Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Local legend


I've heard stories of this giant old blowout near where I live for years & finally paid it a visit. A blowout is formed in the Sandhills of Nebraska from years of wind blowing unstable, sandy soil & perhaps a few too many cows grazing & tromping the grass,think of a giant cereal bowl of sand getting an air compressor hose blown in it, this one has been taken care of over the years & the grass is now flourishing in it again


this former blowout is large enough it's easily visible on google earth, if you know where to look


this is on the south end looking back north from on top of the big dirt pillar in the next photo


this dirt pillar kind of reminded me of a miniature Chimney Rock, near Scottsbluff, NE


still rockin' the bikepacking set-up & it's working GREAT!


Dirt iceberg?


how do you like your singletrack? "I'll take mine poached, thank you very much"


now part of the local legend is that there was an old cave dug into a dirt bank in this area back in the days of prohibition hiding a working still, I don't think this would be unheard of from the stories I've heard about some of the more colorful characters in this area in those days (heck, could even happen around here today) after all, this IS the WILD WEST!



evidence perhaps?



prairie moonrise, not gonna lie folks, that line of car headlights is westbound I-80 traffic Sunday night after Thanksgiving, this place is THAT close, hard to believe that because once you're down inside the middle of it, it's peaceful & quiet, another trivial fact is that this thing is smack dab on the edge of the original Pony Express Trail according to more local legend, DANG, just when I thought I was running out of new places to explore, what's next?



Friday, November 27, 2009

Bikepackin' day trip

I've been anxious to try out a new system I'm working on for carrying my sleeping bag for some overnighters I'm planning in the future & this rough, rutty road was the perfect test!


it seems to be the ticket for not a lot of $$$, less than $30 for the compression bag & 2 straps & it rides quite stable & is out of the way of my light, amazingly my wireless computer still works despite being blocked by the bag.


this was Lake McConaughy, north of Ogallala & that is looking east back towards Kingsley Dam & the "Morning Glory" where the water goes through the dam


looking back into a bay that is filling up after several years of very low levels


looking west, thats a boat heading into the dock there on the left side


my set up thus far, Sea to Summit e Vent compression bag on the front, Jandd frame bag & Jandd seat pouch, not pictured, on my back, a Gary Fisher pack with 100 oz water bladder & plenty of room for other items

canyons, cedars & lots of water

lookout point, hard to see the horizon with the water being as smooth as glass, kind of blends in with the sky


looking west over the lake as the sun's getting ready to set, this lake is over 20 miles long & 5 miles wide when full, Nebraska's largest lake

looking down to the northwest from the top of the dam, that is Lake Ogallala

looking down to the east, the thing at the bottom is a hydropower plant


I got lucky & found a short stretch of sweet, rocky singletrack


lifestyles of the rich & famous! this is called Million Dollar Bay, I wonder why?

looking down at the rocks


another secluded bay


cruise ship of the "redneck riviera"

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Cowbell continues! day two


the crowd gathering for day 2 cross action on Hooligan Hill

besides some really sweet, pimped out cross bikes



there was this SWEET rat ride cruiser

Cornbread on his way to sweet success


traffic jam in "the chute"


there's that dog again checking out what's cookin'


a little football between laps


background music compliments of CC Rider


"get it on, bang a gong, get it on"


what goes up must come down


this kind of puts the cowbells to shame!


top female Lincoln rider Sydney Brown chillin' on the hill after her race



cvo feeding the fire for more hot dog & bacon handouts

Lane back at it for his second day of racing


sportin' the bumble bee socks


get over & up it


and then down it


through the chute


he should have got extra points for stylin'


his efforts landed him in second place for day two, more loot!


MG showing more grace than a deer over that hurdle



and the only guy attempting to jump them was Nate, not quite spaced right for him to clear them both but he tried twice & it was an awesome sight to see his efforts put forth

it was all business for the elite's on this day as this was for the state championship


MG through the chute


cyclocross kicks ass & is a blast even as a spectator sport, I sure hope to be back on Hooligan Hill again next year at this time

Sunday, November 22, 2009

MORE COWBELL! day one



while there was a whole bunch of folks wearing red & congregating in downtown Lincoln for some reason, the COOL KIDS were watching cyclocross action on Hooligan Hill!


besides the cowbells there was this hanging bmx frame gong


the masters lining up...


...and their off!


HUP, HUP, HUP!


come on man...you know you want that hot dog!



the legendary Darkside



the Darkside's bob trailer cleverly converted to do double duty


that's my boy Lane taking off the line of his first ever cyclocross race, 3rd from the right


use your skillz to pay the billz!


lookin' purdy good!


by mid race he's the third one out overall & leading the junior division by a landslide


sprinting for the finish...


...for some 1st place loot!


the man, the myth, the legend, cvo


a honey with some money!


come on boys, don't be afraid to grab ya some of THAT!


UHHH...ok...if the first one's not your style then you can get ya some of this, & if you have your doubts about it, that was an Andrew Jackson to make it a little easier!


come on MG, you know you want to! LOL!


Cornbread getting some handouts


it's an excellent combo for cross racing, beats the hell out of those powerbars!


DUUUDE! Fire it UP!


doggone hot dog thievin' dog!


$$$ TREE


Cornbread rockin' the ss class


with a little help he's OFF!


Nate Woodman flying his own Monkey Wrench Cycles kit


yooou caaan dooo iiit!

MORE COWBELL!



need a break before finishing that last lap? Hooligan Hill is the place to do it! this was day one & Lane & I had so much fun we decided we better stay & do it again on Sunday, so stay tuned folks, we have more good stuff to come this week, don't want to drop the whole load in one sitting




















Monday, November 16, 2009

GAME TIME!


With football season a past memory oldest son Delley is back to playing his favorite game, to the victor go the spoils!

Delley, "Bubba" & Spencer limiting out by 9:00 am in the middle of a cornfield lagoon

Spencer, Delley & Justin sporting a a few ducks including a couple of woodies, Delley & Justin's first!

Delley, Justin & Spencer again, this is what they do when school get's called off the night before because of 12" of snow, get up at 4:30 am & drive to the duck blind in a raging blizzard, AHHH YOUTH!

Delley, Jordan, Spencer & Tim, DANG, they ran out of shells on this one so didn't limit out! Can't wait to start cooking duck jambalaya to fuel some hunting trips & bike rides, if you don't ride a bike then go shoot some ducks, IT'S ALL GOOD!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Elusive hobo camp...FOUND!



An overcast, blustery day found me pedaling the canal, again, heading west.


the canal is barely knee deep this time of year for maintenance

this "Old Crow" apparently bit the "Bulleit"!

this is called the flume & it's where the canal crosses a large canyon, like a bridge for water, how ironic


this is a shot of the flume from the top side, years ago we had a couple of 2000# herd bulls get into a tangle about 1 mile upstream from this & one of them ended up in the canal & was unable to get out due to the steep, cement sides. The canal was running brim full & he went shooting through here like he was running the rapids, shortly after this the sides go back to rock sides & not as steep & he was able to climb out on his own, he immediately laid down in the middle of the road for the rest of the day, totally spent!



no room for error here as it's a long way down there!



got tired of fighting the wind & needed to head up a canyon to get out of it for awhile & "SCORE"...a great little hobo camp complete with picnic table, chairs, firewood, shovel, even a can of gas to start a girl scout fire!

this is looking straight up from where the firepit was & there's somebody taking up residence in that hole. We used to always see these holes in these canyons while horseback & one day I was curious as to what was doing all the white washing so I rode up to one on my horse & stood up on the saddle to peak inside, heard some hissing & once my eyes adjusted to the darkness in the hole saw a group of baby barn owls with mom & she was not happy, what was cool though is the entire hole was lined in fur from rabbits & whatever else mom brought home for the kids to eat, I remember my horse not being real impressed with the smell & the hissing of the owls but he tolerated it long enough for me to enjoy the moment.


these hobos apparently have good taste!

with fighting the wind I needed to re-fuel before my trip home


AHHH! the life of a hobo...good times indeed!

Practicing for some cowbell!



Lane's opted to skip b-ball this winter to spend more time on the bike, cyclocross bike to be exact. He'll make his debut in Lincoln in a little over a week for his first ever cyclocross race, meanwhile it's practice time.

hup, hup, hup!