Cornbread

Hello, 2010.

2010-01-01T13:59:00.011-06:00

Ski!

Wilderness Park is in great shape for the XC skis. Today we had a posse. Troy, Matt T., Matt G., Matt Wills, John V., Coach, Jay, Paul, and Darin. Am I forgetting anyone? More of the same tomorrow. 10 AM at the Old Cheney parking lot.

Bike, ski, bike....Matt Wills

It's gonna be a ski winter. So riding to the ski spot may be the only riding we do for a while. Still, I'm all about driving there. Maybe a snowy gravel ride for Saturday or Sunday...

Cold commute to work

Haven't ridden much at all this month. Probably less than 300 miles. On a positive note, ended the year just a bit below 12,000 miles. I'd love to hit 15,000 next year, but I'd probably need to quit my job in order to get it done and that's not gonna happen unless I hit the Powerball.

I remember reading something about Floyd Landis trying to get to 25,000 in a year. That's a lot of miles. Well, kinda.

Frickin' animal

A lot of miles would be what Tommy Godwin did in 1939. 75,000 miles to be exact. Basically 200 miles a day. Or as Jim Fobben said, "A Dirty Kanza a day". Yeah, that'd be tough. Well, that wasn't enough. He continued on and finished out 100,000 miles in 1940. Damn. Knowing what he did will definitely help me HTFU during those long gravel grinders when I wanna pull the plug.

Preparing for the Apocalypse

You can never have enough peanut butter. Though I haven't had Peter Pan peanut butter in quite some time. This 6 pounder will probably last me 6 months.

Troy's first Lincoln ski experience

Troy picked up some skis and has been doing awesome. He's already as fast as I am and I'm sure will be tearing it up very soon. Congrats!

Yep, pretty damn good day

2009-12-21T21:05:00.002-06:00

Started the day like this...

Ended it like this...

That was a great Monday. Thanks to Kevin for putting together the WWASH shindig. Genius. Pure genius. Can't wait for the next one. Except next time I plan on taking Tuesday off of work so I can stay a bit longer.

Another great day on the skis

2009-12-20T12:20:00.004-06:00

Super fast tracks

The tracks are very well defined and relatively smooth heading South towards the 14th Street entrance of Wilderness. Some hikers and plenty of deer have also been on the tracks which keeps you focused on staying upright.

We had another good crew this morning (about half the size of yesterday). Went through the Park from Old Cheney entrance to 14th Street and back on the horse/bike side. Good stuff. I must be getting a little better cuz I only went down about 10 times today.

Skiing is a nice change of pace, but I really miss riding. Gonna hafta get out on the bike this week.

Old school Channel 10/11 Off the Beaten Path - Off Road Bicycling

2009-12-19T17:53:00.003-06:00

Channel 10/11 Off the Beaten Path - Off Road Bicycling from Cornbread on Vimeo.

Sorry for the bad quality video. Had to take actual video of the TV to capture it. As a result, you gotta turn up the volume to hear this one. This video stars some of Lincoln's cycling legends including: Brian Kelley, Daniel Kelley, Trevor Norland, Lance Voyles, Mark Savery and Matt Gersib. This video is circa 1992 I believe. Thanks to DK for the video.

The snow is still great for XC skiing! I'm sorry bicycles....

2009-12-19T14:48:00.006-06:00

Had close to a dozen folks out at Wilderness this morning

It's the off season, right? Good, that way I don't feel bad for neglecting my bicycles and skiing a bunch. Gravel sounded really good last night and I intended to hit some gravel this afternoon, but after a 3 hour XC ski session all I feel like doing is relaxing. That sure was a great workout today. Thanks to everyone for coming out and enjoying the beautiful day.

Butch and Wills did the ole ride, ski, ride deal today

I'm still not sold on the idea of riding to the skiing spot. It sure is nice hopping in my car after skiing for 3 hours. Even though the ride to and from Wilderness would probably be a great warm up and cool down. Hmmm....

Butch descending the hill from Cornbread on Vimeo.

Jeff descending the Hill from Cornbread on Vimeo.

Looking forward to 2010 - Ouachita Challenge

2009-12-17T20:25:00.006-06:00

Rocks, rocks and more rocks

Well, it didn't take long for the Ouachita Challenge to fill up. Registration opened on December 14th and closed shortly after opening. All 250 spots for the Tour on Saturday and race on Sunday are spoken for. If you didn't sign up in the morning, you missed the boat.

I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but Endurance MTB events have been getting much more popular in the recent years and as a result, much more difficult to get into! Maybe it's the Lance effect (via the Leadville 100) all over again. Like when Lance won his first Tour. I remember road bikes were flyin' out the door at the shop.

Speaking of Leadville, I'm sure getting into Leadville this year will be a challenge in itself. I've decided to throw my hat into the ring again for 2010. I'm also looking forward to several other regional MTB races. Definitely need to be thinking ahead if you wanna get into these events.

Back to Ouachita....unfortunately, the 80 miler is gone for 2010. So I guess only 60 miles will hafta do. Bummer.

2010 will be my third crack at Ouachita. Historically I've had a rough time down there in Arkansas. 2007 was the year of the massive bonk coupled with crippling cramps. Last year I endo'd into a rocky stream and banged up my right knee around mile 30ish of 80. That was a long day.

It took 6 weeks for the swelling to go down

Hopefully 2010 will go a bit smoother. It'd be great not to do something stupid like get hurt.

2007 - Hey, is that Sydney?

Thanks to my good buddy CVO for hooking me up with a entry for Ouachita. I'm looking forward to a great weekend down in Arkansas!

XC skiing is a blast!

2009-12-12T12:38:00.002-06:00

Saturday morning crew!

I picked up a XC ski package on Thursday on the way home from work and couple of hours later was hitting up Wilderness with the homies for my first cross country ski experience. It was tough and I fell a lot, but it was more fun than I expected. I'm still getting the technique down, but had several "moments" during this mornings session. Now I'll be stoked to see snow in the forecast.

Monday Morning Motivational

2009-12-07T21:15:00.002-06:00

Almost virgin tracks on the Rock Island Trail by the Lincoln Zoo

Out the door and on the bike by 4:30 AM. Quick coffee stop. More riding at 5 AM and then more coffee at 6 AM.

Roads were great this morning

Studded tires work really well. Super stoked. Hopefully they'll keep me upright this year.

More snow forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Boo.

Pre-snow ride through the Park

2009-12-06T14:21:00.005-06:00

EP Bridge break & regroup

A small crew of five met up at Meadowlark this morning for a quick jaunt through the Park. The Park is perfect right now. Hardly any ruts or other obstacles. Plus it's as smooth as silk. The best it's been in a long time.

Frozen already

Winter is definitely here. Seems like this time last year we were still riding with our Fall gear. The forecast is looking pretty shitty over the next few days. Time to bust out the winter beater bike.

Schmidty!

Mystery bottle

Anyone missing a Gary Fisher water bottle? It's been sitting on the EP bridge for a couple of days now. Based on the graphics I'd say it's about 7 years old.

Rural graffiti - those crazy kids

Yep, it's winter alright

2009-12-05T16:41:00.004-06:00

Caffeinated and ready to go

Nineteen brave souls headed out from Meadowlark this morning for a quick trip to Cortland via the Homestead trail and a bit of gravel. Departure temperature was around 25 with a sub-twenty degree wind chill.

Large group today with some new faces!

Butch put the hammer down early and lead the charge most of the way on his fixed gear Surly Cross Check. Dude, you were killin' it today!

Headin' back on South 25th Street

The group really splintered after Cortland. A small crew grouped up and rolled back to town on gravel and eventually the Homestead Trail. The tailwind was great. Several of us rolled through the park on the way back to town. Wilderness is still in amazing shape. Hopefully the snow in the next few days won't ruin it.

Great ride today everyone! More of the same tomorrow!

Full Moon ride!

2009-12-01T22:23:00.004-06:00

Jingle Cross 2009

2009-11-30T21:01:00.030-06:00

Jingle Cross - Iowa City, Iowa

Sprinter loaded with 11 bikes, a butt load of gear and 7 dudes (one with really bad gas on the way home)

What are we gonna do with Mark's bike? Just throw it on top.

iPhone's are fun! Especially the Jiggle app.

Ready, set, unload!

Eight wide

Base camp

Friday night fun - 2/3 racers "locked and loaded"

Troy clogged up 1/2 a lap in on Friday

Well, at least there's always Saturday and Sunday. Hmmm...where else have I've seen this pose before?

Mark suffered a slightly different fate in Friday's race. And just like that, the season is over for Mark. Jesse also busted a der hanger. Damn.

The descent off Mt. Krumpit on Friday night

Friday night lights on a 100 foot boom

Yep, Saturday was muddy too. Sure am glad I had a single speed with disc brakes.

Post race ritual - standing in line for the power washer

Troy's luck was shitty for the first two days. Saturday busted der less than 1/2 a lap after another great start.

Time to clean it up and pack it away for the trip home

Matt raced great all weekend and consistently improved every race. 11th, 9th and 8th!

Mmmm....mud!

Ned taking the fence line with the left handed portage

Todd Wells dominated all weekend

Money! Not many takers in the Elite race.

Ned in your face!

Not many takers of beer hand ups either. That's cool. More beer for us!

Troy Wells had a great Friday finishing second to his bro, but DNF'd on Saturday

Ned is a bad ass. He finished 9th on Saturday and 10th on Sunday.

The top of Mt. Krumpit was lined with a horde of spectators having a great time heckling the Elite racers

Nice remount

Todd Wells with the victory on Saturday

Sunday the Lincoln crew was hoping for better luck and no more mechanicals

Workin' the pits for the 2/3 race - Everyone survived the race without busting a der or der hanger!

Troy crossing the line in 4th on Sunday! Great job to all the Nebraska and Kansas racers this weekend! Good luck at Nationals fellas!

Early Turkey day ride - 35 miles in before 8 AM

2009-11-26T09:56:00.005-06:00

The infamous "O" Street at 5 AM - No traffic!

Sure was cold out this morning. Wind chill was below 20 degrees. Busted out the Lake Winter boots and the winter mitts. It's tough getting up and out the door around 4 AM, but once you're moving it's all good.

Matt and Nathan - early morning regulars

Thanks again for hosting the ride today Nathan. Also thanks for the coffee and banana bread! Good stuff!

Dark gravel

We ended up doing a small loop North of town and called it good around 7:30 AM. Beautiful ride. The stars and the planet Mars were visible in the clear dark morning sky. The sunrise was epic. Also kicked up some deer from a corn field on the way back into town.

This early morning ride is really something I'm beginning to enjoy.

Cyclocross Rocks!

2009-11-22T23:07:00.002-06:00

Lincoln Cyclocross 2009 from Cornbread on Vimeo.

Lincoln Cyclocross Weekend 2009

2009-11-22T21:41:00.017-06:00

This happens every year. After the Lincoln Cross race I beat myself up for not racing cyclocross more often. Why? This weekend was an absolute blast, that's why. The course was awesome (as usual), the weather was ideal, Hooligan Hill didn't disappoint, the turnout was exceptional and no one got hurt. Yep, perfect.

Thanks to everyone who made this past weekend great. Next year will be even better. I guarantee.

"The Chute"

DK on the drums - Ah Yeah! Full band next year, baby!

Nate in The Chute. Too fast for my camera.

James B powerin' up The Chute.

MG headin' for the downside of Hooligan Hill.

Troy (Troy's rump in the pic) and Jesse dukin' it out. Jesse would go on to win the Nebraska Cat 3 State Championship. Congrats!

Nate, dollar bill in mouth, almost took me out in this pic. Whew.

Mark Studnicki got himself a pair of War Axe socks. Thanks for coming up for the race dude!

Matt negotiating The Chute with ease.

I've never had money spit at me, but it's always been a dream of mine. Thanks for fulfilling that dream, Nate! Next time make it hundies!

We even got the winner of Saturday and Sunday's races, Brian Jensen, to smile while hittin' The Chute. I think CVO said something about someone's sister.

Battle going on here. Best battle of the entire race.

More socks!?! Studnicki is cleanin' up on the War Axe Sox! Get some War Axe sox here!

Another great pose!

Carp throwin' down. Dude, you did awesome this weekend. Have fun on the bird hunt.

Mod! No wig today. All bizness.

Who wants to get PAID!?!

Battle for State Championship going on here. Troy up front with Jesse and Matt close behind.

Smiles, that's what it's all about. Well, that and pain. Lots and lots of pain.

Lincoln Cross Race this weekend!

2009-11-20T18:53:00.002-06:00

The crew is ready for action tomorrow

This is one of my favorite weekends of the year. The Lincoln Cross race is always a joyous event. Everyone seems to have a great time before, during and after the race. And that's what it's all about.

It's been well over a month since my last and only cross race weekend of the year. Ah, I don't care, it'll be fun no matter how much it hurts.

Trans Iowa V6 postcard

2009-11-15T20:13:00.002-06:00

Coming at ya Guitar Ted

After staring at the postcards at Avant Card for about 20 minutes, I finally gave up on the idea that I needed to find a postcard that "defines me" and just grabbed the stupidest one they had in stock. In doing so maybe I did grab the one that defines me.

Short Sunday ride

2009-11-15T15:07:00.008-06:00

North 27th rollers - Hey, I see Matt and Jesse!

The crew was small today most likely due to the threatening weather. North wind kept the temps in the 30's with wind chill. Yep, it's about time for the Lake Winter boots.

Not a sound

Ninja dog ran with Schmidty and I for a bit. The pooch was stoked to have someone to play with. Not one bark.

Blood trail

Signs of the first weekend of rifle season for deer appeared a few times on the gravel.

Hat trick

Number three for Mark on the day. Couldn't find anything in the tire or rim strip. Bad luck I guess.

Big load

Wrapped up the ride at Cafe Indigo in the Hay Market for a free espresso. Anyone that rides to the cafe on Sunday gets a free espresso. Good stuff.

Saturday gravel fun

2009-11-14T13:44:00.008-06:00

Rollin' out

The gravel posse reached double digits today. We headed North towards Valparaiso after some coffee at The Mill. The ride started out a bit chilly, but quickly warmed up when the sun came out.

Never thought I'd see the day - Wills on the smart phone

Hit "B road" on our way into Valparaiso. Those of you who rode the 2009 GLGA probably remember that road well. It was dry and fast today.

Rural lawn ornament

On the way back into town on the 27th street gravel just North of Kawasaki, Jim Winklepleck had a little run in with a pretty good sized dog. The dog came at Jim in a full sprint and T-boned Jim as he was clippin' along. I don't know how Jim was able to keep it upright, but he did. Jim, you got some skills and some bad luck with dogs.

The collision made a terrible noise. Kinda like picking up your bike and throwing it down to the ground as hard as you can. The dog was visibly injured. It tucked it's tail and limped back to where it came from. Jim's bike was fine.

I've never seen that dog before. Maybe it was over for a visit. Weird.

Tanker fly over

We wrapped up the ride with around 55 to 60 miles. Another great day on the bike. Thanks for the ride fellas! More of the same tomorrow.

Registration for Trans Iowa is open!

2009-11-13T13:16:00.003-06:00

Registration for Trans Iowa V6 has opened for vets of the event. Guitar Ted has the info on his blog. 340 miles (or as many miles as my body will take me) of Iowa gravel in late April. Sounds good to me.

I need to stop by Avant Card and pick up my postcard on the way home from work. Who else is in for some extra long gravel fun?

Sunday fun day!

2009-11-08T18:06:00.019-06:00

Double pace lining the Homestead Trail south

Another good sized crew of folks met up at Meadowlark Coffee for an 8:30 departure. The wind was stiff all day and taking a turn up front was a challenge. We don't have mountains, but we have plenty of wind.

Barely visible cemetery

On the way to Wilber for brunch at the Wilber Hotel, Aaron, Jesse, Sydney and I came across an interesting piece of history. I think it was Sydney who spotted it. At the top of a small mound hiding in the tall grass next to a corn field was a 19th century cemetery. The cemetery is on SW 72nd Street between Ash and Aspen Roads.

Not in bad shape considering the age

The whole Marsh family is buried here. Another smaller enclosed cemetery (the Sykes family) is only a few feet from this one.

Here lies William Marsh

Can you figure out the inscription at the bottom?

This marker is the wife (first wife?) of William Marsh. Only 33 years, 6 months, and 16 days old when she passed away. Sobering reality of the life expectancy in a world without modern medicine that was just five generations ago.

I tried to figure out the inscription at the bottom. German is the language. The first word is misspelled. It should read, "Selig sind die im Herrn sterben". Using several translating websites, I believe it's most likely, "Blessed are those that die in the Lord"

Note the headstone in the upper left - Jasper M. Sykes

The pic above is of the second smaller cemetery which probably pre-dates the larger one. This assumption is based on the date of death (1878) on the largest headstone of Mary A (wife of Jasper).

Jasper M. Sykes - Civil War Veteran and Grand Army of the Republic member

This goes to prove that you can find just about anything on the internet. A very brief and interesting read of the life of Jasper M. Sykes. Civil War veteran who fought with General Sherman, stanch Republican, successful farmer, and husband to Mary.

Finally dry enough for harvest!

Hey fellas!

Soon to be harvested

Another great ride today. Thanks everyone! Looking forward to hitting more gravel next weekend.

Satur-Yay!

2009-11-07T14:25:00.004-06:00

Gravel posse- great seeing everyone today!

Beautiful day in Nebraska. Temps reached mid 60's by the turn around point. Ditched the arm warmers and knee warmers for short sleeves and shorts by the end of the ride. Didn't quite make it to North Bend for a gravel hundy. The North wind was a bit more intense than the forecast had indicated. So Ceresco ended up being the destination. A nice 60 miler for the day. Nothing too crazy.

Rural gravel beauty

Yep, that's Nebraska gravel for ya. Endless possibilities for rides in every direction. No matter which way you go you'll hit a small town about 15 to 25 miles out of Lincoln. Perfect for 50 to 60 mile rides.

Good Problem

Post ride lunch at the ever popular Grateful Bread. Line out the door at this Freakbeat Vegetarian bakery/soup shop. Will they ever make the Amish Cinnamon Rolls again? I asked that question last week. The answer is no. Bummer.

Drop bar mountain bike lovin'

2009-11-03T21:16:00.003-06:00

Went through Wilderness on the way home from work today on the Fargo. Glad I had my light with me cuz it got dark before I knew it. Keeping the light charged is gonna be a daily ritual from here on out until Spring next year.

Tonight was my first off road ride with the Fargo. I've taken it on plenty of gravel and crushed limestone, but no dirt. Just never had the opportunity. Well, after hitting the dirt I gotta admit, drop bar mountain bikes on flat singletrack such as Wilderness Park are quite amazing. It felt much more natural than a traditional flat bar and the fat tires chewed everything up. I pretty much felt invincible on that thing. To be fair, my perspective is probably a bit skewed right now since I ride cross bikes all the time. Anything with a fatter tire will feel better on singletrack. But it wasn't just the tires. There's something else that I can't quite put my finger on. I will say the bike fit really well and is obviously well designed. Kudos to Salsa.

Maybe this drop bar mountain bike thing will be the next new old school craze. Travis Brown rocked a drop bar on his 26 inch mountain bike for Leadville last year and did really well. He's convinced it's the way to go for a race like Leadville.

Wills you were right. Drop bar mountain bikes are wicked.

Sunday!

2009-11-01T16:10:00.009-06:00

Meadowlark Coffee rally point. Matt, why so sad?

Ash road on the way to Wilber.

Aaron wants me to take his picture. Done.

Wilber Hotel for brunch. The "real" bikers beat us there.

Slim pickins by the time we show up. Fresh biscuits, eggs and coffee soon followed this pic. Score! $5.95 per plate. The new off-season Bacon Ride.

Homeboy in the background isn't too impressed with our cheesy pose.

Good dog. Didn't bark at all. Just ran along with us for a bit and then stopped and headed back for home when I told her/him to "Go home". Oh, getting pics of dogs chasing on gravel is my "new thing".

Ran into this skinny transient on the way home. He asked us for money. I gave him some pocket change.

The colors are peakin'. Beautiful day on the bike. Got up to 72 degrees. Might be the last really nice one of the year. Hope you got out and enjoyed it.

We be rollin'......they be chasin'

2009-10-31T14:45:00.005-05:00

Buses

Beagles

Black dogs

Rural traffic

They can't stop the gravel posse