“Little” Mountains

The little lady and I snuck over to the Uwharrie National Forest on Saturday to enjoy some “mountain riding”, and we couldn’t have picked a better day. It was warm, bright, and sunny, and when we got there the place was packed. It seems like the new trail work over there draws more people these days. There were tons of people we knew getting ready to hit the trails, and some people we’ve never seen before. We drove back to the camp, and the plan was to take a nice, easy ride to get Little Miss Sunshine used to a little “rough” riding.


The trails at Uwharrie are tougher than anything here locally, so it’s a good way for us to do a little “training.” She has high expectations this year since she’s on a new team, and I just wanted to torture myself on the single speed.

Not only are the trails pretty rad out there, but the scenery is nice too.





We rode everything clockwise, which now is the “easier” way. When I say easier, I mean that the downhill stuff is a little longer. I had to take it slow, since I was riding on only one gear.



The night before, I decided to man up and switch back to my trusty 18 tooth cog to give me more of a challenge. The 19 sounded like I was taking the easy way out, and I don’t need that so early in the season. I have to get stronger in preparation for a long year, and mashing my way up steep climbs on a tough gear seemed to be the way to go.



I never had to walk. Not even once. The climbs hurt like hell, but I was able to mash my way up all of them. We stopped every so often to take in the sights and regroup, but I felt like I had chosen the right gear. We didn’t set any new course records out there, but I know Little Miss Sunshine was having a good time.



It looks like Uwharrie will be my new “training grounds”, and I plan to ride there quite a bit. My decision to switch back to the 18 tooth cog for my SS was a good one, and who know, maybe I’ll be riding it on a 17 one day soon. Maybe I will actually be ready for Single Speed USA.

I can feel myself getting stronger with the force.



Speaking of SSUSA, you are shit outta luck if you didn’t sign up. All 100 spots sold out last week, and now there is a waiting list. You better get over there and get on it so you can ride with me in July.


It’s gonna be a good ‘ol time.