back to the Creeper

Yesterday was looking like a pretty nice day, sunny skies, semi warm temps but windy as hell. I'm still feeling a little sore from all the work and riding I've done this week but I still wanted more but something a little easier. I decided a trip to the VA Creeper Trail would do the trick. I figured that the trees would help block the wind some what and the easy riding would allow me to get in some good spin time without killing myself. I decided to start in Abingdon ride to Damascus eat lunch then turn around a head back. The ride from Abingdon to Damascus is probably the easiest part of the Creeper, slight downhill or flat riding the whole way. I made the 16 mile trip in an hour and ten minutes not really pushing the pace. When I arrived in Damascus I stopped in one of the gas stations while I tried to decide what to eat before heading back. I walked in and was cruising the candy isle when I heard over the radio. "Welcome race fans to Daytona Speed week and the Gatorade Dual 125s!" Holy crap! I forgot all about the dual 125s today. For the Daytona 500 they don't have individual qualifying laps like all the other races, they have 2 125 lap races to determine the positions and determine who gets to race and who goes home. They are usually pretty exciting races to watch because there are alot of teams who are new or unsponsored trying to prove themselves and make it into the Superbowl of NASCAR racing.

I decided real quick that lunch was going to come from right here in the isles of the gas station and I was going to jump on my bike and get back to the truck sooner than anticipated to try and catch some of the race on the drive home. I grabbed a very healthy lunch consisting of a double decker Moon Pie, Skittles, Powerbar & a Red Bull. Normally I don't eat this kind of stuff especially in that quantity but I knew I was going to be riding hard and fighting the wind the whole way and I would probably burn every bit of the calories as fuel.

As soon as I hit the open parts of the trail I knew it was going to be a tough ride. I felt like I was hitting a wall that was pushing back, the wind was so fierce at times. Luckily it was not that way the whole time but I did have to turn my Ipod up a couple of notches just to hear the music.

By the time I reached my truck I was beat but happy and I hadn't even touched the Skittles. I turned on the radio to find that there were still 25 laps in the first race and Dale Jr. was racing in #2. I even made it home in time to catch the entire 2nd race on TV.

Today I plan to head out on a short road ride and maybe get in some retaining wall work before heading to work. Man I love my 7 days off I've ridden 5 out of 7 days in very nice weather, shot alot of video, explored several new trails, got in a lot of work at the house and even ran a little too. I hope work is slow this weekend so I can rest up for next week.