Neglect

I've been neglecting my blog !!! I suppose I should update it since this is the one year anniversary of my last post !! It's kinda ironic that the last post was about Odin's Revenge . I'm in the process of finishing the Q sheets for the new north half of this 150 mile gravel race that is on June 29th this year here in Gothenburg. It was a long year for me in 2012 which included the Dirty Kanza 200 , Gravel Worlds and the Dakota 5O . Spent a lot of time on the bikes that's for sure. I will do a photo dump with some pics from 2012 these events and other stuff from 2012. I will hopefully do a better job with updates this year !! Did you notice how I said hopefully ? It should be a good year this year too !! Merrie and I both have cross bikes and we are planning some bike pack camping excursion this year besides the Gravel and MTB events to attend this year. Gonna be busy !!! I almost forgot we did the second annual Farmers Valley 50 too !! It is a 5o mile ride in the Henderson area that has a ton of historic stops on it. A friend of mine that is a Team DSG member organizes for his birthday. Hope everyone is having a great start to 2013 !!

CQ

Odin's Revenge Announcement

The cat's outa the bag now !! I've been working on some very cool gravel routes and decided it was time to throwa race together. The DSG crew (of which I'm proud to be a member of ) is getting ready to throw down on June30th. Here is the announcement from my good friend Guitar Ted's blog.Hope to see all of you out here !!

         New Western Nebraska Gravel Adventure Coming Soon!

You know, what with running Gravel Grinder News, I have to say that the number of gravel grinders are just growing with no sign of abating anytime soon. Just over the past month I've nearly added a third again as many events as I had before the Holidays on the site.

In another converging tangent to this, I have been hearing about a small, but passionate group of riders doing some amazing back road/gravel stuff in a place many think would be totally boring. Let me tell ya, nothing could be further from the truth!

Typical Western Nebraska terrain

I actually got to go out and see some of the stuff I am talking about for myself a few years back. Me and my buddy from Linclon, NE, MG went out on another mission, but suffice it to say that what you will find out there is nothing short of amazing.

Nebraska? Amazing? Hey.....ya gotta get offa the interstate! What a lot of folks don't realize is that I-80 follows a river valley. So yeah.....it is gonna be boring.

Just drive about five to ten miles in any direction perpendicular to that ribbon of mind numbing concrete and you'll find some undulating, scenic, challenging terrain perfect for exploration by bicycles. And that's exactly what some folks I know have been up to for several years out there in the western reaches of Nebraska.


They have been plying their trade in adventure cycling out there and realized that they have something to offer in terms of a gravel grinder type event. Talk has gone in ebbs and flows over the years. I remember some banter at one point about doing a companion event to Trans Iowa and the Dirty Kanza 200 and would have been part of a "Gravel Triple Crown". Heck, I know for a fact that ol' MG has been pushing for something like this for years. So, while this may be some news for most, I know some of us will be thinking, "bout time fellas!", and meaning that in a "hell yeah!" sort of way. We know how difficult these sort of deals are to put together, so you can't expect folks to just jump on putting together a 150 plus mile event. 

More Nebraska gravelly goodness.

Yep, I said 150 plus miles! Maybe even close to 200. Details are being sorted now as I speak. They even have a name for this beast- but I'll let one of the "DSG Crew" guys, (the fellas that are involved with the event), tell ya direct-like:

"The "DSG" crew in Western Nebraska is working to put on a gravel grinder . . . but this one is different.  The terrain is varied and the route is very remote.  The overall mileage will be in the neighborhood of 180 miles.  We're still working out a lot of the details, but it will be in the self-supported spirit of races like the Trans-Iowa and Dirty Kanza.

The event will occur on June 30th with the pre race meeting on the 29th.  It will be based out of the small Nebraska town of Gothenburg, which has Swedish and Germanic roots.  In keeping with the local heritage, we're calling the race "Odin's Revenge".  Odin is the king of the Norse gods, known for seeking wisdom at great costs and inflicting suffering where necessary.  He's also associated with a number of other cool mythological elements, including being the father of Thor. 

We plan to have a lot more information in the coming weeks, including a web presence, registrations details, course profile, etc."

Okay, so while this all sounds pretty rad, and there is a date and such mentioned, don't go and get yer panties in a bunch just yet. No registration has been announced, and I have zero idea how it all might play out other than to say that the first year will be limited to 75 folks. How they do the registration and roster cut off is their deal, and as yet, undetermined. 

But ya gotta be stoked about the possibilities of an event like this. The terrain will be remote, and the feeling will be much like the DK 200, only even more "western", if that makes any sense.   

When I know more, I'll let ya all know. Till then, stay tuned.............  

Thanks for the promo GT !!!

CQ

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