Council B-ware!

July 6, 2013

As I may have half-heartedly/assedly tried to explain, I am no longer bicycle commuting in Omaha.  I am hardly even bicycle commuting at all.  That's right.  The name of this blog should be "Snot," but I'm  too apathetic/pathetic to actually do anything about that.  Whether or not you care, here is an explanation for my change in activities:   I am busy being self-appointed bike czar at UNL, taking History of Rock ‘n Roll-related classes, and spending thyme with Baby Snot.  That doesn’t mean I don’t often have a hankerin’ for some 2-wheelin’ hijinks, though!  Why just yesterday I met up with my old man for a tour of Council Bluffs streets and bicycle trails.  It was a good time.  There was one very steep hill, 

and a few other moderately steep ones.  We rode past Big Lake, 

which was next to the big house.  

We rode on some scenic roads.  

We saw a bicycle-based art piece (sorry, I apparently didn't get a photo, but it was awesome!).  We rode past the casinos and ate at the golf course club house next to Harrah’s.  

I think it's called the Dodge Park Club and they've got a great spinach artichoke dip.  We also saw a replica of Lewis and Clark’s boat, the Voyager, at that museum of western trails, or some such.  

It was fantastic (not the replica, really, just the whole expedition in general)! 

Now that it is awl over, I am back home and working on mending my brand new Jansport backpack 

which was sent to me after I trashed my other one over a 17-year period.  The Velcro seems to have been either weak or defective.  I suppose I could send it back for repairs, but I would feel kind of weird sending back a free replacement pack.  Yeah, I know you wouldn’t!  You’re probably a lousy tipper, too!  Aren’t you!?  I’m actually not too bad with a needle and a haystack/thread, so I figger it’s easier to mend it, dear Willie, you silly, mend it, than it would be to pack it all up and send it back.  Cheaper too. 

Whaat else is hanyakering?  Well upon our multi-generational meanderings, we stopped by the Wabash Trace trailhead where I noticed a local manifestation of the fairly recently-blossomed potentially unhealthy pastime of bicycle racing on gravel roads.  

I have ridden my bike on a few gravel roads, and my main concern has generally been – when do I get off this damn gravel!?  The best part of riding on gravel is finding a part of the road that is less gravelly!  But if this is your cup of whisky on the rocks, then please let me know how it goes.  At least it'll be dark, so you won't see the looming ridiculousness of it all before you biff it into a muddy ditch.  I’ll be at home, crying and whimpering in fear just thinking about it!  Gong appetit avec accentes bitches.

For of Jules

July 4, 2013

Hey hosses and hossettes.  I hear it’s July 4^th.  Baby Snot does not seem to mind the barrage.  So I will spend some time haranguing you about my life.  That’s right, I’ve beat you to the punch yet again!  Ha!  Haha! 

Yep, I am way less aware of what’s happening in the locally bikey scene since me and Baby Snot have been kicking it on weekends.  And some weekdays.  Here are some things we’ve been up to.

We went hiking at Fontenelle Forest and had a hoot!  

We saw a turtle. 

And a tree that was older than the Constitution of the United States! 

And here’s a cool solar-powered bicycle-mobile that we saw on the way to Z-Lake.  

It’s like Alexander Calder got heat stroke and powered up his creative bikey mojo.    

I also worked with compadre Bob and found a cool camping spot at the Hitchcock Nature Center in the vicinity of Honey Creek, Iowa.

And then tonight we saw a sweet big band called the Swingtones followed by a Nebraska Wind Symphony concert at Chalco Hills.  It was friggin’ great! 

I hear the Owl Ride is coming up in a week or so.  So get your funky lights all electrified and get ready to party down around town.

Me and Dad are planning on getting out for some bicycling manana con tilda, so I’ll be sure to give you an update on actual bicycling-related happenings in a day or dos.  Hasta rasta 4 July!

Grit and bearing it

June 5, 2013

I have just noticed that I have been quite remiss in putting lists together.  Let's start to list!  Avast, ye hardies!  Dad has informed me of the following BRAN-related information:

1. There is only one public bathroom available in Sidney on Sunday during the churching hours.
2. The first two days were windy.  
3. Today was better, although they did get rained on for an hour or so.
4. The Cellar is a good place to eat in Kearney.

Today was not a bad day for bicycling in Lincoln, Nebraska, either.  It was a little wet in the a.m.  I got a little gritty on my way in to campus.  That is because the John Dietrich trail provides a variety of trail surfaces for users of all preferences.  Here was a part of the trail that was gritty in the a.m., but which had become less gritty by the p.m.

Unfortunately my self-appointed office at the institute became slightly grittified as well.  I need to remember to leave a better tip for my office assistant.  I spent the morning and early afternoon on campus wandering around and checking out the bicycle-friendliness situation.  Here was a bicycle that impressed me with its well-used appearance, its moderate and practical 18-gears, and the fun attention to safety as evinced by its horn.

I also popped in unannounced to several conferences in order to maintain a steady supply of coffee, bagels and cookies.

Here are some differences as I see them between bicycling in Omaha and in Lincoln:

1. It seems like more people ride bicycles in Lincoln.  I hypothesize that this is due to the not to sparsely populated nature of many of the square and/or circular kilometres within the City of Lincoln's boundaries.  
   
2. I have observed bicycles in residential areas, bicycles in industrial settings, and I imagine there are even some to several bicycles lurking/lounging in commercial settings.
   
   
3. Most bicyclers I have noticed in Lincoln seem more like people that happen to ride bikes than bicyclists.  

   

   Sorry for the crappy photo.  I suck.  His shirt states "Dirt Cheap."  

   Many of the bicyclers I notice in Omaha seem more like bicyclists in the sense that they have a fair amount of bicycle-specific attire and auras.  Maybe that is because the roads of Lincoln are generally more bicycle-friendly and less auto-trafficky than Omaha's.  

So to summarize, thanks Lincoln.  You're fun to bicycle in.  And you've even got a bicycle altar that I intend to offer a sacrifice at as soon as I can afford that chicken I've been eyeing.

I haven't been bicycling much lately, but I have been reading a Dr. Seuss book fairly often - One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.  There's a bike in that.  A bike with a Mike who rides in back.  And will push you up a hill.  No wonder you kids are obese. So get your fat kid a skinny/fat bike and be sure to drop the Mike option.  Fattypants.

Baaarrr in them hills!

May 29, 2013

Greetings = Shalom = Namaste = Feliz Cabeza.

I hope your Memorial Day weekend was a fulfilling and enjoyable one.  Mine was good.  I went to Colorado where marijuana was recently legalized.  Although I expected vendors to be hawking various varieties of bud, I instead encountered throngs of youngish fittish people with an average of 1.5 tattoos and 0.3 babies/individual.  There were also quite a few bicyclers.  And a rusty old Schwinn cruiser for sale for $299.  I found myself in the pleasant hamlet of Manitou Springs, where I walked around the shopping area for a while with a recently hatted Baby Snot in a Baby Bjorn.  I astutely noted some mountainous terrain in the nearbyness and thusly proposed a family expedition for which I was banished to the steepness by my humble self.  

As I have stated previously, I apologize for the increased cutesy baby-oriented lingo that will henceforth be unavoidable in these postings.  Baby Snot inflicts his influence, much like a tornado, with no regard to consequences for me or anyone else.

I gathered half of my wits together and ambled amiably towards the mountains.  It was at the base of the steep terrain that I found a sign with a map which illustrated the path of a trail called Barr Trail that I intended to explore for approximately 2 hours. I found that the path extended all the way up to the summit of Pike’s Peak!  

Pretty cool!  I realized that I didn’t have time to get there (13 miles from the trailhead), but I was wearing my “active” flip-flops so I gamely embarked upon some switchbacks to make up for the 20 hours or so of car time involved in getting out to the happy little trees and jolly mountains. 

Here are some of the fun things I viewed upon my walk.

I also met a couple with some hefty packs who were returning.  “Did you go all the way to the peak?” I inquired, jaw agape.  “Almost.  Snow was too deep.”  “Wow!  Musta been fun!” I exclaimed enthusiastically.  My enthusiasm was not returned.

I also met a couple of guys who were headed up to tackle the standard route, a snow route called Y Couloir which can apparently be seen from the highway. 

Here was a steep trail that headed in the same general direction as the switchbacks.

I think they are like those flagellants performing penance, or those prostrating circumambulating monks or something.

Crowded place, but I enjoyed experiencing some good naturely ambling before returning back to the family.

I returned home to find that I had received another one of the persistent advertisements from the Bike Rack informing me that the BR now has a advocacy guy who will keep us all informed about the state of bicycle advocacy-type issues here in the O-ha.  That is pretty great.  Especially since our current pro-bicycle mayor, one Jimothy Suttle, will soon be replaced by a different mayor whose attitude towards the plight of the humble bicycle and its tenders (i.e., bicyclers) is (like most things) not clear to me. 

As you were probably already aware, Here is an interview with Sarah Johnson of Omaha Bicycle Company on a blog called The Crux.

Hey did you realize the 33rd annual Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska (BRAN) starts this weekend!?  Well it does!  The theme for this year’s ride may be the Historic Highway Tour and begins out at Kimball, Nebraska.  Best wishes BRANiacs!  Please send me a postcard or something.  

Toodles.

Bicycling Bliss! Lincoln, NE?

May 21, 2013

A few days ago I engaged in what for me and many of us bicyclers is an enjoyable excursion - bicycling upon a paved multi-use trail for the first time!  To say I enjoyed it would be a bit of an understatement.  In fact, I am pumping up my tube as I type just thinking about the experience.  I have a foot pump, so it's pretty easy.  There are many names associated with the route that I used to travel from near 84th and Havelock, where I drove my car with my trusty steed Shifty attached, to the city campus of Cornhucking.  As you may recall, I have recently been self-appointed to the position of bike czar for the University of Nebraksa-Linkingham and I am literally drunk with the power.  But before I get to the be-czariness of it all, here is a visual representation of the trail I pedaled through on my way to my czardom.

If there is one another thing that we bicyclers like to pump their tubes for, it is an abundance of signage.

Based on my experiences on the John Dietrich, Murdock, and Shanda Dixon Trails, there are plenty of signs to guide one during their sojourns in our stately capitol.  I even beheld the elusive quadruple stacker

(granted two of them go together, but a triple stacker ain't too bad either, eh, old hoss?)!

It was a joyous Xcapade escapade indeed.

Then I got onto campus/my czardom where I beheld many happy bicyclers such as this one.

I also witnessed some bicycle segregation.

 Also the Huffy pictured above appears to have been the subject of some bullying, as evinced by the detached pedal in the lower left foreground.  C'mon, silver-medalers!  We are better than this!

Good to see crazy-ass locking to the rail still flies at Abel-Sandoz!  Party on!

Luckily I encountered a young lady with a parasol who brightened my mood before I returned to my vehicle via the John Dietrich, Murdock, and Shanda Dixon Trails.

Unfortunately the next day I witnessed the aftermath of a bicycle-car collision.

Thankfully it appeared to have been at relatively slow speeds, and the young lady on the bicycle was able to walk her bike away from the scene of the accident.  The motorist stopped and interacted with the bicycler in what seemed to be a civil manner and I felt it was probably as good a conclusion to an unfortunate event as could be expected.  

Anyway, thank you for riding safely and please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

                                                                              Respectfully submitted,

                                                                              Your humble czar

Cantankerous reflections of a fun taco ride

May 17, 2013

WARNING:  This post contains an abundance of gratuitous, disgruntled swearing.  Read on at your discretion.

As you may know, I am a cantankerous coot.  Hence not many people care to go out bicycling with me.  But I had been assured by multiple personages that I would be riding with 2 or more other suckers bicyclers when I embarked upon a ride for tacos at the traditional Thursday night Taco Ride.  Of course I did not follow up/verify their participation because I despise communication that does not involve me blabbering on inanely about bicycles.  Also I like to live in my happy, deluded world where people actually do what they say they are going to do or at least let you know if their plans change.  What I did not reckon on was that many of us USians are lazy, unreliable pussies.  There.  I cantankerously said it.  Now I'm sure lots of fellow bicyclers will want to go bicycling with me!  It's a vicious cycle.  Kind of like this one that I happened upon at the UNL campus where I have recently (just now actually) self-appointed myself Campus Bike Czar at this silver-level bicycle-friendly campus.

With me as bike czar this whole bike-friendly thing is gonna get friendly as all fuck.  Whether you like it or not, assholes!

The bike is a Fixie Thruster.  It is a vicious cycle because it makes you keep pedaling.  Also because it probably has inferior components and appears to be from Target or Walmart.  Let me look into this.  Yep.  Walmart.  I guess if you're gonna buy a cheap bike, a fixie should be a good one to go with since there are fewer moving parts than on most bikes.

Despite, or perhaps because of, my lack of compadres de los tacos con accento, I had a fun night out.  I fumed most of the way to Margaritaville, but then I kicked back and conversed with a fellow loner.  It wasn't very crowded, but got more and more crowded.  I tried out the porta-pottie/kybo and was pleased with the ambiance.  I thought about turning back in order to convey my displeasure at being ditched by my erstwhile comrades to the universe.  Then I realized that that would be a dick move and that no one really would give a fuck and I would just become even more cantankerous (which is likely inevitable).  So I rode on.  Had a pleasant trio of veggie tacos and a couple beers.

Both beers were pricier than last year - $2.75 for a Bud Light draught and $2.75 for a Bud Light bottle.  Welcome riders, you've been Tobey Jacked.  I shouldn't bitch, but I'm trying to get some cantankerousness out of my system.  Also new since I'd been out on a t-ride is a bus that will take your drunk/injured ass back to the trailhead for $10 (if he gets 5 or more riders).  And I heard that Austin's on the Trail down in Silver City is closed, at least for the time being.  Bummer.

I shared a table in the corner with a couple of guys from Team Tilted.  They conversed with me and other nearby diners about the upcoming RAGBRAI.  Here is my lonely corner where I finished one of my beers.  Alone.

I took my other beer out to the bar, where I spotted Lance in an ad.

I kind of like seeing him more these days.  He's more like me.  Angry.  Alone.  Give me a call, LA.  We'll hit up a taco ride.  Maybe a day of RAGBRAI.  Alright, I'm gonna get some rest now and maybe I'll be less of a whiny ass when I get back to you.  Yeah right.  Have a nice weekend.  Here's a happy video to make up for my bitching.