The perfect windmill shot?

I don't claim to be a a professional photographer but it's something that I enjoy & if time & money were no issue I would dive into it a little deeper, but until then I'll keep clicking with my Olympus Stylus 850 SW & one of my favorite subjects have always been windmills.

with modern technology these days it seems even windmills in this part of the country are getting scarcer, people are replacing them with submersible wells & solar panels & such

kind of reminds me of 35 mm cameras getting replaced with digital, when my wife & I got married we bought a Canon Photura 35 mm camera & I eventually figured it out & took some bitchin' pictures with it over the years, now along comes new technology & this ol' coyote has to try & learn new tricks!

so maybe someday I'll learn this new camera & actually take some decent pics with it, then I suppose they'll come out with something else & I'll have to start over again!

until then I'll keep on exploring the backroads with my bike, looking west into the sunsets & trying to track down one last windmill for the "perfect windmill shot"

I'd like to dedicate this post to my daughter Dakota who is in Sweden for a year, living, learning & hopefully laughing plenty. Before she left we took some GREAT father/daughter bike rides & watched the sunsets over our prairie home, some days while riding all I can think about are those rides & how much I miss her but so glad she's having this opportunity & hoping she's enjoying the sunsets over in Sweden.

We will have more sunset rides when you return Dakota, I PROMISE! I love you & miss you!

Another memorable Potter's trip!

with the weather not being very typical for this time of year & a few folks wanting to pull another overnighter at Potter's pasture the only logical thing to do was to gather the camping gear & load the bike & "head east"!

what was to follow was an abbreviated tour of Ireland with a little Germany thrown in along with a seasonal tour through a pumpkin patch then back to Ireland for "Irish Car Bombs", thanks again to Gordon the "tour guide extraordinaire"!

no need for a tent this trip as my friend Paul "the Furnaceman" Siebert had plenty of room in his pyramid tent complete with wood stove for a cozy night when we finally did turn in around 2 am AFTER a little Canjo jamming (a banjo made from a tin can!) & some saltine crackers with kippered herring snacks, a long standing tradition in this tent!

besides providing lodging for the night Paul provided evening & morning entertainment as this is what he does for a living when not camping & cycling, here he is on Sat morn with his hammer dulcimer treating the breakfast club to some music

Paul has a HUGE library of songs floating around in his head along with a bunch of original tunes, chances are you can name a song & he can play it, especially some of the good ol' country tunes & hippy music, he also plays some classical music, Irish ballads & such on that hammer dulcimer that goes over well at some of the weddings he plays

special guest rider this time was my oldest son Delley who came out for night from college after work & he joined in on the Sat morning ride on my old TREK I brought out for him. He used to tear it up out here on a bike but it's been about 4 years since he's rode so I was glad to see him back on 2 wheels, notice the smile on his face, bicycle induced again!

another great night of camping & a morning ride followed by some corned beef hash & fresh elk steaks for lunch & it was back to "the real world"!

Day 2-Lincoln Cyclocross

day two of our cyclocross weekend found us in Lincoln for the Flatwater Classic Cyclocross race at Van Dorn park, a very well run race I thought

MG's backup steed the sweet Salsa Vaya

a shortcut through the woods left me looking like I had a run in with a porcupine, not sure what these were but they were everywhere on my socks, shoes & pants

I also had to be careful for the Yeti lurking in the woods, as did the racers

a bell ringing Yeti at that, obviously a HUGE cyclocross fan!

Cornbread was back at it for day two

for another Cat 1,2,3 men's 4th place finish

these ladies kind of reminded me of the Interbike hotties in their full kits, except these gals knew how to ride & race a bike!

just some casual observers watching the awards

Lane dashing through the woods, good thing he gets some practice time in at Potter's Pasture, minus the Yeti of course

more hurdle jumping

crankin' it out at the finish line...

for another 1st place finish in the jr. division, WAY TO GO LANE! Next up is another 2 day roadtrip back to Lincoln on Nov. 20-21, Pioneer Park for MORE COWBELL!

Weekend cyclocross action-Norfolk, NE

with state cross country over with last friday in Kearney, the bikes were all loaded, ready to go & we were off to Norfolk after the xc run to race some more for Lane in his first cyclocross race of the season

he raced the junior division which was run with the category 4 men's so it was stacked about 28 racers at the start

one of the first major obstacles was this giant pinwheel of death

Corey "Cornbread" Godfrey of the legendary "D Street Hotel" in Lincoln handled the dreaded pinwheel with ease in the Cat 1,2,3 class

he played it cool to go on for a 4th place finish

a sweet ride to haul bikes around with!

Lane negotiating the downhill chute through the trees

HUP, HUP, HUP...over the hurdles

through the dreaded pinwheel of death

powering through the sandtrap, earning him a first place, now load the bikes & head back southeast to Lincoln for day two of cyclocross racing...stay tuned!

Fall gathering-Potter's pasture

with Lane's Jeep loaded, the bikes racked & Tate riding guard it was time to get away & decompress for the weekend at...

...Potter's Pasture

fresh water at this campsite was NOT a problem!

accommodations for the night was my folks early 90's Eureka tent & my retro early 80's Camp Trails sleeping bag & with an all night drizzle I was warm & dry

thanks to Gordon we had a delightful Octoberfest tasting before we went...

...AROUND THE WORLD!

once a pot of beer simmered brats was consumed it was time to gear up & head out...

...to watch the sun set & the moon crest over the communications tower to the west

then turn on the lights & hit the trail for an AWESOME night ride

what a great time & to see eight sets of lights bouncing down the trail like fireflies dancing through the canyon at night is a sight to behold

the landmark windmill on the hill at Potter's is always a welcome sight after a long week of the "real world" what a great way to spend a weekend!

Campout omelets 101

I wouldn't have believed this if I hadn't of seen it myself but my new friend Gordon showed me how to do this over a weekend campout & I was amazed!

first you start by washing your hands like any good chef & it helps to have a camp sink with a foot pump & copper faucet, but if you don't have that just use any water/soap source.

it also helps to have an elaborate "omelet bar" like this but I think you could get by with a rock by the river or a log in the woods for a table

start by breaking/beating 2 eggs up then add your favorite ingredients, in this case we used green & red peppers, two kinds of onions, diced ham, cheese, salt/pepper & onion salt & mix thoroughly in a pint sized ziploc bag, squeeze all the air out, seal up tightly & if you have a bunch in camp with different tastes make sure to write your name on the bag with a sharpie so they don't get mixed up.

drop your omelet bag into a boiling pot of water, put the lid on & forget about it for 12-15 minutes, then pull it out, open the bag &...

...the PERFECT campsite omelet! These were a little salsa or hot sauce away from the perfect omelet but how simple & delicious & think of the options for toppings & what you like, how about bacon & mushrooms. I think you could wrap these up in a tortilla to eat if you were on the go, such a simple & neat idea, thanks for this treat today Gordon, was great sharing a camp with you & learning something new.

Pedal to end Polio

Last Saturday was the inagural "Pedal to end Polio ride" put on by the North Platte Sunrise Rotary Club which Jessie is now a member of & she did the ground work for this, her first fundraising event for the club.

Was a beautiful fall day for a ride around Lake Maloney & there was a shorter distance ride for kids & those who didn't want to go the long route. I hadn't rode this route in maybe 2-3 years & kind of enjoyed being out on the skinny- tired bike riding hills & playing in traffic with others. The cost was $15/person & they had 25 show up & that got them a t-shirt, lunch & a door prize (everyone got something) so was a nice event going to a good cause, helping eradicate polio around the world.

Look for this to go down again next year if you missed it, hopefully it will grow in size & become an annual event.