One Day Weekend

A weekend has two days.  Sometimes I view them as separate but equal.  Hence the title.

Anyway, there were more adventures.  The road ride thingy we did was just part of it.  The day before, we crammed a whole bunch of shit into one day (which is par for the course around here.)  We started off with coffee at a local mom and pop shop, a big ass lunch (at another mom and pop), and a little shopping at a local market.  Once our lunch was digested, we started with our main task for the day...

Riding in the dirt.

The little lady and I headed over to Rocky Branch Park (just across the river from Charlotte) to hit some singletrack.  But first, we had to test out the new pump track.

Much fun was had, but we really wanted to be in the woods.  When I saw we, I meant "we."

It wasn't some Strava-fest (do you even know me?) but we had a blast.  We rode around having fun, just enjoying our time in the dirt.  I even caved in and asked the little lady to take a photo of me.

She wasn't happy taking just one though, so I had to ride through a vegetable tunnel so she could get the shot she wanted.

Since we were in a photo-taking mood, I made her go back and hit a feature that she initially declined to do.  Turns out she loved it.

Little Miss Sunshine is Enduro AF

We had so much fun, and even hung out with some of my friends that live close by.  We started talking about the local distillery, and they mentioned that the tour is pretty rad.  We realized that we still had time to make it to the last one for the day, so we bolted and got there right on time...

At the Muddy River Distillery.

The tour was cool.  Eight bucks for a small tour and the story of how they came to be.  They also give you a shot glass, and let you try eight different "spirits."  

Well shit.  We're always down for some day drinking.

Straight shots, no chaser.  We were happy.  You can only buy one bottle per year directly from the distillery (archaic NC booze laws), but you can get all you want from the local ABC stores.  We each got a bottle to go, and made plans to buy more later.  We left there feeling good for sure.

My day wasn't over yet though.  I had made plans to attend a social with pro mountain biker/badass Sue Haywood, and although I was beat ass tired I went anyway.  We drank beer and asked her questions, but I didn't really take any good photos.

Unless you think this creepy shot of me, her, and Dicky is a good one.

It was a long day, and it's difficult to pick my favorite part of it.  Oh wait, I know.  My favorite part was the graffiti in the men's bathroom I saw when I went to let out some beer.

I'm still laughing about that day, but mostly about that photo.

I am a juvenile. 

Weekend Hangouts

I only posted up one day last week, and I totally didn't mean to do that.  I was out of town again for work, and just didn't find a way to squeeze it in.  I did find a way to squeeze in another urban ride though.

Same old shit from the last time I was down that way, but it was just as fun.  I worked a lot, but I managed to have a good time somehow.  Especially when it came to checking out of the hotel.

I've been meaning to do that for quite some time.  I wish I could've been there when they walked in to clean the room.

Anyway, my short week (due to having Monday off) seemed to go by extra slow.  When the weekend finally arrived, we had plans.  Our Lowcountry friends Ed and Alice stopped in for a quick visit, and we ran them around town.  Ed had a gift card or something to a local chain bike store, and even though I don't shop there anymore I was a good host and went anyway.

I'm glad I did.

Photo cred:  Alice

They are a big seller of DeFeet socks, and I was happy to see my kid's designs on display(pizza and donuts, pay attention.)  I am obviously proud.

After that we tried to grab a lunch at this place (Sir Something's), but the service was so shitty that we didn't get anything but a beer in the hour we were there.  No food to be had (it was a restaurant though), but we had a backup plan.  We rolled over to Phat Burrito and stuffed ourselves silly.

From there we decided to hit up some local breweries.  The next stop was The Unknown Brewing Company.

They are very bike-friendly there, but also they are very friendly to local artists like Little Miss Sunshine.

Things got a little fuzzy after that, but I do remember that we ended up at Birdsong Brewery.  Luckily I haz photo to prove it.

And it looks like I've been there before, or at least someone that knows me.

And I'm pretty sure we had lots of beer there too.

We crammed a lot of shit into an afternoon, but eventually they had to head back down to the Lowcountry.  We had a blast hanging out with our friends and can't wait to do it again.  We're already planning for the next time they visit.

I definitely needed a day like that. 

Dog Tired

Carl knows what I’m talking about.

Two days in the weekend and two rides.  Yup, I managed to pedal twice in a row.  Who gives a shit.  After a nice day in the hills on Saturday, I tried to ruin it by taking a road ride on Sunday.  I had stuff to do around the house and didn’t want to be gone all day so a road ride made sense.

I took off out of my neighborhood headed for parts unknown.  Heading north towards quieter roads, I was looking for the least amount of vehicular traffic.  I passed what used to be my favorite road route, but now I’m denied access because of stupid cars traveling at 70+ m.p.h.

I didn’t really have a destination in mind, but I ended up near Huntersville.  After stopping for a second and looking at The Facebook, I saw that Dicky was nearby and heading my way.  So, I waited.

He no show up.  I am disappoint.

Without a suitable bike to ride the pump track (yes, I tried), I decided to head back south to see where I could end up.  A local craft beer store caught my attention so I stopped.  Surely Dicky was riding up this very road and would stop to have a beer with me.

I waited again. 

He never showed up.  I figured that since he was riding on the road on a single speed mountain bike that I must have been moving along at a much faster pace on my geared made for the road bike.  I continued south, thinking maybe I would see him spinning up the road. 

Still nothing.  Fuck it.  I’m heading back home.

Almost thirty miles for the day, sunburned, hot as hell, and no sign of a little old man on a single speed.  I made it home without getting killed too, which is always a plus.  I’d call it a good day.

Since I was out of my usual post ride beer choice, I settled for something else.

It was good.  It didn’t taste like it had any alcohol at all so I drank two just to be sure.

Yeah.  A good day.  Even with a road ride.

Fun Friday

I’ve had a difficult time getting motivated lately.  Despite a small amount of success so far in my “season”, a new bike, and some time well spent with good friends…

It still feels like I’m fighting my way through everything.

Alas, it’s Fun Friday.  Even when I don’t have any set plans I still look forward to the weekends.  It’s a chance to get away from the daily grind, be on my own schedule, and enjoy some time to myself.  It’s always a nice break even when there are difficulties.

So yeah, let’s get rid of this negative shit and get on with the weekend.

I’m ready.

Long Short Weekend

 I was gone to the hills all weekend. I really, really needed a trip like that. I’m a little tired, but it was worth it. Of course you’re here for the stories. I’m gonna play it backwards.

Sunday morning, a group of our people took off on a Pisgah death march. I took a group of people that were interested in riding, but interested in being drug out into the hills to be left for dead. We rode one of the seasonal trails (which close in a few days), which I could find on a map. Maybe it was misspelled, since I’ve never heard of it.

This ride was supposed to be easy-ish, but nothing in Pisgah really is. Right off the bat, we started going up…

And rode/walked some sketchy stuff…

Like most rides out there, we went up. But once we got to the top, the view was worth it…

We rode some pretty fun downhill stuff too, but we were moving so fast that there were no photo opportunities. I’m okay with that, because I know how rad it was. The group had fun, and we didn’t kill anyone. The group headed back home once we finished, but I still wanted to see some more cool mountain stuff.

So I did.

What an awesome day. And that was only part of my weekend.

See y’all tomorrow.

It Was A Good Day

Tired as hell from a long week at work, I had to drag my ass outta bed and get moving somehow. It was gonna take a lot of coffee.

The Force was with me.

I got going, and my goal was to take care of some last minute Christmas shopping.

Delicious IPAs from NoDa Brewing Company here in Charlotte.

I stopped in a couple of local bike shops to pick up some odds and ends and got more than I bargained for...

in the form of the Gentle Ginger test riding kids bikes.

I ended up spending money in three local shops that day (and one local brewery.) I had my bike with me, which meant that I planned to go for a ride. I headed up to the north side of town, with the plan to ride after I stopped in to visit my shop, The Cycle Path.

I hung out there for a while. In fact, too long. I didn't end up riding. Instead, I had a nice, relaxing day. I got a little shopping done (putting a little money into our local economy), socialized, and didn't get caught up in the crazy crowds that are rampant this time of year.

I mean, I even saw the lights on a blimp...

Yeah. I gotta say it was a good day.


I'll be back tomorrow. I know it's Christmas Eve. Big deal.

Out On My Own

Last week I talked about not riding and getting fat, and this weekend it looked like I might head down that path never to return. The weather on Saturday sucked, so I just had to do something on Sunday. The problem?


I didn't want to.


I woke up feeling tired and lazy, and almost talked myself out of riding because everything around here was closed. Somehow I managed to grab my bike and got my ass out the door to go ride. Making breakfast to go probably helped.

My destination was Uwharrie again, knowing that the conditions there would be good despite the fact that it rained the day before. I mean, it's pretty rocky out there so it drains well.

I was all alone despite the fact that there were quite a few cars in the parking lot. I needed some alone time, so hoped I wouldn't run into any of the people that drove them. I got my wish, and had the place to myself for most of my ride.


It was damn awesome.

I had pretty much all day to ride. Wanting to get in some good mileage, I took off down a fire road in the forest.

I climbed all the way to the top.  The view was nice.

I found some new routes out there, and I can't wait to go back to do some more “exploring.” With over 50,000 acres in the Uwharrie National Forest, there are plenty of places to ride without hitting the same old stuff. The trails are in the best shape I've ever seen, and that's no doubt thanks to the very few people that take time to maintain them. I moved a few fallen trees off the trail during my ride, but for once I'm not talking about myself.

Big thanks to Chris G. for taking time before his ride yesterday to blow the leaves off of one of the trails out there.



So yeah, finally I got out for a ride. It was good to be out there all by my lonesome too. I guess I needed some “me” time.

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.

Not A Death March

Instead of sitting around on my ass the day before this past Sunday’s Winter Short Track race, I tagged along on an urban ride here in Charlotte.  This was sort of a scouting mission, but I’ll save the details for another time.  I didn’t want to go on a long painful mountain bike ride, and spending all day doing trail work wasn’t a good idea either. 

Instead, we took a stroll through the city.

Now I know what Dicky feels like when he’s working.  Well, except that his rides through the city are much more exciting.

Like this shit:

Bwahahahaaaa.

So anyway, rolling around in the city was pretty fun.  We found some greenways…

And a couple of parks…

Little Miss Sunshine led the way, all decked out in her team kit.

I did a little trail work too, but it’s not really worth talking about.

Well, except the “new” creek crossing that appeared in the middle of the singletrack.

We’re already working on a solution for that.

Stay tuned.