Maybe

I’ve been thinking about a lot of stuff lately.  Sure, you’ve heard me complain (multiple times even) that my job has been stressing me out.  I think I’ve been letting it get to me too much.  It’s gotten to the point that sometimes I don’t even want to get on my bike and ride.  Since bike riding (and a little guitar playing) is all that keeps me from getting stressed out, I’ve entered into some kind of vicious circle from which there is no escape.

Until now.

I realized that I don’t need this shit.  The feelers are out there for a different employer, but in the meantime I can’t let my situation keep me from doing the things that keep me sane.  I enjoy riding bicycles.  All kinds, too.  Off road, road, cruising, whatever, it seems like the thing I love the most is probably the thing I should do the most.  Makes sense, right?  I thought maybe that it was the racing that made me want to spend less time on the bike but I know now that I was wrong.  I actually kind of miss racing (yes, even cross country.)  It gave me goals, kept me ready for whatever event I felt like entering, and most importantly, it made me forget about everything else that goes on in real life.  Does that mean that I’m gonna start racing a lot more?

Maybe.  Possibly.  Depends on what’s out there I guess.  I think I’m already looking ahead to next “season”, and in the meantime I can use the rest of this year to start planning a little bit.  I may even spend a little more time on the road bike, as silly as that may sound.  The last few years have been tough, and I was quick to blame the one thing that was actually keeping me from going bat shit crazy.  I can’t do anything about the job thing right now, but everything else I can. 

So yeah, a few changes might be coming up.  I realize that I can be a little bit serious about this stuff and still have fun.  Everyone has setbacks, and those that succeed are the ones that are able to overcome them.  Does this mean that I might un-retire from cross country racing?  Probably.  That’s not the only thing, but it’s a start.  Also, I’ve been seriously looking at getting another dog.  While that may seem unrelated to riding my bike, it really isn’t.  Since I lost my Rottweiler a few years ago, I realized that I’ve been missing something.  I think it’s finally time to fill that void and make my life complete again.

Another thing that may not seem related (but it is) is my guitar adventures.  I’ve really enjoyed the progress I’ve made over the last year, and it’s amazing how much it parallels the bike stuff.  I’ve had to put in hours and hours to learn proper technique just to play a song or too, which is eerily similar to what you have to do to be a better rider.  It does keep me motivated, and I actually enjoy the hard work (as tedious as it is sometimes.)  I’ve also made a point to go out and watch other guitar players, which has helped me quite a bit.  The same thing applies to watching other people ride.

Weird, but it makes sense to me.

This is a long way to go to get to this, but over the weekend I went out to see another “cover band.”  Actually, two.  I’ve been doing that quite a bit lately, mostly for the need to see someone much more skilled than me (and also because I keep getting free tickets somehow.)  Saturday night after my adventure at Lake James State Park I went out to see “Slippery When Wet”, a Bon Jovi tribute band.  And before you say anything I already know I don’t like Bon Jovi.  I just wanted to see someone play music.

There was an opening act (as usual) which I enjoyed more than the main attraction.  Kick (the INXS Experience) took the stage first, and they were quite good.

I’ll admit it, I like INXS in high school.  Mostly because that’s what the girls listened to back then, which gave me an “in” I guess.  These guys were entertaining, which was a plus since I got in for free.  Don’t judge me.  Well, go ahead.  Who gives a shit.

Next up was the main event, and while they could play just fine I wasn’t really impressed.

I wanted to walked out since I really didn’t care for any of the songs they played, but I hung around just to watch the lead guitarist.  I got something out of it I suppose, but next time I may be a little choosier (is that even a word?) when it comes to these shows.  Just because I got a free ticket doesn’t mean I have to use it.

I know, I was all over the place today.  And that’s just how I feel.  I guess the point is that I’ll start worrying less about the things I can’t change, and focus on the things that make me happy.  Sounds easy, right?

I’m so glad that tomorrow is Fun Friday.

Almost The Hills

Back in town and done with my vacation, I was itching to ride some NC dirt.  With a free weekend in my sights, I opted to join a group ride to a trail I’d never been to before.  We were scheduled to visit Lake James State Park and I was pretty excited.  I’d heard about it from a few people that had been there, and going somewhere new intrigued me.  I got up early so I wouldn’t be late, made the hour and a half drive there, and waited.

I suck at selfies.  Or I am not impressed with them.  Or I have to poop.  Whatever.

I found out later that the group ride had been cancelled sometime during the night, but luckily I thought ahead so I wouldn’t be alone.  I texted the Dirty Party Cycle the night before and he was down.  He showed up a short while later, and with a map I printed off the website in hand we hit the trail.

If you’re local, the best way I can describe it is a cross between Lake Norman State Park and Warrior Creek.  It was fast, flowy, and not at all technical.  While I usually prefer the gnar shit, this was a nice change of pace.  We clocked in a little over fourteen miles of fun, fast, swoopy downhills with minimal climbing.  The DPC and I had a great time for sure.  Big shout out to the folks at the Northwest North Carolina Mountain Bike Alliance for one helluva job.  It’s nice to have a trail in the area out there.  And since it’s almost in the hills, the views can be quite nice in the park.

Hardly taxed from riding, we still needed beer and food.  In fact, the DPC was talking about where we’d go for brew during the first few miles of the ride.  What a good friend.  He suggested a local joint, Fonta Flora Brewery in nearby Morganton.

We walked in and felt immediately at home.

We bellied up to the bar and I ordered the hoppiest shit I could see, which was the Hop Beard Mountain Man IPA.  With such a manly sound, I was very hopeful.

Damn, that was good.  I enjoyed that for a bit but thirsted for more.  Next up was an IPA made with beets (yes, beets), which turned out to be pretty awesome.

Next up was a sample platter, or a “flight” for you fancy folks.

We’d ridden our bikes and had lots of good beer, so we figured we might ought to get some food.  Before I left I made sure to get something to go.

Hell yeah.

Next stop was a local Mexican place, which if you ride any sort of off road bicycle is mandatory.  I was hungry, and they obliged with a big plate of slop.

It was a good day.  Bikes, beer, and Mexican food.  I might have to say that the highlight of it all though was a local with a KISS tattoo on his arm.

Now I’ve seen it all.  Luckily I’d already eaten before I took that picture.  The Dirty Party Cycle was not so fortunate though.  He still had to finish his big ass drink.

It’s good to be back here in North Carolina.

Tour de DC

I go to Washington, D.C. a lot.  I’ve been going since I was little (before I can remember) and for some reason I’m still not tired of it.  I love history, and even though I really don’t care much for cities I still find myself wanting to be there all the time.  Every year Lunchbox and I go, and my last trip to VA was no exception.  Instead of driving in like the masses do, we try our best to user alternate transportation.  Our day started on the DC Metro which, if you know how to use it, is a great way to get around.

Don’t worry, Lunchbox.  We’ve done this before.

Our ride on the Metro took us to the National Zoo, and since neither of us had been there before (for some strange reason) we were pretty excited.  As far as zoos go, it was good.  We walked around for a couple of hours, had lunch, and planned the rest of our day.  

Our asses were already tired.

The plan from there was to ride bikes.  D.C. has an awesome bike share program, and luckily there was a rack right near the zoo.  We picked up two bikes, and took a ride down the Rock Creek Parkway.

It was nice not having to deal with city traffic.

We rode a little over two miles, then made our way over to Embassy Row.  Lunchbox had never been there, and there is no better way to see it than by bike.  We took lots of photos, but I’ll just share the one I took of the Japanese Embassy.

After that it was time to head back towards the city.  On the way in, Lunchbox stopped to take a photo of the Washington Monument.

So I took a photo of him taking a photo.

Once we got to the National Mall, we rode those bikes around and took pictures like tourists.

Then we got lucky enough to get a photo of Marine One making some practice runs.

Then of course, more sightseeing.

Man, we were tired.  A long day at the zoo and riding bikes around meant that we needed to eat.  Luckily, I found a nice place, Capitol City Brewing Company.

Finally, a good beer in the city.

The food was good too.  The only issue was with the utensils.  When Lunchbox grabbed his fork, he said, “I don’t know whether to eat my dinner or conquer it.”

 

That is a huge fork.

Since we had returned our bikes, we decided to walk for a bit.  We ended up in Chinatown, which is pretty ordinary aside from the entrance.

We walked around there for a bit, then found another bike station and pedaled around some more.

It was dark, but that didn’t stop us from heading up to the Capitol.  No one was working at that time of night, which isn’t really that much different from any other time.

But it did give us a chance to get all Enduro™ on the stairs.

It was starting to get really late, so we made our way back across the Mall towards the Metro station.  Lunchbox couldn’t resist riding in front of the Washington Monument though.

We were there all day and late into the night.  It was really fun, but it was time to get back to the hotel.  We said goodbye to our bikes for now…

We went back a few days later.  Maybe I’ll bore you with that tomorrow.

RVA

I had a pretty fun ride over the weekend.  But, since I had so much going on while I was away, I still want to get into the ride I took a week ago in Richmond, VA (RVA, get it?)

Lunchbox and I had a small window to get in a ride, and we took advantage of it.  We headed over to the James River, which has a pretty cool trail system.  We rode there last year and got a little lost, but this year we weren’t worried about that.

We rolled up to the most crowded parking lot I’ve ever seen.  We surmised that the good people of Richmond don’t work during the day and that’s why it was so crowded.  We got ready and rolled out, crossing the James River to get to the good stuff.  I really dug the views.

The bridge on the way over was a little crowded, and after navigating through a sea of people we made it to the other side.

Lunchbox was exited because we were going to his favorite part of that trail system…

They have an awesome skills park under an overpass, so we stuck around to play for a while. 

It was so rad.  My Garmin showed us riding almost two miles while we were there, which was impressive considering the place wasn’t that big.  Eventually we left, heading to the good stuff.  That place is different that the trail we normally ride.

It’s not all paved, but that little path along the river was pretty neat.

We came to some railroad tracks that we had to cross, and we had to climb up a tower (and many flights of stairs.)

It was much safer that way.

The next trail was probably the best one out there, Buttermilk.

Definitely my favorite, and if you’re in the area you should make a point to ride it.

It’s fast, flowy, rooty, and rocky.

And some of the climbs will kick your ass in the August heat.

Just like last year, we had a blast.  We finished Buttermilk and hit the final leg, North Bank (as in the north bank of the James River.)  The trail ran through a glorious field of kudzu.

And they had a few man-made features just to keep it interesting.

What a good ride.  Much better than last year in fact, since we didn’t get lost this time.  After our fun ride, we asked some locals where we could get some good food and beer.  A kind law enforcement officer sent us to Bottoms Up in downtown Richmond.

We had the biggest, fattest, most delicious pizza ever.

 Okay, maybe it doesn't look so good.  It was though.

It was so big that my kid couldn’t finish it, despite his best efforts.

Even though we’d been there before and mountain biking wasn’t the primary reason for our trip, I’m glad we found time to ride.  This is turning into an annual thing, and I can’t wait for next year.