#8. 3 sisters (Evergreen, CO)

I'll admit it, this trail fails in the "epicness" category. Sorry T-rev and Lumpy, but we will all admit that the more Goatheads the better. However, the facts don't lie - THIS TRAIL ROCKS. For starters 3 Sisters starts at 7,000 ft. and goes up to 8500'. J.A., you know that brings a smile to your face. Don't forget, this climb is a loop. If you go up, you must ride down. You want some technical riding? Between the rocks put there by God and the switchbacks cut in by trail gurus, 3 sisters will test you handling ability. If you are thinking none of that information is appealing, T-rev proved it is also a great place to take your bike for a walk. The views are amazing. When you are at 8000 ft. and all you see around you are mountains you realize why people say that Nebraska/Iowa are flat.

Awesome!

Now, if only we could attach some sort of motor...

Merry Christmas, Goatheads!

#9 Landahl

Coming in at #9 on the list of best trails that Team Goathead has ridden is Landahl

It's kinda ironic that Landahl made the list, considering the fact that we didn't really intend on riding there. If I remember right, we had a trip to Crowder State Park planned, but based on the weather map, we opted for the drier trails of Landahl.
Once we found the place, we immediately knew why it was a favorite of folks in the area. To start with, there is camping two minutes from the trail head (as long as you get permission from the local Boy Scouts). The trails them self are well marked and offer a variety of riding conditions. The less technical sections are fast and flowing like Swanson. The more technical sections are filled with rock gardens that'll snap your chain stay in two (just ask J-Mac). There was just enough climbing to keep The Professor smiling, and just enough drops to keep the A-train from getting bored. If this trail was in Omaha, it would probably be comparable to Platte, but it's not in Omaha, which makes it better than Platte. Putting it 3 hours south of Omaha makes it a perfect weekend road trip destination. The "road trip" enhances every trail. Once you're there it's all about riding. Leave your watch in the car, your legs will tell you when it's time to stop riding and time to start building a fire.

Whopper Virgins

Is it possible that there are still some corners of the world where people don't know what a burger is?..... If Burger King has any say in the matter, there won't be.

Question: if you had never seen a burger before, would you know how to eat it? Would you want to eat it?

10. "Oh, we're way out of our league." - Lumpy

The 10th ranked trail by mtbgoatheads.com is the Dakota 5 0. This was not so much one trail as it was a loop made up of many trails. Does it still count? YOU BET. What are its qualifications? Incredible single track and amazing views certainly help its credentials. Look at the profile map, that is a thing of beauty. Make no mistake, the climbs are harder than they look. That is what makes them so fun/horrible. The 5 0 route forced all participating members of Team Goathead to experience at least one of the following affects, severe leg cramps, mental meltdowns, or vomiting. That alone earns this trail top ten status. HOWEVER, despite Lumpy's pre-race pep talk (see above title) all four Goatheads finished the race. Goatheads 4 Dakota 5 0 zero. Oh and all particpating members plan on returning to Spearfish in '10 (some by choice, others by my choice).

Mr. and Mrs. Lumpy were missed

On Sunday, the Goatheads held their second annual Christmas party. Good food, good conversation, and a great gift exchange was on tap. I am sure Mr. and Mrs. J-mac think they made out the best between Mrs. J.A.'s cookies and cycling socks. However, I think Goathead nation will agree I got the best gift of the evening.

Mediocre thougths from some average guys

A couple years ago Lumpy sent a letter in to one of the national bike magazines. As usual, 90% of it was sarcastic. He talked about being un-motivated and hinted at being lazy. Well as usual people didn't know how to react to Lumpy and took him seriously. The next month somebody wrote the magazine talking about how bad people like Lumpy were for society because of their laziness. Well, the next 10 weeks will offer some proof to people like Mr. "Goathead hater" that we are in fact not lazy.
Posts on Mtb.goatheads dwindle during the non-riding months. So for my viewing pleasure we will be ranking the top ten trails ridden by Goatheads. Hundreds of trails were considered, but not all met the criteria. For starters, at least two Goatheads had to have ridden the trail. Other considerations were: degree of difficulty (i.e. no Wabash), some degree of fun (going down, GOING UP!!!, or TTFs), and probably the most important element - EPICNESS. This week we will start with the Honorable Mentions.
SWANSON - this is old reliable in Omaha. So maybe nobody will drive from CO to Omaha, just to ride this trail, but on a warm day in the summer it is hard to find a parking spot because this place draws so many people.

INDIAN CAVE - for me this is the first place I ever went on a mtn. bike ride. Also, it could be considered home to the first Goathead group ride. If you like hills, great views, and spider webs - this place is for you.

LEWIS AND CLARK - in the Omaha metro this is probably my favorite trail. In years past you could always test your fitness against Mt. Neverest (R.I.P.).

PLATTE RIVER STATE PARK - What?!?!?!?! Platte doesn't even make the top ten, well that is how good the top ten is. HOWEVER, just look at the poll on mtb.omaha to realize how great Platte is. The only problem I have with Platte is that I have only been there 5 times in the last two years. This is my favorite Nebraska trail.

So, next week we hit the top ten. Feel free to comment, be a critic, or give praise.

New skill....

If the economy continues to head south, we may all need to learn new skills. Personally, I see myself as a brick stacker. When all the financial institutions collapse there will be a lot of bricks to stack.

Bike Hero

Bicycle + Guitar Hero = Bike Hero

A couple more.....

I stole these from Lucas. He makes my feeble attempt at photography look silly.

Cranksgiving

May I have your attention please........

I don't have time at the moment to post pictures of the Goathead Cranksgiving, but I would like to announce that all gas stations within a 4 mile radius of Bike Masters are currently out of peanut-butter and jelly. Please stay tuned for updates.

Sunday at L&C

A chill in the air, leaves on the trail, hills, setting sun, Goatheads on their bikes...

November Pics

November Surprise

The last month of fall is starting with some great weather. I decided to take full advantage of this and got two days of mtn. biking in. First off, Tranquility was great. They T.H.O.R. people of that trail put in a nice re-route. Lately in Omaha it seems like every re-route has some how made the trail easier. Lumpy put it best describing the new route, "you could actually get hurt". Again, great job Tranquility T.H.O.R. members. J.A. and I did a lap and met up with Lumpy for lap two. A-train where were you?
Yesterday, the wife and I hit Manawa. I forgot that we gained an hour of sleep, but lost an hour of light. We hit the trail at about 4:45 and that was almost too late. Some of the TTF sections that had been lost to the flooding have been replaced. Great job trail dudes (i.e. T.H.O.R.). My wife really does prefer Manawa to Swanson (something about hills). She also learned the art of the bail out. While attempting the TTF bridge (lack of a better term), she got stuck and began to fall. While starting to fall she flung herself over her bike and landed on two feet and still held on to her bike. I am not sure how she did that, but it was impressive.
Next up Cranksgiving. The Goatheads plan on sending a contigent and they hope to see you there.

Red, Orange and White

I Rode Tranquility today. Lots of Joggers out there. I guess it's cool that more people are using the trail, but it probably isn't the safest scenario.
Weather is perfect and trail conditions are good.
Omaha is red and Orange right now and the saddle of a mountain bike is a good place to observe it from.
A new technical section has been added at the top of the big climb. It is short, but fun. The first couple of times through are a little bit white knuckle.
Anybody up for a group ride Saturday Afternoon?

Vertigo

This is the feeling I get being a Goathead


the blind freehand helico paragliding acro from Ruben Lippuner on Vimeo.

Tuuuuurtle

That's funny, I saw one too...

This little guy was crossing the West Papio at the Pacific Street underpass on Saturday.

Watching out for Nature

I was riding the other day and saw this little friendly turtle guy in the middle of the road, so I picked him up and moved him to a safe spot:

Manawa - Taco Ride

I got fixed

After riding the Soho for about 6 months I finally flipped my hub and made it a fixed gear bike. I rode to High Gear last night and Grace today. Amazingly I only forgot twice that I couldn't coast. Not sure what I think about the whole fixed gear craze. It wasn't as hard as I thought, but I am not sure what the big thrill is. I'll probably keep it like this for awhile and see if the craze grows on me.
On another note, I think this was the coldest day I have ridden to work. It was 43 when I left home. I am guessing in about a month we will be praying for it to be that warm.
I don't know how or when but the Goatheads need one more group ride this season. Actually we just need one group ride period.

More 7 Oaks pictures

7 Oaks

After not traveling East for a couple years, Lumpy and I rode 7 Oaks this weekend. Iowa received lots of rain this summer (maybe you heard about it), so a couple sections of the trail washed away. I am not sure if their repairs are IMBA certified, BUT they are fun. Now, having never been to Sugar Bottom I can't argue with MOD. However, I have to believe 7 oaks can give it a run for the title of "best trail in Iowa".
Oh and check out Lumpy's double decker fire.