Snow? In January?

We finally received a smattering of white goodness the other day and it seemed like a perfect time to get out for a rare mid-winter ride to check out some of the proposed spring route.  I have a feeling that the weather gods will once again frown on me for the March 31 ride, but I'm an eternal pessimist. 

 Reclaimed railroad bed - sort of a rails to trails project, but there's no gravel surface - just grass (or snow)  Extra credit if you can find my bike.

A typical South Dakota winterscape.

Our new 90-year-old bike (and pedestrian bridge)

Spam! (not the tasty pork concoction in a can)

I've noticed that supposed 'hyperlinks' in the text of my posts are really nothing more than crap ads promising wealth, fame and your choice of larger or smaller body parts.  I don't pretend to know how this works or why it's happening - just be forewarned.  I'll see if my resident IT expert (my wife) can work a fix.  With my Amish leanings I consider turning on a computer an accomplishment.

Happy riding!

Looking for a working title...

It's official!  I'm committing to putting together a 100k ride on March 31, 2012.  Because I am still haunted by flashbacks from the 2011 Steeplechase this ride will have at most 1 mile of MMR.  Also, I will post a map prior to the day of the event for your perusal and critique.  There will probably be cue sheets as well.
The bike bridge (pedestrians can use it too) is now open over the Missouri so this will be a part of the route as well.
As always this will be a self-supported, free ride (not race).  Depending on expressed interest there may be something happening afterward in terms of food/beverage.
Please check back for more details.  And this ride needs a theme...

Grinding 2012 style

Welcome to the new year!  Since winter has been on hiatus it still feels like October and it's been hard to get in the spirit of starting anew.  However, 2012 is here for real and it's time to start planning for some gravelly miles.  Who wants to do a 50 miler (or metric 100) in late March/early April?  I'm turning 45 on 4/1 so 3/31 may be a good option for a last hurrah.  Let me know preferences of dates and mileage/kilometerage.

Cheers to all!

For the record, we've had about .5" of total precipitation since the mire-fest of last October.  I'm really trying not to take it personally.