Challenge pics...

Good turn out!

Me going past the finish.

Do I look stoned?
Carlos and Anya, they always smile great for the camera.
I have a cute pic of Rick and Carol, but I was forbid to post it here. Thanks Sheri for taking the pictures. Thanks Anya for taking the picture of us.

08 Tidewater Moutain Bike Challenge

Thanks Steve and the many volunteers for all the hard work. The trail was in great shape today despite yesterdays rain. The dirt was moist and tacky. Some of this moistness did get transferred to the roots and bridges, but it wasn't too treacherous. Thanks to the people that have pushed me to ride harder and get better, especially Rick, Greg, and Carlos. Biggest thanks to Sheri for putting up with my obsessive behavior. The coolest chick I know.
Departing the house at 9:30 would be plenty of time to make the hour drive, register, and warm up before the noon race. Interstate 64 had other plans. 75 mph (oops... I mean the legal limit of 65) then BLAM! Everyone stop! 3 fire engines, 3 ambulances, and many police cars come wailing bye. We sit for 30 minutes. Could have been much worse, we could have been in the crunched up cars. Luckily all the races were delayed a hour for clean up this morning. Plenty of time.
My race went well. Starting on the front row was a great opportunity to beat the pack to the single track. I got a good start and entered the woods in 4th or 5th. Passed one guy about a half lap in. I knew there was some strong riders behind me, and they were coming. The climbs are my weakest point. 2 guys pass me on a long climb on the back of the course, but I thought I could have re passed them on the down hill! Descending is not my weakest point. 2 more get past me on lap 3 as my back starts hurting. I work through my back issues and maintain 8th until the finish. I am happy with that.

Sherando part 3

Back at the truck, it was still early. What a beautiful day! Carlos graciously offers to shuttle us down the parkway. There is a small picinic/camping spot that has a short trail to the downhill. Could we find it? At the point that I think for sure we missed it, we spot the spot. Its not long before this singletrack runs us into a intersection about halfway down the long down hill trail we were on before. (Does anybody know the names of these trails?) This puts us right back on my favorite part. We whoop it up the rest of the way down. This the first "shuttle run" I have ever done. Still like the climbing part of mountain biking.

Carlos makes it back (with out getting a ticket) to the campground in my truck. We load up the bikes and head out. A very good day. Only 1 flat(Carlos), no falls, only one hornet attack(Dave), a little hiking, lots of rocks. All we needed was good food to finish off the day right!

Deciding to find a Cracker Barrel, we start the 4+ hour drive back. Unfortunately we drove 3 hours until we got to the one in Newport News. I was starving, and we were almost to the exit when my crew started a mutiny! What? Wendys? After some threatening I got them back on track, they thanked me for it later. The roast beast was good.

See you at the Tidewater Mountain Bike Challenge!

Sherando part 2

With the crew regrouped we start our descent. The first few miles are not that steep, with a few rock gardens sprinkled in. I find it hard to keep my momentum where the trail is not steep enough to overcome the rocks, something I need to work on. We eventually reach some mandatory walking sections. These were REAL steep, but the rocks were REAL big. The lower half was as fast as you dare to go. First, the trail was all rock of all different sizes. Wider than single track, several lines were available. Ride over the bigger rocks jutting out like launching pads, or go around. Only 1 tree down that I remember. Stopping to duck under, we hear voices. Must have been 100 kids, maybe 10-14 years old, walking up the trail we were just blasting down! Good thing we had to stop for the tree!
After the procession of brats passes, we proceed with letting gravity have her way. The next part was real singletrack with only 1 line. More dirt than rocks, with a few stream crossings for good measure. This might have been my favorite part, good flowing, around trees, a little up, alot of down. The trail dumped us out at the lake, good spot to again regroup. The road out of the campground had a good climb, and we eventually made it back to the truck. The trip is not over, you'll have to wait for part three.

Sherando Oct. 2 part 1

Somehow we managed to get 5 guys off work on a Thursday! With 2 bikes inside the Suburban, and 3 bikes outside, we left Bikebeat about 7:30am. The crew was: Jet lag Dave, Tucked in Rick, Exhibitionist Steve, Scofflaw Carlos, and me, The Driver.

The air still had a biting chill as we go through our pre-ride rituals in the Sherando Lake campground parking lot. A short road ride to Coal Road warms us up and we head for the switchbacks. The first few miles is extremely rocky, but not to steep. Now we are really warmed up as we reach the switchbacks. The skinny singletrack carved on the side of this mountain pitches up more and more. It makes you want to keep pushing the shifter, looking for a lower gear. Your chin stays on the handlebar to keep you from toppling backward. The bike wants to wander back and forth, reacting to the rocks. If you stop, just start pushing. The only hope to get going again is to hang on to a tree, squeezing the brakes, get clipped in, try to push off. Good luck. This goes on maybe only a mile, but takes awhile because of the speed (pushing is slow). The last 100 yards is soooo steep and rocky, I could hardly walk it.

We regroup at the top, and start the descent. The first part has some hike-a-bike, but after that its all good! "Let it flow, let yourself go, slow and low, that is the tempo!" What song is that quote from? Stay tuned for part 2.

Last Sunday Greg and I head to Roberts house for a group MTB ride to Wharani Park. 30 or so people show and get ready to roll.

Some country roads and even some gravel roads lead us to a back way into the park. It was fun to ride with this many Mountain bikes again, but the fun didn't really start until later...

Now I haven't done a lot of off road this summer, but Greg has done less. His confidence is low, but Wharani is not that technical. It is alot of fun, and has some good climbs. It had been rainy off and on for the previous week, and the humidity was thick this morning. It turns out this kept the trail from drying out. The dirt was tacky, but the roots were slick. On the east coast this is nothing new, but wet bridges, this is something you never get used too. This trail has its share of bridges across ravines and ditches. Some have been in place for many years, allowing a film of slickness to build. The group encounters just such a challenge early into the trail. Slowing to navigate the 2 foot wide slimy obstacle, I hear a thump, and calls behind me of "Man down!" Greg slid out on the bridge. He pops rite back up and continues on. He recovers well, and I thought rode well. He just didn't feel smooth, and had to work hard because of it.

We did a couple laps and headed back just as the rains came. Robert invites us for some hot dogs but we decide to start heading south. Ihop hits the spot with some pancakes, eggs, and sausage.

Thanks to Robert Maye for the hospitality. Thanks to JRVS/Casey Auto Group for the email invite. Thanks to Homie Greg for driving. It was fun.