Getting there...

Hello again...

Glad you could make it. Come in, Come in... Would you like a cool beverage? No? Have a seat...

some champagne?

Friday is once again upon us. The day when we are released from our toils and we shake off the ties that bind us to our daily occupations. Congratulations friends, you have made it. I certainly hope that you have made plans to get out and get weird somewhere abouts. Weekends are meant for getting rad and a radless weekend is a sad one indeed....

K.A.W and myself are heading down to the Motherland. UnionCountyNCGod'sCountryUSA. Our nephew is celebrating the one year anniversary of his birth and I wouldn't miss that for the world. I'm sure he is stoked too. As stoked as a one year old can be about a date that he has no concept of yet. I'm not sure how rowdy a one year old's birthday will be. However, watching him smear cake and frosting all over his face and head will bring me great joy. Lil' nephew aka "The Dude" is cool. End of story.

Not a whole hell of alot going on at Greenview Manor this past week. K.A.W is still in the throes of her Whole 30 Diet Challenge. Shes on the home stretch and come next Tuesday shes done. Back to booze and burgers for our little family. I'm crazy improupressed (combination of proud and impressed) by her commitment and will power. I would have given in at the first sight of cold beer. The best part is that she has been on a cooking rampage this past month and we're eating like hippie royalty. Organic, hormone free everything. Anyone who thinks you cant have tasty health food is dumb. I could eat this healthy forever... except for pimento cheese. Its like orange ambrosia...cheesy manna from heaven... and it now comes with bacon in it!

Not only is K.A.W an amazing Paleo diet chef, Crossfit beastmode ass kicker, she has now added competitive runner to her impeccable resume'. The last two events she raced in, a 5k and an 8k, she pretty much crushed it. Its awesome being married to someone who takes their health and fitness as important as I (minus the pimento cheese). If I could only get her on a mountaincycle full time she would be a great training partner... Although knowing her competitive nature she would probably surpass me and that could get weird...

local bearded folk giving K.A.W some encouragement...

The shirt says it all...

I have been slowly getting over my post, not attending the Icycle/beer drinking competition in the forest, funk. Bailing/wussing out on the race left me with the thought that I need to start toughening up and taking this "training" thing a little more seriously. Not sure how to do that quite yet but I may start by living by the ridiculously pretentious set of rules established by the Velominati. Specifically rules #5 and #9. For the purposes of being awesome come race day, it would help. For creating fun times on the bikecycle? Not so much... Bikecycling without beers and good friends is barely bikecycling at all. Likewise making bikecycling "work" in any form is lame and should be avoided at all cost. Unless you have set goals that require you to "work" hard at being better on the bike. Its a conundrum for certain. Fit is fast and fast is fun... Fit requires work... hard work. Hard work = more fun on the bike? hmmmm.

The day before the day before yesterday:

In order to expedite my "training" for the KOP I have been eating lots of local, fair trade, artisinal hummuses and riding as much as possible. Tuesday had me on "The Machine", my magnetic trainer.

The Bear not amused by The Machine...

Riding a stationary bike in and form is just fractionally better than not riding at all... fractions of fractions.... of fractions. The Machine sucks but I found this little gem on the world wide web to hopefully make for less suck riding in place while staring at a wall...

The day before yesterday:

Wednesday I went out for an old fashioned moving bikecycle ride, in the real woods. E-Dub and I made some ambitious plans to do a long night ride starting in Bent Creek and ending who knows where. It was pretty cold starting out but it was a clear evening and the stoke was high. Starting on Lower Sidehill, up Sidehill proper to FR 479. We hit the gravel and kept going up... To the Parkway. At this point we were all in to keep it going. Down FR 5000 to Spencer Gap. Up Spencer to Trace Ridge. Crush the loose rocky climbs and proceed into the abyss that is Trace Ridge at night. Bomb the descent and proceed to slog back up the Parkway. At this point it was cold as hell. Really cold. So cold that I couldn't feel my feet, hands, or most of the exposed skin on my face. My water bottle was freezing over. This motivated us to make the climb up FR 5000 back to the Parkway even faster than usual. What made it awesome was the moon provided us all the light we needed. Climbing a desolate gravel road in The Pisgah by moonlight was stellar. Shadows playing off the trees and the sky clear enough to see the ridge lines off in the distance made for a surreal pedal up the road. After we hit the Parkway we rode a little more and ended up back to the truck no worse for wear.

Hell of a Wednesday night ride...

???

cliche' "bike leaning on stuff" picture 

little muddy out there... 

Enter the abyss of The Pisgah...

Yesterday:

Thursday it was too nice not to ride so I headed out for a quick solo at Bent Creek. I hit trails that usually end up being less traveled and that was nice. I didn't see a soul despite it being in the upper 40's and mostly dry. Mellow solo night rides are great at clearing the mind and just zoning out into the forest and the thin ribbon of dirt in front of you. I try to go as long as possible without using my light and its crazy how in tune your senses are when ripping 30mph down a mountain trail at night without illumination. Dangerous but fun. Finding a balance in between "training" and fun is crucial. No matter what it is you do for fun, eventually you burn out. You have to mix it up and find new ways to keep it fun and keep the enjoyment there. Something about riding through the forest at night with no noise besides the tires in the mud, your own breathing, and the rustle of leaves is transformative. No matter how shitty I feel before I start pedaling, I always feel great when I stop. Five miles or fifty its all good...

Today:

Today, being Friday, I'm off work and getting into some mischief around the town. Its super cold and windy, like 25 degrees and 30mph winds so bikecycling might not be happening....we will see. I need to remember my Velominati Rules and #5 and #9 and suck it up.

I hope you all have a marvelous end of week celebratory few days. Catch ya back here next week...

Party on.




***Oh yeah... apparently there is a ballsport game or something this weekend too? Its supposed to be a big deal so if you choose to participate in said ballsport game have fun and eat all the pimento bacon cheeses.

Bailout

So I bailed....

I did not attend the 2015 Icycle/beer drinking competition in the forest. But I should have....


Friday morning had a cold rain blanketing most of western NC. I was staring at this out the front window perched on the seat of my gnarcrossgravelradcross bike while I spun my legs out on the trainer. I had been debating the decision to travel two hours, race for 20 miles in the same weather, and potentially have fun. The whole reason I wanted to race the Icycle/beer drinking competition in the forest was to get my race stoke early in the season. "Training" has never been my thing and if it weren't for the fact that I had money in the pot to do the KOP this summer I wouldn't. I like to ride for fun, drink a couple beers along the way, and hang out with Momma Nature for an afternoon. What I was looking at outside Greenview Manor Friday morning did not look like fun... My aversion to being cold and wet got the best of me and by the afternoon I decided to bail.

The next morning I awoke to wind and the sun peaking through the clouds over AVLUSA. "Damn" I thought... "Should have gone". What all the expert meteorologists had forecast never happened. No snow (in Asheville at least), no rain, and Saturday ended up being pretty damn nice. Cold but sunny. I immediately regretted not going and slogging it out in the goo that would be the race course. Instead of sitting around pouting, I knew I had to do something to make up for not going to the race. With the local trails being peanut butter after the day and a half of rain, I took out my gnarcrossgravelrad bike for a little punishment to atone for being a wuss and not racing...

Some hefty climbing-penance was due to the bicycle gods and I didn't want to let them down. If I didn't try to blow my legs up and get a decent ride in I would feel even worse. I hit Bent Creek cranking and tried to pick out a climbing heavy route. Up South Ridge to Bent Creek Gap. Up to the Parkway and back again to the NC Arboretum and then a little more on Boyd Branch for good measure. It was a beautifully cold January day and once I got my legs burning and lungs aching I was feeling OK.  I would've liked to do a little more but daylight was fading and I had other business to attend to.

From the looks of it, folks had a great time at the Icycle/beer drinking competition in the forest. Muddy trails, plentiful beer, and mellow vibes all around. Congrats to E. Watts for getting out there and crushing it. Shes a force to be reckoned with on a bike cycle. Also Congrats to co-worker T-Money aka Speedy Money on a podium appearance as well.

Way to go folks.

check it out Click here ----->  Icycle/beer drinking competition in the forest

                                                       Photo's courtesy of Icon Media Asheville

Sunday:

River time.

North Mills Rec. Area with Mississippi Judd. The sunshine and warmer temps were more plentiful than the fish. It was packed and seemed like everyone was out soaking up the 50 degree sunshine. Even ole' Johhny LawDog came by to check our licenses and make sure we weren't up to any illegalities in the forest.

Fine Russian beer

Uno Pescado

When you get days like Sunday afternoon, you HAVE to go outside. Its as if you hit the Winter Lottery and Momma Nature gives you a brief glimpse into whats coming for good in a few short months. We did our best to not let her down. Good for it too because as I type this on Monday evening its cold as hell and spitting snow... Great...

That about wraps it up. Hope you'nz had a fantastic weekend too.

Party on.

Bluh....

Urgh.

Meh.

Pfft.

These are the noises that I have been emanating all day over the last few days. The weather here in AVL has taken a turn for the shitty and my seasonal effective disorder is in full rage. I need to get outside but the prospect of getting cold, sad, and wet is about as appetizing as a turtle burger...

I had made plans to race in the Icycle mountain bike race/beer drinking competition this weekend. With the forecast calling for snow and rain most of the day with temps in the upper 30's, I'm on the fence. Do I make the 2 hour drive to race 20 miles, get cold and wet, and possibly have fun? Or do I stay home and chill with K.A.W? 

This debate has been fueling my sounds of frustration.

In other news...

I did manage to ride twice this week. Tuesday I went out and did my best to blow up my legs on my cyclegnargravelradcross bike. Training for the KOP has been weighing heavy on me and I feel like I should be further along than I am. I've never actually "trained" for mountain biking. My plans are for riding hard, and climbing as much as possible. Mix that with mellow mountain rides, and then eating pimento cheese sammiches. And beer. 

I dont know what the outcome of this intensive training regiment will be but come KOP time I'll have at least enjoyed some fine Russian beers and artisinal pimento cheeses. 

In other KOP news my good friend and 2014 PMBAR partner, Burton, will be joining  me again for PMBAR 2015! 

I hate that guy.

He was on the fence about it but when word came that his bro Mike B. and local singlespeeder and drinker of quality beers, Good Guy Greg, will be PMBAR'n it... Burton had to shred. Im pretty stoked too because Burton is an old veteran of PMBAR and knows these mountains as well as anyone. Hopefully we'll have better success than last year when someone (who will go nameless, it was me...) decided it would be a great idea to do a "warm-up" ride of 15 miles and four thousand feet of climbing the day before a 50+ mile mountain bike race... Cramps started at mile 10 and continued with ferocity until the finish line...

 newb.

Things will be different this year. I can feel it.

Wednesday I caught a group night ride with some co-workers out at North Mills Rec. Area. Trace Ridge was the route and we crushed it, along with a few beers as well. It felt great to be back out riding a mountain cycle again. The balance of riding hard, pushing my legs and then doing a mellow fun ride the next day might be good for my cycling soul. All work and no play make something go something...or something like that. 

In K.A.W news she is deep in the throws of her Whole 30 Challenge. Over the hump now and she hasn't once cheated on her diet challenge and I am super proud. There is no way in hell that I could do what shes doing. Living in a town that has over 20 craft breweries and five times as many excellent restaurants would have me caving like a paper umbrella in a hurricane.

That's all folks... Have a rad weekend and stay warm and dry.

Party on...

How do astronomers organize a party?

They planet...

We're coming straight outta AVL with this here post today. Glad you could make it. You (the one reading this) are the reason we're all here. My only blog reader.

How I loathe you...

K.A.W and I had a pretty outstanding weekend here in AshevilleNCGod'sCountryUSA. Much outside festivness went down and Momma Nature cast her radiant goodness far and low across our western Mountains. I hope ya'll had a great one too.

Lets begin with a recap...

Friday:

My apathy toward getting outside when its dark and cold was getting the best of me. The last two weeks had me sitting at home moping and drinking and drinking and moping. Cold, wet, and sad is no way to spend the weekdays. Getting out on the weekends in the daylight is great but riding 40 miles over the course of the week is no way to get rad in Pisgah for the KOP this summer. Somethings gonna give and soon.

I wanted to go out and do a stupid road/gravel ride that would be brutal and help establish a bar to shoot for in my "training" for the KOP. Somewhere around the 65 mile mark. However Friday chores got the best of me so all I could do was gather up The Bear and head to a local sweet spot for a fun run on Thelma Lou.

Suns out (no guns present) and we had a great time. Good for it too because The Bear doesn't get to do much riding. Mostly because she's a dog and cant ride a bicycle, but also because she cant hang on long mountain rides. Even so she enjoys it immensely and so I like to take her on my short rides. I know she enjoys running free and frolicking hither and tither through the mountains.

Good times with the pup.

Back at Greenview it was beer thirty, or beer o'clock, or quarter past Pabst and just chillen-pickin some tunes on the banjo  and bluegrass and beers filled the evening nicely.

Saturday

Plans had been planned to ride with a critical mass quantity of Charlotteans in Dupont. However, at the last minute word arrived that one of K.A.W's former co-workers and all around pleasant Durhamite, Mike P, was in town and wanted to shred in Pisgah proper. I, never shying away from radness in Pizgarh, of course obliged, and we set off for a run around the fish hatchery.

475 B, Cove Creek, Daniels Ridge, FARLOW Gap, Daniels again, and out on Davidson River. Big climbing day and it was much needed. My legs have a long way to go and sitting on my ass drinking fine Russian beer ain't getting me there. Plus I always enjoy riding with new people and showing them trail they haven't been on before. The day started mellow with numerous tugs from the ole jug that Mike P had brought along. Whiskey makes everything better... Mountain biking included. Ride up Cove, crush Daniels Ridge and onto the suckfest that is the Farlow Gap climb...

Farlow Gap starts with a soul crushing gravel/singletrack climb of several thousand feet over just a few miles. Once you make the top, drop your seat and clinch your butthole cause its big mountain riding all the way down. Huge rocks that swallow your wheel, steep pitches to put you over the bars, and its all covered in leaves making it awesomely sketchy. There is nothing else like it in the district. Its hands down my favorite trail and its a shame I don't ride it more often. Mike P slayed it like he had done it a million times before. Probably helped a little by the liquid courage we imbibed before the decent. It had been a long time since I'd been up on Farlow and I forgot how great it is. I have a good feeling me and Farlow are going to see more of each other in the coming months...

Pugs?

liquid courage...

There is a trail there somehwere... 

pimento cheese...

Ride done we headed to the Pisgah Tavern for more booze.

Sunday:

Up early and on the trail with The Goose and The Bear for a mellow Sunday Morning stroll on the MST. Lots of stuff to smell and to poke heads into...

Weather this coming week looks stupid good so its on the bike as much as possible and looking forward to the Icycle/beer drinking competition in the woods with bikes too. If your there come say hello and shotgun a Russian beer with me.

 Hope to see ya there.

Have a rad week folks,

Party on.

Weekend recap from last weekend right before this weekend so not this weekends recap at all...

Fast and hard...

Just how I know you all like your blogging....

Last weekend in pictures because I've become quite lazy with my bloggage and my bikeage so I'm heading out to do some stupid ride somewhere and its going to be stupid.  See you'nz Monday.



Friday:

A little ice on the trail...

Steep Canyon featuring Jerry Douglas

Saturday:

Hiking up Snooks Nose...

The Goose getting special treatment

Pictures dont capture how steep this trail was...

The Big Ditch...

claw marks...

Paleo hiking lunch

Sunday:

Shredding in Pizguh...