It has been a while since I have blogged and there have been way too many life events to cover in a single blog so I will fast forward to the last 3 months. On March 4th Diana and I became grandparents to a wonderful 8lb 4oz baby boy...Zebulon Lee Wyatt. We are both very excited and are looking forward to spending time with Zebulon Lee. More BIG news to come hehehehe.

I have been recently diagnosed with a root aortic aneurysm which is distorting the aortic valve causing severe regurgitation. This has been confirmed through an echocardiogram, ct scan and TEE. The next step is a surgery consultation to schedule open heart surgery.

The aneurysm  has been a developing issue and has now caused the regurgitation to be severe so intervention to correct the issue is next. I did find the diagnosis process quite interesting ie during the stress test the techs kept commenting on what a high level of fitness I had and according to time spent on treadmill etc I had the fitness of a 30 year old. I kept thinking to myself my fitness level is the lowest it has been in years so how could it be comparable to a 30 yo. I am at a loss to explain how someone with severe regurgitation could exceed in a fitness test. I have found Asheville Cardiology to be excellent, although I do think the diagnostics are based on the average person and not on someone that has competed all their life. Does this make a difference....I am not sure but it should be taken into consideration.

Adventures...open heart surgery and grand parenting are about all I can handle this year!

News From the Farm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Goodbye Alfa

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

Update

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

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

Cohutta 65

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

FRANKENBIKE, JEHOVAHS WITNESS'S and NUDITY

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

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

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

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

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.