There's no better way to kill a readership than to stop posting for 5 months, but I'm here and I've got some interesting stuff to post.
FYI.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Tour de Lincoln
Due to rain the last couple days, riding has been confined to the city limits. Not the best or most interesting riding, but there are lots of new trails that I haven't seen and others that I haven't ridden for a long time, so it wasn't all bad.
Saturday dawned early with the Havelock Charity run (no I didn't run)...
Afterward Ryan and I met up with no real plan except to explore the city trails and get some miles in. MapMyRide uses way out of date Lincoln maps, so my mileage estimate is rather rough, but I figured 32 miles round trip. Most exciting moment involved a mud induced slide of both wheels through a under-street tunnel....still learning how to ride that Lemond.
Today, I headed back out, on the El Mariachi this time. Compared to the cross bike, I felt like a monster truck on the mtb. Stable, comfy, and slow... Hoping that the rain would hold off I headed toward Pioneer's Park. Ended up with 30 miles and an even 100 for the weekend. Next goal is consecutive 50 mile days. 55 days till the Laramie Enduro...
Saturday dawned early with the Havelock Charity run (no I didn't run)...
Afterward Ryan and I met up with no real plan except to explore the city trails and get some miles in. MapMyRide uses way out of date Lincoln maps, so my mileage estimate is rather rough, but I figured 32 miles round trip. Most exciting moment involved a mud induced slide of both wheels through a under-street tunnel....still learning how to ride that Lemond.
Where now? A decision point at Holmes Lake.
Is this Colorado, or southeast Lincoln?
Photo op...
Today, I headed back out, on the El Mariachi this time. Compared to the cross bike, I felt like a monster truck on the mtb. Stable, comfy, and slow... Hoping that the rain would hold off I headed toward Pioneer's Park. Ended up with 30 miles and an even 100 for the weekend. Next goal is consecutive 50 mile days. 55 days till the Laramie Enduro...
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Branched Oak Loop
On Friday evening, I headed out for what I had planned as an extended gravel loop. Based on so many race reports from Dirty Kanza and others, I was convinced that the cross bike was the best tool for the job. I quickly realized that I either need to have different tires or a lot more confidence because I was rather skittish any time the gravel got deep or when I had any speed heading down hills.
When I came to Highway 79 and its nice wide shoulder, I changed plans and decided to head up toward Raymond. The touring tires on the cross bike liked this surface much better. Once I reached Raymond Road, I thought I would ride over to the lake. Upon reaching the lake, I took a lap around. As I rode across the dam it became obvious I was losing the light so I headed home as quick as possible since I was without lights. 36 miles...2 hours 25 minutes...a great post-work relaxer.
Sunset over Branched Oak
Here's a map of the route.
When I came to Highway 79 and its nice wide shoulder, I changed plans and decided to head up toward Raymond. The touring tires on the cross bike liked this surface much better. Once I reached Raymond Road, I thought I would ride over to the lake. Upon reaching the lake, I took a lap around. As I rode across the dam it became obvious I was losing the light so I headed home as quick as possible since I was without lights. 36 miles...2 hours 25 minutes...a great post-work relaxer.
Looking into the valley from near my house.
It's rare to meet a friendly dog on your bike...
Rolling countryside north of the lake.
Rolling countryside north of the lake.
Sunset over Branched Oak
Here's a map of the route.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Road Bikes and Cross Bikes
Saturday was supposed to be a race day for me, but when I woke up, I just wasn't feeling the long drive. Most of the guys I hang out with at the races were also out for one reason for another, including Harp and Ryan, who were supporting the criterium race in downtown Lincoln. Jason was one of the few to man up and head out to Lewis and Clark.
Instead, Laura and I ran some errands, including picking up a new point and shoot camera that would be small and light enough to easily carry on bike rides. Eager to try out the new camera, a couple friends and I headed downtown to check out the the Capital City Criterium and say hi to the guys that had to be at the race. Pretty cool scene and what a beautiful day! Here's a short video I shot during the second lap of the Pro/1/2/3 race using the new camera.
After hanging out at the race for awhile, Mitchell and I took off to explore Wilderness Park. Mitchell rides a Surly Crosscheck and had never ridden offroad with it, so we planned to take it pretty slowly, but I was really impressed with his skills. Nice job man! I was riding a cyclocross bike too, a Lemond Poprad, that Robb let me borrow. I was surprised by the way the cross bikes handled on the trails, even with roadish tires on the Lemond...
Near the end of our trip through the park, I got the bright idea to take out the camera and shoot some video. I've seen enough examples (including the master) where it is made to seem so easy to shoot video on almost any terrain, so I thought I could handle it. Lets count the factors that led to the video that follows: first real ride on a borrowed bike, first offroad ride on a cyclocross bike, and first time attempting to shoot video while riding...sounds like a recipe for awesome.
Bike, camera and idiot all escaped without injury. I'll get this ride documentation thing down with a little practice and hopefully my blog posts about riding will be little more interesting.
Instead, Laura and I ran some errands, including picking up a new point and shoot camera that would be small and light enough to easily carry on bike rides. Eager to try out the new camera, a couple friends and I headed downtown to check out the the Capital City Criterium and say hi to the guys that had to be at the race. Pretty cool scene and what a beautiful day! Here's a short video I shot during the second lap of the Pro/1/2/3 race using the new camera.
After hanging out at the race for awhile, Mitchell and I took off to explore Wilderness Park. Mitchell rides a Surly Crosscheck and had never ridden offroad with it, so we planned to take it pretty slowly, but I was really impressed with his skills. Nice job man! I was riding a cyclocross bike too, a Lemond Poprad, that Robb let me borrow. I was surprised by the way the cross bikes handled on the trails, even with roadish tires on the Lemond...
Near the end of our trip through the park, I got the bright idea to take out the camera and shoot some video. I've seen enough examples (including the master) where it is made to seem so easy to shoot video on almost any terrain, so I thought I could handle it. Lets count the factors that led to the video that follows: first real ride on a borrowed bike, first offroad ride on a cyclocross bike, and first time attempting to shoot video while riding...sounds like a recipe for awesome.
Bike, camera and idiot all escaped without injury. I'll get this ride documentation thing down with a little practice and hopefully my blog posts about riding will be little more interesting.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Panamericana
As a person becomes embedded into the culture of cycling, people on the outside looking in will tell you that you're crazy when you tell them you did a 50 mile gravel-road ride, or a 70 mile mountain bike race. You, the person on the inside, know that this isn't really crazy; it just takes the desire to do it, and a little bit of training. However, there are people out there in the world that are doing things on bicycles that are truly amazing and deserving of great respect and admiration.
To my surprise, one of these people is from Lincoln and was featured in a Journal Star article and video (the video is better than the article) last week. Matt Baumeister took a journey that began in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska (on the Arctic Ocean) and finished in Ushuaia, Argentina (the claimed southernmost city in the world). The trip began in June 2007 and finished in February of 2009, covering 14,328 miles on bicycle. He kept a pretty detailed account of his travels on his blog, Pan Am Bike Ride. It's cool to read about each country and the differences in terrain, climate and culture as experienced on two wheels.
Particularly interesting to me was Matt's account of his time in Huanaco, Peru and the following trip from Huanaco to Lima Peru. In August of 2007, my wife and I were in Huanaco helping some missionaries from our church build a house. The trip from Huanaco to Lima took 9 hours on a bus and tops out at 16,000 feet elevation. I can't comprehend doing that on a bicycle, especially after being over 10,000 miles into the journey.
Here's another interesting post about searching for the headwater's of the Amazon River near Arequipa, Peru.
It's well worth the time it takes to read the whole story. Check it out here. Be inspired, even for the "little" adventures in your own life.
To my surprise, one of these people is from Lincoln and was featured in a Journal Star article and video (the video is better than the article) last week. Matt Baumeister took a journey that began in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska (on the Arctic Ocean) and finished in Ushuaia, Argentina (the claimed southernmost city in the world). The trip began in June 2007 and finished in February of 2009, covering 14,328 miles on bicycle. He kept a pretty detailed account of his travels on his blog, Pan Am Bike Ride. It's cool to read about each country and the differences in terrain, climate and culture as experienced on two wheels.
Particularly interesting to me was Matt's account of his time in Huanaco, Peru and the following trip from Huanaco to Lima Peru. In August of 2007, my wife and I were in Huanaco helping some missionaries from our church build a house. The trip from Huanaco to Lima took 9 hours on a bus and tops out at 16,000 feet elevation. I can't comprehend doing that on a bicycle, especially after being over 10,000 miles into the journey.
Me, taking a break on a roof in Huanaco. Pretty sweet terrain...
Here's another interesting post about searching for the headwater's of the Amazon River near Arequipa, Peru.
It's well worth the time it takes to read the whole story. Check it out here. Be inspired, even for the "little" adventures in your own life.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
A Great Weekend
My uncles Scott and Junior were in from Pennsylvania along with a bunch of other family to celebrate my sister's wedding last weekend. One of the things I was really looking forward to was riding on my home trails with them. We have ridden together several times in PA before, but this would be the first time in Nebraska.
Friday, we awoke to the threat of rain and severe weather. I was quickly goaded into loading up the gear; "If it isn't raining, we're riding" was the cry. Due to uncertainty about the weather, we decided to head out to Branched Oak as it is considerably closer to home than Platte River State Park. The 12 hour race at Branched Oak was held that weekend, so we found some newly added trail and some new detours at Area 7. After two laps of the race course (minus the pasture section at the end of the lap), we decided to head over to Area 1 for a lap. In both locations, the trail was perfectly tacky and the sandy corners were nicely packed. On the negative side, it appears that the log crossings at Area 1 have been taken out.
After church on Sunday, we hit up Platte River State Park. I had been talking up these trails as the best that eastern Nebraska had to offer, so I was excited to show it off. We parked near the horse stables, and shot a quick picture using the self-timer.
As we were about to head into the trails, we noticed a "No Bikes 9Am-4PM" sign. This was a restriction that I had thought didn't start until Memorial Day, and yet, here the sign said differently. A Ranger was nearby and he explained that the horses needed to get onto the trails before the official opening to get reacclimated with being ridden on trails. After explaining the circumstances (uncles from out of town, etc) and giving assurances that we would yield to any horses, the Ranger let us ride. Thanks Greg (I think that was his name)! Two laps later and we were ready to call it a day. The trail was in perfect condition and because this wasn't a race situation, I actually had opportunity to enjoy what I was riding. I haven't posted about it for awhile, but the more I ride my El Mariachi, the happier I am with it. My uncles both remarked throughout the weekend that my bike seemed to be the perfect bike for our terrain. I completely agree!
Overall it was a great weekend for bike riding. In fact, it was the most fun I have had on a bike for quite a while. Races are cool, but the real fun of mountain biking comes when you are enjoying a good trail with great people, something we did a lot of this weekend.
So in that spirit, who wants to go for a ride this extended weekend? Robb and I are heading up to Branched Oak on Saturday morning....any other takers? Anyone want to head to Platte or Lewis and Clark on Sunday or Monday?
Friday, we awoke to the threat of rain and severe weather. I was quickly goaded into loading up the gear; "If it isn't raining, we're riding" was the cry. Due to uncertainty about the weather, we decided to head out to Branched Oak as it is considerably closer to home than Platte River State Park. The 12 hour race at Branched Oak was held that weekend, so we found some newly added trail and some new detours at Area 7. After two laps of the race course (minus the pasture section at the end of the lap), we decided to head over to Area 1 for a lap. In both locations, the trail was perfectly tacky and the sandy corners were nicely packed. On the negative side, it appears that the log crossings at Area 1 have been taken out.
After church on Sunday, we hit up Platte River State Park. I had been talking up these trails as the best that eastern Nebraska had to offer, so I was excited to show it off. We parked near the horse stables, and shot a quick picture using the self-timer.
As we were about to head into the trails, we noticed a "No Bikes 9Am-4PM" sign. This was a restriction that I had thought didn't start until Memorial Day, and yet, here the sign said differently. A Ranger was nearby and he explained that the horses needed to get onto the trails before the official opening to get reacclimated with being ridden on trails. After explaining the circumstances (uncles from out of town, etc) and giving assurances that we would yield to any horses, the Ranger let us ride. Thanks Greg (I think that was his name)! Two laps later and we were ready to call it a day. The trail was in perfect condition and because this wasn't a race situation, I actually had opportunity to enjoy what I was riding. I haven't posted about it for awhile, but the more I ride my El Mariachi, the happier I am with it. My uncles both remarked throughout the weekend that my bike seemed to be the perfect bike for our terrain. I completely agree!Overall it was a great weekend for bike riding. In fact, it was the most fun I have had on a bike for quite a while. Races are cool, but the real fun of mountain biking comes when you are enjoying a good trail with great people, something we did a lot of this weekend.
So in that spirit, who wants to go for a ride this extended weekend? Robb and I are heading up to Branched Oak on Saturday morning....any other takers? Anyone want to head to Platte or Lewis and Clark on Sunday or Monday?
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Platte River on Sunday
Heading out to Platte River State Park around 1 pm on Sunday. Minor changes to the schedule are possible if there are others who would like to meet up... Let me know.
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