Weekly Re-cap

The work week is nearly over and it has been balls to the wall all week long. I have been meaning to sit down and bang out some banter, but all I have been able to do is start a collection of draft files that start out similar, but all trail off into nowhere within a few sentences. Well today I am going to commit and regardless of how poorly this comes out, I am going to finish this post. To start it all off, last Saturday, Sharpie came into town like a bat out of hell. He dropped the wife and kid off on the mountain, grabbed a longtime friend of his and hauled ass to my place. We hung out for a spell and then made our way to Raccoon Mountain for a ride...insert photos here...oh yeah, I cannot figure out where I put them. We rode all the inner and outer loops at Raccoon since Sharpie had never been there and Britt was only familiar with the perimeter loop and some of the inner stuff. We were snowed on most of the time and the trail was frozen solid...it was surreal but so sweet. After our ride we hit a new local Mexican joint and spent the evening laughing so hard that I cried at least three times. Sharpie just does that to me...every time.

Sunday morning, I woke up and tried to gorge myself on as much food as I could with out getting sick. Knocked back a couple of cups of coffee and then rode down to St. Elmo to pick up Mike V. for our ride to Raccoon Mountain. We left his place and worked our way up and through Lookout Mountain before making our way over to Raccoon. It started out really cold and cloudy and about the time we made it to the visitor center the sun came out and offered a nice change to the latter few hours. Strangely enough I felt really warm the rest of the day despite the deceivingly cold temps. We rolled back towards the house after meeting back at the east overlook and just kicked around on our way back. We split ways with plans to meet up for some serious post ride chow at the local pizza joint. After 5 hours on the single speed, all I can say is hell yes...that was the answer...fresh pie rocks!.

Not much happened other than the daily grind until Thursday night when I met my friend Matt at Booker T for a few laps in the dark. It has been a long time since I have been there and it was pretty much what I expected. The trails are decent, but so short that by the time you get into a rhythm you are back where you started. I think that I have been spoiled by Raccoon Mountain.
Friday I finished up my SSWC09 entry form and mailed that baby off to Durango. I hope the Durango boys get a kick out of my project...I know I had some fun making it. Later on I met up with Sam and Micha for some pints and socializing. Looks like there are some new trails that Sam found and we are going to work those into our loop to Raccoon Mtn. on Sunday. That should extend the ride by about an hour for around a solid 6 hours on the mountain bike. We have opted for a long road ride today instead of back to back days on the mtb...works for me.

Straight from the Hood

This weekend has come and gone so quickly, it hardly seems fair. As I sit in the office this morning looking out the window, we have sunshine and chilly temps which is crazy considering the cold, rainy wet weather we had all weekend. I met up with my new neighbors, the Simril's, for an early morning ride on Saturday. We planned on riding from North Chatt to Raccoon Mountain and back via downtown, Lookout Mountain and Elder Mountain. The weather looked bleak from the start. I was sitting on my front porch all bundled up putting on my shoes and it started to rain. That was really hard on the motivation factor. I rolled up the street to meet my morning accomplices and the rain just kept coming. By the time we made it through downtown, the rain had stopped and we we all shedding our jackets in preparation for the climb up Lookout. We cut off the road to pick up the Guild Trail to avoid car traffic. We hit the road again and bombed down into Tiftonia and worked our way through the backroads to get to Elder Mtn. Road. Then the nice climb up the road to the top of Raccoon Mountain.

We hit the singletrack and found the trails to be in way better shape than expected. While it was difficult to find the right amount of clothes to wear, the ride was spectacular. Slightly wet and slippery, but lots of fun because everything was hooking up really well. After a modified lap around the perimeter with some re-routing for fun factor, we made it back to the East Overlook. Then the rain came again. This time it poured as we bombed back down the montain. Totally soaked by the time we hit the base, it made me all the more focused to get up and over Lookout again to haul ass back to the house. As we were crossing the Walnut Street Bridge, we ran into Jim and he followed us back up Forrest to squeeze one more climb in before we called it a day. This new route is going to be very useful for training purposes, several long climbs, some road sections to warm up on and lots of technical singletrack to mix things up, all from the front door. Once the time changes, this route will be doable after work, so look out Tuesday night crew, this one is getting added to the list.

No Excuses for 2009

We rang in the New Year in classic college fashion starting with a short track urban race, followed by a well funded keg party (thanks SORBA) and wrapped it up with a full on dance party. I like how this is beginning already. The first Snake Creek Gap has come and gone and I missed out this time. With some work obligations and a lingering cold, there was no way I could convince myself that was a good idea, but the great thing is there are 2 more. The rain and cold temps would have crushed me for sure, or at least take the last bit that the trail did not squeeze out. I checked out the times and all I can say is damn, ya'll. Even with the weather there were some amazing times laid down, especially in January. Looks like this is going to be a hard core year...again. I look forward to giving it a go and kicking it with all of great people that somehow think that racing uphill for 34 miles in the wet and cold in early winter is a good idea. What can we say right?

My riding has been pretty sad over the last few weeks to say the least. The holidays and a wicked bad virus set me back big time. I wound up losing about 6 pounds in a couple of days...probably not a bad thing, but that was not how I wanted to go about it. I am not much for the supermodel diet of vomiting and not eating for several days at a time. But I am finally feeling good enough to start riding with intention again and that feels really good. Now if I can get the weather to work with me. Pouring rain has kept me indoors for several days. It should only take a couple of weeks to be ready to rock. I hope to see you out on the bike.

Rock and Roll Tribute

While I was messing around in the shop today I had an idea. Sometimes that can be a good thing and other times not so much. It all started when I was presented with a request for a unique graphics package for a bike we are sending to the UK. This guy, which is also his name, wanted something different on his PRO29...well I am still working on guy's graphics but I did manage to work this little beauty up and give it a test on a scrap tube. I hope the God of Thunder is proud. I think that I may need to do an entire KISS Live tribute and put all 4 members faces' on the top tube of my next bike. I think that it will be a solid representation to go along with my speakers in the Wingnut. Now I am seriously fired up about next season. Snake Creek Gap is just a little over a month away.

Day Late and a few Dollars Short

Well, it has taken me a week to fully recover from the Asheville extravaganza/Swank 65 adventure. First and foremost, many thanks to my hosts, Jut and Ty for having me and Sam. It sure was way nicer than sleeping in the freezing cold, even though I barely made the start. It all kicked off on Friday night as Sam and I left Chatty around 8pm and made our way to Asheville. We arrived to band practice and a scattered group of people hanging out at the Crow's Nest. Saturday morning, I met my Aunt, Uncle and cousins at Early Girl for breakfast. It was crazy that they were in Asheville for a wedding and I was there for a bike race. So we made the best of it and hung out for a little while. Then Jut and I went to Bent Creek to ride. We met up with a fella that Jut knows who rides a high-mountain bike. I cannot even begin to tell you how freaking awesome this was. This dude kicked some serious ass on this 6foot tall bike with a 140mm Fox fork and purple I-9's with disc brakes. To simply put it, he crushed us on the descents....believe it. Even after a week, I still cannot believe what I witnessed that day.

Later on in the evening, we wound up heading to Jack of the Wood to catch some live bluegrass thanks to High Windy. I have not been to that venue in quite a while and it was a pleasant as I remember. The band was stellar and I ran into several pals from around the way. Slohio Rob was in effect along with Freddy, Libby and Emmy. And there was even an Elliot sighting. Most everyone left before the band ended and we should have too, but we stuck it out until they wrapped it up. After a brisk night ride back to the Crow's Nest, we arrived to meet the band for a third set at the house. I finally nodded off in a quite corner on Jut's floor.

I woke up to Sam asking if we still planned on racing...well of course we were. The only problem was we got up almost 2 hours late. I grabbed all my stuff and crammed it into my car and hit the road to Brevard like a maniac. The entire drive I was pretty sure that I was going to miss the start and just have to suffer for no reason at all. When we pulled into the campground, I had about 8 minutes to suit up, fill bottles and register...holy shit!!! I somehow made it to the start with about a minute to spare and I looked over to see Justin standing there in his street clothes. Damn, he just arrived and then we were off. No time to even think about anything other than racing. I barely remember the running portion of the start and then I grabbed my bike and followed the pack. It wasn't until we hit the first climb that I had a clue what or where I was going. The race was pretty much status quoe in my opinion. I have ridden that area for many years, and while I liked the start a little better than last year, there was nothing to great about it. I did not stop for more than 30 seconds at any stop and mainly it was just long enough to grab some water and shove a Coke in my pocket. I drank 2 cokes and ate 3 bars...a total sugar buzz the whole race. Right before we hit the Farlow Gap climb, I pounded my Coke and got a second wind. I made the whole climb, unlike last year, which made me pretty stoked. I wound up passing several SS and geared guys going down Farlow...there is nothing more awesome than passing people on a super technical decent on a rigid bike. However, it did take a toll. I hit one section and got launched off the bike. Stabbed my right butt cheek with my saddle and tore a hole in my shorts...I could have done without that. But it just gave me a shot of adrenaline and I made it to the creek crossing and then hit the single track on a mission. I was pretty much over the event at that point. When I hit the last stop, I grabbed one more Coke and counted down the last 1o miles with a steady rhythm on the pedals. Once I made it to the final road climb, I went all out just to get it over with. I passed a few more people on the climb and was pretty much home free when we got to the last creek crossing. I rolled in just under 4:20 and 32nd overall which was 40+ minutes faster than last year. Considering I barely made it, I was cool with my results.

We hung out for a free beer and hamburger and watched some more people roll in. The weather was way better than last year and it was great to see so many friends in Pisgah. I am not too sure that I will be doing the Swank 65 next year, but many thanks to Todd for hosting a killer time in the woods.

Asheville Bound

Since the last time I stopped by blogger land much has come and gone. The 12hrs of the Hill of Truth went pretty well. We finished in 3 place in the money category, so we walked away a touch richer and none the wiser. A 3 man team competing in the 4 man category is not such a huge feat, but more like an intential disadvantage. We all rode strong, but later in the day you could begin to see what a little more rest between laps could do. Although it was a hot lap fest for sure, I think we held our own quite well. It was awesome to hang out with the Knoxville crew and many thanks and congrats to 10 years of racing at Haw Ridge. I will always look to make this a regular late season stop. The trail is great and the good times are inevitable. That is an event where if you do not have fun, then you can only balme yourself. I hope to see you there next year.

I am about to pack up for a trip to Asheville for the SWANK 65. Yes, it's that time of year again. Early Fall has a way of sparking up all the desires of mountain bike racing. It is funny how you can start counting down the days to the next season as soon as fall arrives. The horrid summer heat is gone and the days get shorter, so now is the time to charge up the lights and start looking forward to Tuesday nights again. I just received an email from Conrad and the registration for the Snake Creek Gap Series is open for business. I am looking to redeem myself this time around. I had one good day out of three, so I am hoping for a little more consistancy from the bird legs this year, see above image. I cannot wait to hang out with my Asheville pals and hope that the trails are extra sweet on Sunday.

Back in the Saddle Again

I have left the world of blogging to the professionals lately as I have had very little to mention other that the day to day workings of life. I have spent a few weeks working in the machine shop learning the titanium fabrication trade and while it is a complex arena, I have held my own quite well. For the sake of quality and safety, my duties have been somewhat limited but necessary. I can successfully drill a hole in just about anything. I also learned how to set up mitering jigs and run other machinery as well. Not sure where that will take me in the future, but I have a whole new appreciation of the fine steeds I ride the shit out of on a regular basis. My hat is off to the fine fabricators of titanium.

Tomorrow I embark on a trip to Knoxville for the 12hrs of the Hill of Truth. I am having high expectations for our crew this year. We took 2nd in the Open Pro category last year and I think that we have a solid shot at first this year. I guess it will all depend on the level of competition that shows up. We are going with a 3 man crew to minimize our down time and hopefully keep us from getting lethargic due to the waiting game. There is a healthy purse on the line which is always a motivator in my book. To stray from the smack talking fiasco that is usually left to Dicky, we will just show up and give the locals utter hell and see how we fair in the end. The event is always fun and it will be good to see my friend T-Gaines and his whole K-town crew. I wish everyone the best of luck and I will be the guy screaming "on your left!!"