everyone was outside today

i ran into thadeus and donk downtown.

sunday soup fix

damn... they were out of their morrocan tomato. the indonesian curried veggie wasn't that bad though.

campus cats

the feral felines were out enjoying the weather.

pepe botellas

after my usual saturday radio thing i met up with my friend jose. we rode over to that new place in the haymarket, the bread and cup, for a few brews and sandwiches (the food rocks). jose is an aspiring musician and hopefully he'll come and play a few songs on my radio show next week. his stage name is joey bottles ('pepe botellas', the nickname for joseph bonaparte while he was king of spain) and he's moving to chicago in a month to form a band. so when he makes it big in the rock en espanol world people in lincoln can say they heard him play here first.

phantom sighting

while i was at d'leons having a quick breakfast (a steak ranchero) these two younger guys ride up and smoke a few before going inside to eat. when i was leaving i noticed their bikes. keeping my surly crosscheck company outside was a bmx bike and an old schwinn cruiser, but not just any cruiser. it was an original black phantom. i don't think the guy had any clue what it was. he kind of looked like a farm kid though, so perhaps he got it from a relative's barn or something, who knows. it looked complete and in decent shape. i thought about going back inside to ask the guy about it and see if he'd wanted sell it, but i decided not to.

lemond speaks

i finally got around to reading the january issue of procycling. it's a special all lemond issue. in it he lays it all out... his views on the sport, his career, training, doping, personal costs, everything. it's a good read. i'd highly recommend it to anyone who thinks americans winning in europe started only with lancey boy. lemond was my idol back in the mid 80's when i started racing as a teenager. the stories of how he won (and almost lost) the '89 tour says a lot about how the sport has changed since then.

dusk downtown

spring is not too far off now.

lady riders

the woman above had a black leather vest on with a harley logo and 'Lady Rider' on the lower back. she also had a tambourine and was shaking it as she walked.

i ran into lindsey at oso, and instead of a black leather vest she was wearing a blue hoody.

freeeekin cold

-23... atleast i had a tailwind on the way home.

thadious

i stopped by the shop and let thadious take the rita for spin.

priceless

a brand new hummer... stalled out or out of gas on 27th and capital parkway.

verde, blanco y rojo

i went with the green king headset to complete the 'bandera mexicana' color scheme.

fresh powder

i'll take snow over cold wind anyday. 14 degrees wasn't so bad this morning.

mmmmm moroccan tomato

savoring a bowl of moroccan tomato inside grateful bread. it gets steamy inside from all the good stuff they cook up in this place. i noticed a number of other peeps on bikes stopping by for a to-go cup.

una cafetería buena

i was running around town enjoying the last hour of nice weather before the rain and cold (and eventual snow later tonight) brings us back into winter. i stopped by cultiva for a latte, and man let me tell ya... it was damn good!

anybody need a lazyboy?

wtf? people just dump their stuff along the dirt roads now? sad. along with the lazyboy there were a few kitchen chairs... and a half mile before there was a couch.

enjoy it while it lasts

i got to bed way too late last night to have been able to join the d st. clan on their ride this morning, so i headed out in the afternoon instead. i did about 40 miles on the dirt.. and the legs were cement as expected. a mile or so south after this turn 25th street is no longer flat but just one hill after another all the way to princeton road and beyond. on top of that, a stiff headwind made it hurt even more. i hope everyong else got in some miles today because it will be back to snow and a high of 20 by tuesday.

three horse town

looks like the rodeo was in town this weekend.

downtown on a saturday

while heading to oso for a bite i noticed some steeds up ahead.

abandoned?

on this morning's commute i saw this abandoned bike along N street. perhaps someone had a few too many beers downtown last night and tried to ride home, eventually opting to walk the rest of the way? it looked to be of late 70's vintage and low-end quality, but nevertheless it was complete in decent shape. what caught my eye was the AAU logos on the headtube fairing and chainring guard. did the AAU try to promote cycling in the late 70's? i wonder if these bikes were part of some grassroots program back then.

real old school

while at the mill this evening i saw this cool poster (repro of a mead cycle co. catalog, circa 1918). if i lived back in those days my choice would be the racer model.

snow jake

south burbia

sipping horchata along pine lake road.

twelve parsecs

i found the perfect good luck charm for cvo's bike on his long journey. have a good go at the Kessel run man.

saturday night at the movies

two teens playing guitars and one bicycle... all and all a nice flick.

cycling shoes

i'm converting my friend lindsey from a marathon runner to a roadie, so i went to help her shop for a new road bike. i suggested that she wear sneakers and not heels like she always does, but that didn't stop lindsey from showing up wearing her blue paradise kittens. she scored a specialized allez down at southpointe at an unbelievably low price. now i need to find her some sidis.

auld lang syne

it's no fun going out when you're sick with a nasty cold... so for new year's eve i ended up just hanging out at home. i made some soup and watched the live new year's eve concert of the new york philharmonic, and then set to finishing up the build on the new cross bike (it's about 3 months overdue). i hope everyone had a fun night whatever you were doing. happy new year!

merry christmas

money pit?

on my way home from targét i saw that someone is working on that HUGE ass house on 33rd and L streets. it probably needs a ton of work but it looks like a neat old house. just think of the bike storage possibilities a pad like that would have! though i'd be a fool if i ever took on a project like that without the skills of someone like 'mr. fix up any house himself' dave.

eerie

it's gonna be a foggy commute.

SNTL

saturday night track action. yeah, i'm a roller derby fan. i headed down to pershing to watch the NCDG's mix it up with the sioux falls dollz. it was a fun time, with ref tasha keeping everything clean, and taura running around doing her photo thing. roller derby seems to bring out all types of characters. taura, what did 'elvis' have to say?

more snow

fresh snow is fun to ride in, and it makes for a pretty sunset too.

last call

and the snow came... and it made the ride home after last call pretty damn fun.

closing time

nate and dirty D about to head home.

grab your fenders

it's not that bad out really... sidewalks are a bit slick, but the roads are slush.

ultra bright

at this time of year, with the snow and ice on the streets, cars are even less likely to look for and expect to see a biker on the road. so i bust out the serious tail light for this reason. i picked up a serfas TL-1000 'ultra bright' from the mwc a year ago, and it is perfect for winter commuting. it's wicked bright, so bright that cars can see you from the sides easily. from behind, the 3 LED spot that this light throws out can be blinding. booyah!

snow monkey

the karate monkey likes the snow. i need to get bigger tires with meatier tread, but for now i'm running nanorapters @ ~ 25psi. so far so good.

brrr...

taura enjoying the cold.

27th & O streets

violet dawn

20 degrees isn't wicked cold when you think about it, but i'm not adjusted to it yet. the dawn sky was pretty though.

night lights

it looks like they're working overtime to get the old overpass torn down quickly.