Foggy Mountain Morning

Filling Paws: LB's First Time

After a lazy, yet effectively efficient morning that contained another helping of eating breakfast out (mmm Larry's), I took the pups for a trail run. This would be Benjamin's first trail ride/run with me, having been leary of introducing him to the awesomeness of the backyard trails before his "brain surgery" (aka neutering). Catahoula's have a strong sense of wandering when coming of age, hence JD's run-in with a car a few years back, so I didn't want to teach him of life beyond the fence just yet. Having fully recovered from surgery, it was time to see what, if any, trail hound he had in him.

Of course he has some big paws to fill. Dish was always a great, if not a little over-exuberant, trail dog. He'd follow along for miles, lead us out when lost, climb rock walls and ford raging rivers to avoid suspension bridges, and enjoyed the time in the woods.  But he really, really, really loved the run-amok time any stops allowed. Poey (the whippet) wouldn't come off of my wheel or let me out of her site. She'd silently stick to my side and run for as long as I needed her too. She never really showed one way or another if she enjoyed it, she just preferred being where I was so she liked to come along.

JD, having been trained to follow from 10 weeks of age, is probably the most focused and obsessed trail dog I've ever come across. He doesn't like to dilly dally around, it is ride/run or nothing and will shortly be very vocal about wasting too much time not moving. Even if it's a stop so he can cool off/get a drink of water from a creek. Other than swimming in a lake, I don't think there is any place JD would rather be than running out on a trail and if the weather isn't too hot, I've yet to find his limits. How would Benjamin behave?

Benjamin did surprisingly well. He wasn't too sure at first why JD and I kept running away from him on the trail and did his best to keep up. Staying behind the bike for the first few miles, he eventually managed to catch up to JD where he thought the game was to attack and wrestle. JD, being keen on staying on the trail, initially was pretty patient with the playing pup but quickly nipped the games in the bud once knocked off the trail. Benjamin, not caring what JD thinks, continued in his attempts to take down JD.

Fortunately for JD, Benjamin lacks the trail jets years of training can produce. Plus, little Suess-footed Benjamin's legs are half the length of his bigger brothers so he's a little handicapped at the moment. By the last few miles he was in the groove and seemed to be having a grand time, though he wasted no effort in being the first one back to the house (he does love the couch). I think we might just make a trail hound out of him yet.

Spookhouse Breakfast

I had an appointment at 7am for Krvin (my car) to get some work done. Since Thursdays are one of our typical bike commuting days, I didn't want to totally miss out on riding due to the car appointment, so we tried something new since we'd be extra early: eating breakfast. So we met up at a local breakfast joint and ate our fill before finishing the ride in to work. A nice change of pace.

Of course, being early we had a little extra time to explore some new roads along the way. Preliminary scouting for some extra exploration on the route home. I had the ROAM set on 30 second intervals to capture some of the scenery.

Heading  out after work. 

 I was curious as to how well the ROAM would work at night, so I left it mounted up next to my 150 lumen mi-newt mini and let it roll. Aside from a few streaking lights, several shots turned out pretty decently. I'm sure with my 1500 lumen light I could get some much better photos, but I'm happy with the few I caught. All in all, it was another great adventure commute with a twist.

Hike-a-bike up a rocky path next to the river. 

A spooky gravel hill.

Led us past vacant ruins of an old home.

Vacant and spooky old home remains at that.

Finding Your Own

I am the anti-fat.

I've had a lot of thoughts swimming around my head. Some about GPS units and posted routes giving immediate access to roads years of searching uncovered. I don't mind others enjoying them, I just get irked the exploration and unknown is removed from the equation. Just a few years back a wrong turn, missed turn, or unmarked road led to hours of extra riding and trying to find your way back. The awe of discovering remote falls, killer double-track descents, and deep creeks. Good old crumpled map and compass days long gone. Days of heading out and not knowing how long you'd be out, how far you'd ride, or if you'd find a store to refill supplies lost to turn by turn navigation. Now you can just swipe the screen of your smart phone or garmin and have immediate access to up-to-date maps (not the updated every 10 year Gazetteers) and "you are here" locators. Along with satellite imagery and street view in some instances.

Other thoughts are regarding the "seasons" everyone is starting to piece together. I'm missing out on several races that I love to do each year. Some because I was too slow to register, others by choice. I am scheming up something new for this year. Aside from Kanza, most of my racing will be local series races. I need to save up my few days off for something bigger and badder this year.

The more mind-buzzing thoughts have revolved around plotting and planning several local adventures that are nearing time to put into motion. In planning and discussing particulars, I've come across a funny kind of discrimination amongst the adventure cycling elite. Take for instance my fascination of running skinny tires on my 29'er and not using it explicitly for mountain biking. I wanted a bike that would run myriad tire/wheel options for adventuring and racing while still allowing me to ride it daily as a commuter. Blasphemy. However, take that same 29'er and make it work with fat tires and oooh, now there's something the internet peeps can gossip and gush about.

Yes, I am jealous of Mike C's new bike. Yes I love to follow his adventures vicariously through his lens and words. Yes, I sometimes wish I lived out West and could take as many far away adventures as he does. Yes I am in total awe of his accomplishments and endeavors (plus he takes some killer photographs). But I love where I live. I love my life. And there is plenty of adventure around us if we dream big, even in little wheels.

Which makes me laugh a bit at myself. The same discrimination I'm receiving because of my interests with a do-it-all bike that's not fat-bike related is similar to my feelings towards the GPS crowd. Go figure. We cyclists (humans) are a funny bunch. No matter what the aspect your into, someone will tell you you're not doing it right, they did it first, or your stupid for not being into 'x', or not racing cross, or not running a 140mm stem, not running Campy on your Colnago, or using a brake on your fixie, etc...  Rather than just "cool you ride bikes too".

So, my local readers and friends, if'n you're up for some small adventures based on grand ideas, stay tuned, keep an eye on the inbox, and stock up on Revelate Designs and Backcountry Research awesome, you'll need them where we're going. To my non-local readers/friends, expect less race recaps and more exploration and misguided mishaps.  I also might get around to the coffee table book of TN photos I've been daydreaming about putting together. So many locations I want to capture before they disappear in the name of "progress".

JDM XXIII: Gentleman's Edition

It's been a long time since the band got together for a Joelton Death March (JDM). Never flat, always up or down, constantly climbing and descending the ridge of the Highland Rim. Given the nightly coughing and phlegm fits, I knew I wasn't up for a super intense effort, so I governed myself by taking the mx rsl ss co-Mooter. Not certain it really helped all that much aside from keeping me spinning madly off the back on the big-ring descents. I got to let loose a bunch of snot rockets though (3 lbs worth by Parker's estimation).

I'd almost forgotten how much I love the back country roads North of Nashvegas. Little to no traffic. Tight and twisty. Steep and narrow. You never go far before the road points upward, and in less than a half mile we found ourselves heading up one of the local 30 percent-ers. The attacks pretty much started from the gun. Kanza training has begun.

Followed by the counter-attacks. 

Re-grouped and heading back up. 

Rollin.

Parker launches.

MJ chases.

Mr. "Automatically upgraded to Cat 1" Pumptrack Jim.

JDM regular KRS-1

Rapha shows up.

The Dook ready to roll.

Exploration Space

I've been battling a sinus-y head cold trying to keep it from creeping into my chest, but I think I have to just admit it's now a chest cold. Dammit. Stuffy, sneezing, achy, coughing, phlegmy  how the hell did I end up on the couch kinda cold. It's caused a day out of work and many days off the bike. I can feel the fitness oozing out of me like the snot dripping from my nostrils.

It hasn't been too bad, but it has made getting up and out a lot tougher. Though I did get out for a little exploration with JD today. We took a new to us gravel road and headed to find its end. We trudged through boggy grass, overgrown fields, through thickets, and trees till we reached the pond at the end.

Then we turned around and headed home as the sun began it's descent, satisfied with what we had discovered. Yup, we'll be back. Someday soon, we'll be back.