Beasts of Burden

JD and Benjamin enjoying the longer days. 

 Taking advantage of the cool but sunny and dry weather the last 3 days, I was able to get out and actually get some good miles in my legs. I'd almost call it a solid block of riding. Almost.

A nice evening commute home with the first hour still daylight and only the second hour requiring lights. Then it was up stupid early for a 40 mile return trip Saturday. Highs would top out in the upper 60's but not so lucky with the commute. A slap in the face by ma nature had us riding in at 38 degrees while the sun took it's time climbing out of bed. Luckily it warmed into the mid 40's for the last half of the ride. Hopefully we're done with the 30 degree temp changes in a day for a while. Sure makes dressing for a ride to/from work difficult.

Still, it's better than some of my Northern and Coloradoan brethren have had to deal with, so I'll take what I can get. It was also an unexpected opportunity to ride roads I've not ridden in over 5 years. They were as scenic and inspiring as I remembered. My only regret is I didn't stop to capture a few of the more photo worthy views as I was trying hard to keep up with Mr. Chambers and his "I have a routine" fitness. 

The new lawn crew hard at work on the back yard grass. 

As if my legs weren't dead enough, I met up with some friends for a few laps around  the Chickasaw trails. Temps were cool, day overcast, but the trails were sublime and lap times furious. Perfect traction and low humidity. Two things we'll miss here in a few weeks when the temps rise, the humidity suffocates, and the dust replaces the traction rich spring dirt.

All in all it's been a fantastic three days. Three more then I'll be off to the land of Pisgah for a few  days armed with a cross bike, lights, and only evening hours available to ride. The rest of the time will be spent arguing with a gps device, following cue sheets, and driving a big ass van. Hazards of the job, but a job that's taking me to Pisgah. Hells Yeah!

Changing Scenery

The way the week went it would have been so easy to pass. So easy to make excuses to not go. Late hours, little sleep, long drive, less sleep, longer drive, money, etc... I decided to let the left side of my brain have the weekend off and rolled the dice with the right. Midnight thirty Saturday night as we were still weaving our way along the windy highway to Bryson City, NC, I was convinced I should have stayed home. When I got up at 5:40am EST, I knew I'd made the wrong decision. Then, as we made our way to the trail head, I saw the sunrise captured in the photo above. Jeremy pulled over at the overlook long enough for us to appreciate the full view. I was wrong. I had made the correct decision.

The mark II

Leading up to Sunday was a fully loaded week of work and late hours. Luckily my new 2013 race frame made it in time to get built up with enough time to get a parking lot test in before loading it onto the team van for it's maiden voyage, which would just so happen to be the magical land of Tsali.

Patrico and Alexander had never been to Tsali before and both are relatively new to mountain bike racing, as witnessed by them both drying their laundry the morning of our departure on their cars before work. Newbs.

Alexander was pretty stoked to fulfill a dream of his that entailed riding to a race in a team van. Mission accomplished. If 8 hours in a van with 5 dudes along windy narrow highways doesn't cure that ailment, nothing will.

Ryan and Alexander logging extra miles with me on the Thompson Loop. 

Despite having dawdlebird extraordinaire Patrico with us, as well as less than 5 hours of sleep and no real game plan, we managed to get up, out, fed, and to the trail head with enough time to get a sweet parking spot next to the registration/finish line area, have plenty of time to prepare our gear and warm up, and not have a line at the port-o-potties. Somebody buy a lottery ticket, cuz that doesn't happen to us very often.

Ryan and I watching the start of the Juniors race. Photo: Nina Teal

The race went off without a hitch and the new course design offered a better experience than past races, or so I feel. The fire road to singletrack conga line of doom was avoided and a wide open descent after the starting climb instantly set the mood for fast flowy fun.

Piloting the mark II with Ryan as my wingman.

My race went as expected: Slow start, picked up speed as the miles ticked over, ended up feeling great and too much left in the tank at the end. Meh. The legs are coming around and the new bike (mark II) felt great. A smaller down tube and a few other tubing changes made a huge difference over the mark I.

Giving Jr Racer Ethan some course detail and advice. 

After watching all the races finish up, riding some extra mileage to get that full Tsali experience, and attending the awards ceremony we headed over to the NOC for some much deserved grub at the River's End restaurant. The 70 degree and sunny day definitely had the feeling of summer and the NOC was hopping with hikers, kayakers, and cyclists. We'd lucked out with the weather after weeks of cold, bleak skies and rain. Our 26 hour trip had enough packed in to make it feel as though we'd experienced a true weekend away in the mountains.

Monday and Tuesday began with a bad omen. The first song on Pandora should have clued me in that staying in bed might just have been the better option. 68 minutes into the retail world after a soul uplifting trip the real world stepped fully down and squished my spirit.

Tuesday I spent the better part of the day with the above view. A far cry from the mountain vistas and water color skies North Carolina offered, but a tad bit better than Monday morning retail.  As my mood tanked so did the weather. The sunny skies gave way to clouds and scattered sprinkles. Perhaps I should have just stayed in bed.

After a late lunch and some Roubaix reading, I decided a short power nap might fix my aching head and heal my unhappy soul. I was roused from a deep sleep 20 minutes after laying down by the phone. It was Apollo Creed and he was going to be able to make it out to ride. I jumped up out of bed, grabbed my gear bag, my dog, and my bike and headed out.

Having a limited amount of time available, we opted to keep it close so the newly begun trail at Cane Ridge Park would have to do. I'd not made it over yet due to myriad reasons, but for what I needed today, it was perfect. We ended up getting in just a bit over 12 miles and had a blast racing around the woods. The 81 degree day took its toll on JD pretty early, that is until we discovered the pond. Every other lap we'd let him jump in and cool off which would just fire him up to run the next lap faster.

As we rode the skies cleared, my attitude changed, and the day was salvaged. I again feel refreshed and renewed and ready to take on the work week. Bring on the warranty claims, the angry customers, and the endless phone rings. I'm ready.

Barn for Jason.