Up for Air

Coming up for air for a quick post.

We had planned a trip to Davis WV for the weekend of the Revenge of the Rattlesnake. This is historically a XXC (ultra cross country) race and the collective had forgotten how hard the riding is there and decided to give it a go. Fives days before we leave the NWS predicts heavy rain due to hurricane Florence. Predictions were for four inches on race day with the rain starting as early as Friday. We scratched the trip. One, turns out the race is no longer a XXC, just a regular old XC and is now the series final/championship race. Two, who wants to camp for three days in the pouring rain.

The bright side was that it freed me up to "race" the Team Athens Tour of Athens Gravel Edition. (Sidebar, they solicited names but apparently didn't like my suggestion of "The Crusher Run"). This is the first year for what they plan to be an annual event. Low attendance this time though due to short notice, conflicts with other nearby and far away races, and cost of entry. Two distances were offered, 30 and 50 miles, with lots of unpaved roads and lots of climbing.



I jumped on the 50 miler, put my new Maxxis Pace 29x2.1 tires on my Redline d440 and headed to the Eclipse Co Store for the start. Low attendance meant that they were dropping the aid station, plus it was hot, in the mid-upper 80's and humid. No rain from Florence yet (more on that in a bit) but the humidity had made it in. I had two bottles, some food/gel/snacks and felt good.

On the first big climb after hitting the unpavement (and the first of the Strava segments of the day) the first group of four riders just disappeared in front of me. I rode to the 30/50 mile split with a fairly fast couple of guys until they turned left. Solo is no big deal for me and being self supported is nothing either. But my initial plan had been to refill bottles at the aid station. Instead, I rationed my water intake to make what I had last the entire 50 miles.

The d440 is a super comfortable and stable bike for riding back roads. Deep/graded stone and washboards are no big deal. But it comes at a price of being 10 pounds heavier than everyone else. After turning near Amesville and hitting another big climb, I started cramping in my hamstring and lost the air out of my front fork. I had to ease up to keep the muscle working and keep the bike going as the front had bottomed out and as a result also got passed dropping me to 6th place. I limped back to the finish, drank a thermos of chocolate milk, a pint of water with a nuun tablet and ordered my complementary burger from Eclipse.

It was a fun event with potential. Be sure to watch for it next year.

About that rain. Florence was delayed and the rain held off in Davis until after we would have already been back home. We moved this trip to the following weekend. Drove down Friday morning with a packed van after breakfast at Casa and picking up donuts in Buckhannon. I took my Redline Monocog Flight on this trip. With the new fork (see Squishy-geometry) and a drop of gearing to 32-20 from 34 the bike seemed as dialed as a classic XC can be for riding in that type of terrain. We got a nice ride in on Friday afternoon in the old CVI area before Shelly and the boys got to town to have a burger at Tip Top in Thomas. Fed and tired we headed back to camp to watch lightning on the horizon.

It poured overnight.

We all stayed dry, E in the tent with the rest of us in my truck. The trails however did not. Most of the riding on Saturday felt like we were in a creek. It was still fantastic riding, albeit a bit sketchy.

After getting back to camp and cleaning up to go to Hellbender's for burritos and Blackwater Bikes for drooling I called it a day while a few others went back out for a another loop of trails. Shelly, B and I got some coffee and went to the Davis rock climbing park for a while. Really sweet little park with some various levels of difficulty walls. Brock climbed all over them. Even Shelly and I took a turn.

Meeting up back at camp and a check of the weather indicated that we would be in rain from about 2am Sunday morning until about Friday. The group decided to pull the plug and head home early. Stopped at Tip Top on the way out of town one last time and drove on.

Rushed trip. Didn't get all the riding I wanted. Brock and Shelly didn't get all the hiking they wanted. Brock didn't get to roast marshmallows. Still, it was good. Better than sitting in the office.

#gettuckered

2016 review

I've heard it called a train-wreck. I've heard it called great. Or it could well be it was just another year, like the ones before it. Time doesn't change since the heart of man hasn't changed. And just like the past year(s), many plans were unfulfilled, changed, and corrected while a few were realized. So here is my quick review of the previous year, specifically relating to the subject of this blog.

Stats: nearly 2000 miles, 146 hours, 102k feet of climbing. Not the biggest year, but certainly not the smallest. Though, it does not include the many trips from the office to the Farmacy or Fluff for lunch. And that adds up. It is about 6 miles round trip, slightly more to Fluff. I had been doing that 2-3 times a week when the weather was better. Not that riding to get a slice of pie is training, but it is riding none the less.

Highlights: Another Wolfman Award, first cyclocross race, some new roads, annual trip to Davis, WV. That's about it. No big multi-day rides. No centuries. No records. No new bikes. No new tattoos. No injuries. I didn't even race the two local races (road and mountain at Lake Hope) instead, volunteered at each event. But I would hardly call it a train wreck. Just another year of enjoying riding a bike. Another year of enjoying old friends and making a few new ones. Some cool photos were taken along the way. Some good food and great coffee were consumed.

With that, here is a selection of some of my favorite photos from the year, in no particular order, either because of the photo itself (color, lighting, composition) or because of what the photo captured. Some have appeared on the blog in the past year, some have not.

Gentleness

Ah, election season. And like allergy season, it seems to be longer and more painful year by year. Without getting in to political opinions, uninformed thoughts, and the like, I will say that I have found the entire thing discouraging. So instead of adding to the noise, I will leave it with this one thought:

Paul's letter to the Philippians, Chapter 4, verse 5 (NASB):
Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.

With that out of the way, let's move on to more important things: bikes. And to do that, I have to go back, way back, to the summer. So with little narration (warning this will be a picture heavy post)...

RAAM - Race Across America come through Athens each summer, and the riders pass directly in front of my office.

Early morning summer trail ride before work. Mostly I just clear all the spider webs for the rest of the day.

It's Albert Castiglia!

I discovered this small pup, abandoned in a ditch in the middle of nowhere while riding. We came back for him, cleaned him up and found him a home. The kids creatively named him Mr. Puppy Cow. I fail to understand how someone can abandon a helpless pup (vet thought he was about 6 weeks old) with all knowledge that without intervention it would die. Thankfully there were many people willing to take him in.

Eight weeks later, Mr. Puppy Cow is happy, healthy, and growing like crazy!

First day of first grade.

It finally worked out to get a ride with Mr Weswingery on Labor Day. Great weather, great views, windy roads. 

Mountain bike trip to Davis WV.

The view from Beardon Rocks

Burger night at Tip Top!

Morning coffee view from camp along the Blackwater River.

Ah, he is like a little angle.

So this. I forgot my cycling shoes in Athens. Thankfully Blackwater Bikes had a pair of flat pedals. 

Someone left me a message on my truck.

The Hocking River Rumble. My first CX race. Finished 2nd in Masters 35. And, while there were only 2 of us in the class, I did finish ahead of many from the 45 class and only a few seconds behind 1st place. Also, a drop bar 29er SS may not be the best CX racing bike. Fun none the less.

With that, fall is setting in. Soccer season is winding down. Hope you can get outside and enjoy!

Rushed

We are a busy people. While we work with international vendors and customers at work, we have to be aware of their summer shutdowns/holiday. The culture is different in Europe where you are almost chastised for not going on vacation, rather than the good ole USA where the opposite could easily be said. Work, youth athletics, family responsibilities, homeowner responsibilities, church expectations, it all piles up. Even when we manage to get away from it, all we often do is force a rush before/during/after.

Anyway, so a friend was planning a two month dual sport ride across the US, up to Canada, and back. I managed to get get two days to escort him out of Ohio. We rode mostly pavement, but avoided as much highway as we could from Athens to Davis WV. We then rode Cannan Loop Road (a 4WD trail around Blakwater State Park) before getting burritos at Hellbenders. As we usually do, we camped along the Blackwater in the CVI area. The next morning we had breakfast at Tip-Top in Thomas before he headed south and I turned home. Wish I had more time. 500 miles on a KTM LC4 Enduro with knobby tires in less than 36 hours wore me out.

I had to come back as I committed to work the Nelsonville Music Festival to help park bikes. Even though by volunteering I was given a weekend pass, I spent very little time at the festival, mostly just worked my 12 hours and headed for home. I would have liked to do more, but family responsibilities...

A pair of KTM LC4's (Ryan on the Adventure, me on the Enduro)

Leaving Ohio (I'll be right back, not so for Ryan).

Best donuts in WV can be found in Buchanan

Wind turbine installation in Tucker Co WV.

The saddest of signs (yellow sign says they are closed for the day).

Over look somewhere along Canaan Loop Road.

Hellbenders!

Since Tip-Top was closed, had to make camp coffee. Luckily for Ryan, I am always prepared to make a french press pot of good coffee.

Sunrise over the Blackwater.

That's better, they are open the following day. I could easily just sit right there and drink coffee for a long while.

Bye Ryan, see you in two months!

Detour to Audra State Park on my ride home.

Grabbing a milkshake for lunch at the Coke and Float.

Hey, Donkey was at the music fest! Two of my favorites, coffee and bikes.

Speaking of bikes, a quick single track ride around Stroud's Run and Sell's Park before work today.