4am bike stroll

no scratching post needed

i have a new shop kitty. i adopted her on the last day of BRAN last month, on a rainy morning as i was leaving david city. i haven't settled on a name yet. at first i was thinking 'luna' but after having seen her demeanor over the last few weeks... i'm thinking 'bestia' might be better (after the character behemoth). hmmmm

south with the ladies

i've been feeling really tired lately (watching world cup matches in the morning and afternoon certainly has been disruptive to my sleep schedule) and so i wasn't really feeling like going on a long ride tonight. i still wanted to get out for some leisure miles though, and luckily for me lindsey and cara had the same idea. we met up at my place and decided to head south on the jamaica trail for a ways. on our way back to town we stopped at the silver spoke on satillo road. it's a old biker bar with some murals outside. they have cheap tacos on tuesday nights but they were all gone by the time we got there so i opted for a double cheeseburger. it was freaking huge and delicious. there was also a little guy running around (the bartender's new puppy) looking for scraps and of course linz and cara found him irresistible.

my 4th included...

lis and i being dorks


watching bernard and eddy get all chummy in the tour de france coverage.


and finally setting off some explosions with some friends.

i hope everyone had a happy 4th!

it's july already?

i'm looking forward to a night full of art.

i'm back

BRAN was a blast. it was hard (if it wasn't the t-storms it was the wind) but i had a great time riding with some really nice people. i'm just now catching up on some things such as washing the bike (the bike was caked in grit from riding in the rain) and organizing all the photos i took. i'm done with the former but not the later. stay tuned for my BRAN reports.

retro influence

i think rachel likes the vintage cap i gave her.

sunday trailblazing

dusk miles

i was still recovering from the previous night when lauren called. i almost didn't go (i was napping) but it was gorgeous out and i think she wanted to show off her new jersey. we went south and came back at dusk. having just bought her first road bike barely a month ago i think she's coming along as a roadie pretty well. BRAN starts next weekend and i think she's ready.

c-rad hussle

last night it was my turn to put on the monthly 'hussle' as they are coming to be known. 16 people showed up including a few outta-towners. i sent them out on a tuff 20+ mile route. some got lost and went a lot more than that but in the end i think they all had a good time.

mopac trail and petting tolls

another tuesday, and another ride out to eagle with some peeps for some food and a few beers. i had to be back earlier than the rest and rode back solo with just the moon accompanying me. as i got back into town i saw a number of gatos along the trail, and of course i had to stop to pet them. one black kitty really wanted to play and wouldn't let me leave. ahhhh... such a nice little gato.

breaking in her podio

while i was sipping a latte at cultiva i got a message from rachel. she recently got a new salsa podio and wanted to go for a ride and wanted to learn some routes. i took her out on a 40mi loop and with the heat and high winds it wasn't an easy ride, especially for a newbie. on our way back to town we stopped at the casey's on hwy 34 for something cold to drink and i could tell she was shot but she didn't complain at all, instead she said she was enjoying it. she's tough so i know she'll make a fast roadie in the near future. welcome to the roadie ranks rachel! :)

sunday afternoon caffeine fix

cultiva has a new place on s. 11th, and it has a bike work area inside... sweet!

welcome back hilary

i met up with hilary saturday night, she's is back in l-town after after being away a year. she's riding a new bike too, a mixte single speed that she named cheetara. we rode downtown to the roller derby at pershing. afterwards we met up with lis and ryan for a few drinks. friends on bikes on a saturday night, it's a good formula for fun. :)

subs, buds, and bikes

cvo chomping on a sub during the capital city crit on saturday.

blooming

i met up with lauren for some evening miles. it was perfect weather and we saw many wild flowers in bloom along the roads. for being only her fourth ride on her new bike, lauren's drafting skills are coming along pretty good.

amigas y margaritas

hey ladies, feel like some margaritas?


kim


ryana


el dorko


i started my friday evening off by going over to cycleworks for the tomac open house. afterwards i was thinking about dinner and just then i got a message from kim who had the same idea. she suggested la mex. on my way to meet her i saw ryana and of course she decided to join us! :) margaritas at la mex are hard to resist!

finally friday

not only friday... but 1st friday! i went downtown to catch a few shows, take in some art, and then get a few drinks with some friends.

nacho'ing

tuesday night's usually mean lots of people riding the mopac out to eagle for some food and a few beers (aka the nacho ride). cara and jon called me up and invited me to join them and a few other peeps. later the wind picked up and some rain clouds moved in but it stayed pleasant. on our way back in the dark we had a nice surprise... we came upon four or five fox kits playing on the trail! the mama vixen was probably closeby so we didn't want to disturb them for too long and get them in trouble, but oh how cute they were! i think cara was tempted take one home in her messenger bag.

learning curve

lauren is enjoying her new bike and working on some skills (drafting and maintaining speed).

damas y bicis

i had a nice friday, mostly because it involved two of my most favorite things... bikes and women! :) i met up with lauren for an early evening ride. she just got a new road bike (a giant avail 1) and needed to get it dialed in so i took her out on a 40mi southwest loop. we ended up coming back in the dark (but that's probably because we stopped at culver's... that place is so tempting after a ride as it's right there as you come in off hwy 77). a short while later i headed downtown to meet up with felice and melissa for a few drinks. afterwards melissa and i rode to el chaparro where we ran into some renegades: tim, patrick, and daniel.

me 0 - t-storm 1

hmmm... that doesn't look so bad, i have plenty of time.


uh... that wall cloud does seem to be moving pretty fast.


oh sh*t!

one thing i love about living in nebraska, it's the storms. there is nothing like being on the bike and watching a storm come in as you race back to town at dusk. i thought i was gonna make it back without getting rained on but it started to sprinkle as i left the gas station in hickman and i still had 10-15 miles to go. i didn't really mind the light rain at all, but then the lightning started and i was like 'uh oh'. i just put my head down and went as fast as i could. trying to stay in front of a storm is an effective way to practice your time trialing skills that's for sure! :) thankfully the full downpour held off until i was only a few blocks from my place so i didn't have to ride very far soaking wet. the bike needed a wash anyways. here's to a summer of awesome t-storms!

april alley cat

last night i was able to make it one of the monthly informal races that a group of local peeps have been organizing. i had a fun time, though i was in recovery mode all day (perhaps had one to many sapporos, or maybe it was the tequila).

cansado de tanto...

my legs are tired... not from riding but rather from all the dancing! saturday night i rode out to catch brent's band jarana play at the parthenon, and then sunday it was son del llano @ the bourbon theatre downtown. my rumba and salsa steps are a bit rusty so i really needed the practice.

cumpleaños posse

thanks to (l-r) ryan, lindsey, lis, melissa, ben, ryana, cara, and jon for joining me for an evening of riding bikes, delicious indian food, and getting a bit tipsy on my birthday. thanks to supah G and taura too (they met us at the oven). i had a fun night guys. it was good to see everyone, thanks to you all.

an oldie but a goodie

i picked up this frameset last fall and finally got her all built last weekend. she's circa '85/'86 vintage so she's kinda old... like me. initially i built her up with aero levers but i didn't like the look so i switched them out for some retro suntour superbe levers instead. i think they go well with this vintage of frame. i really dig the paintjob, in the sun it has a pearlescent sheen to it. overall i'd say she turned out pretty sweet... so i think i will call her dulce.