New Truck

Well, after a long time of praying, saving, waiting, thinking, waiting, praying etc, we brought a new truck home last night. We got a gracious deal on a truck with less than 100,000 miles and no oil leaks. I have to acknowledge the fact that this would not have been possible without God's grace.

This event in out life has caused me to stop and ponder. Did I do something good to deserve this? Do I deserve this? What am I doing right? I try repeatedly to figure it out. But it is not me, it is my Creator. It is not about deserving something, or storing up holy brownie points. It is a gift that I did not earn or work for.
Same goes for the past 4 months of trouble with the deck roof, permits, electrical, dentist bill, etc. I believe those were also gifts, situations that were provided to make me stronger.
"Every good and perfect thing is from God"
And I learned some good and perfect things from the roof project!!!

Speaking of the electrical work, the electrician called today and said the inspection should happen tomorrow. After that Progress energy can move the main connection and the maybe, just maybe, I can finish the roof!!!

Have a great rainy day!!!

Blueberry Pickin'

We took our annual trip up to the highlands to pick some wild blueberries. It is up around 5000 ft and beautiful. The air is crisp and clear, easy to breathe. The scenery is astounding!!!

Sold

I listed the truck on Craigslist Ahseville. I got calls from at least 10 people and sold the truck within 24 hrs of posting. Sweet!!!

We are now a one car family for a little while. We have worked out a deal on a new to us vehicle which we are very excited about. Details after the deal is done!!!1

Have a great day!!!!

Back to School

Those were dreaded words in my day as a school kid. I was always kind of wimpy though. Jubal seems to be doing better than dad, he didn't even cry today when I dropped him off. ( I didn't either). He chose the spot and the pose for his back to school picture!!



My niece and bro went out west for some backpacking and relazation. They hiked up Half Dome in the big Y. Kara took a picture of windmills. I don' t know why we don't have these here. If you are a farmer, lease some of your land to a windmill/power generator company. You'll be rolling in the dough in no time, then you can donate half of the profit, help end world hunger, and still have enough to buy a new car!!!! Think about it!!

Have a great day!!

For Sale: 1992 Ford Ranger

The truck is currently for sale. $1500 gets you a 1992 Ford Ranger Pick-Up with 140,000 miles, camper top, 4 speed with overdrive, re-built transmission ( 1yr ago), 6 month old tires, 4 cyl, old school cassette deck, runs great. Great little truck. Reply to this blog if interested.

Cold Days

With the days getting shorter, I already start to think about cold mid-winter bike rides. Here is a picture of me on Squirrel Gap in Pisgah last winter. Jeremy and I finished this ride after dark, approx 36 degrees.

Fun Stuff!!

Have a great day.

Family Fun

The Asheville Janes had quite a fun weekend. Saturday morning, Jubal and I went out to Camp Rockmont to spend some time working in the garden, while Rhonda stayed at home and caught up on some sewing.
After lunch we loaded up for some hiking around Black Balsam. That went well until a rather fierce thunderstorm closed in and chased us home. After we were thoroughly drenched!!!!

Sunday after going to church, we hit the trails at Bent Creek for some mtn bike action!!



This sunflower grew in our yard.

Rhonda at Lake Powhatan.

Jubal throwing rocks.

The family.

More photos

Here are some photos from high mtn camp. This is the couple that I chatted with while waiting for Mike and Stan. " The Raulersons".





Mrs Raulerson was kind enough to take a picture. She had never taken a picture on a cell phone before.
This is Mike and me on the Blue Ridge Parkway on Sunday, shortly after the infamous climb up hwy 80.

No Fool's Gold for me this year. Maybe next. I get to spend a lot of time with my family this weekend though. No new vhicle for now either!!! The time is not right, and I have learned not to rush big purchases. Ahhh, patience young grasshopper!!!





Have a great day.

Thursday Night Ride

My Bent Creek mtn bike ride last night started with this:


A little black bear running across the road!!! I hooked up with Kylie again, and another fast dude on a Maverick, today I am stiff. I need more rides like that. We rode for about 2 hrs and maintained a 10 mph avg. Lots of climbing was done.

We are considering a new vehicle, scraping together our finances to see if we can afford it. An offer has been presented to us. In light of that, it looks like I am bailing on Fool's Gold this year. Priorities!!! If I were in contention for the $1000 prize for first place, I would go and the trip would pay for itself, but since I'm not......

Have a great day!!

dilema

Fool's Gold 100 miler or 50 miler, this is the question. I'm registered for the 100. I'm considering the 50 in case I'm not feeling so hot, I can finish with one loop, or finish feeling good. Or if I do well, then I can finish. If I stay in the hundred, and only complete one 50 mile loop, and call it quits, then I get a DNF. But, if I am feeling really good, then I can continue and complete the 100. I guess I need to figure out if I am doing this as a race, to place well, or as training: continuing to figure out my nutritional needs. Really, I need to focus on the later. Focus on feeling good, and enduring, rather than pushing past my limits.

Hmmm, what to do?

Have a great day.

Night Train Results

http://ridethenighttrain.com/results2008.html



I'm pleased with my 6th out 9 solo 12 hr placing!!!!

Onward to Fool's Gold this weekend. My nutritionist has advised me to double the amount of sodium intake as I was taking way below what is recommended. So, I'm gonna do that this weekend. Unfortunately, I won't have time for a long ride before the weekend, so I'm gonna give it a go and really listen to what my body is telling me.

I sold my single speed mtn bike, so now I am down to two bikes. While I will miss the WUSS, I am feeling good about simplifying, and feeling good about reducing debt!!!

Have a great day.

Ridin' the Night Train

Two weeks ago I retired from racing until I could figure out what my nutrition problem is. One week ago I had a successful road ride, feeling great at the end. I had decided to try to sell my spot at the Fool's Gold races in GA for next weekend. Inside I was hoping that it would not sell and I would get to go.

Last week the promoter from Night Train 12 hr race e-mailed me to let me know that he was holding a spot for me if I wanted to race.

Thursday, Rhonda and Jubal went to Roanoke to visit Rhonda's parents and some hometown friends.

I had planned to ride the ORAMM route solo, to prove to myself that I can do it. But, with the invitation to participate in an event with other people around to help out, I went with it.

I left Friday night, headed to Fontana Village in the Nantahala National Forest. I got there around 10:30 pm and was greeted by some happy people. The lights were out, but some people don't equate a good night's sleep with a good performance. The loud drunken talk finally finished around 2 am. I slept until 7, got up and headed to the restaurant for breakfast. I was determined that I was not going to race. This was a practice ride, the intention to focus on nutrition. And that is exactly what I did.

When I got hungry, I stopped and ate. When I was tired I rested. When I felt like I could keep going at the end of the day, but knew that it could push me over the edge, I finished, jumped in the swimming pool and hung out with friends the rest of the evening.

The day went well. The course is 9 miles with 2400+ ft of climbing per lap. I rode the entire thing 6 times. Lap one felt good, lap two I picked up the pace a little bit because the trail was so fun. I didn't go real fast but apparently did something wrong because sometime during lap 3 I stopped sweating. I had stopped to relieve myself just after starting the lap and the color was clear, indicating that my fluid intake was good.

But, here is the catch, the above statement is not always true. I read an article that stated that if your bodies electrolytes are low, the body will flush out excess fluid to balance the electrolytes/fluid in the body.

My theory, I can't rely on my urine color to confirm electrolyte balance. Also, I'm inclined to think that I did not have enough electrolytes in my system and by body was flushing extra fluids. Unfortunately, I was not rested and thinking things through so I kept going. I finished lap 3, sat in the pits to re-hydrate. I was not moving until I started sweating again. Laps 4-6 were a fine balance between feeling good and feeling not so fresh. Hence the decision to stop. I was not feeling constant, not improving, and likely, I was getting slowly worse.

I don't know how I placed and don't know that I care ( OK I care, and wish I had checked to see where I had placed). I do plan on doubling up on my electrolyte intake to see what happens. I have heard that one cannot take too many electrolytes, but will have to research that.

Below you will see pictures of SAM. He is one of the many animals that lives with us, and I chose him to be my traveling partner for the weekend!!!

For some reason, I decided to wait until the awards ceremony at 11:15 pm, instead of driving home to my own bed. At 12am, I tried to sleep in the back of my truck but sleep didn't come. At 2 am they finally turned the ball field lights off. I took my sleeping bag, laid it on the field crawled inside and was asleep in minutes!!!! 6:30 am my ballfield neighbors were up and packing quietly. I woke up, roll up my stuff, threw it in the truck and headed home.

The morning was spent legally working on my deck roof, then watching the Olympics while waiting for the family to return.

Next up? Fool's Gold 50!!!!

Have a great day!!

Riding with Champions

Last night's Bent Creek ride was fun. I have been wanting to ride with folks who like to keep it moving. Stopping and chatting is fine, but for me, I only get to mtn bike 1-2 times per week, I like to push myself.

I pulled into the parking lot at Rice Pinnacle, got dressed and ready to go. Phil and Kylie pulled up and asked if I wanted to join them. Heck yes!!! I hoped to keep up. Kylie just got 3rd place at U23 National Mtn Bike Championships!! I couldn't keep up with her, but was able to hang with Phil on his downhill rig, until we hit the downhills. Then I was able to hang with Kylie, we were having a slow speed, small air comp!!! Fun Stuff.

I got a bill in the mail from the Buncombe County Tax collector's office. Apparently the tax on my truck is due. So, I have to scrounge up the $6.83 that I owe. Freaking ridiculous. I bet with man hours and everything involved, it cost way more than that to even send me the bill!!!

I'm NOT racing this weekend, but I am on a secret mission to try my new nutrition plan on the mtn bike. I'll let you know how it goes!!!1

Have a great day.

Fun

We have our own little water park in the back yard!! I have a tender heel and right buttock from this!!

Have a great day!!

Not Just Me

This is an excerpt from an interview with Georgia Gould that I read on Cyclingnews.com: "I remember racing and being really hot. I was getting tired and starting to get sloppy on the downhills. It's hard to distinguish that from getting tired at the end of a race when you've been going all out.
"I didn't know I was feeling different until the last climb when my body just shut down. I couldn't stay on my bike. I couldn't walk with my bike. I remember looking around for a tree I could just crawl under. I thought, 'Screw the bike, where's a tree?'"
"When people found me, I was lying there all slow, and I had to think about what month it was and where I was. It was the most crazy experience of my life. My brain was working so slowly and I didn't feel like myself at all."

Wow, that sounds familiar. She explained it well.

Saturday is going to be a sad day for me. I found a buyer for my single speed mtn bike. It is a sweet bike that took me all over the forest, and I'm definitely going to miss it.

The roof project is moving along again, finally. I picked up the permit yesterday, to which I had added an electrical permit. The electrical contractor called me to let me know that the wrong company was listed. I had to go back to the permit office to have them change the name. So the permit is posted now and I can go to work. My plans were approved, with a couple of minor changes.

Unfortunately I have a lot going on right now, and I won't be able to find much time to work on it. I need to find out if the permit expires.

Bent Creek ride tonight. I'm a little burned out on Kitsuma, so I'm looking forward to cruising around Bent Creek!!!

Have a great day.

Video

Wow, this video took a long time to load, but here you go:

Yeah

I mounted my camera on my handle bars and took some pictures on the way to work, I took some video too, but I have to figure out how to get it on here!!!

Azalea Rd: Some dude, that I blew past!! Yeah I'm bad....I did greet him though!!!!
Hwy 70, look at that mtn!!!
Old Hwy 70, in front of the Juvenile Detention Center, see the chain link fence?
Lake Eden Rd, 1 mile from Camp

The permit office called today, my plans have been approved and my permit is ready to be picked up. Finally I can move on, get this roof done, sit in the shade and drink some lemonade!!!!!

Waiting for the Inevitable

I'm waiting for the call from the Asheville Building Permit Office. My fear is that they won't approve my plans, and I'll get the run around. That's how my life goes, try to keep it simple and it complicates. Waiting.....

Have a great day.

One Step Forward

This weekend, Rhonda, Jubal and I enjoyed a fun weekend with our friend Mike K up in little Switzerland. Of course, bikes were involved and being in that area, there are so many routes to choose from. The only downside of the weekend was that we wound up with too much food, and had to bring a lot of it back home. Mike had invited quite a few people who came up with random reasons as to why they could not come. Stan Shaw was the only one who was brave enough, even though he had only committed to one day.

High Mtn Camp:
We woke up a little too early for a Saturday, but Mike had planned a long route and we wanted to get going. We ate breakfast, drank coffee and chatted while we enjoyed the view from the deck. It was already warm at 8am.

I was concerned about riding 75 miles on the road, even though I have done it before. With the high temp forecast to be 90, I did not want to end up on the side of the road with heat exhaustion. So, I formulated a plan. I set my timer to 30 minutes. Every time the timer went I off, I made sure that I had drunk half of a bottle, and ate at least a couple of bites of energy bar or a gel. I also decided to drink only NUUN, instead of a bottle of water and a bottle of sports drink.

Off we went, up 226a, right onto some road and eventually down Crabtree Rd. This is a winding country road that led us down into the valley, west of the Parkway. We crossed 19E and wound up on hwy 80 N. We got on the Burnsville Metric route and went counter clockwise. Through Kona, Bandana , Loafers Glory.

Beep, beep, beep. Drink, eat. I was feeling fine. Sweating well and feeling fine. I led the guys on a wrong turn, and instead of staying on the mellow river rd, we went south on 197 for a nice long climb. I'm glad I like to climb. Mike feels differently about climbing than I do, and Stan, well, he kept making comments about getting in the SAG car. It was a great climb and I got in a groove and rolled on up ahead of the guys.

At the gap, I looked to the right and there was a house with a carport and an elderly couple sitting out there enjoying the view. I pulled up into the driveway and chatted with them while I waited. The Rauluersons. They had been there for a long time (50yrs?). Not too much later, Mike and Stan rode up and we hit the long decent into Burnsville.

It turns out that there was a huge crafts fair going on and it was a bit crazy. Rhonda and Jubal met us at a restaurant, we ate and took off on our bikes while they stayed and looked around.

I realized when we left that I should have asked for water, instead of sweet tea. But, there is nothing I could do about that.

Riding down 19 E, Mike decided to show us a little loop that would get us off of the busy highway for a while. We road several miles up, got to a gap, and looked at the map. The loop was cool and all, but since we had take then second entrance, we were actually headed back towards Burnsville, the opposite direction than we wanted to go. Rather that continue on the loop, we dropped back down the hill and continued on our way.

We went south on Hwy 80, along the river, gently rising up, knowing that soon the gentle slope would turn into a steep climb up to the parkway. At the bottom of the steeper section, I ran out of water. We stopped at a church and used their spigot to fill up. We heard thunder and it started to rain but stopped.

On up to the Parkway, north and back to Little Switzerland. We wound up with 75 miles and 5 hrs of riding. I drank NUUN the entire time, and ate energy bars. I never got that hollow feeling in my core that I usually get. Also, at the end of the ride, I felt differently than I have in the past. Not at all nauseous, but somewhat fresh, tired but fresh!!!!! Yahoo NUUN!!!! I am so sold on that product.

75 miles: 5hrs riding time: 8100 ft of climbing




Day two:

After a good night's sleep in the fresh mtn air, Mike and I headed down 226A. This is a fun winding road that drops down into the valley on the east side of the Parkway. We did a fun 40 mile loop that took us down into the valley, then back up hwy 80 ( a classic climb) and hit the Parkway back to the house.

40 miles, about 3 hrs, almost 5000 ft of climbing.

We ate lunch, packed up and head home. We drove south on the parkway and then down Curtis Creek Rd. Stopped in a creek to play, then home.

Success, I rode for a long time in the heat and felt fine. I'll continue to drink NUUN and eat every 30 minutes. Now I need to try this method on a long mtn bike ride.

Have a great day.

nuun

I got home from my mtn bike ride last night and was greeted with a box from nuun, the electrolyte replacement company. Apparently, somehow they found my blog about the Hot Doggett, and were so please that I was complementing them on the WWW, they sent me some product.
Thanks nuun!!!!!

So, you ask, what is so special about nuun? I have tried other sports drinks but have not found any that work. The main reason that I tried nuun is that they don't use sugar as a sweetener. They also use all natural ingredients. nuun is easily portable in the little tubes, which are waterproof, and it tastes great. I have only tried lemon lime but they also have berry, orange and cola flavors. The innovative company also just added a somewhat larger tube containing larger tabs which match the size of a hydration pack bladder. Oh yeah, and it's a little bit fizzy!!!! Try it, you won't be disappointed.

Last night I hit Kitsuma again. Some of the staff from camp wanted to go, and knowing that it would be slow going, I went early to get one loop in by myself. My first loop took about 1 hr, and after waiting for 20 minutes for the guys to show up, we hit the trail again. We made it through the single track, and turned left to go up old us 70. One of the guys is not accustomed to riding hills. About one third of the way up, in a weak voice, as darkness was closing in around us, he asked" how much farther?". We laughed at him, then I dropped back and pushed him most of the rest of the climb. Good workout for sure.

Have a nuun day!!!!