Aftermath...

or...

or maybe...

For those of you'nzers that follow this waste of bandwidth, or WNC endurance mountain cycling, you already know that mountain cycles were raced long distances in the forest this past weekend. It was the twelfth happening of the Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race affectionately anogramed as

PMBAR.

And for the second year in a row I chose to spend a perfectly fine Saturday hating life and forcing chemicals into my body, while riding a bikecycle hither and fro through the South Ranger District of Pisgah Nat'l Forest. For your procrastinating pleasure here's how it went down...

Friday:

Off work at noon and tying up loose ends. My race partner, and Buick le Sabre owner, Burton had arrived to the mountains and we had plans to do a pre-check in at Liberty Bikes here in AVL. We got our required gear checked out and from there it was off to Billy Goat Bikes to buy some stuff. E-Dub works there and since he was doing the PMBAR as well, I had to get in a little shit talking before race day.

From there it was back to Greenview Manor to do a final check, shakedown the bikes and, rest and hydrate. Resting and hydrating pre-race somehow never happens and I found myself several Greybeard IPA's deep watching Burton fighting a stubborn tire that didn't want to set up at 10:30pm. We had to be up at 5:00am to head to the forest so this was really the best way to prep for PMBAR... Emergency bike repairs late at night and drinking too much beer. W ended up scrapping his Weirwolf for an Ardent and went to bed.

Saturday:

Up early. Food, yoga, coffee and on the road. We arrived at the PMBAR and started the pre-race preperation. Hydrating, talking strategy and trying to shake the pre-race nerves. Burton went off to psyche himself up and I meandered the crowd talking to folks and trying to get a sense of what the day had in store. We kitted up, bikes ready, and the race announcements under way. The 2015 PMBAR was to be 5 checkpoints. Four to finish with no mandatory checkpoints. We would be going up Thrift Cove instead of Lower Black Mtn. to start. Otherwise same rules as last year, same off limit roads except Hwy. 276 would be open from FR 475 to FR 477. This bit of knowledge would end up being huge later.

Race gun set to go at 8:15am, passports handed out at 8:10am and we were lined up with 75+ other teams ready to give it our best and hoping The Pisgah wouldn't crush our hopes of making awesome endurance bike racing this day....

Go.

We set off and hit the forest 12th or 15th. Usually folks start bottle necking around Black Mtn. but going up Thrift gave plenty of room to pass and folks were spinning up with little issue. Thrift Cove is by no means an "easy" climb but its much nicer than trying to crank up Black Mtn. ass to nose like years past. My nerves are on edge at this point. I start sucking wind pretty bad on what is normally and easy-ish climb. I should be just spinning but I couldn't catch my breath and I somehow forgot how to ride a bike, and I was struggling bad. Fifteen minutes into the race and I'm maxed out, starting to cramp, and having horrid flashbacks to last year's PMBAR aka worst day on a bike in my life.  At this point I thought "F*** it, I have all day to race. Why am I trying to crush it like I'm in a short track race?" I backed off and was starting to catch my wind as we started the hike-a-bike up Black to Pressley Gap. I had decided to race with clipless pedals because A) my 5.10's had to be sent back for warranty, and B) I had no other option with flat pedals besides Chacos... This makes the big hike-a-bikes really tough. Stiff plastic is not good hiking shoe material.

Once we hit Pressley Gap we started to formulate a plan. Checkpoints:

-South Mills/Bradely Creek
-Horse Cove/Squirrel Gap
-Laurel Mountain at Sassafrass Gap
-Daniels Ridge/Farlow Gap
-Bracken Mountain (wherever the hell that is???)

Lot's of folks were coming in behind us now and we saw plenty heading up Black Mtn. to Turkey Pen. They were going to knock out S. Mills/Bradley first. Knowing what the bottleneck would be like and not wanting to hit a nasty hike-a-bike early, we headed down Maxwell Cove to Clawhammer and off towards Buckhorn Gap. We really had no plan other than we knew where the Horse/Squirrel and S. Mills/Bradley checkpoints were and we needed them so off we went. Claw went by harder than it should have and it was obvious at this point that I was going to have a hard day. I still could not catch my wind and my legs were shooting cramps every few minutes. I solo'd up Claw and let Burton go ahead and talk strategy with some Charlotte folks. We hit the top of Clawhammer and I just said "lets go" and kept on without stopping to talk to the other teams. Burton was soon on my wheel as we headed toward Squirrel Gap. We pushed through Buckhorn and S. Mills and once on Squirrel I was feeling ok, not good, but ok. We spun up Squirrel Gap passing two teams and hit our first CP at Horse Cove/Squirrel about an hour and a half into the day. Now we had to make a decision.

We knew no matter what, we had to get out to the Fish Hatchery at some point. Should we snag S. Mills next? Push up Pilot Rock to get the Laurel Mtn. CP? Laurel Mtn. was stuck out like a thumb and was really tempting to go for. Its a moderate climb up buts its long, taking up alot of precious time just to get out there. Go up Pilot Rock? That's a nasty hike-a-bike but if your strong it can be done fast. We decided that since the S. Mills/Bradely CP was mostly down hill from where we were, it would be the next CP. Down Horse Cove to Cantrell Creek. This descent is basically a goat path with tons of loose cantaloupe sized rocks and off camber roots to put you in the dirt. Not to mention a few creek crossings to keep you honest. I had been having trouble all morning with my seat post slipping down, so at the Horse/Squirrel CP I tightened the hell out of my post clamp trying to keep it from sliding. Now I was doing the PMBAR with a seat in my ass all day. Not good for steep, technical descending. Burton was crushing it and I did my best to hold his wheel as we passed a couple teams who were hung up in the rocks and roots. Knowing the trails is huge in this race, not only for navigating the climbs but also for making up time on the descents.

We hit S. Mills and smoked it down to Bradley Creek. Check Point # 2. Passport checked and for once they actually had a gear check. Rain Coat this time, and I guess my 1 mil plastic poncho passed. Refill bottles and bladders and talk strategy. We saw a ton of people heading down Bradley Creek and into the 15 creek crossings and slow grinding climb out to FR 1206 and Laurel Mtn. We had a decision to make. This decisions would end up solidifying our PMBAR and was crucial. Do we go for the Laurel Mtn. CP or do we get Bracken?

The Bracken Mtn, CP was a wild card. Neither one of us had ever been there and had no clue where it was, how long it would take to get there, or how hard the route would be. All we knew was that it was at the very end of FR 475C. Neither one of us knew what that road was about. Easy, hard, steep, mellow? Nothing. We knew going Bradley Creek to Laurel would be a slog. Better than fifteen creek crossings and then six miles and 3,000 + feet of climbing up to the Laurel Mtn. CP. Chalk on the long stretch of FR 1206 out toward the Fish Hatchery and your talking some serious time loss. We had seen a few teams heading back up S. Mills toward Horse Cove and we made the decision to go back up what we had just come down and go for the two CP's out at the Fish Hatchery. We  chose the wild card and Bracken Mtn was the plan.

PMBAR route done.

Burton knew that if we could hike strong we could push our bikes up the rock chute that is Horse/Cantrell Creek and save time as opposed to going Mullinax to Squirrel Gap. The later is an easier route. More pedaling, almost no hike-a-bike, but longer and more time consuming. However, Burton was on fire and feeling strong so despite my cramped legs I followed him up. We ripped back up S. Mills and hit the hike-a-bike on up Horse Cove/Cantrell Creek in no time. Going up I actually felt good pushing the bike. Maybe my legs just needed a different look and soon I was pushing Burton up the hill. As we neared the Horse/Squirrel Gap CP for the second time, I saw a couple of tall, lanky dudes heading up Upper Horse Cove. It was Short Travel Nate and his partner Zink...

I yelled out but they didn't hear. I looked at Burton and we both knew we had to hit it and try to pass them before they hit the gravel descent down Funnel Top Rd. to FR 476. We pushed hard, rode when we could, hiked/jogged when we couldn't and soon hit the top. We never saw them. "No way they came this way" I told Burton. "We would have passed them" He said. I saw another team resting at the clearing on top of Funnel Top and asked if they had seen two 6'3" dudes and they said yes. We were about 5 minutes back on them. "Lets go" and we took off down the gravel toward FR 476. Doing our best to gain time on them, we passed a team on the descent and hit FR 476 and headed toward FR 1206. We hit FR 1206 and ran into Kiwi Ryan and his partner Max. They had decided to quit. They're buddy Jim, and his partner, had accidentally taken their passport at the first CP and they couldn't catch them to get it back. No passport? No PMBAR... Shitty way to end the race but they seemed in good spirits. We said our "good lucks", refilled our bottles, and off we went down FR 1206 toward Hwy. 276 and the Fish Hatchery. We hit the pavement and soon took a right onto FR 475B. Stopping to check the passport and refill pockets with food for quick access, we heard some tires rolling up. Sure enough it was Nate and Zink who had taken a stretch break at Pink Beds and were actually behind us. We told them about trying to catch them on Funnel Top and cruised the bulk of 475B and FR 225 together, talking strategy and taking it a little mellow up the long gravel climb.

Halfway down FR 225 we ran into Em and Tom who were out for PMBAR redemption after getting a DNF last year (while attempting the most difficult route I have ever heard of). They had already knocked out the CP's at Daniels Ridge/Farlow Gap and Bracken Mtn. and looked in really good shape. We asked about Bracken and Tom just sorta laughed, shook his head and said "its way out there man".

Damn.

Well at this point we sure as hell weren't going back for the Laurel Mtn. CP and we were pot committed to Bracken. Nate and Zink had kept going while we stopped and now it was on to try to catch them and see who would come out on top. The whole day I knew that Nate and Zink would make for our best competition and beating them would be sweet. Burton put on his ear buds and went into his own place on the remainder of gravel, grinding up, up, up toward Daniels Ridge. We hit the intersection with Daniels and found some Faster Mustache guys taking a break. They were of the mind that the Bracken CP was about 5 miles out on FR 475C. Ten mile round trip out and back. Burton and I ate a quick snack and headed down Daniels Ridge to the CP. Daniels Ridge is one of my favorite trails in all the forest. However, forty some miles in and a seat in your ass is no way to have fun shredding down Daniels. We hit the CP and pushed on toward the Fish Hatchery. We hit FR 475 and onto the Davidson River trail and soon were at the Fish Hatchery. Bottle refill and eat some more. My legs had pretty much not stopped cramping all day and I was forcing electrolytes and Pop Tarts into me as hard as I physically could. I felt like ass and was at a really low point in the day. "Lets get this over with" I said to Burton and we started out the "five" mile climb up to the Bracken CP. There were alot of folks going up to Bracken and plenty coming down. I kept looking for Nate and Zink and using that and our time to the CP as a gauge to where we were behind them. Burton had been pulling me and my cramped legs all day. We were grinding up Bracken and I could tell he was in a bad place. He was really struggling to keep the pedals going. What was stranger was that for whatever reason, my legs and lungs opened up and I felt f***ing amazing! I kept telling him to set "his" pace or just take a break. He just looked at me and said "keep going man, I'll catch you". I took off hoping to see Nate and Zink toward the top. Sooner than later they passed us coming down and I was bound and determined to put some time on them. I stopped short of the CP to wait for Burton. Quick stretch, hydrate and  we were heading down from last CP of the day. Four down... Lets go home. Burton was in a dark place on Bracken but the realization of getting our last CP and looking at the home stretch put a little pep in his step. We smashed the descent down FR 475C back to the Fish Hatchery.

In PMBARs past, the stretch of pavement on Hwy. 276 from FR 1206 to FR 477 has been off limits. This pretty much forced people to go out FR 1206 or down and back up FR 475B for any Fish Hatchery CP's. Luckily Burton had been paying attention and knew that it was free to use this year. We hit the pavement roadie style, drafting and big ringing it all the way down the 5 miles of pavement to FR 477. Now it was up FR 477 to Clawhammer toward Maxwell. PMBAR rules state that everyone must finish by coming down Black Mtn. This forces all race teams to grind up the steep gravel of Clawhammer and Maxwell Cove in order to finish the race. Just one more way to make folks earn their PMBAR finish. What little energy I had in me had been left on FR 475C and Hwy. 276. I was hurting pretty bad but Burton had got his legs back and towed me up the gravel to Black Mtn. Once there we pushed through, not tempted by the hot dogs and beer race volunteers were giving out to teams as they approached the long descent down Black Mtn. to the finish line.

"One more hike-a-bike man" Burton said as we pushed up the few hundred yards of steep, root strewn trail to the final descent. There were two teams within eyesight and I really wanted to try to pass them. At this point PMBAR was a sprint race so we pushed hard on the hike-a-bike passing one team who were struggling hard up the hill. We hopped on the bikes, and pedaled into the final few miles of trail before the finish. We were taking the safe lines as opposed to the fun ones I usually take down Black Mtn. It was "don't crash, don't crash, don't crash" all the way down to the Thrift Cove intersection. We passed Thrift Cove and hit Lower Black Mtn. hauling ass and sucked up the last team (so we thought) between us and the finish. Burton put a move on the guy in back and I swooped around on the inside of a berm. The team mate in front was trying to keep us from passing but Burton knew that he would either pass him or we'd all get waded up a half mile from the finish. We used a straight away jump section to pass and were on the home stretch. Coming around a berm we saw two guys on the side of the trail changing a flat. I noticed their above average height and a green Salsa Spearfish...

Nate and Zink!

We flew passed them yelling and I saw the crushed look on Nate's face as he realized how close he was to finishing, only to have us sneak past in the last quarter mile. We tooled it down the gravel section and into the finish line at just over ten hours and plenty of Pisgah trail, road, and gravel behind us.

PMBAR done.

Nate and Zink came in a minute behind and we all couldn't help but laugh that Zink had flatted so close to the finish. If it weren't for that they would have beaten us by several minutes. I would have rather won out right but racing is racing and that's the way it goes. I later learned that Nate was really hurting on Maxwell too and had to stop for the hot dogs at Pressley Cove to keep from shutting down. Never eat the hot dog... classic PMBAR mistake. I didn't feel so bad about winning by default.

After that we hung around waiting for others to finish and drinking beers.

38th out of 100. I'll take that. Fighting cramps, under hydrated, and maybe poor route choice, we still finished top 30.

I just want to say great job to all who raced out there.

Especially Em and Tom who finished with an hour to spare and earned ultimate PMBAR redemption. Also great job to Burton's brother Burton the Elder and his partner Good Guy Greg for finishing their first PMBAR under the cut off time. And one more to E Dub who's partner Fletcher had to quit and E. finished solo any way.

Well done you guys.



Now its time to get ready for the  Pisgah 111k/55k in two weeks. 166k of racing in 48 hours?

Damn.

Its the....

Final Countdown!!!

Yes. I could not come up with another cliche to represent a winter's worth of preparation, training, and beer drinking.... Shame on me but at 6:10am my creative juices are not awake yet.

Its PMBAR eve and the time to race endurance bike cycles in the woods is nigh! 

Huzzah!

I feel ready, we'll see tomorrow morning though how ready ready really is. I have all my required gear...

...and Thelma Lou is ready to rock. Burton's hopes are high and I hope we can beat our time from last year, or at least finish in the day light. As you can see my light source is not up for the challenge of Pisgah night riding,

Good luck to all my other folk joining me tomorrow for  endurance mountain cycle racing. Let's have fun out there...

Don't forget Pop Tarts Em.

Preparation PMBAR

Boom shackalacka!

Greetings internerds and welcome back to BanjoLife where aint a damn thang change but my limp...

The past week since I last brought you epic bloggage mediocrity was pretty swell. A few bike rides, more beers than I should be drinking this close to endurance bike riding, and a little home improvement...

Wednesday was when the week really kicked off with the post work shit show ride down at Trace Ridge with some co-workers. These rides have been pretty fun for not taking bike riding seriously and just hanging in the woods with good folk. We ended up shuttling Trace Ridge even though I did my best to ruin the ride by forgetting my front wheel at the bottom... and then I forgot water, and then managed to ride despite all that. Beers were swilled, Pisgah was shredded and we had a great time.

Friday I got out after work and headed to Bent Creek for some solo miles. It had been a while since I Bent Creek'd it and It was actually kinda fun after shying away from that place for so long. Managed to knock out a few good climbs and a few good descents and felt pretty good. About halfway down Ingles Field Gap I noticed my left foot felt odd and about the time I looked down my crank arm was in imminent danger of falling off. Stopped and fixed it as best as could... more on that to come.

Saturday was the day to start proper PMBAR prep with a part swap on Thelma Lou. She had been a great bike all winter long but she'd been rode hard and put up wet more often than any bike should. The time had come to freshen her up a bit. Five beers and 3 hours later I had her back up and running like a sewing machine. Sunday the plan was to head out a do a shakedown ride and little reconnaissance on some trail that I hadn't been on in a long time. Charlotte folks were coming up and the weather looked awesome. Best to make sure Thelma Lou is ready...

Sunday arrived and Em. Watts, Tom Tom, myself, and Burton the Elder were off on a shakedown. Heading out from N. Mills Campground we headed up FR 5000 toward Spencer Gap. Gravel grinding we hit Spencer and up we went. The climb up Spencer always tests me. It starts off mellow then proceeds to get steep as shit for a short time but toss in some nasty root beds and loose rock and you got a pretty tough climb. I took off in the lead and did my best to hit a "comfortable" PMBAR pace. We met back up at the saddle below the Trace Ridge climb and made the decision to go down Spencer Branch toward Fletcher Creek. Spencer Branch downhill is as gnarly as anything in the forest. Big washouts into rock littered gullies, sketchy switchbacks and the absence of any true line down makes it one of my favorite descents. I ended up behind a random dude on a 6.5" travel bike and kept his wheel the whole way down. Once at the bottom we headed up the N.E.R. and onto Fletcher Creek. Fletcher creek is the Yin to Spencer's Yang. Smooth, flat, and fast as hell. Too fast as I let the bike get away from me a few times and narrowly avoided ending up the brush.

city folk wading shoeless....

From there we headed up to Lower Trace, down the "new" Lower Trace and back onto FR 1206. We refueled at the truck and Burton the Elder decided his knee was not up for the rest of the ride and held it down for us at the parking area. Tom Tom, Em, and myself pedaled up 1206 to Pilot Cove/Slate Rock. I had never pedaled up Pilot Cove and it wasn't so bad. There were a few hike-a-bike spots but overall it wasn't too bad. We hit the saddle at Slate Rock and headed down (with some up) back to 1206. It was at this point that my left crank arm went to shit. It fell off at least three times between Pilot Cove and Slate. Luckily Tom Tom used his expert woodcraft knowledge to cram a stick into it and make it work temporarily.

Tom Tom.

We stopped for a good rest at the Slate overlook and headed down the trail back to 1206. Once back on the rode we ran into Mike Pierce who was out for Mikes Big Dumb Ride 2015 aka the dumbest 200 miles you can do on a bike. He was on mile 120ish and looked no worse for wear. 200 miles in one day on a bike is pretty dumb but bad ass too. No doubt his PMBAR will go well...

Burton the Elder had gotten bored and driven down to meet us and Tom Tom and Em took advantage of the free ride and headed out back to N. Mills. I wanted to finish so we said our farewells and "see ya next weekend"s and I took off. It was at this moment that I realized that If I pushed I could probably beat them back to the campground. I started cranking and knocked out the climb out of Bradley Creek surprisingly fast. I was really stoked at how my legs performed at the 30 mile mark on one of my least favorite gravel road climbs in the forest. However, my legs we rent enough and the crew passed me about the time I hit Laurel Mountain. Not to let an F-150 full of bikes get the better of me I stomped it and was within sight of them within a half mile coming down the descent into the Campground. Gears maxed and legs spinning out I managed to pass them on the inside and I'm pretty sure Dale Earnhardt would have been pleased with my moves coming around them at 40 miles an hour.

But the long flat going into the Campground got the best of me and they passed me before we got to the bridge.

Fun day in the forest.

I feel pretty good about PMBAR coming up this weekend and the bike performed well, beside my crank arm issue.

Hopefully Saturday will go well and I'll have another PMBAR under the ole belt...

That's it folks. Have a great week,

Party on.

Zombie post...

...And just like that Banjolife is up and running again. Back from the dead like that zombie in the movies that they guy shoots but jumps back up when you least expect and then you gotta Katana sword his ass but he already bit a secondary character that no one really cares about and adds nothing to the story line of the movie. Then the group has to decide when to kill the bitten person. Now? or wait until they turn?... Shit gets real in the zombie apocalypse..

Headshot with a crossbow... best way to take out the walking dead. Daryl knows whats up.





So its been a good long while since I posted last. Why the hiatus from the blogus? To be honest the latter part of this past winter sucked and I was up to nothing interesting enough to write about. I was also doing my damnedest to get ready for K.O.P which starts in just two short weeks. K.A.W and I were also too busy having fun on our own and sometimes its good to just take a break. No blog, no TV, just hanging out and doing what we want. Its been great.

I have sorta missed the blog though. It was nice putting my adventures on "paper" and doing my best to throw together prose that is halfway readable. And if someone can get a few moments of relief from the daily grind by reading this mess then good for 'em. If nothing else, if your reading this then you aint working and we all know that's a good thing...

Since I last posted there has been a decent amount of shiz going down here in AVLUSA and beyond...

Here goes the recap...

Tour Duh CLT...

I tooled it down the Charlotte, NC a while back to participate in the two wheeled, shit show, drinking contest called the Tour Duh CLT. The format is a mini one day stage race through the mean streets of Charlotte and beyond. A mix of trail, road, and some other surfaces conducive to bikecycling. I was debating on racing but after going sorta hard a few weeks prior to the Tour I felt like I was getting close to burning out on riding so I decided to party pace.... 24oz Modelo pace at least.

Mike Pierce keeping it classy...
photo cred: Weldon Weaver
www.weldonweaver.com

It was a good time for sure and the Faster Mustache guys put on a solid event. Beer flowed freely, bikes were raced, and all was right in the world. The best part was getting to hang out with all my Charlotte folks who I haven't been able to ride with in quite a while. There were even some mountain folk who decided to come down for the event as well. I regret not racing because it looked like a bad ass time and I might have actually enjoyed it... assisted by some liquid encouragement of course. Already looking forward to next year.

Appalachian Trail...

K.A.W is a fan of foot walking...or as yankees call it "hiking". She has slowly been knocking out sections of the Appalachian Trail on her quest to hike the 2100 mile trail in its entirety. A few weeks ago she had a long week free of work and Georgia on her mind. The plan was for her and her friend Emily to start from Hogpen early in the week and south bound it to Springer Mtn. which is the southern terminus of The Trail. I was going to drive down after work on Thursday and north bound it from Amicalola Falls State Park. Hopefully we would meet up around Hawk Mtn. and I'd double back with her to the park. Despite being super late getting down to GA and having to hike in by moonlight a few miles my solo day was awesome. It was nice to see all the stoked up thru hikers starting out on there north bound hike. I met K.A.W just as planned at Hawk Mtn. and we ended up having a really nice time on the GA App. Trail.

It was cool finding out all the different reasons people were on the trail. Getting fired from a job, taking a break from school, and fulfilling a lifetime dream were high on the list. The best was a couple that decided that instead of having a big expensive wedding, they would take the money and hike the trail. I made a promise to myself that the next time I would be hiking GA was at the end of my own south bound thru hike. When this will be a reality is yet to be determined...


Trout Fishing:

A week after hitting the Georgia AT I was on my way to Townsend, TN to meet my bro-in-law and the preacher from our church back home for some Smoky Mountain trout fishing. We usually camp out but we decided that staying in an old motel right outside the park would be better. Good call cause it was nice having a hot shower after standing waist deep in cold mountain trout water all day. The fishing wasn't so hot but it was great being in the park.

The Smoky's are a pretty crazy place and I'm super lucky to live so close. Spring was just starting to show and the Dogwoods and Red bud trees were blooming which made it seem like the whole world was waking up from winter. Townsend was a pretty chill town. Its the anti-Gatlinburg and that suits me just fine. The only excitement was sitting around drinking beer and watching traffic creep by on the highway with the mountains in the background. I'll be back soon to get some redemption on those fish though...

PMBAR training:

Back to the present. This past weekend my PMBAR partner, and Buick owner, Burton was up for a training ride. There was a threat of rain all weekend but Saturday looked clear enough to try to beat the weather and get in some long miles. We started out at the Ranger Station and proceeded to climb up Black Mtn. to Turkey Pen. This is a pretty grueling climb with long sections of hike-a-bike to hurt ya. I was feeling pretty good and the push up Black went by fast. Once on Turkey Pen we had our work cut out for us. No one rides Turkey Pen. Its remote, over grown, steep (both up and down), and primitive as hell.  Needless to say its one of my favorite trails in the forest. About the time we hit the bottom of the first descent the skies opened and Momma Nature gave us a healthy dose of cold rain. This made the rest of Turkey Pen even more crazy. Super sketchy downhill with rain soaked rhodo and laurel slapping you in the face keeps you on your toes.

Soon enough we hit South Mills River and Burton was out. His knee was really giving him trouble so we split up. It wasnt worth risking injury, especially in the rain which complicates things. I was in at this point and we decided that I should finish the rest of the ride solo. He headed out to the highway and back to the Ranger Station. I bombed the short descent on S. Mills and started up Mullinax to Squirrel Gap. The rain was still coming down pretty steady and this made for a slick and sloppy climb up to Squirrel. Once on Squirrel it was OK except the sketchy rock gardens. Every time my front wheel hit an off camber root or rock I damn near fell of the trail. Even the best tires cant handle wet rocks and roots. After what seemed like too long I hit S. Mills. The ride from S. Mills and onto Buckhorn Gap is up there as one of the most miserable rides I've had. Most of the ride was through deep mud and standing water. I had no business being out there but I was in a tight spot. Too deep in Pisgah to bail anywhere and Burton was under instructions to call a rescue squad if I didnt make the Ranger Station by dark. I had no real choice but to keep riding and finish. I felt pretty bad about tearing up the trail and the damage all that wet, mineral rich dirt was doing to my bike's moving parts...

Once I hit the end of Buckhorn/the top of Clawhammer Rd. I wasn't sure what to do. Either ride down the road and hit the highway back to the Ranger Station or go all in and take Black Mtn. all the way down. I thought "F* it" and started the push up Black Mtn. At this point the rain had stopped and it was actually sort of pleasant. I was still soaked through and covered in mud but by the time I hit the Looking Glass overlook the skies parted and the sun was shining on the Pisgah through the fog and clouds. It was pretty cool and reinforces why I do these things. Being deep in the mountains, just you and a bike is a pretty awesome.

I bombed down Black Mtn. back to the Ranger Station and to cold beer and dry clothes. A brief dip in the Davidson River to wash the mud off, a cold Greybeard IPA and all was right with the world. I feel pretty good about PMBAR if not for my fitness then for my mental fortitude. I was soaked through, covered in mud, freezing cold but still having fun on the bike.

That's all the matters really...

Well folks,

Stay tuned for more mediocre bloggage to come. Have a rad week.

Party On.

If you dont like tacos then just get the F* out...

Seriously,

They're awesome. Tacos, speaking in generalities, are the single most greatest thing humankind has ever created. The wheel? Written language? Steve Spurrier?

Nope.

Tacos or get the F* out.

Welcome back to the week and Banjo Living as well. Hope you'nzes weekend was full of radness on an inter-dimensional level... and tacos. Plenty of tacos.

Life here in Ashevilletown was pretty swell these last few days. Since I posted last, a fair amount of funtimes in the mountains occurred. Not too much craziness but enough to come sliding into the work week worn out and feeling like a rusty bikecycle chain.

Friday:

Rain.

45° and stupid outside. Cant ride, could hike, might fish...

I had a date at our wonderful United States Postal Service office to get my Passport for future international traveling that has yet to be planned. As of now K.A.W and myself have only planned to travel as far as our maple infused neighbors to the North... Canada. Heading to that place sometime in July for some good ole American ass kicking! Not really, were backpacking, but If some Canadian gets uppity rest assured they'll get a little taste of Lynyrd and Skynyrd! (thats what I call my fists, but not really). After getting my monthly dose of bureaucracy I headed home to Greenview to plan the day. After moseying around outside the house trying to figure out what to do, the shitty weather prevailed and I turned on Netflix and vegged out for a few hours.

Soon enough, K.A.W came home and we headed out into the fog-rain to get some food. Long story short we found good eatin' at Rocky's Hot Chicken Shack and since your all dying to know... I ordered fried chicken on texas toast covered in bacon and melted pimento cheez... yeah, let that sink into your brain for a sec. Of course my choice of side was fried okra because I'm a southerner and by God I cant, not, eat fried okra when its within ten yards of me. Its physically impossible.

the tomato makes it healthy...

After stuffing our faces with fried pimento cheez and etc. I got a call from M.I. crooked letter crooked letter Judd that there was some hell raisin' country music going down just a short piece from our home. K.A.W and I headed on over to cut a rug and drink cheap beer while Junto played some Waylon and Willy, The Hag, and some Grateful Dead for good measure... The beer flowed easily and pretty soon things got kinda weird...

Saturday:

We woke to a phone call from K.A.W's cousin, who informed us that the baby that had been growing inside of her for the past 9 months was ready to enter the world. So in accordance to pre-agreed to terms, we were honored to take care of their four-legged child... a three year old Jack Russel Terrier named Maurice. Pretty soon after we get a call from K.A.W's other cousin, and sister of mom-to-be, letting us know that she was coming in to surprise soon-to-be mom and asked if we could babysit her little one, who is a human child... Sure why not.

So now we have a new dog and a baby. Saturday escalated quickly...

Not to worry though. The baby, me, K.A.W and the rest of the lot set out for a pleasant stroll on the MST. All involved seemed to enjoy themselves...

Afterward, the baby was reunited with her mother, and K.A.W and I were reunited with some Bent Creek gravel roads. We were both due for some one on one time and so we biked up and rolled out to Bent Creek to cruise the gravel roads for a bit. It was super nice outside and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. After only riding ten miles or so we headed home for some beers and relaxing....

Sunday:

K.A.W had a full day of volunteering at the Asheville Marathon and I had plans to shred some more gravel. Short Travel Nate and I had planned to do the same route I had done two Fridays earlier. He was due for some long miles, especially since he will be joining me in the PMBAR fun in just a few short weeks. I told him that I really had no goal for the race except beating him and his partner, Zink aka beast mode from San Diego.

Nate was worried that his lack of riding over the winter would make for bad times, and coming off a 10k Saturday, that his legs would be shot, No worries. We took it fairly easy and got in a good 35 miler in the heart of God'scountryUSA aka Pisgah. I was very surprised how easily the climbing felt in comparison to the last time I had ridden this route. No marshmallow mud and fresh legs were the difference. 35 miles and close to 5000 feet of climbing should have destroyed me, but it didnt.

I feel like I am well on my way toward fun race times come May if I can maintain it... hopefully.

gravels!

"The cutting of trees does not degrade a watershed"...
 Hmmmm....

This dog fell madly in love with Nate and they have decided to elope... Congrats you guys!

If you dont know where this goes.....

That was about it folks.

Good weekend spent L.I.V.I.N... I can feel the warmth in the air, the maples are budding, and I know sunny days are ahead...

Hope your week is awesome and goes quickly. Catch ya'll next time.

Party on.

What in the hey....

And once again light has pierced the cold darkness of winter and the world is awash in the glowing effervescent rays of golden sun....

In other words its light outside much later than it has been.

We have come to the end of another week here in the Life of Banjo. Ashevilletown has been under constant threat of trail-destroying rain and outside radness has been limited. Not much going on this week other than a few rides and a few beers and sitting in anticipation of the weekend to be. Not sure what K.A.W has planned for us other than some fine forest fun and sun. Hopefully we can dodge the precipiation because a weekend spent inside doing grow up, responsible things sounds awful. We have been delaying some minor house improvements here at Greenview Manor and rain = Banjo must stay home and complete aforementioned chores...

No beuno.

Otherwise it looks swell. K.A.W is working the Asheville Marathon on Sunday so I know I'll be getting out for some sort of adventure for sure. Plans are TBD...

This past Monday I went out on my first annual day lit parkway road ride of 2015. It wasn't much to brag about but it was pretty tops riding a road bike, after work, in the daylight, in a National Park 1000 yards from my house. Can't complain about that too much, Hopefully these weekly road rides will help to expedite my fitness goals and get me closer toward fun mountaincycle racing in a few short weeks. If nothing else its good for the soul to get out and cruise around one of America's greatest roads...

Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads...

Yesterday it was much too nice to just sit around Greenview so The Bear and I tooled it on up to some trails down the road a-ways. Since Thelma Lou was out of commission with a shot drive train form last weekends Squirrel Epic attempt, I rode Charlene Darling. Its been a hot minute or two since I threw a leg over a full suspension, all mountain shred sled.

trails down the road a-way's...

The bear is nonplussed by the change of daylight hours...

It took a little getting used to the weight but after a while I straightened out. The trails I rode are a mix of square edged rocks, fast and smooth, and sketchy off camber roots. Perfect trail for getting prepped for step three in my K.O.P series of hating life on a bikecycle this summer...




The Pisgah Enduro.

Signed up to race both days in faraway, exotic, and beautiful Old Fort, NC. I decided to race in the Expert Class because... I dunno. Go big or Go home. Its just me but I'd rather get Dead F'n Last in Expert than finish mid-pack in Sport Class. Knowing that I'm racing against folks much faster than me usually makes me step my game up and hopefully lead to good riding. Most importantly I'm going to have a kick-ass time, with kick-ass folks, and drink some beers while I'm at it.


Well that's it folks,

Hope you and your'ns have a killer weekend and for the love of Daylight Savings Time get outside and do something with your life!

Make the most of it because you never know when this ride ends...

Party On.