Heyday on Mayday

There was some discussion about who would be there tomorrow at tonight's gather after the MNR. Here's a link to what it's all about. Sounds like bike races, food, bands, and oh yeah, I guess a transportation master plan discussion. Anybody else want to go?

http://modeshiftomaha.org/2012/04/04/join-us-for-heyday-on-may-day/

Yet another fatbike video

Sorry if this blog has turned into fatbike this, fatbike that. What can I say? I'm addicted to fatbikes! Came across this video, pretty amazing stuff. A full suspension downhill bike would have been more appropriate in most of the video, but the guy is riding it on a front suspension Sandman. Possibly Ti (I can't tell)? Definitely check this video out, very professionally done, the scenery is amazing, and hey, it shows the capability of a  fat bike!



DESDE mi HOGgAR from Martín Campoy on Vimeo.

I just want to ride!

Ever have one of those days or weeks where you're stuck in work all day. You look out the window and it looks beautiful out, and all you want to do is RIDE!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Deep thoughts...by Jack Handy.

Omaha Beer Fest

Stinson Park in AkSarBen. May 18-19. Who wants to go?

Article about local bike rides

There is an article in today's GO section regarding bike rides, group rides, and drinking. Check it out. No mention of the MNR or TNR, but there is mention of other rides such as the Handlebar happy hour, Taco Ride, Trek store, Greenstreet, and Bike Rack organized rides.

MMNR

Manawa Monday Night Ride was fun, fresh, and full of good food. Or more like my stomach was full of good eats. Even Steve called me out on it, couldn't believe how much I was eating. Haha, whoops! After an unexpected afternoon of having to work at our Lincoln office, I was pretty upset about getting back to Omaha late. I still had to load up bikes, change, and pick up Jena before making it down to Manawa. ETA, 7:15. 45 minutes late! Grrrr....

Moon was out!

I was still fuming a little bit on the trail, knowing that the sun was setting and that our time was short. But as we caught up to the group (or more like they caught up to us), someone said well it should all be better now that you're on your bike, right? I was like yeah, kind of. But truthfully, it did help. Biking out there either alone or with others is a huge stress reliever. Your worries tend to melt away, knowing that twisty, tight singletrack lay just ahead.

Crossing over to the new section

Very good turnout of riders on Monday at Manawa

Thanks to Dave P for forfeiting his ride to be master chef for the night. What would we do without you man? Also thanks to Steve, Dale, Teen Serve, and all others who have helped to rebuild Lake Manawa trail into what it is. Still a lot more work to be done, but time and more hard work will help to heal the trail. Get out there and ride!

The cotton was plentiful! As were the hair wigs in trees.

We were star gazing and checking out star maps on our phones. Technology meet MNR!

*sorry this is late, was ready to post then my internet went kaput last night!

Working...working...on photos!

Working on race photos from this past weekend. It's been awhile since I've taken biking photos with the DSLR. I like! Right now just going through the photos of friends, eventually I'll get the rest up. If you want the high res full sized photo, just let me know (these are only a fraction of the quality of the original). Love the photos and love the opportunity to be out there amongst bikers and
enjoying my hobby. Why don't I do this for a living!!!???

Dave N getting airborne!

Yup, it's race day at Tranquility! 

What a huge difference using a DSLR makes compared to my little hand held Canon. The difference is remarkable! I guess I've gotten so use to taking pictures with my little camera while riding that to bring out the DSLR is like night and day! Take note Dave P! Be sure to click on the photo to get a bigger view. Crazy mad facial expression of determination, concentration, and effort!

Re-CYCLE Bike shop article

In todays's money section of the OWH, page 3 has a nice story put out by First national bank about the re-CYCLE Bike Shop. Check it out if you get the chance.

I'll have pics up later this week from the race at Tranquility. Looks like everyone had a pretty good race on Saturday afternoon. It was a beautiful day and trail conditions were perfect. I finally figured out a way to manage my tripod on my bike! In the past and before I had a rack, I always stuck my tripod in my backpack. But that never left room for a DSLR camera and lenses. Sure it made the bike really heavy with both the rack and the 5 pound tripod, but hey it stayed on securely. I made it all the way from my place and through the trail without a hiccup. Maybe I'll look into one of those fancy carbon tripods!

Have a good Monday and see you at Manawa!

Gravity is on your side

Looks like some fun gravity assisted riding. Love the videography in this. Not in English, just turn down the volume!

MéTaBief Open Enduro 2011, le Film from Enduro Tribe / VTT29 on Vimeo.

Mnr - fyi

For those of you not on Facebook, tomorrow night's mnr will be held at lake manawa per Dave P. Riding, brats, and beverages. Starts at 6:30 pm. See you guys there!

Another fat uni

Dave sent this to me a few weeks ago...For those of you who don't know. I have a uni sitting in my garage. Do I completely know how to ride it? Nope. Can I ride it about 10 ft. Yes! Check out this fat version of the uni and what this guy can do with it. I almost bought that fat chopper tired uni a couple of months ago. Called the guy up and he actually didn't recommend buying it (he ran the shop). Told me to buy a Torker or more trails styled uni instead. Thanks brother, saved me about $140.

Which reminds me, I need to find some stairs, air down the Surly tires, and try riding UP the stairs. I've seen it done on videos and have always wanted to see if its possible.

Bike for Sight

Bike for Sight. What was it all about? It was about helping to eradicate vision robbing cataracts in patients that can't normally afford to have the surgery in third world countries. More specifically, the surgeries will take place in Haiti and be performed by ophthalmologists from UNMC. Each $20 entry into the bike ride provided one sight restoring surgery. How many registered for last Saturday's ride? 374! And that doesn't include the purchase of raffle tickets. How awesome is that? And how often do you hear feel good stories about doctors who take the time, money, and their skill to help people in need and not ask for anything in return?

Both bikes were receiving compliments left and right. I called us the bike freaks!

The 20 mile turn around

The 1st annual Bike for Sight ride consisted of various distances, including 40, 20, 10, and 5 mile rides. It started at Miller's landing and headed up Abbott Drive up towards Dodge Park (20 mile turn around). For the 40 milers, the route went up towards Fort Atkinson State Park. Jena and I decided to do the 20 mile ride. She actually wanted to go farther, but I was unsure of the difficulty of the route at the time of signup. Beer tasting provided by Nebraska Brewing Company and music by Vybe band welcomed us upon returning to Miller's Landing.

Wheelies!

Music by the Vybe Band

The ride was good and the rain stayed away. Looking forward to next year's ride!

photos below by McColgan Photography:

Some riding, some trailwork...it's all good!

The best kind of trailday you ask? The answer is where the group gets things done and still has time to ride. Those were the two goals of last night's MNR/trailday. Last weekend's wacky weather caused the Saturday trailday at Tranquility to get pushed to Sunday, but with the rains and then high winds, Sunday's trailday was postponed until Monday. Some of the work did get done anyway on Sunday, but more was finished on Monday. Greg and Paul mowed, Greg also cut some branches, and a drainage ditch was improved underneath Fort Street. Jack, Dale, Chris, Frank, and myself were out there for that. Branches were cleaned up and a few signs were posted for this weekend's race. Dave P and someone else that I didn't know were also out to trim branches. Roxy and Ryan made it out later to show us the THOR jerserys that will soon be ordered. The materials and shirts will be nice! As always, thanks for the chips, drinks, good company, and the ride. Thanks to all those who help to keep Tranquility in shape.

The final outcome. New longer pipes were installed and more dirt now covers the drains.

Forgot one!

Can you tell by the look on my face that I'm having fun!!!

Poppin some wheelies!

I'm no MG, but wheelies are fun and tend to be even more fun on a fatty!

Bike Art!

This guy has a rigged a tricycle to make bike art as he pedals down the street. Water bottles are rigged to a computer and some sort of sprayer which allows him to put down Chinese characters. I can't read the Chinese, but pretty neat nonetheless!

http://bikereviews.com/2012/04/nicholas-hanna-cycles-while-creating-liquid-street-art/

Trailday At Tranquility this Saturday

Posting this a little late, but there is a trailday at good ol' Tranquility from 1-3pm on Saturday the 14th of April. Trail needs a haircut already and this also doubles as race day prep. Rain day will by Sunday if needed. Check the Thor facebook page for more info.

*UPDATE*
Trailday will now be Monday from 6-8pm per ChrisP. 

Another! Please Vote!

Check Yo' Self!

According to coworkers that don't even bike, the ticks are out. Supervisor found one on her this past weekend. After biking last night and knowing this, I kept having the feeling that something was crawling on me. All in the head!!!

You know you like it!

Reveal the Path Trailer from Mike Dion on Vimeo.

Like a rocketship!

I've always been a slow rider. Not proud of it but that's just the way it is. Stop to take pics of nature, catch some video of friends on the trail, yeah, I'm that guy. I'm in no hurry to get from point A to B on the trail. Well after riding at Swanson with Cody on my day off, I realized that I need some suspension underneath my body! Cody was kicking my butt on the trail. He was rocking it and I couldn't keep up. The roots are just too rough to be riding a full fat rigid bike. Hmm...now if I only had a bike with suspension!

I finally found that jump and gap that is located at Swanson. Yup, no thanks!

Tried out the helmet mount for the GoPro that day. While it works, it really makes for a stiff neck!

Wait...I do. A full suspension Trek has been sitting in my living room for two months waiting to get a tire resealed. Note to those using tubeless tires, do not let them go flat! When they do, it breaks the seal from the sealant and you have to reapply the goop to make it set. Those of you with true tubeless tires and rims know how tight those sidewalls are on the tire and what a pain it is to get the tire on and off. Instead of taking the entire casing off the rim, I just inserted two tire levers and made a 1 inch wide gap with about 1 centimeter of an opening. I grabbed a scoop of Stan's and poured it in. Did some tire pumping with my massive arms and got it to set! Good to go! Next it was time to clean some of the bikes.

Time to do some spring cleaning on the bikes!

I've enjoyed the Mukluk a lot over the past six months. It's still my fun bike to ride and it rolls very easy. And it rolls over everything! My Trek on the other hand wasn't in the best of shape. Over the past year it seemed like a lot of effort to ride that bike. You spin the wheels and they just stop after a rotation or two. Brakes pads were rubbing, things needed adjusting and cleaning...part of the reason why the bike has been sitting around collecting dust. Alot of people have told me to just sell it. It was time to fix all that. I did a massive cleaning of the bike over the weekend. Turns out that I had tons of grass wound up in various parts of the bike. I'm not sure of the technical name, but the chain guides/wheels that keep the chain in place next to the rear derailleur weren't even spinning! There was so much grass and dirt stuck in there that they were practically stationary! Now that's pretty bad! Got the drivetrain all cleaned up, threw the wheels back on. Wow, they actually spin freely! Took it for a ride at Tranquility yesterday. Fast. It's just like everyone who rode with me over the winter said. I'm going to be fast once I go back to the "skinny" tired mtbs. And that I was! The suspension eats up the trail and you just float over it like you're relaxing in a lazyboy recliner. I was loving the ride yesterday! Fun on the fatty. Fun on the old full suspension. It's like a rejuvenation! See you guys on the trail!

It seems like there is always a post ride drink