Polo @ 1

T-Bone gave me the gear before heading out to Portland... I'll be there at 1pm with Shad.

Omaha Bike Polo

Good crew last week. 12 strong, alternating players on dabs.

Snow's coming...

Is this a mockery of Bike Polo?

What next?

Bike Hero

Amazing.

Polo Tomorrow... 52 an' sunny - no excuses.

Bike Polo Omaha

Season opener is in the bag. Seven showed up for a good time, and didn't get let down. Getcher self out to Swanson on Sundays. Play at 1 pm - bring a beater bike and beverages. Mallets and gear provided.

Apologies for the crap vid. Shooting video with a camera in one hand, a polo mallet in the other and staying on 2 wheels while taking a shot or two gets bumpy...

2 Wheel Vote

There's something so right with riding to your polling place.
God bless America...

I Heart Chairs

Snapped this picture after voting this morning. You've seen this guy... I admire his dedication to the 2 wheel commute, but --

What's up with the chair, man?

Sunday Breakfast Ride

Big can

Tom

Hydration Techniques

The 5-mile stop

Days are getting crisp. Get the rides in while they're still golden. Here's the gps track from Waterloo's Depot to Standing Bear.

Fall Roadhouse

The Long Cut Taco Ride

Luck wasn't a lady tonight... more of a slow leak than anything

It's the diggy-diggy doc, y'all

Yeah, yeah... we get the hint

Sssssssssss...

Looking skyward at the S. Tower over the MO

Joe C. and I rode downtown after work to Farrels to meet Shad after work for a couple drinks and 2 Wheel stories before rolling down to the ped bridge. After the quick spin across the Missouri, Joe took a left, while Shad and I took a right. Couple more big beers at Ameristar to make sure we had enough calories and we're off. Finally pulled into Mineola after dodging drunk cyclists in the dark all the way south on the Trace.

Last ones in. Last ones out. Greeted by a flat front on Shad's Cannondale after we finish up our pitchers and tacos. Hmmm... pump it up and see how slow of a leak we're in for? Yup. We'll pump it up 4 or 5 more times before the night was over. Last one was on the bridge before replacing it after it stopped being a slow leak.

Nighty-night at 2:30 a.m.

Ped Bridge

East Tower

Underbelly

North

Had to do it. Snuck down after work to peep out the ped bridge. Fired up the gps and posted some tracks to trailguru:

Mid town crossing to Riverside Grille - check out that max speed!
Ped Bridge IA to NE
Then back home

Found out that the gps/trailguru app taps battery life. Also found out that there's a lot of folks on that thar bridge. Don't let the photos fool you there's people... just be warned - the people don't know trail etiquette. Walkers will literally carve in front of you, kids are playing all over it, and there's no "sides" east or west. Don't get me wrong - it's great to see folks out there using it.

Just go slow.

10/2 Taco Ride Callout

thanks cityrag.blog.com

Missed every single Thursday ride to Minny so far in 2008. That ends next week. This here's the callout for anyone down for taking the long cut to the Taco Ride - via the Ped Bridge. So head downtown after work on 10/2 and meet us at Farrel's about 4:30 to group up and kick it off. Probably try to leave by 5:30.

Should be about 45 miles round trip from downtown Omaha. But that's a wild ass guess. Might take a night cap at the Dubliner for their cheap-o Thursday night specials if we get out of Mineola in time and in one piece.

Next up: fun.

TrailGuru - Commute Home

Nabbed an iPhone 3G for my b-day a couple months ago, really diggin' it. The applications you can download are getting better and better. I've had one on my wish list that integrates w/ the gps on the phone and puts my saddle time on a map, including speeds and altitude and other nifty things.

Bingo - TrailGuru to the rescue.

I dorked out, downloaded the app over lunch, and turned it on for the ride home. It's a peach. Check out my tiny commute home here.

The Fog

Holy low lying clouds, batman... did you get a load of that fog yesterday on the commute?

After work spin

Corporate Cycling

Start

Rolling North from downtown

iPictures

Pete, Theresa & Tom. Not in picture - Uncle Terry

Corporate Cycling Challenge

Who's in? I'm down for some Ft. Calhoun stuff along with Pete and T... give a shout if you're planning on spinning. Route finds its way through some really nice hills north of town.

What you need to know.

My Spot

There comes a point on every ragbrai that I feel wonderfully lost in Iowa. There's an eery, complete lack of needing anything with a carefree sense of life. My mind freely wanders to nothing. It's always while on my bike, usually alone. This was where it hit me this year. If I'm lucky - the feeling lasts for a dozen or so miles. I highly recommend trying to find your spot.

Gnome-brai

Bed rest following the surgery.

Reflecting on RAGBRAI at a quaint cemetary.

Making friends in N. Liberty

Loading up the truck at O'Grady's in CB, I noticed the gnome had a bead of sweat building on his brow. It took just a half a second, after placing him on the Penske, he jumped to the ground. He knew this was going to be a scary trip. Looking down, I saw him busted in two at the knees. A collective gasp went out from Flashback. Was this going to doom the gnome's trip?

Jen O. quickly assessed the situation. "I can fix him." I had my doubts. He was busted bad. Jen would bring him back on Tuesday in Jefferson. The operation was a success. With a princess band-aid on his knee, and a Flashback tat on his pointy hat, he was ready to roll.

Thirty-six

The view was great, the wine was horrible

The Sutliff Cider made up for the wine. Deeelish.

Shad's photo op

The Trucker rolled great.

Harmonica-toting huggy bears. Todd + Greg = BFF

Quick Pics from Iowa

Dippin' in the MO

The Spoke Bracelet Guy (iTod on the right)

Big screen TDF action in downtown Harlan

Street performers in Harlan

Another ragbrai in the books. Team Flashback won, again.

Fat Tire Friendly Guide

Make sure you have
a good beer or five
while riding up
those hills of RAGBRAI.

Look for your chance to win one of two Fat Tire Cruisers - they're not for you SS or Fixie folks - they're 3-speed. They're fun. It's for charity. From the NBB Ranger in Iowa via the offices in Ft. Collins:

The New Belgium Beer Ranger will be hosting two parties along the route…the first in Ames at the West Towne Pub, the second in North Liberty at Eggy’s. Team Wonderbike info will be on hand at both sites, not to mention lots of fun, good beer, and the chance to win a New Belgium 3-speed Commuter Bike (the first of its kind) at both parties. All the money raised from the bike raffles will go to local charities.