D-Dub

News From the Farm

2010-06-29T18:34:00.003-04:00

The farm is doing well, Jack is in the beanstalk keeping an eye on things. Jack does not say a lot but seems to be more talkative after I have had a couple of Belgium beers. He does a great job of scaring off crows and various other varmints. Jack also keeps a good attitude about his job. He always has that goofy grin, regardless of what comes or goes, hot cold, rain, clear always the same grin. A great guy to have around.

The beans should be "coming in" in a couple of weeks. I like fresh beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn bread and milk. This is an awesome meal and has to be my favorite summertime treat.

The blueberries need some rain, but the raspberries are delicious. I only have enough to pick and eat when I am in the garden, nice snack while I am working.

That's about all the news from the farm. I may let Jack do the next Post. He told me he had an idea on the use of the common hoe.

Not much happening

2010-01-05T17:33:00.005-05:00

Not much has been happening the last few months. I did not do Snake Creek Gap this year because of scheduling conflicts. I have done very little riding outdoors and have gained quite a bit of weight. Diana and I did take a weekend and went cross country skiing. It had been years since we had been cross country skiing. We had a great weekend and it was an awesome workout.

Below is a blog post I started at the end of cross season.

MUD SWEAT AND GEARS

December 12 2009 concluded another year of the Mud Sweat and Gears cyclocross series. Dwayne Letterman henceforth known as the course Maestro and Eric "THE" Wondergem do an awesome job of organizing and putting on this event. The venues , courses, entertainment and people make this a first class act. Thanks to all of the people that make this possible.

The series was well coordinated by not having races on consecutive weekends allowing the racers to venture off to some of the larger events. By larger I mean more people racing in each category.This is helpful for those that plan on going to nationals where riding at high speeds and bumping elbows is a must have skill. Thanks for this consederation guys!

Three course venues were used this year-Kingston, Bristol and Johnson City. Each venue offered its own peculuarities and for the first time that I can remember the weather was also a factor. We had dry, rain, sleet and snow hot and cold.I do admit I enjoyed it all.

Great job guys and girls!!!

sswc grande finale

2010-01-03T16:11:00.003-05:00

I know this is VERY late but this is the last report on the "BIG ADVENTURE" to the west coast for the SSWC. I am not sure what time we got up and going on Sunday the day of the race, but I do know it was chilly and rainy. My original plan was to do the masters 45+ and then the SSWC, but due to the weather and my lack of motivation I decided to forgo the 45+ and focus my efforts on the SSWC.

We arrived at the venue which was Portland International Raceway, parked the car and then went our separate ways. The plan was to mingle with the crowd watch my friend Murray race then meet back at the car for our race. Everything went according to plan and we actually met earlier than planned and sat in the car and watched it rain.During this time we changed into our race kits and assembled the bikes in preparation for the big event. The time for the big event drew nigh, we hopped on our trusty steeds and made our way to the staging area. The staging area contained people in all sorts of costumes and some with hardly a costume at all. I could tell this was going to be a very interesting race.

The starter made us lay our bikes down and walk ~20 yards turn around and proceeded to tell us the particulars of the event; ie if you had 1$ bills you could pay and take a short cut, or if you were female you could take the short cut without paying. Once this was done the whistle sounded and we ran to our bikes hopped on and began racing. The race was a blast. The mud was ankle deep and there were some puddles of water that were deeper. I have never had so much fun racing. My mud riding skills were not the best, and I totally got my butt kicked here by Cara. I must say I was quite surprised to see how well she rode the mud, although even with these skills and the short cut I was still able to beat her.

In Summary:

"THE BIG ADVENTURE" Part 3

2009-11-16T12:46:00.014-05:00

After a night of rest we all awoke Saturday morning eager to be out and about, perhaps a little to eager. While I made breakfast the ladies lounged, drank coffee and surfed the net (what is wrong with this picture?), luckily I did not have to do dishes. Breakfast was served and our appetites were satisfied, we planned our strategy for the day. The first thing to do was take the bikes out for a shake down ride and make adjustments as necessary. Once this was done it was back to the house and plan our route to the venue. Diana would drive the car while Cara and I rode our bicycles over.

We downloaded directions, hopped on our bikes Diana in the car and off to the venue we went. I am not sure who decided on the departure time or calculated the transit time but I have to say it was somewhat aggressive. The bicycle ride to the venue was great, we missed a few turns but got to see the industrial side of Portland which is unique and I am sure not on the usual tourist path and definitely not in the Fodder's guide to Portland. We made the necessary navigational corrections and found our way to the venue...well almost. We missed one turn and ended up going by a Star Bucks where Diana was parked because she did not want to be alone in the parking lot a Chris King because no one was there. Oh, the reason no one was there was because WE WERE 2 HOURS EARLY!!!! Oh well at least we were not late and once we assessed our situation we decided to load the bikes in the car and head back to the house. At this point we made the decision to go downtown to the Pearl District and look around to see if we could find any bargains and then go to the venue for the qualifying ride.

Downtown we went, but no bargains to be found. We did go to Starbucks for a cup of coffee, hot chocolate and I believe I had a cinnamon roll. After the snack we again made our way to Chris King for the qualifying ride. This time there were people with bikes, rain coats and oh yeah beer.It appeared the ride was going to be quite damp so I put on the proper attire and waited for the roll out. There was some talk of mutiny ie not doing the ride from some participants but once the group formed common sense was put aside and off we rode.

The first 30 minutes of the ride I was seriously considering bailing, but once my feet and hands were numb along with my mind I was ok. We made our way along a highway and then left up a fairly steep climb and onto some nice double track into a public park. The climbing was a nice change to the highway and gave us a chance to see places one unfamiliar with the area would not see. At the top of one of the climbs we waited to regroup and also drink beer. Apparently the objective of this particular qualifier was to see who could drink the most beer and still ride a bicycle. I decided to forgo the beer...a) because I had no idea where we were and being intoxicated would only make matters worse and b) I did not want to face plant into a tree. Oh, we did switch Cara's bike gearing to an easier gear. These climbs were pretty steep and we did not know how long or how much climbing there was and reasoned spinning and saving the legs would be the wise thing to do.

First rest stop done, again we debated on bailing but were caught up in group dynamics and decided to continue on. I believe we climbed a littler longer and then we started to descend. The descent was not very steep but the trail or road was a bit tacky which meant you had to anticipate the turns or risk sliding out. The next rest stop was "The Test of Strength". This test involved riding up a rather steep and slippery slope with a couple of obstacles on the trail to test not only your strength but also your skill. The test was challenging but not impossible. I dabbed once when a rider in front of me spun out. I made it to the top which was not the most difficult part. The more difficult part being the descent back to the start of the test. The descent was wet and slippery but by the time I had gotten to the bottom the brakes were cooked. Once everyone was back and more beer was consumed we continued on our way.

I do not remember the remainder of the route just that we continued through the forest on double track which eventually dumped is out onto Germantown Rd. Germantown Rd was a paved and very fast descent that lasted for ~ 15 mins(?). Needless to say I got rather chilled on this descent and was ready to head back to the barn. At the bottom of the descent we sort of regrouped not wanting to stop for long as we were all feeling the effects of the chill.

The route from here took us over a bridge. I am not sure how long the bridge was but would estimate it being ~5x the length of the bridge on the Parkway that crosses the French Broad river for those of you that are familiar with the Parkway bridge. The ride over the bridge entailed you riding on a sidewalk approximately 16 inches high x 4 ' foot wide. This in itself is not that bad but when combined with rain and 40 mph wind it can be a little disconcerting. While riding and trying to stay upright I debated in my mind what would cause me the least amount of bodily harm...a) being blown off and into the river, approximately a 100' drop or b) being blown into the highway into the path of an oncoming car. I did not like either option and tried to stay in the middle of the walkway although the wind was trying its best to tear me from the side walk and plant me in the river.

We finally arrived at the opposite end of the bridge, safely and somewhat sound and again regrouped drank beer. At this point we had been on the bike ~ 2 hours (it felt like 6) we talked to the ride leader and finding out they planned on riding another 1.5 hours we decided to bail. We told Matthew where we were staying and he gave us directions on how to get home. He made it sound relatively simple, keep the river on the right and ride until we came into familiar territory and then make our way home. We put our fate in the directions that Matthew gave us and off we rode into the unknown.

Although we did not have a clue where we were our ETA was 20-30 mins. As we rode the dampness sat in. There were large puddles of water (small ponds) on the road which we rode around, I am not sure why as one can only get so wet. We rode for ~ 3o mins but did not recognize any landmarks. We also seemed to have lost the river on our right although I am pretty sure it was running down the middle of the road. I spotted a postman delivering mail and thought heck if anyone knows his way around he should. I stopped and asked for directions. The postman told us to take 15th street and that would take us to Schuyler the street the house was located on. We got on 15th street and started pedaling and pedaling and pedaling I was beginning to lose confidence in the USPS and finally NE Schuyler!!!! I think at one point along the last leg Cara asked if I was mad, my reply was that we came to Portland for adventure and this was it!!!

After reaching the house we telephoned Diana to let her know of our decision to come to the house rather than back to Chris King. This was actually a good decision because we were not prepared to haul our muddy bikes, bodies and gear in the rental car. Diana arrived a short time, later we all relaxed, got warm and made plans for dinner. I am not sure but I believe I may have taken a nap while Cara and Diana went shopping for mud boots which they would need for the SSWCXC the next day.

NEXT UP SSWCXC!!!

The BIG ADVENTURE Part 2

2009-11-15T19:34:00.002-05:00

After a difficult time of getting to sleep the night before I awoke at 4:30 am Friday morning. My body was still on eastern standard time. I lay in bed and tried to go back to sleep but to no avail, I was wide awake. I did stay in bed until 6 am at which time I got up made coffee and then walked up to the Safeway grocery store. At the store I purchased breakfast items that included eggs, Canadian bacon, jelly, bagels and my favorite..milk. I made my way back to the house and commenced cooking breakfast. While cooking Diana and I planned a day trip to the town of Hood River.

After breakfast and cleanup we hopped in the car and made our to historic highway 17? . Along the way we stopped at all the waterfalls and did several short hikes (all the touristy stuff). The drive itself was beautiful, with leaves still at their peak. We arrived at Hood River and walked around the town and had lunch at the Full Sail brewery overlooking the Columbia River. After lunch it was back in the car and onto I 84 for the drive back to Portland.

While driving back I got a call from Cara saying she could not get into the house and the phone # that I gave her was incorrect. This was the start of several of my blunders. I gave her the correct code and walah the garage door opened and she was no longer out in the cold and rain. Diana and I arrived home a short time later and we contacted Murray and made plans to meet for dinner. We met Molly and Murray at their house and then it was off to The HUB for a wonderful dinner. After dinner it was back to Molly's and Murray's to drop them off and a quick tour of their awesome house and then back to our house.
Once back,we set up the Futon and it was lights out, little did we know what lay ahead!!!
More tomorrow!!

THE BIG ADVENTURE PART 1

2009-11-14T21:47:00.003-05:00

This is the first in a 3 part blog series about "THE BIG ADVENTURE". The adventure actually started a few months ago when a certain friend mentioned something about the single speed world cyclocross championships in Portland Oregon. I had always wanted to do the SS Worlds but the stars had never aligned and therefore no SS worlds, honestly I had not given it a lot of thought and then I checked the cost on airline tickets and thought wow that is cheap. When I think something is cheap you better believe it is cheap.
I immediately called Diana and asked if she could get off work.I already knew she would be up for going as she has been on several of my adventures and is always up for travel to new places. She put a lot of effort into getting off work, which I really appreciate and it was off to Portland we went.
The actual trip started at 2 am Thursday morning November 5. We woke up threw our luggage in the car and made our way to the Charlotte airport. We arrived at CLT parked the car and caught the shuttle to the airport. Once at the airport we went through the part I find most stressful....checking in, checking bags, going through security. Once this was done we made our way to the correct terminal grabbed a bite to eat and waited to board the plane. From Charlotte we flew to Atlanta and from Atlanta on to Portland. The flights were uneventful,time spent sleeping,watching movies and reading the airline shopping magazine.
We arrived at Portland and proceeded to get our bags and to get a rental car.I had originally got a compact car through Budget. Some guy from Dollar rental car told us the Budget car pickup was not at the airport and for a few extra dollars we could upgrade to a Subaru Forester. We gave this some thought and decided it would make it more convenient to drop the car off at the terminal and the larger size would make transporting the bikes easier. We took the keys to the Subaru and went off to explore Portland and find our rental unit.
The first thing we decided to do was to satisfy our rumbling tummies. We went downtown and ate at Jakes Crawfish house. The food was delicious. Once our stomachs were satisfied we went off to find the rental unit;using the Garmin GPS we located the unit without a glitch. We talked briefly with Ruppert the landlord and then unpacked. I called Murray to let him know we were in town and asked if he could bring the bikes over. Murray is a friend that moved to Portland ~ 6years ago. A great guy and a fellow cyclist. Murray brought the bikes over and did a quick tour of our accommodations for the weekend. We also made dinner plans with Murray and his wife Molly and then Murray was on his way.
Diana and I had a light dinner Thursday, made plans for our Friday day trip and went to bed.
This concludes Part 1 of " The Great Adventure".

Catch up

2009-10-21T19:15:00.000-04:00

Wow it has been forever since I have posted! Where should i begin? Ok this is a no brainer. THE WEDDING

My daughter Amber was married October 18, 2009 to a wonderful person Joseph Taylor. The wedding was awesome and was held at Blackberry Cove which is located and the end of Reems Creek Rd. Amber looked awesome, the wedding went super. i did not cry and i did a pretty good job at dancing(that is my humble opinion). I will post pictures later.

Next...Nathan and Abby announced their engagement, again awesome news.

Next...Tennessee MSG cross series has begun. I made my way to Kingsport on October (?) for a Saturday and Sunday race. I shared a room with Andy, Nate and Abby.Andy brought an air mattress and slept on the floor, I told him he could share a bed with me but i beleive he was a little concerned after i told him i slept in the buff and opted for the air mattress in the floor.
We had a great time racing, watching goofy tv and...well just being bike racers.
My races went really well. I came away with 2 first place finishes. This is the first time i have ever pulled a double, double win that is.Saturday the gun sounded and we were off. Greg Casteel went to the front and i got on his wheel. we went neck and neck the first two laps. I dropped Greg on the 3rd lap, not with an attack but just steady riding. Sunday was a carbon copy of Saturday. My concern on Sunday was Gerard Remery. I have never beaten Gerard in an official cross race and was a little concerned since he did not race on Saturday and hsd fresh legs. Again Greg and I went to the front and put the hammer down. Greg went to the front I got on his wheel and as soon as I felt the pace slow I went around and put in a hard effort. With this effort Greg was dropped. I was still concerned that Gerard would bridge up so i kept the pace high and took no recovery time.With 2 laps to go I begin to think i could win. Then one to go and all I had to do was keep the pace high and no mistakes. Finally the race was over and I had won. an awesome weekend spent with some awesome friends.

d-dubbs sunday ride

2009-09-28T12:32:00.002-04:00

I know kind of lame but here is a replay of my wonderful ride on Sunday

Goodbye Alfa

2009-08-12T20:22:00.002-04:00

Goodbye Alfa Romeo Spyder Veloce. Ned a good friend of mine expressed interest in the Alfa a couple of years ago. At the time I was hesitant to sell the car but then again I was not driving it. So today Ned came and picked up the car and is taking it to his shop to restore.
The Alfa had a lot of character. She could be stubborn at times and it took a lot of stroking to bring out the best in her. Usually the stubborness came at the most inopportune times and usually meant not starting which in turn meant Diana pushing me off then hopping into the car. Once running, put the top down find a nice winding road and let the fun begin.The Alfa was red of course as all Italian sports cars should be.She had a 5 speed gearbox with worn out synchronizers in 2nd gear. The synchronizers were an issue on all Alfas which meant you had to double clutch downshifting to 2nd gear.The four wheel disc brakes would fade slightly when driving hard and if you let her set for too long in the garage it usually took about 1 week to get her up and running. Like I say a car with a lot of character and personality.

Not wanting to be without a sports car(my definition-2 seater convertible)I began looking, well honestly I have been kind of looking around for ~1year for a replacement. I have always been particularly fond of the Triumph TR-6 pre 1974 and the old MGA's. Both of these are British cars and each with its own peculuarities. I also considered the Porsche Boxter and the Mazda Miata.What did I end up with, a Toyota MR2 Spyder. Ratonale: Triumph's and MGA's too peculiar/Porsche Boxter-Expensive to maintain/Mazda Miata-too many around.

The Toyota is somewhat unique, reliable,parts are reasonable and it is a blast to drive!

Memorial Day Hike

2009-05-25T17:48:00.001-04:00

Update

2009-05-24T15:48:00.003-04:00

I am not sure where to start, since it seems to have been so long since I have blogged.mmmmmmm let's see perhaps I will start with race updates:

Ducktown race-raced in torrential downpour needless to say very muddy. I finished 3rd in this race and my friend Van won. I had a great time and it was good to see all the gang. I got to talk to Martin Visser, a great friend and awesome racer.

Next up was Spartanburg "Stump Jump" I won this race and the South Carolina State Championship. I am not from South Carolina and told the official. The official said it did not matter I had won anyway oh well.

Next weekend (may 30-31) I plan on doing the "Wheel Ride for Food" and then perhaps going to VA to do one of the Southern Classic Races. I will watch the weather and decide whether or not to do these rides.

Today (memorial day) Diana and I had planned a ride with some friends, unfortunately it got rained out.So we chose option #2 and went hiking to John's Rock in the Pisgah National Forest above the Fish Hatchery. It was a great hike and a great lunch on top of John's Rock. I am not sure why it is called John's Rock but anyway it is a nice rock with great views. We sat and watched the rain roll into the coves and valleys. A great day!!

I hope everyone has a good week!

Back on the Farm

2009-05-16T09:08:00.001-04:00

Update from the farm...crops are doing well, amazing what the proper amount of rain can do.
Race updates later this weekend.

Cohutta 65

2009-05-04T18:46:00.002-04:00

A couple of weeks ago against my better judgement I registered for the Cohutta 65 mile mtn bike race. I had been tentatively planning on doing the race since the first of the year but had not put together a serious training plan to race for 6 hours.Needless to say I felt a little unprepared heading down on Friday the the day before the race.
I left work Friday at 11AM and had a lea surely drive down to the race venue. I got to the venue picked up my packet changed clothes and set out to preride part of the course. I rode for ~2.5 hours.After the preride I hung around socialized a bit talked with Jess, Cara, Andy, Stephen, Rhonda and Jubal, awesome people.From here I loaded up the bike made my way to Blue Ridge where I was staying the night. On the way I picked up a few groceries stopped for a bite to eat and then headed on to the house. At the house I got my stuff organized for the 7:15 am start sat on the porch and relaxed.
4:15am arrived bright and early. I slept well and felt well rested and ready to race. After breakfast it was off to the venue and the start of the race.I got a call up for the 65 mile start and Bruce made a comment about how serious I looked. The look was one of worry not seriousness. The horn sounded and we were off.
The race starts with a 3 mile climb and I started out with a brisk pace a tad below LT. Unlike the previous year I did not hear a small voice saying "I'm gonna catch you" I did hear other voices but these were just the usual ones in my head.After the climb it was onto the singletrack. This was awesome, fast and rolling. I kept a high cadence and steady pace. After the single track we hit the dirt roads. This part I did not like.One of the intersections was not marked and this cost me ~ 5-8 mins. During the dirt road riding I talked a bit with Tal a super strong rider oh, and he is also Jess's husband.
I raced for 4 hours and 15 mins after this I was just riding. I did not bonk I was just not racing. My average speed up to that point was ~13 mph. After the gravel roads we were on single track again. This was great! I picked up my tempo a hair while at the same time trying to be careful. We had ~ 8 miles to go and I was pretty sure I was leading my age group and did not want to do something dumb that would cost me the race. After blasting down thunder rock trail it was up the road across the bridge to the finish line. I was glad to see the finish, I was knackered. My time 5hr 30 mins not as fast as I had hoped but still fast enough for 1st in the 50+ category.
After finishing I went to my truck got out my chair sat and talked with Tal and Cara for a while.I finally regained enough energy to go and take a shower at the campground. The shower felt great,came back grabbed a bite to eat totally missed the awards a big thanks to Stephen and Jubal for picking up my stuff. I honestly thought the box that Stephen was carrying with my 1st place plate was a box of dunkin doughnuts. Perhaps my body was wanting some dunkin doughnuts. Anyway a cool trophy and and cool stuffed bear.
After my friends finished the 100 mile race I packed up and went back to Blue Ridge to take a nap and wait for Diana. Diana had done the Burnsville metric and decided to come and stay at Blue Ridge Saturday night. I was way to pooped to drive home.Diana arrived later that evening, we fixed dinner and then lights out.Sunday we bummed around the town of Blue Ridge, ate at a neat sidewalk cafe and then headed back to Asheville.

RECOVERY WEEK!!!!!

FRANKENBIKE PICTURES

2009-04-20T17:29:00.001-04:00

FRANKENBIKE, JEHOVAHS WITNESS'S and NUDITY

2009-04-18T18:02:00.004-04:00

Frankenbike-unfortunately I did not think of this name but it is applicable to my latest endeavor.
First the definition:
Frankenbike-a bicycle assembled from various parts one has lying around or parts gotten from friends, the more mismatched the better.

My latest endeavor involves using a Santa Cruz Chameleon frame and building it up as a 69er, 26" rear wheel 29 " rear. Thought of calling it a 96er but 69er just sounds more fun. I have been working on this for a couple of months. Scrounging through the garage looking for parts. Looking through my garage for parts is kinda like a scavenger hunt. I know some of you may not believe this but I am not the most organized person in the world. I do plan on cleaning and organizing the garage eventually, just haven't gotten to it yet. It does get a little embarassing each time they have a missing person report the Sheriff always wants to check my garage, not that is that big but it is in such disarray someone not familier could possibly become lost.

Back to the Frankenbike. I have almost gotten it fully assembled. I still need 2 grips (preferably mismatched) and I need a front brake adapter. I did find a set of cranks, well not a matched set one black one sliver, not sure how I ended up with 2 different crank arms. I do recall on a previous Frankenbike I put 2 crank arms on and one was 172.5 and one was 175. I thought one of my legs was shrinking until i figured out my error. A few finishing touches and the Frankenbike will be ready to ride.
This is not the first Frankenbike I have built. I have built several cyclocross Frankenbikes. My first endeavor in this area involved converting a Litespeed Classic road bike to a SS cyclocross bike. This was quite an endeavor. The Litespeed does not have horizontal dropouts, so I had to experiment with different sprocket combinations to get the correct chain length so I would not have to use a chain tensioner. Once I had this I was ready to race. I raced this Frankenbike at the MSG cross series and crashed 3x the first lap. The bike worked well but the road geometry was not what I was used to on a cross bike. Not wanting to cause myself bodily harm I shelved this Frankenbike.
The next was a semi Frankenbike. I bought a Surly Cross check frame and assembled a SS cross bike from parts I had in the garage. This worked well but was not without its nuances, ie it would occasionally throw the chain. I lent it to a friend for a cross race and it threw the chain 3 x the first lap. Being a good sport and somewhat familiar with the peculuarities of a Frankenbike she did not seem too upset. I did eventually work the bugs out of this Frankenbike and still use it to race and train on.
I will have the latest Frankenbike assenbled and ready for the maiden voyage next week.
On to the next subject:

!!!!!!!!!Read at own Risk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not sure how to start this one but here goes.
I had just completed a 6 hour ride and had come home hopped in the shower got out toweled off and realized my compression socks were in the truck. Those of you that have been to my house know that it is quite secluded with no neighbors.
Not wanting to get dressed without first putting the compression socks on which were in the truck I decided to go out "all natural" to get them.
I got to the truck got the socks and was on my way back to the house and up drove a car with what I am sure were some Jehovah's Witness. I do not mean to stereotype but based on their attire I feel pretty certain of their religious affiliation. Anyway there I was naked as a j-bird in the middle of the drive. Wished you could have seen it...the JW's that is not me.Honestly I think I look pretty good naked but I am not sure these people shared my perspective, although I do believe I heard the lady say HALLELLUAH!!! as they drove off.
That was my weekend, spent building Frankenbikes and running around the yard naked.
Have good week
Oh yeah I have pictures

OF THE FRANKENBIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Easter Weekend

2009-04-12T20:03:00.002-04:00

A quick blurb:
Good weekend, planted potatoes, 2 long bike rides. Easter sunrise service at the top of Chimney Rock Park....Flashback........I kept looking for someone to pass us on the way to the top!!

More later, I hope everyone has a great week.

Good Bye Old Friend

2009-03-29T07:39:00.002-04:00

Day’s spent chasing tennis balls
Sniffing brush piles to see what creatures lurked within
Digging holes in the woods
Going swimming on the coldest days
Laying by the truck hoping to go off and explore
Never complaining of D-Dub's miss directions on the trail
Looking for lizards along the block wall behind the house
Sneaking a banana off the counter, or an apple out of my bag
Greeting me with a bark when I got home
Sniffing my hand for a pat on the head.........

These are the memories I have of my chocolate lab Abigail.Abigail passed away Tuesday March 23 2009.
I miss Abigail.

snake creek gap grand finale and 6 hours duo

2009-03-15T20:05:00.003-04:00

The last Snake Creek Gap TT of the 2009 series was held March 7. I carpooled with Andy and Cara and we arrived Friday evening at Dalton Ga. We were all looking forward to the final TT of the series. I enjoyed doing the series but was glad this was the last race of 2009 for this event.
We woke Saturday morning and made our way to registration to sign in and then to drop Andy off at the start of the 32 mile TT. After dropping Andy off Cara and I made our way to the start of the 17 mile event. We arrived 30 mins before the official start time and was quite surprised to see people starting and a line at the start line.I was a bit irritated knowing I would have to pass a lot of people on the course and expend a lot of energy taking lines that were not ideal.
I started,went as hard as I could and as i had thought i had to pass a lot of people taking the slower line and expended a lot of energy. I ran a lot of places that i had ridden the previous month because of traffic.
I crossed the finish line looked at me my computer and could not believe my time 1hr 52 mins. A pleasant surprise. It turns out almost everyone had personal best times that day. After my race I waited on Andy and Cara to finish, then we rode back to the start of the 17 mile ride to fetch the car. Another great weekend!

Friday March 13 Nate and I drove to Madison to hook up with Andy and Cara to do the 6hour Dirty Spokes race on Saturday March 14. Nate and Andy were doing the solo while Cara and I decided to do the 6 hr coed. I did not tell Cara but I was not looking forward to racing in the rain.I thought about backing out but could not come up with a good excuse.
Nate and I arrived late Friday at the hotel and immediately hit the hay. We were up the next morning for a quick shower, breakfast then it was off to the races.Once at the venue we began the prerace ritual, me rummaging through my bags, setting up the table then a quick strategy session with Cara on how we were going to exchange the timing chip. We decided I would to the first lap she would do the 2nd lap then I would do 2 laps with Cara doing the final lap.
I did not have a good race as I had not ridden for 1 week due to work and could not find a rhythm. We finished 2nd in the coed. Nate won the overall Andy finished 4th which I thought was pretty amazing after being clothes lined by a brier. The wounds looked more like a lynching gone bad, the wounds kind of reminded me of the Spaghetti Western "The Good The Bad and The Ugly" in which Clint Eastwood escaped a lynching and had some rather significant scars around his neck.
Overall a great 2 weekends of racing and hanging out with some awesome friends!!!!

Dead Wood

2009-02-21T21:25:00.004-05:00

Dead Wood-This is what my legs felt like today on my ride. Fortunately no one was with me to hear my whining about how tired my legs felt. Since the legs did not cooperate I took the opportunity to take some pictures along the way.

There are quite a few pictures of old houses, which I always find interesting. Old houses have character. The wood tells of the many storms the houses have weathered. I always wonder who the original owner was, how many families have grown up there, what hardships they faced. Where are the families now, how many have passed away, how many children played in the yard catching lightning bugs playing tag etc.

My ride today took me from Spring Mtn Community Center, Hwy 9, Silver Welch, Parker Padgett, Old Fort, old US 70 to Black Mtn and back to the Community Center on Old Fort Rd. A great ride of almost 4 hrs.

Below are pics from the ride.

2 Week Recap

2009-02-16T19:08:00.003-05:00

Feb 1-7-The week was rather uneventful up until Friday. Friday afternoon I met up with Andy and we headed down to the 2nd Snake Creek Gap TT. This time we were by ourselves, unchaperoned woooohooooooo. We made our way to Dalton Ga. checked into the hotel and watched some useless TV.

Got up bright and early on Saturday had breakfast, signed the race waivers and then it was off to the start. You can take the bus, plane or train to the start but Andy and I chose to drive.Just kidding about the plane and train. We have the logistics worked out really well, we drive up drop Andy off at the 34 mi start then I drive down to the 17 mile start. I arrive back to the finish first hitch a ride back to the 17 mile start get the vehicle and drive back to the start.

Andy and I both did personal bests. Andy 3.04 in the 34 mile and me 1:58 in the 17 mile. Not bad for 2 old guys...well one old guy me! I started ~10 riders back from Jeff Duckworth. Jeff is an excellent racer and posted the fastest time in the 17 mile TT in January. I placed 4th in that race.I was hoping to use Jeff as a rabbit to make me go harder. I really do not have a strategy in these races I just go till I start feeling light headed then go just a wee bit harder. I picked off riders one by one and finally I saw Jeff. I passed him on a slight up hill and once by I went as hard as I could, really feeling light headed now. Finally, off the front by myself. If is a great feeling to hear "hey you are the first one through" you only hope you can hang on till the finish. Then you start hearing things..."not the usual voices I hear in my head" I hear chain slap as if someone is coming up behind me, but no one is there.You wonder, am I going to hard, should I be a bit conservative...nooo I went as hard as I could, totally focused, preshifting to stay on top of my gear and carry my momentum.Coming across the finish line I looked at my computer and saw I broken 2 hours YAHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! This was one of my goals for the season...great feeling.
After the race I hitched a ride to pick up the car drove back to the start line hung around talked to Nate, Andy and socialized with the other racers. After the socializing Andy and I packed up and headed back to Asheville both pleased with our results.

Feb 7-15:
Kinda uneventful, did some training rides spent a great Saturday with Diana. We bummed around went out for lunch bummed around some more came home fixed dinner and watched a movie.Sunday training ride from Black Mountain came home and got a bunch of work done on home projects.

This week:
Work, train etc>

Have a good week!!!!!!!

Me and My Shadow

2009-01-31T17:27:00.006-05:00

I was too lazy to go race the ICYCLE mtn bike race and I was also too lazy to get up and meet Jason M. at Guion Farm parking area @ Dupont State Forest. Instead I noodled around the house, made my usual Saturday morning trip to Lowes came home loaded up the bike and went to Bent Creek.
I had a great ride and ended up chasing this guy all day:

Yep that's him the guy dressed in black. I could drop him at times but he always came back.In the woods I did not see him at all and thought I had dropped him for good then when I got back out in the open he would suddenly appear. kinda weird!!!

Then there was this little creature.He was definately having a bad hair day!

My ride took me from Rice Pinnacle Parking area over Bent Creek Gap to Spencer Branch trail where I dropped down to the reservoir road then to Wash Creek Trail back up Bent Creek Gap and to the truck. A good 3.5 hour ride.

Another Week

2009-01-25T16:24:00.002-05:00

Not much to post about this week. I worked quite a bit of overtime which I guess is good in today's market. The overtime left me pretty well fried by Friday. I had registered to do the Southern Cross race and I almost convinced myself to drive down Friday night and race the next day but I chose to relax at home. This was a good choice.

I did go mtn biking on Saturday. I rode ~ 2.5 hours and then went home and did some home projects. I sat out 4 more blueberry bushes, mulched around all the blueberries, raspberries and the one blackberry vine I have. They all appear to have small green buds, oh and the March flowers are starting to poke through the ground. Hopefully I have gotten over the brown thumb syndrome.

Sunday, today I went for a mtn bike ride at North Mills river. My intent was to do a nice easy ride take some pictures and just enjoy the scenery. I got the camera and was going to take a couple of pics of the trail head and the camera did not work. I have left the battery in the charger at the house...darn. I usually leave the memory card in the computer. I still had a nice ride, ran up on some people I knew talked for a while then headed back home, I did stop and get something for dinner on the way home.

This week looks busy but I hope to do the ICECYCLE race this weekend. Nate and I may go up together. I race at 11 am and he races at 1 pm.

I hope everyone has a good week!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where's the Snow??

2009-01-18T17:05:00.005-05:00

Another quiet week for me. Training consisted of riding inside doing core work. A busy week at work getting prepared for upcoming projects. Saturday I worked around the house 1/2 day then Diana and I went to see a movie. It was a geezer movie Gran Torino. The movie was excellent and the new theater at Biltmore Park is awesome. While standing in line for the tickets I made mention to Diana that I did not understand why they did not have kiosks to purchase tickets at. After waiting 20 mins in line we walked in and believe it or not there sat a kiosk that you could purchase tickets, either in advance or day of showing.

Sunday Nate came to breakfast, I like breakfast on the weekends and enjoy cooking breakfast.I expecially enjoy cooking for family and friends. I guess it is part of being empty nesters or the fact that I enjoy cooking or perhaps part of my upbringing. My kin are Scotch Irish and although they did not have a lot you always had to eat something when you visited. My mom and dad were the same. Anytime company came mom was off to the kitchen fixing a meal. No one ever left hungry that visited our house. Well almost, mom did not particularly care for Jehovah's witnesses but I am sure if they were hungry they would not be turned away, even if they were on the road to hell. My uncle Carl McKinney who lived in Little Switzerland not only would not have fed them but would have hastened their journey to hell. My uncle Carl and aunt Bonnie depended on no one. They lived in a house with no indoor plumbing, no running water and heated with wood. They did have electricity, but no luxuries and they were happy as larks. I have digressed enough.

After breakfast Nathan and I went to Pisgah to do one of my favorite rides. This ride Andy and I had done a few weeks ago but unfortunately Andy was unable to go. Nate and I were both diasppointed cause Andy is a great guy to ride with.We made our our to Pisgah and much too our surprise the road leading to the Pink Beds was covered with snow. I put the truck in 4wd and we made our way to the Pink Beds parking area. WE FOUND THE SNOW!!!

We dressed in the parking lot, hope they don't have security cameras or else they will see a nekked 50 year old. Anyway enough of that, sorry for the imagery. After getting dressed we hit the trail. The weather was awesome the trail was frozen and fast with the first part covered with snow. We did see several signs warning us to stay on the trail, something about unexploded ordinance. This is the area visited by crazies, wait I was there does this mean I am looney?? Probably so but oh well at 50 you can be looney. Nate and I had an awesome ride and luckily did not detonate any ordinance on our ride through the Pink Beds. Nate crashed one time on some ice no injuries. We made it back to the parking lot packed up and headed home. Once home Diana mad her famous spinach ring with apple crunch and ice cream for dessert mmmmmmm.

Thats it for my week and weekend. This week I plan on riding the mtn bike after work and finishing up some home projects.

Have a good week!

Quiet Week

2009-01-11T17:23:00.002-05:00

This week has been back to work after having 1.5 weeks off. I was a bit overwhelmed once I got back to work. Projects have been brought forward which leaves very little time to prepare for them. This is ok it just means more work and making sure all the small details are worked out in a shorter period of time.

I have been working out trying to drop the excess weight I gained during the holidays. This has gone well and I have dropped a few pounds this week and hopefully will be at race weight in a couple of weeks.

Cycling has been done on the trainer with a couple of rides at bent creek. Saturday I took the mtn bike out and did 2.5 hours. Nothing spectacular, just plugged in my MP 3 player listened to music and rode. I find it therapeautic to get out by myself, ride and lose myself in the music and my thoughts. This is much easier to do on the mtn bike. I would not recommend it on a road bike.

Sunday I did another ride at Bent Creek but this time I took the SS cross bike out. I like riding the SS, so simple just ride. I saw my friend Steve Carpenter while riding then once back at the parking lot I ran into Art Schuster, John Mccullum, and Deb. I also saw some cars of people I knew. The ride itself was great. I did a loop on the gravel roads went back to the parking lot and picked some warmer gloves then rode up North Boundary Rd. I dropped down from 5 points then back to the parking lot.

A quiet week: no racing, no traveling!

#1 Snake Creek Gap Clear and Sunny

2009-01-05T18:40:00.002-05:00

The first race of the Snake Creek Gap TT series is over. I had watched the weather forecast all week and Saturday the day of the race was supposed to be clear and sunny. This day was anything but clear and sunny. The day dawned overcast and cloudy with some drizzle mixed with the fog.

Prior to the weekend I had spent the week doing home projects and riding my bike. I did various rides. It is great riding with friends, chatting having a good time. Cycling buds are the best! Andy and I did a great ride in Pisgah Forest on Wednesday. We rode 2+hours with a mix of double track, single track and a couple of technical climbs thrown in for good measure, I was pretty trashed after the ride Andy seemed fine, Andy is a couple of years younger than me. Anyway we both had a great time and an awesome ride.

Friday Diana and I bummed around drove new cars or this may have been Thursday. I sometimes get my days confused.New cars...way to expensive for me. Perhaps next fall I may spring for a new car. Wait...single speed cyclocross worlds are next fall new car may have to wait.
Friday afternoon I hooked up with Andy and Cara and we began our trip to Dalton Ga for the Snake Creek Gap TT. I was not much company on the way down as I took a nap, us old guys like our naps.

The trip down was uneventful.This would come to an abrupt end once we tried to check into the hotel. I walked up to the desk told them my name only to find I did not have a reservation at the La Quinta. Fortunately we got a room and did not have to sleep outside. The hotel manager did some checking and found that I had made reservations at the Comfort Inn. This is what happens when you have an AARP member making the travel arrangements. I must say the manager was great and very helpful I will gladly stay at the La Quinta again. Oh, and they had an awesome breakfast free!!

We were greeted the next morning with fog and drizzle. We all thought it would eventually burn off but it stuck around all day. We all had good races with both Applegates taking 2nd in their respective classes and me coming in 4th. Stephen Janes also had a great race and as always it was great seeing Stephen and his family.After the race we cleaned up and shagged back to Asheville. I did manage to get in another nap!! Another great trip with my favorite traveling partners!

Sunday the weather was awesome so Diana and I took the tandem out for a short ride. After the ride we had lunch then went home sat in the front yard and let the dogs run around.

Monday back to work after 12 days off. Work is not so bad.

I hope everyone has a great week!!!

Holidaze

2008-12-31T09:43:00.003-05:00

Wow what a great holiday season. I am not sure where to begin. I will preface with: I am truly blessed to have a wonderful family and some awesome friends!!!

The holidaze started for me on Tuesday December 23. This was my last day at work until January 5, 2009. Christmas Eve I did a quick mtn bike ride @ Bent Creek came home and helped Diana get ready for all the family coming over for dinner. Diana's parents came over, our 2 kids their 2 dogs and our dog. We had a full house of people and dogs. A true southern Christmas lol,, well not quite, if it had been a true southern Christmas there would have been more dogs than people. After dinner we all sat around talked, told funny stories etc. Clean up was next and while Diana and the kids were cleaning up I made my way to Black Mountain to feed Andy and Cara's cats.

I arrived at their house took out my flashlight let myself in and began to look for a light switch. At this time it occurred to me that it might look a little suspicious, me rumbling around in someones house with a flashlight. To make matters worse I had left my wallet at home and had no form of identification. Luckily none of the neighbors called the sheriff so I did not have to give any law enforcement officials an explanation of why I was there. Sure I could have told them I was there to feed the cats but once they looked at the cats I am not sure if they would believe the cats needed to be fed and therefore would have assumed I was there to pilfer and plumage.
The cats are mmmmmmmm as Cara would say: "big boned". Once the cats were fed and I picked up my present left on the counter I headed home. THANKS FOR THE PRESENT!!

At home the kids had brought out the Monopoly Game and were setting up the money and game pieces getting ready to play. I sat out of the Monopoly game, took care of the dogs and watched some useless TV. I am not sure how long the Monopoly game lasted but I had to call it a night. Lights out for me, off to bed and wait on old Saint Nick. Nathan, Amber, Abbie, Joseph, Pete(dog#1), Oscar (dog#2) and Little Pete (dog #3) all spent Christmas night with us. This was great. Oh yeah I was warned quite sternly not to get anyone up before 8 am!! 8 am??? no one sleeps to 8 am on Christmas morning! You're supposed to be up at the crack of dawn to see what Santa brought you. Needless to say no one seemed to share my view on this matter so I let everyone sleep until 8 am. While everyone was fast asleep I got up and made breakfast, eggs, biscuits, bacon, sausage and coffee. I waited anxiously for 8 am to roll around, finally it was 8 o'clock I yelled for everyone to be out of bed, downstairs ready to eat and open presents. We had a great morning of eating and sharing gifts. The rest of the day was spent going to my families gathering,more eating and talking. The day had been great but man was I tired.

Friday and Saturday of Christmas week was spent mountain biking and enjoying the company of some great friends.This week I have began to work on finishing my garage and hopefully getting it a little more organized. People have been know to get lost in there for days, not that its that big just that there is so much clutter. We shall see how this goes. I have tried to be organized but sometimes I think I may be one of those people that were meant to be disorganized. I will post pics of before and after. I have also got in a couple of road rides this week. These were short 2-2.5 hour rides. Tuesdays ride was great. Some friends came over and we did one of my favorite rides from my house. The ride was short 2 hours but I was tuckered out at the end. The pace was crisp and the weather perfect. After the ride we got to try out my panini press. I have looked at getting one of these for almost a year and was very excited purchasing,using it, and especially sharing with my friends. They thought I was wacky for being so excited over a panini press, although one or 2 of my friends know I am wacky.

BOTTOM LINE:

HOLIDAZE-ARE GREAT
FAMILY -WONDERFUL
FRIENDS-AWESOME

Pants That Fit

2008-12-21T18:09:00.002-05:00

Some of you may find this silly but I am excited to have found some pants that fit.Not only do they fit but they were on sale and I had a coupon for an extra $20 off wooohoooo. I have a difficult time finding a 30w-30inseam pant. Actually a 29w-30i would be perfect but this would be asking wayyyyy to much. Apparently I am disproportionate in that my waist is not larger in circumference than my inseam. Not sure what I would do if I were skinny guess I would have to go around nekkid.
There seems to be plenty of 42-30 46-30 out there but no 29-30 or 30-30, not sure why I posted this other than I find it odd that I have such a diificult time find pants that fit.

Have a good day and keep an eye out for 30-30 pants!

MSG #6 and Dupont Mtn Bike Ride

2008-12-21T09:13:00.003-05:00

MSG #6

The last race of the Tennessee MSG series was held Saturday December 14. This is a great series...a huge thanks to Dwayne Letterman and Eric Wondergem for oraganizing and coordinating the series. These guys do a great job setting up a fun and challenging course each week. Thanks for your efforts, they are truly appreciated.
The TCRC gang make this series great!!!

This particular race Chris Young and I car pooled.We left the house @ 8 am and made our way over Sam's Gap and into Tennessee. On the way over we got a call from Jason Morgan asking for directions. Jason had taken a left on 11W when he should have taken a right.We got Jason heading in the right direction and we all arrived at Deer Creek Park and began preparing for the race.The course had quite a bit of elevation change, one set of barriers and a run up. I chose to go with the bike with the double ring in front with hopes spinning up the hills in the small ring and hammering the flats in the 46t.My race went well with Jeff Haase and myself taking turns on the front. The last lap I attacked hard up the paved section at the start finish line in hopes of cracking Jeff. I put 5 secs on him but he closed it back in the flats. I attacked again on another uphill and again put time into Jeff. Jeff countered on the flats and I was unable to hold his wheel. Jeff won by ~ 5secs. In retrospect I may have attacked to soon...oh well a great race. I did end up 2nd in the series which was a surprise since I missed 2 races.

Chris and I hung out at the race all day, cheering heckling and having a good time. We were hoping lady luck would smile on us during the raffle at the end of the race. These guys had some super nice swag ie easton carbon fork, chris king wheelset and all sorts of other goodies.Needless to say no luck in the raffle well almost...I did win a t-shirt. Chris and I collected our stuff and made our way home.

I arrived home @6pm ate dinner then Diana and I made our way to the Warren Haynes Christmas concert. I have been trying to get tickets to this for the last several years. This year he did 2 concerts and we were able to get tickets. The concert was awesome and had a variety of talent. I lasted till 1:30 am and had to call it a night. We got home I was off to bed, it took me a while to get to sleep but eventually I went to sleep but woke up early Sunday morning. Sunday was a lazy day,I guess I am getting to old for those all nighters. I did very little Sunday.It was a good day to do nothing, cold cloudy and damp.

The week was spent working and very little riding. Diana and I did go mtn biking Friday and again on Saturday. The pictures are of our ride Saturday at Dupont State Forest. I did really well picking the route. I only got one grumpy look the entire ride. This may be a record for me.After the ride we went to the Hob Nob for lunch. This restaurant is located in Brevard and has excellent burgers. Once our bellies were full we headed home, oh we did go by the movie store and rent a movie to watch.
Once home we just vegged out. Watched the movie petted the cat and dog and did nothing.

I hope everyone has a great week and a Merry Christmas.
And now for the fine print:

I have 2 checks from MSG, if not claimed within 30 days d-dub gets to keep.
photo id will be required to pick up

msg #6

2008-12-20T22:38:00.000-05:00

msg #6

Dupont Water Falls

2008-12-20T18:50:00.000-05:00

D-Dub Behind Water Fall

2008-12-20T18:48:00.000-05:00

Diana Behind the Water Fall

2008-12-20T18:47:00.000-05:00

shelves

2008-12-09T19:04:00.000-05:00

Almost forgot:
the shelves are almost done. I have put a primer coat on and installed the crown and base board molding.next step decide on final color and install some more trim.

Good Day/Bad Day

2008-12-08T17:08:00.001-05:00

This past week was spent trying to motivate my self to get out and ride. I have purchased all the necessary paraphernalia to ride in the dark and cold but for some reason my body wants to go home and sit in front of the fireplace eat soup and a grilled cheese and read magazines or watch useless TV programs. Needless to say I am having a bit of a problem with motivating myself to train. Perhaps I need a rest from training and need to just ride the bike have fun no goals etc.

In retrospect this year has been great:

· I participated in numerous mountain bike events and won the overall SERC series in my age group. The cyclocross season has been fun. I did not attempt to win an overall series, instead I chose to travel to some races outside of the area and race some different venues. I have had some first place finishes in the cross races and these are always welcome.
· Diana and I purchased a tandem earlier this and it has been awesome. We have done several organized rides and have ridden it at least 1/week , well until the time changed. Needless to say we have had a great time riding the tandem.
· Amber our daughter is engaged
· I did attempt to grow a garden and it was a disaster. I was banned from the garden center at several stores for fear I would kill the plants.
· I raced my SS cross bike and consistently beat Cara. I chose not to do the last race and spare her the humility of being “seniored” (def. being beaten by an AARP member) before nationals. I thought being beaten by an AARP cardholder a week before could have an adverse effect on her performance at the US cyclocross nationals. I can just hear the whispers as she lines up with the other racers…hey there’s that girl that got beat by the old guy!! You can imagine what that would do to her psyche.

Goals for next year:

I have loosely set some goals for next year nothing definite yet…well except for Amber’s wedding. That is going to be exciting. Nothing definite…not quite true as I have registered for Southern Cross and plan on doing the Snake Creek Gap series. I do plan on doing some mountain bike races but I may not focus on an overall series win. I would like to spend more time in the garden (don’t laugh).I am sure the Gardening centers will have forgotten about my disastrous results from this year and allow me to purchase plants, seeds etc. I will need to automate my irrigation system, build some frames and I may buy a small tiller. I thought about chickens but Diana said a definite no to chickens and any other farm animals. She may have a point, based on my results with plants. Dead plants are easy to get rid of, a dead cow on the other hand may be a problem, may not be a bad idea for me to stick with plants and see if I can get them to live before I branch out into livestock.

Oh yeah back to my post- Good Day/ Bad Day:
I got a call Friday afternoon from Jess, Cara’s friend asking if I would like to car pool to the x-race in Bristol on Saturday, I said sure since our races were relative close and I always have room for another person. Jess’s husband dropped her off at the house Saturday morning and we loaded up the truck and made our way to Tennessee. It was nice to have someone to ride over with and to chat with. Hairry and I travel quite a bit together but with Hairry the conversation is usually one sided…although I think I may have heard some uttering’s from him on occasion or perhaps it may have been voices in my head. Like I said Hairry doesn’t talk much but man he farts a lot when it is just the two of us.
Anyway back to the trip, Jess and I made small talk on the way over talked about our family, jobs etc. She asked where I worked how I got into racing cross etc. I wanted to tell her that I started racing cross while doing 15-20 years in the State Pen but I was not sure if she would see the humor in this and I did not want to get maced before my cross race. Some of you may find this odd but I have noticed a lot of people do not share my same sense of humor…interesting.
We made it to the venue and did the usual prerace ritual, registration getting dressed pinning numbers etc. Jess had a good race and finished 2nd. This was her first cross race since moving here from Boston. I was up next and was not sure how I would do following my week of feeling puny. The race started and instead of going to the front I sat 3rd wheel for the 1st lap. I had not pre ridden the course and decided to follow and learn versus going out and making a mistake, which would have cost me time. 2nd lap I went to the front and attacked the course. I shed one of the 3 but Jeff stayed on my wheel. I was unable to crack him. I did put some time on Jeff over the barriers but I bobbled the remount and lost all the time I gained. With 3 to go we came around to a short steep incline which none of us could ride. I would always dab at the top push the bike re-clip. This time Jeff was right on my wheel, when I dabbed at the top he was on the steep part of the hill and had to come to a complete stop. In doing so he fell over lost his chain, hearing the metallic sound and someone say sh_t means one thing ATTACK!!! I went as hard as I could and put 30 secs on him. I was able to maintain this gap and won the race.
After finishing I went and got into the truck cranked the engine and turned the heater full on. Eventually I was unthawed and able to change my clothes. Working zippers, buttons etc is next to impossible with frozen fingers. While waiting for the results and to collect my swag I went to watch the women’s cat 1,2,3 race. Cara dominated the race and came away with the win. I am sure part of her fitness can be attributed to her trying to kick my butt in the SS races. This was a good day!
Next up Salisbury. This race was a total disaster. It was probably my lack of focus as I had seriously considered staying home and doing a long mtn bike ride. Based on my performance I should have stayed home period. Not only should I have stayed home I probably should have stayed at home and stayed in bed!!! I will not go into the details but it was my worse race ever…oh well there’s always another race. This was definitely a bad day!
I made my way home, Diana and I went to the grocery store and bought the stuff to make chili. I made a pot of chili had a glass of milk, sat in front of the TV and became a vegetable. One more cross race in Tennessee and that’s it for cross season!

d-dubbs day off #1

2008-11-25T17:18:00.003-05:00

A day in the life of d-dubb, nothing exciting I am taking a few days off from work and will try to catch up on some home chores.

Build compost bin
Clean gutters
Finish shelves
Find recipe for cornish hens
Laundry
Rake leaves
Ride bicycle

Wait, ride bicycle is really not a chore and I did manage to go to Bent Creek and ride the cross bike for 2+ hours. Tomorrow I plan to go to Dupont and ride with Marcus so I may not get to mark anything off the chore list. Oh yeah and Amber wants to ride Thursday, can't let chores stand in the way of spending some quality time with one's daughter, then Saturday there's a practice cross race at Jackson Park @ 10 am, wouldn't want to disappoint my friends.....mmmmmmm maybe I need to prioritize and revise my list:

Ride bicycle
Build compost bin
Clean gutters
Finish shelves
Find recipe for cornish hens
Laundry
Rake leaves

There that looks a lot better and more realistic. OH yeah I plan on riding Dupont tomorrow. Start @ 1030 am Guion Farm Parking area.

NCCX Hendersonville

2008-11-25T08:38:00.000-05:00

My weekend started early, Friday at 11 am to be exact. I took ½ day off from work and headed over to Jackson Park to help set up the cyclo-cross course for the 2 UCI races held there this weekend. I arrived, found Tim and we proceeded to gather the necessary paraphernalia required to set up the race course. Tim had marked the course with white paint which made it easy installing the stakes to which we would later attach the tape to mark the course. Jason Morgan did an excellent jog rallying volunteers to come out and help with the course setup. There were racers and non racers helping with the course setup with more people showing up as the day went on which was awesome as the weather itself was not conducive to outside labor. It was cold and blustery, as my dad used to say “it was colder than a well digger’s butt” I am not sure how cold that would be but I had to go to the truck a couple of times to warm up. There is also another description used to describe severe cold that has to do with a certain part of the anatomy in a brass bra(why did I get imagery of Madonna when I typed that). Regardless of the analogy it was cold!!!

I got up Saturday morning at 5am and went back to the park to help put the tape on the posts we installed the previous day. We chose not to tape the course on Friday due to the high winds which would have ripped the tape down. Again I was surprised at the number of volunteers that showed up at that time of day to help tape the course. We taped the course, erected tents and put up the necessary signage and now it was time to race.

At the start of my race it was a balmy 21 degrees F. I had a difficult time deciding what to wear as it had been a long time since I had raced in these temperatures. I chose wool socks, windproof tights, windproof top(in front) long sleeve jersey and a balaclava. I had a good race and finished in 8th place. I felt surprisingly well after all the walking I had done setting up the course. After the race it was time to relax and socialize, my favorite part of cyclocross.

I slept in Sunday got up and made my way back to Jackson Park for race #2. The weather was ~8 deg F warmer Sunday @ 930am than Saturday @ 930am. The only change I made to my wardrobe was lighter gloves and no balaclava. I had a good race Sunday and another top 10 finish. After the race it was socialize then off to work the pits and watch the other races. First up the women’s 1-2 Cara had an excellent race and did much better than her 4th place finish. Andy does an excellent job describing her yo-yo tactics http://a2trainingblog.blogspot.com/. Next up the men’s 1-2, again an awesome race, Nathan had a good race and finished 5th.

A good birthday weekend. I got to race, work the pits, hang out with friends and ended up with a cool t-shirt, pair of socks and some home made bread. After Sunday’s race my daughter Amber and her fiancé Joseph came over and fixed Diana and myself Birthday dinner. Diana’s birthday is the 20th and mine is the 22nd.
A great weekend, thanks to everyone for making great!

No Holds Barred

2008-11-18T14:13:00.002-05:00

I will preface this post with the comment below:

Cara said...
you forgot to mention you weren't GIRLED either. NEXT TIME, my friend, NEXT TIME!!!!!

I was not going to elaborate on the SS other than to say I had a good race. However there seems to have developed quite a rivalry between myself and sometimes training partner(if you look at the comments on my previous post you will see to whom I am referring). This rivalry apparently began after I LET the aforementioned person beat me on the Chimney Rock Hill Climb. I now understand how Armstrong felt after giving Pantani the victory on Hautacam . Yep you try to be the nice guy and it goes to their heads.

Anyway on to the SS race commentary. I dressed in my usual attire, Sugar Smack Jersey to which I attached my AARP card so everyone would know they were racing against a grumpy old guy. The week prior to the race there was quite a bit of smack talk directed toward yours truly. I did nothing to encourage this J and as always was courteous and nice choosing to let my legs do the talking…on to the race report; we lined up at the start I heard a high pitched voice whisper “ten bucks if you take out the old guy” I knew it was my adversary and now knew of the dastardly plot(I may be old but I can still hear). The starter yelled go and we were off and racing. I had my trusty Surly, set up with clip-less pedals, flip flop hub and geriatric geometry. First lap I was setting near the back of the field but making steady progress. 2nd lap someone came around me screaming trying to disrupt my concentration and flowing rhythm. Needless to say the shenanigans did not work as I simply sighed and pedaled away. Kind of reminded me of shooing a fly away. The rest of the race was pretty relaxing and was finished with minimal effort.

Once finished I made my way to the car changed had a bite to eat went back to the finish to wait for my sometimes training partner Cara to finish. She finished a short time later we congratulated each other on the race; afterwards I headed to Asheville, Andy and Cara to Southern Pines.

The above is my interpretation of how the SS race went, there may be those of differing opinions!!

MSG #4 Wet and Rainy

2008-11-18T12:04:00.000-05:00

Saturday I journeyed to Tennessee for the Mud Sweat and Gears cyclocross race #4. I awoke Saturday to wind and pouring rain, made some last minute changes to my wardrobe, put the bikes in the truck instead of on the bike rack so they would remain dry on the trip over saving my tush from the initial cold wet saddle. The drive over was uneventful with one detour on I-26 due to construction on a bridge.
Dwayne did his usual outstanding course setup. The course was somewhat short but it had a lot of turns and the mix of rain and mud made it interesting. I went to the front at the start and attacked the course. Jeff Haase stayed on my wheel and I kept attacking through the mud slick corners. Through one of the corners I heard a metallic sound i.e. handlebars bashing against the TT, I went hard, no mercy. Going through “the spiral of death” I looked and did not see Jeff anywhere in sight, back around to the start finish line where I saw 3 laps to go. The last 3 laps I went hard where I felt relative safe and backed it off a little in the corners. Over all a good race and the bike worked great.

Next up the SS race. The course had definitely changed and was more slippery during this race due to more rain. I had an OK race, definitely over geared and one uphill section I could not decide if it was faster to run or ride. I finished the race and was not last.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and loafing. Doing nothing really, no agenda no plans this felt great something I could get used too.

This weekend NCCX grand prix and my b-day.
Have a good week!!!

Dobson Cross Race Report

2008-11-10T17:33:00.001-05:00

Sunday I got up, left the house @ 6 am and made my way to Dobson NC for NCCX State Championship CX race. The drive down was uneventful and pretty straight forward. I-40, named the cyclocross freeway by me because of the numerous trips I have made on this highway going to cyclocross races; after I-40 it was I-77 North to Dobson.

I arrived at the venue unpacked and readied myself for the race. The course itself was the typical cross course grass, sand etc. There was one section that worried me. It was a tight twisty downhill on gravel with a couple of trees encroaching into the apex of 2 of the corners.

The starter sounded and we were off and racing. I was in the top 5 group, I made it through the chicanes, sand pits and up the hill. At the top of the hill we started the gravel down hill. I made it through the first turn ok but clipped the large oak tree with my shoulder on the next turn, needless to say the 14"diameter oak tree did not take kindly to being nudged and promptly knocked me off my bike. Andy Ammon fell on top of me and my bike. I got up found my handle bars were off center and the brake levers had been knocked inward. I straightened the handlebars as best I could hopped back on the bike and started racing again. Once on the bike I noticed the front wheel was slightly out of true and that I had not centered the handlebars just right in my haste to get back into the race. I also noted that I was dead last. I made it back to the pit grabbed my spare bike and now the chase was on. I attacked the course and started picking off riders. With 2 laps to go I looked ahead and much to my surprise I saw Bob Pugh. Bob beat me in the weeks previous race in a sprint, so I was surprised to have closed the gap and I now had the opportunity to challenge Bob on the last lap. I closed within 5 seconds and was hoping to make contact at the end of a long straight with a hard right hand uphill. I gassed it on the straight and was hoping to carry momentum through the right hander and up the hill. I carried a tad to much speed going into the right hander and up the hill. I did not crash but came unclipped and lost the time I had made on the long straight. I attempted to close the gap again and did make up some time but I did not have the gas to do the job. Bob crossed the line ~5 seconds ahead of me. Overall I had a good race and am well satisfied with my fitness.

I finished the race talked to some friends packed up and headed home, I-77 then west on I-CX. Again the drive home was uneventful, although I did suffer a little from highway hypnosis. A couple of calls to some friends got me out of it (THANKS GUYS) and I made it back to my humble domicile.

This week I will do some mtn biking, earlier versus later due to the chance of rain later this week with the weekend being filled with cross racing. Saturday will be the MSG series where I will race the 45+ and the SS race. Sunday is undecided, Southern Pines NCCX series or Blairsville Georgia.

I hope everyone has a good week!!

Pisgah Solo

2008-11-08T18:31:00.003-05:00

Earlier this week I was somewhat undecided about what ride to do today. I looked for a race but did not find anything close by other than a short track race in Charlotte. Doing this race would have required a 2 hour drive in which case I probably would have spent the night in Charlotte and drove to Dobson on Sunday for the NCCX state championship.

I decided to stay home and do a mtb ride, this was due in part to this weeks riding @ Bent Creek and my plan on doing the Snake Creek Gap TT January, February, March. I raced the Snake Creek Gap last year but did not "train" for it. I would like to break 2 hours this year and was hoping that a little more focus and some preplanning would make that possible.

I chose to go to Pisgah and do one of my favorite loops. The loop starts at the Pink Beds goes to the gauging station down some road, hang a left and go across a swinging bridge and another left and hit a trail called Squirrel Gap.From Squirrel Gap you hang a left on Horse Cove Trail which brings you out to a Forest Service Road,follow this road down to the main gravel rd and then a right back to the Pink Beds Trail. This ride is ~ 3 hours. I could have gone faster but I was being extra cautious as I was alone(well almost, Hairry was with me but he can't even talk) and did not want to break myself or worse my bike. This route does take you deep into the woods and you should be prepared.I saw nary a soul on Squirrel Gap and only 1 person at the gauging station, he was on a horse, my immediate thought tubular glue.
This was a great ride on a beutiful day.

I made it back to the car and at this time was quite hungry. I had not eaten breakfast due to my stomach being upset. I did take one GU on the trail. I guess I have enough body fat to fuel my body for 3+ hours. I changed clothes hopped in the truck drove out of the Forest and made my way to Poppies for lunch. Poppies is similar to Earth Fare,they have excellent Panninis and soup. I got my standard turkey pannini on wheat and sat on the patio and enjoyed my food and the sunshine, I felt great. Before leaving I picked a piece of cheese cake and a piece of key lime pie for desert after dinner.

I made it home safe and sound cleaned the bike, prepped cross bikes for tomorrows race, did laundry and helped Diana cook dinner.

Tomorrow it is off to Dobson for the NCCX state championship.
Oh yeah GOOD LUCK Stephen in your race tomorrow!

Spooky Cross

2008-11-05T19:54:00.000-05:00

MSG Spooky Cross:
This is my favorite cross race. The costumes or lack thereof are very interesting and make for some interesting racing, i.e. I am not sure how you race wearing a dress or wearing your whitey tighties, but these were some of the outfits that were seen at the Spooky Cross. I chose to show a little less skin(which I am sure everyone appreciated) and opted for a fro wig, white knee socks and my Honey Smacks Jersey…oh yeah my good friend Hairry went along for the ride also. More on Hairry later. What made the race even more awesome was my daughter Amber (recently engaged) came to watch me race. Thanks Amber you made my day!!!

45+ Race
The race itself was great. I was on the front practically the entire race. I felt great and countered all of the attacks. Two errors:
· Mistake #1:
I fell on the remount at the top of the run-up, popped back up quickly and had to put forth a bit of an effort to get back to the pack. Once I closed the gap I attacked again and went to the front. I kept attacking but was unable to crack the last 2 riders. This led to my 2nd mistake.
· Mistake #2:
Last lap I let Jeff Haase around me thinking I would sit on his wheel for a while, we went through traffic and he was able to get a lapped rider between the two of us and open up a bit of a gap that I was unable to close. Martin Visser came around me in the sprint to take 2nd , that left me in 3rd
I felt great about my performance but was disappointed in my results.

SS Race

I also participated in the SS race. I always enjoy racing the SS no shifting you just have to hurt. This race I was going to sit back and relax. I did not want to finish last but I wanted to have a comfortable race with the least amount of pain as possible…approximately 2 laps into the race a certain person came tearing past me in an attempt to rip my legs off, not wanting to loose to the aforementioned person(I have already been gurled more times this year than I care to remember) I countered, passed and opened up a gap. After this it was on, no more “sit back and relax”. I tell you I get no respect as an AARP member. My legs were screaming in pain, I was not about to give up. Last lap, my legs were burning but I went as hard as I could hoping I could open enough gap so I would not have to sprint. Hairry and I finished the race just 2 seconds in front of our adversary (friend) and my legs were ripped. It felt great!!! After the SS race I packed my bags and Hairry and I headed for Asheville. Once home Diana and I had a wonderful dinner at Apollo Flame, then it was home and off to bed for me.

Sunday NCCX #3

I left the house Sunday morning @ 7 am for the trip to Lenoir and the 3rd race in the NCCX series. This course was a mix of pavement, off camber, grass and a couple of hard turns thrown in. The course had very little elevation change which was one of my many concerns, the others were: how well had my legs recovered after being so brutally punished the day before and what tires to use. After pre-riding the course I hopped on the trainer and did 2 mins 15 on 15 off in hopes of clearing the legs. After these short intervals I did several high speed spins and then it was off to the start line.
The gun sounded and we were off and racing. I had a great start and was sitting in 3rd place. There were several attacks which I countered and continued to sit in 3rd 4th places. The last lap was almost a repeat of the day before as 2 riders came around and I was unable to counter. I finished 5th but was really happy with my finish and with my fitness. After the race I went for a ~1.5 hour road ride came back to the venue talked with some friends (the best part of x) and then Hairry and I packed up and drove back to Asheville. Once home I showered let the dogs out ate some leftover pizza and relaxed.

Monday

Diana and I took Monday off and went to Panther-town Valley hiking. We had a wonderful day. We hiked a couple of hours then it was off to Cashiers to Carolina Barbeque for lunch. The main reason we made the trip was to eat barbeque, the hike seems to make it a little more justifiable. A great day spent with Diana.

A great 3 day weekend spent with some great people.

The remainder of the week I plan to mtn bike with Saturday being somewhat open. Dupont perhaps?? long gravel road ride on the cross bike or road ride from the house?

Have a great week!!!

NC #1 #2 and #3 Cyclo Cross races

2008-10-29T19:19:00.002-04:00

NC #1 and #2 Cross Race:

Chris Young and I were traveling mates for these 2 races held 2 weeks ago(I know late post). Chris picked me up on Friday afternoon and we headed off to Raleigh. The trip down was rather damp.I was quite surprised to see the number of cars that had crashed apparently due to the rain. The rain was not torrential just steady but there were at least six accidents along the way, apparently people were having a difficult time driving in the rain. We made it down safe and sound with a stop in Statesville to eat at a chicken place(not chick fillet)the other one...I cannot recall the name. When I was in my 20's my memory was better but since I've hit 30 I tend to forget small details.
We arrived at the Red Roof Inn unpacked and settled in for a good nights sleep. Woke up went to Starbucks for breakfast, they now have oatmeal my favorite pre-race meal and coffee of course. We arrived at the venue and prepared ourselves for combat.The course was a power course with little to no room for recovery, needless to say I did not do well. I liked the course it was just not my cup of tea.

I also did the CAT 4 on a SS. This race I felt much better and there was a tremendous difference in the course. The old guys(me) race the first race, this means the course is not "broken in" hence no lines etc, on the other hand we can race, leave and still be home at a decent hour. I thoroughly enjoyed racing my ss, I do not have to think about shifting all I have to do is hurt. I do much better when I do not think.

After these 2 races Chris Young and I played Pit Boys for Andy and Nate both of whom had good races. After the pro 1/2 race Chris and I pitted for Cara/Deb. I actually kinda enjoy working the pits but I wonder if being on my legs so much was the cause for my mediocre performance the next day, regardless I would have done it anyway as these people are wonderful friends. When working the pits I am at times unsure how much info to give...ie I try to give time splits and offer encouragement but I am not sure what is going through the racers mind, ie I shout "You're only 10 seconds off the next place" racers mind "duh dumb&%&**$ I know that, I am going as hard as I can" as you can see it is not easy being Pit Person.

Cyclocross Race #2:

Again Chris and I awoke made our way to Starbucks and then to Bond Park. The ritual was the same, check in dress, warm up and race. I usually do well at this venue but I totally stunk during this race, no snap in the legs people beating me that I can usually crack.There was also one technical error on my part...sunglasses way to dark. The transition from open field to woods was way to drastic for the eyewear I had. I know this may sound like a lame excuse but it is the truth, each time I went into the woods I was temporarily "blinded" because the eyewear I chose was way to dark. The course itself was excellent but again I did not meet expectations. After the race Chris and I packed up and headed home. I missed watching Nathan and my Friends race and I actually missed working the pits for my buddies.

The following week I was rather grumpy due to my lackluster performance...sorry to friends and family for my whiney mood. I did the Wednesday night race and was pleased with my performance. I started out a little slow but picked up the pace mid race and had a good performance.

I opted out of the Louisville race, deciding to stay home and spend some time with Diana. Saturday morning I took the SS to the track to test the new flip flop wheel I recently purchased. There were several trackies there and they did not seem to appreciate the streamers I had on the handle bars. Personally I think they are cool. It was funny... their reaction,good folk I am sure but no eye contact with the weirdo on the fixed gear cross bike with streamers. Next time I will wear my "fro" tube socks, and to top it off I will wear my bibs over my jersey, my Sugar Smacks jersey of course, and I will deliberately engage them in conversation. This is going to be hilarious, I can't wait.

Afer my escapade at the track I came home and went out with Amber(my wonderful daughter) and Diana to Papas and Beer for lunch.We had a great time talking eating etc.

Sunday NC CX #3

Woke Sunday AM and made my way to Boone NC. The race was held at an abandoned golf course at the Hawksnest ski resort.I was a little concerned on how well I would do considering my lackluster performance the following weekend. I felt I had a great race, I finished 4th in the 45+ but felt this was a good result. The course was very diverse: off camber, elevation changes,tight turns, grass, dirt, pavement all the elements of a classical cross course.
I also stuck around and did the CAT3 on the SS. I had a great time racing the SS, I cracked about 3/4 of the way through the race. Beth Frye and Cara Applegate caught and passed me. Darn got "gurled 2x" oh well what can I say. Well I guess I could say both are great friends. Beth Frye was Nate's team mate when Nate was 15 and they raced for Shawn Cooper(owner of Defeet socks). Cara, I have not known that long but have traveled quite a bit with her and Andy and consider them good friends.Bottom line if you are going to get beat it may as well be by friends!!! OH Yeah Cara is not afraid to let you know when you are out of gas!!!!!

Next up Tennessee MSG series and Lenoir NC series.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Last of the Blueberries

2008-10-20T20:21:00.000-04:00

Fall is officially here, I went out and picked the last of the blueberries today. I picked ~ 2 cups...ok I ate 1/2 cup while picking but this is legal.I brought them back to the house and Diana made a Lemon Poppy Seed cake and put some of the blueberries in the batter. MMMMMMM good almost makes me forget about the horrible races I had this past weekend!!
I hope everyone has a great week!!!

Wonderful Weekend

2008-10-16T17:53:00.002-04:00

...As a continuation to my previous post we did get gas and I was allowed to continue driving. The weekend was great,I had a great time racing, watching the races and hanging out.
The weekend went like this:
* Pack car
* Unpack car
* Race
* Pack car
* Eat
* Sleep
This process was repeated Friday, Saturday and Sunday...oh yeah and one episode of panic as seen in my previous post.
It is great to have friends to travel with and ones that can put up with a grumpy old man :):):).
I cannot wait till our next trip!!

GOT GAS???????

2008-10-11T20:56:00.004-04:00

"OH MY GAWD WE ARE OUT OF GAS !!!!!!!!!!!! WE'RE OUT OF GAS !!!!!!!" Cara exclaims...sure enough the BMW was on empty and the brain told us we had 0 miles left on the tank.

I am sure I will suffer from some long term hearing impairment in my right ear from a certain person going into a panic. The panic was justifiable I have to admit as we were on a 4 lane road and were about to be out of gas. Luckily we were near an exit (within 1 mile) and decided it would be better to be stranded on a 2 lane road versus an interstate. We exited and to our relief there was a gas station. Once at the station we had a difficult time getting to a pump because of the location of the fuel cap.I thought we were going to run out of gas at the station, Cara can get very aggressive when almost out of gas. Perhaps the recent gas shortage in NC taught her a few things. We were alomost to get to a pump when someone tried to cut us off, Cara hopped out of the car... we're almost out of gas she screamed we need this pump...she even scared me!!!

The BMW held 18.675 gallons of gas. It has a 16 gallon tank with 2 gallon reserve...whew we dodged a bullet here. Or I should say I dodged the bullet as I had been driving and was reminded it was my resposibility to watch the gas gauge. I guess I thought if the lady in the GPS system was smart enough to give us directions she would have told us we were about to run out of gas...apparently not.

oh well on to the race report: the racing has been great, we have all had a great time. Deb and Cara had a great race in the elite womens, Nate had a top fifteen in the elite men, I won the cat 3-4 masters on Friday and raced the elite masters on Saturday. Both courses were great I will include some pics and perhaps a more detailed report will follow.

Have a good week!

Pix "Can't wait to Cross"

2008-09-29T06:21:00.000-04:00

Pix "Cant wait to cross"

Recovery

2008-09-22T14:52:00.000-04:00

Crash and Burn

2008-09-22T12:49:00.003-04:00

Yesterday: Charm City Cross race and what a race it was. The venue was awesome and seemed to suit me a little better than the Nittany cross race. This course had a good mix of pavement,grass,sand and off camber sections. I again got my rear end kicked in the elite masters field but it was good experience to start at the back of a large group and work my way up. The start was so dusty at times it was difficult to see the course but once the pack thinned out I rode a hard race and attacked the course. I felt I had better rhythm than the previous day, smoother more efficient riding, and the legs felt great. A wonderful day and a great race!

After the race it was hit the road and drive for 8 hours back to NC. We arrived home and I got to bed at ~ 2am. Got up at 7AM drove Diana's car to Hendersonville and dropped off at body shop to have some scratches repaired hopped on my bike and made my way back to Fairview. I thought wow I am feeling great!! Worked on my home project sat down for lunch on the porch and it hit me. The weekend races the 20 + hours of driving the bike ride home from Hendersonville caught up with me. Crash and Burn I am ready for a nap(naps are good,the best recovery there is).

So thanks for reading it is off to nap time for me!!

OH yeah Andy and Cara made cyclocross world news..check it out
http://www.cyclocrossworld.com/News.cfm?Action=Edit&MenuKey=1481&theKey=1481&back2=home
A great couple and I am sure this will be an awesome cross camp!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Road Trip Update!!!!!!!!!!

2008-09-21T08:20:00.002-04:00

Quick update: The trip has been awesome the Nittany Lion Cross Venue was great.The course itself was all grass, no pavement, one set of barriers and a sandpit were the only obstacles. The sand pit was rideable, that is if no one in front of you dabbed or crashed then it was off your bike and run.

I totally got my butte kicked in the elite master's men but I did not finish last. Nate had a great race and outsprinted Adam Myerson for 9th place.

Sorry no pics I brought the wrong usb cord.

Today it is Charm Cross.I am sure I will be quite charmed as I will be racing master's elite again!

Have a good week!!!

!!!!!!!!!!! ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-09-18T20:35:00.004-04:00

"I'm so excited
I just can't hide it
I'm about to loose control
And I think I like it"

Yet another song inspired by cross racing! I am sure this person penned these lyrics on the night before the first big cyclocross race road trip!

Tomorrow(Friday) morning Nate and I will be off to do a couple of MAC series races, Pa. on Saturday and then to Baltimore to race on Sunday. What a wonderful and exciting weekend ahead. I will have trouble sleeping tonight for sure...kinda like the night before Christmas when I was a kid.Ok, so I'm weird who cares and if you do care I certainly do not!!!
Weird...mmmm perhaps this is what the neighbors think....Their kids come running into the house "mom,dad Mr. Wyatt has flipped again, he is running up and down his drive with a bicycle slung over his shoulder. Neghbors "quick kids get in the house and bring the dog too" I can see them peeking out from behind the curtains wondering what kind of lunatic they have for a neighbor. Even the mail man throws mail into the box as quickly as he can then roars off without making eye contact...thinking that somehow by making eye contact he will become as weird as I. Seeing the neighbors at the grocery...they appear nervous as I try to engage in conversation..the kids hide behind their parents legs and peek around to see the weirdo.
Yep cross will make you weird but you don't have to worry about being bothered with the neighbors or their kids!! Oh well I have digressed enough.

Looks like a 9 hour drive up and then 7 hours back from Baltimore.I will be giving on the road reports and posting pics from Saturdays race on Saturday night. I have cleaned the cross bike installed a new chain and am ready to go.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe weekend!!!

Home Projects

2008-09-15T19:16:00.000-04:00

I had hoped to have this complete before cross season but I will be racing this weekend........I must have meant before the start of the NC series, yes I am sure that is what I meant. The start of the NC series is the official start of cross season.

Appropriate Sign

2008-09-14T15:12:00.000-04:00

Based on my previous agricultural endeavors I thought it appropriate for me to pose underneath this sign!
A farmer with a sense of humor.

LIFE IS GRAND !!!!!!!

2008-09-11T19:29:00.004-04:00

The first cross race of the season…well it is called a training race, although I am not sure what the difference is, it hurts just as bad regardless of what you call it. I do not know where to begin this race report. It felt great to be back on the cross bike going so hard my eyes were crossed, snot running down my face(I am always amazed at how much snot I can produce), drool dripping off my chin, legs burning with pain. Reminds me of a song by John Cougar:

Make it hurt so good…
“Hurt so good Come on baby, make it hurt so good
Sometimes love don't feel like it should
You make it hurt so good”

“Don't have to be so exciting
Just tryin' to give myself a little bit of fun yeah
You always look so invitin', you ain't as green as you are young
Hey baby, it's you, come on, girl, now, it's you
Sink your teeth right through my bones, baby, let's see what we can do
Come on and make it hurt so good”

I have never seen Mr. Cougar at a cross race but I am sure he must have raced at some point … what else would have inspired such lyrics?

The bike worked great the Grifo’s hooked up excellent and the weather was awesome! A few showers off and on made for ideal conditions for testing tires, bikes, brakes etc. Ned from bio-wheels did an excellent job of setting up the course. The course had 2 sets of 2ea barriers, a fast section through the woods with a slight right hander at the bottom(no brakes if you trusted your tires), numerous declining radius turns mixed in with an off camber, a flat section and a steep hill.

The best part of all was the camaraderie among the racers. I got to see my good friend Dwayne and a couple of his buddies from; can you believe it..Tennessee! These guys love cross which is what makes this sport so great! There were ~30 racers total. I was stoked at the turnout, this is great! A couple of racers were MIA but overall a good turnout!

I am still delirious with excitement…problem is I am stuck at work with no one to talk cross with :(!!!

Rails to Trails

2008-09-08T19:22:00.004-04:00

Diana and I spent this past week riding the New River Trail. This is one of the "Rail to Trails" routes in Virginia. The trail runs from Galax to Pulaski and is ~ 51 miles long with and additional spur that goes to Fries which adds another 5 miles. The trail meanders through farm land and approximately 90% of it is along the New River which is supposedly the oldest river in the world.

The ride was great! We covered the entire trail twice in three days. At times it was kind of boring but there was no opportunity to coast which made for a great work out and tired legs at the end of the day. We chose to take the cross bikes which proved to be a good choice. The mtn bikes would have been to slow and the road bikes with 23c tires would have sank into the gravel.

We had a great week and a great time!

The weekend came and we each decided to ride with our friends. Diana did a breakfast ride to the Pisgah Inn with some friends and Cara came over to do a short ride with me.Our loop included a few hills and lasted ~ 2.5 hours. Up the last climb I went out ahead so we could both climb at our own pace, once over the hill Cara told me she was about to bonk! I didn't think the youngster was gonna make it! We made it to the store where we both had a soda and then on to the house.

Sunday I was up and off to the lake lure olmpiad TT up to the base of chimney rock, I finished 2nd but Cara passed me on the way up. I took a pretty good ribbing at the top from my good friend Ned and Cara. After the hill climb it was home where Diana and I took off and did 45 mile tandem ride.

a great week spent with bikes,family and friends!!!!!!!!!!

Twas the Night before Cross

2008-08-24T18:16:00.001-04:00

Twas the Night Before Cross

Twas the night before cross,
When all through the house
Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse.

The tubulars were all glued to the rims with great care
In hopes that Cara and Andy would soon be here.

The racers were all nestled and snug in their beds
While visions of Ridleys danced in their heads

Diana in her gown and I in my cap
Had just settled down for nice fall nap
When out in the drive there arose such a clatter
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter

Away to the window I flew like a flash
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But the BMW and eight cross racers and all their gear.

The driver being so lively and fast
I knew in a moment it must be Sven Nys

More rapid than eagles over the barriers they came
Sven whistled and called them by name
Now Andy, Now Cara, Now Dwayne and Eric
On Tim, On Nate , On Deb and Jason
To the top of the hill, to the top of the wall
Now run, Now run, runaway all!!

And then in a twinkling, I was in the Bimmer
Off to a cross race where I would hopefully be the winner.

Cross season comes and goes each year
It is shared with special friends and good Belgian beer!!

Old Soldiers Reunion Ride

2008-08-24T16:54:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone, that is if anyone reads this Blog we had a great weekend!!! I rode both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was a 2.5 hour ride with some masters riders out of Asheville and Sunday was an organized event in Newton North Carolina.

The ride in Newton is called the Old Soldiers Reunion ride, and what a ride it was. Since I am old and served in the military (no not WWI as some of you may think) I thought it appropriate to go down and do the ride. Diana and I got up at 5 am Sunday morning and drove down to Newton, 1.5 hour drive. We had packed everything the night before so it was get up eat breakfast hop in my trusty old truck and head down I40.

The ride itself was awesome, a perfect ride to do on the tandem. The course had plenty of rollers where you could carry your speed going into them and pop over the top without much effort. Diana and I did the 60 miler and did it in 2 hours 40 mins. I had hoped for 2.5 hours but we both faded big time during the last 10-15 miles.This was a great ride with showers and plenty of good eats at the end.

We were back home @ 1pm and it was nap time (i like naps). Woke up, a little groggy and sat on the front porch for a while to overcome the grogginess and now we(diana) are preparing dinner for our daughter her friend and her boyfriend. All in all a great weekend and on to another week!!!

Cleaning Tubular Rims

2008-08-21T20:31:00.002-04:00

I received my Grifos today and started the dreaded process of cleaning the rims before gluing. I did a little research beforehand and found where someone recommended using Goof Off (I thought this was something I did at work)!

I stopped by Lowes on the way home from my training ride and picked up a pint. This stuff works GREAT!! I had the rims cleaned in ~ 30 minutes. I do recommended doing the final cleaning with alcohol. The Goof Off leaves an oily residue which may inhibit the ability of the glue to stick to the rim.

Oh yeah make sure you use in a well ventilated area. Inhaling the odors for a long period of time may make you goofy. Diana tells me she would have a difficult time determining if the Goof Off made me goofy or I was my normal self. Not sure what she meant by this?

Anyway the stuff works great for cleaning rims!

A slight setback

2008-08-17T17:46:00.002-04:00

My cycling plans have suffered a slight setback. I have given in to temptation.I know I said no more racing till cross season, but opportunities continue to pop up. I do not look for them they somehow find me; i.e. My friend Howard and his wife came up to spend the weekend and during one of our many conversations about cycling Howard happened to mention a mountain bike time trial that takes place near him and told me I could stay with them if I would like to come down and do it. How can one pass up an opportunity like this. The same day Van called and asked if I would be interested in doing a race in Chattanooga on August 31, then Kerry calls and tells me about some pre-season cross races in his area. What is one to do? OK, after August and September no more racing till cross!!!! Diana says DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Weekend Recap:Weekend started with a great mtn bike on friday then dinner with Diana. Saturday was a quick ride and tidy up around the house. Howard and Susan arrived ~6pm and it was off to Asheville and dinner at Doc Chey's. Walked around town a bit then it was home and off to bed. Got up Sunday morning (I) cooked breakfast(biscuits,eggs,bacon,hashbrowns,strawberries,grapes and jam) I like breakfast. After breakfast we headed to Brevard to do my famous Frozen Creek ride. This is one of the best rides around.After the ride we stopped at Poppies for lunch then we all headed home, Howard and Susan to Hickory and Diana and myself to Fairview to sit on the porch and relax.
I hope everyone has a good week!!

The weekend has gone to the dogs!!!

2008-08-11T18:07:00.003-04:00

This past weekend went to the dogs. We had 4 dogs and one cat to care for. Not a bad thing but it made for an interesting weekend. Taking them for walks, feeding watering. It was actually quite fun and entertaining.

Our daughter Amber spent the weekend with us. This was awesome. I installed a hitch on her car and assembled a SARIS rack which slid into the hitch. I definately prefer hitch racks(ones the bike sits in) to roof racks. It may have something to do with my height! Anyway once that was completed we had a shrimp boil mmmmmmm good it did stink up the house a little but we opened the windows to clear the air. After that Diana and Amber watched a chick flick and I went to bed.

Sunday was another great day, got up cooked breakfast and went for a bike ride, oh yeah Saturday Diana and I did our favorite ride in Brevard on the Tandem then ate at our favorite restaurant which has outdoor dining.Back to Sunday...the bike ride was great it was an intense 2.5 hour ride with lots of climbing. Got home cleaned up and waited for Diana to come home from her ride. Once home we went to a cook out ate some good burgers and returned home for a quiet evening on the porch. We were down to 3 dogs now!

That's about it for my weekend. I was a little envious of some friends who were racing but I still think I will wait till cross before racing again...although there is the Fools Gold this weekend and a race in Chattanooga the end of August.
Have a good week and if you need a dog I have plenty!!!

great weekend

2008-08-04T20:19:00.002-04:00

wow a weekend with no place to go, no races, I could get used to this. saturday dawned and I was up and off to fletcher park to do road ride with Paul and some others. I had originally planned on riding from the house but I saw the posting for this ride leaving @ 8 am and chose to do it. Two reasons:a) it was a lot cooler that time of day and... b) I could get back home and work on the shelving around the fire place. The ride went great a nice pace minimal stopping and we were back before lunch with 3 hours of riding, perfect.

I got home had lunch and started working on the framing for the shelving. I will post some pics of the project as it progresses. My intent is to have it complete before the first cross race mmmmmm anyone know a good carpenter?

Slept in Sunday morning, flopped around the house finally made it out to Bent Creek for a 2 hour mtn bike ride. It was an awesome morning to be on the mtn bike. I daddled around then it was back to the house. Sunday I was somewhat of a social recluse. Diana and Amber were gone to Charlotte for a concert so I had the place to myself. Well almost I had to share with a cat and 2 dogs. Anyway no progress on the shelves today. Came home took a nap, got up grilled some burgers, ate,read listened to music and layed in the hammock.

That's about it for my weekend, nothing exciting. Oh yeah I did go for my yearly check up. Doc said I was fine, said I should live to be 120, Diana rolled her eyes, 70 more years.

thanks for reading have a great week!!!

changin seasons

2008-07-28T18:29:00.003-04:00

Sunday was the last race of the SERC series. What a great series. Terry and David(the promoters) do a class act!! Awards are posted promptly, nice swag and the races are always on time.
Diana and I drove up to Fontana Sunday morning knowing we were in for a long day. The banquet for the overall awards started at 3:30 pm. and my race was @ 930 am. I was glad to go off in the first wave as the temperature would be slightly cooler than the 11:30 wave.We lined up at the start and the whistle blew, off we went.The start was the same as the ICYCLE, up the pavement sharp left the up the climb. I got the the hole shot and was feeling great, dabbed on the first switchback and Jeff Duckworth went around me.Jeff was out of sight on the downhill and then we hit the uphill switchbacks. These are the switchbacks you ride down doing the ICYCLE. I saw Jeff on the first switchback and could tell he was in difficulty. I hopped off my bike and walked fast paced up the uphill as it was impossible to ride hopped back on and continued to chase Jeff, third switchback caught Jeff ran past hopped back on bike and went as hard as I could, hollered at Jeff to come on and not let Joseph catch him. I did not know where anyone was so I attacked the course where I was confident and took it easy in areas I did not feel comfortable, all I needed to do was finish and I had the series, but I wanted to win the last race and the course suited me to a T.I made it back to the start finish and was told I had a minute + lead.I felt great,now it was how hard do I go(?), how far do I push? I erred on the side of caution, ran places I knew I would be just as fast and less apt to have a misshap, attacked the course in places I was most confident, my legs felt great! Back to the start finish line I had won the race and the series a great feeling! Diana was there cheering me on, I appreciate her support (the most) along with Nathan, Amber, Carolina Fatz, Jason Posey, Randy, Jimmy, Andy Applegate and Cara Mccauley(Andy and Cara for putting up with my race reports via phone on my long trips home and my goofy jokes regarding fine french restaurants). So many people cheering and encouraging,and a special thanks to all the 50+ riders that made the series so special. This is a great group of guys that trash each other on the course but are best friends both on and off the course. Thanks guys!

After the race Diana and I chilled for a while. I took a quick nap (I can nap anywhere) and waited for the awards banquet. The banquet was great. It was nice to sit down and chat with everyone and have a nice meal.The awards were presented and there was tons of swag. Like I said David and Terry do a class act!After the banquet it was on road and back home. On the way home I desparately wanted to call friends and check the results for the ORAMM, but at the same time I knew they were probably weary from a long day of racing so believe it or not I did refrain with the exception of Nathan, oh yeah and Jason. Anway we arrived home @ 8pm.

Once home Diana went to hop in the shower, I heard a scream. In the shower we found blood and feathers hmmmmmmmmmmm. A crime had been commited within the confines of our domicile.Who could be responsible for such an atrocity.
The prime suspect:

I questioned him relentlessly, but he did not crack. My next step was waterboarding, a procedure I hear works quite well, but before I could proceed Diana told me it was time for bed. Bed mmmmmmm all I needed was to crawl in bed with the remains of a clammy wet dead bird against me, cats have a sick sense of humor. I told Diana to make sure to check the bed for forensic evidence before crawling between the sheets. We both checked the bed thoroughly once confident there were no remains it was lights out and off to dream land!

OH YEAH FORGOT TO MENTION IT IS CYCLOCROSS TIME!!!!!!!!!!! GLUE TUBULARS !!!!!!!! REWRAP HANDLEBARS!!!!!!!!! PRACTICE BARRIERS!!!!!!!!!!!!YAHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Delinquent

2008-07-21T19:30:00.003-04:00

I know, I have been quite delinquent in my postings as of late. In summer I leave the house before daylight and do not come back inside until dark. This leaves very little time to blog.Weekends are spent racing and riding the tandem.

Racing, ahhhhhh one more mtn bike race in the SERC series. After the 5+ hour drive to Alabama 1 week ago I am ready for the series to be over. The last 2 races have been somewhat of a disappointment. I placed 2nd in the Racoon mtn race in Tennessee and 2nd @ Cheaha state park race in Alabama. These were both awesome venues very rocky and technical. I don't like rocks!

Cross season yahoo just around the corner. I will be doing the MSG series and some other races in the Ohio valley area.

Oh yeah I seem to have the same knack for growing flowers as I do with vegetables

Diana's flowers

My flower

I need a vacation!!

2008-06-18T20:13:00.006-04:00

I need a vacation...wait I just got back from vacation and I had a wonderful time. We arrived back at Atlanta @ 9 pm Friday night drove home which put us back in Ashe- ville @ ~1AM Saturday morning. I got into bed and tried to sleep, woke up at 8am (and several times between) got up and started packing for a trip to Clemson to do a TT and a mtn bike race.

Andy picked me up @ 1pm and we were on the road to Clemson SC. We took I26 to 25 and hwy 11 to 133 then to Clemson. Needless to say there was no place to find food along the way. We ended up driving to Clemson and eating at a Jersey Mikes. This was excellent. After lunch it was back to Isaqueena Forest for the TT.We pre rode the course then lined up at the start line and waited our turn to do our TT. We started @ 1 min increments. I really sucked at the TT, I won my age group but still it was not my best performance. I thought this would be the case since I had not been on a bike in 7 days; but, I was hoping the TT would clear my legs for the XC race on Sunday.

Sunday dawned after a fitful night of sleep. Andy and I went out for breakfast then on to the venue. Nate and Andy raced first so I fed. Both of them had decent races finishing in the top ten of the pro/semi pro field. I was up next @ the 11:30 race.The temps had increased and it was getting rather warm at the start of the Grand Masters 50+ race. I started hard and was leading ~ 20 mins into the race. I hit a loose rock went down and was passed while I put my chain back on. I got the chain on and settled into a nice rhythm and started closing the gap on Jeff Duckworth.I caught Jeff but I had also pulled Joseph Botsch along. Joseph and I dropped Jeff and continued to race each other. Joseph attacked on the descent which is a fire road and you go as fast as you can pedal. Me, only having a single front ring was at somewhat of a disadvantage. Joseph beat to the single track by ~5secs. I closed the gap then on one of the bumpy section the chain came off again...stopped put the chain back on and continued to chase. Through the woods and up the hill to the feed zone. Nate told me Joseph was ~30 secs in front. I survived the fire road climb and again started closing the gap. Again same scenario bumpy section lost chain stopped and put back on!!By this time Joseph was out of sight. I attacked the course hoping to make up lost time. Sure enough a short time later I caught a glimpse of Joseph. My instinct was to go hard and catch him ASAP but I knew I would need something for the horrendous fire road climb in the blistering heat. I kept my focus caught and passed him without hesitation. It was my intent to crack him before the long decent where he would have the advantage. My plan worked, although I did not know it at the time. I continued to race but thought I could hear someone close behind. I made it to the fire road decent and started down all the time waiting for Joseph to pass me. I made it to the single track and started winding a twisting my way around the trail which clung close to a cove in the lake. Once through this I started the fire road climb. It must have been 100 deg f going up the climb. My legs felt as though they had cement blocks tied to them. I kept looking back no one in sight I continued on, topped the climb, right on to the single track across the fire road, more single track, hard and the FINISH LINE YAHOOO!!!!!! I was fried, dizzy headed, grumpy etc but I had won. wow I felt I was at death's door, Andy said this is the way I should feel after a race...I'm quitting!!!

While I recovered and waited for the podium Andy drove back to Jersey Mikes and picked up lunch. Once back we sat down had a picnic of sorts and talked of our great weekend. A great weekend spent with a good friend and friends.

Once back in Fairview the kids came over and I had a wonderful father's day. What more could one ask for. Great race, great friends and great family!!

Oh yeah back to the vacation, someone at work asked what was the most interesting thing I saw while staying on the Olympic Peninsula. I would have to say the star fish at La Push. I did not realize the starfish were so many different colors.

Picasa Web Albums - Dwight - 2008-06-08

2008-06-09T00:45:00.000-04:00

Picasa Web Albums - Dwight - 2008-06-08

d-dubs vacation

2008-06-09T00:14:00.002-04:00

D-dubs on vacation this week and having a great time. We are on Bainbridge Island which is west of Seattle. The temps are in the 60's with overcast skies.
Today was spent hiking at Mt Ranier:

Hard Times on the Farm

2008-05-29T19:42:00.006-04:00

Unfortunately the "Farm" is not fairing so well, I may have a case of brown thumb. See for yourself:
Tomato Plant:

Grapevine: No wine making this year.

Cucmber Plant:

I don't even think the plant whisperer could help these guys.Oh yeah Lowes and Home Depot have banned me from their garden centers. I was told I stressed the plants to much.

On a better note Nate and I traveled to Heritage Park on Sunday to race our mountain bikes. We both had excellent races. I finished 1st(50+) and Nate 5th in the pro. The course was awesome and the Orbea Alma rode like a dream. We made it home before dark and I had Monday off which gave me a nice recovery day before heading back to work on Tuesday.

This weekend is "Wheel ride for Food" and maybe a mtn bike race in Charlotte. Oh yeah no farming!!

Weekend-No racing

2008-05-20T20:09:00.002-04:00

This past weekend was very nice and relaxing. It started out with a wedding on Friday night. Nate, Amber, Diana and I attended.This was kind neat as this was the first time in a while we have been together "dressed up" as a family, with no one in spandex.The wedding went well and the ceremony was over rather quickly which suited me fine (I tend to get fidgety at these events).The reception was great with some good food.

Saturday we went to Brevard to do the Frozen creek Ride (one of d-dubs original routes). We arrived at Brevard HS where we met Vickie and Lydia. Vickie is a local and Lydia is visiting from Russia. Diana chatted while I readied the Tandem for our ride. It was a beautiful morning as we headed out toward Rosman. The route to Rosman is relatively flat and very scenic. Once in Rosman we took a left on Turnpike road,this climb is a bit steep and this is where the freehub on the rear wheel slipped a tad. We considered turning back but decided to press on and hope we did not have a complete failure. We continued to Hwy 64 took a left then another left onto Frozen Creek Road so far so good. We made it to Old Toxaway Rd and again we hit some rather steep pitches. This time the freehub would not engage so we walked up the climbs and coasted down the other side. It was a neat adventure.Once in the flats the pawls engaged and held as long as we soft pedaled.We altered our return route to bypass the climbs and stay in the flats as much as possible. We arrived back at Brevard HS without further incident. A great ride!!

Sunday it was cross bikes at Bent Creek in the AM for 2.5 hour ride, then to Cashiers to eat at my favorite Bar-b-que place..Carolina Smokehouse. Great food!!
No racing and a great weekend!! This coming weekend it is off to Heritage Park Ga for a SERC mtn bike race.

flowers and bugs

2008-05-16T17:07:00.000-04:00

this is kinda lame but:

one mean bug:

Purple Iris:

Flame azalea

Graduation Day

2008-05-11T10:35:00.000-04:00

Yesterday my daughter gradauated from UNCA!!! Great job Amber!! Diana and I both are very proud of her. We are very proud of both our children and feel truly blessed to have two great kids! We also have 2 dogs and unfortunately a cat(alomost a perfect family).
Amber now has a 4 year degree in psychology mmmmm I guess living with me for 20 years had some influence on this.

The graduate:

A very expensive bottle of water:

Hugs all around:

Ducktown Tennessee

2008-05-05T21:16:00.000-04:00

Another weekend another race! Yahooooooooo. Nate and I loaded Saturday May 3rd and headed to the Ocoee Whitewater Center in Ducktown Tennessee. As usual we drove in rain most of the way over. I was not looking forward to another muddy mountain bike race.

We arrived at Thunder Rock campground @ noon and decided to ride the course in the misty rain. The start was a little chilly but once we began climbing I warmed up and actually felt good. Goneriding had done an excellent job marking the course and we had an awesome time preriding the trails. We finished our preride washed our bikes and ourselves off and headed to Copperhill TN for some Mexican food.

After lunch we headed to Van's house in Blue Ridge where we did some laundry I took a nap and Nathan surfed the net.Van arrived we socialized and had some excellent lasagna Van had brought then it was off to bed.

Sunday dawned with Sunshine and fresh air. Wow what a day, and no rain!!!!!!! Nate raced the early race which gave me time to get organized in my usual unorganized way for my race. I was a little concerned on how my race would play out with Van and I being so equal last time. The only difference being that I would have fresh legs this time since I had not done a metric the day before.

They announced the call to the line. I lined up and planned to go out quite hard since the start was ~1/4 mile uphill on pavement. After this it was single and continued to climb ~6 miles. The whistle sounded and we were off. I went and settled in right at my LT. We hit the single track I had a gap, I pushed harder to crack those behind me. While it is a 6 mile climb there are some slight downhills allowing recovery, assuming you have trained your body to recover quickly(cyclocross). I settled in and started attacking the course, accelerating out of the corners and ove r the rollers. I carried my momentum through the turns and on the downhills. Wow this was a different race than the previous week. I looked back and no one was there. Had I gone too soon to early? Oh well I was commited and wanted to stay out of sight. Crested the top of the ridge then it was a long descent on a gravel road to Thunder Rock Trail. I despise gravel road descents.They scare me!

I made it down safe and sound through the start/finisn line and on to my second lap. Wow my legs felt a lot different this time up the climb. I felt sloooowwww. I forced myself to push harder. I remembered the previous race when Van bridged up. I was determined not to let it happen again. I had to go hard but I also needed to be careful. I did not see anyone behind me but i still had to keep on the gas. I hit the gravel road descent and made it to Thunder Rock Trail. Down thunder rock to the road then the long haul on pavement back to the finish. I put my head down and pedaled as hard as I could and finally under the finish banner.

What a great day and perfect weather. Next race athens ga?

Burnsville Metric/Winder GA Recap

2008-05-05T20:20:00.000-04:00

It has been a couple of weeks and 2 bike races since I have updated my blog. Spring is here and it is daylight till 8:30 which leaves little time to update since I am not usually in the house until dark.

Saturday April 26 Diana and I did the Burnsville Metric on the tandem and had a great time. We hung with the lead group for 40 miles and put in one short attack. I think they were rather shocked to see 2 50 year olds hanging with them. We did get shelled off the back once we reached the rollers but it was fun riding the flats @ 28 mph. We finished the ride in ~ 3 hours. Afterwards we came home soaked in the tub, cooked dinner and I packed for my trip to Winder Georgia to do a mountain bike race the next day.

Sunday dawned, I was up @ 4:30 am , ate breakfast left the house @ 5:15 and headed to Hendersonville,picked up Michael then to the race in Winder. The ride down was uneventful except for the downpour of rain. I was not looking forward to racing in the mud. Once there the rain let up and I began my pre race ritual. This involves looking through every bag I have trying to get my race gear together. I am very unorganized, more on this later. Once ready I began my warm then I bellied up to the start line.

The competition appeared rather stiff. Van Council a friend and my arch rival was there ready to race, Joseph Bostch (winner of last years 50 +SERC overall) had also bellied up to the line.The gun sounded and we were off. I had the hole shot for the first 1/4 mile with Joseph telling me where to turn as the start was not very well marked. Van came around me on a flat stretch so I decided to set in and follow his wheel. I sat on for ~3/4 of the first lap and then tried to go around Van on a short hill. Van countered, I did not have the legs to make the pass so I settled in behind Van and let him set the pace. It was great racing against someone that is so closely matched with your own fitness level. I followed Van back to the start line where I launched a very hard attack. I opened up a gap of about 30 seconds and continued to drive hard. I hit the uphill at ~ midpoint on the second lap and my legs felt like lead but I thought I could push through. Then Van came around! This was disheartening because I thought I had cracked him. I have to give him credit for closing the gap, excellent job. Needless to say at this point Van had me on the ropes both physically and mentally. At this point I decided to follow and wait for a mistake. The mistake happened ~3/4 of the way on the second lap. It was on a slight uphill and a hard right turn. Van spun out on a root put his foot down and I attacked. My legs were burning with pain but I did not dare let up remembering how he had closed the gap before. I buried myself and raced for the finish beating Van by ~ 45 seconds. What a great race going against someone so equally matched!

Now it was time to relax socialize and watch others suffer. Michael Scholts (my carpool partner) raced an excellent race and won the SS category. Michael got his podium and then it was load up the car and head home.
Once on the road it was time to decide where to stop and eat. We went through one area that had some huge billboards advertising a French restaurant. I think the name was "Cafe' Risque" . The billboards said "topless". Michael and I were a little unsure of dining without our shirts, especially with our biker tans so we decided not to go there. Apparently they also have a bike shop, I noticed the sign also said "A large selection of Adult toys". Oh well maybe I will work on my tan and stop in next time.
Needless to say it was a happy car going home.

Cohutta 100-Bad Start/Good Finish

2008-04-20T08:29:00.000-04:00

The Cohutta 100, a race I have been eagerly awaiting for several weeks took place Saturday April 9, 2008. Diana and I traveled down on Friday so we could have time to look around and so I could preride the course. After arriving I hooked up with Van who graciously gave me a tour of the race course. Van and I rode ~ 2.5 hours on some of the best single track I have ever ridden. While at the venue I picked up my packet and talked with several other Ashevillians that were doing the race, Will Black (eventuall ss winner) and David Hall. It was great to see the familiar faces.

After the preride Van and I headed home where we had lunch and talked with Diana and Whitney. Good time spent with 2 great people. Van and Whitney loaded up and set for Atlanta. I set out for the porch swing. I was only going to rest for a while but ended up falling asleep for an hour or so, recovery nap! Woke up starving, I recalled seeing a Mexican restaurant on our way back from the venue so we made our back to the town and had a nice Mexican meal.

My best traveling buds(andy,cara) arrived @ ~ 9 pm. We sat and chatted a while and then it was off to bed with the alarms set for 4AM!!I slept really well which is very unusual for me on a night before a race. I am usually like a kid on the night before Christmas, nervous and excited.

Alarm goes off @ 4 am!! I am outta of the bed and in the shower. I feel great,I cook some oatmeal and roast some potatoes and eat my prerace meal. We load up the cars and it is off to the race.
We arrive at the venue in complete darkness, I fumble around and check and double check every thing. The race is about to begin. The 100 milers go off then the 65 milers then the 35 mile group which is the race I am doing. We line up and I am ready to go, my plan is to hit the 3 mile climb hard and fast. The whistle blows and we are off! I go hard I am doing well then a wave of naseau comes over me. I am going backwards a small voice says" you don't want me to catch you" I thought it can't be, no way but it was. Cara had caught me and as she pulled up beside me asked if I was ok, I am not sure of my reply but I am sure it was not my usual"this is going to be a great day" reply. I sped up and did not lose any more places on the climb.

After we crested the top of the climb we hit the single track. The lactic cleared from my legs I started feeling better and was very angry. I started attacking the course, accelerating out of the corners attacking the rollers and anyone that was in front of me. The course was awesome a little damp in places but a super course. I had no idea what place I was in, I just knew I had to pass as many people as I could. I saw a lot of carnage along the trail, both man and machine. Each time I thought hmm one more place.

My race progressed well as I had not been passed the entire race. Then came the gravel road decent. At the top of the gravel road I was the 6th 35 miler at the bottom I was 8th. I lost 2 places on the gravel road decent (it is odd what goes through your mind in a race but on the decent I was hoping a friend that had an unfortunate accindent on such a decent would make it down safely).Luckily there was a climb on double track after the decent which allowed me to overtake the 2 that had passed and put them into difficulty. I rode a hard tempo @ LT and put time into the riders that passed me. I needed this cushion in case there was another decent in which case they would make the time back. I do not go down hill very fast.

I held the 2 at bay and picked up one more place as I passed a guy fixing a flat. From here it was on to the finish line. An awesome downhill dumped me on to the pavement then over the bridge, up the road and to the finish. Wow, what a race.

I rode around to cool down and then went to watch for Cara to finish. While talking to Andy Johnson and waiting for the women riders to come in I heard that voice again: " I told you I would beat you" I looked around and it was Cara. I immediately looked for gauze, missing teeth, first aid tape a sling or some other type of first aid paraphanlia. Not seeing any of these I asked if she had a mechanical and the answer was no, she had watched a lady crash and did not want to experience the same fate and decided to call it a day. I thought this was a wise decision. You really need to have your mind in the right mode in a race of this calibre.

I rode to the campground, showered, washed the bike and came back to the car where I changed clothes and sat down to rest. I was very tired. I did get up and walk over to see the results. The posting took a while but this gave me time to eat, rest socialize etc. The results were posted and I had WON the 50 + category I was very excited,actually I still am excited,to feel so bad and end up doing so well feels really great.

Overall a great weekend, my only regret: I was to knackered to come back over to the course to see Andy and Jason finish. Sorry guys us 50 year olds need our warm milk and naps!

A great weekend spent with some very good friends, oh yeah plus a great breakfast with Amber my daughter on Sunday!

"TSALI"

2008-04-06T19:45:00.000-04:00

Tsali, the crown jewel of eastern moutain bike racing. What a great race! Diana and I headed over Sunday morning for a day picnicing and mtn bike racing, and socializing with some friends.

It was great to see Eric (cyclocross) and my old friend Martin Visser. I had not seen Martin in a "coons age" (thats a long time in southern terms). Martin told me he had injured his ankle and had been working on his house, hence the absence from cyclocross the previous fall. I thought hmmmmmmmm maybe he has not had time to train and this could be my chance to beat him. Needless to say Martin has kept his priorities in the proper perspective and has not let the injury or the house project get in the way of his training.

The race started with myself , Martin and some other guy off the front. Martin came around me closed the gap on the other guy and passed him. I closed the gap on the unknown rider and passed also. I stayed within sight of Martin for a while then Martin rode off and left me. Coming back around to the start line and with 5 miles to go I had a solid 2nd place, unfortunately I flatted . I had a heck of a time getting the tire off and by the time i was back on the bike I had lost 3 places. I pedaled hard hoping I could retake at least one place but to no avail. I finished in 5th place. Needless to say very disappointed, where's the cheetos?

After the race we all went down to the Lake to wash ourselves and our bikes. The Saturday rain made the course a bit tacky. The trails drain well but you have these huge mud holes you have to ride through. This tends to become very messy.

Nate had a similar race riding strong the first lap then having some mechanical issues but putting in a good finish. The Sycamore guys had a strong team putting 3-5 racers in the top ten in the pro/semi pro division. Sam rode away from everyone and won the overall.

All in all a great day!!!!

"Road Trip"

2008-03-31T06:29:00.000-04:00

This weekend was the first road trip of the mountain bike season...well sort of if you do not count the Snake Creek Gap TT and oh yeah the 6 hour race we did in GA. Ok so it is not the first road trip of the year.Anyway the race(chickasaw classic) was held in Columbia Tennessee which is a 5 hour drive.Nate and I decided to drive down Saturday pre ride the course and stay the night and race on Sunday.

The trip down went well, no issues just a little rain. Once there we checked into the hotel and decided to head on out and preride the course. The course was ~ 15 minutes from the hotel which meant we could sleep on Sunday. Nate and I arrived at the venue picked up our race packets and went to check out the course. We decided not to preride after seeing other riders coming off the course caked with mud.We did not want to clean our bikes and ourselves twice. So back to the hotel where boredom and rain sat in. We could not connect to the wireless internet so we switched to a room with a hard wired connection. Nathan surfed the Net while I channel surfed. I was going nuts being cooped up in a hotel room with nothing to do.

Dinner time finally roled around and we were able to escape the confines of our room to go out and eat some great Mexican cusine. The best Mexican food I have had in some time. I believe the name of the restaurant was "Panchos". After dinner it was back to the room and prep the bikes.I put lithium grease on my chain and switched the rear tire to a Michelin "Wildgripper".

Sunday dawned gray and gloomy. We packed up, stopped at the Waffle House for breakfast and on to the race we went. The course was awesome, slightly damp but a well designed course with good flow. This was the first race I was at a disadvantage with running a single front chain ring. The start was ~ 1/2 mile of flat smooth double track and pavement. The guys that finished 1st and 2nd simply rode away from me at the start while I spun fevershly with my 32 tooth front ring trying to stay in contact. My tire choice was spot on. I only wish I could have found my other Michelin Wildgripper Mud tire. I put the one I had on the rear. The front tire was a 2.1 and it floated a bit in the mud where as the 1.9 wild gripper punched through to the hard surface and hooked up great. I also sprayed the drive train with lithium grease and had no shifting issues...Muddy conditions = Michelin Mud tire and lithium grease!!

I finished 3rd in the Masters 50+ expert/sport category.After finishing I clean up and went to watch Nates race. Watching a mtn bike race is rather boring, the lap times were ~ 50 mins and you see the racers ~2 mins. I tend to become rather fidgety during this time and usually call and bug people (diana,amber cycling buds etc) to relieve my boredom.Nate finished 3rd in the pro category and received a nice payout.

The trip home was uneventful and we arrived back at the house @ 11:30 pm. I have Monday off and will hopefullt get a ride in a some chores done.
I hope everyone has a great week and next weekend is Tsali!!!!!!!!
I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!

!!! Great Weekend !!!

2008-03-23T18:39:00.000-04:00

Wow what a good weekend! Spent time with family great friends and pets! What more could a person ask for. I am truly blessed!!! The weekend started with me leaving work 1 hour early Friday heading home and hopping on the bike. I was off to do my usual route and ran upon Mark and Reich. It just so happened they were just getting started on their ride. I hooked up them and we did 2 hours easy, great ride with 2 good guys. Mark and I have known each other for a long time, we coached soccer and also played soccer on the ABYSA adult league for several years.

Friday night Diana and I decided to go the movies and see "The Bucket List". A great movie; it was the 2nd time we have been to the movie in a month.A record for us,we usually only go once every five years. We got home at 10 PM, way past my bed time, the kids were worried that we stayed out so late!

Saturday dawned, I did some work around the house and called Cara to she if she would be interested in doing a road ride. We met at the house and went out on a gently rolling 3+ hour ride. I really intended for it to only be 2.5+ hours but I had not ridden the route in a while and my time estimate was slightly off. I feel rather bad that the ride was 3+ hours since Cara had done a difficult ride the day before with Andy on the tandem and was slightly tired. It was a great ride but I was tuckered out at the end.
After the ride I went and picked up my chainsaw from the hardware store and begin clearing the bank behind our house. Great upper body workout. I got half of it cleared and stopped to eat a great meal, burgers, potato salad and beans mmmmmmmmm good!

Sunday, Diana and I rolled out of bed @ 4:30 AM(!!!) to go to the easter sunrise service at Chimney Rock State Park, Lake Lure. This was the first time I have been inside Chimney Rock Park, great place. All I could think of on the way up was wow this would be a great climb on a bike!! Here are some pics:

After the service we returned home I cooked breakfast and we had a quick nap.

The nap was interrupted when Nate called and wanted to go mtn biking in Pisgah so I told him to come on over and we could go do a 3 hour ride. We had a great ride and unlike the ride the previous day my estimate was dead on, 2 hours 50 mins. And only 1 flat.

After the ride we returned home where we began the tradition of dyeing easter eggs.

The kids think I'm goofy, oh well. Oh yeah and someone snitched a piece of cake, see for yourself.

And the culprit, note the beady eyes, I am sure he snitched the cake!!

Anyway a great weekend and the best of all was the mask my daughter got me while on her cruise. It is nice to be thought of when they are far away!!

D-Dub's 6 hour / 4 hour Race

2008-03-17T19:39:00.000-04:00

The first race of the Dirty Spokes LLC 12/6 hour endurance mountain bike race series was held this weekend at Heritage Park Georgia. This is a perfect venue for an endurance race. The park has a huge covered pavilion which allows you and your gear to be out of the weather and it also has plenty of parking.

Nate and I left Friday night and spent the night with my brother and his wife who live on Lake Hartwell. This put us 1.5 hours from the race which meant 1.5 hours more sleep.This was the first time Nate or I had been to their new place. They retired 5 years ago and moved from Hendersonville to Lake Hartwell. We had a great visit!! Priscilla got up the next morning and fixed a great breakfast packed us some home made brownies and then we were on our way!

The weather was questionable. We passed through several rain squalls and was not sure what the weather would be like once we reached the venue. It turned out to be great with overcast skies most of the day and relatively cool temperatures. The rain did start almost immediately after the race and we had quite a storm for ~30 minutes.

The race itself was great! I got a call up for winning the 50+ 17 mile Snake Creek Gap TT. You should have seen the fear in everone's eyes knowing they were going to have to race against me(yeah right the short pudgy 50 yr old). I started the race feeling awesome. I thought wow maybe I can make the podium. 2nd lap I was still feeling good eating a drinking and trying to pace myself. The 3rd lap I was begining to feel tired and the 4th lap I just wanted to make it back so I could quit! My stomach was queasy which was probably a result of all the GU's I had eaten and the Gatorade I drank. My next race I am going to go with roasted red potatoes and water. I did do 4 hours and I did not finish last so my goal was accomplished. I knew going into the race I would only be good for about 4 hours. After finishing I cleaned up sat in my chair and watched Nate and Andy race. Man this was a lot easier than racing. Perhaps I should just spectate!!
Nate and Andy had a great race with Andy 6th and Nate 3rd. Man they looked haggered!

After the race it was pack up and head to the barn. The drive home was uneventful stopping only for food and to get some Aleve. OH yeah we stopped at Wendy's and the lady gave me the Senior discount without me even asking. I am sure some of you that read this blog will get a chuckle out of that!!

Looks like this coming weekend will be no racing. Just riding from the house and doing chores!

2nd Best Trophy

2008-03-10T19:44:00.000-04:00

This is the 2nd coolest trophy i have won. The first being the glass trophy it is hanging on:

The glass trophy I won at a cyclocross race in GA. Nathan and I both raced the B-race. Nathan finished 1st and I finished 2nd. Pretty cool standing on the podium with your son 1-2.

Not much happening this past weekend. I did not participate in any races but I did get in 2-3 hour mtn bike rides on Saturday and Sunday.Diana and I bummed around some, bought some accessories for the tandem, worked on the farm and played with the dogs.

Next weekend March 15 Nathan and I plan on going to GA to do a 6 hour mountain bike race. I was hoping that Nate would want to do a duo but he wants to ride solo so I will be doing a 6 hour solo race. I am not ready to do a 6 hour race although it will be good training and it will take me a week to recover!

That's about it for my weekend! kinda boring not racing!

The Grand Finale

2008-03-02T16:10:00.000-05:00

This was the last weekend of the Snake Creek Gap TT. I have really enjoyed this event but was glad that we were making this trip for the last time. I have been pleased with my results: 2:13, 2:11 and 2:06. My cheetos training plan seems to be working :). I won the 50 + 17 mile,Stephen Janes was top 10 in the 34 mile SS group,Cara place 3rd in the women's 30+ 17 mile and Andy place 3rd in the 34 mile 35+ category. We were all pleased with our results and glad that it was our last trip.

The farm is progressing nicely.The onions, lettuce and spinach are popping through the ground and should be ready to munch on in a couple of weeks. I still plan on planting "tommy toes", cucmber and some potatoes. The blueberry bush looks to be in good health and hopefully will not get frostbitten this spring. We usually have tons of blue berries. For those of you wanting something easy to grow with very little care, buy some blueberry bushes.

My next race is March 30th. I am not sure if I will be doing the Chickasaw Classic(5hr drive but ambc event} or the Uwharrie race which is part of the Southern Classic Series and there is also a SERC race in Georgia. What to do...What to do so many races in one weekend! Wish I could do all 3.

Oh yeah my daughter called today to say hello and that she was sunning on the deck of a cruise ship. This is her last semester and she decided to splurge and go on a cruise. I have never been on a cruise but I have floated down mud creek on an inner tube. I am not sure I am the cruise type? Anyway it was great hearing from her as always and I am happy it is her last semester, she has worked very hard.

I hope everone has a great week!!! Thanks for reading!

A great day and a great ride

2008-02-23T16:45:00.000-05:00

Chris Young and I had a great ride today. We did the d-dub-buffalo hoals route #1.I misspelled shoals when I created the route on "map my ride" and have been to lazy to go back and correct it.I have created and listed several rides on "map my ride". The majority of these rides originate from my house since I usually start 90% of my rides from here. This will probably increase to 98% as the price of gas increases.
Todays ride went well. We start at ~9am and the weather was perfect in Fairview, the fog had lifted the sun was out and the birds were singing. We made our way down Brush Creek and then to Highway 74 and over Hickory Nut Gap. This is one of my favorite climbs; just steep enough to allow a good rhythm and get a good "burn" in the legs. Once over the gap we dropped down to Lake Lure. Wow it must have been 10 degress colder and the fog was just begining to lift. Not only was it chilly but it was also damp. I assume the cold air had settled into the valley and the warmer air was at the higher elevation (Fairview). We made it through the town of Chimney Rock took a left over the dam and contunued around the back side of Lake Lure. The view was incredible with the fog lifting off the lake, the granite rock cliffs as a backdrop and there was very little traffic.
We continued around the lake and on to highway 9 with no mishaps. We did stop 2x to munch on some peanut butter girl scout cookies. These things were great! Only wish I could have had some milk. Although,we did see several cows along the way and I did mention to Chris that we could possibly milk one of the cows into a water bottle and then have milk and cookies. Chris was not sure what the farmer would think seeing someone in lycra and shaved legs tugging on his cows udders. On the other hand I do not recall seeing any udders on these cows so maybe Chris and I will stick with store bought milk!
We made it home safe and sound and had a great lunch. Turkey sandwiches on wheat bread with lettuce and tomato, a side of cheetos and of course a coke! Oh yeah I did have some peanut butter cookies with store bought milk!!

it aint easy

2008-02-16T18:56:00.000-05:00

The week was filled with emails planning the ride for this weekend.A ride for Saturday was scheduled. We were to meet at Kris Bedsaul's house and do 3-4 hours @ bent creek. I chose to meet everyone at rice pinnacle parking area since i did not know how much parking space Kris had and from the emails it sounded as though we would have a large group.
Once at the rice pinnacle parking area the group began to form: Marcus Jones, Jason Morgan, Will Black,Tim Hopkin, Chris Young, Kris Bedsaul, Michael Scholtz and myself. I knew this was gong to hurt. It aint easy being fat and fifty!!The ride went well we had a great time and only one flat. The conversation at the top of Lick Green trail made me a bit uneasy. There was a lot of talk about broken collar bones. Russel Henderson broke his Tuesday of last week and Will Black has broken his 5 times. Not very confidence inspiring talk before heading down Lick Green trail. I made it down safe and sound all the while thinking of Will's broken collar bone, 5 times wow.
I have been working on my weight and have even read some articles on the issue. One article states that you should eat some fruit if you crave something sweet. So here is the test. Which of these would you choose?

ok i chose the apple but ate the cookies...my favorite sugar cookies with sugar icing!

I'll eat the apple tomorrow, besides there are no more cookies :(.

d-dubs farm

2008-02-10T16:26:00.000-05:00

Not much to write about today. Diana and I had planned on going down to Boiling Springs Saturday and doing one of the spring training rides on the Tandem, unfortunately Diana had some back issues and was unable to ride. Since my best riding partner was out of commission I decided to do the Saturday 10am bakery ride.

This was an enjoyable ride, although there was more climbing than I expected. We climbed over Paint Fork took various roads and ended up climbing up Dillingham road to Craggy Picnic area. I got dropped on the downhills as usual but held my own on the climbs. Pet peeve #1:I do not understand why people ride to the left of the double yellow line on the downhills on a blind curve. If you can see through the curve ok. I do not want to be splattered against a car, on the other hand if you do not mind being splattered against a car then expect no reomorse from me.If you are going to be stupid you need to be tough.

Sunday was windy so I decided to do a Forest Service road ride. I browsed the ABRC website and found a ride but it had very little info.This brings me to Pet Peeve #2:People posting rides and assuming everyone knows the start location ie this is a posting for a ride on the ABRC bulletin board about a ride today Sunday February 10, 2008 " -ForestService-Nooner Making It Happen-N-A-Ville-2-3h-Reality-Pace- &-)--+=<" . Ok no more whining. I did go over to Bent Creek and do 3 hours on the cross bike...a good day!!

Sunday after my ride I came home and started working on the "Farm". My first chore was to build some cold frames: this is the start>">

I used material we had demo'd for our recent addition and the frames turned out very good. Everything seems to be square and I had no uh ohs! These are heavy duty cold frames, cedar lumber, double paned glass and coated screws. Only the best for my plants ( uh weeds!).

I actually had enough material to build 2. I am not sure what i will do with all the veggies if i fill both, but oh well I can always give the extra to friends.

And what should i plant? Onion sets, spinach, lettuce, cabbage.

Hopefully I will be able to stay ahead of the weeds and bugs. I always start off with good intentions but cycling and the weeds seem to get in the way. The weeds are definatley more aggressive than I am.

I had more to write about than I thought! I hope all who reads this has a great week!
Let me know if you need any weeds uhhhh I mean lettuce, spinach etc. I may have a bumper crop.

5' 7" 132lbs and Bulky

2008-02-07T13:43:00.000-05:00

Interesting rider profile on Velo News:

Yuriy Krivtsov
Key Stats
Team: AG2R-La Mondiale
Nationality: Ukrainian
Born: February 7, 1979
Hometown: Nikolaev, Ukraine
Height: 5-foot-7
Weight: 132 pounds
Strengths: time trialing
Turned Pro: 2002
Web site: www.yuriy-krivtsov.com

Biography
Krivtsov’s time trial abilities have pushed him onto the world’s stage. The team believes there’s more that what he’s shown so far and have signed him through the 2009 season. Despite his bulky build, Krivtsov can also stick his nose into the wind to hunt for stages.

How can you be 5' 7" tall and weigh 132lbs and be bulky? I am 5' 7" 145 lbs, I must be FAT !! I am not sure what I would weigh to be considered skinny.

Driving Mr Daisy

2008-02-03T17:08:00.000-05:00

The title is a little misleading, I was not actually doing the driving I was the one being driven. I met up with my two wonderful traveling partners on Friday and we made our way down to the Snake Creek Gap TT. It was nice to just sit and relax after a long work week. The trip down was uneventful small talk etc. very enjoyable.
We slept in Saturday and woke up ready to race. It works out great being 5 minutes away from the race venue. Once we had breakfast it was off the race.There was some discussion on what to wear since the start was cool and it was supposed to get warmer throughout the day. I wore light weight long johns under my bibs,my craft windproof shirt underneath my jersey and full finger gloves. This was the perfect combination.
The 17 mile bus left immediately after the 34 mile bus. The previous race there was ~ 1 hour delay between the two. This was great, because we would get back 1 hour earlier and not have to wait around to start (I get a little antsy waiting to start a race). There was some concern on the drive up as to whether the trailer would be drug off over the dips. The driver had forgotten to raise the leveling device at the tongue on the trailer and it drug over each dip. Fortunately we made it to the start line with the trailer still in tow.
Once at the start line it was a quick nature break and then off to the races! The start was an immediate uphill, actually the whole race seemed uphill which is great for me as i do not do very well on the technical downhills.Unfortunately i had to much air in the tires(40psi) I felt like i was the ball in one of those pin ball machines, bouncing from one rock to another. I made it through with no mishaps although i was disappointed with my overall time. it was only 1 minute better than last time and i was sure with a clean race i could break 2 hours. Unfortunately this was not to be.
We all made it to the finish safe and sound and each of us Andy,Cara and myself decreased our overall time.Once done it was pack up the car and head back to Asheville/Black Mountain. Once back we each got into our seperate cars and headed home. I got lost getting out of Biltmore forest(this sometimes happens to us seniors) remember I am now driving myself but made it out and back home.
Sunday dawned bright and warm, and what a great day! Diana and I went out to Breakfast came home and headed out for a tandem ride. We traveled down I-40 and exited onto parker padgett road. we parked on greenlee rd hopped on the tandem and headed out.We stopped several times for me to make adjustments. I had to set the Tandem up for what i call geriatric geometry...ie shorter more upright stem and rotating the handlebars slightly upward. Once this was done we continued our ride..2.5 hours. Great ride.
After the ride it was call the kids to see who was coming to dinner. Amber my wonderful daughter(we are truly blessed with 2 great kids) took us up on the invite. Amber came over and we had our favorite dinner, crab cakes, garlic rice and edamame(?).
All in all a great weekend spent with wonderful friends and family!!!

3 Days ~9+ Hours of Cycling

2008-01-28T07:06:00.000-05:00

Great weekend! I started the weekend early by taking 1/2 day off Friday. E-mailed friends trying to get someone else to leave work early, no takers. I had a great mtn bike ride @ Bent Creek;up North Slope, up Sidehill down gravel rd left on Chestnut Cove behind Lake Powahtan and back to truck..3hours.
Saturday was spent riding the SS Surly on dirt roads @ Bent Creek. Another 3 + hour day.

Sunday dawned and it was quite blustery. There was a bit of indecision here. I really wanted to do a road bike ride but due to the wind I was considering another mountain bike ride. I did not want to go to Bent Creek, having spent 6+ hours on the Bent Creek trails the previous 2 days.I called a friend that had e-mailed me about the possibility of a mtn bike ride in dupont but was told the dupont ride was canceled due to trail conditions.

Back to my original plan of a road ride. I did one one of my usual routes. I started from the house to Gap Creek, Cane Creek then onto Brush Creek.I took hwy 74 over Hickory Nut Gap and down to Hwy 9. The Hickory Nut Gap is one of my favourite climbs. The gradient is perfect, not to steep not to easy and very consistent.I was also riding a set of Dura Ace tubless wheels with tubeless Hutchinson tires. These were great! Very supple ride and the tires hooked up well in corners on the descent.If any of you have ridden with me I am quite conservative on the descents.I turned left on Hwy 9 and headed toward Black Mountain. This stretch of road is usually very low traffic and the scenery is great. Unfortunately they have done away with one of the more scenic landmarks. This being the Iron Bridge crossing the river from hwy 9 to Lower Sand Branch. I always enjoyed taking a break here and having a snack and a bit to drink. The bridge is being replaced, but the replacement lacks the personality of the Iron Bridge(the iron bridge was older the me!!mmmm wonder when i will be replaced).So, on up hwy 9 to Chestnut Hill road. Left on Chestnut Hill which changes to Old Fort Rd and then left on Miller Rd and right on Hwy 74 then home. Great ride,it was a little difficult getting out and on the bike but once out I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

This weekend is the Snake Creek Gap TT < than 2 hours!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!! No Gears No Worries !!!!!!!

2008-01-26T16:21:00.000-05:00

Wow What a day! Just when i get a little tired of riding I take the single speed out. The first 100 yards then I start to smile. No gears No worries, so simple. Takes me back to my child hood (Diana claims I do not have to go back to far). All you have to do is push down on the pedals, no worry about gear selection. If it gets to hard get off and run. How much simpler can it be.
I have a Surly Cross Check SS cross bike and it is a great ride. In comparison with my mountain bike it is so simple. I recently bought a new fork for my mountain bike. It has more knobs than my TV. It even comes with a DVD on how to set it up. It has rebound, outbound and inbound, low speed compression, blowoff adj.(I ocassionally have blowoff after a bowl of chili)it even came with a pump.
I am a little embarassed to tell this but my first ride I got back to the parking lot and met a friend (Ben Blitch) and I commented on how great the shock was..Ben looked at the shock and asked if I usually rode with the lockout on. Not wanting to appear stupid my reply was oh yeah just doing some testing trying to get it setup. I was wondering why my teeth were rattled out on the downhills. I finally adjusted everything to midrange. I figure if it takes more time to set up than ride what's the use. I am still not sure what the pump is for, something about preload.I just need to figure out where to put the air into the shock. I should probably watch the video. Then again I could just hop oh the Surly SS.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO GEARS NO WORRIES!!!!!!!!!!!
SEE ME SMILE :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

I'M GOING CRAZEEEEE

2008-01-20T15:45:00.000-05:00

Wow what a day! What do you do when you can't ride your bike? I'm going nuts! I cannot brave the cold to go for a bike ride. I think of going but then I step outside and freeze. Diana did talk me into going and looking at antiques. I was driving her nuts so she suggested we go out.

I've called Tim and got the skinny on the cross race yesterday and found that they canceled todays race in the NCCX series. That means the NCCX winter series is officially over.

Yesterday (saturday) was a bit more eventful. Got up at 6am rode the trainer for 1 hour, fixed Diana breakfast(she worked 3rd Friday night) eggs, sausage, biscuits and apple butter. After breakfast I started to prepare roast for dinner but found the crock pot broken, trip to Target.

I decided to do a mountain bike ride in Bent Creek before going to Target in search of a crock pot. I had a great ride. I rode for approximately 3 hrs. The weather was perfect and I got to try my new grabber foot warmer in soles. These worked great. My toes get very cold, never seemed notice them being cold when I was a teenager but now that I'm past 20 the cold seems more perceptable. Also, the insoles were a lot cheaper than the cold weather MTB shoes I recently priced, $279 verses $3.

On to Target for the crock pot search. I did find a crock pot plus some cookies and other miscellaneous items while shopping. I started to go to World Market but knew I would end up buying a bar of white chocolate with hazelnuts and more than likely consuming it before getting home. This I did not need since I am overweight.
The crock pot was larger than I wanted.It is sometimes difficult to find items,appliances and food that are made/packaged for 2 people.

Got home put the roast in to cook, watched it snow and surfed the net. Diana and I fixed some veggies and rice and had a wonderful dinner. That's about it for my weekend. till nex time!!!!!!!!!

Weekend Recap & One Cool Chicken

2008-01-15T18:16:00.000-05:00

My weekend went by fast, as they all do. Saturday was spent traveling to Tennessee to do the 1st cyclocross race of the Knoxiecross series. I hooked up with a fellow crosser from Sylva to carpool to the race.
The course was great and it felt good to be racing cross again. I had a very eventful race. First lap I shifted my chain into my spokes(adjustment),huff...huff...huff work my way back to the front, midway through the race front flat, change wheel....huff...huff...huff work my way back to the front, 2 laps to go rear flat, I had just passed the pits and had to ride/run it out. Great training I ended up 2nd. Deb(fellow crosser) won her race. We did not lollygag around.As soon as we picked up swag we hit the road back to Asheville.
Once home I cleaned bikes and waited on Diana. She had done a ride with a couple of friends in Etowah and was going to run by grocer to pick up dinner. Steak and roasted garlic potatoes, great post ride meal mmmmm! We eat steak about 1-3months.
!!!OH YEAH WE BOUGHT A TANDEM!!! We've ridden one several times. Some of our first dates were on a tandem. I worked at a bike shop in my younger days. The first bike shop in Hendersonville. Opened shortly after the invention of the wheel. Great memories, Simplex, Suntour, Fiamme, Clement ........ the bikes Jeunet, Follis, Mirelli, Peugot.......the artful Campagnola catalogs..........suicide brake levers........unfortunately Dale (the owner) was ahead of his time and the shop went out of business. I later learned Dale a great friend somewhat of a dreamer died of a massive heart attack while working out at the gym....Sorry for the flashback!!
Back to the weekend. Sunday Diana and I carpooled with Deb to the cyclocross race in Davidson NC. Another great race although I was aggravated at myself for not realizing the race would cost me $20 rather than $15. It is the only race I am doing in the winter series and I had forgotten that I would have t buy a #. The race went well no mechanicals , the legs were a little flat. I finished 5th, Deb won again and we were on our way home.
Home at a decent hour, dinner off to bed and ready to start another week!!!!!!!!!!

Great Friends...Hard Racing

2008-01-07T19:45:00.000-05:00

Great weekend spent with good friends and a great mountain bike race. Diana and I journeyed to Dalton Georgia Friday evening so I could participate in the Snake Creek Gap mountain bike time trial.

The trip down was uneventful, it was hurry home throw stuff in the car run by bicycle shop to pick up new fork and off to Dalton GA. We went via I-40 and I-75. It scares the daylights out of me driving the I-40 gorge at night with the large trucks. We made it through the gorge and stopped somewhere along the way for a bite to eat. We arrived at our destination at ~10pm.I thought of installing the new suspension fork on the bike that night but decided against it based on my experience with a previous last minute bike build.

Off to bed for a good nights sleep (i never sleep well before a race) and an early morning start. We actually got to sleep in since the race was only 5 mins away, slept till 7am. Up and at'em pack the car eat breakfast off to Starbucks for a cup of coffee and on to the race venue.

Once at the race we met up with Andy and Cara and waited for the shuttles to depart. The race oraganizers/volunteers shuttle the racers out and they race back to the finish. It is very well organized event. The 34 milers were shuttled out first,Andy was part of this group. Approximately 2 hours later the 17 milers were shuttled to their start.Diana,Cara and I sat in the car to keep warm while we waited for the start of the 17 mile race. Once given the go ahead we loaded our bikes onto the trailer,Diana volunteered to drive us to the start line. This worked out great!

At the start it was a last minute pit stop then off to the races. You roll up to the line single file and the timer tells you when to start. The start is uphill which is great! You immediately get the blood to flowing and your body temp up. The race itself was great. Throughout the race I was having a good time but felt I was going so slow. I broke my chain, my water bottle jarred out of the cage forcing me to stop and retrieve it, front skewer came loose stopped and tightened it and then stopped to take off my skull cap(home made)and gloves! I had forgotten my skull cap and made a skull cap from a sleeve i cut off a thermal top that was ~ 6 years old. I finished the race safe and sound but I had no idea how I had done. I only knew I had a great time.
Talked to a bunch of people after the race and thanked the volunteers for their support. Said goodbye to Andy anc Cara and headed for home. We were unable to follow the same route home due to a trffic jam on I-75 North. We chose to go east on 52 then head north through Murphy and Andrews. This was a beatiful drive and there was no difference in travel time.

Arrived home fed dogs, showered and hit the bed.Sunday was another great day! Got up 7:30am (have to quit sleeping in day almost shot) immediately looked for results from previous days race.Unfortunately they were not posted :(. Fixed breakfast unloaded car and loaded truck in preparation for tandem ride. Diana and I had a great ride ~ 2.5 hours.The legs were a bit sore from the previous day's endeavor but it felt good to be riding the bike! Wile riding we planned our dinner menu. This was pretty easy since it is one of our favourite post ride meals.Linquini and shrimp in a spicy tomato sauce mmm..mmm good!It was spicy enough to make my head sweat which is good!
Arrived home, yep you guessed it, I immediately looked for race results again. This time they were posted! I WON the old mens category and finished 3rd overall in the 17mile event. I was very excited. Sometimes Diana does not know what to do with a hyperactive 50 year old. She has threatened Ridlan.

That was my(our) weekend!! Thanks for reading.

What Training Books Don't Tell You

2007-12-26T19:34:00.000-05:00

How does one find time to train? What about how to get that new set of carbon wheels,money for races, hotels etc. The answer... home projects! These are like money in the bank.
Home projects are usually identified by the cyclists significant other.Cyclists themselves are way too busy training to be hindered by leaky faucets, replacing tile etc.Once identified it is important not to jump on these right away as this would have detrimental impact on the cyclist's training/race schedule.It is also important not to let these continue in their state of disrepair as the significant other may choose to hire a contractor. The hiring of a contractor can have a serious negative impact on the cyclist budget.To put this in perspective 1 contractor/day=a set of wheels.
The timing may take some trial and error but once determined will have positive results for both the cyclist and significant other.
Example: Backsplash for kitchen cabinets
Issue:
Significant other identifies the need for a tile back splash in July.
Negotiation:
Cyclist points out this is prime training time for cross season. Both agree to postpone to after cross season
Followup:
Once cross season is over backsplash is intalled and significant other is ecstatic that something has gotten done(now is the time to ask for a new set of wheels etc).
I hope this bit of info helps. I have included photos of back splash

A Great Way To Start The Holidays

2007-12-24T14:43:00.000-05:00

What better way to start the holidays than a 5 hour ride with some of my best friends! Russel, Jason, Adam, Kris and I started from Rice Pinnacle Parking area @ 7:30 am. We made our way over Bent Creek gap to Trace Ridge trail. Trace Ridge is a very technical descent and being covered with leaves did not help, as the leaves tend to hide the imperfections in the trail. My butt was off the saddle hanging precariously close to the rear wheel the entire descent. We made it to the bottom without incident and took a right on the "Never Ending Road" to Middle Fork Trail. Middle Fork is a great trail with one minor issue. This being the river crossing near the end. We forded the river without incident and continued on to the Hendersonville Reservoir.
We stopped at the reservoir to discuss our options on how to get back to the Rice Pinnacle parking area. The uhhmm group decided to take Big Creek trail to the Parkway and then descend from there to Bent Creek Gap and from there retrace our trail back to Rice Pinnacle. None of us had ridden Big Creek to the parkway. I have considered doing it many times but have not wanted to do it by myself. Jason persuded the group to do the Big Creek since none of us had done it before. I chose to be silent during the discussion considering my choice of routes the previous week. I was not sure the group would be as forgiving this week!! I was excited that the group decided to do Big Creek(I did notice Kris Bedsaul dropping bread crumbs).
The Big Creek trail meandered by a creek(Big Creek I presume) for several miles. We crossed the creek numerous times as we made our way to the Parkway. The trail was great with minimal elevation gain for the first 3/4 of the way. Afer this it abruptly turned up. The ascent from here to the Parkway was all hike the bike. This took ~1 hour and during this hour we ascended through fog, rain and freezing rain.
I fell off the pace on the way up and Jason feeling sorry for an AARP card holder retraced his steps and pushed my bike the last 1/4 mile to the top. I am sure Santa will leave Jason something extra in his stocking for helping an AARP card member.
Once at the Parkway we realized we were a tad west of where we thought we should have come out. I found this odd since we had no idea where we were supposed to come out the first place. The descent down the Parkway was frigid for myself. My fingers and toes tend to get cold very easily. We made it down the Parkway and back the parking area. I could not feel my fingers and had to get Russel to undo my helmet strap. I hopped into the truck and turned the heater full on and started thawing out. Once home i stripped hopped into the hot shower and started thawing out. Diana had a hot cup of tomato soup and a grilled cheese waiting for me when I got out of the shower. What a great way to end the day and start the Holiday Season!!! Merry Christmas everyone!

d-dub's great adventure

2007-12-15T17:40:00.000-05:00

It all started off innocently enough with the following e-mail:
DW
tried call you
just rang & rang & rang & rang & rang & rang & rang & rang & rang & rang & rang & rang & rang & rang & rang & rang
with no answer
what is YOUR suggestion
looking for advice from the ol' wise one
jason

and a follow up email:
Where are we going to meet wise one? There’s always Bent Creek into Mills River?

well the ol'wise one decided to do a ride that no one had ever done. this ride was mapped using map quest and the navigational abilities of the ol ' wise one.
the group d-dub(the ol'wise one) crash, bedslow and mj met at guion farm @ 7 am. the group was bright eyed and bushy tailed ready for adventure. everyone entrusted their fate to the ol'wise one (hehehehe) silly youngsters!

we made it through dupont forest with only one flat.from here we took dupont to staton rd left on cascade lake rd and rt on rock quarry rd. bedslow asked i knew where we were and i said no, you should've seen the look of panic in his face. rule #1 as ride leader-never let anyone know you have no idea where you are at.we had a good chuckle and i assured him i knew our exact location.

we made a left turn on rich mtn rd and connected to 276 where we made a left and headed for south carolina. after crossing into sc we made a left on jones rd. this rd turned into ymca rd and we ended up at a chapel overlooking a gorge. i think this is called "pretty place". from here we were unable to find the road (shoal crk road) that would lead us to green river road. we did find a road(?) called ccc road and a trail called Hospital Rock. we decided to continue on ccc road since it headed in the general direction we wanted to go. again bedslow asked if i knew our location and i assured him we were just south of green river rd. i did not want to tell the group i had now idea where we were! Rule # 2 as ride leader-never tell the group you do not know where you are at! this leads to Rule # 3-make sure no one has any sharp objects or any other instruments that could cause you bodily harm when you get the group uhmm disoriented.

after taking some celestial readings to get my bearings we decided to take a well used gravel road. this road took us to green river road, my original plan. Rule #4(for ride leaders)-always act like you knew exactly where the trail/road would come out regardless if you did or not. this helps the group have confidence in your navigational abilities and also avoids bodily harm the group wants to inflict on you.

from green river road we made our way back to Dupont Forest and back to Guion Parking area.everyone was in good spirits and commented on how much fun the ride was!

d-dubs winter race schedule

2007-12-12T17:04:00.000-05:00

This is my tentative winter race schedule:
Snake Mountain Time Trial
http://www.nwgasorba.org/the_snake.html

Jan 5th
February 2nd or the ICYCLE race @ Fontana Village
March 1st

Knoxiecross series
http://www.highland-adventures.com/

__ Race #1 Morningside Park, January 12
__ Race #2 Victor Ashe Park, January 27
__ Race #3 Melton Hill Park, February 9
___ Race #4 Melton Hill Park, February 24

We shall see how it works out.

My frst blog post

2007-12-04T20:00:00.000-05:00

This is my first blog post so I will start with a recap of the weekend:
Friday night was spent building my new Stigmata cyclocross bike that Diana bought me for my 50th birthday. It is a cardinal sin to build a bike and race it without giving it a shakedown ride.
Needless to say i angered the God's of cycling and I reaped their anger on Saturday at MSG #4 cyclocross race. The gears skipped the whole race and I ended up breaking the chain ~ 3/4 through the race. To make matters worse the friend I rode to the cross race with suggested i take a spare bike, but me being confident in my bike building skills decided it was unneceassary. oh well lesson learned or not hahaha!
Sunday the bike worked great after staying up late Saturday fine tuning it. I was happy with my race and my bike. The Boone cross course was excellent and the beer tent made the mood uh mmm festive!!!
I will attempt to post pics!