Thank You Easter Bunny

Well this weekend marked the first trip back to Nashville since Christmas and I have to say that I am no longer attached to the Music City. Not to say that it is not a great place to be, but I spent so many years there and it was awesome to watch it grow. And while I miss my friends there, so many have moved or are planning on moving that it makes it that much easier for me. After a trip through the old neighborhood, I felt a bit sad but it passed quickly. I did get to spend some time with my family and my in-laws which was great. It had been a while. I did not get to ride this weekend so I have to bust ass this week before I leave for vacation. The wife and I are going to spend just under a week in southern Florida doing a whole lot of nothing. I have never been one to have what I would call a low key vacation of sitting on the beach and chilling out. I am the type that finds ways to pack as much adventure into each day and then comes home needing a vacation from my vacation...not this time. It does come at a bad time as far as training goes, but the opportunity is there and I have to take it. The Spring time equals crazy time at work and I have been warned to bring the laptop and the mobile with me on vacation. I am going to bring my road bike and do some flat landing while I am down there. That will be a nice change...no hills or mountains to climb for a week. Weird.

I am working on the 650B bike this week and will have some photos of the complete bike by Wednesday. I really like this bike. Well, I like any bike really, but this one is sweet. Just launched a new sales campaign today, so if you are in the market for a new rig, we can hook you up. Ad in VeloNews this month as well...Spring is going to be busy. Glad I am going on vacation. Some sun and warmer temps will hopefully set the spirits right and I can come home feeling great. Just in time for the Cohutta 100...that is going to hurt.

B is for Birthday, Burkhalter and Bikes

It has been a long time since I have been on Spring Break, but this year I am going to have one vicariously though Bishop. We made it out on Tuesday night for several hours of sweet singletrack and it was long overdue. I have not been on the 29er since the last Snake Creek Gap. I have been on the road quite a bit more than I usually like, but the rain has made that call, not me. It was a welcomed change and it hurt pretty good too. I am loving the time change as we now have 2.5 to 3 hours of daylight post work to ride, then the lights come on. I remember last Spring riding laps at Raccoon until 9:30pm...but with more daylight come hotter temps. I hope we have a long Spring.

Today is my birthday and I want to say thanks to the Yazoo Crew for the emails wishing me a happy day. Since it is Thursday, we are riding the road bikes tonight and have decided that Burkhalter Gap is on the intended route...I am very stoked about this climb. It has made itself famous from the the Tour de Georgia and is the finishing climb in the 3 State 3 Mountain Ride each year. What a present, a small box of suffering and some cake when I get home. I am at the office today and the weather is awesome, too bad I have a ton of work to do and am going on vacation next week, so I must focus. All I can think about is riding today...and being a little older.

Recovery Process Complete

The rain is finally gone for now. The trails can only be in terrible shape with the amount of precipitation we have had lately. Sunday proved to be the most promising ride day of the weekend. One phone call from Big J and an early road ride was in effect. We started out towards the W road for a stout first climb of the day. This is an amazing euro-esque climb with several tight switch backs at the apex of the climb. The rock ledge walls in the turns coupled with the natural running water flowing off of rocks from inside each turn make you feel like you are not in Chattanooga. Once we crested the top of the W road, we began the long rolling hills along the ridge of Signal Mountain towards the Sequatchie Valley.

The green farm land sandwiched between two mountain ridges is something of true beauty. Calm, peaceful and great terrain for riding. We stopped at a local market for some saturated fats and Gatorade before we began the climb up Suck Creek Mountain. The long gradual ascent was pleasant but difficult. There were a few cyclists going the other direction and seeing them coming down the mountain reminded me of what was to come. We topped the hill and began flying back down the mountain into town. We rolled back into North Chatt in just under 3.5 hours. I feel ready to wick up the training intensity again and am looking forward to our plans for the coming week. The weather is going to be nice, so I plan on riding a bunch.

Bike Test Round 1 : Rained Out

Today the weather got the better of us. Andy and I planned on taking his fresh new tester our for it's inaugural ride this morning, but all we were able to do is watch it rain during breakfast. When it was still pouring after breakfast, we new we were not getting out on the bikes. Aretha's was kind enough to have the weather channel on so we could see that the storm cell was going to be around all day. Bummer. He decided to make an early departure back to PA. I hope that he can return in the Spring for the Dirt, Sweat and Gears event.

Although I just got to know Andy at Interbike, I am glad that we have had this opportunity to get to know each other better. A totally down to Earth guy with a great passion for cycling, like so many of the cool people that I know. When you can share stories about life experiences and an uncompromising love for the bicycle, you know you have a friend for life. Keep your eyes peeled for a Lynskey related story in the upcoming pages of Dirt Rag.

Dirt Rag Day

Work:
Today is Dirt Rag Day at Lynskey Performance. Andy Bruno is coming down to check out our facility and pick up his test bike. A super sweet custom level 3 29er, fully pimped with XTR, Industry Nine Wheels (thanks Brandi) and a new Fox F-29 fork (thanks Neil). I am actually jealous even though it is geared. This is going to be a serious performer. I have a few last minutes parts to hang and it will ready to test ride. Tomorrow morning we will turn a few laps at Raccoon Mountain and that will hopefully convince him to stay for one more day and check out the Tanasi system.

Ride:
Last night marked my first bike ride in over a week. Not since Snake Creek have I touched a bike. After the hard first few days of Death Flu, I have been making myself rest and completely heal. I think I am there, finally. Big J and I went out for an hour and a half easy road ride just to jump start some bike love. I am glad I took the time off, it made all the difference. Now I can begin training again, the Cohutta 100 is coming soon. We talked about starting some recon rides out there over the next few weekends to get in the mood.

Bishop will be home for Spring Break, so we will have the Tuesday night reunion ride. Now that the time has changed, the ride possibilities are endless. It will be nice to get back to the 4 hour mtb rides after work a couple of times a week. Now we can take full advantage of Raccoon Mtn.

Down the Rabbit Hole

I have been out of pocket for the past few days and there are too many reasons to list.
In short,
the last Snake Creek was better suited for hanging out rather than racing.
Sidewall punctures and Stan's do not work well together.
Death Flu is no joke.
Karma is king!
Good Pals are hard to find
Cameras capture your soul.
I am back...