Indeeeeyana

Very little progress towards the Rapha Rising challenge has been made since my foray into the midwest. I'm looking at somewhere around 8ooo meters left to climb, and will likely have to concede defeat. It's been a fun attempt, with way more climbing than I would normally do, and has required a number of repeats on smaller hills to accumulate the climbing. Idid get out for a thoroughly enjoyable ride yesterday at Brown County State Park. Incredibly humid, like it only gets in the midwest, made for a pretty wet ride.

Enjoying the view at Hesitation Point...I still don't know why it was named this.


One of the old foundations and chimneys in the park.



One section of the new Green Valley trail.

Spy Vid

I received this video from former CLM member Scotty. The note contained within the envelope simply stated, "my friends in Spain helped me launch my music career."

Quick Way to End a Ride

In my efforts to continue towards completion of the Rapha Rising Challenge, Sidney Portier and I headed to Traphill to do the HP&A Route. With storms threatening, we decided on doing the 32 mile option which still includes about 3500 feet of climbing.

We made relatively quick work on the climb up Oklahoma Road, and were up running parallel to the Parkway.



There were threats of storm throughout the ride, but we stayed dry aside from a little bit of spray coming up from the road. After riding along the Blue Ridge Parkway for a bit, we started the plunge back into Traphill. We parted ways at the bottom of Oklahoma so I could go get more climbing in. A new addition to this year's route includes a descent down into Stone Mountain State Park as an out and back. I've driven this a number of times to either go hiking, camping, or fly fishing but had never ridden it. It's a pretty stout stair-stepping climb out with flat sections punctuated with short bursts of 14-16 percent grades. I made my way back up and out and climbed Frank Parkway a second time and headed back into the park for a second go. At about the furthest point out, I heard a loud snap and was quickly halted. A spoke in the rear Ksyrium was snapped where it meets the nipple. With such high tension on these spokes, when one breaks, the wheel is exceedingly out of true.


I loosened the brakes in the hopes that this would resolve the issue, but to no avail, the tire was rubbing the frame to the point of stopping each revolution. I let all the air out, and still no rolling. So...I sucked it up and shouldered the bike for a long walk out. With no cell reception, I knew I had no other option. After three miles of climbing with my bike on the shoulder, and 40-50 cars passing me with nary an offer of help, I declared Southern Hospitality as dead. I finally made it to the visitor's center to try to hitch a ride with a ranger, but not before the skies opened up on me. Thankfully, one of the rangers volunteered to drop me off at the X.

At the end of it all, I ended up with around 40 miles with about 5200' of climbing. A grape fanta was in order at the campground:


Garden Creek Baptist Church, in the valley between the Blue Ridge and Stone Mountain:

Quad Hump.

So, I've decided to accept the Rapha Rising Challenge. It calls for a lion's share of climbing to be done during the days of the Tour de France.



After the poseur prologue the other day, I headed into the West End to do about 15 hill repeats to net me 2500 feet of climbing. Knowing that I will be heading to Indiana in about a week, I feel as though I'm going to have to get about 90 percent of the vertical before I leave. Indiana isn't exactly conducive to racking up tons of climbing, even in the hilly southern portion I am headed to. Today, my goal was to get in about seven thousand feet, but I ended up eclipsing that number by a good margin. I tagged the local summits of Sauratown Mountain and Hanging Rock two times apiece, and logged another 45 or so miles in their shadows. All told, the mileage was around 55, with right about 8000 feet of climbing. On the way back from Hanging Rock the second time, I ran into a dog I had never seen before on Moore's Springs. He gave chase, and my legs protested heartily in my sprint away from him. No joke, he looked just like Eddy from American Flyers!



Honestly, 70,000 feet in three weeks seems a bit lofty, but I am going to give it a shot...it should put me in good form for the Hurt, Pain and Agony at the tail end of this mission. Today was a good day, tagging two category two climbs and two category threes.

Hanging Rock, and Moore's Wall as viewed from my descent of Sauratown Mountain.

Poseur Prologue 2.0

2011 Poseur Prologue went over well, though not in attendance this year was Jill's dad. Too bad, he's a nice addition on the ride, epecially with the straight block gears!!! Kristin, Erich and I had a fun time of it, getting out early this morning before the beginning of the Tour. It's great as always to ride with E, but in addition, this is usually the ONE (sadly) ride I get to do with Kristin a year. I love riding with him, and I love his mentality...pure love for cycling!


When I got home, I had to partake of some espresso and pound cake with blackberries...fantastic!

Something wicked...

this way comes.




More details and a full website launch coming soon. Consider yourself warned.

zeee Gaps!

(to be read with a German accent) Heute ritt ich drei der vier Abstände, die in den unbeliebten Ausflug de Gaps mit einbezogen wurden! Today, I rode three of the four gaps involved in the infamous Tour de Gaps. I left the X at the top of Orchard Gap and set out on Boundary Road. I was set on trying to get in as much gravel as possible, and Boundary Road was an instant fix:



After just a couple of miles, I arrived at the top of the first gap I would descend, then climb back up: Willis Gap. I don't have much to say for this road aside from that I hate climbing it. It is terrible. 'nuf sed.

I caught back onto the parkway, and got onto Gunny Sack Trail. It was beautiful until it got to the point of being impassable on 25c tires. Beautiful nonetheless.


After rolling along parallel to the parkway on some other gravel roads, I got to the top of Squirrel Spur. Now this road, I love. Great descent with sweeping views of the Piedmont, pretty consistent grade for the return climb allows me to get into a rhythm.

Note Pilot and Sauratown in the background.


After having two gaps in my legs and some good rollers in between, I was out of water and decided to stop to eat and refill at Groundhog Mountain. I thoroughly enjoyed my time sitting under this great Pine. I just sat in the shade enjoying watching the flycatchers making meals of the Junebugs in the meadow.



I started back over to Orchard Gap and hit Boundary again, then down and back up to the country store at the top.


Post ride drink in honor of Mitch!


My GPS has been on the fritz again, but I think the mileage was just under 50 miles with about 7ooo feet of gain. Hefty day, but I took it at a fun pace and chilled.