The Warriors Hustle

Tonight biker gangs were on the loose in Lincoln! The theme for the Hustle was The Warriors and we were grouped into "gangs" of 3. Everyone had to go to one checkpoint, and the other 10 checkpoints could be divided up among the members of your "gang". There were points given at each checkpoint, and they could be taken by another gang in a 'Rumble'. Tonight's Hustle was sponsored in part by Modern Monks.

I even took a picture of Syd and I at Tierra Park to prove we were there. Since we didn't realize the checkpoint was on the asphalt loop in the woods. We were out of time and hoped it would suffice.

My gang rode hard and did a great job, and even though we finished well, our points were low and we came in dead last.

The race started with temps over 100' and a stiff South wind, but there was still and good turnout. I raced around 13.5 miles and including the ride there and back I got 23.3 miles in tonight.

Next months Hustle will be a big one with a big prize!

League of American Bicyclists Traffic Skills 101 class.

Today a group of us took the LAB's Traffic Skills 101 class with intentions of eventually becoming certified instructors ourselves. It was a great class with time in the classroom followed by skill development in the parking lot with cones. Finally we put what we'd learned into practice as we rode the streets and trails. We made a pit stop at MWC during their 'Spring Cleaning Party' before riding back to finish the 1-day class.

I was a little late after finding a big piece of glass in my tire about 1/2 way there. I got it fixed only to flat again hours later when my tube went through a hole in the sidewall and popped. It's time for new tires.

Today was a lot of fun and I learned a few things that made the day well spent. Today's miles = 13.3

Ah, Spring!

Warmer temps, drivers who have forgotten to look for cyclists and dealing with a serious lack of fitness. It's that time of year again. I spent 11 hours at the office today and went home quite a bit later than normal. The smell of burgers on backyard grills as I pedaled home was overwhelming. I'll be in Columbus, West Point, Columbus again and Fremont working the next few days, but hopefully I'll be back on the bike soon.

Today's miles to work and back = 20.44

The 2nd Annual NSFW Ride Announcement.

Date: Wednesday 4/20/11

Location: Intersection of the Billy Wolff Trail & Rock Island Trail on the North end of the Zoo.

Time: 9am

Not Sorry (for) Forgetting Work

Put in now to take April 20 off as a vacation day. Celebrate spring on a ride around Lincoln with like-minded friends. Spend the workday riding while your co-workers toil away. Meet at 9am, ride is held on city trails. 40 miles long, ride for part of the day or the whole thing. 12-14 mph average speed. Last year's NSFW Ride was a ball!

Here is the map for this year's ride.

Ride starts and ends at the intersection of the Rock Island Trail and Billy Wolfe Trail on the North Side of the Zoo at 27th & Capital Parkway.

Several Lincoln bike shops will have free refreshments, giveaways, discounts and prizes for NSFW riders! Including Joyride, Bike Pedalers, The Bike Rack, Cycle Works, & Monkey Wrench Cycles.

The route will feature stops at these shops giving riders a chance to refuel, visit, shop, register for prizes, and use bathrooms or have mechanics make adjustments.

The NSFW Ride will be a fun chance to meet other cyclist, check out new bikes and biking gear, as well as a great way to get in some miles while everyone else is stuck at work. No fee to ride, but bring lunch money, lunch will be at your choice of Havelock restaurants.

The 2nd Annual Scrabble Hustle.

Tonight's Hustle started at the closed bridge on the Bison Trail with our first check point on North 22nd street where we dropped off a T-shirt to be screen printed and got our spoke card listing 6 other stops and the finish location.

Racers could go to as many check points as they wanted. We picked a scrabble letter at each stop. Once you had a word you could report to the finish. Extra points were awarded to the top finishers.

I ended with 6 scrabble tiles and raced around 16 miles. Including the ride there and back I logged 23.2 miles tonight.

A body at rest...

Wow, it's been too long! I've been working on the road a lot lately and unable to ride to work. I've also been dealing with a serious case of laziness. I've never been busier at work than I have this winter. And all this time spent behind the wheel has taken a toll on my fitness and motivation. I need to get back into riding for my health and sanity. Anyway, I was able to spend a day in the office today and took advantage of it by biking to work and back. On the way home I stopped in to Monkey Wrench Cycles to secure our last stop on the 2011 NSFW Ride. Full details about this year's NSFW ride will be posted next week. It'll be on 4/20/11, so tell your boss now you'll need that day off.

I'm hoping work will settle down in the weeks to come, but I'm glad I got today's ride in totaling 20.8 miles.

I don't need your rockin' chair.

After playing possum all winter it's great to be back out on the trails riding to work. This fat ol boy was walking off some calories on the John Dietrich Bike Path till I spooked him into the trees. I'll spend the next couple of days working on the road, but these warm temps will have me biking to work as much as possible from now on. Today's miles = 21.01

Ya gotta start somewhere.

Lincoln cyclists were invited to join Mayor Beutler this morning for a presentation by Andy Clarke the President of the League of American Bicyclists. He shared what communities are doing to encourage drivers to bike, walk and use public transportation. I rode the Austro-Diamler to the meeting, then continued on to work. After a long hiatus, this is my first work commute of 2011.

The presentation was well attended with around 75 bikers and community leaders in attendance. Other than a few icy spots the ride was great, I've really missed it and the forecast calls for more good biking weather! Today's miles = 19.71

One man's trash is another man's rat bike.

This afternoon I finally made it on my first Rat Bike Ride. The Near South Community Bike Kitchen is hosting monthly Rat Rides on the first Sunday of each month.

It's crazy how many different subcultures there are in the Lincoln cycling scene. I took Trusty Rusty and she felt right at home on the leisurely ride downtown where the 10 of us feasted on dozens of flavors of chili at O'Rourke's chili cook off. Today's miles = 3.0

Cycle Works Movie Night & Greensprints At Bricktop.

Tonight Cycle Works hosted movie night featuring Life Cycles with refreshments and discounts for attendees. Afterward we went downtown to the Bricktop for Green Street Cycles Greensprints. It was put together by the PCL with help from Screen Ink. They were both fun events giving cyclists a chance to hang out and see each other.

The Winter Sucks Lincoln Ve-Low Party.

Tonight Thad from our local cycling zine Lincoln Ve-Low (pick up copies at Cafe Indigo & Monkey Wrench Cycles) held the 2nd Lincoln Ve-Low Party, also called the Lincoln Ve-Low Townhall Meeting, at the Grata.

Sponsors had refreshments and prizes for attendees. It was great to see everyone, and I came away with a Tomac shirt and pair of War Axe socks! There were drawings and arm-wrestling matches to determine prize winners.

I rode the Austro-Diamler there getting me 12.02 miles in tonight.

KC Sprints returns to Lincoln.

This weekend the boys from Kansas City made their way back to the Star City to pack the house as we raced against eachother. It was a wild and rowdy time!

GPBC New Years Day Breakfast.

Some drove, some rode, but one way or the other a good sized group of us met up at the Village Inn for breakfast and a chance to visit about the rides we are looking forward to during 2011. Today's miles = 2.48

Photo Credit: Mary Poe

2010 was a great year spent outdoors!

2010 was another great year to spend time outdoors! The NOA blog had 362 posts. Now has 27 followers and 13,785 unique hits during 2010. And I have 771 facebook friends. I've had a great time sharing my adventures with you and hope you've made an effort to spend more time outdoors.

You've seen our family have a ton of fun outside and watched me mature as a cyclist. I started riding in 2008 and put on 2,000 miles that year. During 2009 I racked up an additional 4,681.78 miles on the bike. This year brought 6,270.43 more miles giving me a total of 12,952.21 for my first 3 years as a cyclist. During 2010 blog readers have followed me on the following outdoor adventures:

129 round trip commutes to work and back (aprox 20 miles)

18 one way work commutes (aprox 10 miles)

We attended the Big Buck Classic in Omaha.

I rode in 6 of Lincoln's Critical Mass rides.

Tried my luck at the KC Sprints.

16 Hustle alley cat style races.

You saw me try and fail at riding an indoor trainer.

Couch sledding with our oldest.

Participated in the following GPBC events: Holiday Dinner, Easter Candy Ride, Spring Fling Ride, Full Moon Ride, Just Do It Ride, Lied Bridge Ride, Ride Of Silence, Wabash Trace Ride, and the Heatstroke 100 Ride.

Riding to Pepe's for the Sunday 'Biker Special'.

The purchase of Trusty Rusty.

Riding gravel with the Adventure Racers to Branched Oak and Beatrice.

Riding gravel in Kansas.

The opening of the Antelope Valley Trail.

18 Tuesday Night Nacho Rides.

Biking to church 7 times.

You saw me Demo the Bike Pedalers Marin Mount Vision 5.9 and Pivot Mach 4 mountain bikes.

I put together and hosted the 1st annual NSFW ride.

Attended the LPD bike auction.

The Cycle Works Tomac open house event.

I was a spectator at the following races: ACA 12 hour MTB race at Wagontrain. Xterra Bolt Branched Oak race. Flatwater cyclocross races at Van Dorn Park. Lincoln Cyclocross races at Pioneers park. And the Capital City Criterium.

You saw me get road rash in the shape of a heart from a tight turn on a downhill section of bike trail during a wet work commute.

We attended the Joyride Specialized demo event.

Spring and fall turkey hunting with our youngest.

Camping, air boating, and catching monster catfish on the Loup River.

I spent 9 nights in a tent and 5 nights in campers during 2010.

I rode single track at: Wagon Train, Branched Oak, Wilderness Park and Bike Pedalers' secret MTB area.

I rode with the BP crew on the Bread & Cup ride and the Yia Yias ride.

Two Fox Hole 100 rides.

Did my 2nd Tour De Nebraska 5-day bike tour.

We did the Taco Ride in Iowa.

Took Gravel to Parkers Smokehouse in Ashland.

Rode day-1 of RAGBRAI and attended the Expo the day before.

Canoed at Holmes Lake a couple of times with the family.

Met Tom Snyders the bicycling comedian on RAGBRAI, saw his show in Omaha and rode to Pepe's with him in Lincoln.

Checked out the Cycle Works Giant ladies bike demo.

Rode in the 2010 GLGA Gravel World Championship.

Bought the wife a Specialized Ruby.

You saw the Felt Z70 frame become fatigued and separated.

I rode a loaner Surly Cross Check from Bike Pedalers.

Then got a new Felt ZA frameset from Felt free on warrantee.

Attended the Monkey Wrench Cycles grand opening.

Found the Austro-Daimler & a cruiser for $30 at the Bicycle Swap Meet.

Rode the Flint Hills Nature Trail in Kansas.

Rode a century going to Nebraska City and back.

I had 6 flat tires during 2010.

We attended the 2010 Ducks Unlimited banquet and the 2010 Quail Forever Banquet.

And, we deer hunted again on the Loup this year.

I'm not bragging, just wanted to see a tally, but it's not about the numbers, it's about the fun I've had. And I'm so thankful for all the great people I've met and spent time and miles with again in 2010.

I'm healthier, happier, greener, more responsible, fun and social than I've ever been. I'm looking forward to building on the time we've spent outdoors and making 2011 another unforgettable year of outdoor adventures.

My big cycling/blog goals for this year were:

10,000 unique hits on the NOA blog during 2010. *CHECK*

25 NOA followers and 500 facebook friends by the end of 2010. *CHECK, CHECK*

Another year with no serious wrecks. *CHECK*

6,000 miles on the bike during 2010. *CHECK*

5 Centuries during 2010. *NOPE, JUST 2*

125 round trip work commutes during 2010. *CHECK*

And another tour during 2010. *CHECK*

I'm not setting any specific goals for 2011 other than to finish Gravel Worlds and maybe get a MTB. Otherwise I just hope to keep doing what I have been.

Hope to see you spending time with friends and family outdoors in the year to come!!!

Have a Happy New Year!!!

Signing up for my 3rd TDN.

June seems like it's a world away, but it's time now to register, and TDN fills up fast.

It's not for a lack of interest.

And it's not even the weather that's keeping me off the bike. The family and work are keeping me hopping and stuck behind the wheel. Yesterday was great biking weather and I had to make an emergency trip to Columbus for work :( This afternoon is the bike derby and I didn't even have a chance to find a bike for it. Maybe I can get done working today in time to go watch it at least.

November ended up with 177.0 miles on the bike.

The Goodbye (but not for long) Shindig.

A family of cyclists is moving out of Lincoln with plans to return. I rode the Felt to the party to wish them well and returned home with 6.8 miles for the day.

This is huge! Holdrege St overpass is open.

After the cyclocross races I rode to the office and discovered that the new Holdrege St overpass is open! This connects the John Dietrich Trail to the Antelope Valley Trail. Taking it will eliminate over 8 blocks of riding on the streets during my work commute because the trails didn't connect until now.

Riding to the races and the office gave me 18.88 miles today on the Austro-Diamler.

Lincoln Cyclocross Weekend day 2.

More fun from hooligan hill.

Lincoln Cyclocross Weekend day 1

Today and tomorrow are the annual CX races at Pioneers Park. Races begin at 10am tomorrow, come out to check out the action. It's free to watch the athletes and witnesses the shenanigans first hand. I rode out there and back logging 14.77 miles today.