Heartbreak Ridge / Kitzuma -> water

Thanks Jay! Great day in the woods.

heartbreak on Heartbreak Ridge

Bummer. Sunday morning in western North Carolina. No where to be and no hurry to get there. All seemed right in the world. Eric and I started up the mountain feeling good on the climb. The grade of Heartbreak Ridge is great for climbing and descending, so we were riding it as an out and back.On the way up we spotted a log ride, and decided to session it. It ended with a severe shoulder injury for Eric.


We assesed the situation, and Eric hiked his bike out. MRI results are back and he's out for at least 6 months. I am sorry Eric.

I pushed up a little further and we headed to the ER.

Heartbreak is a great trail, reminded me of trails I've hike in the Smokies. I went on to film the descent and meet back at the truck.

The log ride is at the 5:57 mark (from a different view / not the same run as the wreck)



The camera cut out before the finish.



Hope you heal up well.

I set out running but I took my time...

Off-Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell

View from Heartbreak Ridge

I payed my dues at the Off-Road Assault on Mount Mitchell on Sunday in the blistering summer heat. The intensity of the struggle induced hallucinations at times but mostly just alot of pain.
I rode well on the singletrack and made some great moves on technical climbs, but absolutely killed it going down. I had my wheels over other riders heads at least twice! There was a section on Kitsuma where I was coming up fast on another rider and he got off the bike on the other side of a drop. I came through and boosted it, pulling the bike up and transferred the landing into a corner and stuck it. I heard applaud behind me as I kept going down the mountain.
The pure adrenalin of the downhills will almost wash away the painful memory of the climbs. But not entirely. The downhills are so long, fast and rough that they use as much energy as the climbs.
This years course includded a 5 mile climb out of the Black Mountain Campground, which was ommited last year by staying upon the Blue Ridge Parkway. This added more mileage and more struggle since the five mile climb came after completing the 9 mile climb up Curtis Creek.
All things considered, this was my best ride yet. I finished the 2006 race in 7:59 minutes. The 2007 in 7:30. And this year was 7:34, but considering the longer course, this would be my best time yet.

View of Mt. Mitchell




Saturday at Bent Creek
Forgeting how hard the ride would be on Sunday, me and Jonathon had a great day at Bent Creek, Saturday. The prelude to ORAMM was graced with a bear sighting on Green's Lick. I wasn't sure what kind of animal we were rolling up on, but as it ran through the woods, we both realized it was a bear.
Later we saw a large black snake. Jonathon caught it.
The ride finished at the lake and we cooled off and swam.

Off Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell

The Battle for Mt. Mitchell

The Off-Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell was a full on battle. Soldiers from all over the southeast and beyond showed up in big numbers. Team Yazoo and Team Harpers both had a big showing. I wore the Harpers jersey for the ride.
The anticipation of the race makes enjoying the weekend difficult, and as the troops arrived into town we had a big dinner in Asheville the night before the race. I was up and moving by 5:00am the morning of the race. With the experience from last year under my belt, I was confident in my ability to complete the ride, but I had forgotten the extreme anguish that awaited me.
I started off the ride moving at a descent clip, without expending too much energy early on, which was a wise move. We rolled out of downtown Old Fort past the geyser and into the mountains. I felt good until the climb up Curtis Creek nearly broke me in many ways. The 9-mile climb to the Parkway delivered a gut punch that almost sent me to the ground. But when we made it to the parkway, another 5-mile climb to Heartbreak Ridge lurked around the corner for the sucker punch that almost wiped me out. By this point my PMBAR partner, Eric, and I were working through it like a team. Which helped me to keep going strong.
Heartbreak Ridge is one of the best descents I have ridden. The race run was ridden in a severely depraved state, but an epic none the less. I made a pass on a few people early on, and as I was passing them I was stung by a bee. I was tagged, but couldn't stop so I kept rolling drop elevation so fast my ears didn't even have time to pop.
After the long descent there was only one last battle on Kitzuma, which would nearly break me. Intense leg and full body cramps plagued my every move by this stage, and making it the top was difficult, and making it down was brutal. I feel sorry for the fools on a rigid bike. No thanks.
I made in with a sprint to the finish, at approximately 7 hours and 30 minutes, and crawled into the creek to cool off. After that I pummeled several beers and slipped into a stupor before we went out to dinner at the Fiddle'N Pig. The END.

The Beast of the Southeast

ORAM is the word on the street. Tis' the season. The buzz is in the air.
This Sunday, Southeastern cities riders converge at the foot of the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi for a soul searching ride fraught with mind altering climbs. Last year I rode the 63 miles of trail and logging road through the Grandfather Ranger District of Pisgah National Forrest in 7 hours 59 minutes and a few seconds, just under my goal time of 8 hours. This years race has been extended to 70 miles, and we are rolling to the start line with a big posse again. Team Yazoo will be showing the big numbers with riders from Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga.

Disturbing News

7 weeks until the Off Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell.
I've gotten fat and lazy lately, more consumed with things like beer and food than riding hard. Looks like I need to kick my own ass.