Stuck in Colder Weather

At a tranquil park, just outside of Lincoln

The night is black as the coffee he was drinkin'

And in the cryophile’s goggles he sees the morning light is shinin'

He thinks of warmer fingers and the gloves he left behind

He said, I want to feel you again

But I'm stuck in colder weather

Maybe tomorrow will be warmer, can I feel you then?

That portly prognosticating marmot said we'd have six more weeks of winter and to show us all that he wasn't kidding he got Mother Nature to drop a little snow on us in the last few days. More snow in the last 10 days than we've seen all winter if you ask me. While perfect for Fat Biking, I'm not a big fan of late season snow, by the time it gets to this point in winter I'm just ready for the warm up but since you can't change the weather you just have to make the most of it. 

With a little over an inch of fresh powder overnight Friday and probably close to 3-4" already on the ground the plan, of course, was to head out to Wilderness Park. 

Roads were in decent shape and even the trails seemed like they had all been plowed so at least the slipping and sliding on the way to the park would be minimal. 

Our luck ran out at 17th street when we passed the person removing the snow from the N Street Cycle Track, fortunately the big tires on the Fat Bikes plowed through the snow with only slightly more effort. Thankfully the latest round of the white stuff didn't contain too much moisture and was more fluffy powder. 

The rest of the journey to Wilderness was fairly uneventful and traction was probably a bit worse in the park than it was on the way to the park. Lots of impromptu snow angels were made on Saturday once we dropped into the single track. 

Wilderness was in pretty good shape, slick in a few spots but over all better than I thought it would be. Temps were a bit chilly though, 8 was the high but with the wind it felt much colder and the camera gave up after the ride out to the turn around spot so nothing for pictures after the halfway point other than those taken with the phone. Even the phone pictures were kept to a minimum, if I don't keep the phone in a Ziploc in the jersey pocket under the jacket it tends to die on really cold days after a while also. Cold and electronics just don't go together all that well. 

We opted for the Jamaica North on the way back to save some time as it took a little longer than anticipated to get through the park and some folks were on a time table. On the way back the usual fragmentation occurred at it does near the end of the ride as folks broke off and headed home. A few of us opted to head to Sips and Suds again this week for a lunch stop. 

There might have also been a brief stop at Moran's for an adult beverage or two, possibly. 

Here is a video from Dave taken on his GoPro for you viewing pleasure. Temps look to warm up over the next week, or at least that is what they are saying now, if that holds true then we will be back on gravel next Saturday. 

Heigh-Ho, It's Off To Ride We Go

Few things will get me out of bed before the roosters crow these days, not to say that I am a slacker but I used to get up at 4 am on the regular so now when I don't have to I chose not to. Gravel might be that exception, it is almost like the 7 Dwafs but instead of Heigh-ho a fellow rider will bellow out Grav-el, Grav-el, it's off to ride I go... and the rest of us fall in line rounding out the chorus.


Due to the Frosty Bike Ride happening at the shop later in the day, there wasn't an official Saturday morning ride but since we still wanted to get in a few miles an unofficial ride was created. So at Oh Dark Thirty in the morning I found myself making the trek to Cycle Works to meet up with the rest of the crazies.


We outnumbered the dwarfs by 3, even if you counted Sarah as Snow White we were still top heavy in the dwarf department; so no harmonious mining songs were sung on our way out of town. Probably to the benefit of any delicate ears that might have been out and about at that time in the morning, a barbershop quartet we are not.


Since we were up before the sun, there weren't too many photo opportunities. Even when the light was sufficient to allow the shutter to capture images that weren't totally blown out, there just isn't much to see in a world of darkness. Fortunately it wasn't too long before the first light started to appear on the eastern horizon.

There was a bit of a time restraint on the ride as we had to get back around 9-9:30 if possible to help out with things before the Frosty Bike Ride kicked off at 11 am. It was decided that we'd scoot out to Randy's Corner, sit a spell and then head back to town. I was also curious to see if the RG stickers on the stop sign and junction box were still there or if someone had vandalized our previous vandalism; as luck would have it both stickers were still intact and it good shape. I still have a few of them that I probably won't let go of and come back periodically, probably once summer is over for sure, and check on the fading and condition of the current sticker.

After a bit of a break it was time to high tail it home, the wind was a bit more brisk and in our faces on the way out than expected so we might have been a tad behind schedule... and we hadn't even stopped at Doug's Dude Ranch for breakfast yet.



Thankfully we had a bit of a tailwind after the breakfast stop so we made good time on the return trip, the MMRs were even smooth and dry.

This is Richard, we met him on the N Street Cycle Track coming back into town. Richard likes to ride bikes, Richard is not however a law abiding cyclist. Richard also likes to run red lights on his bike wearing his bright reflective jacket so as to make sure people notice him. Richard is why people use the phrase "ALL cyclists (insert negative connotation here)", people remember the Richards in the world and seldom remember the rest of us who were sitting at that same light waiting for it to change. If you know Richard please tell him to stop riding a bike or start obeying traffic laws because the rest of us don't need his negative, unwanted PR... also just to show we are friendly, tell him "How's it going... Dick!" for me.


Back safely and legally at Cycle Works, it was time to change over and get ready for the Frosty Bike Ride.

Really good turn out for the FBR, I had heard over 200 for the total number of cyclists participating.


Does this mean that you have to stand on your head to use the restroom?

Standing on your head to use the bathroom especially become problematic when your bright green testicles threaten to hit you in the back of the head if you do so. Nobody likes testicles on the back of their head, or at least nobody I know.



Since some of us weren't officially part of the FBR and because we were doing our own modified route, we delayed our departure until after the crowds had cleared out not wanting some unsuspecting participant thinking we knew where we were going.


For example, hot chocolate out at Holmes Lake... official stop.


Barley pops at Moran's... not an official stop.

Sips and Subs, also not an official stop but barley pops and bike rides will work up an appetite for you. Maybe not official but it is one of the best, perhaps least known, sandwich shop in Lincoln; on the corner of 33rd and B streets.


If my convincing isn't enough for you, how about this picture? I'd never had one of their burgers before as I tend to stick with the Cajun Turkey most of the time but the burger was really good, really, really good. We got snowed on yesterday, with promises of more again later this afternoon/evening and snow in the forecast again on Friday and Saturday that smelly marmot might have known what he was talking about this year but on the bright side it should be good fat biking weather.