the creeper

Yesterday I did my annual Creeper Trail Ride in VA. a ride I do actaully do more than once a year but it seems like it's been that long so I have no problem calling it my annual ride. A year or so ago a few guys I work with decided they wanted to do this ride and invited me to join them. I accepted not really knowing if they would all make it to the top of White Top Station which is 17 miles from the start. It's not a hard ride by any means but for some who aren't used to doing 30+ miles it can be a bit tough. Our first attempt I was stood up by everyone because of the threat of rain, determined to ride anyway I hit the trail all by my lonesome and really enjoyed myself only getting hit with a slight drizzle. The second attempt about half of them showed and all but one made it and with a fairly decent pace.
A year has past since that ride but has been alot of smack talk in the control room about how the next time we roll they were going to ride me into the ground. I played along and stayed on them about a second trip before it got too cold for normal folks to ride bikes. After a bit of badgering and some more smack talk a date and time was finally set. The day prior to the ride I wasn't sure it was going to happen, some were unsure if the rain was going to hold off and after a few phone calls with no definite answer I finally decided to ride with or without them. At 8:30 yesterday morning I was told as long as I don't hear from them they would be there. I conned fellow rider, "The Local Cult Hero" to go with me just in case I was stood up again. We arrived at our destination point and 30 minutes later the smack talkers finally rolled in. As they stepped out of the car I learned that once again not everyone showed. I guess the idea of actually doing the ride was a bit too much for some and they decided to hide out at home where it was warm and safe.
Once everyone was ready we rolled out with a casual pace, I kept waiting for someone to pick it up and take off trying to beat me to the top but it never came. Everytime I turned around the group from work started slipping off the back. Mike and I would stop, wait and once they caught up it wouldn't be long before they got dropped again. Finally I stopped and asked if everyone was ok only to learn that some hadn't been on the bike since last years ride and were really feeling the effects. I then knew we might not make it to the finish so I dug around in my bag and fished out a Hammer Gel to see if that would help. After some more resting and refueling we finally got rolling again. The closer we got to the top the wetter the ground got and eventually we caught up to the drizzling rain. We rode for a couple of miles hoping the rain would slack off but it didn't. A lack of energy and the rain finally took it's toll on the group and a decision was made to turn around 4 miles from the top. No one wanted to admit it but I could tell they were all ready to bail, I told them I was game to finish the ride but no one took me up on the offer so we headed home. As we rode back downhill and out of the rain their spirits seems to pick up as did the pace, I think they were all ready to get back to the car and into warm clothes.
I'm anxious to see if anyone has anything to say when I go back to work, I have a feeling the smack talk will be hushed for a while. I'll try not to give them too hard of a time in hopes that I'll get them back out on their bikes again but that may be a tough one.

summer's making a comeback

With all the warm weather we've had the past couple of days and more on tap I wouldn't be surprised if the price of gas doesn't rise. Everytime the weather acts funny the oil tycoons take advantage and try to make a buck.

It's hard to think about turkey and Christmas shopping when the trails are in pristine shape except for a little brown ice, (that's dry leaves on the trail for all you couch potatoes).

Melinda and I snuck in two great rides this weekend, Saturday we hit our local gem, Warriors Path and then heading to WNC for a little Dupont action. Our earlier plans were to hit Bent Creek in search of a smoother trail, Melinda is trying to get away from the caged clipless pedals in favor of the broken looking ones as my neighbor likes to call them. Saturday morning we remembered that Bent Creek allows hunters to come in so we moved our plans further south as our cycling kits are green not blaze orange.

Our decision to hit Dupont was a good move, the trails were in great shape and the falls were bigger than I have ever seen them. Bridal Falls normally only covers half the rock face allowing use to climb to the top but yesterday the entire face was flowing with raging whitewater.

As luck would have it, about mile 1o we had a mechanical, Melinda snapped a chain stopping our ride for the day. My trusty chain tool is attached to the multi tool I lost back at Big South Fork earlier in the year. I know I should have replaced it by now but other expenses have gotten in the way since then and I tend to be a little forgetful. Luckily we weren't far from the car so we hiked it out riding the downhills.

I know I said I was done talking about the HOT but I ran across these pics I ran across these pics that some spectator took of the gnar that was the race course.

nasty

gettin' ready

Rough week at work this week, lotsa of work going on, the kind that makes your heart rate increase and your palms sweat. I'm almost to the end and things are a bit calmer now just a few more hours till my monthly 7 days vacation. With all the work and rain very little cycling related stuff going on at my house. I did walk around the bike room at look at my bikes hanging in position some ready to roll some not. The call did come in yesterday amongst the excitement that my parts for the Mamasita are in. Plans are to pick them up early and transform her back into a mean trail eating machine. Also on tap for tomorrow, gonna head up into the woods on foot with some of NTMBA's finest for a new trail scouting adventure @ Bays Mtn. Who says all the trail building talent has left the building? I call B.S.!

clean, clean & clean some more

Enough is enough no more talk about the Hill of Truth race. I am in the process of going through the Mamasita and assessing the damage. So far so good everything seems to be in good working order, a little crusty but working. I noticed that my drivetrain wasn't spinning after I cleaned and lubed it and upon further inspection I realized my lower pulley wheel in my derailleur was frozen up. I made a quick call to my LBS and got a set on order plus a new set of brake pads which were on their way out anyway. As I was shooting the bull with bike shop aficionado Mark P. I went ahead and pulled the cranky wheel out of the derailleur, it finally came loose but not as loose as it should so instead of trying to clean it I think I'll go ahead and replace them both.

While I was in the zone I pulled my brake calipers and all I saw was brown, I sprayed some brake cleaner in the caliper to help loosen things up trying to be careful not to get it all over me. Unfortunately some ran down my hand and under my watch. I went to the sink to wash it off and I noticed that my watch was looking a bit funny. Upon closer inspection some of the plastic had melted and discolored. The weird thing is that my skin was fine, no burning or irritation. I guess I'll need to be a bit more careful with that stuff in the future.

As I clean up my bike and the ECO trailer I have come to a sad realization, last weekend was our last camping trip of the year and my last race of the year, at least that I know of. It's kinda sad and now I get the joy of learning how to winterize the camper. It's kinda of depressing knowing that winter is closing in on us and daylight is getting shorter and shorter.

I did receive a bit of good news the other day in the form of an email. Registration is already up for the 6 Hours of Warriors Creek, a definite must on my calendar but it's 4 1/2 months away.

12 Hours of the HOT (the funny, cool and weird)

Are you sick of hearing about my weekend? I think I'm almost done. Believe it or not we had a ton of fun and I am already looking forward to next year rain or shine. Riding in conditions like last Saturday's just improves your skills and makes you that much of a better rider and I for one could use all the practice I can get.

The sun did come out for a small portion of the day and I know it doesn't look sunny in the pic but we were greeted with not just 1 rainbow but a double. I can't remember ever seeing a double rainbow before so I chalked that one up on my cool chart. It wasn't long afterwards that the clouds rolled back in and dumped on us some more. Thank goodness for EZ-UPs, did I say that already?

Endurance racers can be some of the most unusual folks, the more hard core they are the more weird they seem to be. Just hanging out at an event like this can resemble staying the night at a carnival and sitting around the fire with the carnies. It doesn't always have to be Halloween to give these folks an excuse to dress up or simply wear nothing at all. I've seen, heard and read about nudity at these events multiple times and the naked lap is something that tends to happen at many races especially after the kids go to bed or sometimes during the middle of the day depending on how much free beer is flowing. The HOT has seen a few naked laps in the past years but it usually takes a donation of $$ from the crowd to encourage some fool to do it. This year was no exception, but three guys decided not to wait for an incentive. They proceeded to do a few naked laps around camp for free instead of the race course. I failed to witness this but Melinda took advantage of the Kodak moment.

An endurance race wouldn't be complete without beer, alot of the time beers get cracked during the race, at least that's the case for my crew. It's hard not to partake when your pit crew is enjoying a dark frosty beverage when you come flying through the pits. This year free beer was being handed out courtesy of some guys in a Sweetwater Van. I'm not sure if they stole the van or if they worked for Sweetwater because there was no free Sweetwater, but they did have Fat Tire, Yuengling & Yahzoo. Everytime I walked past I grabbed 2 or 3 not to drink right then but for after the race. It's safe to say that I got enough that I didn't come home empty handed.
Speaking of free stuff, swag is always a must at these events, To pay $50+ in entry fees and not receive free swag is a cardinal sin. Listen up promoters, nothing hurts your numbers more than not giving back to the racers. I'm not talking about ads for products, we want the goods. I've received bags of advertisements many times before and all that does is fill up the trash bins in the campground faster. We want gels, bars, beer, stickers or whatever, oh yeah, skip the watered down spaghetti dinner, we all show up with food. The promoters for the HOT always do a fine job of rounding up free swag, I haven't bought a water bottle in 3 years because of this single race. I always come home with an arsenal of Heed, gels, endurolyte pills etc. This year they didn't seem to have as much of a variety but I did come home with about a years supply of Hammer products.

GRT has never really gotten into the costume scene but I always make sure we have some sort of decor mounted to our bikes, usually in the form a small jack-o-lantern. This year we went with a little more scarier attachment, mine was Frankenstein. Out on the course several times racers would turn around see Frank up front leading the charge and pull over to get out of our way.

I'm not sure if this guy meant to fall in the mud or if he did it accidentally but once he was down he decided he liked it or wanted everyone to think he meant to do it because he turned around got a running start and did a few mud slides on his belly. I wonder if that kit went from red to brown permanently.

All weekend people came and went wether on a run to restock the cooler with beer & ice or just giving up and heading home. All that traffic plus bikes and people milling about made a pretty good mess of the field between us and the road out. I could tell that Melinda was worried we might get stuck but I kept assuring her our truck was a 4x4 and we would be fine. I don't think she had faith in me after our experience on the beach in the Outer Banks. Two years ago our friend Bob got his RV stuck in this very field and had to call AAA to pull him out. By the end of the day Saturday he had pretty much decided he was going to have to do the same this year and he did. I wonder when he's gonna realize his RV doesn't have four wheel drive and quit parking in the middle of the field with a 100% chance of rain coming. Sunday morning we took our time loading up letting most of the crowd clear out so we had more options for an exit strategy. I scoped out the area found the route of least resistance and traffic, put the truck in four low and didn't stop till I hit pavement. I did sling some mud & grass but a slow and steady pace saw us through.
Had enough? I have, I need to go work on the Mamasita, she's not been touched since we got home on Sunday and I plan to ride this weekend.

The 12 Hours of the Hill of Truth Part 2.

The Saturday morning leading up to the race start was filled with not just mud and thoughts of sliding down the Hill of Truth still clipped into my pedals but the nervous energy that always plagues me, once again got me questioning my sanity for entering this race especially with the nastiest trail conditions I've personally ever seen during a race. We all gathered around the check in tent for the usual racers meeting that is normally plagued with sponsors acknowledgements but near the end, John B. the race promoter/organizer gave an unusual shout out to NTMBA, our club. He thanks us for always showing up with one of the biggest crowds every year. That made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and chased away my nervous jitters for about 30 seconds.

This year the race course was being run backwards, down hills we normally climb but also up hills we normally descend. The only hill that stayed true to form was the infamous Hill of Truth. This year not only did we climb the entire front side but the race started us off climbing half way up the backside. The race also was started in the wet grassy field next to the road where we usually start the race. The two new combinations really did a good job of scattering out the field before entering the tight wooded singletrack. As usual Brad lead us out will a blistering pace followed by myself in 2nd, Andy in 3rd & Anthony 4th.

While Brad was out murdering the field I got dressed in what I thought might be necessary and proceeded to do laps around the two mini lakes just in front of our EZ-UP city.

Brad came in in 54 minutes putting us in 2nd place, the fastest lap our team saw and the only lap GRT would see in under an hour. Every lap the course got slicker and muddier slowing the pace and increasing the effort to stay upright on your bike.

Looking at Brad as he handed off the card to me I knew I was in for a real treat.

This photo is a bit deceiving as Brad was a little muddier than he appears, but this was the cleanest lap he saw for the next 12 hours.

As I entered the course I knew right away I was going to be doing some hike-a-bike. I rode a good portion of the first climb but spun out as the ground gave way beneath me forcing me to walk. Once in the woods I found myself descending with better traction that I anticipated. As the course wore on and my confidence grew I began increasing my pace a little at a time. I was surprised at how well my tires were gripping the turns and roots as I tried my best to flow through the woods. Some of the shorter climbs I found myself cleaning, not with ease but better than I would have expected considering the disaster underneath my tires. As the course turned upward I started making small talk with the guy behind me who had been trailing me for some time. He asked me what category I was riding in and I reluctantly told him the truth, he said he was the same. Ah crap, I asked him if he was part of the Union College team that was trailing us in 3rd and he confirmed my fears. I then told him that my offer to let him pass voluntarily had just expired and he would have to work for it. We both had a laugh but mine was filled with regret because now it was all on me to keep us in 2nd with 3rd hot on my tail. If I tried too hard my efforts might get me in trouble with a crash considering the slick conditions. I decided to increase my pace but remain smooth and stable. As we drew closer to the hill of truth, (the biggest climb on the course) I actually put a decent size gap on him and started up the HOT riding further up it than I would for the rest of the day. I reached the point of the climb where I knew pedaling was just wasting energy and walking was the best idea. I was also heating up and needed to remove some gear and use my water bottle to clear out some of the mud from my drivetrain. The HOT is located in a powerline clearing with a clear view of a majority of the hill and all the riders climbing in front of you. This view was an advantage to the 3rd place rider who I had put a gap on. As he entered the clearing he could see me walking and shedding layers at the same time and he must have decided to cash in on his energy bank and continue pedaling in an effort to catch me. He did indeed close some of the gap but not enough to catch me and I had a feeling he might have just burned a bit too much go-go juice as the climbing was not over. I reached the summit hopped on my bike and took off in an effort to reopen the gap that had just closed a bit. After I entered the woods I never saw the 3rd place man again until he rolled into the pits several almost a full minute behind me. I successfully increased our time and we were able to put more and more time on them as the day wore on.

After every lap I hit the bike wash station to shed some unwanted weight in the form of mud, grass and leaves that had made they're home in my drivetrain. Then I proceeded to use the ECO's outside shower to wash myself off. There was no way Melinda would let me anywhere near a chair or the inside of our camper covered in mud.

Throughout the entire race Melinda took care of the entire team cooking beef stew for lunch and some amazing fajitas for dinner. She also kept us moving when it was our turn to ride and where we stood in the standings. Had it not been for her I don't know what we would have done. She definitely earned a place as a member of GRT that day. Even when the topic of pulling the plug early came up she scolded us for even thinking about quiting.

All day we kept thinking the rain was done with us and at one point the sun even came out but it didn't last for more than thirty minutes and more rain soon followed. Everyone's laps times got slower and slower as the race continued and the conditions got worse. Just riding on level ground required more effort than it should have. I only rode 3 laps during the course of 12 hours but the energy I spent was compared to 6 laps. Now as I look back on it the rain probably kept the course from turning into a complete nightmare. Once the sun comes out and the mud begins to dry it will turn into a peanut butter like consistency sticking to everything insight making your bike weight twice it's normal weight. Luckily for us the rain continued until 9 or 9:30 that evening.

One of the things I like about this race is the music that is played in the pits, it gets you pumped as you wait for your teammate to come in. Melinda got a picture of Anthony, Andy & I dancing to the funky beats while I waited on Brad. It kept us energized and excited about going out into the cold, dark & nasty funk.

Andy used some left over Miller High Life boxes to add a little flair to his helmet creating his version of a time trial helmet. I'm not sure if it helped his time or not but it sure looked cool.

Anthony also tried to cut down on his time by sliding down the last hill versus riding down, he said he crashed and continued down in an uncontrolled slide but I think he did it on purpose.

Earlier I told you Alan our mechanic/cheerleader had pulled the plug and gone home early. Once he got home he got online to watch us in real time as the promoter were posting our lap times and placing on the website. He and Melinda were in constant contact via text message as we closed the gap on 1st place. We were down 16 minutes most of the day but as the sun went down we started gaining on them. Right before Brad went out on his last lap we were only 6 minutes behind 1st and gaining. We didn't know it at the time but Brad passed 1st place and managed to lap 3rd putting us in the lead. I went out on my last lap thinking we were still in 2nd safely ahead of 3rd. I'm glad I didn't know of our lead because that would have made me even more nervous. Halfway through the course my front tire slide off the trail sending me into the ditch. I grabbed as much brake as possible and managed to run it out. I had gotten a little careless as I could see headlights behind me. While I was climbing back out of the ditch my pursuer passed me but I saw he was on a singlespeed letting me know he was not one of my competitors. I continued on finishing my slowest lap of the race as every climb I cleaned on my previous laps were too slick and I was quickly running out of gas. Once I entered the pits Andy took off and Melinda handed me a beer and informed me that we were in the lead. There were only 10 minutes left before cut off so as long as 2nd place didn't make in prior to the canon blast we had won.

Anthony had hiked up the hill before Andy with a cell phone so we could let him know if 2nd came in before cut off. The plan was for Andy to ride to the top of the first climb and wait to hear if they went out for another lap. If they did he would continue on in order to secure our win, if not he would turn around and come home. 2nd place missed the cut off by several minutes allowing Andy to come back and securing our win in the Sport class at the 2009 12 Hours of the Hill of Truth!

Melinda snapped my picture at the finish with my Dale Jr. coozie, hey somebody had to put the #88 in victory lane this year.

In the past any of our podium spots have only earned us swag in the form of socks, clothing or other goods donated by the local bike shops. This year was different, we had never been in 1st place and 1st prize was a check. It wasn't huge but it did cover our entry fee which was very nice. I would like to say our win was a huge battle among many teams fighting hard for the win but it wasn't. The rain scared alot of teams off making this one of the lowest turnouts in the race's history. Had it been dry we may not have fared so well but I don't doubt for a minute that we earned every bit of 1st place. This race was one of the hardest and nastiest I've ever competed in and we stuck it out for the entire 12 hours while others stayed home on the couch where it was nice and dry and the beers were not covered in mud.

Think that's all I got, ha not hardly. I'll post more stories and pics up tomorrow and who knows what else for the rest of the week. There was alot more to the weekend than just a measly 12 hour muddy race.

12 Hours of the Hill of Truth Part 1.

2009 HOT from A Sparks on Vimeo.

Here is a little video teaser from the start of the race courtesy of Alan. Thanks dude.

There is too much to say and too many photos to share to get it all into one post so stay tuned here for a good portion of the week.

Friday was a beautiful sunny day, perfect weather for camping & racing but we knew it wouldn't last for long. Mother Nature had other plans in store for us. I think rain during the H.O.T. is becoming the norm. for us. 3 out of 5 years it has rained before or during the race and this year was no exception.

We made the most of the dry time we had Friday and set up shop quickly

Melinda and I scored a few Halloween decorations for camp since we were going to be away for the holiday. LED eyeball lights were all the rage this year! After everything was in order Melinda and I grabbed our bikes for the only dry ride we were going to see that weekend. We scouted out bits and pieces of the race course, wandered around off course got a little lost but found our way back out just before dark and in time for dinner.

Big Ed's pizza in Oak Ridge is a popular place and has become a favorite for us the night before the race. After a few years of eating spaghetti at camp we decided we'd had enough. I've never really been a fan of spaghetti and I can think of tastier ways to carb. load before a race.

After we got back to camp we built a fire pulled up a chair and listen to Brandon and Jared bicker back & forth like an old married couple about how to build the best fire.

Alan finished off the rest of the pizza that he ordered for himself. Hungry buddy?

Some time around 3am the rain started, light at first, off and on but the later it got the heavier and more steady it got. I didn't get much sleep after 4 am, all I could think about was how long would it last and how bad was the course gonna be? This year's course had more climbing than any other course in H.O.T. history and some were hike-a-bike climbs even when dry.

We set up every EZ-UP we had in stock and constructed what looked like a small town to protect us from the rain. EZ-UP's proved their worth that weekend keeping us dry at camp.

Slowly but surely the whole team gathered Saturday morning and began pondering the outlook for the race. We had a feeling attendance was going to be lower than normal this year and a few times the topic of whether or not we would even race till the very end came up. I tried not to think about it but even I was thinking of bailing on my night laps if there wasn't a podium finish in our sights.

I think Alan either got bored or was missing Angie because he decided to dance with our purple skeleton.

Since Olga pulled a no show we resorted to Brandon's I-Phone for weather updates. Brandon looked more prepared for the weather than anyone but I don't think he ever stepped out from under the EZ-UP city except to watch the start of the race and to go home. I knew it wasn't going to be good when he backed out of the race not even starting a single lap. I really couldn't blame him though, running this race solo would have to suck. Friday night Alan had told us that he was going to be our pit crew chief/mechanic/cheerleader but before the second lap of the race started he was packing up shop and heading home as well. Before it was all said and done NTMBA only had 3 teams left racing. All of the solo riders bowed out before the race began and hit the road.

One of the best investment we ever made was our camper top on my truck. It kept the dogs dry all weekend and out of the ECO trailer.

As I was sitting here typing this post I realized that I never got around to announcing the 4th member of Granny's Rotten Teeth Racing for the 2009 H.O.T. race. He was not an unfamiliar face to GRT, in fact he is one of the original founding members dating back to 2005, our first race at the H.O.T. Friends and foes I introduce you once again to Andy (the moustache man) Mullins.

It's probably a good thing I didn't introduce him prior to the race because the paparazzi might have prevented him from arriving on time.

I wish I could sit here and tell the entire story all in one post but I've got a lot of mud to clean off my gear. My bike is a disaster, the ECO trailer and my truck are covered in mud and the pile of laundry is towering. If I don't get a huge dent in it today Melinda will shoot me. If I string you along for a couple of days to hear the rest of the story it keeps you coming back for more and my blog hit numbers going up. So stay tuned here for dirty stories and even dirtier photos.

1 bad headlight & a one piece racing suit w/wool socks

2 days left until the start of the 12 Hours of the Hill of Truth race in Oak Ridge TN. I was ready to go last night, all my gear was accounted for. All that's left to do is pack the ECO trailer and do a little shopping. I need to pick up all the necessities like firewood, beer & an afro wig from the Halloween section. I guess I might outa pick up something to eat while I'm there, Melinda might get upset if I forget the food.

I was doing a charge and test run on my HID lights last night and everything was going smoothly until about an hour & twenty minutes into the run and pop went my light. (Yes I had a fan blowing to keep it cool.) Not sure what happened, I recharged the battery but still nothing, something went bad in the light. Perfect timing, luckily for me I picked up a used HID just the other day from my good friend Scooby but I'm not sure if I will use it or not. There has been some talk on our local forum about how much climbing the course is going to have compared to the past few years. Someone made a comment that the course was a cakewalk compared to some of the other courses as far as length and elevation are concerned. I decided that this was my chance to up the hardcoreness level another notch. With my headlight out I plan to resort to using my Petzl camping lamp.

If that doesn't do it maybe I'll ride with one arm tied behind my back. Maybe then I'll be tough enough!

Although I said I was going to take it easy this week I couldn't help myself when I got 2 calls to go ride yesterday. Brad, one of GRT's most hardcore riders wanted to hit Rocky Fork yesterday. He just scored a new BMC Trail Fox a few days ago and the itch had to be scratched. I had to pass as I knew that climb would leave me feeling a bit sore and I need fresh legs for Saturday. I did take the second offer to ride Warrior's at a leisurely pace with AKS and the Local Cult Hero. The call came after I had just given the Mamasita a bath and the KM was hanging there on the wall taunting me. I gave in and took the Monkey out for a spin. It was a little slick but nothing too bad. The only drama was a flat tire courtesy of the LCH. It's funny watching 2 people change a flat tire.

If you ever get a chance to ride with the LCH do it, he never fails to surprise me with his choice of bike which is always different or his wardrobe, he's the only person I know who can pull off a one piece suit w/brown wool socks out on a chill ride and make it look cool.

Rocky Fork video

Untitled from Greg Carr on Vimeo.

Finally! Sorry for the delay

Hope you Enjoy!

quick somebody call the waaa-mbulance!

Apparently somebody out there thinks that I maybe anti 26" wheels. I am not, in fact I have a bike sitting just across the hall from me in my super cool bike room that is sporting 26" wheels. It may not see the action that my 29ers see but it's just as cool and I couldn't imagine parting with it. There was also a comment that I'm still learning how easily 29" wheels roll over stuff. I always knew they rolled over stuff easy I was just never one to jump into the middle of a heated 26 vs 29 wheel argument. I like both, would have both if my wallet were fatter and hope to one day add a full suspension 26er back to my stable in the future. I said add not replace, the 29ers are here to stay in my shed. I tend to have an affection for all types of bikes not jump on a different bandwagon every 6 months with a mega phone shouting to the rooftops how cool they are. If I try out a fad I tend not to "gulp down the Kool Aid" which in my opinion has got to be one of the lamest references to a fad that I have ever heard. I wish I could say I can feel the flex in my 29er wheels but I can't. I've never been one to pay attention to details like that, it has to be something pretty significant to get my attention. When I'm railing through a corner my mind isn't focused on whether or not my wheelset is flexing. Maybe I should but my attention span is too short.
As I typed this post it got me to thinking about all the arguments I heard or been a part of when it comes to the 26 vs 29er and the more I think about it the more I realized that it seems to be the folks who ride the 26" wheels who are doing most of the arguing. Most of my friends who ride 29er have nothing against 26" wheels. It's just a preference for them. I wonder if the kids who ride 26" wheels are scared, scared that the bike manufactures are one day going to stop producing 26" wheeled bikes. If that's the case it might explain some of the anti 29 comments and the big wheel bashing. Don't fret my little friends we can both live in this world peacefully and share the same trails. One day Thule, Yakima, and Saris will realize that 29" wheels are here to stay but not take over and that it's ok to make all their racks 26 & 29" wheels friendly. Everyone needs to settle down and realize that it doesn't matter what size you wheels are, all that matters is your riding a bike outside enjoying nature and nothing else. Until that happens I guess I will have to trade in my new Lezyne saddle bag for a larger version so I can carry a pacifier for all the whiners out there. Whoops did I just say that?

PS - As for Walmart I like to park further away, the extra walk is good for me.

saddle bag troubles

About this time last year, well actually it was at the H.O.T. race last year that the first saddle bag I ever bought finally after several years of faithful service finally bit the dust. I was riding my first lap during the race and I felt something odd brush the inside of my leg. I looked down to see that my saddle bag was hanging on by the seatpost strap only. The two seat rail straps had lost their magical velcro power and let go allowing the bag to slide down the seatpost till it hit the frame. I had to stop and reattach the top straps for one it was swinging around as I rode and two it contained all the necessary tools needed if I were to have a small mechanical or a flat. Before I made it back to the start finish line I had to stop 2 more times to reattach it. Why I didn't take it off and stuff the whole thing in a jersey pocket the first time I'm not sure. I get kinda nervous during races so logical thinking does not always come to me in certain situations. Once I finished my lap I busted out some duct tape and made sure that my saddle bag would stay in place for the duration of the race.

This saddle bag was not a bad design or made of lousy material, it had served me well, longer & better than any piece of equipment I've have owned since I started riding. It was something that never got serviced and barely saw any attention other than the occasional spray of the water hose. I guess you could say I never thought much about the saddle bag until this one passed on to saddle bag heaven. How do I know it went to saddle bag heaven, well think about it. A saddle bag is abused constantly, it sits in a place where it is constantly being exposed to mud, nasty water & in my case dog poo and whatever might fly off the rear tire. It only gets attention when things go wrong and there is a good chance your upset and not gentle with it. My particular saddle bag lasted well beyond it's years, took alot of abuse and never complained once. That is how I know with out a doubt it went to saddle bag heaven.

Rest in Peace little buddy.

After the demise of my good friend I went saddle bag shopping and picked up a Topeak. It looked alot flashier but it's looks were deceiving. I really wasn't impressed with it's straps and the way it attached to my seat but I needed a replacement and it's good looks said BUY ME! BUY ME! I bought it, said I would learn to like it's flaws and move on. I thought it's just a saddle bag, who cares. About two months later it bit the dust, actually it still works if you don't mind the hole in the bottom exposing all your tools etc. to the elements. Time to go saddle bag shopping again.

My next purchase was this bag made by Bontrager, honestly I wasn't impressed with the way it attached either but I needed something quick and this was my only other choice, that or another Topeak. Not only did this one fail but the zipper came apart and dropped my sweet little Crank Bros. multi tool that was worth it's weight in gold somewhere on a trail in Big South Fork. I didn't notice it was gone until it was too late. Whoever found that little jewel scored big time. Time to go shopping again. This time I took my time, looked at various models and gave it some thought. I wanted something along the same lines as my old bag.

One day while riding with Alan I started complaining about my saddle bag troubles and he showed me his new one that he picked up at our LBS, a Lezyne. A new and cool feature that this bag had that I had never seen before was the additional outside pocket on the bottom made just for multi tools. Now you can access your tools with out having to empty the entire contents of the saddle bag which in my case can be very troublesome because I always try to fit everything into the smallest bag I can find. Nothing drives me more crazy than loose tools bouncing around inside an obnoxiously large saddle bag. Not only did this bag fit my needs, have a cool tool pocket but it mounted exactly like my old trusty saddle bag. I haven't had this bag for very long but they must be good because obtaining one was very difficult, they fly off the shelves as soon as they come in. I have a feeling this one is going to be much better than the last two, will it be as good or better than my first? Only time will tell.

trying to stay low

It's gonna be hard not to go out and ride my bike all week, I've got three days off this week with nothing but good warm sunny weather in the forecast. I really need to take it easy and save my legs for this weekends race. Today I ran the 3rd leg of the Eastman Triple Crown, The Susan G. Coleman, Race for the Cure 5k. As usual I've not been running much but I felt good non the less today even after coming off of night shift this morning. Upon arrival I was surprised to see a huge crowd, the word was it was the biggest crowd to run a 5k in the Tri-Cities. Luckily for me I had pre-registered so the line to pick up my number was short. The line for unregistered runners was way too long, if fact the promoters realized that the start of the race was going to be severely delayed if they waited on everyone to register. They made an announcement that if you wanted to run but didn't care about your time being recorded you could skip registering and race for free as long as you promised to come back next year. Even after that the race was still delayed 10 minutes. As my luck would have it they were out of T-shirts when I arrived so I'll have to wait a month before I can pick it up. After scanning the crowd I think it it is safe to say that the shirts will be a little better than those ridiculous shirts they gave us at the Crazy 8's 8k.
Once the race started I picked my way through the crowd of slow runners and walkers who thought it was a good idea to start farther up front than they should have. It's annoying to have to fight your way through packs of folks who think they're faster than they really are. What really cracks me up are the guys who start off at they're max speed as if the race is only a 100 meter dash. It doesn't take long to catch up to them walking trying to catch their breathe wondering what happened to the speed they had in high school.
I guess I'll try and keep myself occupied with preparations for the weekend. I really need to do some bike maintenance and cleaning. Both mine and Melinda's mtn bikes are a muddy mess from a trip to Haw Ridge a few days back. We were hoping that the race course would have been posted prior to heading down but it wasn't. Having ridden there alot over the past few years most of the trails are familiar and usually the promoters of the HOT keep the course very similar from year to year. This year they threw us a curveball and we will be running a big portion of the trails backwards not to mention crossing the mountain 3 times instead of the usual 2.
I checked the weather again today & noticed that the forecast has changed again. I still think the chance of rain is minimal but it did increase. I hope I haven't jinxed myself.

HOT flash back

Finally the H.O.T. race course was posted today, I think something was wrong with the file because it took some work to get it to show up and then it took me about 20 minutes to figure out how the course ran due to it's poor quality. This year the organizers have really tried to shake things up. The course appears to be all climbing and descending and if I'm reading it correctly will cross the mountain 3 or 4 times. Right off the bat it takes you halfway up the backside of the Hill of Truth and then half way through the course we get to climb the front. I have a good feeling I'll be doing some hike a bike. I was planning on running the Karate Monkey on a few laps but that plan may fall to the wayside, I haven't decided yet. This year will be the 5th year GRT will be racing at the HOT and every other year we have seen rain the day before the race making the course a nasty mess. Two days ago the weather forecast was a 50% chance of rain now it's 30 on Fri and 0 on Sat. It's still pretty early to tell what will unfold but I'm crossing my fingers for a dry race. We've seen enough rain this year.
I was looking through all my previous photos and I found all but the first year, what happened to those pics I'm not sure but it was funny to see my clothing of choice/facial hair throughout the years.

2005: The missing pics, maybe we didn't own a camera back then I can't remember. I think we placed somewhere around 7th place?

2006: The first year I rocked the Fu Manchu stashe, note the full suspension and kid sized wheels. Nice peachy undershirt buddy. I rode this bike at both the 05' & 06' races. We faired better that year placing 5th.

2007: I rocked the Fu Manchu again and moved up to the big boy wheels, 29er son. This was also the only year I rocked the whole race on my singlespeed, GRT placed 3rd that year in the singlespeed category.

2008: GRT moved back to the sport category due to not everyone on the team owning an SS. Also I was just coming off a back injury so gears were a must. This year I went for a little different look. Baggies and a sleeveless T, NASCAR style! The sport category was a bit tougher that year than back in 2006 and we had to settle for 6th. After the race I was looking over the laps laid down by each team in sport I realized if we had gone back out for one more lap we would have moved up to 5th. This will not happen again, I'll do back to back laps if I have to.

2009: GRT is signed up for the sport category again and this year I feel fitter and stronger, my back is no longer bothering me. My plan is to run the Mamasita on the first lap and get a feel of the course then maybe switch back and forth to the Monkey to see which is faster. I have a feeling with all the climbing in store my times maybe faster on the Mamasita if I can stay on the bike.

who?

Can you say more road trips? Yes we snuck off to Warrior's Creek again a few days back. While the weather was not as good as the last few days we've seen, the trails at WC were in excellent shape. It had rained the entire day before but you really couldn't tell.




I may not be the best photographer but as you can tell from my blog I like to shoot pics of all our adventures. The only problem for me is the lack of other people taking pictures.






I got some great shots all day but after I went back to review them I noticed I was only in 1 maybe 2 shots.










Ah, here we go I finally got into the frame. Luckily for us some random chick decided to ruin the shot by pushing her bike off the trail directly behind us. It might have been a little bit cooler if she was at least riding by.




I've got to get an Element, riding up to Wilkesboro in Andy's funky little box was a ton of fun. The only problem is I don't think an Element would pull the ECO.
Probably the highlight of the trip was Melinda and Abby singing all the way home to every bad song that played on the radio, or was that the highlight of the ride home, I can't rememeber.

Rocky Fork

Cold and boring no more! That was the title of my most recent post but since then the weather has changed and the trails have been set on fire! Once the weather man let it be known that this week was going to see those spring like temps again we did the one thing most mountain bikers only dream of. We called in sick and spent the day riding in the woods. Well I didn't actually call in sick, I was off all this week but a few others were conned into it.

Rocky fork has been all the buzz here lately in northeast TN. With the recent acquisition of the 10,000 acre land tract by the the Cherokee National Forest and the State of TN the possibility of a huge recreation area for mountain bikers, hikers etc. is in the near future. Actually the state and Cherokee didn't get it all yet but their working on it and the land is secured for now. Read all about it here.

We had a good crew Tues as we unloaded at the trailhead ignoring the NO PARKING SIGN, I didn't drive but I did ride with a cop so as long as he didn't care neither did I. Rocky Fork is not known for sweet single track, at least not yet. What it is known for is a grueling climbs up old logging roads covered in loose rock and debris (sticks & leaves not trash). The climb is long, difficult and requires you to navigate 6 creeks. What makes this ride worth it you ask? The views, they were amazing. After reading the nice article from Blue Ridge and looking at the photos I assumed that we could cross some of the creeks on foot via rocks and not get wet. I really didn't want to get wet, even though the temps were warm the water had to be ice cold and I had a feeling cold feet could make for a miserable day on the bike. As we approached the first of the 6 creek crossings it was clear we would have to ride through the water, no rocks to cross on foot. Jason and Andy made the first attempt each trying different lines both getting wet. I decided on a different line as well but as luck would have it I managed to hit a large rock stopping me dead in my tracks mid creek and causing me to put both feet down in the water. It was cold but actually not as cold as I expected but I didn't stand around long enough to see if it got any colder. Luckily I had enough sense to pack a few extra pairs of socks. I didn't bother changing then because just about every water crossing was a wet one. Even if you were able to stay up right on your bike some crossings were deep enough to submerge both feet as you pedaled through. As we reached the top we realized the wet ride was definitely worth it. The views were amazing!

Trace amounts of snow!

One of the first things we did after staring at the amazing view was to strip off all our wet gear and lay it out on Buzzard's rock to dry in the sun. It looked like a yard sale up their but it felt nice to replace cold wet socks with dry ones.

As we retraced our route going down I had to hit the brakes and take some time to enjoy the nature around me. We followed this creek for a couple of miles and it was filled with all kinds of activity. Even if you never make it to the top the first 3 or 4 miles have plenty to see. I can't imagine what this place will be like if trails are built, it would be a true mountain bike heaven.