Bigfoot Kicked My Ass

It was so bad in fact, that I didn’t even drink the beer I brought with me.

Yesterday’s Southern Classic Series race at Uwharrie was rough.  I went out there to have fun, and I actually did for the most part.  However, when I got there I knew I was gonna have a bad time.

It was dry as a camel’s ass in a sandstorm out there, and every tire (bike and motorized) that rode across the roads and trails kicked up a cloud of dust that penetrated my lungs and eyeballs.  I was hurting even before the race started, and me and my bike were covered in a fine powder.

I took a warm up spin on some of the singletrack out there, and I figured that I was ready to go.  We lined up on the fire road and the groups started taking off.  When my group went off, the plan was to take it easy until I got through the first climb and onto the fast downhill stuff.  Of course, I didn’t follow my own plan.

It wasn’t my fault though.  I took off at a “normal” pace, and it seemed really slow.  In the short road section before the trail, I found myself in third place as we hit the trail.

We hit the first of many climbs, and I did my best to pace myself so I didn’t burn out too quickly.  I was still right with the two guys ahead of me, and I even had a chance to pass the guy in second place.  I held back though, because I knew it would be a long race and I probably wouldn’t survive if I pushed it too soon.  Since I didn’t go for the kill (so to speak), I ended up getting passed by the guy in fourth place.  I was still with the group though, and eventually we left the others behind.  I was feeling pretty good, even though I was pushing myself a little more than I wanted.  We hit the first of many fast downhills, and I hauled ass without any regard for my own safety.  I pushed the limits of my handling skills and my bike, and it was fun as hell.  It was that moment that I realized why I actually enjoy racing.

It was also that moment when I passed my friend Todd on the side of the trail.  He was in first place, but a flat tire put him out of commission for a while.  I gained a little energy knowing that I was back in podium contention, and I mashed my way up the rest of the climbs.  I knew for sure that Todd would get his shit fixed and catch back up, so I pushed it even harder to gain a little time.

When I finished that first lap, I wondered if I could make it through a second.  I got up the trail a bit, and I saw Lunchbox hiding in the bushes waiting for me.

I mashed my way up the first climb, and I noticed something strange.  I saw an unusual amount of people walking in the opposite direction:  victims of fatigue, flat tires, and other mechanical issues.  I was shocked at how the trail was beating down the people trying to race on it.  Maybe Bigfoot was out there sabotaging everyone for his own amusement.


I knew I had to work hard just to survive.

Since I’m still pretty worn out from my Uwharrie adventure, I think I’m gonna cut this short and save the rest for tomorrow.  I like to drag out race reports anyway, so why should change that now?  It’s not like it’s that great of a story anyway.

Besides, I think Bigfoot might try to sabotage my post if I continue. 

Work Hard Play Hard

As you can see, my training is going quite well.  While the rest of the racing community is worried about max watts, Strava, caloric intake, and the like, I’m doing what I always do.  I like to have fun, and even though I have a few sponsors, that doesn’t mean that I’m being all serious about this shit.  I love riding bikes, and I’m not about to let hard work and “race training” ruin that for me.

I have been riding though.  In fact, da udda day I got to chase a couple of ladies from a local cycling team around the trail for a few hot laps.

Me on a single speed, chasing those ladies up hill while trying to capture their image with my smartphone counts as training, right?

I’ve also been busy with trail work near my house.  No, not the trail I talked about a few days ago.  It’s the secret one that Lunchbox and I have been working on:  Captain Jim Bob’s Space Adventure.

While we worked our asses of to get the first part done, we’ve actually neglected it for quite some time now.  I got home early from work though, and decided that it was time to head back over there and cut some new trail.  We have tons of land to work with, so I started scouting out where exactly we could put some singletrack.

First though, we had to create another entrance.

It might be a little difficult to see in the photo, but there is a nice rock between those trees to roll over as you go in.  The exit from the first part of the trail puts you out into a field for a few feet, and this will take you right back into the woods.  After clearing out a path, I started roughing out some new trail.

The area is really hilly, so I followed the contour of the hill upwards and across a few natural berms.  It really has a nice flow so far, and it is designed to be ridden in either direction.  It’s gonna be a tough climb, but it will be fun as shit to ride downhill.  I ended up getting quite a bit done out there in a short amount of time, and it’s really starting to turn into something nice.

I’d like to get back out there over the weekend to get some more work done, and it just might happen.  I pretty much have all day Saturday free if I want, but Sunday I have something else in mind.

I’m going out to hunt for Bigfoot.

Yep, race number nine in the Southern Classic Series is at the Uwharrie National Forest.  It’s one of my new favorite places to ride, and I’m looking forward to it.  There is a shitload of climbing on the nine mile course, with plenty of super fast downhill.  I should be good and worn out after two laps out there, but luckily it’s kinda close to home (so I can get back in a hurry to drink some beer.) 

How will I do?

Who knows.

How about, who gives a shit.

I’m just out there to have fun.

Bringing It Up North

No, I’m not talking about my Southern charm or my penchant for chugging RC Cola and eating Moon Pies.  I mean, it’s really time to start making plans to bring my ass to Vermont this summer for Single Speed USA.  It’s less than two months away, and I haven’t even really thought much about the logistics of such a trip.

Sure, the portion of the trip that takes me to my in-laws’ farm near Buffalo, NY is all planned out, but after I leave there the Friday before the race, I have no idea what I’m doing.  I’m hoping to arrive at the Bike29 mothership in the early afternoon (if George is still there), but after than I don’t know where to go.  I haven’t even thought about my accommodations for the few days I’m there, although I have been looking around a little bit on the Internets.

Maybe George will let me sleep on the floor in the shop. 

  

Since I’m really starting to think about the little details involving my summer adventure, I’ve turned my eyes to my single speed bike.  I’ve been riding a comfortable (finally) 32X18 around here and in the smaller mountain areas near Charlotte, but I’ve been told that may need something a little bit easier.  George said a 20 or 21 tooth cog would be better, but I’m having a hard time dealing with the fact that I have to make a change.  Even though I have no idea what the trails up there are like, I decided that I will go for a 20.

I just so happens that I got one of those fancy cogs sent to me from Endless Bike Co.

Kick Ass, indeed.

I’ve never used one of these, but D-Wayne told me that they are pretty good.  He also said that he has yet to tear one up, which is good news since I tend to put the hammer down when I climb.  I guess I’ll find out on my own soon enough.

I also bought a new chain (not pictured because chains aren’t really sexy), so the plan is to switch everything over sometime this weekend so I can get a feel for my new, smaller gearing.  I’ll put everything back to the “regular” gearing soon after, and swap everything out again prior to my departure.  I know for sure I won’t like such an easy gear around here, but I bet I’ll be glad I had it when I’m climbing in the mountains of Vermont.

Beer is next on the list.  While I’m sure that there are many fine brews available up there, I wanted to take the opportunity to bring some down south love up north.  So George, if you’re reading (you are, right?), I need a list of brews you can’t usually get your hands on.  Otherwise, you’re stuck with whatever I decide is best.  I guess either way won’t be a disappointment.

I’m really looking forward to my trip (and the race I suppose.)  I guess that’s why I’m talking about it so far in advance.  It should be a great time, and I can’t wait for it to get here. 

In the meantime, I guess I’ll start drinking maple syrup to prepare myself. 

Perhaps a literacola would be much easier to drink.

Out Of The Way Local

Wait, what? 

After the nice bike ride the little lady and I had when we took a day off, we decided to go a little bit out of our way on the trip back home to visit a local business we both know and love.  First stop though was a place that’s home to one of my favorite brews (and one I mentioned yesterday in case you weren’t paying attention.)

Yep, we found one of the locations for the Olde Hickory Brewery.  We didn’t stay long, since we didn’t actually plan on being there.  In fact, the road to our real destination accidentally took us right by there, so we really didn’t have time to do much more than peek in the windows.

So, where were we really headed?  Just a short ways down the road is one of my favorite North Carolina businesses, DeFeet International.  We felt like it was time to show our faces around there again.

When we pulled into the parking lot, we were greeted by the man in charge, Shane Cooper.  He said he didn’t know we were coming, but why else would he be out in the parking lot?  He was really busy with meetings though (about new high tech sock offerings and domination in the cycling world no doubt), so he escorted us to a room where we found tons of DeFeet products to take home. 

I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll say it again.  They have an outlet store there, and if you are ever in the area you should pay them a visit.  We always try to stop by when we’re in the area (which isn’t often enough for me), and we make it a point to bring home lots of goodies. 

I picked up a few things I needed.

Socks (of course), wool knee warmers (for next season), and a couple of pairs of compression socks.  I was even lucky enough to find a pair of socks that go with the type of mountain biking I’ve been falling in love with lately.

As for the compression socks, I had never tried them before.  Being around cyclists so much though, I’ve seen plenty of people wearing them.  They are supposed to help improve blood flow in your legs and aid in recovery, and I’m all about that.  You can only drink so much beer for recovery, you know.

I tried them on, and I’ve been wearing them quite a bit lately.

They really seem to work, and I’ve noticed some results already.  I know plenty of companies make compression socks, but I’m pretty sure that DeFeet makes the best ones.  Little Miss Sunshine has been wearing them for a while, and she likes them way better than other brands she’s tried.

DeFeet is right here in North Carolina, and I’m fortunate enough to be close enough to them to visit there once in a while.  If you’re ever in the area, go check them out. 

Tell them I sent you.

Or don’t.

You might get escorted off the premises.

Almost Did Nothing

Other than buying Lunchbox a brand new goofy hat.

After doing trail work for most of the day on Saturday and getting in a ride afterwards, I woke up Sunday morning feeling really tired.  So tired in fact, that I felt like doing absolutely nothing at all.  If the weather is nice and I have the day off, I usually get out and ride.  This was the first time in a long time that I didn’t have any set plans, so I had a hard time even dragging my ass outside, let alone out on the trails.

After several cups of coffee (which I don’t normally drink), I finally had enough energy to go outside and look at the sun.  I started thinking about where to ride, but still couldn’t motivate myself to do anything.  Little Miss Sunshine had a dirt play date with one of her Dirt Diva friends.  Rather than cramp her style by showing up at an all girls ride (like I normally would), I texted a buddy of mine to see if he was down to ride.  He got back to me and said he would, but much later in the afternoon.  I had to find something to do in the meantime.

I realized that I had been having a headset issue on my single speed bike, so I pulled it apart to see what the problem was.  It was just a little loose, but I cleaned and regreased the bearing while I had it torn down.  That didn’t take very long, so I wanted to find something to do to pass the time.  I decided to head over to a local park near my house to check on some vacant land that could be used for a future trail.

I’m not going to reveal the location just yet, but I’ve been there a few times.  This time though, I wanted to give the place a thorough check to see if it was worth the time and effort to have our club put some singletrack in.   As I got ready to head out in the woods, my buddy texted me back and told me he was ready.  We decided to meet there at the park (since it is also in his neighborhood), and see what kind of trailbuilding opportunity we had.

Wow.  There is a shitload of land ready to be ridden.  There’s a ton of elevation change, and even a few natural features.  We scoped out the place for a few hours, and decided that it was time to get our shit together to create a proposal to get ‘er done.  I can’t wait. 

More details when I have some.

I eventually went for a ride.  We headed over to nearby Poplar Tent, which I hear may close down pretty soon due to a potential ownership change.  For now though, it was ready to ride.

We stayed out there for quite a while, but I didn’t break out the camera even once out on the trail.  Of course, I brought my single speed, and I’m pleased to report that my mechanic skills are up to par.  No more creaky headset. 

I did have one more thing to do though, and yes, it involved beer.  Little Miss Sunshine brought me home a couple of bottles of a local favorite of mine:

Death By Hops, and it would be a pleasant way to die.

That’s not the only reason I selected that particular brew though.  I needed a new bottle cap to replace the one on my headset, and this one seemed perfect.

Why yes, I’m a patriotic beer drinker. 

And yes, I’m done for the day.

They Don’t Maintain Themselves

I’m talking about trails.  You know, the ones we all ride.  Saturday was National Trails Day, and our local club (the Tarheel Trailblazers) teamed up with REI to do some trail maintenance. 

We met up at Lake Norman State Park bright and early, and broke up into several groups to do some work on the 20 plus miles of trails out there.  Being a member (and VP) of the club, I volunteered to lead a crew of workers out there. 

Before we could get started though, one of our members had to give brief instructions on how to properly kill someone with trail tools.

Once we divided up into our groups, we headed out to our assigned loops.  My crew got right to work to take care of the trail.

Yep, that is the Bike Shop Girl on my team of trail workers.

I had a good group, and we worked our asses off out there.  Of course, Lunchbox was on my team.

It was a great day to give back to the trails, or as one of our locals put it, to get our trail karma right.  The trails you ride are most likely built and maintained by volunteers (not some government agency.)  You should give back to those trails every once in a while.  If you enjoy the places you ride, then get your ass out there and do a little work to keep them nice.

Sure, I got to ride after we worked on the trails.  That’s probably the best part about it…riding on a trail that you just worked on makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 

It’s much better than hanging out after a stage race and making love to a strange can of beer like Dicky prefers to do.

 

Yuck.  I thinks he’s been spending too much time in the saddle.  Maybe he should get out and do some trailwork too.

Speaking of beer, after the trailwork I dropped by to see my pals at First Flight Bicycles in nearby Statesville.  Sure, they have a really cool museum in the shop (that you should really go visit), but I went there for the beer.

A Bourbon Barrel Stout from Bluegrass Brewing Company in Kentucky.  Oh hell yes.

I’ll be back tomorrow.  You know this already.

A Week Later

And I’m still talking about the five days I had away from here.  Thursday, Little Miss Sunshine took the day off from work too and joined me for some fun on the bike.  Since she had never ridden at Warrior Creek before, this would be the perfect opportunity.  Also, since my back was feeling better, it would be perfect for me to do a little single speeding.

It rained a little bit on the way up to North Wilkesboro, but the trails were spared for the most part.  After parking and getting ready, we took it easy for the first little bit of trail.  It was a little muddy (and slippery), and we still needed to get out legs warmed up.  That gave me a chance to notice that the mile markers for the 6 Hours of Warrior Creek were still out there.

This one of course was sponsored by Backcountry Research, makers of such wonderful things like the Awesome Strap.

As the ride went on, we started picking up the pace.  Since I only had one gear, I had to mash my way up the climbs.  That meant that I would leave the little lady behind on occasion.  Luckily though, it gave me a chance to photograph her in action.

She did a great job out there for her first time on that trail.  As for me and my single speeding efforts, I really dug it.  It was, dare I say, easy?  I didn’t have any trouble making the climbs, and navigating the couple of technical sections seemed effortless.  Maybe next year when I race there I’ll do it on only one gear.

Did I mention that we stopped by the bar while we were riding?

When we got done, we were a little muddy.  Luckily, the parking lot has a bike wash.

We cleaned our bikes and ourselves, and headed down the road for more adventure.  We went out of our way a little bit to get to our next destination, but it was well worth it.

Since today is Friday though, I’m cutting it short so we can all get a head start on our weekend.  I’ll talk about our “mystery destination” next week sometime.  It also involves somewhat of a product review, so I need to get my shit together.  I also have a ton of shit planned for this weekend, so hopefully next week that means I’ll have plenty to talk about.

In the meantime, check out this Star Wars parody I found on the Internets da udda day.  If you are a youngin’ or have sensitive ears though, you might want to skip it.