Road Trips

So, after Carl’s big day on the town, the rest of the day’s plan started to form.  My man D-Wayne was back in NC after moving out to Arizona and I wanted to hang out with him.  He was in town doing the Tour of Tanglewood up near Winston Salem, so I hit the road to meet him, Eastwood, and the rest of the crew at a local restaurant for some food, beer, and bullshitting.  It was good to see D-Wayne and his better half, even if they were busy playing around with firewood.

 A few beers, a few laughs, and a lot of catching up.  I drove and hour to see everyone and it was worth it. 

The gang was back together again…

 They had more riding to do the next day, and since I hadn’t planned on staying I hit the road back to Charlotte.  I was waiting at a red light when a dirty little white box pulled up next to me with some shady characters inside.

I have fans.  Not good ones, but that’s what slightly famous on The Internets gets you.

I got home a reasonable hour.  In fact, Lunchbox said, “I thought you’d be much later.”  I guess I should’ve stayed out and partied a little longer, but I was beat.  A long week of work plus getting used to having a new dog in the house had taken its toll on me.  The next morning I had a few things to do (one of which was to check out some new trail at BYT with Hubbs and Dicky), but I just didn’t feel like getting out of bed.  I finally felt like moving, and after feeding the dogs and watching them poop I had to figure out what to do with the rest of the day.  It had been way too long since I’d been on my bike and I wasn’t about to let another day go by without saddle time.  I ended up on a road ride (more on that tomorrow), and with that out of the way I started planning the rest of my day.  I knocked out a few adult responsibilities (lawn mowing and the like), and took my ass right back up to Winston Salem for more beer and food. 

The little lady was already there, cutting her camping trip in Pisgah short just to hang out with our desert dwelling friends.  She’d crashed pretty hard the day before, and the second I arrived I got to see her battle wounds.

Oh, that’s pretty.

 The usual crew was there, minus Eastwood.  He was plum wore out from two days of riding and headed back to Charlotte.  Too bad, because the place where we ate had butterfly crackers.

He is the Butterfly King you know, so maybe he left those there for us.

More beer, more food, and more bullshitting.  As I looked around while we shot the shit, I noticed one of my stickers.

Since D-Wayne is the one who created them (via Dwayne Hunter Design Company), I figured that he put it there.

But, this one?

Right where I belong.  In the shitter.

Eventually we’d had enough fun and everyone was getting tired.  We said goodbye and headed to our vehicles.  That’s when I noticed more stickers, this time on my truck.

Yes, it’s my sticker on my truck, but I didn’t put it there.  And I sure as hell didn’t put a Glow Worm sticker on there…

I guess I’ll keep them on there.  You can’t have enough stickers, right?

It was good to hang out with the D-Wayne clan.  This is the first time they’ve been back since they moved out to the desert, so I’m glad we got a chance to see them.  The good news?  We’re planning a trip to visit them out there early next year.  I hear there’s a big race/party thingy nearby that I’ve been summoned to do by the AZ DrunkCyclist crew.

Single Speed Arizona is coming up this February.  I’ll be there. 

Details to come when I know more. 

Carl’s Day Out

The little lady took off for the hills to camp and ride Pisgah with the Dirt Divas over the weekend.  That left me unsupervised again.  As much as I like having time to myself, I didn’t know what to do this time.  I had a few loose plans that were coming together, but when she left the house Friday evening I just sat there.  Lunchbox took off with his friends, and other than the pets I was all alone.  I’d already opened a beer (of course), but other than that I was lost.

Too lazy to go anywhere, I ordered a pizza and sat around watching a movie.  It would’ve been relaxing, but I realized that Carl doesn’t like the loud movie effects coming from the surround sound.  He eventually calmed down and I was able to finish the movie.  That killed about two hours, and by then it was getting too late to make any sort of plans.  I ended up playing my guitar for a couple of hours, which also confused our new Rottweiler puppy.  He kept trying to lick the strings and eat the pick.  FML.

Again, he calmed down and I was able to practice for a while.  I realized that maybe Carl needed a day out, so that was my plan for the next day.  I woke up early and went to a previously scheduled massage appointment.  After that I loaded up that big, goofy dog and we hit the road.  He was happy to hang out with me it seemed.

We went to one of the local pet store supermarket type places to let him shop for a bit (and sniff all the other doggy smells.)  This particular store had a neat selection of Star Wars themed pet stuff, and it was all I could do not to buy him a Chewbacca costume.

I did let him pick out a toy, but he couldn’t play with it until we got home.  I’m an asshole, I know.  I also wanted to get him a brand new food dish, but I didn’t like their selection.  We went to another pet store; he sniffed around, made some new friends, and got a new bowl. Satisfied that he’s had enough pet store action, we took off to my local bike shop, The Cycle Path.

Carl walked right in and made himself at home.

He really had a great time in there.  The shop folks treated him well (and gave him treats), and he loved all the attention from the customers.  Dogs are welcome there always, and I’m pretty sure Carl can’t wait to go back.  We spent a few hours in there, but since I’d made plans for later in the day we eventually had to leave.  Just before we left I grabbed a bucket of old parts they had been saving for the little lady’s thriving business.

We got home and Carl got his new toy.  He seemed to really like it (and now we know why TK-421 wasn't at his post.)

He played for a while, but I think his big day wore him out.

Saturday was just me and Carl running the roads and having fun.  It’s been a week since he came home with us and I think he’s adjusting just fine.  Thanks to him I had a pretty cool day, even if it didn’t involve beer and bike riding.  The rest of the day I left him home with Lunchbox while I took off to see some friends.

More on that tomorrow…

Fun Friday

We made it.  It’s time to celebrate…

With some really messed up stuff from children’s books:

The little lady sent me these, so I thought I would share.  Sure, they don’t have shit to do with bicycles, but I think the “Nonsensical Crap” up there at the top covers this part.

So, IN YOUR FACE!

That one had to be altered with “slight of hand” to be weird, but this one didn’t:

I don’t know which book contains that strange shit, but I guess it’s good stuff for a young mind to absorb.

One more?  Sure.  This one makes no sense at all…

Horse balls.  Say that out loud at work all day.  I bet your weekend will get here a lot faster that way.

I don’t make this shit up.  I just share it.

I’ll see y’all Monday.

This Rocks

The little lady is quite the crafty person.  She takes old bike parts, and with a little welding, paint, and magic she turns them into works of art.  She recently completed something moar awesome than the stuff she normally does.  This project was special, since it was a gift for someone we dig.  If you are on The Facebook, then you’ve already seen this.  If not, that means you may not even know me (or her) in real life.  Go away, creepy stalker.

I kid.

Anyway, she took a trip out to Hildebran, NC da udda day to deliver something to Shane, HMFIC at DeFeet International…

His very own recycled bike part guitar:

Pretty damn awesome.  You can’t really play it, but it’s one helluva work of art (and an interesting conversation piece.)  He was so stoked to have it, just as she was to give it to him.  He’s been really good to us at here B-43, and she thought that would be a great way to show her appreciation.  She’s been working on it for months, and it’s been all I could do to keep from spilling the beans.  A few people here and there got to see it, but they kept it a secret so the surprise factor would be high.

I helped a little with the design, but mostly I just stood around, drinking beer and saying, “Yep, that looks good.”  Well, that and I did test it before she took it out there.

I rock too, just not as hard.

It’s truly a one of a kind work of art, and I’m really happy to see it go to a good home.  If you ever make you way out to DeFeet headquarters out there in the foothills, check it out.  And no, she won’t make one for you.  Well, maybe she will, but I get the next one if she decides to do it again.

She’s getting really good with this recycled bike part stuff.  People are flocking to her to get some cool stuff and local shops are donating used bike parts faster than she can keep up.  Half of the garage is now devoted to her craft, and although it gets crowded sometimes, I dig it.

I’ve put up some of her creations before.  If you want to see more of it, check out her Facebook page

I’m so proud.

In other news…

Our big ass puppy, Carl, is adjusting well to life with his new family.

He doesn’t realize that he’s a puppy, so he keeps knocking shit around when he trots though the house.  He got a checkup at the vet’s office, and he’s been given a clean bill of health.  They noted that he may have spent way too much time in his crate before we got him (just as we suspected), but that won’t be the case now.  He gets plenty of love, attention, and most importantly, exercise.  He’s a happy dog, and he’s made our house a lot more fun (and interesting.)  I actually look forward to coming home to him every day. 

I guess that’s it for today.  At least this wasn’t day four of our weekend crap and nonsense.

You're welcome.

Before, After, And In Between

Saturday was a full day.  Maybe not full enough to have three blog posts about it, but I don’t give a shit.  What I forgot to mention was that I got talked into going out to dinner on Friday night, something I don’t like to do unless it involves riding my bike first.  The little lady suggested a Cajun-type restaurant we’ve been to before, and I agreed.  After finding out the beer selection sucked, I ordered some high octane, fruity shit.

Peach something.  Lots of alcohol, and it wasn’t too bad.

I’m not sure if it was the girlie drink, the fried swamp critters, or something else I ate earlier, but by the time we made it home I was feeling quite shitty.  I mean, literally.  I ended up on the toilet a couple of times, and at one point I thought my insides were coming out.  I managed to get to sleep somehow, and woke up the next morning to the same ol’ shit (pun intended.)  

I wasn’t about to let that get in the way of a good time in the hills, so once I felt like I could ride down the highway without having an accident, we hit the road.  I thought that my stomach troubles were behind me but when we got to the parking lot at Lake James State Park I had to tear up the porta potty.

Whew.  That was a close call.

Our ride was fine, and afterwards I started feeling much better.  Since we were nearby, we headed into Morganton to Fonta Flora Brewery.  The little lady had never been there.  She was really impressed with this little place.

We grabbed some beer and sat outside, enjoying a nice day after a good ride.

My stomach issues seemed to be completely gone, which was good because I was trying to tear it up with beer.

Did you notice my new shirt from Pedal Pushers Club?  You like it, don’t you?  If you don’t then you just might be a roadie.

With my stomach emptied of its poisonous contents from the night before (and getting full of beer), we headed up the road to what has become the “after riding that part of the hills standard Mexican restaurant.”

I ordered the slop.

And Little Miss Sunshine got a little ass.

Another good day in the hills.  Some of it was painful though (not the riding part for once), but we capped it off by leaving there to pickup Carl, our new dog.

Watch out.  I think I’m actually starting to enjoy myself again.

Again?

The little lady wanted us to spend a day together riding.  That sounded so much better than the death march I’d planned to do, especially since we were trying to go look at a new puppy later that day.  She hadn’t yet been to Lake James State Park and really wanted to go.  I’d been there twice already, but it’s fun enough (and in the hills enough) to make a day out of it.  So I went again.  

I’m getting used to riding there, but watching her ride it for the first time kept it interesting for me.  Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s fun and all that, but I get bored riding the same stuff all the time.  I’ve been there enough to know what’s coming up around every corner, up every hill, and down every descent.  Little Miss Sunshine does not, but that may have made her ride a little out of her comfort zone.

She rode fast on the downhills.  I couldn’t lose her (not that I was trying.)  I had to struggle to get up ahead of her to take photos to prove that we were actually there.

I know a few of the climbs were tough on her, but she rode that place like she’d been there before. 

I was proud of her.  Although I wanted to get in some serious miles Saturday, I didn’t.  I was fine with that.  Watching her have a great time made my day even better.

Plus, you know, mountains.

Yeah. 

I gotta get out of here.  We did more stuff that day (in addition to getting our new doggie.)  More on that tomorrow since I have a whole week to fill up with crappy blog posts.

Expanding The Family

I talked a while back about finally being ready to get another dog.  Since then, I’d been looking all over for another one to add to the family.  After having a Rottweiler for almost thirteen years, I was pretty sure I would end up with another (even though I wasn't really sure if I wanted to move on.)  They are really good dogs though, and since I was so familiar with the breed I started looking for a puppy.  I searched high and low, finding mostly female puppies to adopt.  Another female would be too close since that’s what my last one was, so I kept looking.  I didn’t have to have a brand new puppy, so I expanded my search.

Friday, I contacted a lady about a one year old male down in South Carolina.  At one year it was still a puppy, but old enough that I wouldn’t have to worry about potty training and all that.  The little lady and I headed to the hills on Saturday, and on the way back we stopped to take a look at our possible new family member.  I was nervous.  Was I really ready?  I knew I wanted another dog, but I thought maybe having one of the same breed as before would make me sad and miss my Roxie.  Little Miss Sunshine made me feel better about it, but when we pulled up to the parking lot of a local pet store and I saw him, I nearly cried.

I haz feelings.  Big deal.

The lady we met there said she could no longer take care of him.  I didn’t understand why, since he was one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever seen.  He took to us immediately, and after a quick trip inside the pet store to grab a new collar and leash, we were on our way home with our new dog.

He was so happy to have a nice home it seemed.  The little lady and I came to the conclusion that he wasn’t in the best environment prior to coming with us.  He craved attention, and despite showing some signs that he may have been hit, improperly nourished, and maybe even neglected, he was really awesome.  He already had a name when we picked him up, but since he didn’t respond to it we decided to give him a new one.  I gave the honor of naming him to Lunchbox, who probably had a more difficult time getting a new dog than I did.  He wanted to give him a person’s name, and he chose Carl.  He said Carl is such a good dog, and it also had a lot to do with a book he got when he was little.

Yes, he still has that book.  And now we have a Rottweiler named Carl.  I dig it.  He does too, and even answers to it.

Carl just wanted someone to love him, and little does he know we’re pretty good at that sort of thing.  I’ve taken him for quite a few walks already, and after a short period of getting used to being on a leash, he seems to like it.

We still have another dog, Bailey the Beagle.  Bailey has been kinda lonely since we lost our Roxie, and now he has a new friend to play with.  They get along pretty well.  He’s even taken to eating treats again since he has someone to share with now.

This is what I’ve been missing for the last two years.  We have a new family member, and although it’s weird to see another Rottweiler running around the house it also feels right.  I don’t know all the details of what his life was like before we got him, and now I don’t care.  I know we did a good thing by bringing him into our family, and he’s definitely better off for it.  It hasn’t even been two days yet but I’m already much happier having him around.

Good dog, Carl.

Fun Friday

Ugh.  I’m ready for this weekend to start.  It’s been a long week at work once again.  From a huge project I’m on to the countless coworkers that have to be told the same things over and over again, I need to get the hell away.  Each week is becoming more and more difficult to get through, and it’s not easy to remain calm and uh, nice.  I can’t drink at work (can you?), so my goal is to keep my trap shut and not be an asshole.

That’s proving to be difficult though.

  

With two days off, I definitely need a good ride.

That could work, but I meant a ride on a bicycle.  You know up in the hills somewhere.  Maybe not the real hills, but something that won’t have me around people.  That pretty much rules out anything here locally.  I’m hitting the road in the morning, and as of now it’s still destination unknown.  I’ll figure something out.  It will involve mountain bikes and beer, which is pretty much every ride I do.

See y’all Monday…

Nothing

Sorry about not being here.  Did you notice?  Probably not.  That’s okay.  I was busy. 

So the weather here has been shitty again.  I showed up early da udda night hoping to get in a few laps before our Tuesday social ride (for “training” purposes.)  I had plenty of time to do two, maybe three “hot laps” I thought.  I got dressed and ready to go, and suddenly the skies opened up.

My bike had to stay put.

I posted that the ride was cancelled, but some people didn’t see it in time and still showed up.  The storm passed but the trail was way too wet to ride (I checked.)  So, we stood around shooting the shit for a while.  At least I got the social part done anyway.  I went home, ate dinner, drank a couple of beers, and played my guitar. 

While these social rides are far from any kind of training, the laps I planned to do beforehand would’ve been nice.  My goal is to start now getting ready for next season (whatever that is), and sometimes I feel like I’m getting nowhere.  I had a massage last night, so no riding then either.  So, I have to resort to this:

Yeah, I guess running up and down the stairs at work is good enough since I can’t ride.  Luckily I work in a tall building with tons of stairs.  I can get away from my desk throughout the day to uh, “train”, so at least when I go home and do nothing I won’t feel like such a lazy asshole.  Hopefully “getting ready for next season” isn’t just running the stairs though.

In other “getting ready for next season news”, I rounding up stuff to help me.  I just got a big ol’ fat box of tires from Maxxis.

It’s nice to have their support, and it’s even nicer to have plenty of tires “just in case.”  There are a few Ardents in there (you probably can’t see them), which is a good thing since I’ve been wearing out the ones on The Executor (my Pisgah bike.)  I have lot of bikes, so I need lots of tires.  

I also got a care package from the fine folks at Honey Stinger:

More gel and energy chew because, well, I like them.  I still think the waffles are pretty rad, but this stuff is much easier to eat while I’m on the bike.  Plus, I actually have more waffles than the Waffle House.  Srsly.

Will this stuff make me better next season?  It’s hard to tell.  No amount of new shit will help if I can’t ride my bike though.

I’m trying, Ringo.  I’m trying real hard to be the shepherd.

Royale with cheese and all that.

After “Party”

Late start from Charlotte to the hills.  Long-ish ride with stops for photos.  That left me pressed for time to get to The Hub before they closed.  Honestly, I couldn’t remember when they closed but I hurried anyway.

I had to settle for mountain photos on the go while I drove there.

It’s a relatively short drive to “civilization” from Dupont, but when I pulled up to The Hub they were closed.  Shit.  Where would I get my post ride beer?  You know, aside from sitting in a convenience store parking lot with a can of swill in a paper bag.  Since the start/finish for the Pisgah Monster Cross was only a few minutes away (and a really long race), I figured that there was a chance of some people still hanging around.

I was right.

Lowcountry Joel has ALL THE BURRITOS!

The usual suspects were still there hanging around, including Shanna, who was taking selfies with others…

After riding by myself for hours, I was happy to find some bike people to hang out with.  The plan was to shoot the shit for a little while, grab some food to go in town somewhere, and hit the road back to Charlotte.  That is, until I got invited to the Faster Mustache after party at the campsite up the road.

I tried to talk my way out of it.

“I should really to get back to Charlotte.  I have to get up early to do a road ride before I waste away watching football all day” I said.

But Zac dropped some wisdom on me, “What you really need to ask yourself is what would make the best story on the Internet.”

Hmmm.  He was right I suppose.  I’ve already talked way too much about road riding, and hanging out with the Charlotte crew in the hills sounded like a better time (although I’m a shitty storyteller.)  They all headed to camp and I headed to the store to stock up on beer.  I eventually returned to the campsite, where I immediately found Dicky making it rain.

That’s money in his hand.  I promise.

It was your typical campsite/party.  A fire was made, and Nick “Dip n Spray” was roasting his shoes.

You know, because Zac was holding all the wieners.

The conversations were odd and all over the place, but shit didn’t get too weird.  Well, I guess it was weird that I ended up with a picture of Dicky’s foot.

And Zac went from teasing Nick with his wiener to roasting his own ass in the fire.

At least it was a good fire.

I eventually decided to call it a night, especially since there were only a couple of us still awake.  I barely drank any of the beer I brought, so Dicky might still be wondering why his cooler was so damn heavy.  I hit the road and made the long trip back to Charlotte in the dark.  I got home pretty late so no road ride the next day.

Screw it.  I had way more fun riding by myself and hanging out with “normal” people afterwards.

Zac was right.