Nebraska Life mag visits Potter's Pasture for the day !!

Nebraska Life mag visits for the day !!

We recently had the pleasure of spending the day with Chris Amundson editor and publisher of the magazine Nebraska Life. Chris brought along Dan Spray who is an avid MTB racer/rider to check out Potter's Pasture and do a ton of photo's for a future article in the mag. It was kinda nice to hook up with these guy's who happen to be from my hometown of Norfolk Ne. !! I will hopefully be riding with Dan on the trails they have built when I go back to visit family!! Chris has extended an offer for new subscriptions that are done either on line or via phone !! Just mention “Potter’s Pasture—Free Calendar with subscription” in the order form comment box atwww.NebraskaLife.com. Or, you can call them and order directly 800-777-6159 .

The climb out of "New Camp" CQ & Dan Spray
Jeff Caldwell droppin' in on Nugget
Dan Spray enjoying what Potter's has to offer
CQ on Ceder Ridge above "Old Camp"
The man himself Steve Potter !!!!!

Took a little trip .......... to Steamboat !!!

Steamboat Springs 

 It was August before we finally had enough time in between Merries summer sessions in school to arrange a trip !!! It also happened to coincide with Nichole and her beau to get to tag along making a family vacation. I hadn't been able to pull off the usual three to four visits to ride and just plain have some good times with my brother Bret in the place I simply call "Heaven on earth"!! So off we went !! I made the mandatory stop at Sierra Trading Post in Cheyenne to see what I could find. I scored some Teva sandles and I also nabbed a Craft riding jacket for ten bucks !!! I love Sierra !! We happened to catch the weekend of the last free summer show which featured G-Love and Special Sauce. Having never heard him before I was wondering what it was all about. It really turned out to be a very sweet show !!! Enjoy the pics !!
                Happy Trails my Friends !!!  CQ

My brother Bret showing me the local lines !!!

Yours truly 

My brother and his cross country bike !!! He rips it my friends!!

On the Red Dirt trail 

Relaxin in the Yampa river

My girls Merrie and Nichole

The Quigley family unit 

May & June

Well I thinks it's about time to catch up on some posts on here !! May was a super busy month for us fiiled with graduation's, anniversaries and lot's of riding. Went to several graduation ceremonies in one weekend, with the most very special one being my daughter Nichole's !! Congratulations kiddo !! I'm super proud of you !!! 

 Then came Memorial weekend. A few people who know where to ride mountain bikes in this area arrived at Potter's Pasture. The weather could have been a bit better!! It was a typical Memorial weekend, you know wet & cool. The drizzle turned into a nice late night thunderstorm complete with a cool light show!! The drizzle didn't quit all weekend. Met some very nice folk's from McCook and a group from Cozad. Paul Siebert came out and once again provided some very sweet campfire musical entertainment. The pic below is Paul sportin his Big Wheeled Ballyhoo shirt !!

 Merrie and I took Bear out to Potter's for some hiking on a nice weekend too!! We did a nice seven mile hike around the canyons then headed back to "Old Camp" for some campfire cooking and just some general relaxation. We needless to say we called it a day a bit early. You see the ticks were hatchin and they were thick!! The ground was literally moving they were so thick!! Bear did NOT do very well with this. For a couple weeks after this he was obsessed with bugs. He was not enjoying himself as you can see in the picture.

 Then came June !! I did a ton of really fun gravel rides with quite a few different people. I finished laying out a sixty-five mile ride that leaves from my home and takes you south into the canyon's. It is a loop though, which is always good. I also spent a day at Potter's with Matt & Lane Bergen from Paxton. We did a loop that included some areas they hadn't ridden yet. The pic below was taken by Matt for me. It's a trail Paul Brasby dug in. They name it "Golden Nugget" but I most generally refer to it as "Super Slide" !! It does have some nice "pucker" to it though !!!

Easter Weekend

I took a bike back home for Easter weekend in Norfolk and finally got to ride with my youngest brother Andy. It had been quite some time since we had ridden together and decided this time it would be on the trails at Maskentine State Rec. It is just outside Norfolk near Stanton. They have built a super trail area !! I believe the Elkhorn Valley Cycling Club has been hard at work to get this going!! Thanks a bunch for the time and effort to get this up and running. The playground area was a nice place to stop and practice some skills !!! No pics of me this time figured I'd let Andy take center stage!!!                          

                                          CQ 

Andy hittin' the log pile !!

                                                                                                                 

He always did like to teeter totter !!

Exploration

Exploration was the goal for this fine May day.

I tossed an idea for a ride at Potter's then some canyon roads back to see how it worked out.My friend Kyle Vincent and I were dropped off at the "Old Camp" where we would start the adventure. At least the sun was out, even if it wasn't all that warm. So off we went on the single track goodness that is Potter's for a quick trip out the other side at "Festival Camp". Not a bad start to the day at all . The trails were in great shape!!                                          

                                               Kyle heading out on Lydic Canyon

We cruised up Lydic Canyon to the first crest to an awesome view. The climb wasn't too bad getting to the top. The downhill on the other side in the pic below was even better though!!

We bombed the downhill and continued the journey through the winding valley towards the intersection with Gillman RD. This happens to be at a very cool spot with a railroad bridge. It was a great spot to recoup a bit and take some pics.                                                  

                                            The Salsa Big Mama loves to climb !!!!!

We rolled on from the RR bridge around a couple tight curves only to begin the most daunting climb so far. This hill just kept going on and on. Kinda like that bunny on the tv commercials!!!! I snapped the pic below of the sign at the top. It really does curve just like the sign !!! It will be fun doing this as a downhill sometime.                                      

In a few miles we were back on the usual route I've ridden with Bob before. We continued on and connected to the "Secret South Hill's Stash" and back to Gothenburg. I ended up with 39.6 miles on the gps. I really wanted gears on this ride so I took the Mama and payed for it. I'm not sure if it is the fact that I have a 120 fork on it instead of the 100mm or if I just needed to change some seat adjustments. It just was not the best for me. I guess it will be the SS on the long gravel rides till I can explore some options for a gravel distance bike with gears!!
                                                    

                                          Happy Trails my friends !!! Go ride a Bike !!!

                                                                  CQ

April Showers

  I went to Potter's today to see how the trails held up to the snow and rain we had. I knew it would be a crap shoot at best to even find a decent route. I hit the new Reaper's Ridge climb and some fun in tree's!! It turned out to be a tad bit muddy with snow in areas still. I did a loop around the perimeter that had around 10 miles of some of my favorites. I ended up cranking out two loops for a total of 17 miles. I ended up riding in complete solitude!! It is a totally different experience all alone, but I like it sometimes!! The weather closed in and it started to rain as I was leaving.

CQ





Coming down crack-a-lak was interesting in the snow.


The roots on Reaper's Ridge were fun to say the least!!!!


A nice pic at the top of Pump Hill.

Trail Work at Potter's Pasture

The Reaper's Ridge phase 1 redesign is complete to the top now. This has been in the design/exploratory phase for about five years now.I knew what I wanted out of this area and now it is half done. I finished the route layout and then with the help of T Laub we hit it and hit it hard!! I had paused to take a breather and noticed where we had made it to, when I let out a holler. We were at the top !! So we finished up what needed to be finished and then we rolled that sucker!! I must say it roll's very well folks !! The sign for the upper entrance will have to be placed and a link will be made to reconnect to the original lower section of Reaper's. There will be some work done on the original entrance as the time allows. It is time to ride people!! Get out and enjoy the trails!!
                                                                CQ

                                      Looking downhill near the middle of the upper section

                                              CQ rollin' the upper section downhill

                                         Looking uphill near the middle of the upper section

Winter came back !!

Well it was real nice to get some sun on a few rides. The day after the Wiggins/Gillman loop it started a turn for the worse!! All week it was just gloomy,cold and then the off and on snow and ice started. Well I decided to hit my usual ride south into the hill's anyway. I donned my gear and figured I could use this as an opportunity to test the newest item. It is the North Face "just in case Anorak" shell. It didn't take long to find out this piece of gear is awesome!! It took the sleet,snow,ice pellets and wind very well all while I was comfy warm.I ran into Steve Potter on my way back and spoke with him for a bit. If what he filled me in on happens Potters Pasture will be a truly epic area to ride!! I decided that after the condition's on today's ride I deserved a treat, so a stop at the KOA on the south side of I80 was in store to see what was in the cooler. Hear are a few pics of what was supposed to be a short jaunt of 10 to 15 miles that turned into a 37 mile ride!!

                                             Run turkey run !! There was around 50 !!

                                                Wiggins canyon from the top looking north.

                                            Lucky Bucket Lager.Wasn't bad at all.

                                                                            Chad Q

A Sunday Ride

Sunday the 20th of March turned out to be one beautiful day !! A ride was in the air and I had a couple partners in crime today, in the form of  Bob "The" Mann and T Laub aka Jack Cleveland. We were going to tackle the Wiggins Canyon to Gillman Canyon loop. I had done this on a whim before and had around a 50 mile loop with the ride from town to Bob's. Today we would start at Bob's and end there too with around 35 miles. The sun was shining and the wheel's were a rollin' and the dang wind had to start a blowin'. It wasn't bad until you would be hit with a huge gust that almost send you off the the gravel. Heading into it kinda stunk but we made due and kept plugging along. I was the first with issues. A flat, which luckily I was prepared for. On a side note here, I must confess to never changing this tube before!! It was very messy since all I have done was continue to fill it with various sealants and keep rolling. Don't do this unless you like playing in weird, blackish smelly liquids on the trail or gravel. The next to have issue's was Bob. He had picked up a chunk of barbed wire and was slow leaking and we continued on periodically pumping up the tire. Overall it was a great day and it is an interesting loop with some nice climbs and scenery.
                                                                Chad Q 

                                             The top of Gillman Canyon

                                            HMMMM  Black Electrical Tape may work!!!
                                                  Which it did till two miles from the end!!

                                             The crew for the day T Laub,Bob & I

Let's get this thing rollin' !!!

  The first post on the new blog!!  I've been hitting the rides pretty hard this year so far.  I must say it feels really good to enjoy it again!!  I have to admit I was in a "funk" for quite awhile, as many people around me will attest to. Well the year of the "funk" is over, done, gone, CYA!!  Ya know, life happens and you have to just hope for the best, right?  Well I have had the results with some "life" that can only make me proud, happy and most of all relieved.  A weight has been lifted and it's time to enjoy what I have a whole lot more!! Enough about that!!  Time to move on to the bike stuff.
  I will just say the gravel/dirt road exploring has been going very well.  I believe the stash is so untapped that a bicycle quite possibly never rolled these areas, and that is very cool!!  I also have motivation this year since I've entered the Dakota 50 and I've made the decision that to just finish is not in the cards.  I want to apply myself and see what I can do!!  I hope to surprise myself as well as others around me and if for some reason I don't, it is no big deal.  I will have a ton of fun doin' it anyway.  I also have some covert motivation to do a bunch of rides that may be revealed in the future.  All I can say is I AM SUPER STOKED!!
Here are a few pics from the latest rides.
                                     Enjoy my friends and GO RIDE a BIKE !!

                                           Chad Q