Travel Arrangements

So yeah, I told you yesterday that I bit the bullet and registered for SSUSA.  While I may not end up going (subsequently wasting sixty five bucks in the process), that does kind make me a little more “committed.”  So let’s say that I’m planning to go to the UP of Michigan next summer.  How am I gonna get there?

Easy.  I own a vehicle.

Actually it’s not that easy though.  I’m not the only one from here in North Carolina interested in making the journey to “Damn Near Canada.”  Little Miss Sunshine has expressed and interest in going, along with Good Guy Greg, Eastwood, D-Wayne, and Dicky.  Lunchbox might even tag along since he’s always down for an adventure.

While I could probably cram seven people in my truck it would be one really uncomfortable ride.  Nineteen hours packed in a full size truck like sardines does not a great trip make.  So, we need some other options.

D-Wayne suggested we rent an RV, and of course this time of year I can only think of one kind.

 Shitter’s full.  We’d have to find an empty sewer somewhere.

Of course, that rickety piece of shit probably wouldn’t make it out of NC, so we started looking at “real" ones.

That’s a “moderately” priced one I guess, even though they all seemed to be really expensive.  Like, upwards of $1000 for a decent one for a week.  Of course, there’s some really fancy shit out there if you have the means.

We’d tear that thing up with no chance of getting our deposit back.

Of course, there are “cheaper models.  Like this one which appears to be a real steal:

Or we could save a shitload of gas money on something even cheaper.

It’s not anywhere near August, and I’m already overwhelmed with trying to plan this trip.  An RV would probably be the best way to get there but I’m not sure if we’re all down for paying an arm and a leg to rent one.  Besides, who the hell would want to drive such a beast that far (besides an old retired couple.)  Dicky wouldn’t even be able to see over the steering wheel.

So yeah, there’s plenty of time to plan this shit storm of a trip, but I know it will be here sooner rather than later.  Any suggestions for another type of vehicle?  Something that we can all fit in, decent enough on gas, and that doesn’t require signing over your first born would be a plus.  Oh yeah, we would all have bikes and D-Wayne’s suitcase full of hair-care products (it’s really fucking big.) 

I wish this was a trip that required crossing an ocean, because for some reason a pirate ship seems like the obvious choice here.

If we pull this off and somehow get to Michigan next summer, it could be the most epic of mountain biking trips ever seen.  Kinda like the Enduro™ of road trips.

Some assembly required.

Getting In The Spirit

I didn’t ride at all on Saturday.  Instead, I honored the upcoming holidays by participating in my annual ritual, attending the North Meck Christmas Parade.

Since my local shop is on the parade route, I came prepared.

The man was nearby so I had to be a little discreet about it though.

It was your typical Christmas parade.

I guess it helps to get into the holiday spirit and all that, but not riding is starting to get me down.  It seems like this time of year is pretty busy with non bike-related stuff, and coupled with the shitty weather we’ve been having I’m not sure when or if I’ll get to ride again for a while.  I understand that most people get depressed this time of year but mine is probably for a totally different reason.  My bikes and I are loosing touch with each other, and no one wants that for Christmas.

Maybe things will get better soon.

By the way, I did register for Single Speed USA.  More on that another time.

Now, if you will excuse me, I’m running late.

It's Friday

I'm gonna start doing something a little different around here. Since Fridays are typically a little slower, I probably don't need to waste my time with a lengthy post. Kinda like how Eastwood does his “Media Fridays” or whatever the hell he calls it, I'll just post up a photo or some other shit like that. For the most part it won't be bike-related, although from time to time it might be. Basically it'll be something to creep you out or make you laugh (or both.)


I'll try it for a little while and see how it goes. Of course, if there's big news or big weekend plans I'll post that too.


So here's the first installment of “Fun Friday”.  Thanks to Lunchbox for sending these to me.

Since this is the first one, I'll even give you a bonus.


One more, and this one creeps me the hell out.

Um. Yeah. See y'all Monday.

Prohibition Repeal Day

This is gonna be a short post. You're welcome.


On December 5^th, 1933 a great thing happened. After thirteen years Prohibition ended, returning things “back to normal.” The 21^st Amendment repealed the 18^th Amendment, which “prohibited the manufacture, sale, transport, import, or export of alcoholic beverages.” It's the only time that a Constitutional Amendment has ever been repealed.


That's because here in “Merica we're serious about our alcohol.

Most of us that ride bikes enjoy drinking beer (or even liquor or wine) so this is a day that needs to be recognized. Eighty years ago people fought to make drinking legal again so we could resume our debauchery. The best thing you can do today is tip a glass to our forefathers, and remember one of the reasons that this country is so great.

So let's party like it's 1933, shall we?

Cheers!

Next Year

This is probably the time I should start thinking about what I plan to do next year, race-wise anyway. With the risk of copying Dicky’s post from yesterday, I'll go ahead and address the elephant in the room...


Single Speed USA

SSUSA next year is up in Copper Harbor, Michigan, which doesn't sound too bad until you actually look at a map and realize that it's way the hell up there.

Kinda like a big “Fuck you Canada, this is 'Merica!”


Thinking I could drive like I did last year to Minnesota, I started planning my route and saw that it would take about nineteen hours. Holy shit. While only three more hours than the trip to MN, that leaves minimal fuck-off time on the way up there. I'm really not sure I want to do that. I know there are several people here in Charlotte that would take the trip with me and all that (and I'm sure it would be a blast), but damn.


I guess you could say I'm about seventy percent against making a decision to go back to SSUSA next year.


That doesn't mean I've completely ruled it out though. The trails look fun as shit and I do like driving long distances (by myself if need be.) I'm just not sure about going that far for what could be a minimal amount of riding. I might be better served taking a road trip somewhere else instead, like out West somewhere.



Registration is filling up fast, but that's not really a deciding factor. Judging from the last two years, I could still just show up and “race.” So, I guess I really don't have to make a decision right now. Nothing is holding me back (other than being unable to make decisions) so there's no reason for me to figure it out anytime soon.


Damn it. I wish someone would just tell me to go (or not to.)


Cue a text from Dicky in 3...2...1.

Almost Too Long

After being off the bike for almost two weeks (due to being a sissy in the cold weather), I finally got out for a good ride. Not wanting to do hot laps on our local trails, I needed to get out of town. I wasn't able to go too far away so I settled for the “little mountains” to our east in the Uwharrie National Forest. As a bonus, a long-time missing person from this blog joined me on the ride.

Yes folks, The Dirty Party Cycle has returned.

It's been a long time since we've ridden together, probably because I'm a shitty friend and don't get over to his side of the world too much. He hit me up about riding Uwharrie, and it just so happened that I wanted to go there anyway. He picked me up bright and early, and we proceeded to have one fine social ride with some punchy climbs and super fast downhill thrown in. While not as mountain-y as Pisgah, Uwharrie is a really fun place to ride if you know where to go.


There are some pretty good views if you take a minute to stop and look.

We used to ride there together quite a bit back in the day, so much that we were more local than the locals. I realized after this ride that we need to get back to that. I fell in love with Uwharrie when I first moved here, but I've neglected it quite a bit over the last two years. I won't say that it's better than anything in the “real” mountains, but it gets the job done. I can drive an hour, get in some good mileage with some good climbing, and be back home well before bed time on a school night. Plus, if you have some kind of mechanical issue out there, it's really not that big of a deal.

That was a field repair of the Dirty Party Cycle's uh, Dirty Party Cycle. The clip holding his front brake cable broke, and we were able to improvise and keep riding. Even if we weren't able to fix it, it would've been a short walk back to the parking lot for a real repair. I like that. The feeling of riding somewhere remote without actually being so remote. Rad.


Uwharrie was my first love here in NC, and I will continue to go there. I will definitely ride Pisgah more in the future too, but being able to drive a little under an hour to ride some pretty fun shit makes Uwharrie my go-to trail when I'm unable to get too far away.

I feel like I'm being pulled in two different directions by two different sets of mountains.



I guess it ain't so bad.

Too Cold

I’ll admit it. I’ve had a difficult time adjusting to the cold weather we’ve been having here. Although it’s been nearly seven years, I probably haven’t been out of Florida long enough. When it starts getting cold outside, I can’t stand it. It takes me a good solid month to get adjusted to cold weather, and that’s just the way it is. During that transition period, I have a hard time getting out of the house to go ride my bike.


Pathetic, I know.


At least there was a Star Wars marathon on TV over the long weekend.

Having a bunch of days without any kind of work responsibilities, I thought I would get in a ton of mileage. I have plenty of warm clothes to wear when I ride, but even getting out of the house is tough. Starting with Thanksgiving Day, I planned to get out on the bike. That never happened, but at least I got out to work on some trail.

I managed to meet up with TomTom to finish the last of our little trail. The photo above shows a big pile of dirt that we need to turn into a berm. While my hard-working pal took off to clear the trail to make it visible so we could ride it, I started shaping what will be a high-speed turn into a jump.

It’s gonna be pretty fun methinks.

Although I was unmotivated (and cold) at first, I managed to get a good part of that berm completed. I’m guessing it will only take one more work day to complete, and I can’t wait. Since darkness would soon be upon us though, TomTom and I decided to quit for the day and do a little scouting for the next phase of the trail. We found some pretty good terrain to use, including a nice-sized creek we need to somehow get across.

After that it was back to the house to wrestle the turkey from Lunchbox.

That was not an easy task.

Friday was even less of an active day. I went to work for a while, and once again I didn’t feel like riding. Instead, the little lady and I headed up to the hills to watch my friend Jonathan Birchfield play a little music.

And yes, that’s Shane Cooper (from DeFeet and CroMoly) playing bass as a special guest.


It was a rockin’ good time, but I missed my bike. I was tired of being cold too, so I had to do something about it. One thing I forgot to mention was that the heater in my truck had stopped working, adding to my misery. Saturday was the day that I finally had time (and the motivation) to do something about it.

All it took was a new thermostat and a good flush of the cooling system. Now I was warm again, and ready to ride. That left only one day (yesterday), and you can bet your ass that I got out on the bike.



Of course that’s what I’ll talk about tomorrow.