blow the horn

i've ridden past this sculpture many times. it sits at the end of 8th street on the north side of the haymarket where the pedestrian bridge starts, and never did i realized that it's actually a real horn that you can play. i'm told that it was done by a UNL art student for a public art project, and with the right pair of lungs it can be heard for three blocks.

mini peugeot

i spotted this little peugeot in a local pawn shop and called up tasha. she's been looking for a bike, and at 5'0 (give or take) she needs something 'tasha sized' as she put it. she got a really good deal on it and then we took it over to the wrench to have it tuned up. it's going to need new tires which is no big deal, or so i thought. at a glance i assumed the wheels were 26" or 650c but it turns out they are an odd 24x1 3/8" size, which is common on wheelchairs but not on bikes. i wonder how many other 'juvenile lightweights' of this vintage (late 70's/early 80's?) were spec'd with wheels this size? thankfully tires are still available, but just the basic road style tires and no knobby treads like she had hoped. anyways, once it's tuned up and shod with new tires, brake hoods, and barwrap it should be good to go.

bring your lights

it was a small group on the monday night ride, but we had fun riding laps at pioneer's as it got dark. it gave me a chance to test out the new light. i've been wanting to get the minewt mini-USB for a while now, and man is it wicked bright for such a small light. it's perfect for a road bike, as it weighs so little and straps to the stem easily. now i can do laps in the dark.

green

as i rode through the alley behind grateful bread (after enjoying a bowl of moroccan tomato soup ofcourse) i saw a gremlin. i propped my green cross check up next to it for a quick shot.

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y... NIGHT!

a good way to spend a saturday night is to be with 20 or so of your friends on bikes. just like in the old bay city rollers song, everyone had a good time. i remember most of it, but thankfully liz summarized what all went down.

no cars at 4am

it's all ours...

until tomorrow that is. jennie and i tested out the new overpass before heading to get a bite. i looked in on the constuction back in august and it looks like they've worked pretty darn fast. so it is finally done, and it has a huge bike/pedestrian walkway on the north side. sweet!

black bike and a black cat

well look who was outside hanging out on the backstep today. beechum was keeping to himself as he enjoyed the weather and kept watch over his domain.

.25 tacos and politics

jennie called me up and invited me to get some .25 tacos (gotta love tuesdays at the watering hole). afterwards we went to barrymore's to watch the presidential debate. i think obama is the clear choice. i can't see how anyone wants to keep the same bullshit of the last 8 years going. anyways, jennie was stoked on the new fenders she picked up for her baby down at the wrench. and is it just me or do the two front vent holes of her helmet make it look like a half smiley?

blue monday

i felt a cold coming on over the weekend and today it hit. i was going to just sleep the rest of the day and well into the evening, but lindsey called and invited me to a ska show at the zoo bar. oh well, why not. it had stopped raining and the roads were still a bit wet when we left. i kept telling her to go slow so she wouldn't get her new top dirty with road spray from her tires. but she still zoomed ahead and her top was still spotless when we arrived downtown. i guess only catty girls can pull that off.

lunch

sunday afternoon in the park.

tnmwr... riding in the dark

it was dark by the time we got to the ep bridge. i'm gonna have to bring a decent light on these rides from now on.

ribbon of darkness

i headed out west for a nice ride last night. out to malcom and up to branched oak, but i timed it a bit late and it was getting dark really fast on my way back. as i crossed I-80 on hwy 55a, i stopped to put my lights on. looking out and seeing the 18-wheelers, and riding back as the darkness came, i started singing to myself, as i sometimes do when i ride alone. it was an old marty robbins tune, ribbon of darkness. i've had a fondness for his music that i didn't realize until i came to lincoln to go to UNL (and that was a long time ago, man i'm getting old). it was the fall of '87 and i was a freshman and living the dorms. this one guy down the hall who was a farmboy from michigan had a cassette of old school 'truck driving' music. he was playing it one time and a few marty robbins tunes came on. surprisingly i knew the words. it took me back to when i was growing up in scottsbluff (in western nebraska for those who think it's in wyoming). there wasn't much variety in radio stations out there. besides one top-40 station the rest was pretty much just country. i do like some country music, but only the old stuff. when i was like 7 or 8 i went with my family to the county fair which was held at the mitchell fairgrounds. i was with my brothers and sisters trying out the bumper cars and other attractions at the carnival, but the whole time i could hear some music. nearby in the open air arena there was a concert going on and it was marty robbins who was playing. my mom and dad were at the concert and i remember them saying they really enjoyed it. ever since then a marty robbins tune will pop in my head out of nowhere, usually it's while i'm riding a bike.

frame hauling 101

taking a ridley cross frame home. remember kids, you don't need a car to haul a frame home, but just make sure it's strapped to your messenger bag securely.

32 forever

happy birthday to kim. i met up with a group of friends downtown for FAC and to celebrate kim's '32nd' birthday. nice black dress kim. :)

riding in iowa

i go up to omaha/council bluffs at least once at this time of year with some friends to do the taco ride. this was my third time up there, and i get my pic taken at this same spot just outside of mineola each time i go (same spot in '07, and in '06). i'd recommend this ride to anyone but you have to be careful of the drunks (they tend to only make it to margaritaville and mineola), but once you get past that and on to silver city it's a really nice ride. the trail is lined with lots of trees, goes over some wooden bridges, and has great views of all the farm land and valleys. coming back in the dark from silver city, take time to stop somewhere on the trail, turn off your lights, and look up. you'll be blown away by how many stars you can see.

riders in the dark

after a nice solo ride south of town, i headed for a few margaritas with jen and the rest of the team-fire people. riding home in the dark after a few margaritas is getting to be a habit on wednesday nights.

mud means gravel

turned back by mud after a brief foray into the park, we ended up going for a nice long spin south on the jamaica.

rhinestones

there are a lot of technologies being used in cycling equipment these days to improve aerodynamics. like zipp's dimple technology, i think kaelly is on to something with her rhinestone sunglasses. perhaps they help smooth the airflow around the sides of her head, while at the same time scoring some style points.

los zopilotes

some cultures believe that seeing a zopilote is a harbinger of bad luck. but what if you see a whole kettle of them?!??

long load

now that is a big piece of steel.

barista soul

when i stop in at the coho most nights, it's usually toni who makes my double latte. for the last few weeks she's been telling me about her new bike that was suppost to be arriving soon, and it finally did. it's sweet... a masi soulville.

tnmwr

bad moon arising

coming back into town via west van dorn, the moon was just coming up. it was an absolutely perfect evening and i took full advantage of it, opting for the 40mi loop before dark.

yo liz

i ran into elisabeth at the shop today. she was riding her bertoni and her cousin was riding her old road bike, a rampar. she was sportin' her new custom printed bike luv tee... with a birdie on the back.

have frame will travel

you never know what you will find at a swap meet. i scored a '04 bianchi s.a.s.s. frame (future mtb fixed gear project) and janna considered getting a chopper. after strapping the frame down i then headed back to town with lindsey.

swap meet

heading to the swap meet with janna and lindsey.

always bring a pump

sydney needs to practice using those co2's. good thing i had the micro rocket with me.

cool colors

it was another perfect evening to be out on a bike.

sans wheels

if you drop $400-500 on a bike why would you then just lock up the frame and leave it outside all night, especially downtown? i've seen this redline 29er outside the coho for a few nights and tonight the wheels were gone. perhaps the thief will return for the cranks, bars, and everything else tomorrow night. seeing one of my bikes like this would be my worst nightmare. whoever's bike this is, he/she should have followed a few tips on bike theft prevention.

oh so delicioso

it's been awhile

i got roped into volunteering at the road race this weekend. it was a long day and when i got home late in the afternoon i crashed for 6 hours. perhaps i should have gotten more than 3 hours sleep the night before huh? i still had to get out there real early and help set up, and then i drove one of the race official vehicles for the men's 1/2/3s, amongst other duties. i was shot, and yet i didn't do much. i don't know where janna gets her energy, but she rocks. her and the team-fire people and all the volunteers put on a really good event. it's been a long time since i've been to a local road event. weekend commitments like my radio gig usually means i miss most of the local racing, but i probably should try to make it to more of them. despite the long day i enjoyed helping out.

red wedges and gold cranks

i ran into a friend downtown. being from the land of the crescent moon, she has both beauty and some killer style (ipek, nice choice on the shoes :)). she loved the gold on the obey too.

ready for the weekend

the eastern sky was totally awesome this morning.