Patience is a Virtue

The Lazer Cat lacks it...



Just waiting for clearance from the ortho. Hopefully at the next visit in March.

I gave the Lazer Cat some TLC today with a total break-down, clean, lube, and rebuild. She was also treated to a shorter stem, and carbon 3/4 risers. Once I'm able to start mountain biking again, it'll be on the Lazer Cat. One reason being that I'll be less tempted to hit stuff I probably shouldn't yet. Secondly, this bike was the one I was on when I really started riding here, so it should be the one I'm on when I start back. Cruised it around the neighborhood a bit today, and it felt oh so sweet.

Just need to keep plugging away on strength-building for a couple more months.

Raven Cliff Falls Hike

We made it out for another short hike today. Last night while hanging out at the Oskar Blues Brewery, we decided that today's hike would be to the Raven Cliff Falls overlook, up in Caesar's Head. We woke up and got our day started, and then headed up the mountain towards an ominous sky. We knew there was a chance of rain, and packed accordingly. The parking lot was pretty full, as usual, but we found a spot in the main lot, and headed out. We saw several people out on the trail, but it wasn't too crowded, and the trail itself was nice.

This is me with my sweet knee brace, and my trusty hiking staff, "Woody." Heather got "Woody" for me as a Christmas present before we moved down here. She ordered it from a shop in Brevard, and it has a woodland spirit carved into the top of it. It has come in very handy on our recent hikes.

Yeah, it was shorts and t-shirt weather.




We made it to the overlook in no time. It was 2.2 miles to this point.





From there, we decided to start down Dismal Trail, which links up with the Naturaland Trust Trail, and goes to the base of the falls. Looking down from the overlook, I figured my knee might not be able to handle it, but we decided to at least check it out. Well, my hunch was correct. It got pretty steep, and was just a little too much for my knee for now. We did find a fun little rock outcropping to play on, though.





We headed back the way we came, and on the way back, the mist and fog rolled in. It was beautiful and surreal.



 

 

Back in the Forest

Man, the second half of 2012 was tough for us. We both underwent pretty serious surgeries, and are both finally recovering to the point where we can be pretty active again. If you've followed this blog, you know that I put in a lot of volunteer hours in the Bracken Mountain Trail project, which is pretty much right in our back yard. The trail officially opened in July, but I had just had my ACL replaced in June, and I was able to barely hobble my way up to the grand opening.

Well a couple of weekends ago, we finally were able to witness the final product, on a nice hike from our back door.

 



 

We were pretty impressed with the trail system and our 5 mile hike. I can't wait until I can start riding it. The next weekend (last weekend), we went for a little gravel road ride at Dupont. My knee didn't feel great this day, but we still got a nice ride in.



The next day, we planned a hike to the top of Mt. Pisgah, but when we got to the BRP, they were closing the gates in anticipation of winter weather we were supposed to get that evening, so we turned around and drove up 477 to Bennett Gap trailhead for a short hike to the overlooks and back.





Today, I went for another gravel road ride at Dupont, since the high temp was ~70*. I sold my road bike, which was a Bianchi Vigorelli, and bought two cheaper cross bikes for Heather and I. I found her a nice steel Jamis Nova, and bought myself a Voodoo Wazoo. We've really enjoyed the cross bikes and prefer gravel roads over real roads by far.

 





My knee felt really good on today's ride, and I made some climbs that I never thought I'd be able to top at this point. I was very pleased. We should be hiking again tomorrow, so hopefully, I'll have some more photos to post.

Saturday

Decide to give mountain bike some TLC expecting to be riding again soon. Take off wheels. Remove tires to find giant Stan's boogers. Clean Stan's off of tires and wheels. Mount new front tire. Fill with Stan's. Hit with compressor. Success. Mount older rear tire. Fill with Stan's. Hit with compressor. Fail. Again. Fail. Try CO2 cartridge. Fail. Try compressor again. Fail. Compressor dies. Try remaining CO2 cartridges. Fail. Try floor pump as fast as I can. Fail. Again. Fail. Curse loudly. Debate throwing floor pump into neighbor's yard. Remove tire. Clean Stan's off of tire and wheel. Mount tire with tube. Inflate with floor pump. Hear hissing. Watch tire deflate. Search for another tube. Fail. Make animalistic grunting noises. Close eyes. Deep breath. Count to ten. Walk upstairs. Crack open beer.

First Hike

Heather and I both finally felt physically ready for a hike after the summer of surgeries. I wanted something that would test my knee a bit, but not too long. We had been wanting to check out Sam Knob for a while, so why not now?

We headed up to the BRP on a gorgeous afternoon, with the temp around 60*. The trail started off pretty flat, and like any other trail in the grassy meadow areas up in the high country.



When we hit the base of Sam Knob, however, the terrain changed drastically. It became fairly steep, but not too steep, with a lot of roots and good-sized rocks to maneuver. I brought my hiking staff with me for extra support, and it ended up helping a lot.



It didn't take too long to make it to the top, and the views were everywhere.



We paused at the overlook and took some photos and had a snack. This is now one of our favorite overlooks. Amazing views of the Shining Rock Wilderness.







I was mostly concerned with how my knee would do coming back down that steep terrain, but it really felt great. We were both extremely happy to get out in "the Forest" again, and can't wait until next weekend for another hike.

Beer Run

The folks at the Hub posted on facebook that they had Highlands Cold Mountain on draft, so I planned a short cross ride to have one.  Kind of a chilly ride, but my knee felt great, even standing.  Rode on a little gravel, enjoyed my favorite seasonal brew, and cruised on home.

Downtime Update

This is supposed to primarily be a blog about mountain biking. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do any of that since the beginning of June, but I'm definitely getting closer. I've finished PT, and have started going to Crossfit Brevard instead. The owner is a great guy, who also very recently had an ACL reconstruction, so he's very understanding with scaling the workouts down for me. My knee is getting much stronger, though. I had isokinetic testing done last week, and I am at about 90% now. Not bad for 5 months post-surgery.

I have been able to ride a bit, though. I got Heather and I used cross bikes, and we've been riding around town and on the bike path quite a bit. It feels great to be pedaling again, even if it is just on the bike path. The knee feels really good while riding, with the exception of some weakness while pedaling standing up.

I've been trying to find ways to keep myself busy on the weekends. For some reason, we can never find a harness that fits Kenda right, so I just made one.



I also decided that because of what I do and where I do it, that I'd get my concealed carry permit. So a couple of days ago, I took my class.



It was a beautiful day, so I took the long way home via BRP.



Things are really looking up, and hopefully I'll be posting ride reports again in the very near future. Cheers!