Holy crud, I don’t envy race directors right now. These are mostly folks with day jobs. And they’re facing super-tough choices about their events in light of a global pandemic. They put on races out of love for our sport and our community. So what does a community-loving race director do in light of all … More Mass Start Hysteria: What should race directors do about COVID-19?
Sickness kept me out of last summer’s Cornhusker State Games. And ever since, the course download has just sat there on my Garmin, mocking me. “You feeling better yet, Sunshine?” “Up yours, Gary,” I’ll say. (Gary is short for Garmin, if you didn’t know.) Last week, the conversation went like this. “My Sunday just opened … More Headwinds Howl in Spring Training
A couple weeks ago, the UCI expressed its interest in producing a gravel world championship of its own. And many American gravel cyclists responded with lewd creativity. We saw the UCI as stepping on the toes of the Pirate Cycling League, which has hosted Gravel Worlds in Lincoln for more than a decade. Others worried … More UCI Rolls out Its First Rules for Gravel
K.P. from parts unknown writes: Hi folks, How does one go about joining the Dirt Tan Bike Club? Sincerely, K.P. After a quick Sally Field crying jag, I composed myself and responded with the following. We’re grateful you reached out to us about membership in Dirt Tan Bike Club. And I’m happy to report you’re … More Dirt Tan Bike Club presents: Tan Mail
Gravel cyclists have never had it so good. We’re swimming in new tech, and our most popular races brim in minutes with fields of homegrown, and even world-class talent. We’ve discovered, to our collective astonishment, that this pile of Great Plains gravel is dripping in diamonds. In Lincoln alone, there’s the gravel guy who set … More Will 2020 Be the Year Gravel Begins to Suck?
The big news in gravel racing this week is Bobby Wintle’s decision to rename one of the top three Great Plains gravel grinders. The Land Run 100 in Stillwater, Okla., is forevermore the Mid South 100. The simple reason why is a complicated history. The race’s original name was a reference to the 1889 opening … More Land Run 100 Makes (Itself) History
References to literature in sports are few and far between. When one comes along, I’m obliged as a licensed English major to grab on and enjoy it. For instance, whenever the Baltimore Ravens do well, as they are this year, I consider it a small, purple victory for poetry and the Ravens’ unusual namesake, Baltimore’s … More Bike Review: Niner’s 2020 RLT
I bike to work in a squat little office building a block off Nebraska Wesleyan’s campus. It’s a short, one-story outpost in the shade of higher education’s ivory tower, where college elites supposedly lounge in enlightened ease. It’s not a bad gig. But the ride gets a little dreary in late December. The sun’s barely … More Vicious Cycles: Can a bike light your darkness?
I didn’t know it until just days ago, but Nebraska-native, elite racer and “Maximum Enthusiasm” podcaster Megan Hottman (aka, the Cyclist Lawyer) was struck and injured by a careless driver back in May. She was riding in an Arvada, Colo., bike lane when she was hit by a 19-year-old woman. Hottman’s Golden, Colo., law office … More Community Disservice: Should we care what happens to careless drivers?
In our last episode, we left our hero in a spot of bother. Mike Marchand had withstood a gruesome run-in with the back of a pickup and was recovering from four broken vertebrae in his neck. The fractures were healing, but a nerve issue was still sending dragon-fire, numbness and weakness down his left arm. … More Mike Marchand Has Good News
