Knoxie Cross

I rode my bike to the cross race and took pictures. Erin brought the dog and we enjoyed great winter weather in Tennessee.

Photos from the B race.

Like a Japanese Cowboy...

Skiing in the southeast is limited to a short window of opportunity. I felt the breeze and blew on down the road. With a long a way to go and a short time to get there, me and my brother busted out of Knoxville, heading to Catalooche. We stopped at the Hartford exit in Tennessee, just a few miles west of the NC border. I was wearing my PMBAR shirt, and the lady at the gas station asked me about it. After talking about mountain bikes for a minute, they showed us where some trails are around there. I hope to go back soon to check them out.
But with snow on the ground, the mission stayed its course; to the higher elevations of Catalooche. Its true that skiing in the Southeast is sub-par too Western and Northern states resorts, however, I had as much fun as I can imagine. For a Friday night in the mountains with: music, good beer, and a lift ride to the top of a mountain followed by a blazing run down; "life doesn't get much better than that!"






Sunrise over the mountains calling my name.


Dusk in North Carolina over Maggie Valley.


Catalooche bar; bluegrass band singing "High on the Mountain."


The easy way up.


Night Ski. Time for livin'

Unicoi Boy

With a baby on the way, I'll turn my focus to a closer mountain range than Pisgah. Just south of the Smoky Mountains, in Cherokee National Forrest, logging roads and trails traverse Unicoi Mountains. There are several balds in this area and big elevation changes. Nearly perfect for PMBAR training except for a few potential hazards; such as rednecks with guns and a strong dislike for strangers on bicycles. With that in mind, I'll travel in packs, like the dog that I am. So if you want to go explore this region, just an hour south of Knoxville, lets go! Last weekends adventure was inspiring.

In nearly related news, I have been hard at work brewing a few batches of beer lately. Much thanks to my brother for giving me a hand! We have 15 gallons aging in my basement. In a few weeks, post-ride refreshments are gonna get a little fresher!

Winter weather has moved in, and it looks like it's here for the short-run. With snow blowing at the local ski-mountains, I'm looking forward to a few blazing runs down the mountain to prep myself for the big one! Me and Eric are heading out to Colorado for a few days, in February, to play in Gods great party favors: "deep snow and big mountains."

Erin is starting to show; and we are going to know if we are having a boy or a girl in just four weeks!

Frozen Humidity

Moisture in the air was freezing and falling like snow on a clear day in the mountains. Me, Eric and Shawn blazed seven-hours of riding when most of America was watching the play-off teams battle it out in tundra conditions. Brutal temps and the unknown of the trails, made for interesting conditions. I carried 100 oz. of water the whole time, and couldn't drink a sip, since it froze almost instantly. My food froze too, but Bourbon kept my whistle wet.
It took more than twice as long than I thought, to reach the top. Opting for a route change, we headed to Grassy Gap. We made it to the trail and realized there would be sveral creek crossings along the way back down and were forced to back-track and turn our ride to an out and back. I changed a flat and lost all my warmth at the top of the mountain. The descent was incredible. Both beautiful and difficult, I made it back to the car giving everything I had. I was completly destroyed as we cranked the heat and opened some beers.

Flats Mountain

Looking through the trees at Big Fodderstack Mountain


Meadow on Flats Mountain


Unicoi Mountains







Erin is 15 weeks pregnant, and getting in more miles than me. She did a 12 mile run on Saturday, while I rode down to the cycle-cross race. However, I did not make it to the race due to a tear in the sidewall of my rear tire. I patched the flat and made it over to the bike shop. I bought a new tire and ordered a pizza to the shop. I finished the ride with about 12 miles, and a full belly. My calorie intake to output was way out of balance on this one.
Sunday me and the wife took the dog up the Cherohala Skyway to Citico Creek Wilderness in Cherokee National Forest, and hiked around Flats Mountain. It was a great day!

Weekend Re-cap

Through most of December my ride-time was sparse. It's a new year now, and I have made more time for riding lately. I am, however, going for quality over quantity as a resolution.
Sleeping-in a little, Saturday morning, I made it to Haw Ridge by 10:am. It was quite a bit colder than the local weather man predicted, and never really warmed up. It seemed perfect for a "southern" winters ride. Me and Drew poked around the ridge a bit, spending alot of time shooting the $hit. When we started making the push up Rainbow, en route to the lot, Drew's handlebar snapped in half. Five miles out with a broken aluminum handlebar, I guess it could have been much worse. Drew rode most of the way out on the lower trails, and I continued on over the ridge.
Erin is 14 weeks pregnant and still running. She has stayed dedicated to her Saturday morning runs with the KTC, and continuing marathon training, although she will likely be way too pregnant by March's Knoxville marathon. She set out in the cold for a 10 mile run and ended up doing twelve, however she made the wise decision to walk the last two. Its great that she is feeling strong and running.
Waking up slow Sunday morning, I made a big breakfast then made some calls to potential riders and headed out to Lone Mountain with Jeff Murray. We stopped along the way at Potters Falls, and rode around the falls a bit before continuing to the trail.
Lone Mountain trailhead is at the bottom of a 4+ mile climb to the summit, known as Coyote Point. We passed a few horses at the bottom, which were the only other people in the park. Nearly a half mile from the top, Jeff flatted and realized he had no tubes or any other tools for that matter in his ginormous back pack. I had a 26" tube which he stuffed into the 29" wheels and pumped full and then ripped the nozzle off the tube, rendering the rear wheel nearly useless. With no way to fix the unexpected flat, we ditched our bikes and jogged/hiked the rest of the way to the lookout. Enjoyed the view for a few before getting back to the bikes about one hour before dark.
With 4 miles to get back to the car, I rode on down while Jeff hiked/rode down with the unfixable flat. I grabbed a tube from Jeff's bag, yes Jeff's bag, and rode back up to meet him. He was most of the way down by the time I had gotten back to him, but we fixed the flat and rode out. I had a blast, I just hope Jeff had as much fun despite the casualty.

see pictures below:

Lone Mountain

Potters Falls, along the way (through downtown Wartburg:)



View from along the climb; up Lone Mtn.



You gotta get up to get down.




Coyote Point:

Broken Bar

Me, Drew and Hank got out to the ridge this morning, climbing up and over ridge trail and down saddle. We made it to the bottom of rainbow before we had a major mechanical; see below:

New Years Day Tradition

I have a tradition of sweating out a hangover on the first day of the year. Me and Eric made Haw Ridge by single-speed the weapon of choice. Erin and Jody came and hiked with the dogs.







View of Windrock through the trees.

Best of 07

Better than any top 10 list. I've got 16.

1. My wife and I are expecting! She's 13 weeks along and the baby is due July 6th. We will found out if we are having a boy or girl in March. Lots to look forward too.

2. Hank.

3. A very dry summer with a rainstorm of perfect trail conditions.

4. The weekend of brew fest.

5. The brew ride.

6. The weekend of the 12 hours of the Hill of Truth, including the night before.

7. The Bele Chere festival in Asheville.

8. Snow ride at Tanasi.

9. Beating my previous years time by thirty minutes at the Off-Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell.

10. Twelve hours of riding in the rain at PMBAR, finishing with a push over Turkey Pen Gap (the longest climb of my life) followed by a long walk down Black Mountain because of complete brake failure.

11. Snowshoe.

12. This one time at band camp…. Or rather Snake Creek Gap, when I underestimated the 34 miles and finished completely dehydrated. I felt like crusty salt. Then the next months race I gave my race-number to Emily (a bad-ass 13-year-old girl) who rode a blistering pace and pushed my name to the top group of finishers. Thanks Emily!

13. Hiking at Roan Mountain.

14. Sundown in the city.

15. Epic road rides. (This would be the first time this category has even made an appearance in my top 100.)

16. All 4 rides at Dupont State Forest. March, August, October, December.