It's Not Easy When It's Breezy

7 days and a world of difference weather wise between last Saturday and this Saturday, the warmer temps brought out the crowds as well for the SMNDFBR.




With the winds blowing out of the SSW at a steady 20+ mph with gusts up to 40 mph, the plan was to take the gravel out into the teeth of the wind towards Sprague and then coast back with it at our backs.



Quick stop at Good Life Fitness to strip layers and pick up a few more riders and then we were off again heading west towards the gravel on the western edge of Lincoln.



Second regroup of the day was at Coddington and Claire, wind must have been a bit more than I had realized because we had managed to have a few stragglers before we even made it out of town. There was a little confusion and the regroup here took a little bit of time to sort out, at the end of it all a few riders decided that 47 miles with this wind was not for them and they opted out from the rest of the ride.



The fellas up front must have eaten their Wheaties the night before because after the regroup the pace picked up and everyone was looking for a wheel to draft behind but after a few miles of this the group started to get a little strung out. I let those in the front know the general direction and decided to hang back so as to not strand anyone out on course.







A few of the usual suspects decided to fall back with me and we formed our own little back of the pack group, it was such a nice day that even the wind couldn't kill all our swagger.


Roadside barley pop probably didn't hurt either, Jamie couldn't decide which she liked better so what's a girl to do except drink both!



Rolling into Sprague Big Bird even started to make an appearance now and again which usually means morale is still high, seems like when bike life is sucking there's just no time for Big Bird shenanigans.


The white Steve Potts Trail Bike on the left is the first one I've ever seen in wild and it's a pretty rad beast. Old school looks but all the latest bells and whistles built into this one.



We invaded Traditions Pub in Sprague for a little refuel and we also met back up with the front half of the group.




MMRs were in perfect shape on Saturday and the group seemed to ride at similar pace on the way back, not sure if it was because the front had worn themselves out or the back had gotten their second wind but it was nice to cruise as a whole again. Big Bird even reared his yella head a time or two again.



Took the Homestead home once we hit Roca and had an impromptu train regroup, although regroup might be the wrong word as we split into two groups here. Those that wanted to do lunch went one way and those who didn't went the other way, bringing the official SMNDFBR to an end.



The unofficial lunch group continued on to Copal for some cold cervezas and great Mexican food. I know I've said it before about places we've eaten but I'll say it again; if you haven't been to Copal you really should give it a try. Some of the best Mexican you can get in Lincoln.

As the weather starts to get nicer and stay nicer, look for a few changes to the ride. Nothing crazy but we are going to try to bring back the idea of taking the ride on the road once a month to one of the other local trails in and around eastern Nebraska; trails like Tranquility, Jewel, Lewis & Clark, Swanson and Calvin Crest just to name a few. This year however, rather than trying to get the shop van and go as a group only to have it rain out our plans, we will just pick a weekend that looks good and meet up at the trail or carpool if necessary which will provide much more flexibility. Also toying with the idea of maybe even looking at a Switchgrass option but that one might take a bit of planning and coordinating but it's an awesome trail and worth the effort if we can get the details hammered out.

Also floating around in the world of possibilities is ramping up the gravel mileage once a month as well, these rides would probably start a bit earlier than normal and be at least 70 miles or more which is why they won't happen all the time. Those that love the ride the way it is, don't fear because there will still be plenty of rides in Wilderness or on the gravel around Lincoln in moderate distances, so there should be a ride for everyone while still giving the ride an opportunity to grow and expand.


Last but not least, new to the shop just to the south of the main doors is a new board chocked full of information about events, rides and in this case local articles about the shop and our rides. Make sure to check it out when you're in and stay up on the current events.

SMNDFBR - Winters Last Waltz?

70s in February were too good to be true and Winter reminded us that it's not quite done yet with Saturday's snow and cold. It does look like the two week forecast is more toward 50s and 60s but who knows if we are in the clear or not from the cold.



Before the ride we had a little company this week, a reporter and photographer from the Lincoln Journal Star stopped in to talk to a few of the regulars about fat bikes and fat biking. Supposedly there will be an article in the paper sometime soon but so far all that has made it to the website are a few pictures, which can be found here. Perhaps we aren't as entertaining as we think we are and the whole thing got scrapped and is laying on the cutting room floor. It was still a pretty cool experience getting to talk to the guys from the LJS no matter how it ends up.




Once our 15 seconds of fame was done, we did have a ride to get to and with the new snow and cold temperatures our destination for Saturday was Wilderness Park.



Conditions early on were near perfect, snow was slightly crusty in some spots but everything was frozen solid. Even had time to stop and take a few senior pictures for Russ while we were regrouping. Kids going to be the envy of the school no doubt, swagger for days!


Not to be outdone the old folk got in on the senior picture theme, although when they start talking about senior pictures it's more Medicare ID card and less graduating High School but they just looked so darn cute.





Bridges always seem to be a good place for regroups while in the Park, we did have a little concern about the durability of the bridge at the top but I assure you that it's good to go. We've had more bikes on it on past rides and as long as you're not with a gaggle of camp kids working on their synchronized jumping badge, the bridge will hold.


It's amazing what a few degrees and a little sun will do to the ground, thus on the way back we opted to play it safe and take the Jamaica North trail back. While we might have playing it safe as far as not tearing up the trails in the park, the limestone trail isn't without it's own hazards. What is normally a fine dust in dryer conditions turns into a fine mist of limestone droplets that coat everything when it's wet.


Both bikes and riders looked a little bit like this by the time we got back to dry pavement, I had fenders and probably should have put them on but as I stood at the car on that chilly Saturday I said to myself, "self, you won't need these". Shows what I know, not sure why I listen to me sometimes.



Once back on drier trails, we headed to Leadbelly for a quick bite, they took one look at us and promptly stuck us waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy in the back away from all the regular folk. Probably a good call on their part.


Not to fear though, we had a great view of the bikes through this rusty, dusty, dirty-looking thing that was covering the window so it was like we were there with the bikes the whole time. After lunch we headed back to the shop and called and end to another great SMNDFBR. Next week we might have to break out a bit of a longer gravel route if the 67 degrees that is in the forecast holds true as it should be great biking weather.

Don't forget to stop by the shop on Wednesday for the screening of RAD, should be a good time and I'm betting it's been years since people have seen the movie. Hope to see you there.