Blue Ridge Parkway

Monday was a great day for a ride here, but even a better day in the mountains.  I opted for a run from Cumberland Knob to Doughton Park and back, but felt good enough for a few extra miles when I got back to the X.   I had to get some gravel in, and a beautiful gravel road was discovered, Crownridge.  Heavenly, parallel to the parkway road that has quite a few steep ups and downs on it.  I may be the only person moronic enough to get my legs torn up by thorns and stinging nettles on a road ride.  The temptation to check out one of the streams alongside the Parkway was too much for me to bear.  Alas, no trout spotted in what looked to be a very likely spot.  All in all a good day on the bike, a few photos to share:

Doubleshot Doublehump

When I woke up this morning, the prospects for a ride looked dismal at best.  Cloudy and rainy at the house...so without a whole lot of thought, when I got the text from Mitch saying he was out, I went back to bed.  After slumber, the day looked brighter, so I decided to head north and do the Doubleshot road loop along with a climb of Sauratown.  Coming down Moore's Springs Road, I had a Tacoma pull up alongside, and lo and behold, a light shone down from heaven and Dudley appeared.  I figured that he was heading to MST to do some trailwork or get in a mtb ride.  With some quick deliberation, I decided to forgo the stop at the campground and head up to Hanging Rock.  I made it up in pretty decent time (for me), and headed back to the campground.  I stopped and shot the breeze for a few with Dudley and Tony, then headed back up Moore's Springs Road to climb Sauratown.  I took a few photos with the crappy iPod:

View from the top of Mickey Road, Brown Mountain in the distance. 

Dudley, rocking the Autodrop Invitational Jersey that Sean made for the MST crew last year. 

Shakedown!

I knew that I had something special waiting for me when I got back from vacation this weekend.  Brown Santa brought me most of a bicycle, to be built up with parts I've had for a while matched with some parts I've picked up over the past couple months.   After getting to a point where I could do no more with the tools I had on hand, I ventured to Doc Wheelies and we completed the build in short order.  As it sits below with pedals and cages, the bike to be dubbed "Cash" is 19lbs and a bit o' change.  I'll do some fine tuning over the next couple months leading up to the Breakdown, but there isn't much I'd like to change about it.  Look for a long term review later on this autumn!

As a side note, Erich and I have been busy working on getting things planned for our fall race.  The Autodrop Slingshot will go off October 27th from Bob's Big Gas Subs and Pub in Winston-Salem.  The checkpoint based road race was a hit last year, and with new checkpoints and challenges this year, it is sure to be a day in the saddle to remember!

MST Trailbuild

After a week's vacation growing sideways and rotund on shrimp and grits in Hilton Head, I was amped to get out and swing some tools today to build some trail.  The crew worked on a fantastic section of trail on the campground-side of Moore's Springs Road.  This short section must have 6 or more switchbacks and at least as many berms; a thing of beauty.  There was a glimpse of the Stokes County Yeti, however fleeting, but I am certain it was him...  

                                           Beware anyone who nears his lair.