Heartbreaker

Erich, Mitch, and I battled the heat and vehicular pandemonium to get in a mountain bike ride.
Mitch relaxing at the Subaru Dealership in Hickory after his Subaru was acting up just a little bit.


I had plans of taking these two on a big mtb ride, but hadn't been able to work out the time to get out to Pisgah. Memorial Day would grant the three of us the perfect opportunity to spend the day out and about. We parked at the Andrews Geyser, and took the Old Toll Road towards the Blue Ridge Parkway.



The Mountain Laurel and Rhododendron were both in bloom and were beautiful. Heartbreaker is a great descent in that it gives the rider a bit of everything. The top is rocky, somewhat technical, and steep. About a quarter of the way down, the trail is all speed and wide open turns, with a few berms thrown in at perfect intervals.
Towards the bottom by Star Gap, and down Lower Heartbreak, there are at least a dozen switchbacks. I cleared more than my normal amount of these switchbacks. Being on a full suspension 29er does not lend itself to tight corners very well, with the long wheelbase and being so far from the ground.

Lewisville

Lewisville ride tonight. E and I had some fun on the climbs and on the way back in.

I've been messing with an app I have for the iTouch...

Solo

After not riding a whole lot as of late, especially by myself, a solo ride was in order. To be honest, I haven't really been on the bike a whole lot since the Battenkill, nor have I done any rides that really thrashed the legs. There have been some good efforts on the MNRR's but nothing like the solo and duo rides with E getting ready for the Battenkill. Tonight I wanted to see what I've lost over the past month or so. I knew that a proper gauge of my fitness would be to do a hard effort in zones 4 and 5 on Grapevine. My time over this climb would be pretty indicative of the changes since the end of training. I have gained about 10-15 seconds over the course of the seven to eight minute climb, but am still sluggish at best! Even though I was pushing it a little bit tonight, I was still of the mindset of trying to enjoy the amazing weather, and great scenery.

Pilot

The Mitch and I hit Pilot up today. Great news is that the powers that be decided to repave the road, and the descent is even faster...the climb...well, its still a snail's pace.

Bike to Work

So, I was able to convince a couple of other teachers that I work with to ride in with me. The goal was to make it doable, but still save some gas and whatnot, so we met up and left from my buddy Andrew's house. Our student's were impressed, and a number of them said to me that they would like to start riding in. The community that I teach in is, as far as exercise goes, lethargic at best. Hopefully, we inspired some of the kids to get outside a bit more and enjoy the natural beauty that surrounds them!

Kovacs and the Polar Bear Vid

Found this video on the blogasheville site. I thought it was a great song, and a cool video and I'd share. Hope you enjoy.

Hooomidity

Holy humid this morning, I'm surprised mushrooms didn't start growing on my feet. In this photo, it may look like Erich is celebrating having won a sign sprint, but alas, he is just trying to air out the pits. (sorry, E, fun at your expense)


The brothers Battenkill agreed on a road ride, and we were off towards Tanglewood from Buena Vista. It was good to be out riding with Erich and not trying to bury each other like on our training rides. Just plain ol' fun on the bike! On the way back to his place, we ran into the Ronald McDonald 5/10k...the course looked pretty hilly!

CLM MNRR

Steady-mobbin' up into the West End.

Monday Night recovery race was on for tonight. The usual suspects: E-rich, Duane, Doc Rob, Doc Jacobs, Cisco, Mitcher, and I met up at the school. Much fun was had by all involved, it seems everyone is celebrating in some way or another right now. Some having finished school, some having kids soon, some getting married soon...a very cool group to be around! These rides are cathartic simply because they are typically fast, but the company is always great. Great ride guys, can't wait 'til next Monday!
Chatting it up after the mad dash down Peace Haven.

Dayhike

Lisa, the pooch, and I headed into the woods today for a great hike. Five hours later, we were back out, and they both fell asleep on the way home.

Eventful Weekend

Me and Lisa's sixth anniversary was yesterday so we had some big plans for the weekend. The requisite partying has been fun. Good road ride yesterday with the Mitcher. Biltmore fun today, riding horses, rooftop tour and the like. It was a perfect day to be outside!

Biltmore Architecture

I can't seem to escape cycling references everywhere I go






And yes, that is a draft horse they had me on. I am a tub o' lard.