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

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.

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.

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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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!

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.

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