Traces of Pico De Gallo in My Blood Work

As many of you know, the UP lunch group ride has a standing tradition every Thursdays to hit the Dos De Oros taco truck parked in the O'Reilly's Auto parts store on 24th Street, just south of Vinton.

If you follow my Strava feed, you'll be able to easily spot this activity simply by the map footprint:

From downtown we head across the Missouri river via Bob Kerry Pedestrian bridge, then south through a lovely stretch of casinos. From there we head east through a trailer park -- that's the distinguishing bootleg on the map above. After that, we head back west along Hwy 275 across the South 'O Bridge and through Spring Lake Park. From there, it's a short jaunt to 24th and Vinton where we pick up the tacos, then ride back to UP to chow down.

Anyway, we're regular customers. As stated, every Thursday. The tacos are that good. Just about everyone I know agrees on this point.

Last week, we brought some tacos back for the UP Fitness Center crew to try. The staff raved about them later that afternoon. Now, two of them are seriously talking about purchasing bicycles from the great Trek Bicycle Stores of Omaha. Was it because of the tacos? Probably not, but who knows?

It's funny. Those seemingly simple tacos are powerful little thingys. They're succulent. I'm not sure if it's the marinated meat, or the finely chopped pico de gallo that I like best. And don't forget the shredded cabbage, cucumber, radish and a twist of lime. Oh golly, they do wonders for one's motivation. I wasn't kidding about the fitness center's staff talking about purchasing bicycles. Or what about that time when Bryan Redemske joined us and later remarked that his cycling season -- maybe even his entire cycling career -- was vindicated by one Dos De Oros taco? I'm paraphrasing here so I might have misquoted him a smidgen. Regardless, he liked it.

I will tell you this. There have been several super cold Thursdays this winter that I probably would have made an excuse to not ride over lunch hour had there not been the Dos De Oros tacos waiting in that parking lot. That taco truck has kept fire in my belly for training on these frigid days. True story.

If you pay them a visit, bring cash. Two tacos for $3.50. Tell them the UP cyclists sent you. If they like you, they might throw some mints in your bag, gratis.

Well that's that. Happy Friday and thanks for reading.