Apprehension

There is tension in my body at the moment that will not likely be relieved until after tomorrow's ride. The atmosphere seems charged with electricity, especially with a 4 mile cat1 climb 60ish miles into the ride...and oh, it's on gravel too






The bike is set up with the new wheels thanks to Mitch. The tools and some food are packed. The embro, lip balm, and chamois cream are all on the docket for the AM. A big breakfast followed by a big ride followed by an even bigger dinner should be great. Plus, it's going to feel so pro to have a wheel truck/sag vehicle following us the entire time. Meadows of Dan has no idea what's up.

Powerlines!

Mitch, E, and I met up for a powerlines loop. Much fun ensued, and now much food and drink is being mauled.

Stopping to refuel at a gas station somewhere on Courtney-Huntsville



A sure sign that there has been a few good days of riding had

Hanging Rock and Sauratown

After embalmi...er...embrocating myself this morning, E and I kitted up to head North. The original plan was to tag Hanging Rock and head back to my place, but plans would change in the midst of the ride.


After getting to the top of the fall foliage tunnel that is the road up to the top, we descended and made a key decision. We would also include Mickey road on the ride.


Mickey is beautiful, it climbs back up to one of the lower ridges off the southwest side of Moore's Wall and gives an excellent vantage point of not only Moore's Wall, but Sauratown Mountain, and the Blue Ridge further north in Virginia. With the view of Sauratown, we could not resist the Siren's Call...we had to climb it.


With all of it's radio/cell towered splendor, the climb up is measurable by how close you are to the towers. We ran into Bert the Hurt,Bob and Debra and chatted it up for a bit at the summit. The descent gave us the view of Moore's Wall and Hanging Rock and the undulating blanket that is the piedmont:

Once we realized that we were heading in the same direction back down 66, we hopped in together and rode like the obligatory bats out of Hades. We parted ways in King, and E and I were left to limp home without the aid of the slipstream. Today's ride was fantastic, made even more so by my beautiful wife having made us some chocolate chip pumpkin gingerbread to maul when we arrived home.

55miles and 5k feet of climbing

Veteran's Day Ride

I had to take advantage of yesterday's nice weather, and the day off, to do something outside. I waffled back and forth about whether to ride or to fish, but decided on the former because training camp is next weekend, and I've got to hold onto the wheel of a couple very strong riders. The route included a side trip to Cycletherapy to get some Shot Bloks. Gravel was also on the menu, so after heading down to Lewisville, I made the turn north and west towards some of my favorite gravel; Aquila Creek and Butner Mill. I snapped a few photos along the way, and just generally enjoyed the day. Great day on the bike, and now ready for Hanging Rock tomorrow.







As an aside, local riders, the first to post a comment and identify the road in the photo below will get a one ounce tublet of Enzo's Buttonhole Chamois Cream. The stuff is the real deal. If you do not use chamois cream, I will give you a pat on the hind end as payment...choose your poison wisely.

A Must View

This video is pretty amazing, makes me wish that I had the courage/bravado to ride one of these bikes on a trail like that!

Wednesday Night Local

E and I strapped on our own personal pieces of the sun and hit one of my favorite local loops in the Pyrennes. Good times, and through labored breathing trying to hold onto E's wheel, good conversation were the keys of the night.

A-Ville Weekend

A nice weekend off the bike, hanging out with some friends in Asheville. Lisa and I met up with Tejal at Curtis' old shop, Motion Makers on Saturday AM for the bikerumor schwag toss. With the luck of the draw, I happened to race Tejal in one of the slow races, and won (the prize was a Cane Creek headset that should be here sometime later this week). Lisa lost her slow race, but still scored me a Verge baselayer from Biowheels. Overall, I walked out of there with a baselayer, a t-shirt, a Cane Creek headset, three tubs of chamois butter, a plethora of stickers and the satisfaction of having won a bike race...albeit a slow one.




We also spent some time at the Biltmore, ate out a few times at some great restaurants downtown, hung out at the Grove Park Inn, and just generally enjoyed time off of work/school. Great weekend with my best friend!