The Bohemian Sto Mil in it's first year was a great event that required a colossal effort just to finish it, then there was the Good Life Gravel Gran Fondo in Iowa that was an equally great event but with a much different result. Finally, last weekend was the first year for the Solstice 100 out of Pleasant Dale, an event that I helped a good buddy get off the ground. Gravel events from the planning, coordinating and execution side are a whole other animal, that story will come out one of these days soon.



As much fun as all those events were it was good to get back to the SMNDFBR and we had a really good turnout considering it was the 4th of July weekend and some folks were out of town.





The plan this week was a familiar one, heading out to Malcolm and the always delicious Lippy's BBQ.


With a mandatory bridge stop for rest and refreshments, it was an absolutely gorgeous day to be out on a country road with friends.





Wasn't too long after the bridge before we had reached Malcolm and it's smoked meat haven.


If you're not a fan of your traditional beef/pork BBQ, I highly recommend their Chicky Wow Wow sandwich. Smoked, chopped chicken with bacon, cheese and onions on a bun to make your mouth water.


"Downtown" Malcolm and a stop at the Malcolm General Store after Lippy's... Lippy's isn't in their new location just yet but hope to be by the end of July. Looks like it's coming along nicely from the outside and it's also nice to see something back in the building.


While I probably could spend hours porch sitting at the Sac-O-Suds, what I affectionately call the Malcolm General Store, we did have a ride to get on with.


The initial plan had called for use to head west on McKelvie and come in on A St. but as I was sitting around Friday night getting everything ready for the morning, the calendar reminded me that I also had a wedding reception to attend on Saturday afternoon... thank goodness for reminders otherwise I probably would have completely forgot. So, with time being a bit more precious we headed east on McKelvie and back towards Lincoln, some of the group likes McKelvie better because it has less climbing but this picture shows that there are still a few good hills on the road.


Yup, flat as a pancake, with a few blueberries to climb.


As many times as I've gone out on and back in on NW 27th I had never seen a train on these tracks until Saturday and didn't realize just how close they were to the road.



"Safely" back on pavement, it was just a hop, skip and a jump back to Cycle Works and the end of another great SMNDFBR. Should be back again this Saturday but there might be a special little twist to the ride depending on how things work out but that's all I'm going to say just in case things don't work out.