Day 1..done. Today's ride was about 80 miles. Total rolling time 7 hours 40 minutes. We started in Blue Ridge and rode over to FS 42 and up to Winding Stair Gap. Then we descended to Bull Mtn and rode up Bull/Bare Hare. After Bull, we rode up Cooper Gap, across the ridge and then descended Fish Hatchery Rd and headed back to Blue Ridge. The ride went well except for my front brake not working properly - stopping the bike was a bit of an issue, but I ended up just modifing my riding style a bit to compensate.
Tomorrow is the Blue Ridge singletrack with Chris.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Warning!!!!
DO NOT ASSUME THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE RIDING WITH NEAL THAT IT WILL BE A SLOW RIDE!!! Especially don't let him HEAR you say that!
BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN!!!!!
Ugh...legs tired. What I THOUGHT would be a nice, easy road ride with Neal and Kim turned into a really painful pissing match. I was told we were being "too cocky" so SOMEONE decided to open up a can o'whoop yo' azz and attacked EVERY SINGLE CLIMB. Little ones, big ones, gradual, steep, didn't matter...if my front wheel got within a bike length of his front wheel it was GAME ON! I don't know why I fell for it each time, but I have a hard time backing down in a challenge. The good news is that it made the ride a lot more interesting and it went by a lot faster. It probably also helped me with some short intense sprints.
The worst though was the final big hill at the end of the ride. Of course he attacked and I had to answer..I got him but my legs were screaming, arms were like jello, and I was generally unhappy. As the grade eases up he comes flying by on the left, so I go AGAIN. I get him again..but he slows and then launches another attack. AND ANOTHER.. Damn you Neal, just crap out already!!!! I finally get him and declare that I am OFFICIALLY DONE with all this foolishness. So of course on the next climb, he launched another attack, but I let him go...it was all his for the taking.
DO NOT TRUST THIS MAN - HE SEEMS FRIENDLY AND KIND, BUT HE WANTS TO RIP YOUR LEGS OFF!
Thank you, Neal for the FINE workout today!
BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN!!!!!
Ugh...legs tired. What I THOUGHT would be a nice, easy road ride with Neal and Kim turned into a really painful pissing match. I was told we were being "too cocky" so SOMEONE decided to open up a can o'whoop yo' azz and attacked EVERY SINGLE CLIMB. Little ones, big ones, gradual, steep, didn't matter...if my front wheel got within a bike length of his front wheel it was GAME ON! I don't know why I fell for it each time, but I have a hard time backing down in a challenge. The good news is that it made the ride a lot more interesting and it went by a lot faster. It probably also helped me with some short intense sprints.
The worst though was the final big hill at the end of the ride. Of course he attacked and I had to answer..I got him but my legs were screaming, arms were like jello, and I was generally unhappy. As the grade eases up he comes flying by on the left, so I go AGAIN. I get him again..but he slows and then launches another attack. AND ANOTHER.. Damn you Neal, just crap out already!!!! I finally get him and declare that I am OFFICIALLY DONE with all this foolishness. So of course on the next climb, he launched another attack, but I let him go...it was all his for the taking.
DO NOT TRUST THIS MAN - HE SEEMS FRIENDLY AND KIND, BUT HE WANTS TO RIP YOUR LEGS OFF!
Thank you, Neal for the FINE workout today!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Found it!
Finally, after years of running around on and off trail near Lake Allatoona, we found "the cave" near Blankets Creek. The only thing is it looks more like a big mole hole than a cave right now because a grader went through there and pushed a bunch of dirt around. I wish we had a headlamp with us to poke around a bit more, but we'll save that for another day.
Tomorrow is a road ride with Neal and Kim, a warm up for my training camp this weekend.
Tomorrow is a road ride with Neal and Kim, a warm up for my training camp this weekend.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Dipping my toes in...
Yes, today I actually did an XC race (gasp). Its been four years since I've actually done one of these, but it wasn't QUITE as bad as I was anticipating. I mean, I did cross the finish line in one piece and my respiratory system was fully functional, so that must count for something. Back in my day, I used to be pretty good at these, but my body has since fallen accustomed to the more slack intensity level of an endurance mountain biker and adventure racer. Needless to say, I was really bummed when I wasn't able to stop and look at the map midway through my race, and I didn't get to eat any of my yummy AR treats like Skittles, burritos, and PB&J.
I opted to race in the Men's Sport Class, as I still have an International license, which is a big $150 to renew, and if I downgrade to expert (which is still $60) USA Cycling wanted to charge me a downgrade fee. Ugh.. Since I couldn't race expert on a one day license, the only option was to race with the boys in Sport. They were still really fast and I got pretty much the same experience I would have had in the Pro/Expert Class, for a fraction of the price!
Our class had 24 starters and the start was crazy fast on a paved road. Once we hit the singletrack it was bottleneck city and I was fine just riding the train. We hit the first technical rock feature, which caused a bunch of chaos. Someone in front of me was off their bike, holding everyone up, so rather than standing there, I zoomed around two guys in the technical section who were patiently waiting for the train to start moving again. I figured I'd poop out later, I didn't have time to stand around..
I stayed in a group of fairly steady guys for a while, who were probably all confused as to why the hell I was racing with them, but I held my own and rode all the techy sections with relative finesse. I was feeling good till I hit the switchback section near the Visitor Center, then I made the mistake of reverting to single-speed mode, and powered up all the climbs in way too big of a gear. I think I blew out my legs on this section, because they were pretty unhappy with me the rest of the race. The rest of the lap was steady but definitely not fast. My snap had left the building...
I managed to ride UNDER one of the course marking ribbons near the end of the lap, as it was hung too high and I'm kinda short...rode right under it and kept going until a guy yelled and gave me the heads up.
My second lap was pretty crappy - I slowed way down and had to just spin up what few climbs there were. Everytime I tried to stand up and power my quads said NO NO NO, so I'd sit my butt back on the saddle and spin. Thankfully no one in my class passed me and I was able to roll in 16th out of 24. Average HR 164, Max HR 178
This was a pretty good "warm up" back into XC racing, so my next test will be at Cheaha in Mid-July. I hope to do a bit better and hopefully my legs will be more used to the intensity by then. I was pretty knackered post race...way more so than doing an 8 hour ride in the Cohuttas I think.
Finishing up the race..not an exciting picture, but Chris had to hand me water bottles so he couldn't feed and take exciting pictures.
I opted to race in the Men's Sport Class, as I still have an International license, which is a big $150 to renew, and if I downgrade to expert (which is still $60) USA Cycling wanted to charge me a downgrade fee. Ugh.. Since I couldn't race expert on a one day license, the only option was to race with the boys in Sport. They were still really fast and I got pretty much the same experience I would have had in the Pro/Expert Class, for a fraction of the price!
Our class had 24 starters and the start was crazy fast on a paved road. Once we hit the singletrack it was bottleneck city and I was fine just riding the train. We hit the first technical rock feature, which caused a bunch of chaos. Someone in front of me was off their bike, holding everyone up, so rather than standing there, I zoomed around two guys in the technical section who were patiently waiting for the train to start moving again. I figured I'd poop out later, I didn't have time to stand around..
I stayed in a group of fairly steady guys for a while, who were probably all confused as to why the hell I was racing with them, but I held my own and rode all the techy sections with relative finesse. I was feeling good till I hit the switchback section near the Visitor Center, then I made the mistake of reverting to single-speed mode, and powered up all the climbs in way too big of a gear. I think I blew out my legs on this section, because they were pretty unhappy with me the rest of the race. The rest of the lap was steady but definitely not fast. My snap had left the building...
I managed to ride UNDER one of the course marking ribbons near the end of the lap, as it was hung too high and I'm kinda short...rode right under it and kept going until a guy yelled and gave me the heads up.
My second lap was pretty crappy - I slowed way down and had to just spin up what few climbs there were. Everytime I tried to stand up and power my quads said NO NO NO, so I'd sit my butt back on the saddle and spin. Thankfully no one in my class passed me and I was able to roll in 16th out of 24. Average HR 164, Max HR 178
This was a pretty good "warm up" back into XC racing, so my next test will be at Cheaha in Mid-July. I hope to do a bit better and hopefully my legs will be more used to the intensity by then. I was pretty knackered post race...way more so than doing an 8 hour ride in the Cohuttas I think.
Finishing up the race..not an exciting picture, but Chris had to hand me water bottles so he couldn't feed and take exciting pictures.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Drive Thru on a bike?
So I'm wondering...since a bike is legally a vehicle on Georgia Roads..can you ride a bike through the drive through at a fast food establishment? I know you can't walk through - they will say they can't serve you because you are not in a "vehicle" but does a bike count as a vehicle in this case? Anyone have any experience here? The lunch traffic by my office is nothing short of horrendous, and I keep telling myself I could pick up my lunch a lot faster if I just hopped on my bike instead of firing up the gas guzzler.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
TransRockies Training Camp #2 - New Location
After careful consideration from all parties involved, we've decided to move the TransRockies Training Camp #2 to the Greenhill's Cabin on 4th of July weekend. Although I'd love to camp and be hot and sweaty in a tent and have to bathe in the river, I guess I can suffer through a comfortable bed, air conditioning, and a fridge stocked with frosty beverages. (Actually, its looking like I might have to work a bit over that weekend - big proposal due soon, so the prospect of having internet access is what REALLY sold me.)
Life is Good, Part 2
Ahh..I got my techy fix in today with a ride up at Pine Log. We parked about 8 miles away at a boat ramp on Allatoona (so we could paddle later), which gave us a nice pavement warm up before hitting the dirt. We ended up doing a fairly short loop at Pine Log, seeing as last time I took Neal there he broke his hand. We also had a Pine Log virgin with us, Shannon, so I wasn't sure if she'd enjoy it or be cursing me after the ride.
We rode up probably 2/3 of the way to the tower, then looped back around to where the pig heads on posts used to be, and hit the main gravel road. We then climbed a little more on the gravel so we (I) could bomb this rocky, rutted, leaf and stick covered descent that just puts a big smile on my face. Its like a carnival ride! Everyone made it down eventually and thankfully I didn't break anyone this time.
We headed back to the cars and then cooled off in the lake before hopping in our boats for a paddle. Neal and I paddled my CLC 21' tandem, so it was really cruisy. Kim paddled a solo boat, similar to a wavehopper, and nearly got BACKED over by a pontoon boat. Might I mention it was THE ONLY boat we saw on the water. We even got a dose of humor when some Richie-Rich teenagers driving an Escalade with rims that cost more than my bike, got a ticket for not buying a $3 parking pass. Dumbazzes...
We followed the workout with some yummy Mexican food and then it was off to work. My commute was HORRIBLE today - I stepped on a cat toy walking down the stairs. I'm diggin' working from home.
We rode up probably 2/3 of the way to the tower, then looped back around to where the pig heads on posts used to be, and hit the main gravel road. We then climbed a little more on the gravel so we (I) could bomb this rocky, rutted, leaf and stick covered descent that just puts a big smile on my face. Its like a carnival ride! Everyone made it down eventually and thankfully I didn't break anyone this time.
We headed back to the cars and then cooled off in the lake before hopping in our boats for a paddle. Neal and I paddled my CLC 21' tandem, so it was really cruisy. Kim paddled a solo boat, similar to a wavehopper, and nearly got BACKED over by a pontoon boat. Might I mention it was THE ONLY boat we saw on the water. We even got a dose of humor when some Richie-Rich teenagers driving an Escalade with rims that cost more than my bike, got a ticket for not buying a $3 parking pass. Dumbazzes...
We followed the workout with some yummy Mexican food and then it was off to work. My commute was HORRIBLE today - I stepped on a cat toy walking down the stairs. I'm diggin' working from home.
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