Lefty Loosey, Righty Tighty

Back in High School I took the ASVAB test and it showed that I was mechanically inclined, which is probably accurate as I always like to tinker with things plus it is an official gubment test so it has to be correct because the gubment wouldn't mislead us. The results of the test lead me to joining the Marines as an F/A-18 Jet Mechanic (MOS 6017). For the most part I really enjoyed it as it was both challenging and rewarding but the thing about the military in general and the Marines specifically, is that everything has a manual or set of instructions to follow on how to do anything from removing the engine from a jet aircraft to how to lace your boots (yes there really is a right and wrong way to lace boots according to Uncle Sam). Give me a manual, set of directions or a napkin with a loose set of steps scribbled on it and I can probably accomplish the task at hand but throw a wrench at me, point at something and say "fix it" and all the mechanical aptitude amounts to is that I will figure out the fastest way to bugger it up but good. OK, so I'm not that bad in reality but it makes for better story telling this way...


The early onset of warmer weather has meant that bikes have been flying out of Cycle Works much sooner than on normal years, not a bad thing really, but that also means that more need to be built. So yesterday we had a bike building party, it's a bike nerd thing, and the only set of instructions we could find were those for ordering pizza and Rick had that well in hand, so the rest of us just had to wing it.


Fortunately for me and probably unfortunately for him, I got paired up with Kyle; the guy knows how to build some bikes and subsequently fix things someone else screws up whilst attempting to build bikes. He was in charge of pretty much everything shifting and wheel-ish and I was relegated to reflectors, pedals, stems, handlebars, brakes and lubing and inserting the seat stick. A job of the utmost importance really, if you don't think so try standing for the entire ride next time you go out, those seat sticks are really handy to have.


Andy was stuck next to us and commented that I made a good social media person because I talk a lot... I think it was his nicer way of telling me to shut up and get to work, that guy has management written all over him.


Pam made sure things kept moving by unpacking bikes and setting them on work stands.


Marty and company were smart and setup way in the back away from all of the tom foolery that was going on in the front so they could get down to business and start pumping out the bicycles.


There is a phrase "the usual suspects" that is used to describe when a person or thing is present at a place you would expect to see it or them. Well in this case the idiom holds even more meaning, or at least the suspect part, since the person depicted here; whom I cannot name or show clearly due the fact that they swear they are in the Witness Protection Program but who can be frequently seen building bikes in that particular area of that particular business, was there as well. Although if asked I wouldn't be able to confirm or deny that they were actually there at all or that I even knew them or if I was or wasn't the person to take the picture of the person of whom I have no recollection of... perhaps I've already said too much.


And then there was me, looking like I know what I'm doing but actually just trying to figure out how to get the wrench unstuck before anyone notices. Timing on this picture was perfect actually...



...because as soon as the pizza and beer showed up, my union butt was on an OSHA mandated break.


After being told that the break was over, I feigned a case of the stupids from ingesting too much bike grease and pneumatic tire fluid with my pizza and was all like "hey, this potato peeler isn't working anymore boss" until they decided it was maybe best if I just didn't touch anything, ever.

Just like that my bike building career had ended as soon as it had begun. 'Twas a great time hanging out with some of the Cycle Works crew I don't normally get to spend much time with other than a casual "hi" in passing. I might not have built the most bikes of the group but I annoyed some and entertained others for sure and at the end of the day, that's something... right?

SMNDFBR - Lather, Rinse, Repeat...

Tomorrow might be the first day of spring but winter wanted to make sure we knew it wasn't quite spring just yet. Temps were chilly, the wind was biting and it couldn't make up it's mind if it was going to snow, rain or let the sun come out so it just kind of cycled between all three most of the day.


Colder temps, illnesses and a few other local rides/races kept the numbers for this ride pretty small but what we might have lacked in numbers we made up for in enthusiasm.


As I said earlier the wind had a bit of a bite to it today and it made it feel a lot colder than the mercury indicated and I think it caught some of us a little off guard. Vince had to improvise a little to cover up his face from the effects of the wind in our faces on the way to Wilderness Park, as they say necessity is the mother of invention.


Certainly didn't help matters that we got stuck by a train with the relative safety of the trees in sight but just out of reach.




Even without leaves yet, the trees knocked down the worst of the wind and helped warm us up nicely.


The trees provided enough protection that after a few miles on the single track, riders were stripping layers off that minutes earlier they were adding.

During the break I snapped a few pictures of the new (to me) Bluto that I added to the Farley, today was it's maiden voyage. Between the tapered steerer tube, the wider hub/fork stance and the thru axle; as compared to the narrower hub, quick release and straight steerer tube that was stock on the Farley; the bike seemed to track much better than previous and just seemed to glide around those corners, even at speed. The extra bump eating ability was welcomed as well, as you get older your shoulders, elbows and forearms appreciate not being jostled around as much and the Bluto did it's job there as well.


Wilderness was in near perfect shape and while I was busy taking a few glamour shots of the Farley, fellow Rasta Riders Paul and Jana snuck up on us coming the other way. Those new neon yellow Anthems are some rad looking race machines, despite having those skinny tires on them.

Few more miles and another bridge stop and we were done with the east side and decided to switch over to the west side on the way back to see if it was in as good of shape as the east.


It wasn't too long before that question was answered and unfortunately the answer was that the west was in poor shape. There are rumors that the city is open to allowing volunteers to help fix the swampy sections between the two water crossings on the west side, if true that would be awesome. The swamp section on the west side is often wet almost year round, it hasn't been since the severe drought a few years ago that it was completely dry.


The Second creek crossing is vastly improved thanks to a few volunteers that put in some hours a week or so ago.

Ed says it's good to go and ridable once again.

Despite the colder temps and gusting winds, we weren't the only ones to get out and enjoy the trails in Wilderness Park; came across a troop of Boy Scouts out for a hike. I don't recall ever seeing a larger group of hikers at one time in the Park, always good to see fellow trail users out enjoying nature.


A warm up stop and Crescent Moon Coffee was definitely in order after the chilly ride, the chocolate stout coffee you see here really hit the spot.

Thanks to everyone who was able to make it out and braved the cold to ride with us, always appreciated. Next Saturday we will be out at Branched Oak Lake for a combination trail day and ride out there. If you are able to come out, the trails out there could really use a little TLC and then after that they are fun trails to ride if you've never been out and experienced them you should come out and give them a go next weekend.

Run For The Porter

Saturday night was Cycle Works second Bikers Love Brews/Pedaling for Porters home brew contest, to call it an annual event would be a bit of a misnomer as the last one was held in July of 2013 but plans are in the works to make it so. I was at that event, back when I was a mere fellow customer and ThNNDDR participant; if you'd like to read up on that first event you can find it here.

The concept was originally cooked up by Nathan after several customers brought in some of their home brews and would stick around to talk about the ins and outs of home brewing. From that the idea was born, find a group of home brewers that were also active in Lincoln's cycling community and try to make a fun event for brewers and judges alike with a little friendly competition thrown in for good measure. Nathan was in town for the event but unfortunately had to leave before Saturday due to unexpected circumstances, it's a shame he wasn't around to see the second rendition of his idea come to life. Especially with all the work he put into the event remotely, guy can still work his magic even from hundreds of miles away.


Getting things ready for the big event, showed up about 4:30 to help setup tables and clear out enough floor space for 100+ people. Rick and I were sort of stuck with the setup but Debe's and Michaela's help was totally voluntary and very much appreciated and it allowed us to get things set in no time at all.


Can't forget the raffle prizes, had lots of great sponsors for the event; Northern Brewer, Modern Monks, Zipline, QBP, Boiler Brewing (Lincoln's newest brewery), Ploughshare, Blue Blood Brewing Company and of course Cycle Works and The Moose's Tooth. Blue Blood Brewing really stepped up to the plate and offered to allow the winning team the opportunity to brew their beer at the Blue Blood facilities and have it as a featured tap when they open their new Robber's Cave taproom. I'm not even a home brewer and I was pretty excited about that, can't imagine how stoked the winning team must be.





The only thing that might go better with beer than bicycles is pizza and thanks to the great folks at Spokes Mobile Wood Fire Pizza we had delicious food for the event as well. If you've never had a pizza from them, get on Facebook and find a location where they will be and go there. You won't regret it but get there early or expect to wait a little bit because once they fire up that oven and start making the pies the smell is amazing and draws a crowd.





Right around 6 o'clock the brewers started showing up so that they could get things set and ready for the crowds that would show up at 7.


With a bit of time to spare, the brewers got a chance to walk around and sample everyone else's beer so that they could size up the competition.






In no particular order, a few of the beers that were brewed for the competition. Unfortunately I was pulling double duty for this so I didn't get around to everyone's booth for the tasting or the pictures. All of the ones that I did try were absolutely amazing.



Right at 7 the doors opened for those who had one of the magic tickets, after grabbing their raffle tickets, scorecards and pencils they were unleashed on the 14 brew teams and the judging began. Each score card was numbered 1-16 (room for expansion) and it was the judges job was to taste each Porter and rate them 14-1, with 14 being the favorite and 1 being the least favorite. As you can imagine the tallying of 85+ scorecards can take awhile so there was already talk about narrowing that down for next time and just having everyone vote for their personal top 3.





Had a pretty amazing group of judges for the event, huge thanks to everyone who came out to help determine the winner. With the beer flowing and the pizza cooking, each judge had about an hour and 15 minutes to walk around and talk to each brew team while sampling and rating their beer. I don't know about the judges or the brewers but as the emcee for the night, that hour and a quarter just flew by.


With the time up and the scorecards all turned in it was time to tally the votes and give out the schwag via the raffle while the totals were tallied. A lot of rad prizes given away, I personally would have loved to have gone home with any of them, a big thanks again to all of our sponsors who contributed some truly amazing prizes.

As I said I was on double duty for the night and I dropped the ball on the picture side of things and didn't get any of the raffle winners or ,even sadder yet, didn't get a picture of the winners either. Total and complete failure on that end of things... however I can tell you who did win. The 2nd runner up or 3rd place was the team with the Baltic Porter (affectionately also dubbed the Caucus beer due to the fact that the brewers dropped the beer off and then left to attend the Caucus before returning near the end), runner up was a Chocolate Chipotle Porter and the winning beer, with the opportunity to brew their beer at the Blue Blood Brewing Company's new Robber's Cave taproom, was an absolutely delicious Peanut Butter Porter made with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! It smelled ridiculously like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and tasted just as good as it smelled, I'd definitely pony up $5 to have a full pint of this beer when it's featured at Blue Bloods.

As I said, we aren't sure if this is going to be a semi-annual event or an annual one but we will be back for sure either way. Thank you one final time to all the sponsors, brewers, pizza crew and judges for helping to make this a really rad event. You guys all rock!