Cooling down.

It's not near as hot as it has been and I'm loving it! I took the Felt to the office and back today tacking on another 21.1 miles.

Union Plaza Dedication.

Tonight was the dedication of Lincoln Parks and Rec's new Union Plaza.

Union Plaza is a 3 block long city park in the Antelope Valley Project. Mayor Beutler was on hand as well as reps from the Parks Dept, Union Bank and others who were instrumental in the creation of Lincoln's newest park.

Besides the dedication and recognition of those involved, there were booths, prizes, food, crafts, music and more.

I had a chance to see a lot of old biking friends and it was a great night to get out on the trails. Afterward I pedaled to a meeting on 56th St before going home giving me 14.2 miles this evening.

Cycling should never be a pain.

Over the last few months I've had a stiff neck/shoulder the night and next morning after a ride. Since the pain didn't come on till hours later it took awhile to even figure out it had something to do with biking.

We started wondering if it had something to do with my Trek FX 7.6, on Tuesday I took it for a spin around the South Pointe loop, sure enough, by bedtime I was sore.

Today I did the exact same route on the Felt and... no pain! Well, at least I've got it narrowed down. I've got some kind of a fit issue with my Trek I'll have to get solved. At least it's not just old age. Those two rides plus a trip up the hill over the weekend give me 20.3 miles.

Perfect conditions.

This mornings work commute was cool with no wind and the trip home was in the mid-80's with a strong tailwind out of the north. What luck! Today's miles = 21.1

A dry summer.

My bike rides have been as few and far between as the rain storms this summer. The NRD has closed the rail-trails outside Lincoln due to the bike tire width sized drought cracks on the paths. The other day I took a spin over to Holmes Lake to find the water level way below normal. I also took a trip up the hill over the weekend and rode to work today adding up to 38.7 miles lately.

A fast summer.

I've been getting out there some, not near as much as I should, but even though I haven't been blogging, I have gotten some rides in. Summer is slipping away and my mileage is way down but the time I've spent on the bike has been great.

I've rode to the office several times, a group of us went to the screening of Reveal The Path at the Sheldon, the Nacho Ride last week and lots of trips up the hill. All told I racked up 159.3 miles since my last post.

A new short cut and more miles.

Our youngest is taking classes this month at Northstar High School so I rode with him there before going to work this morning.
On the way home we found a couple of guys prepping to pour a short cut connector trail where a dirt path had been worn in the grass where the John Dietrich connects to Holdrege street.
I made several trips up the hill since my last post getting me 13.2 miles and today's commute was 29.5 miles, for a total of 42.7 miles.

The Cottonwood 200.



Memorial Day weekend was the annual Cottonwood 200, a 200 mile, 3-day tour out of Topeka Kansas through the Flint Hill and back to Topeka. The price was right so a bunch of us from Lincoln signed up and went. The weather was brutal with tough winds and high temps, it was hard at times to even go 9 mph on the bike. They SAG'ed a record number of riders (myself included) in on the first day. I couldn't keep fluids down and was over heated. The scenery was awesome though and the tour was top notch all the way. The SAG stops were loaded with great food and drinks, and everyone was really helpful. The second day also had some tough hills and a direct headwind of 35 mph. We worked our tails off to ride the little over 20 miles South before turning back into a hot but rewarding tail-wind. The third day was the best weatherwise and ended the ride on a high note. We saw some neat sights, had a ton of fun and enjoyed the chance to get away for a long weekend on bikes. I wound up with 127.1 miles during the 3-day tour.

Find a way.

Try to find a way to make time to ride your bike. Last week I biked to the office and up the hill once racking up another 26.1 miles. It's not as much as I'd like, but I'm still getting out there every chance I get.

Get out and ride.

(image lifted off www.ribike.org)

After recovering from the bear attack during the NSFW Ride I've rode up the hill four times and to the office four times. The weather has been awesome and with a new helmet I'm good as new.

This is bike to work week, the CCC and Biketacular are this weekend, the Ride of Silence is tonight and so much more. It's prime season to get out and ride!

I'll be working in West Point tomorrow and on vacation Friday so I'm done for the week. Happy healing to Cletus and Ben.

Since my last post I've added another 102.3 miles onto the Trek.