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
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
A Great Way To Start The Holidays
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!
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!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
d-dub's great adventure
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!
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!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
d-dubs winter race schedule
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.
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.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
My frst blog post
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!
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!
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