Sunday, August 17, 2008

The '08 Ponca 155 -- A Blowout Adventure...

I need to get some sleep, so here are some pics from our Ponca adventure. In brief, seven of us left the D Street Hotel at about 4:19am Saturday morning destined for Ponca State Park, 155 miles away, via some of the best gravel roads around. My Salsa La Cruz was the perfect steed for the journey. My only hiccup was a rear tire whose casing decided it was no longer getto tubeless compatible... Chalk that one up to the rigors of "testing".

News Flash: The (now discontinued) WTB InterWolf is not getto tubeless compatible long-term. Sorry to burst anyone's bubble... but its bubble burst about 97 miles into the ride. Upon further inspection post-ride, the casing proved to be in fine shape. It turns out the rubber inner layer must have simply given up the ghost, leading to the tread blowout on the nearly worn out tire. It was pretty crazy.

Bonsall kicked the morning off right with our first flat of the day, at 27th and Superior, before the clock even read 5am. It was a theme that carried us through the day. Before the day was out, Daniel and I had both booted tires and MW had broken a titanium saddle rail. The Ponca 155 dished some parts attrition this year, but we all made it. Four even attempted to ride home. Not sure if they made it or not, since I wasn't one of them (went to see my Grandma and Grandpa on the eve of his 89th birthday -- Happy Birthday Grandpa -- I don't think he reads my blog...).

Anyway, enjoy the pics... I'll try to get more of a story posted soon. Must sleep now.

3:47am -- Headed to the D street hotel to meet up with the crew. Man, this is early.

Rollin' out. 4:20am.

Flat #1. Bonsall. 27th and Superior. At least it gave me time to get cash.

Pre-dawn beauty.

Pre-dawn hammer session. 20 miles in. 135 miles to go.

Sunrise... Beautiful.

Funny...

Fob and MW choosing vastly different snacks to nibble on during our little bender in Pender.

Cornbread. Known for extreme hardcore-ness.

If you look closely, you can see the latex around the spot on my rear tire where the tread blew off the casing. Surprisingly, the casing itself was still fully intact and the tire stayed together just fine for the duration of our 155 mile journey.

On top.

With friends.
So ya' think there aren't any hills in Nebraska, do ya'? We've got a couple of roads we'd like to show ya'...

I hope everybody had a super weekend. It certainly was a great one for everyone who went on the Ponca 155, and for the four who made it into the Lincoln-Ponca-Lincoln 310 (super hardcore!). Thanks a million to my beautiful wife Laura, and to James Dolton, who provided the critical logistical campsite/driver support we needed to make the trip possible.

Have a great week!

Cheers,
MG

11 comments:

mw said...

made it.

last 30mi was tough.

MG said...

Whoa! What time did you make it in? That's super duper hardcore! The Lincoln-Ponca-Lincoln 310! Holy sheeeeot!

mw said...

thanks for going buddy. i had a fun weekend. a nap on the front porch sure just helped some.

mw said...

we got in just a bit after midnight. took 2 hrs off the trip time. no long breakfast stop. only 1 flat. no broken seat. thanks buddy! and mrs. buddy! dodged the deep sand around westpoint by hitting hwy275 south for a few shoulder miles. sunset was gorgeous and took a long time to set. it was pitch black at hwy92 so we shouldered it down 92 to 77south for the easy way out of slow gravel. my body says ouch...

MG said...

i bet it's sayin' ouch, even with the reroutes around the sandy sections! i'm just glad you guys made it... and had fewer mechanicals than we had on the way up saturday.

talk to you soon, my friend. way to rip it this weekend mw.

cheers,
mg

Guitar Ted said...

Congrats you guys! What an adventure. And MG- awesome photography skilz dude!

I gotta say though, MW just looks waaaay too happy in these pics! :-)

redstone said...

Great job my friends. Superhuman effort both of you, specially Wills. Day-amn!

MG said...

Yeah, riding up was one thing, riding up and back was for the crazy people. MW was telling me last night that he felt like he was walking around in a fog yesterday, and I can totally see why. He put out some serious effort over the weekend. It wasn't like he was just lounging around. Yeah, he was happy, but he was working too!

Thanks for the kind words on the photo skills G-Ted. Relative to some of my good buddies who shoot for sport, profession and passion, I feel like I'm a rank novice, but imitation works wonders I suppose.

Thanks again,
MG

Cornbread said...

That sure was fun. Let's do it again next year!

Steve Fuller said...

Sounds like you all are ready for TI v.5. :) Good ride + good friends = good times. I'll plan on trying to hit this one up next year. I won't likely be keeping pace with the likes of MG and Cornbread, but as long as I have a map, I'll be fine.

MG said...

Cornbread, definitely. We're gonna' have a ton of fun on the Good Life Gravel Adventure coming up Sept. 20!

And Steve, on the Ponca ride, we don't leave anyone behind. That's the beauty of it being a ride and not a race. It's the same with Guitar Ted's Death Ride... it's more about the adventure than it is about getting there quickly. It's not that we don't go fast or hard at times, but just not all the time. Keeping it fun and in balance are the keys to success, and I know you'd be into that. You're welcome anytime!!

Cheers,
MG