Riding like we did back in the day.

Before moving to Lincoln and discovering bikes, we used to ride ATVs all the time. Today our oldest and I met up with Thad and went for a ride at Headworks. It was a great day for it and it was fun to get the 4-wheelers out again. It'd been too long.

Headed back out on the ice.

I took the day off to make up for working over the weekend and our youngest and I went to Holmes Lake for another try at ice fishing. I got a decent sun fish and he caught a rainbow trout! We're really starting to like ice fishing and it beat the heck out of sitting in the office all day.

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Our 1st try at ice fishing.

I haven't ice fished since I was a kid, but our youngest has been begging for several years to go. I didn't have much desire to freeze to death sitting on a 5 gallon bucket and to top it off, we didn't have any of the equipment.

Well, this year for Christmas I caved and decided we'd get him set up with everything he'd need to start ice fishing.

My grandpa, his great grandfather, built these two ice sleds that can haul equipment out, then be tipped on end to serve as a shelter to sit in. He made them 25 years ago. I knew they were still around, so I hunted them down, gave them a fresh coat of paint, and rigged up a tarp to go between them to stop the wind and hold the heat in. On Christmas our youngest got the 2 ice shacks, an ice auger, pole, lures and a heater.

Today was the first time we tried them. They worked pretty well. We caught a handful of small fish and really had a great time. We stayed toasty with the heater and were out on the ice at Holmes Lake still catching fish well past dark. I admit, I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. We talked about using plywood instead of a tarp so they could be used independently or hooked together, but for now the tarp worked fine.

It's neat to see the ice shacks being used again for the first time in 20 years. And he's proud to be using something his great grandpa built.

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!!!

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

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

To breakfast and back.

Well hey, if I couldn't ride to Blanchard And Back yesterday, I'll ride to Breakfast And Back today! This morning we took a family ride to the Hi-Way Diner along the Hwy 2 trail for breakfast. The trails were busy with cyclists trying to get a few miles in before it got crazy hot outside. Today's miles = 10.5

Just floating through life.

We took the canoe out for a cruise this evening on Holmes Lake. It was peaceful and relaxing. I even got my grandma and Doc out on the water.

The Nacho Ride is a Lincoln favorite.

There was a steady stream of cyclists throughout the evening riding the Mopac trail from Lincoln to Eagle for the weekly Nacho Ride.

Despite the heat and humidity lots of us rode. The NRD has been working in Walton where the rock is real loose.

I drove to the trail head and left early with our youngest to take him on his first Nacho Ride giving us both 20.2 miles tonight. It was a fun way to spend a little time together outdoors.

Had the canoe out at Holmes Lake.

Yesterday's Firecracker 50 ride in Seward got rained out, but we did get to play outside a little today when we took the canoe out for a ride at Holmes Lake.

My turn!

I had to take some lessons from our 13 yr old, but by gosh I did find a big one!

The big cats are biting again on the Loup.

It took our youngest just a couple of minutes to catch this lunker on his first cast this morning.

"this life is what you make it" - The Hannah Montana bike story.

"Ha! Ha, ha!!!" Said my son recently while pointing at my bike. "Dad! *giggle, giggle* You've got a Hannah Montana bike!!!"

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"That's a Hannah Montana song! Dad, your riding a Hannah Montana bike! Your riding a GIRLS bike!"

With a 'oh crap' look on my face I said, "Hannah Montana has a song called This Life Is What You Make It? I didn't know that, I just thought it was a cool saying."

He swore it was true, he'd heard it on the Disney Chanel. I'd recently picked up the decal and thought it resonated with my mentality and decided to place it on my top tube to remind myself and others that if you have a rotten attitude you'll have a rotten life, and if you make life fun... well, you get it.

Naturally, I had to find out if my bike had really become a 'girls bike'. I looked it up. A quick check on google and I realized that my boy was right, it is a Hannah Montana song, it's also the title of one of her DVDs. But, before that Marilyn Monroe (also a girl) had been quoted saying the same line.

Well, crap, weather I like it or not, I guess I've got a girls bike now. It's one of the casualties of getting old and being out of touch with pop culture. Maybe my next accessory will be a flower basket and streamers to mount to the handlebars.

So much for trying to look like a hardcore cyclist.

It pays to be a good dad!

Today we had a severe storm roll though this morning the same time as I needed to ride to work so I ended up driving. After a few hours at the office I got a call that our finished basement had standing water in it. I rushed home to clean it up.

It was bad enough that my commute got rained/hailed out, but now my basement was flooded. We vacuumed and mopped up 195 gallons of water as the sump pump tried to catch up.

But, things took a turn for the better later when we went to pick up my Fathers Day gifts from Bike Pedalers. I was given a new Brooks B17 Special saddle for Trusty Rusty and new road tires since I'd wore my factory rubber down to the fabric. I was also given a set of wider tires with a bit of tread for riding on gravel from my wife & kids. After Seward's 4th of July ride I'll switch them out and ride more gravel.

What great fathers day gifts! Even though I don't go for all that mushy stuff, and am known to pronounce 'I love you' to sound more like; "Lets go for a (bike) ride" or "Do you want to go fishing with me" somehow my kids must understand my poor speech and know what I'm really trying to say. I feel very loved.

Tomorrow we Nacho Ride, then, first thing Wednesday it's off to the Tour De Nebraska!!! Whoo Hoo!!!

Waterfest 2010

Our youngest and I hopped on our bikes and headed over to Holmes Lake this evening for Waterfest. Geeze, I didn't realize how big this event would be! It was all free, food, music, booths, demonstrations, fishing, canoe rides, and more. He brought home a bag of free loot, some new knowledge about water conservation and some memories of a few hours of fun on the banks of Holmes Lake.

Including all three rides today I racked up 37.4 miles total.

Pack up the kids for Waterfest on Saturday at Holmes Lake.

This'll be a great event for the family and it's free! Food, live music, and lots of water. Click here and here to find out all the details.

T - I - M - E

Ohh, parenting. Where to begin? Ok, so the other day the wife says she wants me to clean our youngest child's room. As far as I was concerned it was clean. There was nothing on the floor, only blankets and pillows on the bed, all but a handful of clothes were in drawers or the closet, etc. etc.

But, I knew what she meant. She wanted it cleaned by her standards, not mine or our son's.

It's a duty all parents (except those with OCD who would never let it get this bad) have to deal with occasionally. Kids are collectors and hiders. And what he does when he's in his room when I'm elsewhere in the house I'd rather not know. As long as he's alive and our home isn't on fire I figure he's fine.

The above picture is what I found when I lifted his box spring up off the bed frame. I found similar disaster areas between dressers and the wall and under his desk.

I found no porn, or cigarettes, or anything else alarming. But, it is amazing what seems important to a child, isn't it? I can't count how many bent up paperclips I found poking through pencil erasers. How many cars had been torn down for scrap parts. And that USB memory stick that he needed for school and had been mysteriously lost was found, disassembled and in pieces. I also found missing homework that had long since been re-done. Superballs. Dice. Rubberbands. And countless other treasures that I deemed worthless and threw away.

It's funny how one thing that's precious to someone can be worthless to someone else.

Memories are that way too, arn't they?

Life is short. And for those of us with kids T - I - M - E is all you've got. Make the most of it. Here's a little story that's been around forever. I know you can find it here. I thought of this story the other day when I spent 4 1/2 hours cleaning his room to my wife's liking instead of biking. Just remember, like I did when I was cleaning, that the things you do for others and the time you spend with them is really all that matters. I'll leave you now with: To a Child, Love is Spelled T - I - M - E.

In the faint light of the attic, an old man, tall and stooped, bent his great frame and made his way to a stack of boxes that sat near one of the little half-windows. Brushing aside a wisp of cobwebs, he tilted the top box toward the light and began to carefully lift out one old photograph album after another. Eyes once bright but now dim searched longingly for the source that had drawn him here.

It began with the fond recollection of the love of his life, long gone, and somewhere in these albums was a photo of her he hoped to rediscover. Silent as a mouse, he patiently opened the long buried treasures and soon was lost in a sea of memories. Although his world had not stopped spinning when his wife left it, the past was more alive in his heart than his present aloneness.

Setting aside one of the dusty albums, he pulled from the box what appeared to be a journal from his grown son's childhood. He could not recall ever having seen it before, or that his son had ever kept a journal. Why did Elizabeth always save the children's old junk? he wondered, shaking his white head.

Opening the yellowed pages, he glanced over a short reading, and his lips curved in an unconscious smile. Even his eyes brightened as he read the words that spoke clear and sweet to his soul. It was the voice of the little boy who had grown up far too fast in this very house, and whose voice had grown fainter and fainter over the years. In the utter silence of the attic, the words of a guileless six-year-old worked their magic and carried the old man back to a time almost totally forgotten.

Entry after entry stirred a sentimental hunger in his heart like the longing a gardener feels in the winter for the fragrance of spring flowers. But it was accompanied by the painful memory that his son's simple recollections of those days were far different from his own. But how different?

Reminded that he had kept a daily journal of his business activities over the years, he closed his son's journal and turned to leave, having forgotten the cherished photo that originally triggered his search. Hunched over to keep from bumping his head on the rafters, the old man stepped to the wooden stairway and made his descent, then headed down a carpeted stairway that led to the den.

Opening a glass cabinet door, he reached in and pulled out an old business journal. Turning, he sat down at his desk and placed the two journals beside each other. His was leather-bound and engraved neatly with his name in gold, while his son's was tattered and the name Jimmy had been nearly scuffed from its surface. He ran a long skinny finger over the letters, as though he could restore what had been worn away with time and use.

As he opened his journal, the old man's eyes fell upon an inscription that stood out because it was so brief in comparison to other days. In his own neat handwriting were these words: Wasted the whole day fishing with Jimmy. Didn't catch a thing.

With a deep sigh and a shaking hand, he took Jimmy's journal and found the boy's entry for the same day, June 4. Large scrawling letters, pressed deeply into the paper, read: Went fishing with my Dad. Best day of my life.

Airboat ride to a trout spot.

After shooting my dad took us up stream on the Loup in the airboat to visit one of his 'river friends' who invited my boy to try his luck in his stocked trout pond. After struggling with the moss on the edge of the pond he elected to just wade out past it. While he was unable to land a trout, he did hook a large mouth and bluegill.

Shooting to have some fun this afternoon.

After cat fishing my dad came down to the river with the blue rock thrower and we did a little target shooting. As usual I let the little guy win. But hey, I can still beat him in a bike race... On a good day... If I get a headstart... Jeeze, that kid can shoot!

Can't complain about the fishing!

I got this cat on my first cast. We caught 3 more just like it in the next 20 minutes. And two more big ones a while after that.