Long Way To Suffer

My last few "recovery" rides have been up in the hills so I can push myself to get back to whatever the hell I was before I hurt myself.  They've also been pretty lonely.  I chose to ride alone so I wouldn't hold anyone up, plus I didn't really feel like being around anyone.  That changed when I got a text from my pal Dirty Party Cycle.  He asked where there ride was this weekend, and I didn't really have an answer.  He proposed that we head up to Rocky Knob in Boone.

I was good with that, because I remembered how fun that place is.

I scooped up my pal and we headed north.  After driving through tourists and construction zones (and somehow managing not to stop for beer) we made it.  The first order of business was to hit the pump track...

That was fun, but it was time to hit the trail.  We started climbing, and my heart rate went through the roof.  I had forgotten how much climbing there was in the beginning.  It hurt.  The legs felt good, but I had a hard time breathing.  My ribs were sore and probably had a lot to do with that.  Anyway, the DPC had to wait on me several times.  He said he didn't mind, but I did.  I was embarrassed.  I'd spend the past few weekends climbing steep stuff and didn't have that much trouble.  Maybe the terrain had a lot to do with it.

It took a lot of effort but it was fun.  And even though I felt bad about holding him up, I think my pal was having a good time too.

The climbs hurt like hell, but it was all worth it.  Once we got to the top it was all downhill.  I did okay on the technical stuff, even though my confidence isn't where it once was. Lots of rocks helped me get a little of my mojo back, but the grand prize was my favorite section out there.

That is the crown jewel of Rocky Knob, and I flew down it without thinking about how much skill I'd lost during my recovery.  I didn't crash (although I had a few close calls),and we made it to the bottom with much happiness.

We even got in some more pump track action.

It hurt, but it was good to suffer.  I feel like if I work harder now that I'm feeling better, I'll get back to normal much quicker.  It sounds like bullshit, but I believe it so who gives a shit.

And to make a good day even better, we ended it with food and beerz at Appalachian Mountain Brewery.

Another good day on the bike.  I am looking forward to many more like these.

One Step Closer

Finally, my new bike got a chance to get out of town.

Just on the edge of the NC mountains stands Rocky Knob Park, and it would be my first out of town test on the new Enduro™ bike. 

Little Miss Sunshine and I got there in the afternoon, hoping that it would be a little warm.  It wasn’t.  It was chilly, so we bundled up and went out to play.  At least we would warm up quickly, because when you get there it’s climb, climb, climb.

It’s worth it though, because the downhill stuff is super fast and full of fun.  We reached the first skills area and decided to stick around and play for a bit.

It’s pretty much my favorite kind of trail:  climb, descend, climb, descend.  Pedaling such a heavy bike up climbs was something that I hadn’t done in a while, but it was worth it.

There was another little skills section after another climb, and the little lady worked on her balance.

I did too.

After riding up and down out there, we decided to finish on the (what I think is anyway) crown jewel of that place, the PB&J trail.  Fast, flowy, rocky, and full of jumps and berms, it was as if they built that trail just for my new bike.  I hit lines where I would’ve busted my ass with any other bike, and I had way more fun this time.  While most of my friends were out suffering in Pisgah that day, I was taking my bike out on a play date.

Even the pump track was fun.

Little Miss Sunshine can attest to that.

So maybe I should take a minute to talk about the handling of the ROS9.  In those short, technical sections, it handled like a dream.  The short chainstays made turning at slow speeds quite effortless, in spite of the long travel fork.  I rode those skinnies without incident, save for once when I got a little cocky and tried to sit on my rear wheel.  Although not really a park bike, the pump track seemed a lot more fun too. 

The day didn’t stop there, but today’s post will.

See y’all tomorrow for part two of our mountain adventure.

Holy shit, I’m so glad I built up this bike.  

Long Weekend?

Monday is a holiday here in ‘Merica.  Veteran’s Day, to be exact.  As a veteran of the United States Army, I plan to not be here that day.  In the past I’ve posted up stuff here and here regarding those that serve our country, but this time I’ll just take the day off all together.

I’ll just ride my new bike around as a tribute.

This weekend is sorta up in the air.  It’s the first time in a while that I haven’t had something planned in advance, so I probably should get cracking.  I’m thinking of heading here:

Rocky Knob Park up in Boone will be a great place to take my new bike, and I can’t wait.  Even though I sorta built it for Pisgah-type riding, a place like Rocky Knob will be perfect.  I’ve been riding this thing enough around here to get used to it, so hopefully I can unleash the beast when I take it up to the hills.  I’m looking forward to it, especially since the local rag here in Charlotte just published a story about it.

Read it here:

Take your mountain bike to Boone for bumps and jumps

Good stuff.  I've been there before, but I’m so stoked.

Stoked?

Who the hell still uses that word?

Maybe a guy like me that still uses “rad.”

See y’all Tuesday.

Skills In The Hills

Sunday, we had a group ride planned to Rocky Knob Mountain Bike Park in Boone, NC.  The weather everywhere in the state has been shitty, but the report said they had received very little rain.  TomTom gave us the green light after hearing that the trails were open rain or shine, so we met up in the morning and rolled out.  We had a big group, consisting of myself, Little Miss Sunshine, Lunchbox, TomTom, Good Guy Greg, Elizabeth, Megan, Irish Luke, Kevin B, and a guy named Max that we just met.  After getting stuck in traffic on the way up there, we met up with Danielle and The Dirty Party Cycle. 

It was time to get our skills on.

We started out climbing up the trail, and the plan was to split up into two groups.  I was somewhere in the first bunch, and when we stopped to regroup I noticed that Lunchbox had been keeping up with us.  The trail split off and we kept climbing, and I was sure that my big fella was right with us.  We got to another intersection, and I didn’t see him anymore.  The group split up again, and I took a few minutes to backtrack to see if I could find him.  I didn’t see him, and since I was certain that he had fallen back into the “social” group, I kept going.  The only problem was that I didn’t see where everyone went.

So, I took off on the first downhill I saw, which was the PBJ trail.

Turns out that no one went that way, and after bombing downhill for a bit on some fast jumps and berms, I ended up right back in the parking lot where we started.  I knew there was more to the trail than that, so I took off back up the hill to see if I could find a group…any group.  With lots of detours and intersections, I wondered how I would find anyone until I got a call from TomTom.  He told me where they were, and that the group had split up even more.  I decided to keep climbing, and eventually ended up back where I lost the group the first time.

I kept going on the original trail (not taking PBJ this time) and came up on the raddest skills section ever.

It was fun, albeit a little wet and rocky.

I only busted my ass once, mostly because I wasn’t paying attention and slipped on some rocks.  The stinging from the cut on my leg eventually went away, and I took the rest of the trail downhill to find myself right back where I started again.

Shit.

I called TomTom again, and found out where they were (and where I missed my turn.)  I climbed back up the hill, this time cutting through a section to some shitty hike a bike action.  I made it to the top (again.)

That’s where I ran into the “social” group.

They were already on their way back down, and I found out that I missed a good part of the trail.  I decided to climb all the way to the top, and it was well worth it.

Once I got to the top (skipping a section that I didn’t have time to do), I hit the most fun downhill ever.  It was full of rocks, roots, and jumps, and I was grinning from ear to ear.  Eventually it merged back with the PBJ trail, and since I was on familiar territory I let it go.  Just as I was getting into the groove though, I heard a loud noise.  Turns out it was our new friend Max, and he crashed hard.  So hard, in fact, that he broke his pants.  I don’t know how you do such a thing but he did.  Once I realized that he was okay I got a good chuckle out of it.

Like all good things, our ride came to an end.  I walked back over to the trail head and noticed that someone had left the mark of the Drunk Cyclist.

We finished up just in time, too.

And then we had some beer and Mexican food, while the DPC drank some crazy alcoholic concoction (and Good Guy Greg looked on in disbelief.) 

It’s been far too long, Dirty Party Cycle.  You need to come around more often.

Anyway, the trails at Rocky Knob are freaking awesome.  There are many features to ride that will keep you on your toes and make you a better rider.  Even though the it was a little wet out there, everything was in prime shape.  I can’t believe we have such a cool place only two hours from here.  I can’t wait to go back.

It needs to happen soon.