Nebraska wins Holiday Bowl 33-0

The Huskers violated the Arizona Wildcats in every which way! Triple the first downs and total yards, even almost double the time of possession. Congrats Huskers, Suh will be missed!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all the readers of this blog. Safe travels if you so decide to get out of NE. I made it out to Michigan safely, only bad patch of travel I experienced was cars spun out in ditches in Indiana. You know it's bad when you see firefighters cutting away parts of an upside down car and then see a state patrol vehicle in the ditch not three miles later! Also pretty scary feeling your car sliding on the interstate and you're only driving 30mph! Anyway, I better get to sleep before Santa Claus leaves me another wrapped basketball in the fireplace (my dad reminded me of that one while shopping today). Merry Christmas! Also, Merry Christmas to my sis who couldn't make it out this year. We all miss you!

My favorite image of Santa Claus. Biking + Santa Claus = True spirit of Christmas

My last ride for the year

 A few texts messages and a couple emails later, we got a group of nine together for a impromptu bike ride. I was expecting 4-5 to show up and we were all surprised by the turnout. The original plan was to hit either gravel roads or Wabash Trace, but after learning about trail conditions we decided to play it safe and hit the Bob Kerry pedestrian bridge and make a loop to Lake Manawa. Eventually the trail was impassable due to almost 1 ft of snow and we had to turn around.

Both Paul and Dale were sporting the studded tires

After arriving back at Rick's Boatyard, a few of us continued on through Gene Leahy Mall and Heartland of America Park. Temps were hovering around 32 degrees, the sun had disappeared and a cold wind had picked up.  Finished with a ride of just over 12 miles. On the ride were Paul, Dale, Steve, Dave X 2, Cory, Chris, Todd, and myself.

Dave rockin the boots. I couldn't pass up the chance to get a photo!

 

Todd all bundled up and ready to roll

 

 

The end of our loop. We knew it once we were all walking our bikes

 

Making my way through Conagra Plaza. Thanks Paul for the pic

View Sunday bike ride in a larger map

*Map provided by Dave and his Droid

Pavement ride this Sunday

Finally going to get to pedal my bike. As the title suggests, we are meeting at Rick's Boatyard at 2pm this Sunday to ride the BK pedestrian bridge over to Manawa. Confirmed so far are Paul, Dave, and myself. Email me if you want to go.

The Goods

Buy one present for a family member, pick up three things for me (Hangover on Blu-ray whatup). Kind of how my xmas shopping goes every season. Anyway, possible gravel ride or pavement ride this weekend with Paul, Greg, and Dave. Figured I could use some fenders to keep the mud and snow off of me. Also, Trek paint jobs are crap if you ask me. Hopefully this will keep the gravel from chipping the Fuel. If anybody else is free and wants to go on the ride this weekend, get a hold of me.

Would have been nice to have had a fender on the Taco Ride back in August!

100th Post!

Yeah, that is all this is. Not a whole lot to write about now that it is colder and work keeps getting busier. Biking in the gym bores me to death but I've been working those leg muscles with squats, leg presses, lunges, calf raises, etc. Bike outisde when you get the chance!

Greenstreet Cycles bike shop

Article in today's Omaha World Herald Money section about a new bike shop that will be opening in downtown Omaha, 13th and Mike Fahey Street. Check it out.

Who has the time???

This guy photographed himself everyday for 17 years to make this video. Really cool to watch and see how the hairstyles changed and how he aged.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Bikeskills skills clinic

Enjoying the day off because of the snow? Each one of us biking fools are at work, lucky us. Might as well read up on some biking techniques and pointers! Anyway, found this website called Bikeskills.com. Blog entries on how to take better sports/mt biking photography, training videos on doing trackstands, jumping, water crossings, etc. Looks like they also offer biking clinics for a small fee. Check it out if you're bored.

And the dorks come out!

I think Nebraska's disappointing loss brought out the weirdos on Saturday night. Or maybe it was the fact that we were dancing at Club Patricks.

 This guy wore his sunglasses at night. Also thought that he could break dance. Wrong answer. Even more funny watching him do the worm.

 

Dancing with the cardboard cutout

Notice the shoe that fell off of the girl. I think she face planted on the street, then she just laid there. Her friends finally tried to get her up when the cop decided to check it out.

The Party After the Xmas Party

Let's just say that sometimes I'm a lucky man to be working with all of those girls! It is that time of the season again where people get busy with their company Christmas parties and such. It is nice to be able to mingle and see your coworkers outside of that work bubble. We ended up at Drafthouse and Wet Lounge for some party after the party.

Stop riding Calvin Crest

The trail isn't open. Don't even think about it.

Performance video

Somebody had linked this from a comment on the Pedal Omaha blog. Too funny to pass up. Video kinda makes me miss my old 10 speed Raleigh Record Ltd. "God I gotta get a carbon frame!" lol

It was a good MNR

Had ten riders tonight at Tranquility. Not too cold, no wind, trail was perfect! No skunks, no owls, Dave saw a rabbit and that was about it. Thanks to Dave and Paul for the brewskys afterwards.

Turn by turn

I've been watching too many bike trials videos. My new goal (besides riding the unicycle on the Taco Ride one of these days) is to be able to turn by lifting the rear wheel and swinging the bike. I know it's not hard, just too many memories of going over the handlebar. Gonna work on it! This site is geared more towards trials, but some good pointers that might come in handy on the trail.
 http://www.trashzen.com/index.php

Black Friday is nuts!

Okay, so I slept in till 9 and decided to forgo the 4am crowds. Went to Nebraska Furniture Mart and Best Buy, just to see what the big deal was. Best Buy, dead. NFM, crazy! Watching the news later that day, I guess people were lined up for hours waiting to get into NFM. The line actually wrapped around the electronics building and went all the way to 72nd street. What! Here is the line inside at 10:30am. See the sign the guy was holding, "End of Line," the cashier is all the way up front by the green banner going across. EACH cashier had a line this long. INSANE!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all fellow bikers and readers of this blog. Hope you've given thanks for everything that you are blessed with. Now that you've had your fill of turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie...get out there and ride to work off those calories!

A nice day to do some trailwork at Calvin Crest

Part of the deal for today was if you came out to Calvin Crest to do some trailwork, then you got to ride the trail. The trail will NOT be open to the public until next year. Luckily I got to experience the trail firsthand and WOW! I like it a lot. Up there as one of my favorites next to Swanson. The dirt is still a little loose in some areas and some kinks are still being worked out, but it is shaping up well. There were six of us out there today working on the trail: Dale, Brian, Todd, Tim, Marie, and myself. Craig joined us later for the ride.

This is what the new climb next to the rooted climb now looks like

First item we tackled was the ankle fracturing rooted climb (I suggested the name, "Price Check"). Another line was put in alongside the rooted climb; this time no roots! It works quite well, just need to pedal hard and work those legs.

Secondly, we cleared a dirt path leading from the parking lot to the actual trail. At first we started with shovels and McLeods, ended up being Dale with the weedwacker.

Work done for today, time to ride! I like to live by the words of the cap on the headset of my Gary Fisher.

Dale making it up the second ravine

 Getting ready to cross the crazily swaying bridge!
*update, video on sidebar. Probably best if only one crosses at a time!*

The trail is very fast and twisty at the beginning, some low grade climbs towards the middle to end, and some technical stuff in between. Like I said, what a great trail! Good job Dale and T.H.O.R.! Can't wait until next trail day and for it to be open to the public next year!

Lewis and Clark ride

This weather is unbelievable! Enjoy it while you still can. Get out there and ride! Chris and his new Trek, Todd, Cory and I made it out to Lewis and Clark this past Saturday while Patty and Krista hit up Lake Manawa. Good times, especially down by the bottom loop of L & C. Sorry, no humorous movies of me flying off of huge tree trunks. I'm not that stupid anymore!
Todd and his new pedals...we'll let the pictures below tell the story!

Yes it is that time of year again...

While in surgery today, I hear Star 104.5 bust out the Bing Crosby Christmas tunes. I know that Thanksgiving and black Friday are a week away, but seriously? Hmmm...I wonder if the LBS will have any black Friday deals? Might be the only reason for waking up at 3am and going shopping. The rest of America can have their cheapo laptops, tvs, and cameras, I want some nice cheap biking gear!!!

Watch out for them skunks!

Since we couldn't make it out to Manawa for the TNR, Todd, Paul, Greg and I set out for Tranquility tonight. Greg and Paul already did a half lap and warned us of a skunk near the creek area. As I'm leading the way with my new Stella 150L (love it, really lights up the trail) I see a skunk three feet away from me! I pedal harder and warn the guys as they are right next to it. Luckily nobody got sprayed!

$500,000 Trek Madone!

This is from Trek.com. Hey, it's for a good cause!

--------------------
Bikes With A Mission

Photo from Trek.com


"Damien Hirst's Butterfly Bike fetched a cool half million at Sotheby's. It's one of seven custom-designed Trek Artist Series bikes, raced by 7-time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong and auctioned off at Sotheby's in New York, raising a total of $1,250,000 to benefit LIVESTRONG's crusade against cancer.
 
To help give Lance an extra boost across the finish line in this year's Tour de France, Hirst customized a Trek Madone with a gorgeous array of real butterflies from the frame down to the Bontrager rims, which also bear a repeating pattern of the willowy creatures. Eschewing the traditional LIVESTRONG yellow in favor of bright shocking pink logos all around, Hirst brings even more attention to the cause in a colorscheme that can be easily read at nearly any distance (or speed)." From Trek.com

Come out and ride Calvin Crest's new trail

All you have to do is come out for the trail day on Sunday Nov. 22, and.... YES you can ride the new Calvin Crest trail before it opens to the public next year. I have had the pleasure of riding it already and I am looking forward to it again. Meet at Bike Masters on 129th Fort at 11 a.m. Check out the THOR blog for some pics and more details.

2010 Trek Remedy OCLV and Scratch review

Since Trek wouldn't send me these two bikes to review, I'll leave it up to the reviewers at Millimeters/Mountain Bike to get the job done. Two very nice looking bikes, less XC and more geared towards the all-mountain and freeride categories. Probably overkill here in the Midwest...but who knows? Link here.

Salvation Army bell ringing

Saturday morning started off a little chilly to be ringing the bell, but by early afternoon the weather was great. I learned my lesson and wore four layers of clothing this time. Last time I rang bells, I think it was 20 degrees out and I nearly froze outside Kmart! This year I was at the Sears Oakview. It amazes me how giving and charitable people are. Especially surprising to see teenagers pull bills out of their pockets and just throw it into the bucket. Thanks to all that donate time/food/money to those in need. Sounds like the other biking folk had good success and times with the annual Cranksgiving! I'll try to make it next year.

Great song by Faithless, UK DJ extraordinaire

Faithless - Music Matters feat. Cass Fox

311 Concert Rocked!!!

Despite getting kicked in the head and elbowed in the temple, the 311 concert at MidAmerica Center was a blast! KottonMouth Kings opened the show for the Omaha natives. Brian, Dan, Eric and I made it into the open bowl area right as they exhausted the 600 wristbands allowing you access. Whew! Kids were even offering us money for our neon yellow wristbands.

NO, Eric and I are NOT holding hands in the picture. It may appear so, but no.

It was funny because as KMK was finishing their set, people left their seats and jumped the three foot high barrier and ended up in the bowl anyway. Security tried to block them, but what can 10 security guards do when they have over a 100 people rushing them? Eventually we made our way up to the stage for 311... as with any rock concert, it was pretty much a mosh pit and shoving match. I may not be a big guy, but hitting the weights definitely helped! We managed to enjoy the entire 311 show from second row! Brian lost his camera, I got kicked in the eye by a crowd surfer. All in a good night's fun!

Good article on today's OWH front page

It's about bicyclists and car drivers sharing the road together. Gives some tips for both riders and drivers when trying to share the asphalt.

UNLess you've been living under a rock...

NU beat Oklahoma 10-3 in a crazy good game down at Memorial Stadium. I think it lifts everyone's spirits in the entire state of Nebraska after a good win. We took a party bus down to Lincoln...quite possibly a better time than the limo that we took a few weeks back. Dance party during the entire drive home! And yes, there was a green dinosaur involved in this night of shenanigans!