Last Ride For A Little While

Last night was the last Tuesday ride with the Dirt Divas for the rest of the year.  It was down at Colonel Francis Beatty Park in Matthews, NC, and that’s usually a little far for me to travel after work.  Luckily, I happened to be working nearby, so I got to go.  I arrived a little early, so I decided to get out and do a lap by myself.

Recently, a ton of work has been going on down there, and I must say I’m pleased with the results.  The trail is really fun now, and my first lap was pretty fast and fun (except for the hoards of walkers on the trail.)  When I got back to the parking lot, most everyone had arrived so it was time to hit the trail.  Since a whole bunch of dudes showed up for this one, they made us take off on our own.  Not a problem.

We flew around the trail at a good clip, with my pal Tom leading the way on his new bike.  About two thirds of the way in though, his bike started squeaking…a lot.  When we stopped to see what it was, I discovered that one of the bolts that held on his rear suspension had come loose, and it got pretty bent up in the process.  It was barely rideable after a trailside repair, so we decided to take a short cut to get back.  On the way, we stopped at one of the new sections out there that’s not yet open to the public.

There was some cool shit under construction.

It’s nice to see some new stuff out there, and I need to make sure I’m at the next workday so I can help finish that awesomeness.  We made our way back to the truck, and decided to call it a night.  Tom planned a visit to the shop where he bought his bike to get a new bolt, and I planned to head home a lot earlier than expected.  Well, until I did something pretty dumb.

I was playing around in the parking lot on the way back to my truck, and somehow my foot got caught in the pedal and I flipped over backwards.  I honestly don’t remember exactly what happened because it went by so fast, but I do remember slamming down in the parking lot on my left ass cheek and my elbow at the same time, and then hitting my head (and my helmet popped off.)  I laughed it off at first, but when I got up I felt really dizzy.  I do believe that I was mildly concussed. 

After taking a bit come to my senses (which seems to be still taking place as I type this), I noticed that my elbow was bloody, and had a strange looking knot on it.  It fucking hurt too.

I grabbed my first aid kit out of the truck and tried to clean it up, digging out pieces of the parking lot as I went along.  I also took that opportunity (while I was probably still in shock) to check for any bone fragments or cracks, and I was satisfied that it was just a flesh wound.  It’s a really deep gash, but I didn’t see the need to visit a local medical professional.  I’m plenty qualified for first aid, and I knew that I could get a valid second opinion when I got home to Little Miss Sunshine. 

My head was still spinning though, and it seemed to take forever to get thoughts from my head to my mouth.  I pretended that I was fine, but I think Tom knew better.  Since we live pretty close to each other, he followed me all the way home to make sure I was okay.  I made it, and I was pretty happy about that.

When I got in the house, the little lady checked me over.  She kept asking if I felt okay, and noticed that my eyes were crossing a little bit when I was talking to her.  I told her I was just tired (I was), and that I should be fine.  Still, she denied me my usual post-ride beer, which seems to be standard procedure with any kind of head injury.  We got my arm cleaned up again and properly dressed so I wouldn’t stick to the sheets at night, and I somehow managed to fall asleep.  When I woke up this morning, I still felt like shit.

Things are pretty fuzzy, and my elbow is throbbing (not to mention my head.)  Luckily, I work in a hospital, so if I take a turn for the worse I won’t have far to go.

I guess that means I’ll be off the bike for a little while.

Shit.

Big Squishy Wheels

Sunday was another day in the woods, and coincidentally at the very same place as Saturday's adventure.  The Niner demo truck rolled into Charlotte full of bikes for us to ride, and I was more than happy to oblige.

While I’m not really in the market for anything with all that suspension (or gears for that matter), I really had a hankerin’ to try out the Jet 9 RDO.  Lunchbox isn’t really too keen on all that squishy stuff either, but he though it would be fun to join me.  There just so happened to be two XL demos on the rack waiting for us.

While we got changed into our riding gear, Mike from Niner setup the bikes just for us.

We hit the trail with two other locals, and it took me a while to get used to all that bike.  I mean, holy shit, gears and suspension?  I didn’t know what to do with all that after spending so much time riding a hardtail single speed.  Every time I stood up to climb, I was reminded why I like having no rear suspension:  the bike bobbed a little bit with every pedal stroke.  It wasn’t much, but enough for me to notice.  I realized that this kind of bike was suited for sitting and spinning in a lower gear on the climbs.

Once I figured out how to ride it, it was a blast.  The bike handling was incredible, and it was comfortable.  Like, way too comfortable.  I took the shittier lines on purpose when I could, and the bike just gobbled everything up.  I was really enjoying every root, rock, and jump, and the bike took everything I threw at it.  We stopped every so often to regroup, and I still couldn’t believe I was on such a fun bike.

Lunchbox was enjoying the ride too.  He gave up squishy bikes not long after I did, and he understood the benefit of riding a hardtail on cross country trails.  However, he too was having a good ol’ time out there throwing that bike around.  I betcha if someone gave him one of those he would ride the shit out of it.  He was definitely happy to be out there on the trail with all that squish.

Will a full suspension 29er be my next bike purchase?  Probably not.  I mean, I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I think it’s a little too much bike for what I normally ride.  I would love to have one though, and I can’t totally rule out getting one in the future.

I would like to give a big shout out to Niner Bikes for coming back to Charlotte and to The Cycle Path for hosting the event. 

I love riding new shit, especially someone else’s new shit.      

A Gathering Of Skills

Saturday was really fun.  Instead of traveling to some far away city to race laps on some random trail, I got a chance to help the Dirt Divas with one of their Skills Clinics.  We broke up into a few groups and headed out on the trail, stopping along the way to hit some of the features out there.

Even though I only rode a total of about five miles in the span of a few hours, helping out the ladies was well worth the time I spent out there.  I didn’t do it all though, since there were plenty of other “Dirt Dudes” in attendance.  Still, I was glad to be a part of it all.  The ladies did a great job out there, some of them doing stuff they hadn't done before.  That kind of riding is pretty fun, and it sure beats racing.

So, with that I’ll cut it short.  I kinda feel like crap today, so it’s not easy to come up with a decent read today.  I’ll try again tomorrow.

Will it be better?  You betcha.

Well, maybe it'll be better.  I kinda suck at this sometimes, you know.

It Doesn’t Feel Like Friday

Because this week hit me like a ton of bricks.

With the Democratic National Convention wrapping up here in Charlotte, my job has been pretty crazy.  Although I work just outside of the “restricted area” at a local hospital, we’ve been doing a lot of “get shit ready just in case” type stuff.  It basically translated into a bunch of needless meetings, redundant work, and other associated bullshit.  Am I complaining?  Actually, no.  This week as been pretty good as far as getting to and from work.  With most of the people that would normally drive to the city every day working from home , I’ve dealt with a lot less traffic.  While the work has been busy, the commuting has been relatively stress-free.  At least that gathering of politicians has benefitted me a little bit.  Hell, I even got to see the Presidential motorcade last night on my way to the Tarheel Trailblazers meeting.  

Photo cred:  Charlotte Observer

That was cool I guess.

Now that I have two days off, it’s time to cram those days full of shit to do.  Tomorrow morning, Lunchbox, Little Miss Sunshine, and I are meeting the Dirt Divas at Fisher Farm in nearby Davidson for another one of their Skills Clinics.  Lunchbox and I are going as “Dirt Dudes”, which basically means we’ll help the ladies (and other dudes I suppose) with the features out there on the trail.  It’s always a lot of fun, and I’m pretty happy that we’re going.  This is the last one of the year, so I don’t want to miss out.

Sunday, Lunchbox and I will be returning to Fisher Farm for more two-wheeled fun.  This time though, it’s for a bike demo.  The Niner demo truck is rolling into town once again.  While I don’t really need to test out any new bikes, I wanted to stop by to visit and give a little love to Niner since I’m now riding one of their bikes.  Plus, I might get Lunchbox out on one of those full squishy bikes to see if he likes it.  Hell, I’ll probably get on one too.

So yeah, it’s another busy weekend.  Weather permitting; I should get some good mileage in.  If not, I have a whole lot of trail to build.

I’d rather be riding though.  

Raindrops Keep Falling

In spite of the fact that I have all this “free time” since I’m not currently racing, I haven’t been able to do squat this week.  We’ve been getting a shitload of rain lately, and it’s literally pissing on my trail riding chances.  Let me make it clear:  I fucking hate rain.

Why the hostility towards something so essential to our lives?  Well, pretty much everything I like to do involves being outside, and rain keeps me from doing it for the most part.  A lazy day inside once in a while is okay, but I really get nutty if I can’t get outside to play…specifically on my bike.

I have some riding options when it’s raining, but honestly it’s hard to find the motivation to get out when I’ll get soaking wet within a few minutes.  Plus, riding in the mud ruins bike parts, and I’m really not trying to spend money on shit I can prevent right now.  Sure, I’m whining about something as silly as a little water, but dammit I’m pissed about it.  Hopefully things will clear up soon so I can get my fucking sanity back.

Instead of sitting in the house and playing on the PS3, I decided that I had one thing I could do even if the trails were wet.  I loaded up my bike trailer and headed over to Captain Jim Bob’s Space Adventure.

Since I couldn’t ride, I figured I might as well build trail.  And since I was gonna be working hard out there, I wanted to make sure I had plenty to drink.

I hadn’t been out there in a while to build trail, mostly because I’ve been busy with racing.  Also, I had to make a couple of trips back out there to deal with the flying, stinging insect issue that thwarted our progress the last time we tried to build trail.  Satisfied that we finally took care of the problem, it was time to clear a path.

If you look at that photo, you can see that there is a clearing up ahead.  That’s a power line cut, and it was my temporary goal.  Lunchbox and I got busy cutting away brush, and we finally made it.

With all that mess out of the way, I started roughing out some trail to complete the very last section (for now, anyway.)

With the little bit of time we spent out there last night, we have a nice little (almost) complete loop.  It’s taken quite a while to get this far with my busy schedule and all, but since things might be slowing down a bit I think we can start making some progress again.  The good thing about our new neighborhood trail is that it holds up well after rain.  Once we get a few miles out there, I will no longer have an excuse not to ride when everything else around here is closed.

I’m glad we got out there to get some work done, instead of sitting around bitching about the weather.   It wasn’t riding, but it was the next best thing.

I’m in a better mood already.

Riding For Fun

It's sometimes a lot harder than racing.  Some people call it training, but since my season is pretty much over I just call it getting out on my bike.  This past Saturday, me and the Dirty Party Cycle met up at the local man-made whitewater rafting place to get in some “quality miles.”  We started out early, because we knew it would be hot as shit come high noon.  We just missed a Dirt Diva ride by a few minutes, but I wasn’t totally upset about it.  Riding with a bunch of ladies would’ve been pleasant, but that’s not why we were there.  The plan was for multiple hours on the bikes, and to make it hurt.  Pleasant just wasn’t on the menu. 

We started out on one of the newer trails, and it took me a while to get my legs going.  Pedaling a single speed after not riding for a few days wasn’t going too well at first, but eventually I started feeling good.  After the first loop was complete, I stopped back by my truck to grab a drink.  The pain was about to start.

We took off, trying to keep a fast pace.  The DPC and I took turns leading each other through the woods, and we were having a blast.  I had plenty of power on the climbs, and I felt like I could ride at that pace all day.  When I got to one of the bigger climbs though, I tried to mash up and my foot came unclipped.  I tried to clip back in as I kept pedaling, but it wasn’t working.  I stopped at the top of the hill and told the DPC that I thought there was something wrong with my pedal.

There sure as shit was something wrong.

Yes, I bent the axle of a STEEL pedal.  While I have had issues with crankbrothers pedals in the past, I can chalk this one up to old age (the pedals, not me.)  I’ve had these things for a long time, and I figured that they wouldn’t last forever.  I didn’t think I would break a pedal in this manner though, so I guess I’m just a little shocked.  At 6’4” and 230 pounds I’m not freakishly large, but I’m starting to wonder if maybe I’m too big for little teeny tiny bike parts. 

It’s not like I’m fat or anything.

So anyway, I just so happened to have a spare set of pedals in the truck (because I know shit like this is bound to happen to me), so we took a quick detour back to replace them.  After a short wrenchin’ session, I was ready to roll again.  We picked up where we left off, and resumed the torture. 

We rode for hours, and I barely had enough energy to make the last climb out of there and back to the parking lot.  We packed up our shit, changed our clothes, and walked over to get some grub and a few beers.  We rode our asses off out there, and had a blast.  

My legs were tired, I broke some shit, and drank the hell outta some beer.

I would call that a success.

I’m actually glad I can ride for fun now.

Not Quite Six Hours

But it was pretty damn fun.  The Last Annual Unofficial Unsanctioned, semi-Alcohol-fueled Six Hours of Poplar Tent was a success, and we had a great time. D-Wayne came down from Winston-Salem and brought along a motley crew of woods riders (to join Little Miss Sunshine and myself), and we rode the shit outta our soon to be lost trail.

The parking lot was packed, no doubt because plenty of people were out there to say their goodbyes to this wonderful place.  I somehow ended up leading the way (probably because it’s my local trail), and we took off like a pack of wild animals.  I didn’t take as many photos as I wanted to, but I did get a few along the way.

Like when we stopped to ride down Devil’s Drop:

We didn’t take a whole lotta breaks at first, but when we did I busted out my camera.  I wanted to remember this ride for a long time.

We rode every loop out there, and it started wearing us down.  It didn’t take long to realize that we probably wouldn’t last six hours out there.  That okay though, because we were having fun.

You know, doing shit like hucking hardtail 29ers off of ladder bridges and junk.

And of course I had to play on the teeter totter.

Instead of taking a lot of pictures of our ride, for some reason I just stared up into the tree canopy to thank the singletrack gods for such an awesome place.

While other people were monkeying around.

After a few hours out there, we were done.  We rolled up to the parking lot, and Mrs. D-Wayne got a photo of us.

We were obviously making up stories about how many awesome things we did out there.

We decided to head out to find some beer and food, but D-Wayne and Mike B went out for another lap.  We rolled over to nearby Taco Mac, and that gave me time to get a head start on the beer drinking.

When D-Wayne finally got there (Mike B mysteriously disappeared into the woods at Poplar), we were already drinking and eating.  He ordered a beer, and didn’t even taste it when he took a sip.

Actually, he took a HUGE sip. 

It was a good day.  Although I will miss the shit outta Poplar Tent, I was glad we all got together to send it off in style.  A couple hours in the saddle, a couple of beers, and shooting the shit with friends (old and new) made the day complete.

So that’s what it’s like to ride bikes for fun, huh?

I guess I’m glad the race season is pretty much over so I can do shit like this now.


Huge thanks to D-Wayne for organizing everything, and also to the folks that rolled down here all the way from the Triad.


It was a ride I won't soon forget.