Been forever since my last post and slow going in the saddle too. Not much going on lately fitness wise and my rides have been short, slow going and few and far between. The bike has been in the shop for close to a month now trying to get all my bearings replaced in an attempt to fix a cracking type sound it intermittently has been making for about 6 months now. Giant shipped the wrong parts twice and then when they finally got the right parts in, come to find out they had to special order a freakin Giant specific tool to replace them so that was another week. However, good news this morning and they say this afternoon they should have it all wrapped up and I sure am ready to get that sucker back. Been riding a loaner Stumpjumper that just never could get comfortable on. The stumpjumper has been a decent ride but not sure if its because it is a large vs my medium or what but it just feels bigger. Maybe because its geared more towards all mountain with its 2.2 wheels and 6 inch travel but just not the same in the tight stuff.
Tom and I are planning to hit HSF tonight at 6 if anyone else is interested come on out.
Also, just joined facebook and that seems like a pretty cool way of messaging too if anyone else is on hit me up.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Fats or Carolina Adventure World
Anybody feel like heading to Fats or Carolina Adventure World tomorrow morning (Saturday). Up for anything, just figured it would be nice and dry and its about time to get some variety again.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Race to the River
Race Fever was in the air, it was the biggest turnout I’ve seen at Harbison today and our addition to the Southern Classic appeared to be a good thing. The Sport field seemed in line with the numbers that were at the last Stump Jump State Race so will be interesting to see some final totals but definitely was a good turnout for the most part. Recognized several faces and regulars in other brackets but in the 30-39 sport class it was just me and Tom from the local riding club accompanied by Bike To Nature Dave and some of the Hawley crew; that I was aware of anyway.
From the start heading up the gravel road reality hits this is a race and the pace quickly moved fast. So fast that trying to fight for position into the woods the burn and HR was reminding me this is just the start and started second guessing taking the last three days off to rest. Outgunned into the woods had to muster what I could to keep the lead pack in sight. Tom and crew ahead were motoring along good and tried to focus on keeping Tom in sight when I could. Kudos Tom you were riding strong there for awhile and it was more trying to catch glimpses of ya here or there. Ive raced with that Brad(2nd place) fella at a few other races and I cant ever keep up with him for long. Passed a few riders here and there along the way to spider woman and finally got within distance of Tom but wasn’t until inner loop that I was able to pull up along side him. There was some other rider behind Tom that had to hit the brush to finally get around him after tagging his rear wheel a few times. That was the first time I had done that and it wasn’t deliberate either, there just wasn’t too much room and you know those quick down and ups , well, he’d slow to much on the ups and I was right on his tail and kept tagging him probably 3 times before I had to hit the brush to get around. Then caught up with Tom and he let me go on around. Thanks a bunch Tom, that inner loop was putting it on me and I sure didn’t have no hammers to drop. Then on that hardest climb section there was another rider ahead that luckily let me by right at the crest/turn. After the Rock garden section there was an older guy who broke a chain on one of those small climbs and the fella came rolling straight back at me and had to unclip to move out the way. The poor guy probably skidded 5 feet OFF the trail. After he acknowledged he was alright I had to leave him be and took off.
The addition of spider woman inner loop sure can make a difference and by the time I got to the long fireroad midland mountain climb I had to hit it a couple gears lower than what I know Im capable or pushing. It was way to early but legs were burning , my side was aching and was borderline on blowing myself up. Had a couple riders pass on by and had no idea what class they were in and really didn’t care at the moment as I was just set on getting up this dang hill looking forward to the crest when I knew I’d have that section to recoup a little. The rest of the first loop went as expected and was easier going for the most part. Had some guy pass me leading to the open halfway point open field, but he couldn’t hold it and ended passing him back as soon as we entered the woods again for loop two.
Second loop went good and by this time we were spaced out enough and whether I should have or not didn’t feel I had to try and maintain that near max heart rate pace so was a little calming. On the second loop up the switchbacks one of the expert riders passed me and turned into spiderwoman and I was sooo glad that we only had to do that once, a second inner loop would of definitely been my definition of hell today. The final push thru the creek then up the firebrake climb one of the Hawely guys (Ken, Kenley or something like that) blew on past at a strong pace, standing the whole climb, hats off to him for sure there was NO WAY I could come close to that. In all respect he earned it 100%, he was even running Single speed and ended up taking 3rd racing in our geared class. Good racing indeed!
I Ended up pulling out a 4th place finish and earning a good nights sleep.
Congrats to Tom who placed within a minute or so with me that was pretty cool. And congrats to Toby P who placed and SS and Eric who placed in Expert 40+.
From the start heading up the gravel road reality hits this is a race and the pace quickly moved fast. So fast that trying to fight for position into the woods the burn and HR was reminding me this is just the start and started second guessing taking the last three days off to rest. Outgunned into the woods had to muster what I could to keep the lead pack in sight. Tom and crew ahead were motoring along good and tried to focus on keeping Tom in sight when I could. Kudos Tom you were riding strong there for awhile and it was more trying to catch glimpses of ya here or there. Ive raced with that Brad(2nd place) fella at a few other races and I cant ever keep up with him for long. Passed a few riders here and there along the way to spider woman and finally got within distance of Tom but wasn’t until inner loop that I was able to pull up along side him. There was some other rider behind Tom that had to hit the brush to finally get around him after tagging his rear wheel a few times. That was the first time I had done that and it wasn’t deliberate either, there just wasn’t too much room and you know those quick down and ups , well, he’d slow to much on the ups and I was right on his tail and kept tagging him probably 3 times before I had to hit the brush to get around. Then caught up with Tom and he let me go on around. Thanks a bunch Tom, that inner loop was putting it on me and I sure didn’t have no hammers to drop. Then on that hardest climb section there was another rider ahead that luckily let me by right at the crest/turn. After the Rock garden section there was an older guy who broke a chain on one of those small climbs and the fella came rolling straight back at me and had to unclip to move out the way. The poor guy probably skidded 5 feet OFF the trail. After he acknowledged he was alright I had to leave him be and took off.
The addition of spider woman inner loop sure can make a difference and by the time I got to the long fireroad midland mountain climb I had to hit it a couple gears lower than what I know Im capable or pushing. It was way to early but legs were burning , my side was aching and was borderline on blowing myself up. Had a couple riders pass on by and had no idea what class they were in and really didn’t care at the moment as I was just set on getting up this dang hill looking forward to the crest when I knew I’d have that section to recoup a little. The rest of the first loop went as expected and was easier going for the most part. Had some guy pass me leading to the open halfway point open field, but he couldn’t hold it and ended passing him back as soon as we entered the woods again for loop two.
Second loop went good and by this time we were spaced out enough and whether I should have or not didn’t feel I had to try and maintain that near max heart rate pace so was a little calming. On the second loop up the switchbacks one of the expert riders passed me and turned into spiderwoman and I was sooo glad that we only had to do that once, a second inner loop would of definitely been my definition of hell today. The final push thru the creek then up the firebrake climb one of the Hawely guys (Ken, Kenley or something like that) blew on past at a strong pace, standing the whole climb, hats off to him for sure there was NO WAY I could come close to that. In all respect he earned it 100%, he was even running Single speed and ended up taking 3rd racing in our geared class. Good racing indeed!
I Ended up pulling out a 4th place finish and earning a good nights sleep.
Congrats to Tom who placed within a minute or so with me that was pretty cool. And congrats to Toby P who placed and SS and Eric who placed in Expert 40+.
Monday, April 13, 2009
New Hoops
Finally broke down and got me a set of some decent wheels. Been going back and forth over what to get but ended up grabbing a set of 2009 Mavic Crossmax ST wheels. http://www.mavic.com/mtb/products/crossmax-st-disc.996801.1.aspx I know I could of done better with a lighter set but wanted an all around wheel I could install and ride with as my main set of wheels, take to the mountains and yet still feel good using them for the races too. Got them with the Mavic MP3 plan so atleast theres some confidence should anything come up in the next two years they will repair/replace them free of charge. The last selling point for me were they come 15QR compatible so I'll be able to go that route should I want to when the time comes to replace that all coil 5.2lb beast of a fork I have.
This is the deal for tubeless too man, was running those wtb rims and had to build up the rim cavity, install the stans rimstrip and work the tire on to get the bead seated. With these babies, just install the tire and a little juice and thats it... simple and my tires pop right on the beads with no need to work anything,, sweet.
While there not the lightest out there by any stretch, they sure made a difference in my setup. My bike weight before the upgrade was 29.4, afterwards its now 27.7 so I'm guessing my old wheels were somewhere around 2000g + velox & rimstrips. I've only been able to ride them on two wet rides so far but I think I'm getting a feel for how a stiffer/lighter wheel seems to react quicker.
This is the deal for tubeless too man, was running those wtb rims and had to build up the rim cavity, install the stans rimstrip and work the tire on to get the bead seated. With these babies, just install the tire and a little juice and thats it... simple and my tires pop right on the beads with no need to work anything,, sweet.
While there not the lightest out there by any stretch, they sure made a difference in my setup. My bike weight before the upgrade was 29.4, afterwards its now 27.7 so I'm guessing my old wheels were somewhere around 2000g + velox & rimstrips. I've only been able to ride them on two wet rides so far but I think I'm getting a feel for how a stiffer/lighter wheel seems to react quicker.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Pisgah Initiation
Oooh Baby, oh baby :) This weekend headed out for my first Pisgah adventure with Joe and Dennis to meet up with Jonathan and Rob for some initiation into Pisgah riding. Gotta say this was another eye opener moment into the glimpse of what some real mountain riding is like. Before this Tsali was my high point and these trails made that feel like Fats is in comparison to Harbison.
The trail conditions were pretty wet out there at the lower elevations and our first couple warm up loops had sectioned that literaly felt like we were skiing. There was was one downhill section that it was all I could do to just keep it a controlled forward slide for about 50 feet or so never daring to touch the brakes as it would of instantly lost what little edge I had just keeping the sliding in check as I washed from side to side.
This place definatley puts your technical abilities (or lack there of) in check and the combination of the later and the slickness presented several humbling dismounts and close calls just in our warm up. Then unexpectedly I hit this downhill section that instantly got me reved up and was awesome. Had I seen it coming I'm pretty sure I would of dismounted and walked down but by the time I realized what I was about to comit to it was to late. It was some trail that had a long series of stair like BIG drops and my ass was so far slung back to keep from going over the bars that a couple of them drops I was actually more worried about dragging ass on the back wheel than recking. Hu rah what a sweet mother going down that section.
Next we set off for the black mountain. That was one long freakin climb and I swear I dont know if I'm more sore from being wipped by granny gear or the hiking. Dont know for sure but by the time we reached the top it felt like I only climbed a third or so of the way as I never did so much hike a bike than on that sucker. It was alot of ride a tad then walk and repeat again the higher we got. But then it was time to go back down :), and down we went. That was by far the BEST long downhill I could of even imagined. Man that was sweet and have been thinking about that the whole day. After a ride like that I can definately relate how you could get hooked on some downhill riding. This definately puts mountain riding into perspective and cant wait till the next oportunity to do this again.
The trail conditions were pretty wet out there at the lower elevations and our first couple warm up loops had sectioned that literaly felt like we were skiing. There was was one downhill section that it was all I could do to just keep it a controlled forward slide for about 50 feet or so never daring to touch the brakes as it would of instantly lost what little edge I had just keeping the sliding in check as I washed from side to side.
This place definatley puts your technical abilities (or lack there of) in check and the combination of the later and the slickness presented several humbling dismounts and close calls just in our warm up. Then unexpectedly I hit this downhill section that instantly got me reved up and was awesome. Had I seen it coming I'm pretty sure I would of dismounted and walked down but by the time I realized what I was about to comit to it was to late. It was some trail that had a long series of stair like BIG drops and my ass was so far slung back to keep from going over the bars that a couple of them drops I was actually more worried about dragging ass on the back wheel than recking. Hu rah what a sweet mother going down that section.
Next we set off for the black mountain. That was one long freakin climb and I swear I dont know if I'm more sore from being wipped by granny gear or the hiking. Dont know for sure but by the time we reached the top it felt like I only climbed a third or so of the way as I never did so much hike a bike than on that sucker. It was alot of ride a tad then walk and repeat again the higher we got. But then it was time to go back down :), and down we went. That was by far the BEST long downhill I could of even imagined. Man that was sweet and have been thinking about that the whole day. After a ride like that I can definately relate how you could get hooked on some downhill riding. This definately puts mountain riding into perspective and cant wait till the next oportunity to do this again.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Night Ride at Harbison ?
Whoa, whats this ..... http://www.thestate.com/living/story/711841.html . Somebody at work asked me about this and this was the first I heard of anything going on at harbison after dusk. Not that I even have a set of lights, but this would definately bump the lights up on the priority list if we can start riding the local trails at dusk now.
Did any of ya'll participate in this and do you know if this is going to be something that there going to start allowing now?
Did any of ya'll participate in this and do you know if this is going to be something that there going to start allowing now?
Friday, March 6, 2009
Saturday Invite
Tis the season fella's!
Weather is looking great and wanted to extend an invite that Tom and I were meeting up at Harbison in the morning if anyone would like to join. Planing to meet up in the front lot at 8:00 AM incase anyone else feels like joining .
Weather is looking great and wanted to extend an invite that Tom and I were meeting up at Harbison in the morning if anyone would like to join. Planing to meet up in the front lot at 8:00 AM incase anyone else feels like joining .
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Frigid Ride
Whew it was a chilly one out there this morning. I had afternoon plans and had to make a quick solo ride this morning to get back in time. Sure wanted to wait till things warmed up a little but with other things to do it was early morning or no ride at all. Ended up hitting the trailhead around 7:30 and I swear it had to be below thirty out there. I had thought I rode around the 30 mark before but after this morning I have to think it quite wasnt as cold before. I had all intentions on laying down some hammer to keep warm and make the most of the short ride but this plan quickly came to realization that it wasnt in the cards. It was a slow pocky going as my fingers felt like frost bite was setting in and I had to make three long stops before the steuardship harder section just to warm them up. Apparently the gloves I got just dont cut it for me and I figured it was the wind that was making it so unbearable so I just had to poke around for awhile afraid anything faster would just make me have to stop again. Thank goodness the cold mornings are about over as this is pretty pathetic (or stupid one). Anyway, the entire first loop I was so slow that by the time I was warmed up and ready for to do some real riding I had to cut it way short and and just do a modified short second loop as I was running out of time. Spent 2 hours out there and only got 22 miles to show for it. Maybe next time :)
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Eye Opener
Got a taste of a little road riding today and gotta say definately opened my eyes to my fitness level (or lack of). Respect and hats off to all the roadies and commuters for sure, never did I imagine the paved road could work you like it does and whats up with that headwind. Were on bicycles for goodness sake, but dang if that wind cant put it on ya.
Tom was up for a Dam ride to HSF today but having never put the Trance on the road I was a little hesitant at first I admit, but figured what the heck and was time to give it a go. Ever since last year when Jason and Monty would do those runs I had been meaning to try it but always fell back on timing issues, one exuse or another so was time to step up. We parked at the walking lot at the dam and just road from there to HSF, Lost Creek, outer loop, Spider Woman, Bluffs and back. It was a good paced ride and opened my eyes to how bad I am trying to fall into a good cadence and shift timings on the road part that I hadnt experienced before. Heck by the time we got to HSF I was already starting to feel it. Definately need to do this one again or atleast some of these higher mileage rides to start getting back in shape. Good eye opener for sure!
Distance : 35.42
Avg: 12.0 (I'm sure not fast for adding some road mix, but enough to put it on me today)
Max: 30.4
Time: 2:55
Tom was up for a Dam ride to HSF today but having never put the Trance on the road I was a little hesitant at first I admit, but figured what the heck and was time to give it a go. Ever since last year when Jason and Monty would do those runs I had been meaning to try it but always fell back on timing issues, one exuse or another so was time to step up. We parked at the walking lot at the dam and just road from there to HSF, Lost Creek, outer loop, Spider Woman, Bluffs and back. It was a good paced ride and opened my eyes to how bad I am trying to fall into a good cadence and shift timings on the road part that I hadnt experienced before. Heck by the time we got to HSF I was already starting to feel it. Definately need to do this one again or atleast some of these higher mileage rides to start getting back in shape. Good eye opener for sure!
Distance : 35.42
Avg: 12.0 (I'm sure not fast for adding some road mix, but enough to put it on me today)
Max: 30.4
Time: 2:55
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Rollin again
For about three weeks now my BB has been creak'n pretty good whenever I would put any significant amount of pressure on in so figured it was time for "another" greasing. This was the third time since Ive had the bike that I had this problem and each time under warranty they were able to quiet it down by removing the BB and applying grease between the BB and shell. It would last a few months then would have to repeat. This last Saturday was gonna do the saturday morning ride with Dennis then drop it off for repair afterwards but ended up having our ride rained out so decided I would use the morning and try it myself if nothing else to see how that sucker comes apart and all. So after drilling Dennis for questions and picking up a puller took it apart only to find the BB was shot. I had an old FSA ISIS splined cartridge that with the cartridge off the bike turned like a meat grinder full of bb's. I had the 3yr warranty with the bike so ended up taking in to see what my options were on upgrading to a better crank rather than just getting this replaced. I was hoping to move up to XT grade but the budget didnt permit and ended up going with a 09 SLX they had onhand from an order that fell thru.
Was finally able to go for a ride this afternoon for the first time in over a week and was good to get out. Was the first time ride with the new crank and woa baby, what a difference in how smooth this thing rolls. Guess thats one of those slowly degrading parts that I was just accustomed to how it felt (meat grinder), I really didnt pay any attention before other than the anoying noise but now that this new BB and crank is installed this thing feels like butter compared to those wiped out bearings.
Anxious to get out again to get some hammer out now, this afternoon was a lot of babying going on admiring how smooth it was, checking out how she shifts and messing with cable adjustments. The chainline seems a bit more outboard with this crankset and not sure if thats dialed or not yet. Was installed per the specs with 2 shims on the crank side and 1 on the left but it definately sticks out a tad more than the old.
Was finally able to go for a ride this afternoon for the first time in over a week and was good to get out. Was the first time ride with the new crank and woa baby, what a difference in how smooth this thing rolls. Guess thats one of those slowly degrading parts that I was just accustomed to how it felt (meat grinder), I really didnt pay any attention before other than the anoying noise but now that this new BB and crank is installed this thing feels like butter compared to those wiped out bearings.
Anxious to get out again to get some hammer out now, this afternoon was a lot of babying going on admiring how smooth it was, checking out how she shifts and messing with cable adjustments. The chainline seems a bit more outboard with this crankset and not sure if thats dialed or not yet. Was installed per the specs with 2 shims on the crank side and 1 on the left but it definately sticks out a tad more than the old.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
CAW - Mush Ride
Had the urge to get out and hit something different today especially after missing out on two Fats rides and having to settle for 1 ride a week lately. After a little finagling with our schedules Tom and I were able to work out an after lunch pass and plan a Carolina Adventure World ride. While we were heading to the meet point Dennis called and was able to pull off something similar and we were able to turn this into a good group ride now, alright! Something about the group ride just gets ya stoked and we were ready to hit the trails.
Well, we really did start with high ambitions anyway, talking how we wanted to get in three loops, hit all trails and such. Off we went. Hmmm, I didnt remember this much climbing last time and 30 minutes later we made it llke 2 or so miles(lol), whew, then we crested the heli pad climb and was starting to get doubts. Think Dennis made a comment along the lines of "so are we gonna ride some trails today or just climb"(lol). The trails were wet, mushy and it sure wasnt like riding on anything that you could call hardpack.
After we crested the heli pad section we got to roll good for a section or two but then hit the leaves where it really didnt seem like they did any cleaning since the last time we were there. There may have been less trees in the path but the overall condition may have led you to think it was mainly just clean up and strewn about from other riders clearing the way here or there. We probably ended up moving about 8 small trees ourselves during our first loop.
About half way or so was beginning to feel the work we were having to put in and thru most of the inner areas it was really soggy and felt like you were riding on mush robbing any momentum you would otherwise be carrying. We gave all trails a go the first loop but when we hit D we managed to loose the trail once again due to the trail litter. By the time we were rapping up our first loop we needed to hit the parking lot for some fuel. Boy what a difference the terain can make, we were out thee over an hour and just covered around 12.x miles.
After a short energy bar snack and a bottle refil for me we hit it again. When we crested the heli pad the second go round there was no mistaken this wasnt gonna be a 3 loop ride today. While we definately were making better time the second loop the burn was setting in. Funny how you get used to your normal routines where you would knock out a 12 mile HSF outer loop rather quick and but here we were pokin around and working for those miles. Ended up skipping 'D' round two since it was so littered but gotta be honest and say I'm glad we did also to save the legs. Was pretty much spent by the end. I really do like this place, just cant wait till it gets packed in and cleaned up.
Stats:
Time: 2:19
Distance: 17.94
Avg: 7.7
Max: 18.5
Well, we really did start with high ambitions anyway, talking how we wanted to get in three loops, hit all trails and such. Off we went. Hmmm, I didnt remember this much climbing last time and 30 minutes later we made it llke 2 or so miles(lol), whew, then we crested the heli pad climb and was starting to get doubts. Think Dennis made a comment along the lines of "so are we gonna ride some trails today or just climb"(lol). The trails were wet, mushy and it sure wasnt like riding on anything that you could call hardpack.
After we crested the heli pad section we got to roll good for a section or two but then hit the leaves where it really didnt seem like they did any cleaning since the last time we were there. There may have been less trees in the path but the overall condition may have led you to think it was mainly just clean up and strewn about from other riders clearing the way here or there. We probably ended up moving about 8 small trees ourselves during our first loop.
About half way or so was beginning to feel the work we were having to put in and thru most of the inner areas it was really soggy and felt like you were riding on mush robbing any momentum you would otherwise be carrying. We gave all trails a go the first loop but when we hit D we managed to loose the trail once again due to the trail litter. By the time we were rapping up our first loop we needed to hit the parking lot for some fuel. Boy what a difference the terain can make, we were out thee over an hour and just covered around 12.x miles.
After a short energy bar snack and a bottle refil for me we hit it again. When we crested the heli pad the second go round there was no mistaken this wasnt gonna be a 3 loop ride today. While we definately were making better time the second loop the burn was setting in. Funny how you get used to your normal routines where you would knock out a 12 mile HSF outer loop rather quick and but here we were pokin around and working for those miles. Ended up skipping 'D' round two since it was so littered but gotta be honest and say I'm glad we did also to save the legs. Was pretty much spent by the end. I really do like this place, just cant wait till it gets packed in and cleaned up.
Stats:
Time: 2:19
Distance: 17.94
Avg: 7.7
Max: 18.5
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Christmas Eve
Almost time, for those with kids you know the shuffle of running around picking up last minute things. Dennis and me hit harbison this morning hoping to get in a good ride hitting and hit all the trails but I ended up having to cut it short to run and get a few last minute items for my son. We ended up doing lost creek and the outer less spidey or crocked pine, but we dropped what hammer we could muster there on the back stretch to as Dennis would say make sure we leave it all in the woods. Also ran into Jason and family in the front lot and was good to see ya.
You know how it is, doesnt matter what or how much you spend, after you start getting things wrapped sometimes just didnt seem like he would have enough toys to open so had to do a couple little last minute pick ups. Christmas sure is about them kids, nothing like that excitment they have ready to tear into some presents :) . Our little girl is only 20 months but this year she's actually starting to get the hang of this christmas stuff and goes around saying Ho Ho Ho, in the cutest little voice. Cant wait.
Merry Christmas
You know how it is, doesnt matter what or how much you spend, after you start getting things wrapped sometimes just didnt seem like he would have enough toys to open so had to do a couple little last minute pick ups. Christmas sure is about them kids, nothing like that excitment they have ready to tear into some presents :) . Our little girl is only 20 months but this year she's actually starting to get the hang of this christmas stuff and goes around saying Ho Ho Ho, in the cutest little voice. Cant wait.
Merry Christmas
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Carolina Adventure World - New Trailsystem
Eager to check out the new trail system at Carolina Adventure World Tom and I headed out this morning to give it a go. They just opened up the MTB trails this October and heard they were trying to get riders out there to start working the trails in so we had to check it out.
http://www.carolinaadventureworld.net/new.htm
Gotta say this place will rock pretty darn good once they get it packed in a little more and a couple of the inner loops drasticly need blown and cleaned up a bit but definately think it has potential to be pretty awesome. Even though there isnt alot of total mileage its pretty much climb and descent from one section to the next but the elevation changes are enough that you definately have to put forth some effort on some of the climbing. I know its not the mountains but its pretty hilly and kinda gives you an in betwen mix like Lynches Woods/FATS. It has some real good flowing sections and berms that had it been a little dryer and cleaner bet you could really rail. Drainage isnt so well though, not sure the last time Winsboro got rain but the trail was pretty wet in the clay sections and my low knob fast traks were turned to slicks. Trails B & D which run you thru some hardwood sections were rideable but covered really bad and we had a hard time following the trail in several sections, in some it was like riding thru a pile of deep raked leaves but full of twigs. Tom had one catch in his derailer that either that or in addition to that casued shifting problems for him the rest of the day.
A couple of the staff had asked us to give them feedback on the trails so hopefully they will followup on our feedback and go thru and clean/blow off some of the littered sections.
Go check it out and help work this sucker in, always great to have another good riding place in our vicinity. Heck, lets make it a group ride :), Im ready to go back, just dont want to hit it after a rain for sure.
Stats: Forgot the cycle computer, but we must of been poking, spent three hours out there and only did two loops due to the trail conditions and trail unfamiliarity.
http://www.carolinaadventureworld.net/new.htm
Gotta say this place will rock pretty darn good once they get it packed in a little more and a couple of the inner loops drasticly need blown and cleaned up a bit but definately think it has potential to be pretty awesome. Even though there isnt alot of total mileage its pretty much climb and descent from one section to the next but the elevation changes are enough that you definately have to put forth some effort on some of the climbing. I know its not the mountains but its pretty hilly and kinda gives you an in betwen mix like Lynches Woods/FATS. It has some real good flowing sections and berms that had it been a little dryer and cleaner bet you could really rail. Drainage isnt so well though, not sure the last time Winsboro got rain but the trail was pretty wet in the clay sections and my low knob fast traks were turned to slicks. Trails B & D which run you thru some hardwood sections were rideable but covered really bad and we had a hard time following the trail in several sections, in some it was like riding thru a pile of deep raked leaves but full of twigs. Tom had one catch in his derailer that either that or in addition to that casued shifting problems for him the rest of the day.
A couple of the staff had asked us to give them feedback on the trails so hopefully they will followup on our feedback and go thru and clean/blow off some of the littered sections.
Go check it out and help work this sucker in, always great to have another good riding place in our vicinity. Heck, lets make it a group ride :), Im ready to go back, just dont want to hit it after a rain for sure.
Stats: Forgot the cycle computer, but we must of been poking, spent three hours out there and only did two loops due to the trail conditions and trail unfamiliarity.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Priorities - Husbands of the year
And who says some wives wouldnt be willing to rough it on a MTB camping trip....
This United Kingdom fella only got honorable mention for husband of the year. Ya know, that kinda does look like it could be SID fork, so ..... ya never know.
followed closely by the United States
and then Poland
>
but third place had to go to greece
it was very very close but the runner up prize was awarded to ...
The Irish are true romantics. Look he's even holding her hand
Serbia
but the winner of the husband/partner of the year ... is Ireland
The Irish are true romantics. Look he's even holding her handSunday, November 16, 2008
Race to the River
It was a great day today and things panned out way better than I had set expectations. I managed to pull out a 1st place finish in my class (30-39 Sport) and 2nd overall for sport. The second overall was somewhere around 30 seconds difference but I just couldnt real him in.
Heading into the race my plan was to go as light as possible with hopes of placing somewhere in the upper half of riders. I did a little gambling on the gear trying to shave any weight I could and just took my sons smaller cammel back with NO tools or xtra weight whatsoever. I thought this being the last race of the season I would go all out and make it thru problem free or have to settle for last if anything went south.
It was a brisk morning starting out but didnt take long to get into a groove and warmed right up.
From the start down the gravel road to the single track I managed edge into second position entering firebreak. After a couple of turns I couldnt hold back the urge and even though I knew it was early decided to drop my first hammer and take the lead before entering the flowy section. I was determined I wanted to pick my own lines thru there and not fall victim to the follow the leader role. Having nudged up to front so early I just kept thinking I better keep laying it down to put some distance between us before I start to back off. Unbelievably the legs were feeling fine and breathing wasnt to labored so I pushed it all the way thru the connector to the slight uphill climb right before the stewardship downhill. It was there where I backed off and let my breathing and heart rate stabilize. The plan was to regroup and save the next hammer for the downhill and get into harder with no one ahead of me. Having passed a couple of the other class riders along the way to here there was one more about to enter the downhill section and had to drop hammer two here to make an unannounced pass but then I was good. Next up was someone inside of harder I caught up with that didnt want to have to follow all the way thru so had to do another awkward pass. This is cool I was thinking, I'm usually one of the ones riders being passed but having efficiently worked thru a number of riders it kinda worked as a mental boost so just kept laying down what I could. By the end of lap one things were looking good and started thinking I actually have a chance at a podium position if I can keep it going. Trails were nice and fast especially consideirng all the leaves, aside from the usual wet spots and creeks.
Lap two was another good one, passed some more other class riders and was stoked that I wasnt dualing it out and fighting anyone off. Kept thinking I was hearing someone just enough behind me that I was able to keep at bay by dropping the hammers when I could and concentrating on trying to be efficient.
Lap 3 things were to good to be true, still nobody had passed or came to within the uncomfort zone. This was it, now or never, I may not have another chance this close within grasp I thought. Lap 3 I dropped all I had left to keep the pace going the best I could and by that last firebreak hill climb after the creek the legs were on fire but the end was just around the corner.
Never felt so good to finish. Was one of those good riding days, good energy levels and boy how nice it is to know the trails, I think that helped sooo much. Where I usually have a few wrecks today was able ride my own race.
Think my time ended somewhere around 1:23:15 +- .xx
Avg 12.8
Max 25
Heading into the race my plan was to go as light as possible with hopes of placing somewhere in the upper half of riders. I did a little gambling on the gear trying to shave any weight I could and just took my sons smaller cammel back with NO tools or xtra weight whatsoever. I thought this being the last race of the season I would go all out and make it thru problem free or have to settle for last if anything went south.
It was a brisk morning starting out but didnt take long to get into a groove and warmed right up.
From the start down the gravel road to the single track I managed edge into second position entering firebreak. After a couple of turns I couldnt hold back the urge and even though I knew it was early decided to drop my first hammer and take the lead before entering the flowy section. I was determined I wanted to pick my own lines thru there and not fall victim to the follow the leader role. Having nudged up to front so early I just kept thinking I better keep laying it down to put some distance between us before I start to back off. Unbelievably the legs were feeling fine and breathing wasnt to labored so I pushed it all the way thru the connector to the slight uphill climb right before the stewardship downhill. It was there where I backed off and let my breathing and heart rate stabilize. The plan was to regroup and save the next hammer for the downhill and get into harder with no one ahead of me. Having passed a couple of the other class riders along the way to here there was one more about to enter the downhill section and had to drop hammer two here to make an unannounced pass but then I was good. Next up was someone inside of harder I caught up with that didnt want to have to follow all the way thru so had to do another awkward pass. This is cool I was thinking, I'm usually one of the ones riders being passed but having efficiently worked thru a number of riders it kinda worked as a mental boost so just kept laying down what I could. By the end of lap one things were looking good and started thinking I actually have a chance at a podium position if I can keep it going. Trails were nice and fast especially consideirng all the leaves, aside from the usual wet spots and creeks.
Lap two was another good one, passed some more other class riders and was stoked that I wasnt dualing it out and fighting anyone off. Kept thinking I was hearing someone just enough behind me that I was able to keep at bay by dropping the hammers when I could and concentrating on trying to be efficient.
Lap 3 things were to good to be true, still nobody had passed or came to within the uncomfort zone. This was it, now or never, I may not have another chance this close within grasp I thought. Lap 3 I dropped all I had left to keep the pace going the best I could and by that last firebreak hill climb after the creek the legs were on fire but the end was just around the corner.
Never felt so good to finish. Was one of those good riding days, good energy levels and boy how nice it is to know the trails, I think that helped sooo much. Where I usually have a few wrecks today was able ride my own race.
Think my time ended somewhere around 1:23:15 +- .xx
Avg 12.8
Max 25
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Modified Race to River Preride
Today was finally able to complete a full preride of the upcoming race to river course. This was my third attempt and both previous times I got flats on either front or rear and wasnt able to complete the full course. Ive had a rough time lately with tubes and before either of the first two attempts with flats I went thru another set when I went to head out one saturday and found my rear tire had been shreading knobs down to the white threads and was forced to get a new tire and went back to a 2.2 on the front and just rotated the 2.0 to the rear. Then after this weekends trip to Tsali I went thru another 2 tubes and was forced to hike a bike for a mile or so to get back to the campsite. That was the final straw so now I'm running the stans juice with rim strips. What a major pain that first tire was to get going until I figured out the best combination needed to build my rim up in the center. After trying combinations of the recomended 3/16ths weatherstrip, felt, two runs of velox the trick that seemed to be the best balance and still be able to seat the bead was just one strip of 10mm velox under the rim strip. This was my first ride since the ordeal but tires held up fine and did seem to have a confident conforming feel to them.
Ran into Jason on lap two up by the Gazeebo and was good to see him again. We were talking and it seems like its been months since we rode together and was good to ride again. I guess riding with Jason again I had to rekindle the bushwacker name and I ended up cliping a small tree that sent me for a spin and down hard on my already sore left knee. Was fine right after the incident but as the miles tacked on it started hurting whenever I put to much pressure on it and for the climbs there at the end I could only work on keeping it spinning and didnt try to hammer anything.
Good ride and good company for awhile anyway, still not sure about the distance of this thing though, I ended up logging 26.65 and the only extra I thought I did was starting the ride from the front lot instead of Gazeebo? The race (sport class) shows its only supposed to be 4 laps of 5 miles each so go figure.
Ran into Jason on lap two up by the Gazeebo and was good to see him again. We were talking and it seems like its been months since we rode together and was good to ride again. I guess riding with Jason again I had to rekindle the bushwacker name and I ended up cliping a small tree that sent me for a spin and down hard on my already sore left knee. Was fine right after the incident but as the miles tacked on it started hurting whenever I put to much pressure on it and for the climbs there at the end I could only work on keeping it spinning and didnt try to hammer anything.
Good ride and good company for awhile anyway, still not sure about the distance of this thing though, I ended up logging 26.65 and the only extra I thought I did was starting the ride from the front lot instead of Gazeebo? The race (sport class) shows its only supposed to be 4 laps of 5 miles each so go figure.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tsali Trip
Last weekend was an awesome trip up to Tsali trails around lake fontana. Got to enjoy 2 days of riding bliss on some of the sweetest trails I have yet to ride. We left out Saturday morning around 7, drove around 3 hrs to finally setup camp at the Tsali campgrounds right there at the trailhead. Upon ariving the mood was instantly set that this was truly a mountain bikers oasis as the whole campground was full of tents and bikes everywhere with a constant shuffle of riders coming and going from the trailhead. Wanting to get right in on the action we opted to hit the bikes for a loop before unpacking and setting up camp. We headed out and did Thompson loop and Mouse before coming back for some late lunch and setting up camp. The scenery around this place was absolutely breathtaking and I only wish I could portray how nice it was. I kept thinking now this is what its all about and it definately had my blessing for being rated in the top 10 U.S. trails. This being my first "real" mountain ride my adreniline was high riding the along the narrow ridgeline overlooking the cliffs. Sure I have had rides with a section or two putting you on your toes on the edges but this was the best with several sections of the trails keeping constant reminder that any bad judgement call would cost you dearly.
After getting camp setup went back out for one more shorter ride thru the Mouse Scenic route just to take in some of the scenery one more time then it was back to hit the showers and head out to the get some real food at the Nantahala Recreation Center.
Next morning we werent in any real rush to get moving since it we were waking up to what was supposed to have been somewhere around 33 degrees and we wanted to let that sun come out a little. Day two of riding we got to hit the Left and Right loop which surprisingly up'd the ante from what we rode the day before. Left and Right loop were the icing on the cake in the form of both the trails and surrounding scenery. The trail conditions were good other than a bunch of whoopty do's with low spot mud holes but they were short enough that it actually added to the experience. One thing we learned after day one first loop was that our white lightning chain lube didnt hold up worth anything out here and we had to swap to a wetter condition lubes.
Day two I had one endo crash going thru a creek crossing where it was around a corner and when I made the turn there were a couple of guys waiting for me to clear before proceeding but they were standing on the side I would of normally picked for the line and when I went right I had to crest over a big root which upon clearing found there was a crater on the other side which stopped my front wheel in its track and over I went. Was kinda funny, one of they guys standing there actually caught my bike as it was being flipped right at him so that atleast kept it from landing on top of me :).
Cant wait to do something like this again!
Casualties:
2 tubes
bottle of chain lube
bruised knee (from endo crash)
broke off my big toe tonail
After getting camp setup went back out for one more shorter ride thru the Mouse Scenic route just to take in some of the scenery one more time then it was back to hit the showers and head out to the get some real food at the Nantahala Recreation Center.
Next morning we werent in any real rush to get moving since it we were waking up to what was supposed to have been somewhere around 33 degrees and we wanted to let that sun come out a little. Day two of riding we got to hit the Left and Right loop which surprisingly up'd the ante from what we rode the day before. Left and Right loop were the icing on the cake in the form of both the trails and surrounding scenery. The trail conditions were good other than a bunch of whoopty do's with low spot mud holes but they were short enough that it actually added to the experience. One thing we learned after day one first loop was that our white lightning chain lube didnt hold up worth anything out here and we had to swap to a wetter condition lubes.
Day two I had one endo crash going thru a creek crossing where it was around a corner and when I made the turn there were a couple of guys waiting for me to clear before proceeding but they were standing on the side I would of normally picked for the line and when I went right I had to crest over a big root which upon clearing found there was a crater on the other side which stopped my front wheel in its track and over I went. Was kinda funny, one of they guys standing there actually caught my bike as it was being flipped right at him so that atleast kept it from landing on top of me :).
Cant wait to do something like this again!
Casualties:
2 tubes
bottle of chain lube
bruised knee (from endo crash)
broke off my big toe tonail
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Wednesdays Spills
Headed out to Harbison yesterday afternoon with the intention of getting some hammer out and having a good steady ride but had a couple new spills that broke up the momementum. Was rolling around just fine thru the outer sections but once again spider woman put it on me. First was thru the rock garden where I kept fumbling around with multiple stop/restarts. I seem to still not have the nack for getting recliped fast enough on the eggbeaters and end up missing my oportunities to make the most out of the stop/restarts that seem to be my norm lately thru that section. This go round I was to frustrated and just did the walking shortcut and bypassed a few sections after the third stop/restart. After leaving the rock garden and making thru the riverside section, up and down thru the creek/low section and was heading up that last sharp right climb to the back side of spidy I somehow managed to hit that corner climb at a bad angle and just hit the dirt. It wasnt like I didnt see the fall coming and thought I was gonna be able to get loose from the bike but my left shoe wouldnt unclip so down I went. To add insult to injury as I lay on my side my left shoe still didnt unclip. It must of been a site I was laying there for awhile twitching the left leg/foot around like some sort of spasms trying to release and nothing. I had to take my freakin shoe off to get out of this one, pathetic. Dont know if it was the downhill angle I was laying with my foot and bike still up the hill or the newness of the cleats/pedals but i never had to do that one before and hope not to repeat. Glad I was by myself, ya'll would of been doggin me to get with the program and come on already :)
From there thought I was in the clear and stayed on the outerloop sections till I hit that new kiddie single track trail. Was going around the first section and there has been a downed pine for awhile and the thing is half rotted but I managed to hit that baby wrong and racked the family jewles something fierce. So after pacing around grunting for a couple minutes I had enough and the thought of riding around on the seat over the roots and such was not gonna happen. For another first I left the trail and cut thru the woods to hit the gravel road and head back, didnt even want to ride the trail out.
Guess I was due, it's been awhile since I had back to back bad spills just hate that I had to cut things short with my tail between my legs and head back to the lot. With the odds that these types of rides are getting fewer inbetween I'm confident I'm ready to climb back on the horse and reset the clock next ride.
On a good note I did run into Toby S out there on the long dirt road climb back by Stewardship then back at the lot. Hadnt seen him out there in forever and was good to see a familiar face.
Stats:
Distance: 22.55
Time: 1:54
Avg: 11.7
From there thought I was in the clear and stayed on the outerloop sections till I hit that new kiddie single track trail. Was going around the first section and there has been a downed pine for awhile and the thing is half rotted but I managed to hit that baby wrong and racked the family jewles something fierce. So after pacing around grunting for a couple minutes I had enough and the thought of riding around on the seat over the roots and such was not gonna happen. For another first I left the trail and cut thru the woods to hit the gravel road and head back, didnt even want to ride the trail out.
Guess I was due, it's been awhile since I had back to back bad spills just hate that I had to cut things short with my tail between my legs and head back to the lot. With the odds that these types of rides are getting fewer inbetween I'm confident I'm ready to climb back on the horse and reset the clock next ride.
On a good note I did run into Toby S out there on the long dirt road climb back by Stewardship then back at the lot. Hadnt seen him out there in forever and was good to see a familiar face.
Stats:
Distance: 22.55
Time: 1:54
Avg: 11.7
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Stretching
Never heard this perspective before ...
"
Stretching Pros and Cons
Researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia reviewed the world's literature and concluded that stretching does not prevent muscle soreness that follows vigorous exercise (1).
Athletes train by taking a hard workout, feeling sore the next day, and then taking easy workouts for as many days as it takes for the soreness to go away. Since stretching does not reduce muscle soreness, it does not help you to recover faster from hard exercise. The best way to recover from exhausting competition is to move with little pressure on muscles, such as cycling on a stationary bicycle (2).
Stretching does not prevent injuries (3). Muscles and tendons tear when the force applied to them is greater than their inherent strength. Anything that makes a muscle stronger helps to prevent injuries, but stretching does not make muscles stronger or faster.
Even though most high school and college coaches have their athletes stretch before games or races (4), you should not stretch before competition because it decreases muscle strength (5) and impairs your ability to run fast (6).
However, stretching can make you a better athlete.
Muscles attach to bones by long fibrous bands called tendons.
Stretching lengthens tendons, and the longer the tendon, the greater the force a muscle can exert on a joint (7). So stretching a tendon to make it longer allows an athlete to exert more force around a joint to help him jump higher, run faster, lift heavier or throw further (8).
(References: 1-Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007, Issue 4; 2-American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, June 2007; 3-Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, March 2005; 4-Clinical Journal of Sports medicine, May 2006; 5-Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies. April 2006; 6-Sports Science, May 2005; 7-Journal of Sports Science, February 2006; 8-The American Journal of Sports Medicine, February 2006.)
"
"
Stretching Pros and Cons
Researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia reviewed the world's literature and concluded that stretching does not prevent muscle soreness that follows vigorous exercise (1).
Athletes train by taking a hard workout, feeling sore the next day, and then taking easy workouts for as many days as it takes for the soreness to go away. Since stretching does not reduce muscle soreness, it does not help you to recover faster from hard exercise. The best way to recover from exhausting competition is to move with little pressure on muscles, such as cycling on a stationary bicycle (2).
Stretching does not prevent injuries (3). Muscles and tendons tear when the force applied to them is greater than their inherent strength. Anything that makes a muscle stronger helps to prevent injuries, but stretching does not make muscles stronger or faster.
Even though most high school and college coaches have their athletes stretch before games or races (4), you should not stretch before competition because it decreases muscle strength (5) and impairs your ability to run fast (6).
However, stretching can make you a better athlete.
Muscles attach to bones by long fibrous bands called tendons.
Stretching lengthens tendons, and the longer the tendon, the greater the force a muscle can exert on a joint (7). So stretching a tendon to make it longer allows an athlete to exert more force around a joint to help him jump higher, run faster, lift heavier or throw further (8).
(References: 1-Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007, Issue 4; 2-American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, June 2007; 3-Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, March 2005; 4-Clinical Journal of Sports medicine, May 2006; 5-Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies. April 2006; 6-Sports Science, May 2005; 7-Journal of Sports Science, February 2006; 8-The American Journal of Sports Medicine, February 2006.)
"
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Tsali - MTB Camping Trip
Anyone interested in a weekend of "Smoky Mountain Zen"? Some of the Cycle Center guys are planning a trip to Tsali Oct 25-26. Check out the writeup, it got 7th of the top 10 US trails (West & East Coast) to ride and looks like we would be in for some great rollin sweetness. I talked to Eric and so far it looks like its just the regulars that would ride out at Harbison (Eric, Harry and Erin).
Ive been wanting to do something like this ever since the mtb fever took hold and already cleared it with my better half, bought a tent and I'm ready to go :).
Something like this could be just the thing to add that sense of adventure back into our otherwise familiar routines.
http://cyclecenter.com/merchant/194/files/cyclecentercamping.pdf
http://www.bikemag.com/features/onlineexclusive/021306_best/
Dont let the cost of gas or supplies be an exuse and would be more than willing to carpool/share as needed.
Ive been wanting to do something like this ever since the mtb fever took hold and already cleared it with my better half, bought a tent and I'm ready to go :).
Something like this could be just the thing to add that sense of adventure back into our otherwise familiar routines.
http://cyclecenter.com/merchant/194/files/cyclecentercamping.pdf
http://www.bikemag.com/features/onlineexclusive/021306_best/
Dont let the cost of gas or supplies be an exuse and would be more than willing to carpool/share as needed.
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