State of Uniting to Honor Those Who Have Gone Before

 November 10, 2025

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings of the warmest variety.

Lately I've been pondering the balance between compassion and strength.  A completely altruistic government would probably not fare very well without strength.  I think most of us believe that the most powerful governments have the most soldiers with the best guns and tactics.  However, governments may last longer and be more productive if they acknowledge the power of compassion and incorporate it into their policies.  What does this have to do with bicycling?  Well, it may be a bit of a stretch, but I was in Lincoln, Nebraska over the weekend and it is the seat of our state government.  

I enjoyed some time with friends as we commemorated the life and shared some memories of our late friend Ben Kroeze.  I have thought about him a lot lately; unfortunately probably more than when he was alive.  It's pretty easy to take our friends for granted.  So please, consider giving an old friend a call later today or tomorrow, at the latest, and tell them why you appreciate them.  Ben was a great guy.  He was hard-working and handy.  To honor his memory I decided to build a reliquary/ofrenda.  I got an image by a Lincoln artist who I could not identify printed onto some wood and built this.

Although I'm not as handy as Ben was, it was a rewarding experience that made me feel like I was in touch with Ben and I think it turned out well.

Here are some photos from the part of Lincoln I stayed in.  

Some folks were outside on a cold night.  Got down into mid-20 F-ing degrees!?

While the Ol' B and I were comfy in a classy Super 8

with some nice clean water flowing into Salt Creek from the Theresa Street Water Resource Recovery Facility (TSWRRF-ing beautiful!) in the vicinity.

Not pictured is a grocery store that didn't have any local beers in the liquor department!?  Also a DUI pullover that occurred in the hotel parking lot in the morning.  Now that is quite a way to start the day!

Anyway, back to my bike ride:  I rode downtown on some pretty nice bike paths.  I stopped in Antelope Park on my way there.  

Downtown they were putting up Christmas lights 

and one controversial question will apparently be decided on November 12!  Get your tickets fast!

There was some nice bicycle-oriented public art

and I rode in a bike lane for a while on my way back to the Super 8.  It was on P Street and it seemed kind of short, but nice while it lasted.  

Nothing questionable about that sentence, right Michael Scott?  And then past the classic Moose's Tooth/Cycle Works Shop that I remember from days of yore.  I think one of the signs described a sale on gravelly bikes, which might be interesting to check out.  Meet you there after the Beatles beat down the Stones?  Or maybe the Stones roll over the Beatles?  

I'd say the Beatles are better, but the Stones rock harder.  But I'm sure you have your own ideas about that.  No need to make it bad, so I guess I'll just close this one up for now my friends, let it be,

get off of my cloud, and wish you and yours some satisfying activities of whatever variety you like.  And here is something that I guarantee we will all enjoy:

Virtually embracing you,

BSO