Cycling and eating go hand-in-hand in Lincoln, Nebraska

The final destination on our fall trip was Lincoln, Nebraska, home of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers.  We were fortunate to continue our streak of brilliant weather and to find some more great cycling.  Not to mention a Mexican restaurant we enjoyed so much we ate dinner there twice. Mazatlan was conveniently located right across the road from our hotel.  We were also a close walk to a school where we could throw Paisley's ball for her after dinner.  Score!

Ride to eat.

From Barry's morning walks, he figured out how we could access urban bike trails to get to the MoPac Trail East, a rail-trail running along the historic Missouri Pacific Railroad line.

Urban riding to and from the trail

The central portion of the MoPac near the University of Nebraska campus is paved, and there are multiple road crossings.  Fortunately, when you press the buttons to cross at the pedestrian crosswalks, the stoplights change almost immediately.  Lincoln gets two thumbs up from us for being bike- and ped-friendly, and we wish more cities would follow suit!

Paved portion of the MoPac in town

I thought this feathery foliage we rode by in town was so pretty but don't know what it is -- yet!

Eventually the trail turns to packed gravel and becomes quiet and peaceful -- just what we like.

Here's some of the varied scenery we saw on our ride.  There were a few other folks riding, but not many, especially for a beautiful Sunday.  They don't know what they're missing!

A bit of fall foliage along the way

We didn't quite make it to the end of the trail because it went on a bit longer than we'd realized.  Even though I was still feeling good, I ultimately decided we'd better turn around as it was already going to be my longest ride of the year (just over 50 miles) by the time we got back to our hotel.  Of course Barry could have easily continued to the end, but he was kind enough to defer to me.  Thanks hon!

Eat to ride.

I'm sure you knew I couldn't end this blog post without some photos of the terrific Mexican food I mentioned above.  One thing I found especially unique about Mazatlan was the mushroom ceviche they brought out along with the usual chips and salsa.  It tasted just like fish ceviche, with the usual flavors of fresh lime, onion, chile, and cilantro but mushrooms instead of fish made it vegan.  What a smart idea!  Plus I got to eat all of it since Barry doesn't particularly care for mushrooms.  Excellente! 

The restaurant also earned extra points for the frosty mugs they served with the beer.

Mushroom ceviche

The night before our big ride, I had veggie enchiladas, homemade pinto beans, and rice.  The pinto beans were especially savory and delicious.  

Barry got a chicken fajita burrito, black beans, and rice.  Yummy as well!

The night after our ride, we had to return for one last meal.  On this night, Barry got chicken fajitas, and I got a grande shrimp burrito.  I couldn't believe how many delicious, tender, large shrimp were inside!  We both saved enough to put in the cooler and eat for dinner the next night.  

Barry's chicken fajitas

My shrimp burrito

The plate was as large as me!

We splurged and indulged in desserts since it was the last night of our trip, and we had been very active.  Yep, we deserved it!

Barry's raspberry stuffed churros. They were warm and SO yummy!

My caramel flan was also divine

This beautiful sunset closed out a wonderful trip!