Smooth Sailing

Well, it’s not sailing, but the trails at the Forks Area Trail System were smooth as a newborns bottom. Well, if you were so inclined to go around touching newborns’ bottoms just to see what they feel like. There were a few rocks and roots here and there, but most of the time it was just hard packed dirt with a small layer of pine needles on top. That made for a fast ride, with not very much effort. Like I said before, it was like a big-ass pump track with little pedaling required. I dig that shit sometimes, especially because I like to go really fast.


Anyway, I rode most of the day with my GoPro camera, and I finally got around to putting together some video. I have plenty of footage left, but I’ll probably bust the rest out next week. Oh yeah, there’s a special guest at around the 45 second mark. Enjoy.

Lonely Road

You may have noticed that I didn’t say anything yesterday about the Tarheel Trailblazers that was scheduled for Sunday. Well, that’s because it didn’t happen. The trail at Sherman Branch was closed, so we had to cancel the ride. The only place open locally was the U.S. National Whitewater Center, but I didn’t really feel like going there. Truth is, I wanted an easy ride, which the Kids Ride would have been.


After driving back and forth to Augusta on Saturday, I really didn’t feel like getting in my truck to go anywhere. I resisted the urge to hang around the house and do nothing, although it was difficult. I briefly considered taking one of my mountain bikes out for some urban assault action, but I wasn’t feeling that either. For some reason, the road bike was calling my name.


There it sat, in the garage, getting no love from anyone. I pulled it down and pumped up the tires, and everything was good to go. After planning out a ~30 mile route using Google maps, I changed into some roadie attire and got ready to go. By the time I got everything done, it was 2:00 p.m. and hot as shit outside. I could only carry two water bottles, so I planned on a stop at a store along the way. If I planned it right, there was a store about fifteen miles into the ride. If I didn’t, I would be dead on the side of the road, with buzzards picking at my skull. Either way sounded good.


I took off, and headed north towards Huntersville. Most of the ride would be on back roads, which meant that people would be hauling ass in their cars. That’s one reason why I hate riding on the road. Most people in cars are assholes when they see someone on a bike, and I don’t want to end up dead…or worse. Not only did I have to worry about the heat, I had to think about cars trying to take me out.


I made it to my first stop in about an hour, which was about what I had planned. I wasn’t pushing real hard, but I did keep a good pace. I had just finished off my last bottle, so I stopped in the store to by some Gatorade. I refilled my bottles, and drank the rest before I headed back on the road again. As soon as I got back on the road, I was stuck in traffic near North Mecklenburg Park. The cars were moving along about 5-10 miles per hour, and some stupid bimbo behind me kept trying to go around. When we stopped, I told her to back off. She did, surprisingly. I left that busy stretch of road in Huntersville, and headed back out into the country.



Ironically, after I passed that sign the drivers started being a little more courteous. I felt like I was out in the middle of nowhere, and that made this leg of the trip that much more enjoyable. I was headed to Concord, in a roundabout sort of way. I got a couple of fast, curvy, downhill sections out there, and it was fun. Yeah, I had fun on my road bike. Don’t tell anyone. With about ten miles to go though, I started getting bored. I’ve probably said it here before, but twenty miles on a road bike is about all I can stand. That, coupled with the fact that the sun was bearing down on me with full force, I started wishing that the ride was over. I had quite a ways to go.


Eventually I got back to my neighborhood. I passed by two malls, two mountain bike trails, and countless other establishments that looked way more fun that what I was out there doing. I don’t regret it though, because at least I got off my ass and did something. Hell, you can even call it “training” if you want. I ran some fancy GPS app on my phone the whole time, and I liked what I saw.


(I’m using the free version, so I can’t link it directly to here.)


Distance: 34.03 miles

Total Time: 2:18:53 (including my rest stop)

Average Speed: 15.6 m.p.h.

Max Speed: 32.4 m.p.h.

Calories: 2191


Wow. 2191 calories. I had no idea that I would burn that many calories, but I guess us “heavier” folks have to work a little harder. I was starving to death though, and thirsty for beer. I only drank Gatorade and water, and ate nothing during the ride (and only had a light breakfast.) I’m surprised I made it through the ride at all. I wouldn’t call my ride fun, but it was an adventure. That’s good enough for me. Now I’ll probably put the roadie away for a while so it can resume it’s dust collecting.

By the way, I won't be here tomorrow. I have to take a short out of town trip for work. See y'all Thursday.

It Was a Good One

Saturday was one of those rides that make you smile. In fact, it was the most fun I’ve had on a bike in quite some time. I always have fun riding in the woods, but things were way better this time. Maybe it was because of the fact that we went on a road trip. I do like getting away from time to time.

We had us a big ol’ convoy heading down to Augusta, GA.



And an even bigger group meeting us there:



And of course the group shot:



The Forks Area Trail System did not disappoint. We started out on a trail called Great Wall, which is about seven and a half miles. After a short fire road-type intro, the trail turned into fast, super-smooth, whoop-de-doos. I couldn’t believe how fun it was. Lunchbox and stayed far enough back from the main group so we could pretty much go as fast as we wanted, and damn did we go fast. Way faster than we probably should have. I was sliding out a little bit on the turns, but a quick stop on the side of the trail to put a little air in my rear tire took care of that issue.


After rockin’ the Great Wall, we ended up back where we started. That was a good thing, since it was also the start of our next loop, Skinny. This one was six miles, and more of the same fast swoopy goodness. Shit, we hardly had to pedal. There were a few climbs here and there, but I have to say that this place was more like a big ass pump track. The little jumps were so quick that they would throw you up in the air real quick if you weren’t careful. I almost regretted not bringing my singlespeed. I was definitely glad I had a 29er though. I know Lunchbox was too:




About two thirds of the way into the second loop (Skinny), I noticed that we were pretty close to the Savannah River. Since I know that Alligators can be found there, I asked Lunchbox if he wanted to go look for some. Of course he agreed, and we hopped off our bikes and headed down to the water.




I saw a few when we drove across the Savannah River on our way to the trailhead, but I didn’t see shit when we got down by the water. I figured that they stayed away from that part of the water because of the noise and what-not. Just then, I noticed some bubbles coming up in the water, and I knew that was one of our reptilian friends. We were happy enough to find one, and decided to continue our ride and catch up to the group.


We met up with the rest of the folks out there at the entrance of a loop called Brown Wave, which is actually off of the Skinny loop. We heard that this one was one of the best loops out here, so we got ready for some fun. We let the group get way up ahead again, and eventually Lunchbox and I got busy riding. We took off fast, and enjoyed pretty much the same kind of trail we had seen earlier. It was plenty fun.


With about two and a half miles to go, we started thinking about the end of our day. We were just cruising along trying to finish our ride, and we saw Little Miss Sunshine sitting on the side of the trail. She was hurt from a small spill, but at least she was laughing about it.




After making sure she way okay, we kept on going. She made it out okay, so we didn’t have to go back in to retrieve her.



Since she didn’t have a full first aid kit, I cleaned up her injury when we got back to the truck. It was not pretty.



And that was after I cleaned it off.


Other than that small mishap, it was an awesome day. Over twenty miles of singletrack goodness with family and friends is what I needed. Big thanks to the Dirt Divas for organizing the trip and getting me out of the state to ride. I am heading back there as soon as I can. If you want to plan a trip, let me know. I have to get back there pronto. Oh yeah, I have a shitload of video footage from our ride too. I used a different camera perspective on some of it, and it looks awesome. I’ll get that up here as soon as I can get a chance to edit it all.

Weekend Adventures (FATS and Stuff)

No, not that kind of fats.


This weekend will be chock full of mountain bike action. Tomorrow morning, we are meeting a huge group of folks form the area to head down to the Forks Area Trail System, better known as FATS. It’s kind of a long drive from Charlotte, since it is down near Augusta, Georgia. From what I hear though, it’s worth it. I “quoted” this from the website:

“Very few technical features make FATS a great place to get beginners hooked on the sport, and the excellent flow, pump track like feel, and high speed sections combined with lots of mileage keeps bringing the seasoned riders back for more time and time again.”


Sounds like it will be fun, fast, and flowy. I can’t wait. If you’re lucky, I might even ride with my camera to get some good video. I’ll try to remember to take lots of photos, but I can’t promise anything. It may be too much fun and I am likely to forget.

Sunday, we’re having anotherTarheel Trailblazers Kids Ride. So far, it looks like we will have a good turnout, and I’m pretty happy about that. I’ll probably be a little tired from riding the day before, but our slow pace out on the trail should make it enjoyable. We’ll be at Sherman Branch at 1:00 p.m., so come on out if you’re local and want a fun, easy ride. Oh yeah, bring the kids.


That’s pretty much it for today. I’m going riding. You can sit in front of your old-ass computer all day.

Drop It Like It’s Hot

I’ve still been battling with chain drop issues, even though I thoughtI found a fix. After some local testing, I made a few more adjustments to my bike (and Lunchbox’s too.) When we rode at Dark Mountain during the Burn 24 Hour Race though, I dropped my chain five times. Lunchbox lost his three times, and we were both pretty frustrated. Hell, I even made a video out of it (including a bonus crash from me not paying attention.)





So yeah, this sucks. I was determined to keep trying to find the issue, since there was no way I wanted to go back to a full set of gears of front. There was one more thing to try though. I finally broke down and bought this:



A new Salsa singlespeed 32 tooth chainring. Non-ramped, non-pinned, for my riding pleasure. I tried everything else, and this was the last resort. I put it on last week, and got out for a ride at Fisher Farm (after the trail work day.) After beating the shit out of my bike on the roots and rocks out there, I thought maybe I had finally gotten it right. I didn’t drop my chain once, and that was encouraging. I wasn’t completely satisfied though, so I decided that one more test was in order.


When I rode at North Meck da udda night with the Dirt Divas, I thought that this would be the proving ground. This is the same place where I first tested the Awesome Strap, and it is a fine place for such testing because it is rooty as shit. On the first lap out there, Lunchbox and I rode together. I haven’t made the switch on his bike yet, so his bike would be the control in this experiment.


No dropped chains for me, five for the youngin’. He was pretty frustrated, but I told him that it was actually good news. Since my chain stayed put during the ride when his didn’t, that pretty much told me that I had found a solution. I told him I would get a singlespeed ring on his crankset as quick as I could.


I’m pretty happy I finally figured it out, but I’m a little pissed that I took so long to do it. That damn chain dropping issue cost me a podium spot in the Catawba Riverfront Classic, and it caused me countless hours of frustration on “normal” rides. That looks like the end of my bike issues for now, until something else pops up. It always does.

Ride Like A Girl

Well, not me, although sometimes I don’t ride all manly and shit. That’s just fine, by the way. Anyway, yesterday was a group ride for the Dirt Divas, and Lunchbox and I tagged along. The ladies are always kind enough to invite us dudes along, and we really appreciate it. Lunchbox was down:



They always divide up into groups based on skill level, and we weren’t sure which group to stick with. We hung around and waited for the ladies to choose their paths.





We weren’t sure which group to join, so we just took off in the middle, We kept up a nice “training” pace, and I kept waiting for my sandbagging kid to put on the gas and leave me on the trail. No such luck though, because he was having mechanical issues the whole time (I’ll get into that another day.) He held his own out there, and I was more than proud. Still, I think that he is probably playing possum again.


I don’t have anymore photos (lazy people stop reading here, thanks), but that’s because I was too busy riding my bike. I don’t mind that at all.


I did two laps out there, and it was enough of a dirt fix to get me through to the next one. Big thanks to the Divas for having this ride, and for inviting along a bunch of sweaty, smelly men to join you. We’ll be back for the next one, and it’s coming up a lot sooner than you think. See y’all tomorrow,

Damage Control

First off, I’m sorry about not being here yesterday. Well, I’m sorry about not telling you that I wouldn’t be here yesterday. Anyway, I had a lot of shit going on (non bicycle-related unfortunately), so I wouldn’t have been worth a damn on here if I was here. Here I am. Here. Yup.

So, over the weekend I got a chance to help out a local trail in need of some love. Bright and early Sunday morning, Lunchbox and I headed over to Fisher Farm, up in Davidson, NC. The trail boss had invited some folks to come out and help with some maintenance issues, and we were glad to get out of the house and get dirty. We all met in the parking lot, and were given our assignments.



The plan was to use some fancy new material (better than plain ol’ gravel) to repair some spots that had a problem letting go of mud. After walking back into the trail, we found a pile of it and started loading up wheelbarrows to carry off into the woods.



Also, we had to address some drainage issues. A few spots need attention, and our happy trail working crew got right on it.



Even the trail boss got busy out there:



Lunchbox was there of course, and seemed to really enjoy fixing the trails he likes to ride.



After a few hours in the heat, we had used up most of the pile of material and fixed everything that was on the list for fixin’. It was time to kick back and enjoy some ice cold watermelon for our troubles.



Everyone liked the refreshing treat, except for the MadSS and Lunchbox, who for some reason don’t dig the magical fruit.



It was a job well done, and it was actually quite fun to be out there working. A few people headed out and got on with their day, while Lunchbox, the MadSS, and I hit the trail. Lunchbox was a little leery at first, since he thought the MadSS would try to kill him with his super-fast singlespeeder pace out there. He was reassured that it would be a modest jaunt through the woods, and agreed to tag along with us. Things would change though.


We started off at a nice pace, but Lunchbox was lagging behind a little. We would slow up a bit to wait on him, and pick up where we left off. When we came up to the first difficult option, I told him he could meet us at the exit, while the MadSS and I got our skills on. After a few short minutes, we got back on the main trail. Lunnchbox was nowhere to be found though.


The MadSS figured that he couldn’t be too far ahead, so the challenge was to catch my youngin’. We stepped up the pace quite a bit, and it was fun trying to keep up with my supersonic singlespeeding pal. We were looking for Lunchbox at every turn, and we were surprised that we didn’t even get close. After riding all the way to the end, there was no sign of him. We started to wonder if he had gotten lost (very hard to do out there.)


We waited for a bit, and briefly thought about going back out to look for him in case he had crashed and was off in the bushes somewhere. For some reason I glanced over at the parking lot though, and saw my kid sitting down relaxing. We rode over there and found out that he had finished a while ago. He even mocked our old asses when he mentioned how fast he rode out of there. The MadSS called him a sandbagger, and I agreed. He was playing possum the whole time, until we let him out of our sight.


I guess that’s when you know you’re getting old, when your kid starts beating you at stuff. Damn it. Time to train more.