Pisgah.

Now that my bike rides are a little less frequent, I really need to make each one count. I checked off a box on that grand list of 'rides you should do' by joining Barry and his brother in Pisgah National Forest on Saturday. The plan, dating back a few weeks, was for me to roll up Saturday morning and hit Avery Creek, Cove Creek, and Daniel Ridge with said Brothers Stevenson. Well, when Barry goes to Pisgah, his usually technophobic self goes into full caveman mode so altering or even refining plans was dicey. All that is said with a smile, as he did try to call me during a 'trip into town' on Friday night.

Fast-forward to Saturday and after oversleeping by about an hour (we have a six week old, remember?) I got moving. Barry's ever-kind wife Lisa intercepted my Facebook message to him about my travel plans, and swiftly forwarded directions to his planned campsite. Note to Barry: this is possible with a cell phone manufactured at some point after the Bronze Age.

Sweeping into Pisgah just this side of Brevard, I missed Barry and Co. by exactly the amount of time I'd overslept. That wasn't confirmed until I spoke to Barry later (see below), but I did make a thorough search of the area by wandering through several folks' campsites looking for my crew. Luckily, most campers were dressed and getting on with their morning coffee. I decided to head out on my own and get some miles in. My fears about being completely remote (in case of a crash) were unfounded, as several hikers and other riders were out and about. Nonetheless, I started slowly.

...and really there is no other way, if you decide to tackle Daniel Ridge in the clockwise direction. The smooth gravel track slowly disintegrated into a boulder/root section that goes uphill by what might be a tributary of the Davidson River (?). Within 100 ft of making the hard right uphill turn at the collapsed stone bridge, I had the distinct feeling that I was riding in a direction opposite of the original builder's intent. Upon later reflection, I think I was just being a wuss. I passed several other riders who were clearly having a blast bombing the downhill. I was having a slightly different kind of fun in my little world of hike-a-bike, but I did manage to ride several sections before reaching the top. Here, I faced a decision: go left to Farlow Gap or keep right and finish Daniel Ridge. I heard Barry's voice in the back of my head, and something in there reminded me that Farlow Gap is super technical. Being alone and not really excited about the prospect of splinting a smashed collar bone with melted gummy bears and a wheel spoke if something went south helped me make my decision...

So Daniel Ridge it was. Once along the ridgetop, all the misery of getting up there faded away and I was revived. Shouting "yo bear!" around blind corners and through mountain laurel tunnels, I dropped 500 feet or so in no time. There is such a mix of environments on this little loop: a rocky ridge, lush hardwoods, small open fields and soupy low spots with log bridges...I never knew what might be around the next corner, which was frightening and wonderful. I finished the first loop in just about an hour, so I rolled up Government Rd. (475) for a bit then decided I had time to redo Daniel Ridge in the opposite direction.

Scorching down 475 to the parking lot, I retraced my steps and made my way up Daniel Ridge in a counter-clockwise direction. I hit it a little harder this time, thinking it'd be nice to actually feel a little sore later. I got my wish on the downhill back to the parking lot as a rock the size of a softball, kicked up by my sliding tires, careened off my left shin. It was one of those moments where at first it wasn't so bad, then rapidly got worse to the point of thinking "did I just do some serious damage?" Thankfully no, and it's really not a mtn bike ride without a wound of some kind, right? Still hurts, for the record.

Once at the parking lot again, I was just about to pack up when I saw a familiar sight: the blacked-out CLM kit coming up the road. Barry was with his brother Brad and friend Billy. I had a pretty tight schedule at this point, but we decided to hit the Ridge one more time, and on the double. Funny how much faster you go when riding with someone else, and how much more intent I was on clearing sections that I would've walked earlier in the day...

Beer and gummy bears consumed, I made tracks for home. Pisgah really is special; just driving past the old CCC stone structures gives you a sense of the importance of this place. I felt a bit small piloting my mtn bike across a corner of Pisgah's domain, and that's the way it should be.

Born.

A new dimension has opened in my life. Fischer Keaton Grant was born on Sunday night. He's a vigorous, blue-eyed baby ready to take on the world. Even through the fog of days and nights that blend into one soupy permanent mid-morning at midnight, I can feel the life change taking over. It's going to be some time before I fully know the reaches of Fischer. He's already opening doors that I never knew were there, much less that they needed a 7lb 3oz key.

I am slowly and rapidly unlocking, all at once.

A race of a different kind.

So, with inspiration from the Tour of the Battenkill, our love of off-kilter events, and the desire to put on a race with a twist...

The 2011 Autodrop Invitational

I know you probably have questions, so hit the link and read up.  We'd love to see you in NC in October.

Adventure.

Just a quick post to say that adventure is soon to arrive. 

Baby Grant #1 should be here in just a few weeks, and if that weren't exciting enough...

The Battenkill Bros. (aka Barry and I) are putting together a very unique race involving bicycles, maps, rally points, and bonus points.  Try to keep late Sept or early Oct open on your calendars. 

Heads up people, life is coming at us.

Pilot Mountain Time Trial. Ouch.

http://www.cityloopmafia.com/2011/06/nospeed-pilot-mtn-time-trial-report.html

Roots, Rock, & Roulette.

So, it's been nearly a month since the last update.  Here's a two-for.  On Monday, Barry, Mitch and I hit up Pisgah for some seriously aggro riding.  I don't think I've been so close to death on such frequent occasions since my last Dixie crit.  Kidding.  After the 13 mile climb to Pinnacle, we bombed down sections of boulders, roots, slim-rhododendron-lined singletrack and some wicked switchbacks.  Good times.  Here are a few more shots.

Once back to Winston, it was rush-rush to get some work stuff done before hopping a plane to the annual American Academy of Physician Assistants national conference. This year, the venue is Sin City.  So far, the only trouble I've gotten into is a frosty beverage by the pool at the Hilton.

I'll get back to town on Saturday just in time for dinner.  Here's to hoping the jet stream provides a helpful tailwind back to NC. 

Next ride is probably the MNRR, put on weekly by the City Loop Mafia, but as for racing...nothing on the books at the moment.  Hmmm...

Mule Hell - Roubaix.

Mule Hell - Roubaix is a 48-ish mile Gran Fondo-style ride to benefit the Family Resource Center, a shelter for abused women and children.  The route begins and ends in Wytheville, VA, following a few ridgelines, a few creeks, and a few choice gravel / dirt roads.  There were also a few choice words uttered when tires began to blow on the first gravel section, but since this is a family site, we'll get on to the ride report...

Weather was purrrfect.  Upper 50's to mid-60's and not a cloud in the sky.  With 40-50 of us lining up, it was sure to be an interesting ride.  I noticed quite a few SWVAC kits around.  These guys, the Southwest Virginia Cyclists, put on this ride and at least three others as fundraisers.  The others have cool names like Big Walker Century and Bikes and Barbeque.  Sounds like some stuff worth getting out of bed for.  Anyway, I was greeted by Lee, the event organizer.  He seemed to think that since I was fresh back from the Battenkill, I'd be in fine shape for his ride.  I decided not to tell him I've been pretty lazy since early April...

The ride started and immediately, I mean IMMEDIATELY this one guy in a Subaru kit (not the cycling team kit, as far as I could tell) slides off the front.  He was nearly out of sight after a few miles of straight, rolling highway riding, but slowly and surely he started getting larger in our view.  Not sure what his plan was, but the breakaway lasted about 8 miles and by mile 10 he was off the back.  Fun times.

I took my first pull (see the pic above) just as we passed Photographer Jill.  I tried to hold a good pace up and over a few rollers, and did thin the field just a bit.  The first gravel section came up around mile 20, and as soon as we hit it two guys blew out, then another just before we got back to the pavement.  I ended up on the front with Lee at the end of the gravel climb, which was nice as I wasn't sure exactly how hard this ride might be.

Now down to a group of about 16, we rolled up and over several more hills, cruised (pretty quickly) along nice creekside country roads, and approached gravel section #2.  This sections wasn't as hard, and the group pretty much stayed together.  A semi-truce was called until the last dirt section, at which point I found myself on the front.

I tapped into a little left-over Battenkill frustration and picked up the pace on this section just a bit.  Most of the SWVAC guys had no problems hanging on but the Hokie you see here was a casualty. 

On to the last set of steep climbs, both of which required a granny gear and nearly some paper-boy action.  We crested more or less together as a group of 5-6 and made turns for home.  It was with about 1 mile to go that I realized we were closing in on the finish, and with the spirit of camraderie and fun that had been such a part of our group, sprinting for the win was really more for kicks than any result. Plus, the only prizes were door prizes, so it made the end that much less stressful for all.  I followed wheels and rolled in 3rd, happy to line up for BBQ and some slaw.

Big kudos to the SWVAC folks and Lee for putting on a cool event.  I really think this ride should be bigger and draw a huge crowd.  The route is perfect for a fondo-style ride but could get hard to manage with categorized racing.  Nevertheless, mark your calendars for next year's event and join me there.

http://www.swvac.com/