Corporate Cycles Back to Boulder

August 17, 2025

 Hello fellow bicycle enthusiasts and others,

I am here to inform you that I recently completed the always rewarding Corporate Cycling Challenge in the Omaha area.  The last time I can verify completing this event was back in 2012!  Last time I was mounted upon the Old Bastard, but this time I enjoyed the relatively easier pedaling aboard the noble Shifty.  Here is a Wild Man top bar pouch that I added to Shifty for the event:

Although my photo doesn't show it, there is a handy cell phone compartment on top of the pouch.  It was kind of nice, since I didn't have any decent pockets on my person; however, my phone overheated towards the end of the ride and had to shut down to cool off for a while.  I think I will invest in one of those phone holders with no plastic cover that just attach to your handlebar to avoid the likelihood of overheating.

I saw a hops farm on the way out, which was pretty exciting to me as I enjoy an occasional quaff of hoppy beer.  

I also met up with my dad and we shared some of our recent life experiences.  Here we are at the spacious and well-maintained gazebo 

in the Fort Calhoun park known as West Market Square Park.

Here is a rock that Lewis and Clark tried to pick up back when they were exploring the area a bit further upriver of Fort Calhoun:

Although they were not able to pick the rock up, they did have their men pick the rock up and carry it downriver (not with their arms of course! - they just put it on one of their boats for a bit of added ballast and a nice place to lounge around during the abundant free time they enjoyed back in those days) on the way back after they finished exploring some parts of the northwestern U.S. and left it in Fort Calhoun as a marker for future explorers.  Although it was originally much closer to the river, it has since been  moved, the engraving has been updated a bit, and it still serves as a welcome stop for travelers in the area.  There is also a disc golf course in the vicinity.

One recent life experience for me has been doing some SCUBA diving lessons over at a local swimming place called Diventures.  We also have to carry ballast to help us sink to the bottom of the pool where we practice various skills designed to help us feel comfortable and to be able to survive some mishaps in the depths; however, no boulders have been used so far.  It has generally been good; however, I seem to have a eustachian tube dysfunction situation that I am hoping to resolve before I commit to my open water certification diving.  I'll let you know how it all turns out.  Dad also did some SCUBA diving back in his younger days and he said it kind of messed up his ears, so maybe there's an inherited trait that makes us more prone to these types of problems.  Snot Jr., however, is loving it and doesn't seem to have any of these issues.

On the way back from the gazebo, my dad cruised off over the horizon and it got kind of hot with a headwind.  I probably should have stopped for a rest break, but I kind of wanted to get back to meet up with some corporate comrades so I pedaled on and did some minor suffering to cap off the experience.

So that was how I spent my Sunday morning and I do not regret it.  Please join me again in the future and I will regale you with more heavy tails of moderate activity and/or adventure.

Your traveling buddy,

BSO

Crazy Days

 

July 29, 2025

Dearest Intrepid Venturer,

How does it all happen?  Crazy, right!?  So much has been going on lately it’s hard to know where to start.  In summary:  it’s hot out, I just got back from a vacation up to Wisconsin, and I bought a used trampoline!  Luckily, whilst vacationing  I was able to procure some of my ol’ favorite Wisconsonian beer – Spotted Cow and I’m sipping on a cold one as I type! 

Here is one thing that didn’t seem all that crazy, and I’m honestly a bit surprised it didn’t happen earlier:

The Bike Commuter’s Forgetfulness – Level 2 (Not so bright foresight)

A few weeks ago I thought I had a reasonably nice office-type shirt stashed in my storage area at work.  I’m guessing you can guess where this is headed already?  If not, perhaps I can shock your eyes (which I’m pretty sure are part of your brain) into realization.

Yes, I did not actually have any type of my usual nearly-business-casual-level attire available.  So when I arrived at my place of employment I fount that my shirt choices were a nipple-emphasizing bicycle jersey (as shown above) or a slightly stained and wrinkled, company-logo-branded-hi-viz t-shirt.  

Which would you have chosen?  Please write your response on an index card and send to me, along with a self-address stamped envelope, and I will provide a personalized response and perhaps a special prize for non-snarky responses with some rationale behind their choice!  Thank you for your consideration.

I chose option b because I am dedicated to the success of my company (for those of you who know where I work) and I knew that anyone adorned with our esteemed corporate logo may as well be protected by the shining armour of God! 

And, for everyone else, as I am guessing you’ve already surmised, I am a spineless corporate shill.  Sorry for the snark, but that’s my own self-addressed-amusement reward for my choice.

Moving on, here are a few highlights / items I’d like to document in my diary regarding my vacation to Wisconsin.  It was just me and Snot Jr. this time around.  Mrs. Snot and Ms. Snot decided they would partake in some other activities.

Mississippi Palisades State Park provided a reasonably located overnight campground to break up the trip.  Whilst Snot Jr. preferred to abide in the car to avoid the mossies, I ventured out to appreciate some river views.

 

This sign about platform viewing tickled my fancy bone.

Here is the platform for your viewing consideration:

I dragged Snot Jr. to Taliesin – Frank Lloyd Wright’s longtime home that may or may not be a ghost haunt due to some arson-related deaths.  FLW had some serious drama in his time!  Although Snot Jr. resisted, once it was over he actually thanked me for taking him on the self-guided tour.  He said it made him think about the constant relationship we experience with our surroundings/environment. 

There were many Buddhist-related statues and a Japanese dragon (not pictured) at the estate.  

I’d recommend you stop by the next time you are in the vicinity.

The next day I met up with a representative of the Wisconsin Canoe Company so they could shuttle us up to our put-in point (Mazomanie) for an overnight, 6-hour trip on the lower Wisconsin River!  

After approximately 3 hours of easy paddling we set up on a non-vegetated sandbar (the vegetated sandbars are reportedly more mossie-infested).   The next day we got an early start to try to get out before the forecast rain arrived.  

It was sprinkling a bit as we started out, but it gradually intensified and we were treated to some moderate lightning.  The GORP got drenched, likely due to operator error or maybe my penchant for cheap bag-purchasing?  In the absence of milk, the generic Cheerios were a bit less endearing when soggy.  We sheltered along the banks of the river during the peak lightning times.  

During our sheltering, Snot Jr. and I entertained ourselves with several rousing rounds of hangman.  “Kaiju names” was a pretty common topic.

As you can see, although GoT names were not part of our hangmanning our brave vessel was christened Khaleesi.  

If you are familiar with the television program Game of Thrones you will likely never forget Khaleesi as I’m told she’s quite memorable.  

Although I’ve not watched any GoT, Mrs. Snot has a Khaleesi coffee mug that she was gifted a few years back and so it reminded me of my beautiful lady back home.

Snot Jr. also formed a strong connection with a hitch-hiking damselfly we christened Beryl.  So that’s a quick summary of the craziness from my perspective.  Please let me know how things look from your side and then we’ll all be a bit more informed/aware.  Constant vigilance my dear ones!  Hey!  I said constant!

Constantly,

BSOzzy!

Amalgamation Triad

 June 810, 2025

Hello and many greetings,

What have you been doing lately?  Hell yeah!  I have been working on getting large video files off my phone.  Mrs. Snot's phone crashed and I wouldn't be surprised if mine is soon to follow, as it is approximately 5 years old.  I hope you've been enjoying the warmer spring/unofficially summer weather.  I have been doing some of the moderately active things that I enjoy and use to define myself as a person.  Here are a few specific items:

Back in March I went out to Hitchcock Nature Center on a balmy spring day to enjoy the loess hills of Iowa.  I took a nice walk out around the serene Lotus Loop and the relatively newly-opened-to-the-public trail out to Mount Crescent.  There had just been a prescribed burn and the underbrush was still smoldering.

I meandered around a bit and got off trail for a while, but eventually I achieved some clarity

and made it up to ye olde ski hill

and back again

Then, back in April I went on a nice bike ride on the West Papio Trail, as I often infrequently do.  I stopped at the phenomenal Eagle Ridge Park.   

There I stretched out a bit and went on the Papillion Library-sponsored StoryWalk® where I read about a kid's snow day.  She went out and enjoyed being a graceful snow ballerina of sorts whilst also kicking ass in a snowball fight!  A kid who improvises and has is a versatile heroine - truly inspirational in a whimsical way and (spoiler alert) story ends with a nice cup of hot chocolate.

As you can sense, the life of the snow dancer required balance in more ways than one.  That can be tricky.  And speaking of tricks, here is an amazing slo-mo video that my son shot to try to disprove my ability to switch my fingers from one hand to another!?  Also, as I may have mentioned, I had too many videos on my phone to get updates.

Also, today on Sunday I made it out to an F3 workout.  I refer to it to my family as an "exercise cult" but it was actually pretty fun (but pretty intense for this moderately active guy).  I went with a couple of elementary school friends.  I will note that the above finger exchange can (with caution) be performed with three fingers, which would make it more of an F3 kind of workout.

So that has been a few things I've been up to lately.  The triad is complete!  Hope you are doing well!

Love,

BSO

Get on the Woody Snake

                                                                                                                                             February 1, 2025

Hello and good day!

I hope that you are doing well and staying healthy and alert.  I went out for a bicycle ride to church and back this past weekend and it felt great!  I haven’t been out and about on 2 wheels for a while because we had a bit of a cold snap here for a while.  I rode past ye olde Olympia Cycle building, which has seen better days and I think is on the list of structures to be removed soon.  

I have fond memories of the shop because I purchased my 1990 Bridgestone MB-5 there a few years back and I still use that bike (fondly referred to as the Old Bastard due to his transition to single-speed) for everyday commuting, errands, etc.  I have also rode the Old B a few times to go exercise at a bouldering gym that is somewhat nearby!  This gym (MW Climbing Omaha) is where ye olde dollar theater used to be.  It is great!  The proprietors do a great job of keeping the place in good condition and setting new routes.  As a moderately active, middle-aged man who formerly did a bit of rock climbing, I was drawn to the establishment like a plant to the sunlight.  For those of you who are not familiar with the concept of bouldering, I’d say it’s pretty similar to rock climbing but instead of using a rope to prevent a fall to the ground there are typically pads placed in potential fall zones so that if you fall you won’t get hurt. Here is a good video about bouldering:  

I have to tell you, this place is great!  Unfortunately, they have a 2-week introductory deal for around $35.  “Why is this unfortunate?” you may be asking?  Well, it’s because in addition to being moderately active and middle-aged, I am also moderately thrifty.  So I thought I should try to go as many times as possible during the 2 week timespan that began on St. Stephen’s Day.  I enjoyed my time at the gym immensely and I’d highly recommend that you try some bouldering in your vicinity if you have the time and interest.  However, I did end up with some sore muscles, joints, tendons, etc.  I also have some of those today because I was back there again last week.  Yes, I may have been a bit too enthusiastic for my own good.  I’m sure I’ll get back to normal here soon, but I think I really need to pace myself and/or do some good warm ups / cool downs to compliment the gym experience.  The problem is, neither of these are as awesome as actually bouldering!  And time is precious!  Anyway, I guess we all have things we can work on and for me it will be finding a good way to enjoy some bouldering (I’m thinking maybe once or twice per week might be good for me for now) without feeling sore for several days afterwards. 

 

“How might my ambitions fair in the Year of the Wood Snake?”, you may be wondering?  Well let me take a look at some pundits to see what has been prognosticated.  Alright.  I have found, thanks to the infallible Buddha and Karma, that snake years should involve some deep thinking and strategic planning.  Implementing these things should certainly help with my bouldering gym experiences.  I may also use some strategic planning to put together some type of "escape bag" in case things get too crazy here in the US-iness of wackitude.  Let's make politics here boring again ASAP.  I believe in separation of politics and entertainment.  

In addition to the Olympia Cycle building and an unpopular administration, another thing that is going away is Mode Shift Omaha.  I appreciated all the things they did for local multimodal transportation options here.  Apparently they are putting their remaining resources to work with Bike Walk Nebraska who is planning on becoming more active in the Omaha area in the near future.  

The weather has been pretty nice these days so I should be able to get some more 2-wheeling in soon.  I hope you have a chance to enjoy some outsidey activities soon.  I have been thinking about getting out to try Brent’s Trail over in the loess hills soon, so I’ll be sure to let you know if that happens.  

Now that I am nearing my mid-50s I have been trying to be a bit more diligent in my exercising habits.  To that end, I have begun using a device that I received for my birthday that I thought was a kettleball.  Well, it turns out it's a kettlebell, and it's not meant for tossing around unless self-defense, destruction, and/or trickery is required.  If you are not familiar with kettlebell culture, here is a quick intro:

I am still learning the basic moves.  Due to overindulgence in my bouldering habit and/or my desk job that involves a lot of keyboarding, I often have some wrist tendonitis and/or golfer's elbow discomfort that makes me want to avoid putting pressure on wrists and elbows.  So I haven't gotten very far on the way of the kettlebell, but I think I might make some progress down that old kettlebell road.  

Well, I guess I’ll get back to you if I experience any exciting adventures in the near future.  Please do the same.

Bless you and the snake.

Your, 

BSO

Hot AF Air Show

 August 25, 2024

Hello fellow humans,

How is the pedaling and/or other activities?

Today I went out for a bicycle ride to see the air show down at Offutt Air Force Base.  There are a lot of good places to watch from near the Keystone Trail so you don’t have to deal with the hassle of getting onto the base.  The Thunderbirds were there!  I tried to take a few photos, but those guys are so damn fast I didn’t get any good ones.  

I got a lot of 'em like this

It was very hot so I took refuge under an overpass.  

Don’t worry, I drank plenty of water, including some from this waystation/splash park.  

The splash park was deserted, likely due to very hot temperatures and lack of shade; however, the water fountains and bathrooms were fully functional and well maintained.

After going to see the air show and getting some water I snapped a couple photos of signs for upcoming activities that might be of interest to some of us.  

I would have liked to obtain more info about these events, but I was starting to feel hot!  And I noticed I wasn't the only one!  Whew!  

Then I beheld a wavering image that I thought (Wait!  Could it be?) might be a local brewing company!  

I gratefully availed myself of the lovely air conditioning and ambiance.  

It was only later that I noticed I hadn’t bothered to dust off my ass (dusty from relaxing under the bridge while waiting for the Thunderbirds to appear) before relaxing on a bar stool.  Note:  For British-type English users our American “ass” is similar to what you might refer to as “arse” - I don’t have the inclination or the resources to purchase a pack animal to haul around more stuff!)  I had a pint of Calamansi Breeze, a refreshing lime lager that really hit the spot.  

Although the name was confusing to me, the wonderfully cool temperature and flavor were both perfect.  Later I looked it up on their website and found this description of the Calamansi Breeze:  “Light lager with Calamanse Lime, a cross between mandarin orange & kumquat, so expect bright, zesty orange notes over a citrus lime backing.”  Although I think this “Calamanse lime” may be a mythical organism, like a satyr, this potentially imaginary life form just added to the exotic/oasis-type experience.  No, I will not just look it up:  I find the mystery nearly as delicious as the beverage itself!  As I glanced around the inside of the establishment I noticed this cool sculpture.

After thus fortifying my constitution, I once again braved the hot trail.  If anything it seemed hotter than before!  Luckily I managed to pedal my arse doggedly back to my precious homestead and enjoy a nice shower (first hot to wash off the sunscreen and grit, then cool to feel refreshed).

So there you have the summary.  I hope it is summery enough for you, but if it’s not, just get out on a hot trail and consider stopping by Pint 9 for a Calamansi Breeze or one of their other delicious options.

Stay cool, summer riders!  Or, failing that, get your arse some shade!

Love,

BSO

Saddle Up

 August 18, 2024

Hello fellow riders,

Where are you going?  How have you been?

I hope you’ve got some good answers to these and the other usual questions.

As for me, I recently enjoyed a lovely trip out to Fort Robinson State Park in the northwestern part of Nebraska.  I have been out there several times and it’s always fun.  It is nice to get out into a less-populated part of the world and enjoy some peace and natural beauty.  One of my nieces was visiting and she seemed to enjoy the experience, with the exception of our duplex/cabin that had a fly infestation upon our arrival.  Fortunately there were four fly swatters on top of the fridge and, under her enthusiastic leadership, we targeted and terminated with extreme prejudice most of our unwanted winged cabinmates.  The survivors really weren’t too bad because it seemed like they slept at night so there was no infernal buzzing to keep anyone awake (although the fitted sheet that wouldn’t stay firmly attached to my bunk bed mattress was a minor nuisance in this regard).  I waited until we had left the cabin to tell my niece about the classic movies The Fly (1958) and The Fly (1986), both of which are equally great.  I know it's rare, but the equality is exact.

I was pleased to discover the office had some information on hiking and biking trails, which I didn’t recall from previous visits.  There was a big trail map and a smaller guidebook with elevation profiles and short descriptions of each trail.  There were also quite a few families with various types of bikes at the cabins neighboring ours.  Although I didn’t do any hiking or biking, I like the idea and I may try to stop by for a bike ride of some kind later this year as I plan on taking a fall trip out to Colorado.  I hadn’t bothered to bring my bike on this trip because I didn’t remember Ft. Rob being particularly mountain-bike friendly, not to mention that we all rode out together in a mini-van and we didn’t have a lot of extra space.  So, instead of indulging my usual bicycling tendencies, I was looking forward to a lovely horseback ride up into the bluffs - an activity I had enjoyed pretty much every single time I’d visited.  Here are a few representative photos from my Sony ActionCam.

While the horseback ride was great, my niece and step-mom embarked on another activity later that evening that they later said they enjoyed even more.  It was a jeep ride up into the buttes with a personable and knowledgable driver who regaled them with tales of local lore and natural history.    

Speaking of natural history, the Trailside Museum is always a fun place to visit and this trip was no exception.  There is a new superintendent and she was quite friendly and helpful.  Unfortunately the playhouse had to cancel their last four performances due to a Covid outbreak, so we didn’t get to see Spongebob the Musical which I’m told is surprisingly political in nature.  

Although it takes pretty much a full day of driving from Omaha to get there, I highly recommend you stop at this unique park at your earliest convenience.  It is also close to Toadstool Geological Park, with a cool sod house near the parking lot, and the Hudson-Meng Bison Kill site, both of which are also great places to visit.  There’s even a 3-mile trail (the Bison Trail) that connects Toadstool to Hudson-Meng that I hope to explore at some point as well (maybe during that upcoming Colorado trip I mentioned earlier).  

Now that I’m back in Omaha, I intend to get out for some bicycling soon.  Unfortunately it seems like I’ve had to do various things that make it more convenient to drive my trustworthy, oil-burning KIA Rio.  You know how that goes, right?  Wrong?  We’ll all meet up together in the end and trade some stories then, my friend.

Safe and happy travels to you and your loved ones.

BSO

Major Drop Drops In

 July 24, 2024

Hello fellow voyageurs.

This is Major Drop reporting.  I have returned from a lovely voyage on the Elkhorn and Platte Rivers and a possible unconfirmed side excursion into Xenoica!  I went with my friend Todd and his son and one of Ben’s sons:  3 single-person kayaks and our 2-person and gear inflatable kayak.  The trip we initially planned was West Center Road down to Linoma Beach, as outlined here.  Unfortunately, there is no longer any public access at West Center (don’t worry, I intend to inform paddling.com about this situation so others can hopefully have an easier time planning their trips).  So, we had to improvise.  Although I am not at liberty to disclose the exact locations, we enlisted the aid of some professional/personal contacts and were able to get a last-minute route, pretty similar to the one we read about, dialed in.

Although I was initially hoping for a Sunday trip, I am so glad that it turned out that Saturday was better for others in our group - I needed a day to unpack, clean and stow gear, and recover!  The forecast for Saturday wasn’t great on Friday, but we figured what the hell.  Here are a few things we experienced:

• The weather turned out to be fantastic! 
  

  
  
  
• The rivers were a bit higher than I’d experienced previously.  This was nice because it is kind of a pain to get out of our inflatable kayak when it got stuck on a sand bar and pull it along and then climb back in and repeat, as needed.  Also, Snot Jr. isn’t getting any lighter and sometimes I’d be trying to pull with him in the kayak because he got pretty tired in the latter part of the journey.  But anyway, as I was saying, the water was higher than what I was used to.  Snot Jr. didn’t really want to be in the boat, so he floated along, sometimes being towed by the kayak and other times floating freely in the current.  Initially he offered to be a tug boat and pull each of the kayaks into the river.  However, once our kayak was out there, we just grabbed onto the back of our kayak, Floaty, and kind of floated/walked/ran along behind.  During the parts where it was shallow enough to walk he would sometimes provide commentary about the depth of the water, which was sometimes kind of handy.  He’d say things like, “Major drop” or “Oooo, look out!  Getting pretty shallow!”  At one time he decided he’d only provide updates when requested.  Although he didn’t go along with my request when I asked for auto-updates every 2 minutes or so, he eventually agreed to provide updates if depth changed by more than 6-inches.  For a while I was calling myself “Major Drop” and Snot Jr. “Corporal Current.”  
• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• We went through some faster parts of the river that we dubbed “Nebraska rapids”, surviving solely by our wits and reflexes.  Although photos would be underwhelming, I did not have time to snap any because I was too busy “reading the river” in my not-very-fluent riverese.  For a while I was also calling Snot Jr. “Muskrat Lad” because I thought we looked kind of like a playful muskrat frolicking along in the water.  
• I may have been inspired to provide the “Muskrat Lad” nickname because we saw so much wildlife out on the river.  I think it was due to the cooler weather and the earlier forecasted rain/storms, but the animals seemed to appreciate the cooler, cloudy weather and we didn’t see another boat outside of our group during the entire, approximately 11-mile trip!  It was amazingly tranquil and beautiful out there!  Here is a list of some of the animals/animal parts we saw:
• deer
• raccoons (an endearing group of 3 youngsters playing/scampering around on the shore)
• bald eagles (there were many of them).  
  
  
  
• softshell turtle (snout and eyes only)
• fish (lots of jumpers!  One time a couple of us seemed to corner them and there were dozens, possibly even a hundred of them thrashing about above the water and even landing up on the sandy shore!
• great blue heron
• duck decoys (?) (they looked so realistic!  The only reason I eventually concluded they were decoys was because they did not move at all.  Even then, at first I thought they might just be stoic ducks.)
• a bovine vertebrae, weathered to a lovely brown color, as shown here
  
  
  
• some type of creature that sent up a single dark gray or black stalk, very much like a periscope, that quickly retracted back under the water when it sensed our presence.  Todd had initially mentioned something with long eye stalks that I speculated might be a very rare (possibly mythical) creature known as a giant freshwater crab (distant cousin to the fighting land crabs, mascot of the University of American Samoa made famous by Jimmy McGill of Better Call Saul).  For a while I thought we might have traveled through a worm-hole of some type into a place called Xenoica.  However, I didn’t encounter enough evidence on this trip to be able to support this temporary hunch.
• On one large sandbar I decided it would possibly make a pretty good place to live (or at least a few days worth of camping), so I boldly proclaimed, “I claim this island for the Muskrat Kings!”  to which one of my traveling companions on the other side of the bar responded “Booga Booga!” and did some type of dance to which I responded with a similar ancestral dance.

This voyage felt adventurous and important.  The interaction with nature was somehow soothing and inspiring.  It felt like a much-needed balance to the usual day-to-day human-crafted world that I live in most days.  It was also kind of physically tiring.  I came to the conclusion that it is time for Floaty to retire.  Floaty has been great!  She's been a stalwart companion to Snot Jr. and I for 7 years and I will always cherish the time we had with her.  

However, her structural integrity ain't what it used to be and neither Snot Jr. nor I am getting any lighter.  Therefore, the next time we head out to the river I will either be taking my inflatable SUP (it’s big enough that Snot Jr. could latch onto it and float along, if needed) or else the SUP and a regular kayak for Snot Jr. (I feel like he might not dislike paddling as much if he had a lighter, faster, more maneuverable boat.  This is kind of like people that buy cheap bikes that don’t have good parts.  It’s not surprising that they don’t like to bike when the bike that they’ve got makes bicycling a chore, with parts not doing what they should!).

Well, I’ll be sure to get back to the river soon and back to my bicycle even sooner.  Let me know if you get a chance and we’ll try to meet up and catch up.

Bon voyage, mon frer!

BSO