Knocked Down, but Not Out

The trip to NC was fantastic to say the least. After bailing early from work and making some sweet time to Knoxville, I met up with Jut Rut and Ty in Asheville in under 3 hours. We made our way to the Industry Nine facility to take a look around and talk shop. When we rolled in the back door, my eyes met the glorious site of a wall filled with beautifully colored hubs and spokes.

Jeff took us around for the nickel tour. He showed us the various stopgaps in the wheelset manufacturing process and the machinery arsenal required to make such fresh hubs and spokes.
Coming from a custom production environment, it was hard not to nerd out on all of the super cool machining and fabrication tools they have. These guys put a ton of time into their wheels and the quality is amazing. After a few minutes of mental math going through all the steps and various processes, it takes around 12 hours of machine time alone, to fabricate 1 wheelset. From prawls, to hub bodies, spokes and all the little inner workings, 12 hours of machine time folks. They should charge more than they do if you ask me. Plus they come in all kinds of sweet colors.

After all the sweet chat about machines and hubs and tolerances and work stuff, the tour officially ended and Friday began. The pit bike was fired up and we headed out back to witness how I9 throws down. They are in the process of building a new pump track, but a few sweet jumps were there for the launching. We hung out for a little while longer and tried to work out the details for Saturday's festivities. The funny part was Jeff and I were both at MTSU at the same time and frequented several of the same haunts back in the day. Birds of a feather do flock together. Thanks to all the super rad folks at I9, you guys make the bike scene even better.

When I drove up to the Crow's Nest for the first time, I could not believe how bad ass that place is. I will pay rent and not even live there, just for the opportunity to hang out for the weekends. It has all the characteristics anyone would want in a home. Open floor plan, double porches and a vibe that makes you want to read a Walden novel, yet all within the city. Asheville is cool like that. The second tour of the day began and it proved to be even sweeter than the outside suggested. When your house has a name, you have to represent. My hat's off to Jut and Ty for the hook on this pad. If I vanish for a few days, your best bet is to look here.

The weekend itself was balls out. We rode hard on Saturday in Pisgah only to find to the upper sections of the trails we damaged by windfall. So all the climbing we had been doing was in vain. Ride a little while then jump a downed tree and repeat. We decided to bail and hit Bent Creek on the way back to town. This place was a load of fun. I have ridden here many times over the years, but never as a destination, only because it was there. I have always gone to Asheville for the death marches to make me stronger on all fronts. But I have to say, Bent Creek was a blast. We had so much fun riding that place. It wound up being just what I was looking for to wrap up a great day on the bike. Back to the Nest for some wonderful pasta dinner.

Next day was a struggle to say the least. The weather was cold and wet, not fully raining but the humidity made everything wet. It should have been snowing. An easy day to blow off a ride for sure, but that would be unacceptable. So we pony up and meet Matt J at Biowheels and rolled out to Black Mountain. This is where thing got a little ugly at first. I knew I did not have the clothes for the weather and the conditions. Bishop came over from campus and Bennett met us in the Kitsuma lot. I am familiar with this area from ORAMM, but we were going to do a modified version and it started by climbing straight up Rattlesnake Gap, Trail. Incline, whatever. That shit was sweet. Being the only single speed and only non suspended bike, I was in for one hell of a day.

All my boys were on squishy geared bikes, except for Bishop, but he had a sick Fox fork. It made no matter. I would not be me if I let those details matter. The climb to the Heartbreak Ridge decent was unreal. The wet rocks that covered the climb made it a game of torque for what seemed like forever. I think that may be one of the best climbs that I have ever done. It was hard, yet doable and it was a ball-buster but kind of fun all at the same time. The decent down Heartbreak sent me back to July 2007. A rigid bike just careless wants to fall of a mountain. It is your job to tell it where to go. All finesse and will power...a beautiful thing to me. That trail gives it to you, the whole way down. In the freezing cold rain, I thought about how hot it was in July and just tried to see how long I could lay off the brakes. Pure bliss.

We hit the bottom and started climbing old 70, I think. It was also part of ORAMM and seemed very familiar. I finally got my second wind and we flew up to the top with little effort. Even after all the riding we had already done. At the top we came back to the car and it officially started to rain. I think that it had been raining for a while but we were in the deep forest and it blocked much of the immediate moisture. A stop for pizza in Black Mountain was the perfect end to a killer day. That is the very reason why you need to buck up and hit the trails any chance you get.

I picked up the flu bug on this adventure or at least I beat myself down enough to be vulnerable. I had two days of necessary recovery and had to take some time off. It is rare that I do that, but it was obviously necessary, my body went on strike. I worked up the strength to get out on the bike Wednesday night for a slow grind to the top of Lookout and bombed down the other side on some single track that I heard about near a college at the top. It was super sweet and very technical. I don't know if these trails are legal but I am going to find out. I hope not. Climbing up that would be insane. It's Thursday night and it started raining right after work. I was hoping that it would hold off all day and it kind of did. Now I am subject to an incarcerated workout on the rollers. With a race next weekend, you do what you gotta do. Last Snake next weekend