Fifty Five on the Fourth

Normally this time of year we would have all made the pilgrimage to Seward for the annual Firecracker 50 ride but this is not a normal kind of year in any way, shape or form and as such, there wasn't a Firecracker 50 on the calendar. 






While I missed the tradition, not having the usual event meant that we could do our own thing and for the Omaha people that meant a little less driving. As it turned out, it also meant a fairly flat route out of Mead Nebraska was on the menu for the day. I know a lot of folks like their hills but a flattish course isn't bad either once and again.




A new start location meant some new views and some new roads, some of them were familiar but most were new to me. Parts of the Groveler and Heatstroke 100 share some of the roads we were on, so those I recognized right away. 




Stopped at the Casey's in Ashland to refuel and hang out by the fuel pumps huffing fumes. Don't knock it until you try it, pizza and unleaded go together like kittens and rocking chairs. As we were milling around, a group of road cyclist converged on the Casey's as well, it was like Bike-ageddon. Everywhere you looked, here a bike, there a bike, everywhere a bike bike... some might call it a mess but I think it was a lot like heaven or at least how I hope it to be when and if I get there.



To avoid a rumble with a "rival bike gang" we let out for more gravel goodness, not to mention the lot was getting a little full and automobile folks were starting to look at us funny; more than normal.  


Speaking of rumbles, we also rode past the former Nebraska Ordinance Plant, that was operated by the US Army from 1942-1962. In it's day it spread out over 17,250 acres or roughly 27 square miles (that's a lotta dirt folks) and produced bombs for WWII, The Korean War and in the 60s before being decommissioned it even produced intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM or nuclear missiles) for Offut Air Force Base. Quite the history for a very unassuming piece of land in the middle of nowhere Nebraska and kind of fitting that we would ride by a place that produced things that went boom before we spent the night watching things that went boom in the night sky.




A few more miles and the main part of the ride was in the books and it was time for a cold adult beverage.







A few of us who had a little more time to kill headed on down to the Rusty Rooster in Yutan to get in 55 miles for the day in honor of Randy Gibson who was killed a few years back on his bike. He would have been 55 on July 3rd.

Sequestered Solsticing

Saturday I headed down to Beatrice to give the Solstice Quarantine Race a go on the last weekend it was open. Showed up a bit later than the rest of the crew who were already grinding that gravel in the early morning sun.


Am I winning?




In the new world where everythings been cancelled, gatherings are bad and your neighbor might just kill you on accident; gravel races look a lot different now than they did in the past. A few of the local events have been putting on "races" where you have a certain number of weeks to go out and give it hell on course, upload your Strava and wait to see how you did. The idea is to go solo or in small groups, it's a lot more peaceful and a lot less racy, chasy this way and you literally are only racing yourself and the clock so if you suck at self motivation this might not be the format for you.



I'm not a cow whisperer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I think even they sense things are a little whacky this year, they seem a lot more friendly and the depths of their brown eyes seem a little more deep and sypathetic this year. You still can't get that close to them though, they were social distance experts way before it became cool and they'll still bellow to their cow buddies and scurry off if'n you get a hankerin to get too near.




Since I'm a self proclaimed non-racer, this new format suites me just fine and sort of plays into my go slow and take pictures motif. 



We did manage the first ever private junkyard beer from the deck lid of a 67 Mustang, or at least what is left of a 67 Mustang. The amount of junk vehicles, farm implements and various metal bits was impressive, his HOA must be really understanding... mine won't even let me build a shed.


Goats for Doug! Mamma goat with babies in tow isn't exactly something you happen upon everyday but rolling in to Barneston Nebraska, it seemed like the most normal thing I've seen all year so far.




Stopped into the Grand Avenue Bar and Grill for a little refueling and let me tell you buddy, if you've never had your nipple tweaked while pretending to pick the nose of an 80's era Coors Light Beerwolf... well, you just might not be living your best life my friends. I'm not saying you have to put it on your bucket list, but I am saying you should.




Barneston was about half way into the course and we'd fought soft gravel and a head wind all morning, heading out however we started picking up a tailwind and the gravel started firming up nicely. This caused a definite uptick in speed and resulted in fewer pictures but we did stop for a tasty hipster coffee under a shady tree and then a Macintosh2.0 at Stone Hollow Brewing once we had wrapped up the course. If you haven't ventured down to Stone Hollow, you should. Great little space, friendly atmosphere and several tasty adult beverages on tap. Solstice Quarantine Race was good, course saw a bit of rain overnight which made it a little soft for the first half but you can't really control the weather and the gravel did eventually dry out. This is the second of these quarantine style races that I've done this year, while not as fun as the regular events, it is better than no event at all. In a world looking for some shred of normal, I'll take what I can get right now.

I'm Looking Uncle Fester And Feeling Gomez Addams

Pugs and I have been friends for a while now, first introduced to it's forever home on a crisp October day in 2015. The fat bike boom with dozens of new models sporting more traditional chainstays, update geometry and wider tires kept ole Pugs on the showroom floor for about a year before I pulled the trigger on my second fat bike. At the time I thought I got a pretty smokin deal on Pugs, two months later Surly said "hold my beer" and started almost giving the Pugsley away. Any way, Pugsley and I have been on many adventures and have shared almost 5.200 miles together over the years, the most recent being a windy, hot and ill prepared bike packing trip but Pugs was as solid as ever. With all the new bikes in the stable and the uptick in speed of most of the Saturday rides, Pugs has been on the sidelines a bit more recently but that's a trend I hope to put an end to. While heavy and "slow", there's just something about the fit and ride of the Pugsley that has me coming back to it for gravel.




In one of those, not time like the present scenarios, Pugs got the call up for the first official SMNDFBR since March.






Thankfully the weather forecaster was full of shit and instead of rain we ended up with near perfect weather. As a bonus the I-80 taproom was open for business and the beers were flowing.


Also, I have decided I want to find someone who licks me like Joe licks spilled stout off the side of a can... swoon.


As a bonus we had the quartet, Bald guys with Glasses, make a special appearance.





Since we were up Malcolm way, a stop at the Sac-O-Suds (Malcolm General Store) is always a must. Support the businesses that support you and all that, plus a cold beverage and some shade on a hot day are always a welcome respite.




Stopped at the usual bridge on Bluff Rd on the way back, I've got a line on a couch, garage door opener and satellite dish; let me know if you're in the market.



A hop, skip and a jump later and we found ourselves at Saro enjoying a tasty cider on the patio; bringing the SMNDFBR to a close. It's good to be back.






Sunday was another day and a ride of different sort, been doing a bit of riding of a different sort on Sundays lately. A little more exploring and a little more chill, it's been a good change of pace. Hope you all got out and enjoyed the weekend that wasn't supposed to be according to the weather forecaster.