Ride Notes & Manawa TNR

Last weekend I got a solid 6 hours of ridin, mostly on snowy/icy/wet pavement, riding my hardtail all over.  Saturday I chased Kevin on pavement & gravel towards Ft. Calhoun, then did a very similar route Sunday with Rox & Hardcore Harlan.  Longest rides for me since May.  Its been awhile, but I appreciate everyone's encouragement to get back in the game.  Rumor has it that the expert field is expanding this year, so I need to protect my 13th place finishes.  

Thursday Jan 15th could be a great night for a snow ride.  Put on every piece of gear you own, snap on the heater packs, take some pressure out of your fattest tires, and we should get pretty darn good traction around Lake Manawa.  Spicy hot Mongolian Grill afterwards to warm up the body. Meet at Manawa SP parking lot at 6:00pm, rolling by 6:15pm.  Who's in?

No rain in mid-town...yet

Things are still dry in mid-town. weather.com is calling for scattered strong thunderstorms throughout the day. Man I hope we get to ride tonight.

Looks like Perry might actually happen this weekend. Even with Thursday/Friday rains we've got Saturday to dry out. Plenty of rocks down there, time to start thinking about tire selection.

TNR: Keep your fingers crossed

Ran into RF and Tim at Swanson last night and we're thinking we just might make the TNR this week. Scattered thunderstorms are in the forecast so if we're lucky...

Plan on meeting at Swanson at 6:00 PM, roll out at 6:15 PM. Looks like we'll be heading to the 'Lil Burro for some chicken tequilla or fish tocos afterwards.

I've been talking to lots of new folks that are just getting into the scene or have recently moved here. I hope everyone can make. All levels of riders are welcome.

If it rains I'll post something Thursday morning.

TNR

Will we ever get to ride this year?

TNR: Time for dirt

Members of the MTBO staff were out hiking L&C and the word is...

RIDEABLE!

First dirt of the year. Join us.

Where: Lewis and Clark Monument parking lot.

When: Thursday, March 27th

What time: Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:15pm

Food to follow, who's hungry for what?

TNR Wrap & the Weekend Ahead

Super fun night at the ole TNR. We had some L&C rookies show so we showed them the ropes. All the lads came through with flying colors. The first lap always gets me at L&C. The climbs will crush you. We even timed it perfectly as it just started to spit rain as we were loading up the vehicles.

I think this was only my third time at L&C this year. I know, I can't believe either. The trail report goes like this. There are a few downed timbers (none requiring off the bike menuveurs) but overall the trail is in awesome shape. The descents are smooth, fast and flowing. I have a feeling I'm going to be spending quite a bit more time at L&C this fall.

Looking ahead to the weekend...there's the 155 run that the FFL crew is hitting up...or there's the sugarbottom scramble in Iowa City (highly recomended)...or there's the bacon ride, Anne and I have been a little delinquent on attending the bacon ride this year but we've got a few weeks left. I called the park this morning and the buffet will be going through the end of month. So if you're down, Annie and I will be making the ride out. Leaving midtown with big gears on the SS's around 6am, hopefully meeting team evil unicorn, (Sam, Snob, and Nut) as well as whoever else isn't hitting up the 155.

Welp, thanks again for the ride tonight fellas, let's do it again next week.

Thursday Night Ride for Aug 16: Special!

Two old friends are back in town and want to see familiar faces at their old stomping grounds! Josh & Racquel Doolittle will be Omaha later this week and have contacted us to request the TNR at Swanson! Come out and see how Jash's new west coast riding skills will adjust back to the home soil. Dinner at Lil Burro to follow.

T - N - R

Time to crank it up.

Who's down with JEWELL?

I don't think I've ridden there all year, and I could use some suffering.

Meet at 6:00 PM

Ride at 6:15 PM

TNR preride

Good group of folks were out finding the sweet lines through the Manawa singletrack. The trail is dry and fast, but you're going to have to watch out for sand. It's getting pretty deep in some spots.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend. The race is going to be sweet. Racing bikes, hanging out with friends, having a drink or two by the river. Good times indeed.

Time to throw down $60 for a racing license. Gonna make the plunge back into the expert field. But with 'cross season just around the corner i gotta do it sometime. I haven't raced expert since selling all my geared mtb's. But the time has come to return. Can't wait to elbow Shim into the first turn!

Yeah, it's gonna be a good weekend.

TNR, just might happen

Looking at the forecast and knowing the fast dry conditions at Manawa we just might get dirt time for the TNR. Rain should taper off tomorrow morning giving us 36 hours of dry time. If it's wet, we'll just hit a paved C.B. loop or maybe a Wabash run.

Where: Lake Manawa

When: Meet @ 6:00 pm, ride @ 6:15 pm

Food to follow.