6hr Gear Grinder

there is something about ripping down a gnarly single track that makes you feel alive, in the moment,  and much younger than your years.... 

Saturday was a great mountain bike event in Tuxedo, NC....Gear Grinder 6hr MTB Race at the Falling Creek Camp off Green River Rd.

Awesome event... great weather, people, venue, course (except that first climb... first gear slog up a 1 mile gravel climb).... a great race requiring a lot of grit....

Brandon, Beth, and Jim Hoffmeister did the solo, while I teamed up with the "BigDog" for a 2-person team ...birddog 

guess who is who........ to race in the 40+ .... other than Jim there was no one close in age.....

BigDog and I pre-rode the course on Friday..... ouch, not sure we will be able to go under an hour per lap to make 6 laps in under 6 hours hour.  BigDog, as he said in his blog, was "intimidated" ...what have I (Jim?) gotten us into..... A helluva a climb to start, then a lot of rocky narrow single track with more climbing and a rippin descent.

And if Brandon saw the climb on Friday he may have not slept that night.  Not a course for "clydesdales"..

Brandon ended up 7th doing 4 laps even though cramping on the 3rd....

Jim was right behind (well a bit back... but hey, almost 30yrs difference)  came in 8th..... just impressive...  below is the only spot on the course you could relax for a second....oh, he is about to hit the "wall"

Bethster, of course podium-ed.. taking first,  finishing 4 laps with 1 crash and no contestants left taking first in women's 40+... she was itching to go out for that 5th though.... (note: she likes the new kits so much that she didn't want to get it dirty)...

and team birddog...the two old guys gave it all we had, averaging under an hour per lap going a full 6 laps.... finishing 8th out of 9 teams in the 40+mens.    In my view, we won... a couple of 60 year olds still playing in the dirt, putting it out there, up for a challenge.........no fear....great being out there with the BigDog.

And our old team mates and riding buddies Debbie and Katherine put together an awesome showing taking 2nd in the Women's Team overall....... Debbie put on a clinic for me when we hit the single track descent on the first lap, never to be seen again except in the transition... that girl can go......

Just a great event...a great challenge....nothing but fun...well ..with a little pain.....

I'll be there next year....

And that's what it's all about!

I’m sitting on the couch on a beautiful Saturday afternoon feeling tired and happy.  Today was a really good day!

After 14 months of trying to figure out what was going on with my hip / back (which was causing a lot of pain pretty much all the time), my PT figured out that my sacrum was stuck backwards and a little twisted due to the way I landed on it in a wreck in October 2012.  The technical term is a “counter-nutation” of the sacrum.  I’ve been doing some specific stretches and exercises for 2 months, and I’m stoked to report that things seem to be heading back to normal. Which makes me very happy!

During the course of last year when nobody could figure out what was going on, and cycling just caused too much pain, I began to explore some other fitness options, and rediscovered some things that I love to do and had forgotten about.  Which makes me very happy!

In February or March last year, I started teaching a HIIT (high intensity interval training) class at Greenville Fitness, and returned to a love of Lifting Heavy Stuff.  Steve has been doing it with me consistently, and we both love feeling strong.  Our current project is handstand push-ups.  We’re at least kinking the elbows a bit.  Which makes me very happy!

Around the same time I went to a beginner Zumba class.  It was a blast, but I distinctly remember thinking that my hips must be different from everyone else’s, because there’s no way they were ever going to move like that.  Well, things have improved a bit over a year, and I go to at least one class a week and to shake my booty with the others in the class. Which makes me very happy!

Two weekends ago I shocked the heck out of myself by painting a picture. I went to Uptown Art with a bunch of girls on a Friday night.  There was wine and cake and painting, and apparently I follow instructions well ha ha.  I really had a fun time being creative and I liked the way the picture turned out.  I would definitely hang it behind the bathroom door.  Which makes me very happy!

 Everyone that knows me, knows that I don’t do the cold very well.  I grumble and moan about the cold weather all winter, but you’ll never hear a peep out of me during the summer heat.  I am beyond thrilled that spring has finally arrived, and the weather is warm so I can get out and ride again.  Which makes me very happy!

Today was a fantastic day.  We rode up the watershed with friends and team mates on a perfect spring day, with no agenda, ate a freshly baked sticky bun and sat in the sunshine thinking about how wonderful life is.  Which makes me very happy!

So, looking back over the past year, I am grateful that I was derailed a bit from the focus of training and racing because I’ve experienced some things that I wouldn’t have made time for otherwise. I'm happy to be back on the bike too. Life is good.  Which makes me very happy!

Superhero Wannabes

The new Greenville Velo kits are here and they are fantastic! At least that's my opinion. I am very pleased to hear that many of my teammates love them too. They are bright and cheery and I love the way they stand out from the crowd. Big thanks to all that helped make this design a success. I want to especially thank Catherine James for her design help. She successfully translated our verbal vision into graphic reality. That's not easy, but it all worked out well.

Some have said that these new kits look like Superhero costumes. I got thinking about that last night and I think it's a pretty decent description. We weren't trying to make superhero costumes when we set out on the design process. We just wanted...well, we wanted just what we got...fun, bright and cheery kits. We did take inspiration from the Marvel Comic world, so I can see how the superhero elements infiltrated our creation. Maybe we're all superhero wannabes in these kits. And, that's not a bad thing.

Think about it. Our cycling apparel is a sort of costume. We're out there putting in miles with danger all around us. We're trying to do good in the world by getting fit or improving our lifestyle or maybe even winning an event. We have foe's that attempt to foil our plan with their evil genius at every turn or climb. Maybe, in our own little way we're wannabe superheroes riding for truth, justice and the American way...or maybe more like watts, miles and dessert at every meal.

I'm sure that some of us even feel like a superhero at times in the peloton. You know what I mean. Those times when you've trained hard. You've prepared well and you know you can take your shot at success at a moments notice. Yeah, when everything goes right you do feel like a superhero...you know without all that rescue the baby or stop the locomotive crap! You're just out on a ride doing what you love. And now, your superhero has a brand new costume.

Be safe...because you're not really bullet proof!

April Update

A week ago, Larry, Ray, Beth and Jim Hoffmeister joined Sam to support and ride the Swamp Rabbit Celebration GHS ride.  Conditions were a bit cool and windy, but just a great day.  Larry and I opted to take the longer option after La Bastide with Kim Morrow and Denizon.  The rain had washed many of the arrows off but we navigated our own shortened course for a great ride.

Thanks Steve for putting on a great ride, maybe next year we can get a few more to show up.

Saturday, was my first ride up to the BlueRidge for 2014 and Jim/Beth, Ray, Larry, and Tom joined me for a "spirited"  55 mile ride up 276 to the BlueRidge and then back doing a short loop through the French Broad Valley (you can see the route on Strava).

Ray and Larry were sporting the new kits.... great design.. highly visible, great colors, ....well done......

Here is me riding in the kit today...... I give it 2 thumbs up...