Forgive me, Mother, for I’m about to break one of the rules upon which you raised me: If you have nothing nice to say, then stuff it, son. Well, I can’t stuff this anymore. Momma said there’d be days like this. The Shirelles, 1961 What’s snagged me like a cocklebur to the chamois was this … More A Calendar Conflict
On what (I pray) is the coldest day of the year, it feels good to look ahead to spring and the gravel racing to come. It may be frigid, but races are around the corner. Now’s the time for health checks. How are our legs weathering the off-season? And what’s the broader state of health … More Gravel’s Upset Belly
Looking to get faster this winter? Well, gravel racers, you’ve come to the wrong place. Here at Dirt Tan Bike Club, we’re sticking to the B-roads to dish you up some alternative cycling advice. Forget your New Year’s resolutions about more fun on the bike. We’re here to teach you how to toss your cycling … More I’ve Already Told You More Than I Know: How to Hate Cycling in Six Easy Steps
What is it about Lincoln’s bike trails in November? Maybe it’s that we all understand an icy, windy kick to the crotch is coming. And every Lincolnite with tennis shoes hits the trails, determined to squeeze the last drops of joy out of whatever sun we have left. Soak up those last rays, people. (Photo, … More I’ve Already Told You More Than I Know: Bike Trail Survival Guide
Coming out of last winter, I wrote about the vacuum at the top of Lincoln’s gravel racing scene. I wondered out loud who might fill that spot as Lancaster County’s fastest gravel guy. Heading into this winter, it seems like I should be able to answer my own question by now. But so much has … More Changes in Speed
Lincoln’s Gravel Worlds long ago earned its place in the big three of Midwestern gravel racing (also known as the coolest part of cycling). Dirty Kanza in Emporia, Kan., has the corner on tallgrass-prairie beauty and bike-eating ruggedness. The Flint Hills are a sight to behold. (Photo, travelks.com) The Land Run 100 in Stillwater, Okla., … More Look What We Have Here: Gravel Worlds 2018
My favorite flavor of Kool-Aid is Husker. And let me tell you, I drink the Kool-Aid all summer long in order to be good and ready come football season. Flavor: Husker red (Image, koolaid.com) With no football to write about, the Journal Star’s Husker beat writers spent their summer covering a subject even nearer a … More Sink to the Level
Can I just say I love the classiness that drives this sport? Gravel cycling was on its best behavior (per usual) at the Cornhusker State Games on July 28 in Lincoln. And it showed before the riders even hit mile 2 on the 100-mile course. Our start at Backswing Brewery was delayed maybe 10 minutes … More The (Almost) Whole Story: A Cornhusker State Games Race Review
An advice column for gravel cyclists Well, cycling fans, it’s happened. Dirt Tan Bike Club has reached what motivational speakers call “a tipping point.” Together, after a couple years of internet tomfoolery and self-deprecating bike humor, we’ve reached a sufficient audience that, every now and again, a stranger will turn to us for “expert” advice. … More I’ve Already Told You More than I Know
(Photo, Hoffman Photography) Joe Billesbach’s Solstice 100 debuted in 2017. And in a single year, it’s made the leap from a nice local gravel event into an essential “This Is What We Do” expression of Nebraska’s cycling community. Most of us are already painfully aware of the bullshit that made this expression of community so … More Love Sloshes at the Solstice 100, 2018
