Sunshine On A Cloudy Day

Saturdays are usually for bikes but sometimes you have to give back a little instead of always taking, this Saturday was one of those occasions.


I'm not much for running, I can run but I did enough of that in the Marines to last me a few life times so I don't do it all that much anymore but the Run for the Bridges is a great event that helps to support Wilderness Park and that's something I can get behind. Saturday a few of us volunteered to help out again this year, I think this is my 3rd or 4th year helping and it's always a lot of fun. While I might not share their passion for running, the group that comes out for the run are a great group of folks.


Sarah, Gary, Todd and I all met up at Gary's and rode down to Wilderness and then we rode with Sarah out to her aide station at Old Cheney since she was the farthest out. Not that she needed us to ride out with her but it's always more fun to ride with friends.




Todd, Gary and I ended up at the new bridge with a few others, it was a great and enthusiastic group.



Supporting the run wasn't in the cards for everyone and the rest of the gang decided to ride a century on Saturday morning. Not wanting to be left out of all the fun, Todd and I decided to drive out to Malcolm and ride the route backwards and meet up with the early risers who would have already have been churning cranks for hours.



While we weren't exactly out for a leisurely ride in the country, there was a little extra time for a few photo opportunities.


Probably the weirdest thing we saw all day was one of those light bulb sculptures that Lincoln did a few years back, it was just sitting in a field, in the middle of nowhere.




Got word that the others were just up the road a bit in Bee so we decided to pull into Garland, grab a bite to eat and little something to drink and wait for them to rendezvous with us at the Outlaw.



With the band back together, it was time to head back to Malcolm and try to beat the sunset.


We did pick up a new friend along the way, followed us for miles before we realized we had to turn back and find someone who knew him before he followed us all the way to Malcolm.



We had to pick up the pace just a tad as the sun was setting faster than anticipated but what a beautiful sunset it was.


Sunset or no sunset, there's always time for pictures with friends.


Despite the groupie we managed to make it back before the last of the dying light faded for the night, Farley looks pretty good by the glow of the neon of the Malcolm General Store. While Todd and I didn't quite get the 100 miles that the others did, we still managed a decent 56 miles for the day which isn't too shabby at all.

You can't be DFL if you DNS

We are just a week away from it being mid March already and that means that the Gravel race and or ride season is about to kick off... well if you like mud, the race season begins this month but for most April is when it really kicks into high gear.


The now defunct and sorely missed, Odin's Revenge, was my first ever gravel event... technically not even a race since it was the 60 mile "fun ride" but it was a race to those riding it... back in 2015. That year I did four gravel events, Odin's, Tour of Dirt Roads, Gravel Worlds and the Omaha Jackrabbit, 2016 saw the same four events for me with better results. In 2017 I upped the game a bit and had 7 gravel events on the schedule, 2018 is seeing even more events added to the calendar. While I still don't consider myself anywhere near disciplined enough or training enough to be considered a racer, that doesn't mean that the events are any less fun. You can't come in dead fucking last if you don't start at all so there is that, although I tend to end up mid pack in most events rather than DFL but the principle still applies; stop worrying about being fast and just get out and enjoy the experience. Any way, here is the mostly nailed down schedule for 2018.


April         Cool Hand Luke

April         Tour of Covered Bridges

May          Tour of Dirt Roads

May          Wear Yellow Ride

May          Schmidty’s Single Speed Shootout

June          Gold Rush Gravel Grinder? (Tentative)

June           Loess Hills Enduro

June           Solstice 100 Gravel Grinder (Working not riding) 

July           Bohemian Sto Mil

July           Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational

August      Gravel Worlds

Sept          Pony Express Gravel Dash

Oct           Omaha Jackrabbit

I think a fair amount of these will probably be on the Fargo but the Pugs and/or Farley will still get in on the fun as well. Seems like I have my work cut out for me in the gravel world and this doesn't even include the two Psycowpath races I am going to try to do my best to get to as well, on these dates. 

April         Swanson Shoot Out

June          Tranquility Trail Tantrum 

If you happen to be out at any of these events stop over and say hi, I'll be the fat guy on the plus or fat bike. 

They Burn All The Ends

It's currently wind season in Nebraska, that time of year that usually occurs in late summer after the humidity starts to dissipate but the warmth is still sticking around or in late winter into early spring when the temps start to climb but again before the real heat of summer arrives. If it weren't for the relentless wind, we would almost have two enjoyable seasons in the land of corn and sweat.




The plan was to head out to Malcolm and check out Lippy's new digs. The forecast had said it was going to get to be about 60 degrees with winds up to 20 mph, they were wrong on both parts. At the height of the day the temps reached 72° and the wind whipped up to a sustained 27 mph at one point, the temps were great but that wind left a little to be desired.


Fargo at the customary bridge beer stop, ain't she purdy?

Once we hit the gravel we had more of a cross wind than a head wind heading out to Malcolm but the bridge stop was much appreciated none the less. Even bucking the cross wind required more effort than is normal and the legs were feeling the difference.




Another longer break before Malcolm was not really in the plan but David is the consummate team player and decided to break his chain and allow the rest of us to recover for a bit while the chain was repaired.





As I said, Lippy's new location, across the street from their old location, is now open and it looks great; much bigger than the previous spot but with the same great food. I never made it out here when it was the Branched Oak Inn but I heard the stories about the place and I can see Lippy's becoming something similar for Lincoln and Malcolm. I have heard that the upstairs is going to return as a dance floor and live music venue when all is said and done. It's always good to see the little guy make it work in the age of conglomerates and chains.


Of course no stop out to Malcolm would be complete without a stop at the Malcolm General Store, also a local mom and pop place and Malcolm gravel icon.




Since the winds were picking up and were not going to subside anytime soon, we decided to head back the way we came and take the relatively flat NW 27th back into Lincoln. Of course we got in another bridge stop along the way back. Took the Fargo out for the ride on Saturday which might be breaking the fat bike part of the Saturday ride but it's such a great bike that I think it warrants bending the rules just a bit. I continued to be amazed by the bike every time I ride it and it makes me wonder why I waited so long to give the Fargo a legitimate try as a gravel bike, for me I think the thing that made me change my mind about the Fargo was the plus sized tires. To my way of thinking plus size, while folks can argue they aren't necessary, really make for a more comfortable gravel experience. I'm not the only one who has caught the Fargo bug this year, off the top of my head I can think of 5 other purple Fargos that are rolling around or will be rolling around Lincoln here soon. There is still a medium at the shop if you want to throw a leg over and see what it's all about.


Not many pictures once we turned onto NW 27th and headed straight into the teeth of the headwind, it was a full out heads down effort just to maintain a decent speed and drafting was a necessity. Once back in the confines of Lincoln the usual peel off started and folks went whichever way took them home.




Also as usual, some of us decided to get a few extra miles and hunt down something cold and malty to drink.




Method has been displaying art each month from a different artist and they've all been good but the two current artists on display in March really intrigue me more so than previous artists. A little darker than previous displays but despite that the art is solid and really good and floats my boat.




As is always the case, eventually it was time for the rest of us to part ways as well or head back to the shop to gather our vehicles. We even ran into Sarah on the way back... IN A CAR! I know she owns one but to be honest this is the first time I've ever seen her driving it in person, little bit weird if I say so myself.

Thanks to everyone who made it out, always a great time riding with you all. No ride next weekend as I'm helping out with the Run for the Bridges but we should be back in two weeks.