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!

Freakin' at the Freaker's Ball!

Yep! If you weren't in downtown Paxton for Halloween you missed a GRAND time!

Halloween party at 5 Trails Winery after after about 100 kids paraded through the downtown business's for ticks & treats.

music by Paul "the Furnaceman" Siebert dressed as a wild mountain man playing some great classic hippy music

Jill the Genie & Disco Dale were there

Raphael the Teenage Mutant Turtle showed up to fight some crime

besides the great wine there was some ghoulish treats, yeah, that's a caramel covered purple onion hand delivered by a sneaky witch

there was even cheerleaders gone wild

yes folks, it's hard to beat a Saturday night in small town America with good friends, good music & good times, come on down & join us any weekend, we'll show you what fun's all about!

Guest rider

Guest gravel grinder Paul "the Furnace Man" Siebert passing through this weekend to play a double header, last night at the Windy Gap Saloon

tonight at 5 Trials Winery for a spooktacular Halloween party, should be a hoot, Paul's been enjoying cranking out some gravel miles on his brand new KONA 29 Unit

Prescription for happiness!

A large dose of Vitamin G...

...washed down with one of these makes for GOOD TIMES!

Perfect day at Potter's Pasture

Lane on the left, CQ on the right rolling along the ridge, Lane tore it up as usual despite having a 2" needle in his kneecap yesterday for a Cortisone shot to get him through State XC at Kearney this coming Friday.

Water break for Tate the trail-hound!

"Oh master...I LOVE Potter's Pasture!"

A young dog & old coyote at rest!

The man, the myth, the legend, Steve Potter

Haulin' ass west back to home, what a day, perfect weather, perfect trails, great way to spend the afternoon, get out & get ya some while the gettins' good!

Big Wheeled Ballyhoo Blues!

It was good while it lasted & then mother nature decided it needed to end! I went out on Friday for about 6 hrs. got a little ride in with my buddy Paul "the Furnaceman" (thanks for entertaining the troops with your guitar) & had to return for the kids' homecoming & that's when the weather turned. Woke up Sat am to 12-14" of snow so didn't make it back, I guess a few stuck it out & one of the best reports is at www.bikingfools.blogspot.com I'm glad those that showed up had fun & had the window of time that they did to enjoy it.

You can see more pics at www.potterspasturemtb.blogspot.com too. Thanks to all who helped to make it happen, Chad, Kyle & Paul for the endless hours of trail work, G-Ted for originating the concept & contributing to all things 29" in the bike world, MG for coming down & taking care of lining up donations, Buck for mowing, all the donors, sponsors, George & Patty for your years of mentoring the new cyclists in the area & the kick ass rides & events you help organize & last but not least, Mr. Steve Potter for letting many a motley crew show up & play in his pasture on any given day, thank you all!