Pilot Mountain

It initially looked like half of last weekend was going to be a bust, weather-wise, but Saturday turned out to not be as rainy as anticipated.  It had been raining for two days prior, so the trails were shit, but I was able to get a gravel ride in on the Lazer Cat.  The route from the Hub was Estatoe>276>477>276>475B>475>276>Beer.  It was ~25 miles and uneventful, but very nice to get out on a bike, unexpectedly.

On Sunday, I wanted to get out in the Forest with Heather, so we planned a short'ish, but strenuous hike along our nemesis trail, Art Loeb, up to the summit of Pilot Mountain.  This is one of the taller summits in the area, topping out over 5000 feet, and has a nice 360* view from the top.  The hike up was pretty nice, and got really steep in some sections.





Heather was just getting over a sinus infection, and her lungs were not cooperating fully, but she persevered, and made it up to the summit, and a beautiful view.







We continued north on the ALT until we intersected with 229, and took the gravel back down to the car.  It was a good hike, and we can check another summit off of the list.

Courthouse Falls and Ripley

Last weekend was the first proper forest weekend we've had in a while.  Our goal for this year is to get back to spending some time every weekend in the woods, and we're off to a pretty decent start so far.  My new Ibis Ripley frame came in, so I spent some time building it up.  Unfortunately, there was a snag.  I just couldn't get my rear brake to stop rubbing, no matter how many times I readjusted it.  Finally, I took a closer look at it, and noticed that my brake rotor wasn't rubbing the pads at all, but it was rubbing the rear-most post mount on the frame itself.  Something was definitely wrong with the frame or my wheel.  I shot Ibis an email that evening, and received a response from them immediately, suggesting I check some things out to ensure the problem is not in my wheel.  I took the frame to the Hub the next day, and we were able to rule out the wheel.  Jon also noticed that the insert in the post mount was turned a bit, and the post mount looked crooked.



We shot this photo to Ibis, and they shipped out a new swing arm that day.  They were great to deal with, and their response made me happy that I bought a bike from them.

I figured that, with a new swing arm on the way, it would be OK for me to ride it with a little rubbing for one ride, so I went to DuPont on Saturday for a quick ride from Lake Imaging.  The bike was amazing, especially on the climbs.  The slightest increase in effort was immediately rewarded.  It wasn't too shabby on the downhills either.

On Sunday, Heather and I decided to go check out Courthouse Falls, before Summey Cove Trail is closed.  It was a chilly day, but we warmed up quickly on the initial climb.  The first bit is steep up, followed by steep down, but then follows old road bed for the remainder of the hike.  There are a couple of good camp sites along the way, and the waterfall was beautiful.









My swing arm came in on the Ripley the following Friday, and I got it built back up in time for a Sunday Pisgah ride.  I rode the "Big M" and had a blast.  This bike is so much fun.

Is it 2014 Already?!?!

OK, so it has been a year and a half since my last post, and a whole lot has happened in that time frame.  Unfortunately, not a whole lot of riding, though.  I updated my STRAVAsshole account and my total miles for 2014 are less than 500.  I don't think that is entirely accurate since many of my rides were sans-Garmin, but, regardless, I didn't ride nearly enough.

Like I said, a lot has happened in the last year and a half.  My knee has continued to heal and strengthen to the point where it feels pretty normal now.  We totally gutted and re-modeled our kitchen, and we had hardwood floors installed in the rest of the house.  We added a new wiener to the mix, Bennett, and I bought a new to me Tacoma.  I left the District Attorney's office and joined a small private practice, and then left that practice to start my own here in Brevard. That venture has been extremely time-consuming, but also very rewarding.  My boss is a dick, though.

The Lazer Cat is still around and kicking, but I'm about to be on my third full-suspension 29er.  I sold the Rocky Altitude and built a kick-ass Tallboy LTc.  Seriously the best bike I've owned or ridden.  I had a lot of fun on it this season, but always felt like it might be just a tad too much bike for my [lack of] style of riding.  That frame is now for sale, and I ordered an Ibis Ripley, which I've been lusting over since before I bought the LTc.  I'll be swapping all of my parts from the LTc, and it'll be a pretty awesome build.  XO1/XX1 mix, LEV dropper post, I9 Trail wheels, and a Pike 140mm fork.  I'll feel pretty blessed to be riding such a sweet bike.  I also got a new cross frame, which I've ridden a little bit.  It's an On One Dirty Disco.  MUCH lighter than the VooDoo Wazoo I was on, and the price was fantastic [free].

Anyway, that's 2014 in a nutshell.  Too much working at home and the office, a whole lot of change, and not enough time in the forest.  2015 is guaranteed to be more recreational.  Here's a photo dump.

Volunteer PMBARism and Martha Stewart Doesn't Have Shit on Me

So, I will be at PMBAR this year, at an undisclosed location. I decided to man a checkpoint so I can still be a part of the event. Sure, I would much rather be racing, but that will have to wait until next year.

Despite the non-racing, I'm still pretty excited about it. I plan on rising before the sun on Saturday, and riding to my checkpoint with a big ole' pack on my back. I get to hang out at a beautiful spot in the Forest, converse with racers all day, sip on rye, and sleep in the woods. I also get to do a real-world test of all of my DIY hammock gear. For those that don't know, I bought an old sewing machine a while back and made a hammock, then an under quilt, and this past weekend, I made a top quilt.





It is made of 1.1oz ripstop nylon, and stuffed with 11oz of 850 fill goose down.  It was a pretty cool project, and not all that difficult. It should keep me pretty darn warm.  I'll take some pics of my complete setup this weekend, and maybe describe how it all works together in a later post.

That's about it for now.  I've been riding as much as possible, but haven't really been taking too many pics. I also have a dropper post now on my Altitude, but haven't been able to test it out yet, so more on that later.

Short and Oh So Sweet

I'm not fully recovered from my cold, but the ortho cleared me and I was going to ride my mountain bike, dammit. So that's what I did. I started out at the Hub and rode the Estatoe trail (bike path), and then up Black, Thrift, Grassy, and then upper Sycamore. My knee felt great, but my lungs felt like shit, at first. I stopped somewhere along the initial climb and just started hacking. People could probably hear it for miles. It culminated in a series of hacks where I was gagging and thought I might puke, but then it was done and I felt just fine for the rest of the ride. Sometimes you just need to get that out of your system.

The climb and cruise around Thrift were uneventful. The climb up Grassy was no big deal. And Sycamore was a blast as usual. I had no issues at all. I thought I'd be a total wuss and walk every root and creek crossing, but I had no hesitation at all. The only issue I had was that my uber-fat front tire (Ardent 2.4) was rubbing my fork when the wheel would flex, and I would hear brrrrrrp, brrrrrrrp, occasionally. It turns out my wheel wasn't dished properly, and that tire is a very tight squeeze anyway. So I had a couple of beers at the Hub while the wheel was fixed. I've never been so satisfied with such a short ride.

CLEARED!!!

I had my appointment with the ortho yesterday, and he went ahead and cleared me for all activity. I couldn't believe it. It has been such a long road since the surgery in June. A lot of pain, frustration, and hard work. I'm still not 100% there yet, but I can now start mountain biking again, and I couldn't be happier. Unfortunately, I've been home sick with this chest cold all week, but I'll be on the Lazer Cat as soon as I can breathe somewhat properly.

While home this week, I've watched a lot of mountain bike videos on Vimeo, especially ones from European Enduro races. As many of you know, Pisgah Productions is putting on the first 'official' Pisgah enduro race later this year. For those in the dark, an enduro race is basically several downhill races built into an, for lack of a better phrase, all-mountain ride. The downhill sections are timed, and then you ride at a more leisurely pace to the start of each timed downhill section. It seems like a good format for any local Pisgah rider, as pretty much every ride here is an 'enduro' ride.

Anyway, I'm excited that this blog will finally be getting back to including accounts of mountain biking in the Brevard area. Stay tuned.

Big Ole Dump

Photo dump.

I'm home sick with the chest cold from hell (actual diagnosis), so I figured it's time to update the blog.  We've been hiking quite a bit, and I've been riding the cross bike all over Pisgah.  My knee is feeling stronger and stronger thanks to those activities, and the squats and deadlifts I've been doing at home.  Those exercises have really helped with my standing pedaling especially.

On with the dump.

Hiking on Seniard Ridge.



 

  

Top secret cross route in Pisgah.

 

 

 

We got a GPS and tried geocaching on our back yard trail.









We hiked in Panthertown Valley (Nantahala N.F.) for the first time.













We finally made it to the top of Cedar Rock Mtn.











I've also just been riding gated F.S. roads to see where they go, not taking many photos.







That's about it I guess. I go back to the ortho in a couple of days. I'm pretty sure he's going to make me get another strength test and then another appointment to tell me the results of that strength test so he can make more money before clearing me to ride. We'll see.

PMBAR 2012

Team "weregoingtofinishthisyear" did not finish this year. Last year we got 3 CPs over a 63-mile route, and DNF'd. This year we got 0 CPs over a 6.3-mile route, and DNF'd. There wasn't much we could do about it though.

There was nothing silly or adventurous about the start this year; no wooden nickels. It was a bit different, however, in that Eric announced that we would not be getting our passports until we hit Pressley Gap. This meant one giant clusterfuckingly slow climb up Black. Once we got up there, we decided to hit the most western, mandatory CP at the gate on 225, so we headed down Maxwell and Clawhammer. Upon hitting the stables, Mike somehow crashed while going around the gate and banged his knees up pretty bad. He popped right up, thankfully, but quickly realized that his front wheel had somehow taco'd, and our race was over.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed, but this stuff happens. We slowly made our way down 477 to 276, and decided to make a stop in the river for Mike to "ice" his knees a bit in the cold water. We got back to the start/finish at Smoker's Cove, and concluded after little debate that 10am was as good a time as any to start drinking. After a beer there, we headed up to Stephen Janes' grilled cheese and Coke oasis to take him a beer and hang out a bit. After being entertained by the riders for a while, we headed to the Hub to see if they could save Mike's wheel, and have a couple more beers and our first Daggie's burgers, which were pretty damn good.

 So, definitely not a good PMBAR, but Mike wasn't hurt too badly, the wheel is fairly fixed, and it was still a fun day. I doubt I'll be able to do next year's PMBAR because of my pending knee surgery and long recovery time, but I'll be back for 2014, and team "weregoingtogetatleastonecheckpointthisyear" will get at least one CP, for real.

Housework, Trailwork, Riding, Blah Blah Blah

Another action-packed weekend. Saturday morning was another Bracken Mtn workday. We're getting closer and closer to the Forest property. Hopefully we'll get a good turnout for the next workday or two and finish up with the corridor clearing. After that, it was time to paint the bathroom after taking forever to strip the wallpaper and prep the walls. I HATE wallpaper. Especially the wallpaper in this house. Only three more rooms to strip and paint. Woohooo!!

Today was a perfect day for a ride (as was yesterday, oh well), so I headed to the Forest. I had no agenda really, so I just started making my way up Clawhammer. Up at the gap I took a moment to notice how the trees have all sprouted leaves in the past few days.



I still had no idea what route I wanted to take, so I headed down Buckhorn Gap, and took a left on S. Mills. I really like this section of S. Mills. It has a fun, rocky downhill, and some technical, rocky riding along the river. Once I got to the parking lot, I decided that I would hit a couple of seasonal trails before they're closed, so I headed to Pink Beds.



Today is Easter, so why wouldn't I find this along the trail?



I left it for someone who might actually appreciate it, and continued my leisurely spin along Pink Beds loop. I made it to the parking lot and it was mayhem. The lot was full, and there were obese people everywhere. It was like I was in Gatlinburg, except there were no t-shirt or fudge shops. I sat in the shade and had a GU before heading down 276 to 477.



Obviously, once on 477 I headed up for a run down Bennett. It was lovely.





MRI tomorrow morning. Can't wait to have that giant dye-injection needle shoved under my knee cap. Fun stuff.