A lot of good riding happened this weekend.  Here’s a quick little update on all that went down.

Thursday

Thirsty Thursdays happened.  We had a good ride from Velo up to the KC scout and back.  Had fun when we got back hanging out in Velo’s new back beer garden.  They had tasty Pizza cooks back there too.  A really nice night in gorgeous weather.

Friday

Tara and Nancy got out during the afternoon and got a good 30+ mile ride in.  They wanted to ride North to Dearborn, but were stopped by flooding.  Instead they road 108th street in the Northland, which they claim has decent hills.   Subject to debate.

Friday was also Critical Mass.  Jeff W, Lynne, Neal, and I all took part.  Many drinks were had and some had a rough start Saturday Morning, but it was another good CM, in what couldn’t have been a nicer Friday evening.

Saturday

This is where we get to the guts of the weekend.   Neal, Jeff W., Lynne, Tara, Robert, James, and I, along with other friends from Velo, road in the 4th Annual Taco Ride.  We went a little (or a lot) off coarse and ended up enjoying 4 Taco places in KCK, all within about 4 miles.  We were a little stuffed.  Then we hit up the new Alma Mader Brewing company for some tasty bevs, before pedaling back to Velo Garage.

And for the really impressive news, we had a couple of people participate in the Dirty Kanza ride this last Saturday.  First, Derek R. though he signed up for the DK 25 fun ride, opted to ride the DK 50 route.  Nicely done.  He’d have placed pretty well too, had he been registered for the DK 50, but sadly, because of his diversion, he got 3rd to Last in the DK 25 🙁 .   Great pics can be found here if you’re on facebook.

And more impressive than even that,  Scott “Timber” Timme finally achieved his goal and completed the DK 200.  200 miles of riding in about 20 hours.  It was a little hot out too, so really really impressive.   Scott, Congratulations from us all!  We are sure that you couldn’t have done it without us and our constant nagging about you not finishing last year 🙂  Bryn’s photos and accounting (if you’re on facebook) can be found here.

Hopefully one or both will write up a blog post describing the ride.

Upcoming Rides.

Thirsty Thursdays

Not only will we be riding in this Thursday’s ride out of Velo Garage as usual, but we’ll also be having a RAGBRAI meeting after the ride to touch base and make sure we’re on track for July.  If you’re riding Ragbrai, please make an attempt to join us.

BBBR June 8th

We’re going to ride from City Market Coffee this upcoming weekend.  Come on out and join us for 1 or 2 loops.  Whatever works best for you.  Details in the link above.

Ride 2 Boulivardia – June 15th

Always a fun ride.  Lynne is on the board, so come on out and help support Cancer Research and Children’s Mercy.  30+ miles of riding and then free entry to Boulivardia afterwards if you registered for the ride.  Hope to see you there.

I’ve only got a couple pics from the Taco Ride, but plenty of good pics on the facebook links above.  Go Check em out!

Good morning all!

This past weekend Neal, Derek, Robert and I all participated in the music and bicycle Festival Peddler’s Jamboree time. Set down in Columbia and heading to Boonville this is a great way to experience the Katy Trail! Unfortunately this year we had so much flooding that we ended up starting in Rocheport Missouri which is usually the halfway point. We made the best of the new start and the detours to have a fun weekend!

We started Friday night by camping in Rocheport for the official preparty featuring the band Dirtfoot. There was food, drinks, fireworks, and a bonfire. Luckily the storms that came through Kansas City earlier in the evening hit us while we were enjoying the concert inside the barn. The campsite can out mostly unscathed except for our tent the Taj Mahal. Part of the tent collapsed in the wind and we ended up getting some water inside. Not a big deal and we slept just fine.

The next morning people from across the Midwest came to the farm to check in and get the ride started. The first stop was a quick two point three miles away down on the Katy Trail. They had to adjust the location of the food trucks and stage up the hill because the parking normally used was completely underwater. We met with some of our friends from Velo Garage and Tap House. We hung out for about two hours listening to music, visiting the food trucks, and enjoying some drinks. The trail was closed heading west so we climbed out of Rocheport via the highway. It was a good climb and the sun was already warm. The good news about climbing is you get to coast down where we rejoined the trail and moved along for about five miles until another highway detour. We ended in New Franklin for a stop and met up with Joel and Ashley from Epic Bike and Sport. Had more drinks, sat watching the riders go by, and Robert even taught Ashley how to throw a frisbee! It felt very much like a typical Ragbrai day. Then we stopped to listen to the bands, grabbed more food and drinks, and then headed back on the trail. Boonville is only about two miles from there and after getting off the Katy Trail and climbing the bridge into the city we arrived at camp! Some of us had setup our tents on Friday afternoon on the journey to Rocheport. This help us to get prime spots and not to worry about timing throughout the day. Here we relaxed after a shower with the amazing Pork Belly shower trucks and sat listening to more music. In Boonville they have a large stage with more bands, tons of food trucks, and multiple bars setup. We ended the evening with fireworks and the whole day was a blast!

Sunday morning we woke up having light rain overnight. It was overcast and cool which was a nice change from the previous warm and sunny day. We packed up our tents loaded our luggage onto the trucks to be taken back to Rocheport and met with some of our friends from Velo and other parts of KC. We decided to get breakfast at the local diner. Some of us even had pie for breakfast. Next stop was New Franklin again seeing as we reverse the route back to Rocheport. There they had music and beermosa, a nice take on mimosas and very refreshing! Once back on the trail we hit a good pace and rode back with Karen and Treadwell, it was a great group to ride with. The trail was still closed off and we had to detour back the way we came and climb the hills outside of Rocheport. We decided to enjoy some refreshments before climbing which was an excellent decision. After climbing the hills we ended back at the original party site, this time the area wasn’t as busy. There were some food trucks and music to come but just hung out right on the trail and in front of the Merriweather Cafe. Located right off the trail this is a cafe and local bike shop, great food and hope you all get to stop there at least once. Robert and I decided we didn’t want to climb the hills required to get back to our car so Robert hitched a ride with Stacy and Steve from Velo Garage. After grabbing our luggage we loaded up the bikes and set off back to Kansas City. Meanwhile Neal, Derek, and some other people from Velo made the climb and stopped at Les Bourgeois Winery for some refreshments. It seems like they had a great time!

Overall we had a great time and weather held out for us! We expected a rainy couple of days so the sunshine was a nice change. We are already looking forward to next year and hope that some of you all will join us!

May’s BBBR may have been one of our largest to date.  Which is awesome.   Had a terrfic turn out despite a rain delayed start.   Megan, Jeff, Craig, Tara, Robert, Nancy, Neal, Steven, Derek R., and I all hit the hills of Swope Park for a good ride through the south land.   With the late start, we also had the opportunity to stop at KC Bier CO for our post ride drinks.  There, we encountered HAMMERSCHLAGEN!  A pretty cool, and simple game.  Be the first to hammer your nail into a large stump.  Pretty good game to stand around and drink while playing.  Also, they had their Meibach beer on sale, for pretty darn cheap, which was nice 😉

Here’s the route we took

Upcoming Rides

Thirst Thursdays

As usual, several of the group will be gathering at Velo Garage and Tap House Thursday evening to get a great social ride in.  Helmet and Lights required.  Group rolls out at 6:30 pm.  Bring your thirst, and a friend.

Tour de Bier – SUNDAY

This is the weekend!   Hard to imagine that it’s been a year since my accident, but here we are, and I’m stoked to try this again, without crashing!  Join up!  Ride the 35 mile route with us.  Drink some beers, because it’s what we do!

Ped Jam

It’s memorial day weekend.  What better way to spend it than cycling, listening to live music, and having fun with friend.s   We’ll be the ones wearing Hawaiian shirts.

Dirty Kanza – Saturday June 1st

Derek R., Scott Timber, Scoots, Timme, and I are heading to Emporia for the Dirty Kanza.  Feel free to come out out and cheer Timber/Scoots along as he makes ANOTHER attempt at completing the 200 mile ride.  Good luck buddy.

This weekend was all biking, all the time.  At least it felt that way to me.   Saturday, several of us got together for a quick ride from Lynne and Jeff’s house to KC Bier CO and back.  Tara, Robert, Derek R., Neal, Lynne, Jeff, and myself had a fantastic ride down, a couple terrific beers, and 1 ginormous beer.  Plus one giant freaking pretzel.

Here’s what we did!

Then Sunday came around.   Derek R hosted several people on a tour through Lee’s Summit.  A couple breweries, winery, and a Taco Joint to celebrate Cinco De Mayo with style.  I know that Tara, Robert, Lynne, Jeff, and Derek road that nice 15 and 1/2 mile route.

James and Nancy ended up joining Kathy West on a preview ride of this week’s Monday night Ride from Strange Days brewery.   If you’re looking for a bike ride tonight, check that out.  I think they leave at 6:30.

I wanted to join, but also knew that I’ve got to start getting my mileage up in preparation for the Dirty Kanza 100 in a couple weeks, therefore, I went out for a good 50 miles.  Ranging North to Velo Garage, having a beer with James Curans, and then riding back south down to the Indian Creek Trail, and coming back North via the Leawood North Loop.  I feel surprizingly good today despite the ride and lack of build up I’ve had.  I think I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me to be ready for the DK.

My Sunday ride

If you’re asking yourself, “how can I learn about and be a part of these informal random rides?” the best answer is to download the app Slack.  We’ve got our own group there and converse regularly about rides.  Email me, and I’ll send you an invite to the Slack group.

Upcoming Rides

BBBR – Saturday May 11th

This upcoming Saturday is our monthly BBBR ride.  Looking forward to seeing you all at McLain’s Bakery in Waldo at 8:30 am.  Reminder that this’ll be a 2 loop ride.  1 loop for Everybody, and then a 2nd loop for those wanting to build mileage up in prep for Ragbrai and other upcoming rides.   More details can be found via the link above.

Tour De Bier – Sunday May 19th

It’s coming up!  time to sign up if you haven’t already.   See you on the 35 mile route.

Pedaler’s Jamboree – May 25th-26th

Weekend biking and camping event in Mid Missouri.  More details in the link.

Thirsty Thursdays

As usual, many of us will probably be riding Thursday night out of Velo Garage and Tap house.  Ride leaves at 6:30 pm.   A nice ~15mile ride with a bunch of knuckleheads.

Spring time in Missouri.  It’s anybody’s guess what it’s going to be like.  This weekend featured a LOT of wind and a significant drop in temps.  Still, I know several people got out  and did some biking.   Tara, Robert, and Neal got some bike packing in as part of Velo’s Spring Loaded event.  Derek and Steve R. road the Cool Hand Look, Gravel Grind, Critical Mass happened this past Friday.   I know several people also ran in the Trolley Trail run this past weekend.  Kind of boring compared to biking, but hey…  there was good breakfast at the end.   Last Thursday several of us met up for Velo Garage’s Thirsty Thursday Ride, and we got a good ride in there as well.

Upcoming Rides

Thristy Thursday’s at Velo Garage

Every Thursday we meet up at Velo Garage and Tap House in North Kansas City and get 10-15 miles in.   We depart around 6:30 pm, and it’s a no-drop pace.   When it’s all said and done, we drink beer at Velo for a bit and talk about..  well..  biking.  It’s a godo time.  Try and join us if you can.

May BBBR – May 13th

Details about our monthly ride can can be found by clicking the link above.  We’re meeting up at McLain’s bakery this month and we’ll go out for a couple loops, each ending a Bier Station with…  Beer.   Good way to get some training in for those of us training fro Ragbrai, or whatever, and also always fun to socialize and do something somewhat healthy.

Tour De Bier – May 19th

Details can be found by clicking the link above.   Always one of our favorite rides of the year.   35 mile route for us.   Sign up and Join Team Bad Decisions.

Other rides can also be found on our Rides page.   Check back often for more details.

Cheers

To those of you that missed it this past weekend, we had a fantastic ride!   The weather, though a bit chilled, turned out to be fantastic, and Tara, Robert, Scott, Derek R., and I had a great ride.   We started out at Spokes downtown.   We had a nice little bit of breakfast and coffee, and then took off North towards one of my favorite trails, the Line Creek Trail.   We road through North Kansas City, Into Riverside, then up the Line Creek Trail until we were North of Barry Road.   Then we dance around like fools while Robert tried to first patch,  install a tube, in his once already patched tubeless tire.  Afterwards we road back south, stopped at Velo Garage and tap house for a drink or two.  Here’s the route we took.

Upcoming Rides

BBBR May 11th

Click the Link above to view details and RSVP for next months BBBR.   It’s always a good time.  Join US!

Tour De Bier May 19th

Get out for a good Sunday ride and several good beer stops.   This is pretty much what we do all the time, except this time we’re raising money for Bike Walk KC.   Click the link above and get the registration details.  We’re riding the 35 mile route.

And Now..

Pics!

 

 

 

Hey Everybody!   Seems like a bunch of us got out for a couple quick rides this weekend.  Scott Timme seems to be getting into the full swing of things with his training for his next attempt at the Dirty Kanza 200.   Lynne, Jeff W, Robert, and I participated in what was probably the warmest Thirsty Thursday ride of the year so far down at Velo Garage and Tap House.   Also, Megan, Jeff B, Joe Blasi, Brandon G, and Brandon’s wife Kristin got out for a nice little ride Sunday afternoon.   Kristin just picked up a new road bike, and it was time to test it out!  We got in about 12 miles, starting off down at KC Bier Co, riding the Leawood North Loop, and finishing it off again at KC Bier Co.   We rode a nice, introductory pace, which was good, because a lot of us are still getting reintroduced to our bike seats.  It’s a fun neighborhood to ride throuh if you want to see some nice houses.   Always nice when you can bookend your ride with Beer.  Here’s my report from Strava.  Unfortunately I forgot to restart my ride when we took off from KC Bier Co, hence the diagonal line.

Upcoming Rides

RAGBRAI

Yeah!..  This week is the last week to go out and get registered if you want to ride the whole week, or if you want to split a full week registration with another rider who is also only doing a partial week.   LOOKING AT YOU LYNNE, JEFF W., MEGAN B, JEFF B, SCOTT, AND BRYN.  Let’s make this happen!

Thirsty Thursdays

I’m planning on riding again at Velo Garage and Tap House this Thursday evening.  No drop ride.  Easy pace.  Leaves the tap house at 6:30 pm.

April BBBR

Our next BBBR ride is April 13th.  Click the link above for details

Tour De Bier

Sunday, May 19th!  We’re doing the 35 mile route.  Ride Bikes.  Drink Beer.   Seems like a theme for our group.

Hope to see you out on your bike Soon!

So much St. Patrick’s day activities going on, how could you not have gotten out for a good ride during this past weekend to go see some of it?  Saturday there was the Snake Day parade down in North Kansas City.  Several of us met up down  at Velo Garage and Tap house to enjoy the show.   It was quite the time.  Then I road back down to the Brookside area to get a taste of the Brookside St. Pats day parade.   All in all, I got about 21 miles in on the new bike and the weather was awesome the whole time.

Looks like James got out and got a few pics of the flooding too.

Upcoming Rides

Thirsty Thursdays

Thrusday nights at Velo Garage and Tap House.  10-15 mile, no drop ride.  Leaves at 6:30.  Lights and a helmet required.  It doesn’t even have to be a magic helmet.   Though that helps

BBBR – April

Currently Scheduled for April 13th.   We’ll be starting downtown and Spokes and we’ll try to get about 20 miles in after breakfast before we find a nice spot for some beer and food.

RAGBRAI

Ok…  This one’s a way off yet, but the Registration deadline is coming up.  Please Register by March 31st.  Get on it!

This past weekend, Derek R, Robert, and I met up for our monthly BBBR ride.  Since all three of us had our gravel bikes, we ended up seeing if we could use them and get a little dirty.   We ended up riding down to Minor Park via the Indian Creek trail, and found that yes..   that one section that isn’t paved yet, was quite sloppy.    On our way back, we came up through to  the newly re-opened part of the trolley trail meets up with 85th St. near Prospect and started to take the trolley trail back north.  When we got to the part of the trolley trail that’s gravel, it too was quite soppy and loose.  We tried to ride through it for a couple hundred yards, but we were forced to abandon the trail and get back to the streets before our hearts ripped themselves from our chests.  I actually had to bail and walk the bike through part of it.   My cardio is lacking.    Still we had a fun ride, and ended it, per usual, at Bier Station with some fine beverages.

Here’s our route:

Sadly, no pics were taken, though I should have taken a pick of how muddy my brand new bike was.  It got the hose when I got home.

Upcoming Rides

April’s BBBR will be Saturday April 13th.   We’ll start off downtown and go for a good 20 miles our so.  Time to start building up that mileage.   Let me know if you’re planning on joining by using the RSVP button on the event page.

Tour De Bier is Sunday may 19th.   Be sure to register soon!  It’s always a good time, even when injuries are involved.