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Between Sophie's ballet recital and Mother's day, I figured there'd be no outdoor shenanigans this weekend. But, in an act of unprovoked generosity, my wife graciously permitted a ride today, as long as I could be back by 2. It's been raining alllllll week, every day, twice a day. I did not want to ride dirt, as it would not, in fact, be dirt. Hiking anywhere interesting would take longer than I had, and again, the mud. My fallback in such situations is the road bike. And given that it's been raining alllllll week, every day, twice a day, I haven't touched it all week.
At 8:45 I rode out the front door, made a quick stop at Atlanta Bread and met Old School Trans-Georgia Players Travis and Russell at Reality Bikes. We were on our way, directly.
On the last Rose Pedal attempt, I got stranded and Kathryn had to effect a rescue. Today, I was taking no chances and brought a map, cue sheet, cell phone and credit card.
There are mean hills and a haul over Sawnee Mountian before you actually get to the loop, but the Rose Pedal itself is pure luxury. Quiet roads, rolling hills, ahhh. There are enough climbs to be interesting, but no murder.
I did see more turtles today than on all prior road rides combined. More even that I'd usually see in the woods in one season. Crossing Hwy 20, there was even a dead Alligator Snapping Turtle. I moved a small box turtle out of the middle of the road when the other guys stopped to pee. He was pissed, but his turtle brain did not comprehend the danger.
The official start of the loop is a school way out in Cherokee County, but the way we were going, it was the 2/3rds point. We must have passed a dozen riders going the other way as we got close to the school. I guess it's a popular route.
Anyway, we made it back around 12:45 and I made it home before 1. We all felt good and it was a really good ride. It was also nice to finish without needing a rescue. Yay, Rose Pedal.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Sawnee Mountain
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It's been raining ALL week, twice a day at least. No commuting, no group ride, no good. I've been itching to do something so after work, me and the girlies went up to Sawnee Mountain. Usually we hike up to the top to see "the whole world" but this time I had something different in mind.
I grabbed one of the complimentary maps, showed the girls where we were, told them which 2 trails I wanted to hike on and let them figure out the route. They debated for a few minutes and then figured it out. Iz was the leader for the first leg.
The Eaglet Trail sign is gigantic, but she was looking at the map and still managed to walk right past it :) I turned her around though, and from then on she figured out which way to go.
Eaglet Trail.
Indian Seats Trail.
At the Yucca Trail Sophie got the map and became the leader.
We found a cool hollow tree stump on the side of the trail.
The north mine shaft. "I'll bet there's trolls in there."
At the end of the Yucca Trail, it took them a few minutes to figure out which way to go, but they got it and Sophie got us to the Laurel Trail. From there I did the navigating.
The south mine shaft.
"I think I see a soda can. No, it can't be because trolls don't drink soda." I explained that trolls aren't real, but I don't think Sophie was buying it.
After that the kids played on the playground for a while. We headed to a local Asian restaurant, but on the way we saw a new restaurant that had just opened so we looped back to eat there instead. While looping, Sophie noticed an old abandoned Jeep in the middle of a field of kudzu.
Pretty cool.
It's been raining ALL week, twice a day at least. No commuting, no group ride, no good. I've been itching to do something so after work, me and the girlies went up to Sawnee Mountain. Usually we hike up to the top to see "the whole world" but this time I had something different in mind.
I grabbed one of the complimentary maps, showed the girls where we were, told them which 2 trails I wanted to hike on and let them figure out the route. They debated for a few minutes and then figured it out. Iz was the leader for the first leg.
The Eaglet Trail sign is gigantic, but she was looking at the map and still managed to walk right past it :) I turned her around though, and from then on she figured out which way to go.
Eaglet Trail.
Indian Seats Trail.
At the Yucca Trail Sophie got the map and became the leader.
We found a cool hollow tree stump on the side of the trail.
The north mine shaft. "I'll bet there's trolls in there."
At the end of the Yucca Trail, it took them a few minutes to figure out which way to go, but they got it and Sophie got us to the Laurel Trail. From there I did the navigating.
The south mine shaft.
"I think I see a soda can. No, it can't be because trolls don't drink soda." I explained that trolls aren't real, but I don't think Sophie was buying it.
After that the kids played on the playground for a while. We headed to a local Asian restaurant, but on the way we saw a new restaurant that had just opened so we looped back to eat there instead. While looping, Sophie noticed an old abandoned Jeep in the middle of a field of kudzu.
Pretty cool.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Oak Mountain
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My buddy Brooke was in Birmingham this weekend. Oak Mountain in particular. Me, my brother and Brooke all lived in Louisiana 10 years ago and rode together a lot. Since then, we've all moved a bunch of times, but we kept in touch and she's got family in this part of the world, so we've ended up riding together more often than you'd think. Case in point: this weekend.
Sidebar...
My bro used to seriously love Dr. Pepper. In fact, his young son called it "Da-da dink" ie. "my father's drink". He discovered one day that Alabama Dr. Pepper is bottled by Coke and Georgia Dr. Pepper is bottled by Pepsi. Different bottlers means different water and a subtly smoother taste. If you like Dr. Pepper, there's nothing like an Alabama Dr. Pepper. When I'm in Alabama, I drink Dr. Pepper.
Would Alabama Cherry Dr. Pepper be equally smooth?
Yes.
Brooke brought quite an entourage of friends and team mates. We rode together for a few miles, but then everyone split up and rode their own pace. I came to hang out with Brooke though, so I stuck with her. After the 6 hour, I was worried about even being able to ride, but apparently I was pretty well recovered. I couldn't punch it, but other than that I felt good.
Oak Mountain is fantastic. I forget how good it is, then I go and it all comes flooding back. The trail deserves photos but I'll have to take some when I'm riding solo one day.
We ran into Ursula Sandefur most of the way around and rode with her for the rest of the lap. She was on a fully rigid single speed 29'er. Brooke was on a carbon fiber long travel full suspension rig. Man I'm behind the times.
Merciless Sandefur.
Brooke Henderson, chowing down and flexing or something.
We rolled out for lap 2 with Ursula, but she took off when we got to the fire road. We hung back because we were planning on doing a third lap. It seems like a simple thing, but the "Oak Mountain 3" is elusive. The distance is not the issue, just bad, bad luck. Multiple flats, broken derailleurs, injury, freezing rain, blah, blah, blah. I've tried it like 15 times but only succeeded 5. Today was not looking good. I forgot to eat after the first lap, and forgot to bring food with me. Also my shorts were apparently made of sandpaper, at least the part under my sit-bones. But there would be food back at the truck, and I could live with the sandpaper. We were still on track.
And then, as we crossed the top of the mountain, as far as we could possibly be from the truck, tornado sirens went off. Yeah. Tornados. That's a new one. We slammed it back to the truck and went to Jim and Nick's for food. And not a minute too soon.
Cats and dogs.
According to the radio, a tornado touched down on Oak Mountain Lake, just north of where we were riding. Woohoo! The forecast had called for some thunderstorms later in the day. They weren't kidding.
My buddy Brooke was in Birmingham this weekend. Oak Mountain in particular. Me, my brother and Brooke all lived in Louisiana 10 years ago and rode together a lot. Since then, we've all moved a bunch of times, but we kept in touch and she's got family in this part of the world, so we've ended up riding together more often than you'd think. Case in point: this weekend.
Sidebar...
My bro used to seriously love Dr. Pepper. In fact, his young son called it "Da-da dink" ie. "my father's drink". He discovered one day that Alabama Dr. Pepper is bottled by Coke and Georgia Dr. Pepper is bottled by Pepsi. Different bottlers means different water and a subtly smoother taste. If you like Dr. Pepper, there's nothing like an Alabama Dr. Pepper. When I'm in Alabama, I drink Dr. Pepper.
Would Alabama Cherry Dr. Pepper be equally smooth?
Yes.
Brooke brought quite an entourage of friends and team mates. We rode together for a few miles, but then everyone split up and rode their own pace. I came to hang out with Brooke though, so I stuck with her. After the 6 hour, I was worried about even being able to ride, but apparently I was pretty well recovered. I couldn't punch it, but other than that I felt good.
Oak Mountain is fantastic. I forget how good it is, then I go and it all comes flooding back. The trail deserves photos but I'll have to take some when I'm riding solo one day.
We ran into Ursula Sandefur most of the way around and rode with her for the rest of the lap. She was on a fully rigid single speed 29'er. Brooke was on a carbon fiber long travel full suspension rig. Man I'm behind the times.
Merciless Sandefur.
Brooke Henderson, chowing down and flexing or something.
We rolled out for lap 2 with Ursula, but she took off when we got to the fire road. We hung back because we were planning on doing a third lap. It seems like a simple thing, but the "Oak Mountain 3" is elusive. The distance is not the issue, just bad, bad luck. Multiple flats, broken derailleurs, injury, freezing rain, blah, blah, blah. I've tried it like 15 times but only succeeded 5. Today was not looking good. I forgot to eat after the first lap, and forgot to bring food with me. Also my shorts were apparently made of sandpaper, at least the part under my sit-bones. But there would be food back at the truck, and I could live with the sandpaper. We were still on track.
And then, as we crossed the top of the mountain, as far as we could possibly be from the truck, tornado sirens went off. Yeah. Tornados. That's a new one. We slammed it back to the truck and went to Jim and Nick's for food. And not a minute too soon.
Cats and dogs.
According to the radio, a tornado touched down on Oak Mountain Lake, just north of where we were riding. Woohoo! The forecast had called for some thunderstorms later in the day. They weren't kidding.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Yargo 6 Hour
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The Dirty Spokes Fort Yargo 6 Hour ruled.
I wanted to camp out last night but ended up doing family stuff until 8:30. Yargo closes at 10:00. With my luck I'd get there at 10:05 and have to drive back home or get a hotel, if there even are hotels in Winder.
No matter. I had work to do anyway. My outside disc brake pad has been dragging. I've no idea why, and I've tried everything. So, I just broke down and filed down the fork mount. No more drag. Hah!
I'd packed up the night before, but at the crack of dawn, the forecast called for rain. My kids would need shelter. I grabbed the pop-up tent and requisite chairs. The kids also needed their camelbacks in case there was no water handy. I usually travel extra light, but not today.
We mowed through breakfast directly. The Waffle House in Cumming is seriously good.
Yargo.
Friends.
I ran into other friends too, but either failed to take a pic, or took a blurry pic.
Mes filles.
The frere came out to provide support and watch my kids. Note the E's bike and gear. Those are custom shoes, dyed to match the custom brake lines. That's pro.
Since Ed brought a tent, I didn't need mine, but since I'd already pulled it out of my truck, I loaned it to the guys next door.
1, 2, 3 go.
Lap 1:
I felt like crap for about 10 minutes. Then I guess I warmed up and started feeling really, really good. Norma and one of her teammates were right in front of me. I'd be lucky to finish with her, so I figured I'd just sit right there. I passed Baldwin walking back with something broken. "Bad luck" I thought, then immediately my right foot started feeling weird.
"My eggbeaters are falling apart."
"No. I don't have eggbeaters any more."
"My cleat is loose!"
In fact, so loose that the bolts wouldn't have lasted the lap. I spent a couple of minutes fixing it and a thousand riders passed me, but it was probably the best decision I made all day. Millhouse was right there so I got on his wheel.
Lap 2:
I still felt really, really good. Me and J rotated back and forth. I ended up riding right through some marking ribbon though and getting it wound around my cassette like 3 times. Genius.
Lap 3:
I pulled away from Millhouse, but started to fade. Then it started raining. No problem, I've been to Rocky Hill Ranch twice. At the end of the lap I felt pretty good again.
Lap 4:
The rain stopped and the trail got slloooowwww. Good lord. My legs were twinging and I started rationing effort so I'd be able to even do a Lap 5. And then out of nowhere Millhouse was back, with a stopwatch. We were 4:45 into the race. No time for Lap 5 and no need to ration. If I'd had a stopwatch, or even paid attention coming through the transition area, I'd have known that already :/ We rode the rest out together and he put the wood right to me in the last hundred yards.
This was the state of things.
Squalid. It took an actual act of god to get clean.
The girls had found an inchworm and named it Flex. Flex is by far the best name for an inchworm. Seriously, you can't come up with a better one. They'd been playing with it for like 2 hours. I love that about them. An inchworm = total satisfaction for 2 hours.
It was like a 4WD trials course getting out of the park. I was at the top of a terraced hill, right by the transition area. I'd driven straight up there that morning, but since then everyone else had filled in below. There were trucks and tents and bikes and grills and all kinds of obstacles everywhere at odd angles to each other. It was challenging, and I did find out exactly how much of a side-slope my truck can traverse, but we got out.
Russell, Duckman and Johnny and who knows who else are still riding right now. Good luck to them. I'm going to bed.
The Dirty Spokes Fort Yargo 6 Hour ruled.
I wanted to camp out last night but ended up doing family stuff until 8:30. Yargo closes at 10:00. With my luck I'd get there at 10:05 and have to drive back home or get a hotel, if there even are hotels in Winder.
No matter. I had work to do anyway. My outside disc brake pad has been dragging. I've no idea why, and I've tried everything. So, I just broke down and filed down the fork mount. No more drag. Hah!
I'd packed up the night before, but at the crack of dawn, the forecast called for rain. My kids would need shelter. I grabbed the pop-up tent and requisite chairs. The kids also needed their camelbacks in case there was no water handy. I usually travel extra light, but not today.
We mowed through breakfast directly. The Waffle House in Cumming is seriously good.
Yargo.
Friends.
I ran into other friends too, but either failed to take a pic, or took a blurry pic.
Mes filles.
The frere came out to provide support and watch my kids. Note the E's bike and gear. Those are custom shoes, dyed to match the custom brake lines. That's pro.
Since Ed brought a tent, I didn't need mine, but since I'd already pulled it out of my truck, I loaned it to the guys next door.
1, 2, 3 go.
Lap 1:
I felt like crap for about 10 minutes. Then I guess I warmed up and started feeling really, really good. Norma and one of her teammates were right in front of me. I'd be lucky to finish with her, so I figured I'd just sit right there. I passed Baldwin walking back with something broken. "Bad luck" I thought, then immediately my right foot started feeling weird.
"My eggbeaters are falling apart."
"No. I don't have eggbeaters any more."
"My cleat is loose!"
In fact, so loose that the bolts wouldn't have lasted the lap. I spent a couple of minutes fixing it and a thousand riders passed me, but it was probably the best decision I made all day. Millhouse was right there so I got on his wheel.
Lap 2:
I still felt really, really good. Me and J rotated back and forth. I ended up riding right through some marking ribbon though and getting it wound around my cassette like 3 times. Genius.
Lap 3:
I pulled away from Millhouse, but started to fade. Then it started raining. No problem, I've been to Rocky Hill Ranch twice. At the end of the lap I felt pretty good again.
Lap 4:
The rain stopped and the trail got slloooowwww. Good lord. My legs were twinging and I started rationing effort so I'd be able to even do a Lap 5. And then out of nowhere Millhouse was back, with a stopwatch. We were 4:45 into the race. No time for Lap 5 and no need to ration. If I'd had a stopwatch, or even paid attention coming through the transition area, I'd have known that already :/ We rode the rest out together and he put the wood right to me in the last hundred yards.
This was the state of things.
Squalid. It took an actual act of god to get clean.
The girls had found an inchworm and named it Flex. Flex is by far the best name for an inchworm. Seriously, you can't come up with a better one. They'd been playing with it for like 2 hours. I love that about them. An inchworm = total satisfaction for 2 hours.
It was like a 4WD trials course getting out of the park. I was at the top of a terraced hill, right by the transition area. I'd driven straight up there that morning, but since then everyone else had filled in below. There were trucks and tents and bikes and grills and all kinds of obstacles everywhere at odd angles to each other. It was challenging, and I did find out exactly how much of a side-slope my truck can traverse, but we got out.
Russell, Duckman and Johnny and who knows who else are still riding right now. Good luck to them. I'm going to bed.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Weekly Beatdown
For the past few weeks I've been getting dropped left and right from the Reality ride. But thanks to steady deployment of the secret weapon (riding my bike to work), I hung on easily yesterday.
Things were going well for a while, but the group became confused at the top of Elmo Road. One of the organizers had asked us to stop and buy gatorade from the store there to show support for the community, and the bike shop was going to reimburse us, or something. I didn't totally understand. Apparently nobody did. Half of the group stopped and the other half was like "Why are you stopping?" I half regretted stopping, but it felt like the right thing to do.
Afterward, our group pushed it for the rest of the ride. I pulled some guys into the final sprint. But leaning through the last curve, I could see something was wrong. Chaos. Mass carnage. Riders were down. Bent derailleurs everywhere, but by a miracle, no injuries. I might have been in that sprint group, but thanks to the ripple effect of disconnected coincidence, the wrecking ball swung well ahead of me. I guess the store was the right decision. Karma, karma, karma.
If I don't get blown up this weekend, I'll try again next Wednesday. This weekend will be busy though; 6 hours of Yargo on Saturday and Oak Mountain on Sunday. Pray for my legs.
Things were going well for a while, but the group became confused at the top of Elmo Road. One of the organizers had asked us to stop and buy gatorade from the store there to show support for the community, and the bike shop was going to reimburse us, or something. I didn't totally understand. Apparently nobody did. Half of the group stopped and the other half was like "Why are you stopping?" I half regretted stopping, but it felt like the right thing to do.
Afterward, our group pushed it for the rest of the ride. I pulled some guys into the final sprint. But leaning through the last curve, I could see something was wrong. Chaos. Mass carnage. Riders were down. Bent derailleurs everywhere, but by a miracle, no injuries. I might have been in that sprint group, but thanks to the ripple effect of disconnected coincidence, the wrecking ball swung well ahead of me. I guess the store was the right decision. Karma, karma, karma.
If I don't get blown up this weekend, I'll try again next Wednesday. This weekend will be busy though; 6 hours of Yargo on Saturday and Oak Mountain on Sunday. Pray for my legs.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Freeman and Jarrard Gap Trails
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My brother John called me last night. "Want to ride tomorrow?" Yeah, I did, but we couldn't think of where we wanted to go, and actually, I was a little biked-out from last week's commuting. I had an idea though. My bro and his son met me near my house and we headed up to Blood Mountain.
After a quick stop at Mountain Crossings..
We parked at Byron Reece and climbed the Freeman Trail.
A few months back my bro and I did a couple of days on the AT and saw some pretty cool rock formations. We passed close to there again today.
The Freeman Trail is rocky. Not like the AT on Blood Mountain, but still.
Nice views.
At Bird Gap we stopped for a while. These weird things were growing everywhere. I used to know the name of them but I can't remember now.
From there we headed west to Jarrard Gap, down Jarrard Gap Road and back up Jarrard Gap Trail. A few weeks back I tried to hike Jarrard Gap Trail with my kids, but ended up on the Road instead. This time we did it right.
The Jarrard Gap Trail is pretty steep.
We backtracked over Gaddis Mountain and Turkey Stamp back to Bird Gap and took another break. The frere changed socks.
Austin tore into some Sour Skittles.
At the intersection with the Slaughter Creek Trail we drank from the cool, refreshing waters of a natural spring and some folks took our picture. I'm in the middle, not smiling much for some reason.
Around this point, I was getting pretty impressed with Austin's stamina. He was easily keeping pace with me and John. We climbed up over Blood Mountain. Austin showed me some caves that he'd found the last time he was up there.
The views were pretty nice. I banged my head hard into a tree climbing up onto a big rock. Woohoo!
I think the tallest peak there is Brasstown Bald.
I needed to get back to the car for 6 so I could get back home for 8. We had about an hour to get down, so we didn't hang around for long. Descending Blood Mountain is no easy thing. It's super steep and rocky and just slams your knees all the way down. Austin made it look easy.
We made it down quick. John and Austin were dreaming of some particular type of ice cream that they'd seen at Mountain Crossings the last time they came up here a few months back. We stopped by but apparently they ran out or something. What a drag.
We did get lucky at Moe's, or at least I did. I asked for a Joey with just rice and extra meat and the chick gave me like a pound of steak. Score.
I made it back for 8 but it turned out that the thing I needed to do was really on Sunday. Heh.
My brother John called me last night. "Want to ride tomorrow?" Yeah, I did, but we couldn't think of where we wanted to go, and actually, I was a little biked-out from last week's commuting. I had an idea though. My bro and his son met me near my house and we headed up to Blood Mountain.
After a quick stop at Mountain Crossings..
We parked at Byron Reece and climbed the Freeman Trail.
A few months back my bro and I did a couple of days on the AT and saw some pretty cool rock formations. We passed close to there again today.
The Freeman Trail is rocky. Not like the AT on Blood Mountain, but still.
Nice views.
At Bird Gap we stopped for a while. These weird things were growing everywhere. I used to know the name of them but I can't remember now.
From there we headed west to Jarrard Gap, down Jarrard Gap Road and back up Jarrard Gap Trail. A few weeks back I tried to hike Jarrard Gap Trail with my kids, but ended up on the Road instead. This time we did it right.
The Jarrard Gap Trail is pretty steep.
We backtracked over Gaddis Mountain and Turkey Stamp back to Bird Gap and took another break. The frere changed socks.
Austin tore into some Sour Skittles.
At the intersection with the Slaughter Creek Trail we drank from the cool, refreshing waters of a natural spring and some folks took our picture. I'm in the middle, not smiling much for some reason.
Around this point, I was getting pretty impressed with Austin's stamina. He was easily keeping pace with me and John. We climbed up over Blood Mountain. Austin showed me some caves that he'd found the last time he was up there.
The views were pretty nice. I banged my head hard into a tree climbing up onto a big rock. Woohoo!
I think the tallest peak there is Brasstown Bald.
I needed to get back to the car for 6 so I could get back home for 8. We had about an hour to get down, so we didn't hang around for long. Descending Blood Mountain is no easy thing. It's super steep and rocky and just slams your knees all the way down. Austin made it look easy.
We made it down quick. John and Austin were dreaming of some particular type of ice cream that they'd seen at Mountain Crossings the last time they came up here a few months back. We stopped by but apparently they ran out or something. What a drag.
We did get lucky at Moe's, or at least I did. I asked for a Joey with just rice and extra meat and the chick gave me like a pound of steak. Score.
I made it back for 8 but it turned out that the thing I needed to do was really on Sunday. Heh.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
North Bowman's Island (Again)
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The kids and I traipsed all over the northern end of the Bowman's Island trails last week. This week we hit the southern trails.
I've been commuting to work (by bike - 12 miles each way) for the past couple of days. Not too hard a ride, and last year I did that for months, but I'm just starting up this year and today I was a little weary. In fact I think the girls were a little stronger than me today.
We found a cool rock.
The kids were outpacing me though :)
The trail T's into a gravel "road".
Heading toward the river, you go under the worlds tallest gate. Seriously, you could drive a small car right under it. For the kids it was a jungle gym.
The road became a trail, leading right along the river, and eventually to a small creek.
We crossed the creek and milled around on the other side for a while. One of my favorite things about getting outside after work is I'm usually at some scenic spot right at the magic hour.
Some folks set up a whole patio set along the trail just south of the shoals. It looked like there was an equestrian ford there too. One day I'll have to wade over and check out Bowman's Island itself.
We had to push it to get back before dark. On the way back we saw at least a dozen white tailed deer. It was too dark to get a shot of them though.
This guy was hanging around the top of my driveway though. He held still long enough for me to figure out my camera, kind-of.
The kids and I traipsed all over the northern end of the Bowman's Island trails last week. This week we hit the southern trails.
I've been commuting to work (by bike - 12 miles each way) for the past couple of days. Not too hard a ride, and last year I did that for months, but I'm just starting up this year and today I was a little weary. In fact I think the girls were a little stronger than me today.
We found a cool rock.
The kids were outpacing me though :)
The trail T's into a gravel "road".
Heading toward the river, you go under the worlds tallest gate. Seriously, you could drive a small car right under it. For the kids it was a jungle gym.
The road became a trail, leading right along the river, and eventually to a small creek.
We crossed the creek and milled around on the other side for a while. One of my favorite things about getting outside after work is I'm usually at some scenic spot right at the magic hour.
Some folks set up a whole patio set along the trail just south of the shoals. It looked like there was an equestrian ford there too. One day I'll have to wade over and check out Bowman's Island itself.
We had to push it to get back before dark. On the way back we saw at least a dozen white tailed deer. It was too dark to get a shot of them though.
This guy was hanging around the top of my driveway though. He held still long enough for me to figure out my camera, kind-of.
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