Clipper on a Bicycle

Bent Creek 12/02/11

2011-12-03T12:49:00.001-05:00

Ginger and I rode Bent Creek Saturday.http://ridewithgps.com/routes/841282
I have driven by Brent creek dozens of times on the way to Pisgah or DuPont. There is not as much trail or quite as scenic as DuPont but the riding is pretty close. We got out of the car and proceeded to climb 1500' vert. It was all ridable allthough a couple of rest stops were in order. Ginger rode all but the steepest and/or tech sections. Some places were still a little wet.

This picture is just above the 5 points area on the way to Green's Lick. The big downhill on Green's Lick was fun but it would be more fun on a bike with something slacker than XC geometry.

After the big downhill we rode the Explorer Trail. It was much flatter but a little more technical with wet roots.

Feb. Time to build trails

2011-02-28T08:21:00.001-05:00

Ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the West Bandy Trail at Big South Fork. BHann, new park superintendent Nickie Nicholas and Joe Cross.

Trail building is now going strong at Fort Dickerson.

We had about 10 dry days in Feb and got some excellent riding in. The log ride on the Hickory Trail at Ross Marble.

We had a great work day at Ross Marble. Over 30 people showed to work and get new trails opened. BHann is preaching the trail building gospel to the congregation.

Chicken soup for all!

Southside putting the finishing touches on another great bridge.

Cumberland Gap National Park

2011-01-17T10:04:00.000-05:00

Ginger and I needed to get out of the house Sunday so we decided to make the 1 1/2 hour drive up to Cumberland Gap National Park. First we stopped in at The Sunspot for brunch. Then we drove up Hwy 33 through Maynardville, Tazewell and Harrogate.

The road to the Pinnacle was gated because of snow and ice. We took the opportunity to use the road for a hike to the top. We took The Weasel (our Corgi, Kobe) with us as she needed to get out as bad as we did.

I didn't check the mileage but I think it is around 2 miles to the top. Elevation gain is around 1300'.

As we got closer to the top the snow got heavier and deeper. 4 to 6" at the top and it was melting fast. The views from the top are spectacular. This overlook is to the south and is right abouve the town of Cumberland Gap. Most of what you see from here is Tenn.

Mail Run

2010-12-29T09:32:00.002-05:00

20 years or so ago, my old friend Sam Poynter stared the Mail Run. The Mail Run was always around the end of the year. The weather was (almost) always terrible. The ride was long and grueling and fun in a perverse sort of way. The chance of getting wet, lost, bonked, finishing in the dark and having a blast laughing about it were very high. In other words, it was always a ride you would remember for a long time.

Well, Sam doesn't ride a lot anymore and no longer does the Mail Run. Scott Grisom has taken on the task of the Mail Run organizing. On Monday Dec 27th we had the 2010 Mail Run at Big South Fork. Between the announcement of the ride and the actual ride time BSF got about 6" of snow. I wasn't sure we could even get to Bandy Creek or if Scott and the Middle Tn folks could make it.

An announced 10:00 start ended up being closer to 10:30. The parking lot was hard to walk on. Ice was all over where the snow had been cleared. 11 hard men started down the gravel headed towards Grand Gap. It was probably around 20* at the start. That's pretty damn cold but it also keeps the snow frozen and not wet which feels warmer than say 34* and mush.

The conditions were surprisingly good. The gravel portion was quite cold but once we hit the single track it was comfortable. For those of you who wonder how to dress for this...long sleeved wool undershirt, std cycling jersey, EWR wool jersey (Epic Ride Mafia version), mid weight fleece, Pearl Izumi shell, wind blocker fleece tights with std shorts, wool socks, neoprene shoe covers, knit cap, my new winter gloves and a bandana to cover my face. About a mile into the single track I peeled the bandana off my face, the shell went in a pocket and I switch the heavy gloves for midweights.

It ended up being a great ride with some fun people. Clay Mayfield did his first snow ride as well as his first BSF ride. Jason Collins came and rode as well. Scott brought a Middle TN crew. I only had time to ride Grand Gap/John Muir and back on the gravel but Scot and his crew did an out and back going both ways on GG/JM. My ride ended up around 22 miles and Scott's was closer to 33.

Nov 11

2010-11-24T20:39:00.000-05:00

Hill of Truth

AMBC Fall Festival

DuPont Big Ride

2010-10-18T08:56:00.001-04:00

Saturday we did a big DuPont ride. Just under 30 miles with a group of 11. Jay Smelser led us on what he called the full chicken biscuit with extra jelly.

We rode some popular trails and a few that see very little traffic. I still say Ridgeline is one of my most favorite downhills anywhere. It just flows and flows and you go as fast as you dare.

Cedar Rock is always cool but I don't reccomend using the climb up as a warm up.

Thanks to Jay for leading. Monty, Allen, Jaques, Keith, Larry, Garrett, Joel, Jason and Kaycee kept the ride fun.

School, work, work, play, play....

2010-09-07T16:24:00.000-04:00

I finished my certificate GIS program. I managed to get the GIS Student of the Year. WooHoo! I started working for Mobley Engineering this spring. My old friends Mark and Susan Mobley put me to work. I have been able to use my new GIS skills to put together some bathymetry (I didn't know what that was either). Basically I am using GPS and depth readings to map the lake bottoms in order to locate oxygen differ systems in the most productive place.

So far we have worked in Fla, Maine, PA and S Carolina. I produced maps for Fla, ME and SC. This map is of the SC job.

One of the perks of the job is that Mark is a mountain bike and road bike rider. I had the opportunity to ride in Florida at Alafia River State Park. It was actually pretty nice. Lots of good singletrack in and around an old quarry.

In Maine I rode at Bradbury Mtn. State Park. It was, well, different. Maine is in need of some flow. Some of the trails were pretty nice and some, like the "O" Trail were not. Lots of round rocks in Maine. I also rode at Mt Apatite in Auburn, A new(?) state park just north of town and just across the river from where we were working and at Sunday River Ski Resort. At Sunday River they have lifts to the top of the mountain for downhillers. I rode up then down. The big hill was fun but a little sketchy on my hardtail XC bike.

The best mountain bikeing was in South Carolina. We stayed about 7 or 8 miles from the FATS Trail system. FATS was a blast. Fast, curvey, up and down and as hard as you want to make it. Sorry, no pics. I broke my camera. It would be worth the travel to get a trip together to ride all the trails down there. One of the locals told me there are over 100 miles of trails within 20 miles of this place. The house we stayed in was something else.

Oh, and we did do some work. This is what it looked like at the end of a 13 hour day in 100* heat.

Anderson County Recreation Opportunities

2010-04-29T10:53:00.003-04:00

Wheather you are are avid mopuntain biker or a trout fisherman, Anderson Co has plenty of what you are looking for.

Trout Fishing Access Points Clinch River Below Norris Dam

2010-04-29T10:28:00.004-04:00

More cool stuff in Anderson Co:
Anderson County Locator Page and Map
Haw Ridge Mountain Biking
Norris Dam State Park and Norris Watershed Mountain Biking

More School Maps/ Haw Ridge Park and Bike Trails (not all of them)

2010-04-29T09:45:00.005-04:00

Here's Rob at Haw Ridge in '09. There are over 20 miles of trails at Haw Ridge. The park is owned and managed by the City of Oak Ridge.

Sometimes it gets weird around here!

Other cool places:

Anderson Co. Locator Page and Map

Norris Dam State Park and Norris Watershed Property

Clinch River Trout Fishing Access Points

Norris Dam State Park and Norris Watershed Trails

2010-04-27T22:29:00.020-04:00

The view from the overlook on the City side.

This is a class project to show recreational opportunities in Anderson Co.

More cool places:

Anderson County Locator Page and Map

Haw Ridge Mountain BikeTrails

Clinch River Trout Fishing Access Points

Last week

2010-03-14T09:13:00.001-04:00

Norris works quite nicely in the winter

2010-01-24T09:53:00.001-05:00

We had a good group ride at Norris yesterday. Mile marker 8 to Eagle, up thru town and up to Spooky, up to High Point where we regrouped after Emerson lost a cleat. All the way down High Point to Upper Clear Creek. Up to Boundary where Micah tried to auger himself and Scott's bike into the sandy loam of Boundary Trail. Down to Upper Clear Creek, backtrack up to Belmont, down to Mockingbird, back up to High Point. Regroup at top again and down Camp Sam. We're done...No, one more time up High Point to finish down RidgeCrest. Now we're done. Thanks Micah, Eleanor, Jaques, Emerson, Joel S, Southside Randy (he looks funny in a picture without a trail building tool in his hands), George and Grant. Great ride on a day that almost any other trail would be a sloppy mess.

2010-01-19T10:01:00.006-05:00

Busy week. Saturday we had a GA Marble workday in the snow. That was followed on Tuesday by a North Boundary ride that was cold! Thursday was a ride with Team Ed at Big South Fork (my favorite ride around E TN). Saturday had another GA Marble workday. Wet was the word for the day. The rain did manage to hold off until we got back nto the cars. Sunday was a Norris ride where I was able to show Jaques, George and Purdy some of Norris they had never seen. Monday was another Norris ride with Robb. Sorry no pics. Dead battery.

The funny part of the week is with all that riding, all on the single speed, I gained 2 pounds!

North Boundary cold ride.

Dirty South All White

2010-01-08T14:28:00.003-05:00

Johnny Del Fuego and I went on a snowy, frozen Diry South ride yesterday. We met at Meade's Quarry parking lot and rode all the new Ga Marble stuff. Snow and sleet was falling and it was really quite beautiful. The new trails were frozen solid and the traction was absolutely perfect.

After a trip thru GA Marble we cut through the Forks to BHanns. BHann and Southside Randy cut a new connector trail this week and it is nice. It cuts out a creek crossing that we could not keep in good shape. BHann used the Alpine Magnum and cut a nice benched trail. A couple of hours on the trail with good company followed by...

The ride home on frozen roads. I know I shouldn't have tried but I went up Hillside. As I was headed up following a small pickup a car came sliding down the hill sideways and t-boned the truck. I stopped to see if everyone was OK. The kid driving the truck stumbled out. It was obvious he had hit his head. He was stumbling around in the road. Before I could get up to him a van came sliding and slipping down the hill. It looked like it was headed straight towards the van, the kid and me. I'm not sure how the guy did it but he missed everything.

It was pretty obvious to me that I needed to position myself at the top to keep someone from getting killed. I stopped several cars including one kid that was hauling ass. The 2nd or 3rd car by had an off duty sherriff's deputy. He called to hurry up an ambulance. After 25 or 30 minutes an ambulance showed up. 15 minutes later a city cop and two fire trucks showed up. The patrolman parked his blue lights at the top of the hill to block traffic. The fire trucks came up from the bottom parking behind me about halfway up the hill. It took another hour or so to get two people hauled off to the hospital.

When we finally got the wreck victims cleared out the fire trucks backed down the hill. It was frozed solid. Each time the truck eased down the hill he slid sideways towards the ditch. Finally the firemen called for the salt truck. 20 minutes later the salt truck showed up and salted behind the last fire truck. They eased down the hill. The salt truck then backed up the hill to where I was parked spreading salt the whole way. They pulled back down to the bottom and backed up again to make sure they covered the street.

About 2 1/2 hours after I started home I was able to head to the house. It took me longer to get home that we did an entire Dirty South loop in.

2010-01-03T15:13:00.003-05:00

The first Snake Creek Gap time trail of the year was yesterday. On the ride out to the start the temp was 19*. Normally that's not so bad but about 1.5 miles in we had to cross a small river

I thought I got too wet crossing until I found this picture of Kevin. After going through the water I thought the 3 mile climb would warm my hands and feet up to acceptable warmth. Nope. Close to the top I stopped for about 10 minutes to put toe warmers in my shoes. That helped until I got them wet again towards the end of the first half.

At the midway rest stop I took about 20 minutes to warm my toes and change into dry socks. It didn't help. My feet felt like two blocks of ice for the rest of the race.

My 5:04 time was one of the slowest times I've ever had at the Snake. All I could think of for the last half of the race was getting back to my car and warming my feet with the heater. Around the 20 mile mark my body was screaming "Hey you dumbass! You havn't done more than a 2 hour ride in months. What are you doing?"

NWGA SORBA always puts on a great event, even under tough conditions. Even though I was pretty miserable for most of the race, I'm looking forward to Feb. already.

New TVB kits

2009-12-28T21:08:00.002-05:00

The new TVB kits look so good we even wear them to pump gas in. Doesn't Jaques look fine?

Busy Fall

2009-12-26T09:54:00.018-05:00

Here is a little taste.

I love Big South Fork. The Grand Gap/John Muir trails are as good as it gets.

Walden Ridge

School kept me busy for much of the fall. Good news is 3 courses and 3 A's. I learned how to make maps with ARCGIS software. It is a very powerful software and kind of reminds me of Windows in that it does so much I can't imagine anyone knowing all of it. As you might expect, all my projects involved mapping trails for MTB. !st project was Hastie trails. Anyway, I'm having fun with it and hope to develop map making into an occupation.

Some Dirty South trail work and some snow on Rich Mtn.

It has been a busy fall.

Really...it's been 6 weeks since I put stuff on here?

2009-10-02T08:54:00.002-04:00

Micah, Russ and I went to DoPont yesterday. We rode about 25 miles and left feeling satisfied. Ridgeline may be the funnest trail around.

Drum Roll Please....

2009-08-19T10:07:00.003-04:00

This past weekend I raced at Bike Butler in Carrolton, KY. It was the 16 th(?) annual International Clydesdale Championship. I managed to get a win on a hilly, curvy, tight and technical course. It was fitting that I rode at Concord last week. The Bike Butler course reminded me a lot of Concord. The hills are a little bigger and the course is not quite as tight as Concord but Concord was definately good race prep.

This is me with Troy Hearn. Troy won last year and finished 2nd this year. Troy has a nice shop in Frankfort, Ky, Capitol City Cycles.

The win was worth $.50 per pound. That netted me $110.00 for the win. If you look at the bottom of the top picture you can spot the scales and no I didn't ride that bike next to me.

2009-08-08T12:35:00.003-04:00

Last night Ginger and I rode up to upper Campbell Co. to Hatfield Knob. It was our first trip to the elk viewing tower. There are 2 or 3 large information boards telling about the elk release program and about other local fauna.

There were two very large bulls but they never got close enough to get a really good shot of.

It's a pretty cool place. I think it ended up being about 40 miles from the house. The last 7 or 8 miles are gravel and a little rough although the Element did just fine.
clipper

Does TBRA care about MTB?

2009-07-14T10:55:00.003-04:00

This picture is from 2 1/2 weeks ago. The Raccoon Mtn. race results are still not up. SERC who promoted the race posted their results the day after the race. Just for kicks, I checked the road race held Sunday. The results are up already. That just tells me TBRA really doesn't care about MTB racing.

Another example is that all state champions are listed on the club sites. However, only road race champions are listed, no MTB state champions are mentioned. Maybe it's time to consider something other than TBRA for MTB races...

On another subject, still no work. I have several resumes out there but everyone seems to be waiting to do any hiring. If you have had the opportunity to deal with unemployment you know what a fiasco that is. You can't get a person on the phone. When you get a recording it might tell you to call another recording. I understand there are a lot of people out of work but hell...I made the mistake of mis-entering my pin # to report in for benefits. Now I can't get it reset. Run around city.

I have done a lot of riding since I have not been working. I calculated that I rode 160 miles all off froad in a 2 week span. Rides include Big South Fork (twice), Raccoon Mtn. (twice) Dupont, Dirty South, Haw Ridge...

Lu Lu the wonder dog

2009-06-24T17:43:00.002-04:00

We just got thru burying Lu Lu this afternoon. She was 13 years old and I think her body just gave out on her. She had been laying around for the last week or two and not much interested in going outside or food.

She lived a good life. When she first became a member of the family she was a tiny, mangy ugly puppy. We nursed to back to health and cured her mange. I really think she led a charmed life. She turned into the least aggressive dog I've ever seen. All the kids came over and we had a good cry but I know she doesn't hurt anymore.

R I F

2009-06-15T09:43:00.005-04:00

R I F...Reading is fundamental? No, R I F in this case means "reduction in force". Last Thursday I got notice that I was being laid off. I can't say that was completely unexpected but I wasn't looking for it now.

For those that don't know, I am a salesman. I sold building supplies to the manufactured housing industry, primarily to Clayton Homes. Since Clayton is the 800 lb. gorilla of the MH industry I thought I might be safe. The big problem is that when I started in the MH industry 10 years ago, there were 430,000 houses built. This year predictions are for around 50,000 houses. No matter how much you increase what you are selling it's hard to make up that volumn.

Maybe I have learned my lesson as far as MH is concerned. This is the 4th layoff in 10 years. Fortunately my customers have been very active in finding me work in the MH industry every time I've been looking.

After getting word Thursday, I set up an interview Friday morning. I think it went well. They don't intend to fill the position until after the 4th of July. When I got home I got another lead on a job out of Tazewell, TN.

At this point I intend to work on fitness and get lots of riding in. There are many big rides I want to do. A big loop at Big South Fork, road ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway, explore Pisgah, Tanasi and Chilhowee and Cherokee national Forest are some places I want to know more about and explore.

On a different note, I raced at Defeated Creek Sunday. If you have never been, it is a great track. A loop is about 9.25 miles. You gradually climb a big ridge and then have a big time fun 2 mile downhill to the finish. I won but by only 6 seconds. A close race makes it much more fun. The guy who finished 2nd is the same guy I've been beating by 5 or 10 minutes on other races. He said he had lost some weight and has been training pretty hard. Nobody drug checked him though. Anyway, I was happy for him and happy to have someone else to push me.

061009 misc

2009-06-10T09:51:00.000-04:00

Sunday Ginger and I drove the Blue Ridge Parkway from Cherokee to Pisgah Mtn. It was the first time I have driven that section in a long time. I really want to do a bike ride on it now!

More Dirty South...Last night we did our regular Dirty South. There were around 20 or so people riding. About 1/2 way around Hastie we split into two groups. I didn't realize it but both groups had the same idea. We did a GA Marble tour including the hole in the wall.

Here we are behind the wall.

Here is Jon checking out the 80 vertical drop from the top of the wall.

I've been to Big South Fork twice in the last couple of weeks. Saturday 4 of us went up and helped the park service and Joe Cross haul lumber into the trail to build a new bridge with. Rob, Kyle, Carelton and I worked about 5 hours until we were too sore to do it any more. So then we went riding.

Friday night we rode grand Gap and Sat evening we rode Collier Ridge and W Bandy.
This is a sign from Collier Ridge Advanced Trail. It will be part of the XC race course July 12.

Photo Dump...catching up

2009-05-20T14:33:00.000-04:00

I've got a lot of catching up to do...

Tuesday night Dirty South ride is growing in popularity. 28 people leaving the lot at the same time.

Here I am on a vampire hunt. No, I was just putting up directional arrows at Hastie.

The AMBC has a booth at Sundown sponsored by New Belgium (thanks, Jeremy). We are raffling off a Fat Tire Flyer. This bike is guarenteed to make you 10% better looking and at least 5% faster. You probably will not look as good as our handsome models but at least you will look better. Come by our booth and buy a couple of tickets.

A couple of weeks ago I did the Dirt, Sweat and Gears 12 hour race as a 4 man team with JTall, MtnBkrPhil and Smeasley. In 20+ years of off road riding, I have never seen worse conditions.

It was so bad that out of a 10 mile loop only about a mile of the course was rideable. Jerimiah Bishop won and his comment was "I was able to walk faster than anyone else."

This hard man did two laps on his uni.

JTall after a quick 4 hour mud bath/hike/swim.

Smeasley trolling the crowd for a night time companion.

Here Jeremy is trying to explain to Abby why his speech is slurred while she is killing herself in the mud.

MtnBkrPhil...He's the one in the background, wallowing in the mud.

In case you are wondering why there are no muddy pictures of me, our 4 man rotation never got to me. A 12 hour race with a 10 mile lap and we didn't get 3 laps completed. And we did better than many.

Humble Pie

2009-04-06T10:43:00.000-04:00

I raced the Knobscorcher this weekend. I had been killing it in the TBRA series and I guess I was getting a little cocky. The was a guy from Greeneville, SC that absolutely kicked my ass. He finished 5 minutes in front of me. Turns out it was his 1st mountain bike race. He is a Cat III road racer though. I introduced myself after the race. Steve Baker was his name and he was a great guy. I hope he keeps racing some. A little humble pie is good for the soul every once in a while.

2nd place felt pretty good. I felt good the whole race. That usually means I didn't go quite hard enough. Pretty much everyone was good about passing. I had one 13-29 pass me that almost took me down. I think it was my fault as much as his. Another 19=29 passed me and when I got on his wheel on the long downhill and told him to pick it up that I was trying to catch the 2nd place guy, he pulled over in the next switchback and let me by. I passed into 2nd soon after. Pretty cool. The 19-29 guy even rode the rest of the race with me and kept telling to ride my race and encouraged me to not let 3rd catch me.

A quick AMBC update is in order. This morning BHann and I met with the IJAMs folks and City Parks and Rec folks about the trail thru GA Marble. We got approval and will start flagging as soon as this week. We hope to have at least one work day before the summer foilage pops out.

Jereme Walker with Eagle Distributing has come up with another New Belgium Fat Tire Flyer for us to raffle off. He also got us permission to set up a booth at Sundown to sell raffle tickets, tshirts and memberships for AMBC. Yea Jereme!

Snake '09 Grand Finale

2009-03-09T13:35:00.000-04:00

The last Snake Creek Gap time trial of the year was this past Saturday. The conditions were the best I have seen in the 7 or 8 times I have ridden there. It started off a little cool and misty from the fog and we finished in sunny 75*. The trail was dry and the tackiest I have ever seen. There was a nice cool breeze on top of the ridges and the course was staffed with lots of encouraging, smiling volunteers. Most of the volunteers even had cameras.

I told myself that I would pace myself and not go into race mode...but I just can't do it. When I'm lined up for a race and they say go, I have to go. The first half of the race went pretty well. I cramped pretty bad in Feb. and I tried to stay below "cramp stage". I rode a lot of the first half with Jaques.

Somewhere around the last big downhill I lost contact with Jaques and I raced down the water barred/jump laden downhill just trying to hold on and having big fun. At the midpoint aid station I filled my camelback and ate a banana and a couple of fig newtons. Jaques came in as I was getting my chain lubed by one of the nice volunteers and he said I race-faced him. He spoke to me but I must have been trying to choke down fig newtons and couldn't talk.

Immediately after leaving the midpoint there is on of the biggest climbs on the course. I made the top and only got off once on a switchback. When I dismounted I saw another clydesdale coming behind me. I recognized him as the person just behind me in time. He goes by Big Chris on the SORBA forum. We ended up riding together for 45 minutes or an hour. I should have know I was in trouble when he told me he was starting to cramp. He dropped me right after that. While riding along drafting each other on the grassy fireroad Chris ask "what do you weigh?' I told him 227. He said " that's exactly what I weigh." Then I ask him how old he was. He told me 40. When I told him I was 53 he made my day by telling me "you're a bad muther f*cker!".

If you are looking for a reason to get or stay in shape next year, sign up for the Snake. For $75 or $85 you get a long sleev tee, a head badge, misc goodie and food at the end of all three stages. It might be the biggest bargain in mountain bike racing. Plus, the race is staffed by some of the nicest, most competent volunteers I've ever seen.

As I've said before, the folks at Northwest Georgia SORBA get it!

Pickett, Snake, Hastie Etc.

2009-02-11T16:28:00.000-05:00

I am amazed the whole interweb thing was able to still be operable after a month without Clipper putting a virtual pen to virtual paper in the form of Clipperona bicycle!

Ginger and I spent a nice, really quiet weekend in a cabin at Pickett State Park.

This picture (if you look real close) shows four otters in the lake behind our cabin.

Friday night was cold as hell. Most of the heat for the very drafty cabin was in the form of a fireplace.

The lake was really pretty and had a couple of nice short hikes around it. There was even a natural bridge about a hundred yards from the cabin that the lake went under.

When the icycles falling into the lake spooked the otters, this is where they went to hide.

I raced the second leg of the Snake Creek Gap race last Sat. After my Jan. race I felt pretty good about putting up a good time for Feb. The conditions were dryer than I have ever ridden at the Snake. They were as "perfect" as I could imagine they could be.

I rode strong for about 20 of the 34 miles. The leg cramps started on the long downhill leading to all the creek crossings. I walked places that I would never thought anyone would have to walk. I had the worst leg cramps I have ever experienced. I guess the temperature going to 72* when I was used to 35* was part of it. Then again ot could have been that I had only ridden once in the last 2 weeks and was sick the week before the race. Now, 5 days later, my right calf still feels like it is cramping and I have these two marks that look mysteriously like a snake bite...

Finally, Brian and I took advantage of 4 days of dry, warm weather to try out the new Hard Labor Trail at Hastie last night. Hard Labor is really nice coming down from the Post Oak end. Going the other way will be a pretty good climb until we get some more tires on the trail to pack it in. We rode everything at Hastie with a minimun of mud and I think the Yellow Jacket trail may be my favorite. If you have been out there but don't know the trail names it is the one with the two bridges.

This is a shot of BHann running the new bermmed corner on Hard Labor.

Snake Creek Gap

2009-01-05T15:53:00.000-05:00

Saturday Rob, Jaques and I rode down to Dalton, GA for a pleasant 34 mile stroll over 6 mountains, rocks, mud and fun. I had only done the 17 mile option before and both Rob and Jaques were Snake Creek virgins. I at least had an idea of what I was getting into. Two years ago I did the 34 preride and then raced the 17.

We began with about an hour long bus ride that ended up standing room only. When we got to the start area out in the middle of nowhere, it was a race for the pine trees. It seemed like 100 people all were straining at the bladder. After a quick nature break we all lined up.

The Snake starts out innocent enough. There is a couple of mile flat section to start. Then you have to cross the knee deep creek and start a long (2 mile?) climb. Did I say it was drizzling rain, all day long?

No pictures from the trail, suffice to say I survived. Lots of gooey, nasty muddy sections and a few really clean, fun fast sections made it interesting. I rode most of the last half with Shawn. He was not enjoying himself on the SS. Both Emily and Doug Parker had good times for the conditions. I was shooting for 4:30 to 5 hours with all the mud and ended up 4:33 and change. I was pleased except it put about 4 seconds out of 2nd Clyde. If I hadn't stopped to pee...

Jaques keeping me company on the way home. He said it was the toughest bike ride he has ever done.

Come Feb. we get to do it all over again. This is one of the best run races I have ever done. It is completely organized and staffed with friendly, helpful people literally all over the trail. If you're looking for a first epic race or even if you do this kind of stuff all the time you should try it.

2008 Review in Pictures

2008-12-31T08:43:00.000-05:00

My mom showing off her grapefruitties...

Grand Gap goodness

Raccoon with Keith

Our first big Hastie work party

Windrock ride

At the hospital with Jaques after our first ride together

BHann and GMoney at one of the many rides on BHann's trails

Team Butt Crackers

Hastie time trial

On the Stanky Creek starting line with some other clydesdales

My reward for going to most of the races!

Hard at work course marshalling at the Windrock race.

John helped me carry the beer up the mountain and make sure we didn't have to carry it back down.

Thursday night rides from FT City Peddaler

Greenway Gran Prix

Hastie work party. George and Eric having a trail building technique discussion.

Lu Lu the wonder dog!

Happy New Year

Ride when you can, build trails when you can't

2008-12-08T15:00:00.000-05:00

November 2nd workday. We had 35 people show up to work.

We got a wet place bridged.

Master trail builder Joe (Rogue Hoe) Cross.

So, when it gewts too muddy to ride the trails we do the Greenway Gran Prix.

At some point the Greenway Gran Prix usually ends up on Market Square.

After a couple of barley pops we like to see if Matt is going to bust his ass...again.

Around the same time, BHann and I went to the SORBA Board of Directors metting in Gainesville, GA. Here we are with Bob Greico, the president of SORBA and Mike Van Able the Executive Director of IMBA.

That's My Excuse and I'm Sticking to It

2008-11-03T09:55:00.000-05:00

When we last left our hero he had just swam thru the icy cove of death. While peddaling his trusty steed up the hill at Racheal's (it's still your's Racheal)Landing he spun out on a root and was not able to unclip. The result was a trip headfirst down the slope of death into the icy water.

A week later as I was getting ready to ride again I discovered the culprit.

Not making excuses but I;m just sayin...

Man, that water's cold...and deep too!

2008-10-27T08:39:00.000-04:00

Everybody has heard the old joke about two guys standing at the urinals in a public bathroom. Well, I wasn't standing in a bathroom. I was standing waist deep in Melton Hill Resovoir, Clinch River, the water that comes off the bottom of Norris Lake, on the last Saturday in October, with the temperature creeping towards 50*...and it was cold as Heeellll!

I had just tumbled down the slope at Racheal's Landing. I spun out on a root going up the climb. I could't get my cleat unclipped and fell down the hill. So far, So good. It was a soft landing but it was very steep. I started sliding down the hill waiting to hit a sapling or something to slow my descent. I think I found the only smooth slope on the bank. So, off the bank into the water still clipped in. Head first! Did I mention it was cold as Heeellll? Well it was.

After I separated myself from my bike and stood up I tried to catch my breath. I was standing waist deep and there was a bank about even with the top of my head above me. No way to climb out. Fortunately Phillip Burgess came to help me get my bike out. He pulled it back up to the trail. I looked around and decided I need to move about 30' down the bank to find a shallow enough spot to climb out. It was cold as Heeellll!

I rode out but never did warm up. Slogging (and sloshing) up the HOT and E Ridge didn't even warm me up. My team, the Butt Crackers, had some curried chicken stew that along with dry clothes and a fire warmed me up.

This is before.

This is after 3 or 4 hours of cooking.

Team Butt Crackers.
Me, Fran, Jaques and Matt.

A few of my favorite pictures from HOT.

Jimi, checking out the New Belgium cruiser bike we raffled off. Looks like she's having more fun than is legally possible.

The band was awsome. I'm sure I heard their name but...somebody will have to help me out.

Jon's truck Sunday morning.
"Now that's what a great bike weekend looks like!"
Jon Magnuson October 26, 2008

Jaques and Fran warming up.

Me in my Butt Cracker team kit.

The guys from Tri Cities always seem to be in the spirit of the HOT.

more here.
http://s164.photobucket.com/albums/u34/clipper_pics/HOT%202008/

October Rides and Stuff

2008-10-07T08:42:00.000-04:00

Thursday night we have been doing a road ride from the Fountain City Peddler bike shop. Last Thursday we decided to do a little different ride. We rode out from the shop and on to Market Square.

Luke and James at Preservation Pub.

The group, Jen, Jaques, James, Luke and me.

Saturday John Baker and I "worked" as course marshalls at the inaugrial Windrock XC race. Everyone seemed to have a good time except for a couple of missed turns.

Getting ready to start.

JB hard at work.

We hauled water and beer to the top of the ridge. Nobody took any water.

The views from the top of the ridge were fantastic.

On Sunday I built some ladder bridges to see if we could make something that would work at Hastie.
I had a lot of help from Lulu the wonder dog.

The bridge is 15 or 16 feet long and gradually tapers to a 4X4 I placed at the end. After a couple of runs it was easily rideable.

Black Bear Aftermath

2008-10-01T15:30:00.000-04:00

The 2008 Black Bear Rampage was this past Sunday and was bigger and better than last year's version. At last count there were 275 racers (unless they let some last minutes in). It was the biggest clydesdale class I raced in all year. 20 starters thundered off the line.

I got caught talking at the line and let some of the big guys get up the road. I had an idea who might be fast and it turned out correct when the big guy in orange took off. He was passing people like they were sitting still going up the road section. I tried my best to not drop back but was a little worried about starting too fast and dying at the end.

I hit the Brush Creek section and we started rolling like a train. I was into the sport class that started 2 minutes in front of me and all I could do was pick them off one by one. I found one local guy and rode his wheel as we rolled by several racers. Brush Creek is a blast, especially in a race. You can run as fast as you want with no hills and banked corners.

We hit Boyd's Gap and the downhill with the culvert of doom then onto Old Copper Road. On Old Copper we settled into a nice pace and we were still passing folks but not as many. Some guy came up behind me and ask so I pulled to the right to let him pass. I hit some rough stuff and my chain jumped as I was peddleing thru and the quick link came loose...Shit!

Open the seat bag, find the replacement (damn, I need to start carring my reading glasses on the trail). Turn the bike upside down and fix it. My racing buddy Stanley Wills was broken down at about the same spot and he helped me get it together. Poor Stanley lost a pivot bolt from his swingarm and was out of the race. I don't know how many people passed me but it was quite a few. Get back on and start cranking.

I whizzed by the first rest stop with plenty of fluids. Up Bear Paw on the climb I could hear a grinding noise. I thought it was coming from my chain guide (I'm running 1X9). When I got the Chestnut Loop it was driving me crazy. I turned the bike upside down to discover I had mis-threaded the chain thru the derailier. Break it down again, rethread and fix then go like hell.

The rest of the race went by without incident. I passed people all day long and felt pretty good. I could feel my legs on the verge of cramping and I was able to get a gear and an effort level that let me hammer to the finish. I eventually worked my way back up to 5th place. My time 3:49:30 was about 40 minutes faster than last year. I'm pleased with my effort and the improvement but I can't help thinking what if... I finished about 12 minutes out of 3rd and 22 minutes behind the leader. I really can't complain much. Out of all the races I rode this year, that is really the first mechanical I've had all year. Like Stanley said "I you do enough races you have to expect a mechanical every once in a while."

Knoxville was well represented. Dave Holmes finished 2nd SS. SMAP was 4th SS. Racheal was the only woman on a SS and finished 2nd in sport 19-35 (but I think she got the shaft when they combined the women's classes and the had more than a lot of the other classes??? Jaques Palin finished 3rd beginner 19-35 in his first race with that kind of distance (and only a couple of rides that long!). Jeremy Chandler was 4th expert 19-35 and 8th overall. Mary Mayhew was 3rd expert woman. Caleb Ryan 9th expert 19-35. John Ryan and Johnathan Moorehead 11th and 13th SS. Men's sport 19-35 Mark Morgan 4th, Andy Bailey 9th, Jeremy Zetans 10th and Derek Jamison 16th. Other clydes included Beau Bradley at 10th and everybodies favorite shirtless rider Kevin Trent at 11th. Lee Walter was 2nd burley bear and in the sport 50+ Vick Dyer, Ed McCauley and David Jordon were 4th, 5th and 6th. If I left anyone out, I'm sorry.

This is the cool stem cap that was in the goody bag.

Good race, well organized with a great trail. This is a good race for XC folks to try longer distances.

Stars and Cirles

2008-09-15T14:02:00.000-04:00

I've got one of these cool jerseys on the way.

In my very first blog I put it out there that I was going to try to win a state champions jersey. I have to say there is as much satisfaction in stating my goal and then doing it as there is in winning the jersey. I had a great time racing against Daniel, Shawn, Ted and others this year.

Next year I think I would like to do some longer distance stuff and some grand master races. I might also do some SERC and I'll think about clydesdale class for those races. I think SERC races are a little more competive in clyde.

Mission Accomplished

2008-09-03T17:25:00.000-04:00

After last weekends race at Booker T Washington State Park in Chattanooga I have officially secured enough points to earn the state champions' jersey in the clydesdale class.

http://tbra.org/seriesstandings_2008.php?type=mountain&mode=racer&catid=54&Submit=Submit

The Booker T race was a little disappointing as far as competetion goes. My friend Shawn and Daniel who is closest in points both missed this race. My time was 11:27 ahead of 2nd place. I cleaned up, changed clothes and ate before anyone else finished.

http://www.tbra.org/results/2008/20080831_bookert.htm

My wife Ginger went to the race with me. It was nice to have family at the race although I almost took her out on a water bottle hand up. I told her to have a bottle ready for me but I forgot to tell her how and when she tried to walk to me I almost ran over her.

Booker T was in great shape. Since last year the Chatt folks have built berms on many of the turns. That makes for more fun and a little faster course. I always appreciate a race that starts on time and we did. It did seem like it took a long time to do awards though.

One more race in the series. Next week we go back to Lock 4 in Gallatin. Lock 4 is one of my favorite venues. I think both Shawn and Daniel will be at the race and mayby some other new comers. I would love to have a big group at the line.

TBRA Series results:
Chickasaw Trace 3rd
White Lightning TT 1st
White Lightning XC 2nd
Montgomery Bell 1st
Mouse Tail 1st
Haw Ridge 1st
Lock 4 1st
Stanky Creek TT 1st
Stanky Creek XC 1st
Booker T Washington 1st
Lock 4 ?????????

I Swear I Don't Do This On Purpose..no really!

2008-08-19T18:11:00.000-04:00

I did it again. I took the guy in front of me out in the Stanky Creek Race in Memphis this weekend. I really, really tried to miss him, no, really.

Shawn James(2nd from the left next to me) and I raced together wheel to wheel most of the day. Shawn is my buddy. We met at Land Between the Lakes in the parking lot and since I travel to that area quite a bit we ride together often. He is coming off rehab on a bum knee and is pretty much back to full strength.

We went off the front together and he led the 1st lap until I decided to press the issue towards the end of lap one. With the pace quickened, we opened up a bigger gap. Just at the start of the 2nd lap I lost my chain. Shawn went ahead and I spent the next 1/2 lap chasing him. I caught him about 1/2 way thru the 2nd lap. I got greedy and hit a tree and he opened a gap again. About 3/4 of the way thru the loop there is a long, flat wide section that can be as fast as you want it to be. Going in I saw Shawn up ahead. He looked back when I was about 100' behind. He looked like he was slowing a little. I put it in overdrive. I was thinking I could sneak (blow) by him on the right side. Just as I started around on the right, he looked left and then cut right in front of me. I was probable at around 22 or 23 mph and he was at about 13 or 14. I took the right side of his handle bar with me as I went by. He ended up about 20' into the woods.

I stopped. I ask him if he was OK. He said he was and to go on. I told him I was so sorry and that I surely didn't mean to crash him. I finished the rest of the race at a slower pace and Shawn finished 8 seconds behind me.

After the race He told me he knew I was coming and he was trying to get over but his left grip slipped off. When that happened he went to the right and right into me. "Rubbin is racing" indeed!

There are some more pictures, a video and some results posted here. http://www.stankycreek.com/

If you are in the Memphis area Stanky is definitely worth checking out. It is almost flat and twisty and parts of the trail are very fast. It is in Bartlett at exit 18 off I40. The trail is well marked and I don't think you could get lost if you tried. The race was 9.2 miles long and I think it covered pretty much all of the available trail.

Awsome Amigos at Walden Ridge

2008-08-14T10:28:00.000-04:00

Wednesday afternoon BHann broght his group of Awsome Amigos to Walden Ridge for some trail crewing.

BHann looking all spiffy in his bee slayer outfit. Maybe I should have had one also. 17 stings...

Louisana Lou, Jeff Harkleroad, Jay Basile and I worked on the trail along with the Crew.
[IMG]http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u34/clipper_pics/Walden%20Ridge%20Work%2081308/IMGP1088.jpg[/IMG]

Jeff and Lou

One year AMBC Anniversary

2008-07-30T15:44:00.000-04:00

Monday we had our one year anniversary party/ride/meeting for AMBC. I can't believe it's been a year already. We were able to achieve some of our goals and not some others. One goal was to get membership up to 50. I think we have surpassed that. Thanks to Jimi and SORBA for securring us grants to be able to buy tools and still have a little money in our account. We were able to secure permission and construct just under 2 miles of trail at Hastie Natural area. This winter I think we can ad 2 1/2 or 3 miles to that total.

We were not very good at supporting the Windrock project. I applaud the downhill guys for taking the iniative to build XC trails there. I hope to get some shovel time in soon and help with the connector trail for the 100 mile race.

From towards the top at Windrock

Looking the other way up the mountain at Keith

One disappointing thing for me is that the same 10 or 12 people seem to be at the meetings and doing the work. I've not been doing a good job getting the word out I guess. I am proud of what we have accomplished and feel good about the future of mountain biking in the Knoxville area.

If you missed the meeting Monday you missed the fireworks. On our ride we got bombarded with thunder, lightning and very heavy rain. I told Smap on the way back in the storm that there is nothing in the world that will make you feel more alive than being out when the weather is breaking like that. I believe that was the fastest run I ever made from one end of the park to the other.

Defeated Creek Ride

2008-07-15T08:41:00.000-04:00

Last week I was in West Tennessee. My racing buddy Stanley Wills had been telling me about Tuesday evening rides at the new trails they had built at Defeated Creek. Since I was passing by Carthage, TN at the right time, I stopped to hook up with them.

There are about 8 miles of trail with more in the works.

Stanley leading the ride. I never get to see him from the front at a race!

Andy the giant

Andy was nice enough to send me a GPS file overlaid on a map but I had trouble with the file. I'll try to get him to resend.

As you can see, Stanley had been refining the trails some just before we rode.

The trail winds back and forth acroos a ridge gradually climbing until it dumps you onto the ridgecrest. Once it hits the ridgecrest the real climb starts. There is a great reward though, a 2 mile downhill at the end. These guys have built a great trail and it is getting better.

I'm not sure this is a destination ride yet with only 8 miles of trail but, if you are heading to Nashville it would make a nice stop. If you do a couple of laps you'll get all you want.

http://sorbachattanooga.org/trails/trail_guide.php?state=TN&trail=162

No racin happening

2008-07-06T19:51:00.000-04:00

I have missed a couple of races in the last couple of weeks. I missed the Hamilton Creek Race with a bad back. The Raccoon Mountain Race happened on a weekend that I spent with Ginger at her Aunt's birthday party in Greensboro, NC. Ham Creek was somewhat planned. It is a TBRA race and I have been chasing points all year. So far I am ahead in the clydesdale class and Daniel Spann is a close 2nd. I had enough of a lead that I could miss one race and keep a slim lead over Daniel so I thought it would be prudent to rest the back rather than ride the rocky trails at Hammy.

The AMBC Summer Time Trial Series is at it's midpoint. Racer turnout was very slim the 1st week but really picked up for the 2nd race. So far we have signed up 5 new members who have shown up to race. Hastie is in great shape and the limited amount of trail lends itself to the time trial format. Times so far have been as fast as 10 and 1/2 minutes. most times are in the 11 to 12 1/2 minute time. I would like to see more women show up. So far we have had only 2.

Finally, I got to spend some time with my ole buddy Joe Cross this week. He invited us up to ride at Big South Fork. We rode and cleared trail on the Grand Gap Loop. My neighbor Jaques rode with his hand in a cast and did just fine. Also along was Margo Carrol. Margo is a former expert level racer and currently works as a sales rep for Jamis Bicycles. It rained the night before and quit just in time for us to ride. The trail surface was perfect and the few sandy spots were packed down from the rain. As we pulled up to the first overlook, I stopped to have a look. I soon discovered neither Jaques or Margo care for heights. Margo fought looking over the bluffs the whole ride. She did tough it out and we had a great ride. I really felt for Joe. He was pulling a Bob Trailer with several tools including a big Stihl chainsaw. By the finish the trailer was taking it's toll on Joe and he was feeling it.

Dirty Urban South Ride

2008-06-23T15:15:00.000-04:00

Saturday, Mudgobbler, None, BurritoBeau, Phil and I did a dirty urban south ride. We started at the old BiLo with everyone on mountain bikes but most had more road worthy tires than knobbies. The plan was to go towards town on the greenway. Go across the new Alcoa Hwy Bridge and ride up Cherokee Bluff. Then the plan changed when Beau blew a tire. When he inflated it he tore the stem out. New plan...swing by TN Valley Bikes for a couple of tubes.

While we were there we enjoyed the services of the bar next door while Beau worked on his tire. This picture was shot on the back patio of TVB.

We decided it would be a good idea to go up Sharp's Ridge before we turned south again.

On top of the ridge we found a shady spot on an access road.

It was pretty cool to look out at Knoxville below and see where we were headed across town to Hastie.
We made Hastie (after another flat and loseing None and Phil to time). To get to Hastie we rode up Redbud at entered at Post Oak. We did all the new trail and then swung out by IJAMs and back down the greenway. A post ride meal at the new Mexican resturant with some cold cervesas hit the spot.

Got a New Neighbor Who Rides

2008-06-19T16:11:00.000-04:00

Jaques and his wife Fran moved in next door a couple of weeks ago. It didn't take long to figure out we both rode mountain bikes regularly. After a couple of hectic weeks for me we finally got to plan a ride together.

Jaques has a beautiful Titus Racer Carbon. We decided to do a Wed. ride at Haw Ridge. We got on the trail a little before 6:00. We took off on a spirited loop around the west end along the lake. We buzzed thru Twister, barrelled down Red Shore, across the concrete bags and made our way to the Briar Loop. On the big dip on Briar there is a new rut I think. It seems that Jaques edged off the trail at the rut onto a soft shoulder. Then he picked up a stick in his front spokes. Then he tried to dig a tater patch with his face!

He must have planted very hard. All I heard was an oomph and then it was quiet. I stopped and ran back. Jaques was still on the ground. When he looked up there was a big hole on the bridge of his nose. He looked pretty stunned and out of it. We tried to clean him up a little and stop the bleeding. The blood was pouring off his nose like a faucet.

After a few minutes we got him together enough to try to get him out of the woods. We rode very slowly. After a couple hundred yards he stopped. His vision was not just right. We went on. He asked me what happened about 6 or 7 times before we got back. At that point even this dumb ole country boy knew he banged his head pretty good.

I loaded my stuff up in my car and drove him to St. Mary's in his. We walked in and as soon as we said head trauma they whisked him back to ckeck him out. Turns out he broke his nose, has a mild concussion (I'm sure he doesn't think it's mild) and some torn up lips both inside and outside his mouth.

Other than felling pretty bruised and battered and somewhat skinned and scrapped I think he is going to be fine. I'm just not sure if his wife is going to let him go riding with me again.

Ramblings

2008-06-05T15:07:00.000-04:00

I raced the Bump and Grind in Birmingham last weekend. 500 racers turned out for a pretty cool race. Sport class did one big 17 mile loop. Highlights included some swoopy single track, a two mile climb and a descent of about 2 miles including the famous "Blood Rock!".

Blood rock was a section about 75 feet long that dropped 25 or 30 feet. It was like riding off a desk and landing on another, then off it to another and so on, all the while dodging the cracks in the rocks, baby heads and the creek running through the middle of the trail.

I met Kevin who is now living in Mobile and we camped in my tent affectionately known as "the condo. I swear it is as big as a house. The weather was hot and dry the whole weekend until we were breaking camp and the sky opened up. All we could do was pack up wet stuff. Since I have been on the road all week, I just spread the tent out on the back deck to dry a few minutes ago.

The race went OK. I started off 4th in the largest Clydesdale class I've seen in a long time. On the first little descent 200 yards in I dropped my chain. I let out a loud F bomb only to look up and see about 25 people lining the sides of the trail. After engaging my chain and apologizing to the mostly women watching, I chased. I moved from last to about 10th by sprinting through the mile or so before we hit the single track. I lost all contact with the leaders. I hate that because I always think I can ride with them at least for a while. I kept moving through traffic all day and had no idea where I stood until they posted results showing a 5th place finish.

One thing that helped me some was turning the Salsa into a 1 X 9 on Sat night. I prerode the course Sat in SS mode and saw 4 or 5 long fast sections where the SS would be spun out and slow. The course was not a particularly good track to ride rigid. My arms got pretty pumped up and towards the end I had to really concentrate on holding on to the bars. Roots and rocks, roots and rocks and more roots and rocks...ouch.

Kudos to the staff for a VERY smooth event. Lots of staff, water station on course, marshalls at almost all turns and road crossings and a couple of women at the top of the climb with a cowbell beating out a climbing rhythm!

Next week the Mouse Tail Challenge in Linden, TN. then Haw Ridge the week after.

IMBA Trail Care Crew weekend

2008-05-29T19:22:00.000-04:00

We had a successful weekend hosting the IMBA Trail Care Crew at Hastie Natural Area. Kelley and Collins Bishop put on a fine ppoint presentation and then demo'ed proper benching techniques. At the end of the work day, they took small groups and worked on what to look for on trail layout.

Although I had been through the school before, I did learn a couple of tricks. I laid out a fair amount of the trail walking the woods by myself. A simple trick like hanging my flagging tape at eye level to get an accurate inclinometer reading was something I never thought of.

We ended up with around 20 people. Bob Richards from TDEC gave us copies of "Trail Solutions" and "Managing Mountain Biking". Each participant received a free copy. Kelly and Collins said they had never seen free books at any of their workshops before...Thanks Bob.

On Sunday we rode the Dirty South Ride. It consisted of a stroll through Forks of the River WMA and over to Hastie to ride the new stuff and back thru BHann's trails and back thru the WMA again. I learned that my "beginner" trail wasn't as "beginner" as I thought and my "advanced trail" wasn't as advanced as I thought. Oh well, I guess we learn as we go.

Kelly and Collins took pictures and I have been promised copies soon. I'll post when I receive them.

Does it bother you if I talk while you ride?

2008-05-18T19:51:00.000-04:00

I raced the Monkey Grinder at Montgomery Bell State Park today. My title question came from the race. I got a 4th position start into the single track. I found myself riding 3rd places' (Daniel's) wheel. Me being me, I starting talking to him...Great track...good crop of poison ivy...did you race here last year?...Soon Daniel was pushing a little too hard and went down in one of the many corners.

I went past and hopped to 2nds' wheel (Eric's). Do you know the guy in front?...what gear you running on that?...Then he slides out in a corner.

I go on by and the race leader is way out of site. I kept up a good pace thinking I might be able to catch up to him once we hit some hills. Pretty soon I spotted him up ahead. The hills section was looming and I started closing the gap. Soon I was up on his wheel...I didn't think I would catch you the way you took off...These whoops are fun...That was a cool banked turn...We went thru a g-out and at the bottom his (Mark Vickers) hand slipped off his bar at the bottom. His front wheel went dead right and he centered a 4 or 5" tree. He hit it like a cartoon. One hand and a leg on one side of the tree and the other hand and leg on the other side. That tree swayed about 8" (we are clydesdales after all) and he hung there. I thought he was hurt bad. I stopped and asked how he was and all he said was keep going. So I did. I wasn't sure he would be able to finish.

I had now talked all of my leading competition into crashing all over the race loop. I cruised in to win by about 3 minutes over 2nd. Mark was able to finish 2nd after he escaped the tree. I'm sure he will be a little sore though.

I felt pretty good all day until the very end of the race. This was my first XC win in several years. Felt good! The Salsa now has a win and a 2nd in XC and a win in a TT. Not a bad record on the new bike.

The picture is of me and Mark after they handed out prize $$.

Greenways and new wheel skill

2008-05-15T09:37:00.000-04:00

Monday night Wally, George, Ron and I did the Big Boy Rumble greenway ride.

We started at the BiLo and rode to the new Alcoa Hwy bridge. I stopped and took a couple of shots on the bridge. I saw PeterPanic but didn't get to talk. Not sure where he went on the other side.

We rode out to Forks of the River, took a quick break and then back, barely beating the dark (Wally said "No, you won't need lights."

Here's Ron hiding behind Wally.

I learned a new skill this week. I built my first wheel.

I'm happy to report that it was not as hard as I thought it would be. I think it turned out really nice. The proof will be in the riding though and I havn't put it on a bike yet. I bought a scratch and dent Salsa Delgado rim from Harpers and used an XT hub I took off a 26" wheel.

Finally, I have been piddling out at Hastie and lack only about 100 yards having another loop open. The new section will need some benching but should be rideable by the first of the week.

It needs to be ridden. BHann has offered to lead Dirty South rides on Thursdays(?). Those rides will include Hastie, Forks of the River WMA, BHann's property and other "interesting" connector bits.

Too much driving not enough riding

2008-05-09T19:07:00.000-04:00

Over 3000 miles driving in the last two weeks...That's too much. The driving along with a work/golf trip have wrecked my back.

Last week I spent Wed thru Sat night in Destin, Fla. We played golf every day. I used to play a lot of golf and was fairly competitive but anymore, I hurt too much after playing. I took my road bike and got in about an hour of riding in a 30 mph wind with some nice folks who lived down there.

http://www.eccyclists.com/

I got home around midnight Sat night. I really wanted to get out to Hastie Sun morning and managed to get 300 or 400 yards of trail done. It looks good. Afterwards, I rode Hastie for about an hour. I did the easy loop up and back two or three times and then rode the new part. Right now I think there is about 3/4 of a mile of the new part. There are still a few trees down that have to be crossed but most of it rides great. After Hastie, I went over to Forks of te River and tried to get lost for a couple of hours. There is some great riding at FOR. It's too bad it is "closed" half the year. I never did get lost. I did recognize some trails from following BHann's wheel thru there on some of his rides.

I didn't get to ride anymore until I got back in town Wed for the weinnie ride. I must have been rested or something because I felt great the whole ride. Climbing Rainbow almost seemed easy...whats up with that? Musta been good and rested!

Today I posted my Prophet for sale.

I'm going all in on the 29er. I really like the Prophet but it is a bit small for me at 19". I plan to take the funds and go 1 X 9 on my El Mariachi.

I'm going to ad a fork and buy a wheel set and then run my Redline Monocog 29 as a SS.

I'm going to try to get some miles in this week. I have my youngest daughter's high school graduation Friday night. A work party Saturday night at a customer's house and a race at Montgomery Bell on Sunday. In the TBRA points standing, I am leading the clydesdale class after 3 races. So, I guess I will try to go to all the TBRA races.

Tune in next week for some exciting graduation pictures and maybe some race stuff.

White Lightning

2008-04-21T16:23:00.000-04:00

Kevin Trent and I just got back from the White Lightning race at Land Between the Lakes near Benton, KY. I have been trying to do all the TBRA races this year with the hope of getting one of those cool circle and stars state champions jersey in the clydesdale class. Don't ask me why TBRA has a race in KY other than the Wood and Wave guys are big supporters of the series.

We had a great time despite the drive, 656 miles from Kevin's driveway to the race and back. Sat. was rainy and cold. Fortunately there was only a 2.3 mile time trial. If you are familiar with the Canal loop trail, we we counterclockwise from Scenic Dr(?) out to the "B" connector and back up the old road to Scenic. My time of 11:55 was good enough to win by only 3 seconds. The picture on the podium looks funny because the generator died that was blowing air into the Redbull balloon. I had to bend over standing on the step.

Sunday turned out beautiful. It was cool in the morning and warmed up to about 70* when we finished. I rode my new Salsa set up as a SS. I finished building it literally and hour before the TT on Sat. It did great and I was pleased with the ride.

I had some trouble with mud flying in my eyes Saturday so I made a mud flap.

I got an OK start in 3rd and soon passed the two guys in front. Another guy came with me and he passed me about a third of the way into the first lap. He soon disappeared. I thought that if I just rode my race I could catch him. I rode mostly alone except for straggling sport rides I passed. Eventually I got into the beginners and passing all those peaple seemed to energize me. I starting attacking the hills. That is the only way I could get up them on my SS. At the top of the last big hill on the first half of the course I spotted the leader about 30 or so seconds ahead of me. I tried to steadily decrease the gap and was making progress until we came to a switchback and he spotted me and then he put down the hammer. If I had gears I might have made a run on this fast part of the trail but I don't think I would have been as fast on the hills. Oh well. I finished 30 or 45 seconds behind him and was glad to have someone to race against. Check out the podium shot. I'm not sure this guy makes 200 lbs. He might have been cherry picking.

Windrock and Not Windrock

2008-04-14T16:41:00.000-04:00

Saturday Keith Williams and I decided to go ride the new/old Cumberland Trail section of Coal Creek/Windrock. I knew Bhann and Jeff were just up there so I called Bhann and found out there was only about 1 1/2 miles cleared so far. So, we went on to Windrock and got in a push...er.. ride.

We rode out trail #1. It was a little muddy but not too bad. Mostly rideable with a fair amount of 4 wheeler traffic.

This fool went up this slope which had to be about 45 or 50*. He couldn't even walk down it.

So far so good. We hit trail #2 and turned up the mountain. #2 was in good shape as far as mud is concerned. It was a jeep road grind but still kind of cool. After a while we turned right onto #16. Big mistake! 16 is tough when it is dry. Saturday it was not dry.

I'm not sure how long we were on #16 but it seemed like a couple of hours. I sure was glad to see the gravel of G1 at the top. We rode along G1 to where the paved road comes up the mountain. After looking at the map, we decided to go a little way down the pavement and turn right onto #21 with the plan of ending up on #22 which is a nice downhill. Somehow we made a wrong turn and ended up on Little Rattletrap (I think). It goes about a 1/2 mile down to the bottom of Rattletrap and then climbs straight up the mountain in some 5' deep ruts and rocks the size of wheelbarrows. We finally came out on the gravel (G1) again and this time we rode down the pavement. I surprised Keith with a sorta cold Dale's Pale Ale at the top. Yes, I hauled it up in my camelback!

The views from the top are pretty spectacular.

Downhill Doug and about 20 others were doing shuttle runs. Maybe one day I will try that. For now, I think I'll keep my wheels on the ground.

I get around

2008-04-10T20:07:00.000-04:00

Another busy week.

Ginger and I spent the weekend in Atlanta. We did a little sight seeing and a little shopping and a lot of hanging out. I found a good deal on a nice room at the Crown Plaza. It was nice to get away and have some one on one time. We hit Ikea on Sat. and several bike shops on Sunday. We took the long way home up I575 to Elijay and back thru Copperhill and Ocoee. We stopped to picnic next to the river and then came back up 411.

Most of you know that I put in a lot of miles in my job. Monday I drove from Fountain City to Andersonville to White Pine to Mount Juliet. About 300 miles. Monday evening I took off to ride at Hamilton Creek in Nashville. This place makes Pinhoti look like a paved trail. It was very technical but also a lot of fun. I think I rode everything that was there but I was without a computer so I don't have a good idea of the milage.

Tuesday was more of the same. Mount Juliet to LaFayette, TN to Hodginville, KY to Murray, KY. with a stop at Land Between the Lakes to ride the Canal Loop. About 375 miles. If you have never ridden the Canal Loop, it is worth a trip. It is an 11 mile loop and you can connect to the North South trail to get another 25 or so. There is a TBRA race at Canal Loop April 19th and 20th. Time trial Sat. and XC on Sun. Western Ky received a lot of rain last week. The trail was in great shape except for the parts that were under about 3' of water. While I was bushwhacking around the lake overflow I caught my shorts on a bush and ripped the whole ass out of a $100 pair of shorts.

Wednesday went from Murray to Benton, KY to back home. As soon as I got home I turned around and went to Haw Ridge for the weinnie ride. We had a good ride with Brian N and Matt setting a pretty good pace up and down the ridge. It was the first time I've ridden Roller Coaster on my SS. I think we had 9 or 10 29ers with no 26" wheels and only one deraillier equipped bike in the bunch. Riders included PeterPanic, Keith W, Stumpy, Beau, MudGobbler and None (sorry if I left anyone out). Good group and a good ride. My legs were ready for some rest after 3 hard days on the trail.

Thursday was only home to Andersonville to home to Tazewell where I played some customer golf. 79 thank you very much in only my 2nd round of the year.

I think I'm ready to rest now!

Clipper on a Bicycle

2008-04-04T17:25:00.000-04:00

It looked like I was the only one left without a blog so I thought I would get in on the act.

It has been a hectic week. Sunday was the first real mountain bike race. Chickasaw Trace in Columbia, TN hosted the first TBRA race of the season. We had some rain in Knoxville Friday and Saturday but no where near the 2 1/2" Columbia received. The course was a muddy mess. I think it was the muddiest ride I have done in years. I left the house just after 5:30 AM Sunday to pick up Kevin Trent to go to the race and I pulled in at home just before 10:00PM. Long day.

I placed 3rd clydesdale in the race and Kevin got 6th. I tried to jump off the front at the start and trailed only 2 or 3 of the grand masters who started with us. The single tract was very sloppy and I was glad I was out front. Too much pushing did me in. Slick roots and rocks made the climbs hit or miss. Oh well. All in all I guess it was OK. However, if I am going to reach my goal of state champion clydesdale I think I will need to do a little better.

Wednesday I did a big leg workout in the gym. I have been limping around on sore hamstrings and quads the rest of the week. BHann talked me into a ride Wed afternoon and I should never have gone.

Work problems have kept me running all week long. I am a salesman and I had two different vendors with quality issues that required my attention.

On the plus side, we have been building a new trail at Hastie Natural Area in Knoxville. BHann and I rode it for the first time Wednesday. I have to say it was pretty cool. two and a half months ago there was just an idea in my and Brian's heads about a trail. It still needs a few tweaks but overall it is pretty cool.