Memorial Weekend

Started the weekend off with a race at Branched Oak, the Flatwater Cycling Series. I was really looking forward to these races, as the first couple dates were rained out. These races are a good training series for the Psycowpath racing schedule. It was a nice start for Team Spokehole. The full results can be found here http//www.nebraskacyclingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=326:flatwater-cycling-spring-spring-a-summer-mtb-series&catid=76:mountain-bike&Itemid=71.
Saturday I met Cory over at Jewell for a couple laps and on Sunday I met Aaron Rowland over at the nicely re-done Lewis and Clark. L&C has a really nice flow to it now. Thanks again Dale and crew for a lot of hard work put in.
Monday was a family day for Cory and us out at Branched Oak Lake. We are both in training again for the XTERRA BOLT Sprint Triathlon in August, so we decided it would benefit us if we got out there and got some time on the trails. Hope everyone had a great weekend and got some riding in as weather was perfect.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend

Have a great weekend everybody! I flew to Boston to attend my sister's graduation ceremony. She graduated Friday from The New England School of Optometry. Congrats Dr. Wong, O.D.! My family and I then proceeded to drive two cars from Boston to Kalamazoo, MI. That's 950 miles in each car! Two radar detectors and two GPS navis got us home 16hrs later, no tickets and no getting lost!

Currently heading up to the sand dunes in MI to possibly do some dune buggy driving, boating, etc. Have a safe Memorial Day weekend fellow bikers!

BP live webcam

Was watching the Obama speech during lunch and packing today, caught him speaking on CNBC where they showed a small window with a live feed of the oil spewing out. Check it out here

Big Head Todd and the Monsters concert

Those guys are still jamming after all these years. Of course they played their usual Resignation Superman, Broken Hearted Savior, and Bittersweet. But they also rocked a another dozen or so tunes to fill a 2.5 hour set. Todd Mohr can really wail on that guitar! Thanks to Cody for the invite to the concert. Great times! Time to pack for Boston!

Those crazy stormchasers

Those crazy friends of mine...many work in finance of some sort, others work in healthcare. Then I have this one group of friends that I've known since the ol' Creighton days. About a half dozen of them are meteorologists and go on storm chasing trips for fun. They'll hop in the car on a whim, drive to Texas, back up to the Dakotas, throughout Nebraska and Kansas. They've been caught in floods and hailstorms, done storm chasing trips as a honeymoon, all for the thrill of seeing a storm up close. I prefer the safety of my couch and a storm shelter, but then again that's me. Anyway, my buddy Josh has a website called Boustead Hill, now linked on my misc links. Check out some of their storm chasing photography, good stuff! And I'm sure it will be updated throughout the year.

Lovin the Monday Night Rides!

Another MNR success!  I got out of work and it was a bit humid, somewhat hot, and my allergies were killing me. I was thinking what was I getting myself into? But once I got on my bike, the weather cooled down, the wind helped me climb back up the South Hill, and my sneezing had almost subsided. Something about biking that helps to clear the mind, senses, and allergies! A few new faces joined the dozen or so that rode last night, welcome to Rob and Russ. One rider snapped his chain, but Greg G. was quick to help. Thanks again Paul for the hot dogs and great hospitality afterwards. And thanks to Dale for the brats. Good ride, good food, and good company. Have a great Memorial Day weekend guys, be safe! I'll catch you in a few weeks.

Post ride recovery, meaning beer, grilling, and stories. 

Picture "borrowed" from Paul. Thanks Paul!

Like getting the wind knocked out of you

Made it out to Lewis and Clark today for a ride, no mishaps. Thank you to Dale (and many others) for working so hard on the new section, it rides great and is pretty fast. No more running into people trying to climb Neverest Hill. Today's ride consisted of Todd, Cory, Alex, Butch, and myself. Yes the temperature was hot (zero wind gets through those trees) and the humidity during the ride just killed my lungs on the climbs. It was actually hurting to breathe. I guess that's what we get for biking in 90 degree weather with 60% humidity in Nebraska! See you guys at tomorrow's MNR at Tranquility.

*Todd, thanks for adding the pic. Man I need a tan of some sort!  

Rain, again? Seriously?

Two rides ruined in one week by the rain!!!

Rain rain go away!

Beautiful weather all week. Afternoon off today which never happens, Platte River State Park ride scheduled today with friends. CANCELED due to mother nature! Why oh why?

Yeti Cycles DH race video

Muddy, rocky, jumps, fast, ouch. ALL of the above

Video fullsize here

Clicks for Kicks

Sony is doing this thing where every thousand clicks of the mouse on their link sends a soccer ball to children in Africa. Check it out here at http://www.earthfc.sony.net/en/. You don't have to register, sign in, or even give an email. You just click the soccer ball, it tells you what number your click was, and how many soccer balls they've sent.

It's more than just flash and fancy colors

Caught this video on BikeRumor.com. These kids in California use their creativity, teamwork, and social skills to make their Scraper Bikes club a reality. Yeah the bikes may look pretty silly to us with our 29ers, fullys, and singlespeeds, but listen to what the club organizer has to say. He is helping to keep kids off of the streets, from selling drugs, from stealing, and from dropping out of school. The world needs more people like this.

Scrapertown from California is a place. on Vimeo.

New riding videos at Potter's Pasture blog

Looks like somebody got a new toy out there at Potter's Pasture. One of the rider's picked up a videocamera, probably the GoPro Hero from what I could tell. There are now videos of the riding out there, check it out at http://potterspasturemtb.blogspot.com/. Really makes me want to get back out there, where the riders are friendly and the trails are oh so sweet! Who is down for a weekend roadtrip?

Twas a great MNR at Tranquility!

Seventy degrees, sunny, trail dry, let's ride! MNR was in full force tonight, about 14 riders were out tonight at Tranquility. The Bike Masters group started off with a team picture at the store parking lot, then met Todd and I at the trailhead. We did two laps before heading to Paul's for some hot dogs and beers. Thanks Paul and thanks guys for a great ride tonight.



Also met up with Aaron S. who just moved from Minnesota. I recognized him and his Trek 69er from the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo last October at Potter's Pasture. Him and his buddy were parked right next to us at the campground area. Welcome to Omaha Aaron, and congrats on the marriage!

 

 Thanks Paul for the grillout afterwards!

 

We had a slight traffic jam after the South Hill Climb. A few kids were attempting to ride over the humps area. We cheered them on once they made it over.  

Finally got some riding in at Ponca State Park

I went on a two week hiatus and my bike just sat in the corner. I kinda fell into the lazy not wanting to bike mood, but still managed to get to the gym about 5 days per week. Our original plan was to head down to KC this weekend and ride Landahl Park, but the weather was not looking favorable down there. So instead we headed up north to Ponca State Park to prep for the upcoming race. It's a drive that takes a little over 2hrs, just west of Sioux City. If you plan to eat lunch out there, just try to eat before 1:30pm. The Chic was closed on weekends at 2pm, and Outlaw Pizza only serves food until 1:30pm then reopens at 4:30pm. Luckily, the owner of Outlaw Pizza was outside painting and gracious enough to open his doors for us. Otherwise there is a gas station/convenience store selling some food.

I love the expression on my face, pure enjoyment! 

The trail conditions were great for the most part, one downed tree blocking the trail (on Buffalo Run?) and some overgrowth that nips at your legs. Otherwise pretty decent riding. The hills will burn your legs and my quads were cramping by 4pm. Lots of hopping off and pushing on certain climbs, but the trails flow pretty smoothly for the most part. A fellow mt biker from Omaha named Cody joined us with his Chumba full suspension. We only had one fall on the Corps if Discovery trail, and it could have been a bad one. Luckily a tree stopped the bike and the rider from falling 30ft. A rider that shall remain unnamed threw up shortly into the first ride, Friday night's shenanigans had caught up to him (it wasn't me!).  The views are spectacular from the tops of the hills, so bring your camera if you plan to get out there. Weird, no mosquitoes, but a ton of gnats and a few ticks were found on clothing so bring your best bug spray!

 It took some teamwork to get over this tree. Barbed wire right next to it, watch out!

 

This Oak tree on Old Oak Trail is 366 yrs old!

 

 Picture provided by Cory

 The tree stopped Krista's fall! Whew!

 Cody getting some major air 

 

Outside Magazine's Best Bikes of 2010

Outside magazine did a review of their top picks for both mountain and road bikes. Check it out here, also on the same page are some bicycling fitness tips and apparel guides.

Online trail book

Traveling around the midwestern states with your bike and want to make a stop to stretch your legs? I came across this trail book while looking up a trail. You can either buy this book or access it online for FREE, covers mountain biking trails in Iowa, Kansas, North and South Dakota, and of course our wonderful state of Nebraska. It is called Mountain Bike! The Great Plains States Guide Book by Andy Knapp.

I don't see any T.H.O.R. trails listed, I guess you'll have to continue going to the T.H.O.R. website or the MTBReview website for those.

Also worthy of a web bookmark is Trails.com. Biking, hiking, and backpacking trails by state, some with topo maps, GPS markers, and even user reviews. Once again, not a ton of trails listed, but a good reference nonetheless.

I Ride For...

This is a pretty cool thing that the Livestrong campaign is doing for cancer survivors. If you know anyone who has battled or is fighting cancer, you can get their name printed on these "I Ride For________" stickers for only $10. They also offer posters ($20) and water bottles ($15) custom printed. 100% of proceeds go to the Livestrong Foundation and these are the same stickers that Lance and Team Radioshack will be sporting on their bikes. Check out the story and the motto behind the campaign http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/story/unity/. Pictures from Trekbikes.com

My Ireland photos are up

Been working all week on my pictures from Ireland. They are finally done! Here are few, the rest are linked below. Let me know what you think.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mikeywong78

Put some clothes on she said!

Alright, figured that would get your attention. Faction Cycling is having a sale on some of their shirts, jerseys, and caps. Some pretty cool designs, will probably pick up two shirts myself. Unfortunately the ones I want aren't on sale. Sale ends tomorrow, check it out.

http://www.factioncycling.com/

Lake Manawa cleanup was a success

Made it out on a beautiful Sunday to the 6th Annual Lake Manawa cleanup. About 400 people from various groups and organizations were out to lend a helping hand. Myself, Tom, Steve, Mike (who stopped in from CO), and supposedly another family were there to represent T.H.O.R. We walked the bike trail and cleaned up not only trash and the empty sandbags, but we also cleared any branches/trees covering the path. The trail looked great and ready for some good riding. Beware of the ticks and mosquitoes, they were biting hard!

Law enforcement was out with ATVs and boats looking for a body on the river

After a few hours of cleanup, we went back to the pavilion where they raffled off prizes such as mp3 players, fishing poles, sleeping bags, and even bikes to kids and adults. Good fun! Only problem is that it started pouring rain after we were done, so with my bike on my trunk and ready to roll, I had to go to Tranquility to ride instead. Oh well.

Prizes were raffled off afterwards to kids and adults

Good luck to Patty

Hey Patty, good luck to you as you run the half marathon tomorrow in Lincoln. I get bored after being on the treadmill for 10 minutes, so I'm very proud of you for putting yourself up to this. Makes you that much more ready for the adventure races!