Some pics from '08

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have allot to be thankful for! Don't let today go by without thinking about that.
Went to the Thanksgiving ride from Contes this morning. 32 deg. at 7:30. I would estimate 50 people showed. Did I mention it was cold? This was a nice casual ride to Creeds and back for 51 miles. Lots of fun, man was it cold!
Had just enough time to rush home, shower, then head to Williamsburg by 1:00. The food was good, and I got to see some family at my parents. Hope you had as good a day as me.

Link to Pics...

http://www.sportimages23.printroom.com/ghome.asp?domain_name=sportimages23&group_id=3

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.