Things around the Charlotte B-43 camp have returned to a somewhat state of normalcy. There are no more races on the horizon for this year. Well, that’s not entirely true. There is the Recon Double Trouble Off-Road Duathlon on Sunday, November 8th, but I’m kind of leaning towards not going. It is being held at the same place as the Tree Shaker, Anne Springs Close Greenway. As much as I want to race there again, there are too many other things going on that weekend. Saturday the 7th is the annual Dirt Divas and Tarheel Trailblazers year-end party, held at you guessed it, Anne Springs. There will be mountain bike rides, a cookout, and of course, beer. I’ve missed the last few year-end parties due to scheduling conflicts, so I really want to attend this one. Everyone says that they are a blast, and not something to miss. On Sunday, there is a scheduled group ride at my closest local trail, Poplar Tent. I really like that trail, and I would love to be a part of a huge group ride out there. If I do the duathlon, I will definitely miss the group ride. Hell, the year-end party could affect my performance the next day, especially if I ride too hard (and drink too much beer.) Plus, I don’t want to wear out my welcome at Anne Springs. I guess I will discuss it with the family and go from there. Honestly, I would really like to take it easy until the Winter Short Track Series scheduled for January.
After taking a few days off from the bike, I figured I had better get back to “training.” Monday really wasn’t supposed to be a rest day. I had taken that day off well in advance of the Tree Shaker so I could go on some epic ride, but the weather had other plans. It pretty much rained all day, so I ended up sitting around the house, and aside from cleaning, I really didn’t accomplish anything. I had originally planned on riding at Dark Mountain or Uwharrie. I will plan that for another time, I suppose. Maybe I can even get Lunchbox and Little Miss Sunshine out on the fabulous Dark Mountain Trails. We could make a day of it, even including some wine tasting and a visit to North Carolina Amish Country.
Yep, there's an Amish Paradise in North Carolina.
Since I did nothing bike-related on Monday, I decided that yesterday I would get in some much-needed road mileage. I woke up to more rain, and a quick check of the weather forecast said that it would be raining all day. Great, just what I needed. I’m still not real comfortable with skinny tires on the road, so I decided against it. There is a business park next to my office, and there are tons of roadies circling the loop almost every day. I’m really not ready to ride in the rain on my roadie, especially in a group. I guess I will suffer through the rainy days until I can get back on the trail this weekend. I will also resume my regularly scheduled road rides when it dries up a bit. Yeah, I know, I should stop being such a sissy. I know plenty of these roadies ride in the rain. That’s just not for me. I’m still a mountain biker, and I hope to continue down that path.
This Sunday is the next scheduled Tarheel Trailblazers Kids Ride. Although it won’t be as big as the last ride, I’m still looking forward to it. The usual ride coordinator, Gramps, is moving down to the Sunshine State at the end of this month, so this will be his last kids ride. He asked Lunchbox and I to handle to coordinating duties, and we accepted. I have a few ideas for the rides to make them more appealing to the masses. Since we have so many adults in attendance, I was thinking of changing the name to the Tarheel Trailblazers Family Ride. A lot of the adults that ride along are beginners, so I figured a family ride would be more appropriate. Some of the regular attendees have concurred with my ideas, so this might be the way to go. I’ll get some more feedback this weekend during the ride. I still want to focus this ride around the kids, but also encourage more beginners to attend.
On a final note (for today), I want to thank all of you for reading my blog on a daily basis. My stats have indicated that most of you are repeat visitors, and we pick up a few new viewers almost daily. I appreciate you suffering through my season of inept racing adventures, and I hope that you will all stay tuned during the “off season.” Also, I’m relying on my other B-43 teammate to provide you with some of his racing stories, since he takes on far bigger challenges than I do. I’m not sure what is on his calendar at the moment, but I’m sure he will enlighten us all in the near future. See y’all soon.
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