Ride in peace Dave Blumenthal

I've been a Tour Divide fan now for around 4 years or more & it's crazy how one becomes a huge fan of a person I've never met in my life through their personal blog & other sites like bikepacking.net Well that's what happened when I started following Dave Blumenthal from Vermont, he's the type of guy I would of loved to met face to face & maybe pedal a few miles with, unfortunately Dave's life was cut short last Thurs following a tragic accident while racing the Tour Divide.

This type of news really hits hard for all the fans & especially the racers I'm sure, Dave leaves behind a wife & young daughter who need all your prayers right now to get through this. Puts that race in perspective & what the riders face out there on their journey to try to complete this thing, be careful out there folks & ride in peace Dave.

Long-haul truckers!

Meet Marcus & Dirk from Orlando, FL who my wife met at our local grocery store Fri. pm & invited them to hang out with us for the evening as the temps for cycling were nearly unbearable. They took us up on it & checked out the local swimming pool then we showed them some good ol' Nebraska hospitality by grilling them some steaks & bar-hopping with them in our bustling little town (we hit all 3 bars in an hour!)

Anyways, did I mention they were cycling? Yeah they sure are, from Florida to Alaska! They started mid May & are well over 2000 miles, follow their journey at www.iloveadventuring.com we kept them out a little late but they were early risers as they were gone this morning when we got up to start breakfast, sorry we missed you guys, best of luck in your journey & if you're ever back through stop & see us. Hope you made Bridgeport today like you planned, truly inspiring!

Game time!

High noon today, June 11, Banff Alberta, Canada was the start of my Super Bowl, the only "sporting event" I care to follow every year the 2010 Tour Divide. Totally self-supported bicycle race from Banff, Canada to Antelope Wells, N.M.

I totally admire anyone who even lines up for this event yet alone finishes it, this is no Tour de France with team cars, feed bags, domestiques & masseuses, this is the real deal, the heart & soul of extreme endurance bicycle racing, what these folks will have will be snowy passes, grizzly bears, mud, sleeping in a bivvy bag alone at night, convenience store food & thunderstorms in the middle of nowhere for 2745 miles if they complete the entire route.

Forty-eight brave souls signed up this year & the adventure will be worth following on the blog at www.tourdivide.org including call-in podcasts, spot leader board & pics. Now go ride your bike this weekend & keep these folks in your thoughts & prayers!

Safety in numbers!

sunday some friends of ours were coming through on a self-contained 4 day bike tour up to follow the BRAN(Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska) ride for one day so after lunch at the Windy Gap with them we joined them for a nice ride to Lake McConaughy where they were going to camp for night before heading north on monday to Hyannis where BRAN was stopping for the night

re-group

this was the reward once we arrived at the lake, REAL malts, MMM!

this was the establishment that had those malts & may be a new bike riding destination on the east side of Martin Bay

this shot would have been mostly sand this time of year last year but Martin Bay is filled back up, highest water levels in 10 years

this is when it got crazy, Lane & I decided we were up for an adventure again & I think those crazy Lincolnites inspired this. Road bikes on gravel, yes folks, very skinny, smooth, high-pressure tires on loose gravel for 14 miles & an approaching storm behind us!

focus Lane, focus!

ride & smile!

this was the cyclocross, sandtrap hazard & Lane handled it well. That is the canal flowing overhead back there across that canyon, yep, a bridge FOR water!

Ridin' the storm out!

eight miles to go & we just started getting wet the last couple miles, the gravel on skinny tires was crazy & we could feel the workout of keeping it upright in our arms & shoulders, good time though with 50 miles in round trip. Come join us sometime for a cycling adventure, you never know what we've got up our sleeve!

Base miles!

That's what I've been up too lately, sorry, no pics as it's been on skinny tires down the blacktop, not many interesting things to see so I don't usually take the camera. Tonight was good though as Jessie & I left home at 6:00pm to try to make it to Lewellen, 52 miles west before dark, had to pull the plug 10 miles short though due to DARKNESS! Oldest son came & picked us up but before he arrived we watched a spectacular thunderstorm brew in the southeast.

Another 100 miles & I've got more miles in than I rode the entire year of '09, not sure why I'm pushing it more this year, I have nothing in mind (ok, I've got a couple of twisted ideas in mind for later on!) but no races planned, no BRAN or RAGBRAI. It just feels good to be out again riding more miles after a rather stressful year last year of learning a new job & getting in the swing of things.

The Fargo build is advancing at a snail's pace but that's alright as I think once it's done my other bikes will be collecting dust, but still looking forward to getting it decked out & pointed towards ADVENTURE! Meanwhile, "ride & smile"!

Potter's Pasture Spring 2010 gathering

It was a great weekend to set up camp at Potter's Pasture to get in some riding, socializing, cooking over a fire & having a few cold brews.

It got a little chilly so it was nice having a furry tent mate!

Tate the pint-sized pointer & an old grey coyote greeting the morning

A Potter's Pasture virgin on the left, Paul "the Furnaceman" Siebert was doing

GREAT for his first time out singletracking on a singlespeed no less. Besides being able to rip it on a mt bike Paul can keep the tunes flowing for an entire night around a campfire, check him out www.paulsiebert.net & as usual, Lane on the right was ripping up the trails, "cross style" this time out!

Looking back down in the valley this is Horse Shoe trail

And how appropriate is this...there is now a church pew on top of Church Grove trail

A pew with a view!

the legendary Mr. Potter (second from left) is the current caretaker of this GREAT place to camp, ride & hang out with friends & I think all who attend are grateful for his contributions as I don't think mountain biking in western Nebraska would be the same without Potter's Pasture, come & check it out sometime & I'm sure you to will have a big old smile on your face like everyone else does after spending a day out there.

Potter's Pasture Spring Campout

This weekend, April 16.17 & 18 bring a bike to ride trails with like-minded individuals, bring some favorite beverages for around the fire, potluck cookout on Saturday night, I've even heard rumors of a musician being there for part of it. Bring a tent, sleeping bag, camper or whatever you roll & show up & HAVE FUN! Check out more details on how to get there at www.potterspasturemtb.blogspot.com or the Cycle Sport facebook page.