Tired Legs

 The insurance guy came and went and left good news.  Hopefully it won't jack up our premiums, but it looks like a roofing project is in order this fall.  Anyone want to have a roof raising?

Peel off the outer wall, thick oak planks that were milled just up the road at the saw mill.  It was then that I remembered I had already rebuilt the wall a couple of years ago, but from the inside.  That made this portion of the project a little easier.  The floor joists were fine, except for a bit on the ends when I trimmed back to solid wood.  The floor was sagging 1/2 an inch, so getting the sil plate to slide in required a bit of creativity, but I finally got it done.  The sledge hammer helped me work it out.  That's what I like about working with wood!!

I was close to getting the OSB hung, but it was 4pm, and I wanted to go ride my bike.  No rain in the forecast, so I got cleaned up and headed out for the Liberty Thursday Night Road Ride.  Tired legs and body, I knew it was going to hurt.

I have been amazed though, since I got the Wobblenaught fit and pedal stroke instruction,  even on the days when I feel totally dragged out,  I can still pedal with enough power to ride and sprint it out.  I'm impressed and sold!  

 We set out with perfect temps and light wind.  About 15 guys and one lady. 

Lots of fun pacelining, sprinting, and socializing on this ride.  Only one angry driver, shouting things that made no sense: "I'm gonna punch you off your bike".  Right.

Have a great day.

Summer Heat

 I was pretty bummed when I found the rot in my house.  I've been working on this house for 9 years, gradually adding on, upgrading, rebuilding etc and I know what it is going to take to do that.  Riding a bike for me is a privilege, not an entitlement and this was  a good reminder.  In light of that, my recovery ride today took a little bit different than normal route, up the parkway and down Elk Mtn Scenic Pkwy.  I like climbing Elk better than descending.  

 The first heat wave of the year hit today,  temps up into the 80's and of course my body started rebelling,  but I complained so much about the cold this year, that I refuse to spread negativity and complain about the heat.  It is summer in a veritable rain forest, it is going to be hot and humid.  Suck it up and ride!

When I do the grilled cheese stop at PMBAR, I purposely leave tools, pump etc at home.  I'm not a real rest stop, I am policing FSR 5015.  The grilled cheese is an oasis in the woods.  I am not prepared to help in case of break down, (unless it is physical then I am prepared).  When Mike Pierce and Joel Watson rolled through though, I had a moment of caring.  Joel had come up from Charleston to race this beast with Mike, and he had lost a cleat.  When he said that his race was over, my heart sank.  I know what it feels like to DNF.  I went to my truck and pulled out a shoe with the cleat that he needed.  He was stoked to be back in the game.

Today, the mail came and Joel sent me a cleat with a little note and  an even smaller bicycle.   Thanks for spreading the kindness.  Little things like that make a person's day so much better!!

The insurance inspector/adjuster/what ever they call them is coming today to let me know if the damage is covered or not.  Should be interesting.  For some reason, I never thought to make a claim about any of the repairs that I have done.   Live and learn, I suppose.

I'll title this project:  "Rebuilding My House, 12 feet at a time".

Rot

We finally saved up a couple hundred bucks to work on the ongoing house renovation that started nine years ago.  Up next on the list is to replace the siding on the original part of the house to match the siding on the addition. 

I have decided to do the project in 12 foot sections, approx one per month until it is completed.   The Hardi Plank is 12ft long and this will also break the larger project down into smaller more affordable pieces.  

The kid and I went to town, tearing of 3 layers of siding.  Vinyl, pressboard, and finally shingle.  Once we got down to the wood, I was very discouraged to find quite a bit of rot.  It is all dry and looks like it has been there for a very long time.  But all of it will have to be replaced.  

I'm waiting for a call from the insurance company who is sending a guy out to assess the damage and let me know if it is covered. 

The only major projects on this house are this siding project and a new roof.  Two major projects.  It will be so nice when these are done!!  

Summer project number one is complete though.  Last year, the kid and I built this cool clubhouse, but ran out of time, and put a simple flat roof on it,  plywood covered with plastic.  It was pretty lame and leaked, so last week, we got a nice metal roof on it, and gave a little more light and room inside.  He is pretty excited about it.

The project went pretty smoothly and turned out really cool.

 Fun times.

Thursday Nights

Ahh, the back of the paceline!

 The Thursday night ride has been a lot of fun lately.  Splitting into 2 groups has been fairly successful and everyone seems to be happy with the group they are riding with.  Oddly though, the A group still stops to regroup.  I'm not sure why,  they have free reign to hammer, and they still stop.  Sometimes long enough that the B group catches them, sometimes until we get just within sight. 

I hope that more people start to come out and enjoy the ride.  

Last night was cool, because there were about 6 people in my group.  There was a guy who did not have much experience riding with others, strong but no knowledge.  When we started the rotating paceline, we were able to coach him a bit on how to keep it rolling.  He seemed to pick up on it pretty quickly. 

The new kits rock,  get one. (Voler)

 The weather yesterday was amazing.  This was actually the 4th day in a row that I got to ride my bike!  The consistency is starting to show.  Unfortunately, I am looking at 3 days of the bike this weekend.  Oh well,  I'll be eating BBQ and that's a good substitute.

I had a chat with the kid about P55.5 vs GNAR.  We came to a compromise and are going to skip GNAR this year,  freeing up the day for me to "race" the P55.5.   I'm not sure how that happened, but I'm going to roll with it.  I can't wait to toe the line again.  March seems like a long time away, and I miss everything that goes with racing.  The challenge, the beauty, the struggle.  It motivates me and I don't take it for granted.  In the grand scheme of things, it is a huge privileged.

The forest is exploding in green

Get out there!

Spin Tech Training

Sometimes I ride the 3 miles each way to the studio, sometimes I drive.  I recommend riding there, because once when I drove, I forgot my shoes, and that really pissed me off.  Driving has that affect on people....

Anyway.  I roll up to the front door and am greeted with a vibrant, colorful display of bikes, clothing, accessories, and beer. 

Beer City Bicycles houses Spin Tech Training, a Computrainer facility here in Asheville NC.  I recently signed up to get some help with some training for the  P111K. 

As I walk into the showroom, Frank yells: "  Hey Stephen,  how ya doin',  put your bike in the rack over there and I'll get you set up".  I'm not used to people waiting on me but I welcome the help.  Within minutes, I am warming up on the Computrainer,  waiting for the computer to get warmed up as well. 

We calibrate the bike with the machine, and my 80 minutes of bliss gets started.  In front of me, I can see watts, heartrate, cadence, MPH and also the row of blocks which represent a percentage of my Functional Threshold Power.

My FTP is 247.  We found this out after submitting to a grueling, steady, hard 20 minute time trial.   I'm supposed to do it again after 4 weeks of training, and we are supposed to see some improvement....  I'm not sure if I would rather do that test or go to the dentist.  At least after the test, my mouth is not numb.

One concern when signing up for the training was that I would have to do several workouts inside each week.  As you know it is spring and we all want to be outside.   I was told that I had the option of coming in 1-2 times per week, and the rest of my training could be done outside.  And with the wet cold weather, this had turned out to be a great option. 

Do I recommend this as a training option?  Yes, definitely.  A quality workout 1-2 times per week,  80 minutes of my time, convenient location.  The only better option would be to have my own Computrainer.  The downside being that I would not have access to the wealth of training knowledge at Spin Tech. 

I had to bail on my plans for P111k  but am now planning on the P55.5 the following day.   And with the Fletcher Flyer 100 on the horizon,  I look forward to how much this training is going to help me.  

PMBAR 2013

 I had the opportunity for the 3rd year in a row to "police" FS Road 5015 during PMBAR.  I was looking forward and so apparently were lots of other folks, to spending a day in the woods, and serving up some grilled cheese sammies and Coke.  I loaded the truck and headed out to be at the Laurel Mountain Trailhead by 8am.  Eric had not included N Mills River in this year's edition so I would be able to get the job done here.

My space for the day,  it was awesome.

 I got set up, brewed some coffee, turned on some tunes and waited.  I watched a couple of hours tick by, still waiting, seeing no racers.  Then I started to second guess myself, wondering if I had set up on the wrong day.  I called the wife to verify the date,  just in case.  Around 11am, I got some sammies on the grill and ready to go.  Perfect timing.  Just after 11am , the first team came through.  After about 20 minutes, the second team.  10 teams came through by noon, then there was another long lull in the action.  Finally around 1pm,  teams started rolling through fairly regularly and I was in business. 

nom nom nom

 The day had started misty and chilly, and gradually, the rain moved in.  The raindrops got bigger and bigger as the day went on, and people brought reports of wet and muddy trail conditions.  I was at a point where an out and back seemed the best way to go so I got to see a lot of people deteriorate later in the day.  Once a body gets soaking wet, and then chilled, it is very, very difficult to get warmed back up.  The body starts to shut down, and things can get hairy pretty quickly.  I would say from what I observed that most of the people out there were aware of this and aware of their limits.  But, every now and then, things happen and we need help from the outside.  For a couple of people, the grilled cheese and hot fire pit were not enough to bring them back from knocking on hypothermia's door.  Twice, I cranked up the truck with the heat on, to attempt to warm the racers up, but to no avail.  I had to watch the painful decision to pull the plug on the race.

Sometimes, no matter how well you plan and train, things turn south and it is a wise person who pulls the plug before having to call in the professionals...  I've been there, and it gets expensive.

Tony and Taft, eyeballing more sammies.

All in all, though it was a great day.  Seeing old friends and greeting new ones.  Lots of planning and speculation going on throughout the day.  It didn't matter if it was the pros or the first timers, everyone was looking for the quickest way somewhere.  Earlier in the day, it was the quickest way to the next checkpoint.  Later in the day it became the quickest way to the free beer!!

The warmest spot in Pisgah!

Sunday, I was pretty worn out.  A busy week prior, and then hanging out in the paradise called Pisgah all day.  I must say, I did feel several twinges of jealousy.  But at the same time, I was very glad that I was warm and dry.  Doing this has definitely been a highlight of my year!!

I do this with no expectation of receiving anything in return.  The folks who came and were refreshed owe me nothing.  I ask nothing.  I simply want to do something kind,  to start a ripple in the water, so to speak.

Every year, several people ask how they can repay.  So,  if you really want to do something, you can either click here to donate to Trips For Kids WNC,  or contact me to donate bikes or gear for The Bicycle Thrift Shop.   

Other than that,  a high five  or a smile is what I want,  and I got plenty of that out in the middle of the woods!!  You all rock!  Thanks for the inspiration.

Change

I'm starting to think that this is going to end up being the year of non rides.  But, I'm ok with that, because the result of changed plans is spending quality time with my kid.  Maybe I'm supposed to focus on the kid instead of focusing on when I can get out for days at a time.

I was looking at my calendar and realized that if I didn't change plans, I would miss the kid's final 2 soccer games.  One weekend would be really difficult to change, but the other is a no brainer.  I pulled the plug on the P111K.   This is actually a good thing.  With all of the rides and events in May, relating to Trips For Kids WNC,  taking kids on rides/ bike safety rodeos etc,  I have not been able to train consistently.  I'll have to remember not to take on any racing in May, June and July. 

I do still plan on trying to beat 5 hrs at The Fletcher Flyer though.  And if/when the window opens, I'll head out for some solo overnight adventures. 

Until then I'll be out back playing monster tag, kicking the soccer ball and making ice cream runs!

Enjoy the weekend!