A family ride to the zoo and Ivanna Cone.

It was a busy day with the family and this afternoon we took a ride to the zoo to see the new penguins. We even got to visit with John Chapo who said visitors had complained about finding parking and that he thought it was cool that we'd biked. Afterward we went to Ivanna Cone for a treat. We also got to see runners finish the Market To Market Relay. It was a great day for a ride and tomorrow is packed full of tons of biking events in Lincoln. Hope to see you out tomorrow! Today's miles = 14.9

Stinkin' Lincoln's bike trail critters.

After work Ruby's rider and I took a spin down the Billy Wolff and Antelope Valley Trail to the old State Fair grounds. On the way back a skunk crossed the trail right in front of us near the 48th St underpass. In three years of biking around this city I've seen tons of wildlife, but this is my first close encounter with a skunk! Fortunately he was calm as we went by and didn't seem as worried about us as we were about him. Otherwise it was a nice evening for a spin and I parked the bike with 22.2 miles for the day.

A midday ride on the Jamaica North Trail.

After the swap meet the wife decided she wanted to go for a ride too, so we hit the Jamaica North Trail and took it to Roca before running into Craig and Ashley out getting some miles on this perfect day. I rode the Austro-Daimler from the swap meet and just loved it. It's a sound bike and a lot of fun to ride. But I was still looking forward to trying out my new Felt ZA.

Conditioning a new Brooks saddle with Neatsfoot Oil.

When I got Ruby for the wife I also picked her up a Ladies's B17 Brooks from MWC. Carlos recommended conditioning a new Brooks with Neatsfoot Oil. It worked well and softened the leather. Brooks doesn't recommend using Neatsfoot Oil, instead they want you to use several applications of their Proofide.

I used Proofide on my B17 and wanted to see if Neatsfoot Oil would be quicker. I think it is, and am happy with how it turned out.

Here's how Carlos recommended to condition a Brooks and I followed it to the letter. I bought a gallon at The Fort for $19, dumped it all in a 5 gallon bucket and submerged the saddle in it for 48 hours, then took it out without drying it off I tied it in a black garbage bag and left it to cook in the sun for another 48 hours. Then took it out, toweled it off with a dry cloth and had her ride it right away.

I saved the leftover oil. She's been riding on it since getting her Ruby and is liking the Brooks more and more with every mile. I'll let you know if ever her saddle has problems, or if the Neatsfoot Oil caused any problems in the long run. But as for now, I'd recommend it as a quick way to make breaking in a new Brooks faster and easier. Everyone has their own method, I just wanted to share the success I had with Neatsfoot oil.

2010 GPBC's Heatstroke 100.

Almost exactly 3 years ago we moved to Lincoln and started biking. We did the annual Kool-Aid Days ride that summer. Last year my whole family did the BBC Rolling To The River Ride. And this year we decided to ride the GPBC Heatstroke 100 together.

With me on my loaner Surley Cross Check from Bike Pedalers, the wife on her new Ruby, our oldest on his hardtail Marin MTB, our daughter on her Marin comfort bike and our youngest on his Felt MTB we set out along with my brother-in-law and hundreds of other cyclists on today's ride.

We decided to do loop #1, from SAC, through Ashland across the Gretna - I-80 exit, to the SAG stop at the LIED bridge and back to SAC.

I somehow got a flat just before the end. It's my 6th of the year. Otherwise it was a perfect ride. The kids weren't used to the hills or wind, and today was the longest ride any of them had done. But we took our time and really made it a great way to spend the morning. Today's miles = 24.5

The wife gets a Ruby for her anniversary.

It's our wedding anniversary this week, and I wanted to get her a Felt ZW5 from Bike Pedalers since I first saw one on TDN. But now their all sold out, and they changed the color for 2011. The wife loved the color and was able to find pretty much the same thing in the Specialized Ruby Elite Compact LE from Joyride.

The misses test rides another bike.

She deserves some new wheels and has been looking for something in the right color, weight, and component group.

She has that 'new love' look in her eyes. Watching her and Ruby reminded me of her and I during this week all those years ago. They looked to be smitten with each other and seemed to be giddy as they danced down the trail.

We put it through the paces on the Rock Island to the tune of 5.2 miles.