Sunday Then Saturday

Sunday we went for a relaxing family hike. I needed to soak my legs in some icy cold water, so we headed up to this little spot off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We hung out for a while and then discovered quite a few salamanders also hanging out under the overhang.

Saturday we got to go sailing out at Camp Rockmont. It was Jubal's first sailing trip so he loved it. He even got brave and sat on the front of the boat, to let his hands drag in the water. He also got to man the tiller for a little while.

6 days til ORAMM!!!

Have a great day.

The First Visit

So, I get to the dentist office yesterday. I'm ready to barf. I wonder, is it the money involved or the actual drilling that makes me so afraid?

I go in, they take x-rays, the dentist pokes my gum and teeth, asks questions etc. Then she starts saying stuff like, "hmmm, there's something going on between 12 and 13", followed by" let's do another bite wing so I can get a better look, I really don't want to start drilling and find that there is nothing there". Hmmm, sounds like she knows what she is doing. 3 sets of x-rays later, she decides that there is a cavity there. Not only is there a cavity there, she finds 3 other little cavities that need attention. Dang it!!!

I now realize that it is the $1200 dentist bill that I dread, and not the actual drilling. I guess we are gonna be eating lots more beans in the near , make that near and far future.

Rhonda called me this morning, it appears that the electricians finally decided to show up. Yipee!!

Have a great day.

Results

How could I forget? Yesterday, Jubal, my favorite son went down the zipline here at camp for the first time. Unfortunately we did not have a camera around, but there was no way that I was going to ask him to wait. He decided that he wanted to do it, and he did!!!! I'll get some pictures as soon as possible!!!




Also,

The Hot Doggett:

I placed 47th out of 98. That is in the top 50%. I'm pleased with that!! ! I remember when I used to be one of the last people in from a century, sometimes 8hrs. Fun times.

One Down....

...one to go. I sold my fixed gear track bike last night. It was sad to see it go, but now I have more room in my shed, and a college kid has a sweet bike. The kid is very excited about starting up a team at his college this year, and was very excited to get into a new discipline. Sweet.

Last week I mentioned that I was going to be going to the dentist on (last) Friday instead of this Thursday. Well, the dentist got sick and I have had to wait until today. A long wait it has been, long and dreaded. Hopefully it won't cost more than I have in savings.

The electrician still has not come out to do the work on the house. The guy who was supposed to come, could not come because his mom fell and was injured and he needed to go help her.

Do you ever feel like you are stuck in a rut? I've had the deck roof framed in and ready to cover since April!!!!

Hopefully I'll feel like going for a ride tonight after the dentist. I've been off the bike since Sunday!! I'm ready to ride again.

Have a great day.

Good For You

Grape Tomatoes
Green Tomatoes
Baby Tulip Tree
Baby Hickory

Daisies
More Daisies
Sunflower
Pine Cones on a Christmas Tree
More Sunflowers

This is what I wake up to every morning, what I come home to every evening. It is a good yard I have. Lots of yummy veggies, lots of little trees. All of it environmentally safe. Good for me.

Have a great day

Resting

Still resting. I might start some cross training tonight, in the form of cutting the grass. I might get on the rollers, I might not. Jubal has been with my parents for a couple of days so I'm sure he'll want to play soccer, Frisbee or wrestle. If so, the grass can wait another day. I figure the lawn needs recovery days too.

The bad thing about rest days is driving so much, my gas costs double during these times. The good thing about rest days is resting.

The countdown continues, 1.5 weeks until the Off Road Assault on Mt Mitchell. I really want to do well, but I really need to just enjoy the ride. This might be my last one for a while as I might get additional responsibilities at camp next year. It just depends what day the race falls on and what the summer camp schedule is like.

I have realized, not learned yet, but realized that I really need to race my race. One cannot race faster than they have trained. I can't keep up with National Champions who are on training programs and have coaches. I need to remember what I average training speed/time etc is and stick to that.

This should be easy, as I have been keeping track of my speed while riding Kitsuma and Mill Creek Rd. So during the race, if I am going faster than my records, I need to slow down. I also need to remember that the race will not be won, in the first 5 miles. There is so much time to make up spots. When the organizer says go, I need to let them go!!!

In other news, I have a new radiator: cool!!! And the electricians are supposedly coming today, and I have the dentist appt Thursday. Wow, I'm going broke in one week!!!

Have a great day.

What to do?

I counted my bikes. I can only ride one at a time, but I have 4 different bikes. They all serve a different purpose. I have them and use them all, but not that much. I should sell some, I could do without two of them. I like to live simply. It's nice having extra, just in case I want to use it, or ride something different. That's the American way huh? Get a bunch of stuff, just in case I need it, or rather, think I need it. I'm trying to convince myself not to sell two of the bikes, but I'm having trouble finding good enough reasons.

I have a Bianchi Pista ( 57cm) track bike in excellent condition. I tried racing fixed gear, and while it was fun, I decided it wasn't my thing. Not to mention I don't really have the time or money to squeeze it in. I also use this bike as a commuter, and it is fun, but I suppose I could do fine without it. I'll let this one go for $450. It comes with several different sized cogs, fixed and freewheel, flip flop rear wheel, two sets of handle bars, one for the track, and one with a front brake for the road. Both handle bars are deck out with Celeste bar tape, the bike is shiny chrome.

I also have a Bianchi WUSS, single speed Mtn bike ( 19.5 in). This bike is a whole lot of fun, but I can only ride one bike at a time, and I don't have a lot of time. So, why let it sit there, waiting for me to ride it, just in case one day I might ride it. I'm going to sell this one for $950. It includes several different sized cogs and Cane Creek bar ends. It is white and decked out with celeste water bottle cages.

Now, I just have to let go. One of my life mottos is, " Simplify". It's not always easy to do, but once it is done, life is so uncomplicated. I feel better already.

Have a great day.

Humbled by The Doggett

I woke up at 5 am to get my system going. Some coffee, a lot of water, some peanut butter toast. I can't eat much because I feel nauseas. I can't eat at 5am on a normal day. My body simply does not function at that time of day. Once, I worked at Starbucks. It was a great job with great people. My manager decided that I was doing such a good job, she would schedule me for the morning shift. The morning shift starts at 5:30 am, to prep everything to open at 6 am. Even back then, without knowing much about nutrition, I knew that I would be non-functional at that time of day. I recommended that she not schedule me for that time. I told her I was not being lazy, just that I would not be functional. She smiled and put me on the schedule anyway. The day of my first morning shift rolled around. I showed up on time and proceeded to attempt to function. I did not do so well, and she never scheduled me for that shift again.

So, we loaded up and headed to Mars Hill. Check-in , registraton, rider's meeting, start. Off the line the pace was hot. I was 45 riders from the front. At the first turn, I saw Andy and Cara Applegate, 2008 Tandem RR National Champions leading, I hung with that group for 30 minutes. My idea was to push a little harder, get some fast pulls and get a jump start on the day. First mistake. I should not have gone out that fast. ( I have trouble learning that lesson). I didn't realize that until later.

I felt fine, for the first 50 miles. I felt good going up the 6 miles of Doggett Mtn, a really cool winding road that I want to ride again. 1 hour into the ride and the temp was already hot. I was dripping sweat which is good. One of my new strategies is to drink everytime I think about drinking. Even if I glance down at the water bottle, I drink. I'm trying to make this more of a habit. I'm also trying to empty my two 20oz bottles between rest stops. I came close to this in the first 50 miles.

I rolled into Hot Springs, which is the half way point. Rhonda and Jubal were there waiting and we talked about how hot is was getting. There is a 2 mile climb out of Hot Springs where I started to falter. I had drunk an energy shake at Hot Springs and by the 2 mile climb was over, I was already hungry, I should have eaten a PB & J. I continued on. On the next climb I cramped. It was my left inner thigh. I stopped, streched, rode, drank. I remembered the first 30 minutes, and realized I should have gone out slower. I really need to ride my own ride/ race my own race.

On the climb to the final rest stop, I bonked. I made the mistake of trying to make it to the next rest stop before eating. I need to add, " eat now" to my " drink now" strategy. I guess it has finally dawned on me that with my faster speeds, I am putting in more effort, which in turn means that what has worked in the past, will not work now. " Eat now, Drink now".

I got to the last rest stop at Sam's Gap. The sun was blazing, but the air was cooler, and I was still sweating. 15 miles to go. 2 miles downhill at 40 mph.

Up until this point I had been drinking NUUN and water. No Gu2O. I figured I would switch it up and have GU2O for the remainder of the ride instead of NUUN. I thought the extra carbs and calories in the sports drink would be helpful. After getting halfway up the next hill with 10 miles to go, I took a couple of swigs of GU2O. 30 seconds later, WHAM, a wave of nausea. I had not felt nauseas up to this point. I had felt hungry, tired, cramped, but not nauseas. So, it must be the GU2O that is part of the problem. Now I have a useless bottle of sports drink that I don't dare use.

I get off my bike in some shade, stand there for a few minutes, get on , ride uphill some more. Stop again. I take a swig of the water bottle that has plain water, and it tastes really funny, not pleasant at all, and it is difficult to drink. By this time I am not sweating, and I should be dripping. I decide to call it a day and start looking for a SAG vehicle. Grant Grosch comes around the corner, but his car is already full. People are dropping like flies. Grant tells me he'll be back in 15 minutes. I say cool and sip that funny tasting water. I get on and ride a little more, and then I start sweating!!! Then I sip a little more and keep riding. 5 miles to go, Grant comes back, but I refuse to stop at this point. I keep going, and manage to make it across the line in 6:52.

I didn't get either of my goals but I definitely learned a little bit more about my body and what I need:

-I'm through with GU2O for longer rides. I'll drink it on a 30 miler but that's it. I'm not sure if it the sugar of what, but I'm going to cut out all sports drinks.( for now anyway)

-NUUN rocks. It always tasted fresh, and never really got old. I should not have switched it out at the last rest stop. I'll keep using it.

-" Eat Now, Drink Now". That's my new mantra.

The Off-Road Assault on Mt Mitchell is in 2 weeks. I'm looking forward to that. I'm looking forward to trying my new mantra and racing my own race.

Fool's Gold 100 is in 4 weeks. I'm considering only doing the 50 mile option. But, I know I can do 50. I want to do 100 miles, and do it well. The 100 miler is the 50 mile loop 2 times, so it will be logistically easy to bail after 1 lap if temps go crazy hot, or any other reason.

I now have 2-3 days off the bike to recover. What am I gonna do with all that extra time?

Have a great day.

5AM

The alarm went off at 5 am. I made my self feel better about it by telling myself that this is only 1.5 hours earlier than my normal wake-up time, I feel much better now. The world has a different feel to it at this time of morning.

A few minutes ago some hooligan backed into our driveway, then spun the tires slinging my fresh gravel all over. Don't you have something better to do?

Rhonda told me the MSD( the city sewer people) stopped by yesterday. They told here that they needed to located the city sewer line that runs through our backyard. Interesting, don't they know where it is? Even more interesting is that they were doing this at the request of Bruce Alexander, the developer from Lifestyle Homes. The one that already dug through our yard once this year. Rhonda made sure they were not going to dig the backyard up. They assured her that they would not. Why would Bruce need this information? Maybe he is trying to figure out how many houses he could put on my property!!!!

Time to go stretch and spread some Chamois Butt'r

Good Ride

I did one Kitsuma loop last night. It was muggy. It is more difficult to breathe in the high humidity, kind of like trying to breathe water, but not as bad. I felt good, but decided to drive to work today, saving energy for tomorrow. I should not have cut the neighbor's grass on Wednesday, I could feel that in my legs, but, you gotta do what you gotta do, eh?

The Hot D will be the first paid road ride I have participated in since.....uhhh.... I can't remember. It might have been Tour De Leaves last October. The last Century I did was the Nantahala Nightmare 1.5 yrs ago. It was 32 degrees at the start and did not get warmer than 38. That was a cold 100 miles!

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, except for the 5am wake up time. I have to get up early to get my system going. I am hoping to get with a smaller group of savvy riders who will work together and not stop too long.

Two goals: 1. Finish under 6.5 hrs, I've never finished a century under 7 hrs and I think I am finally in shape to do it. 2. Finish feeling good, with some left, as this is simply training for Fool's Gold coming up in August.

I'll let you know.
Have a great day.

In the Dirt

Last is the first night that I cut grass for money since I was in college. That brought back some weird memories of people I used to cut grass for.

I got a call from the dentist this morning and I am now scheduled to go in Friday afternoon. Great, now I only have 36 hours to dread rather than one week. I knew things would get better soon!!!

The car goes into the shop on Monday morning to get a new radiator.

Hopefully I'll stay away from crack for a while.

Kitsuma ride today, probably just do one lap so I can feel good on Saturday for the century!!

Have a great day.

Crack Problem

Hi my name is Stephen and I have a Crack Problem.

Cracked tooth, cracked radiator, what next?

I get to go to the dentist next week. I have sever anxiety over seeing the dentist as I now have a lump in my stomach that will likely stay there until I pay off the bill for services rendered. I would not be going if I had not cracked my tooth.

The radiator in our car is cracked too, that will cost less than the tooth to replace. The only thing that makes a cracked tooth better than a cracked radiator, is that a cracked tooth does not leak antifreeze!!!

In response to my sudden cracks, I am hosting a virtual bike ride/tour/race to raise money to offset the costs of my apparent crack problem. The ride is virtual so you don't even have to own a bike to ride. All you have to do is register, using the paypal button on the left, simply pay the $20 registration fee and you are riding. Hurry though, registration fills fast and registration will close as soon as I raise the money needed to pay for my addiction.

Then I'll quit crack!!!

The good news is that the electricians will be coming out today to get our power meter and outside wiring up to code.


Have a great day.

Yesterday's commute made realize that I needed to take a few days off of the bike this week. Even though I rested all day Sunday, my legs were tired and heavy on Monday. So, I'll take two days off, then ride some trails Thursday night, rest on Friday, then ride the Hot Doggett on Saturday.

I pulled up the Off Road Assault on Mt Mitchell web-site today and found this:

COURSE:
The course is still not finalized yet this year but will either be the same as last year or as in 2006. There is a $500 bonus offered to the rider that can beat Harlan Price's time of 4:54:49 if raced on last year's course, or Jeremiah Bishop's time of 5:08:05 if raced on the 2006 course. Regardless of which course is used Mill Creek Road will be paved this year, so the record will almost certainly be broken and the bonus awarded!

It says that the long dirt road climb out of the valley to the Kitsuma trailhead will be paved, which will make for faster climbing, but I have seen no sign of any plans to pave that road. I'm not going to hold my breath as I don't think that will be accomplished in the next 3 weeks. If they did manage to pave it though, my training rides up that road would really be worth it. Imagine training on a rough dirt road and then racing on the same road with totally smooth pavement. I could make up some time there. We'll see.

In other news, our yard is put back together, there is grass growing already where they dug the ditch, and the electricians are supposed to come out on Wednesday to finally upgrade and move my electric meter, sweet.

Have a great day.

Group Road Ride

I think I was spoiled years ago when I lived in Shelby NC. I rode with a group of guys who pushed me, dropped me, and dragged me around the Cleveland County. When I moved to Asheville, I had high expectations of finding such a group to ride with. I have been on several group rides here in the past four years but have been consistently let down. Either the pace was too slow for my interest, there was too much stopping and waiting, or the people were just not fun to ride with. For instance, one time I got yelled at while rotating through the front of the paceline. The guy in front of me pulled off and surged. Wanting to contribute to the group and keep the paceline rolling smoothly, I pulled off and let off the gas just a hair, enough so that I would drift to the back of the line. As soon as I let up, some woman started yelling about me speeding up to close the gap!!!! What???

So, I gave up on group rides, got tired of getting stood trying to ride with individuals, and tired of having to conform to someone else's schedule. I ride alone a lot, and that works for me. But now, I am tired of 4-7 hours rides in the woods alone, and would like to hone my fitness. I went to the Liberty Bikes web-site and found that they have a Saturday morning group ride. I decided to try it out.

The Result? It was fun!! About 10 people, a nice 17.5 pace, we stopped to re-group several times but did not wait long for the folks to catch up. I wound up with 52 miles, went home and spent the rest of the weekend with my family. I'll be back to try that group ride again in two weeks.

Have a great day.

Happy 4th of July

Who would have thought, 200 years ago, when we declared Independence, that we would be paying $4 plus for a gallon of gas?

Kitsuma was great yesterday. I hope that someday, I'll be able to lay off the brakes a little more and just flow with the trail. But, until then, I'll keep supporting the break pad companies!

As I was riding up Mill Creek Rd the second time, I passed some 14 yr old boys. The were using pocket knives to cut some saplings, not exactly sure why, but use your imagination. They had two dogs with them, on leashes. One chihuahua looking dog, and one border collie looking dog. As I rode by, the dogs attacked me. I deftly swung off of my bike and used it as a shield. The kids started yelling at the dogs, and apologizing to me, saying" Sorry, they don't like wheels"!!!

Have a great day.

Thursday Dirt

Ahh, once again it is Thursday. That means I go mtn biking. I am going to Kitsuma again and looking forward to 2.5 hours of riding. If you have never been to Kitsuma, you should. It is a great hike, and even better ride. One time for my birthday, I ran the whole 10 mile loop. It was about 35 degrees out, and it took 3 hrs. That was fun.

So, it's off to ride. One of the coolest things about this loop is seeing the looks on people's faces. I'm talking about the people who are sitting out in their driveways, relaxing, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. As I ride by I imagine what they must be saying. Things like: " There goes another one of them dad burned bike riders". The looks I am referring to is when they see me come by the second time. I imagine them saying something to the effect of" That dad burned bike rider must be lost. I surely hope he don't go up the wrong road, or he might not come back". One day I am considering stopping to ask for directions.

Have a great day.

Tasty Water

I've had some recommendations to try some active recovery so my body can slow down slowly and not come to a sudden stop at the end of endurance events. I will be trying that as well as focusing on drinking more. As far a finding a way to want to drink more, I think I will need to go with a variety of drinks, rather than one specific drink.

This morning, on my work ride, I tried a packet of Emergen-C in one water bottle. The result? I enjoyed it. I do think that this would get old after 8 hours, but I think rotating with the drinks that I currently use will be a great addition. I also felt good after drinking it, felt like I got a little extra kick. I'll have to try it on some longer rides to make sure it is not all in my head.

Good stuff,

Have a great day.

Good Saturday

The whole family slept in this morning, until 8:40 am!!! That was cool. We got up, had some delicious homemade biscuits with bacon, and Starbucks coffee. Then we headed to a secret spot to pick some fresh raspberries. We got enough for breakfast and left some for other folks and animals. It was getting hot already, but we headed to Bent Creek for 7 miles of mtn biking. Jubal is loving the trail-a-bike. He wants to go on the trails!! We hit deerfield, Boyd Branch and Wolf Branch today. We finished up by stopping by the Trek bicycle demo at Trail's End. It was fitting since we all ride Trek's.

Now we are hanging out at the house, getting ready to visit some friends who enticed us to there house with "big juicy hamburgers"!!!!

Have a great day.

Oh Man!!!!

Fresh wild raspberries on top of homemade granola, topped with local honey for breakfast. The ride to work was not fast but I felt like I was just floating along. Good start to a Friday.

Here is what I need to figure out. When the nausea hits me at races, why does it start after I stop riding and I sit down for a few minutes? My legs feel good, I can still power up climbs, no cramping in my body. I feel fatigued, then stop sit down, 2 minutes later, it rushes over me and sends me to the ground. Not painful, just very uncomfortable. I gotta get it figured out.

Have a great day,
Stephen

Hole

The digging has started. There is a huge 10 foot deep 20x20 ft hole in our neighbors yard, I guess next they will start digging a ditch through our yard. We might end up with some fresh gravel for our driveway though.

I rode my bike to work today. Just a steady spin, not pushing hard at all. I keep thinking about the Cowbell Challenge. I think I still need to drink more water, period. I think sometimes I just get tired of drinking and put it off. I need to find some way to stay interested, and look forward to that next swallow.

Have a great day.

There is a Monster in my yard.

It looks like something might actually happen. After waiting around for three hours yesterday morning, the city rep, the surveyor and the construction company had a 10 minute meeting. They agreed that the plans had been drawn up 4 yrs ago, but that nothing had changed. It took 7 guys to agree on this. Then the city guy left, the surveyor left, I told the construction guy that I would like to help move the wood pile but I have to go to work. He said that was no problem and they would take care of it. I went inside to get ready for work, and the construction crew packed up and left. Wow, that was a hard day's work. Later in the day some culverts and a giant monster were delivered.

In racing news:
I placed 12th out of 13 at the Cowbell Challenge. So I did reach one of my goals. I did not place last!! Very cool. After reviewing all of the results, I am pleased with how I did. All of my lap times were consistent. I was able to hold a steady pace. The thing that baffles me is that I didn't really feel all that bad until I stopped and sat down. Thinking back I can remember small warning signs that I ignored, simply because I didn't know any better. I'll remember those next time. It didn't help that I actually enjoyed the course, even after 9 laps.

I have the Hot Doggett 100 in 3 weeks. I went to the web-site yesterday and noticed that they had posted results. Pretty cool since it is not a race. Last year I did the metric century. I felt really good, at the start. We rolled out, I stood up to pass some people, and my crank rotated. What? I limped back to neutral support, got it fixed and started again, alone, about 20 minutes behind. I cranked and cranked, and pushed, and spun my way through the course. Stopping to get water or to greet Rhonda and Jubal, but kept a steady pace. Once on a long flat, I drafted behind some folks, but once the course went up, I dropped them. I finished right at 4 hours, still alone, and felt good about my time.
After looking at the results from almost 1 yr ago, I felt even better. I placed 28th out of 136 riders, and came in only 30 minutes behind 1st!!!!


Have a great day.

Easement

Sometime during or shortly after we signed the papers on our house, we were told that a developer had bought an easement across the corner of our property. The developer owns a lot across the street where he plans to build some houses. That was four years ago. We waited for a year and nothing happened. Then we called the guy and found out that he has been sued for some reason. We eventually forgot about it and started to do some landscaping. We planted perennials and in the inside corner of the fence is a small wood shed full of wood. We also have a couple of trees growing.

So now, 4 years later, the surveyors have come, marked the area and are supposed to get here as I write this, to dig a 20 foot wide ditch through our yard.

Several good things will hopefully come out of this. I hope that he does a terrible job fixing the road in front of our house, because this will work as a traffic slowdown/ deterrent.

Another thing is that our neighbor's gravel driveway is higher than our yard and when it used to rain ( and hopefully it will again), our yard would turn into a lake. I will be asking the contractor to adjust this when they put the driveway back in.

Enjoy the before pictures, I'll post more as they progress.

Have a great day.

I am not a freak

I firmly believe that in order to ride a single speed long distance and succeed, one has to be some kind of freak. I am not that freak and I proved it once again.

The 7 mile loop that had been designed for the Cowbell Challenge, was a sweet combination of tech sections, windy, rooty single track, and single track skirting along fields. It was not overly strenuous, but continuous with no real sections to rest.

The day started out well, with a call-up to the front. Thanks to the announcer, I would be able to start two rows back instead of way in the back. I knew it was going to be a long hard day though, and I did not hammer from the start. I let a lot of people go by and I found my own rhythm. I rode for 6 hours without really taking a break. I only stopped each lap to lube, get fresh water bottles and some food. At the end of lap 6 I took a break. It was starting to get hot out, and I knew I had to be careful. I ate and sipped on water and sports drinks for the next hour or so. Around 5:30pm I went back out. I felt good. In fact, I felt pretty good the whole time I was out there. I managed to ride 3 more laps without stopping very long. That was when I decided that I should go ahead and finish.

The finish to this race is weird because you cannot cross the finish line with your last lap until 9:01 pm. That meant that it was now 7:30 pm and I would have to way to cross the finish line. That's cool, I could get cleaned up and packed up and be ready to go. I went back to the tent. Sat down with some water, and then it hit. That wave of nauseousness. The lady in the tent next door asked if we were going back to Ashville. I looked at her and said" I'm sorry, I can't talk right now", and for the next hour and a half I laid on the ground first hot, then cold, trying to sip on some electrolyte drink. Little Jubal was concerned and kept asking questions about what was going on. Rhonda was scurrying around getting things packed up. A thunderstorm was rolling in and race director called the race at 8:30pm. I guess I get one more DNF ( did not finish), as I was not able to walk the 50 yards to cross the finish line. ( so much for goal number one: finish feeling well).

The EMT's came over and looked at me, took my blood pressure, and said that I looked a whole lot better than I did last year. They said I would recover on my own if I could keep drinking. They said I probably did not feel so good, but I would recover.

Rhonda got everything loaded, and I stumbled into the front seat where I tried to get comfortable for the hour ride to my parent's house in Charlotte. We got a little lost but finally found the way.

I stumbled to the room and lay down. After about thirty minutes of laying motionless, I started feeling better. After an hour I was able to get up and take a shower.

I ended up with 62 miles.

Lesson learned: I cannot ride a single speed long distance and expect to feel good. Those who are capable of doing so, may not be freaks, but there is something special about them. My hat off to those!!!

Next up: Hot Doggett 100.

Have a great day.

One More Day

I'm not going to get myself worked up about this one. After the Burn 24 this year, I realised that bike racing can be fun. I just have to race within my limits. I cannot race faster than I have trained. I prioritize my family ( and work ) over training and therefore I am only going to go so fast for so long. But that's cool. I would not trade on minute that I have spent with Rhonda and Jubal for an additional 30 seconds of training, much less trade hours.

So, I'm going to go out there and push myself, and stop to hug Jubal, ( Rhonda won't hug me when I am sweaty and nasty ), and head out for another lap.

The temps are not even supposed to get above 90. That is great!!!!

Have a great day.

Really Bothersome

It really bothers me when I could have done something for someone and I don't. Several weeks ago at a race, a fellow racer told me that his wallet had been stolen along with his credit card and cash. This guy had taken a bus from Colorado to NC. Then he got on his bike and rode the remaining 70 miles to the race venue. His plan was to ride back to the bus station and ride the bus back to CO. If I remember correctly , his return ticket had been stolen as well.

The guy obviously needed money. What did I do? I said something to the effect of " Bummer". (I have since apologized to him for not giving him some cash).

What is there today that you could do for your neighbor?

Have a great day.

Single Speed

With the Cowbell Challenge getting closer I decided to dust off the WUSS. The only thing I have done to it since the Cohutta 100 is change the gearing. I put an easier gear on it and will leave it that way. I might even try to get down there early on Friday to pre-ride the course. Then I might change to an even easier gear. Remember, my two main goals are to finish feeling good, and not place last.

So I pulled the bike out, adjusted the brakes, rode it around the yard. And put it back in the shed, ready to race. Lookout!!!

Have a great day.

Motor Pacing

There is nothing like it, 30mph behind the dude on the motor scooter!!!! It's gotta be a good day if it starts like that!!

Have a great day,

Father's Day Weekend

It has been a great weekend so far. Actually my weekend is kind of over since I have to work on Sunday. It is an opening day for camp, so I get to hand out name tags and greet kids as they arrive.

Friday night I got home to a very excited family. I barely got in the door when Jubal started yelling about me having a present. I tried to calm him down, to no avail, since I was dripping in sweat and needed to change out of my cycling clothes. He would not wait. He grabbed one of those gift bags that one uses so no wrapping is needed, and proceeded to open it and tell me to guess what it was. I could not guess. He finally pulled it out. It was my very own remote controlled motorcycle. Sweet!!


Guess who plays with it more than I do?? Not Rhonda....

Saturday we got up and for some reason I looked under the house to check on the hot water heater. Unfortunately it had degraded to the point that I could see a stream of water running down the side. I guess I know what I'll be doing later today I thought. But first, I had promised Jubal and Rhonda a hike, and one that might include a swimming hole.
So off we went, to get breakfast at West End Bakery, then to Big Creek. Destination: Midnight Hole. I have heard about this place quite a bit but never made the trek over there. It is about 45 minutes west of Asheville near the Pigeon River. After parking the trail led us up a gentle slope for 1.5 miles. Once arriving at the destination, we find a groups of people jumping off of the 15 ft high rock into an aqua pool. The water is deep and clear, deep enough that one cannot see the bottom. Not able to resist the draw of jumping off of something into the water, I make my way out to swim to the jumping rock. The water is cold enough to chill me to the bone. By the time I swim out, jump off and swim back to Jubal and Rhonda, I am sure that I might go hypothermic.

The hike back was fairly uneventful except for the spectacular crash that Jubal made, resulting in some loud crying and some bad scrapes:

After getting back home, I set to work. 4 hours later, we have a new hot water heater and pipes that are not leaking. One more project done!!!

Have a great day.

Mini Epic

Kitsuma 2 times. 2.5 hours of hard riding. Figuring out the lines on steep sections, meaning I can shave time not walking. 71 degrees in the hollers, feels like air conditioning blowing through my body. Good stuff.

Have a great day.

Hit or Miss

That's what my posts are gonna be for a while. This is the crazy busy time at camp and home as well. With the warm weather and more daylight, we do more stuff together as a family. It's fun, you should turn off the computer and go play with your kids.

Riding Kitsuma today, I hope I see a bear or something cool.

Have a great day,

8

Today, I will have ridden my bike 8 days in a row. Hopefully it will help me be ready for the Cowbell in 2 weeks. Fun times. I've been practicing riding/nutrition in the heat. I have been forcing myself to drink two water bottles of liquid each way on my work rides. I have also slowed down a little bit and tried to ride at an easier pace in an effort to keep myself from overheating. It seems to be working and the true test will come at the Cowbell.

I found out that some technical obstacles have been added to the course, and so my goals have changed. One new goal will be to consistently ride the techy stuff. I'm going to wait until I see the course to set a mileage goal, but, I would still like to see 75. I will be satisfied with 50 though.

Since my body handles the heat so well ( or not ), today I am signing up for the Hot Doggett 100. This is a local 100 mile ride through the mountains with only 9600 feet of climbing. Should be fun. I did the metric century (60 miles) last year. At the start, my crank fell off. I had to go back to neutral support, wait 15 minutes for them to fix it, then ride on my own for 60 miles. I still managed to have fun!!

Have a great day.

Got Hot?

I do, so much that I'll be glad to share. No, really, please take some, as much as you want!!!

There is nothing like the feeling of 95 degrees, white hot sunshine and a high heart rate. The world around take on a funny faded hue.

I'm still riding my bike to work. I'd rather sweat in on my bike than sweat in my truck anyway!! I'm also hoping to acclimatize before the Cowbell Challenge in two weeks. 12 hrs of racing under the hot NC Piedmont sun!! Last year, I had thoughts in my head that I was some sort of great mtn bike racer. Cool, but I wound up in the hospital after pushing too hard. This year, I am smarter and know when to stop. I got 40 miles before the mishap last year, and somewhere around 75 the year before. Somehow I have placed dead last each year.

This year's goals are many: Finish still able to walk and eat on my own, get 75 miles, not finish last. Pretty simple, we'll see what happens. I'm also going to pull out the single speed!!!!

Have a great day.

Rhodo Tunnels of Love

Kitsuma is such an intimidating trail. Especially in 90 degree heat. My plan is to ride out there to improve my skills. It would be great if I could ride the entire loop twice, in preparation for the Off Road Assault on Mt Mitchell. But yesterday, at 7pm, it was so hot and my head was pounding the way it pounds before my body fails me, that I decided not to do two loops. I did one Kitsuma to Mill Creek rd loop then went up the Kitsuma switchbacks again, turned around and rode back down.

I am pretty excited that I was able to ride all but two of the switchbacks going up. One of them I stopped and tried again and made it. The bugger though, is a left hand turn, you first have to get over a rock water bar, make the left, up-slope turn, navigate a diagonal root, then pop up 10 inches over another root. I'll have to work on that one.

After getting back to the parking lot at the end of the first loop, there were some good old fashioned red-necks in the parking lot drinking beer and doing who knows what. Sketchy place, that parking lot.

Have a great day.

Thursday

You know what that means. Mtn bike ride for me. I'll be heading to my new secret training grounds after work for a couple of laps.

Don't forget:

National Trails Day

Have a great day.

To Race or Not To Race...?

I'm considering giving up the track racing. 3 people broke their collar bones in the past 2 weeks, and several others are all scraped up. I can't afford the $2500 deductible if I break something, and I will save about $15 per week, by riding my bike to work instead of driving to work, to the track and then paying the entry fee. Hmmm. I'll get more time with my family too.

We'll see what happens.

Have a great day.

Mtn Sports Fest..

This weekend was the Mtn Sports Festival. It was a realizing fun time with the family. Saturday we went to all of the company displays and registered to win free stuff. Sunday was the Diamond Brand Family Kayak race. We paid the $5 registration fee, picked out a boat and went paddling. In the first leg, the course took us upstream, slaloming ( is that a word?) through some buoys. On the other side of the river, we picked up a potato. Then we turn downstream, pass our paddles through a hula hoop that was hanging from a tree. After that we make a bee line down stream, around another buoy, through the spraying water, back to the start/finish, drop the potato in the bucket.

Before the race, we were out "practicing". James the race director gave Jubal a paddle too. While he had some really good paddling coordination, we were a little too close, and Rhonda got the paddle to the head several times!! So, for the race, we asked him to be the navigator. He loved that job and we did not hit any icebergs!!!

Photos courtesy of Asheville Citizen Times

I tried to ride my bike on Saturday and my poor legs not having fully recovered from the Burn 24, combined with the heat ( it was 80 degrees!!), made for a shortened route!! I did get 30 miles in however.

Have a great day.