March 13 MTB holiday part 3

Sunday brought a cold lazy morning and watching the Paris-Nice prologue streaming online. We went to Raisin Wood, Dalton's local mountain bike park. It's named for Saul Raisin, a local of Dalton's and former member of pro UCI team  Crédit Agricole.  That was a very fun place to ride. My legs weren't quite ready for the climbing but am glad I did. Definitely helped work out the buildup of lactic acid from Snake Creek. This is another park that alternates direction depending upon day of the week. Runners are to travel opposite direction as mountain bikers. Seems to make sense. There were some trail runners out. The two I saw were blazing fast!

I can't imagine riding this one on a SS. After riding it was time to head to our next destination, Mulberry Gap. 

It had snowed on Saturday and when we got to the FS road it had cones and a sign that said Road Closed. We turned around to make our way from the other side of Ft. Mountain, but I was able to reach them via Facebook and they said the road was clear and open to their location. So we turned back around and drove past the barricade and on to MG. It is such a wonderful place to stay. I can't say enough good stuff about it. This was my home for 5 days. The cabin has two separate rooms with separate entrances. (others have a door between for families, etc) and bunkbeds. Another cabin has more open floorplan with queen sized bed. There is a hot tub that sits outside beside the creek. From conversations we had with Dianne and Ginny, they stayed fairly booked Spring through Autumn. 

 


Breakfast and dinner are included with each night's stay. They also do their best to accommodate special dietary needs/requests. This was a nice treat being diary free, gluten free and one that only eats fish and eggs but no other meat. The dining/living room has a wood stove in the center, which makes for cozy conversations with new friends. 

Monday morning we had a fresh layer of snow and it was still snowing through breakfast. Breakfast was oatmeal, scrambled eggs, sliced bananas and strawberries. It was nice to not be in a hurry to get someplace. Once we got our gear together and loaded in the van, we drove to the Bear Creek trailhead. The higher elevations had deeper snow than we had at MG. The plan was to ride Bear Creek trail, Pinhoti 1 and 2 then drive back up to get the van. Bear Creek was beautiful and the creek was full of rushing water. B2 riding Bear Creek
This is my riding buddy shooting video as he rides down the trail. Not a simple task! Makes me want to buy a video cam to shoot new places and trails. There was plenty of climbing and had to cross creek a couple times. The climbing definitely warms you up! The descents were fun and I tried to not be a big scaredy cat. Because there had been snowmelt there were definitely some wet sloppy places full of leaves. I still don't like the feeling of my rear wheel fishtailing, so I braked more than I probably should. All in good time, right?  ;)  I rode 13.5 miles with 1,600 ft of climbing over 2.5 hours. When we got back to MG my riding partner wanted to continue to ride. So he grabbed some food and proceeded to climb back the way we came to the van. He was all in for another 2.5 hours, 14 miles and 2,900 ft of climbing. Some day I hope I have the fitness to ride that much in one day, climb like that and be able to catch air too. 

Monday night after dinner we built a fire behind the cabin. A new friend Will joined us and we visited and kept the fire stoked for several hours.

Three days in the saddle is about my limit these days, so I took Tuesday off. It was a rainy day, that turned into a deluge at one point. I stayed in the community building, read and kept the stove going. I also watched a small stream materialize through the room. Once the rain eased the inside stream dried up quickly enough. 

I knew I didn't have what it takes to ride Pinhoti 3 and 4 on Wednesday, but I also knew I didn't want to stay inside and not ride a 2nd day. It had gotten colder again and snowed overnight. So I thought I would go out and ride the fire service road up to Bear Creek trailhead. 9.4 miles and 1,500 ft of climbing. Once I got about halfway the snow was frozen ice. My rear wheel spun a couple of times so I got off and pushed. This was what I saw at one point:  

Thursday we drove to Bull Mountain. Another IMBA epic, as is the Pinhoti. After checking out the trail maps and elevations I decided to ride Jake Mountain. It seemed a bit less climbing. I also wanted to ride solo and not worry about slowing anyone down. I had fun. I met a man and woman walking their horses fairly early on. I got off my bike and waited for them to pass. They were very nice. So not too much further I'm riding along and starting to go downhill and see a creek crossing. Boy, did I misjudge that one! It was deep and wide and cold. I rode it and got completely soaked up to my mid thighs and of course my entire backside. I was grateful that the average temp for my ride was 60F. So much warmer than what we had ridden so far. The trails were fun and had a lot of nice fun fast flow. Still, it took me 2.5 hours to ride 11 miles and climb almost 1,500 ft. I got turned around as I approached the parking area and rode towards Bull Mtn for a good half mile or so. Thank goodness for garmin. Haha, directionally challenged people should be very careful riding solo on new trails. I quickly shed my wet clothes and draped them over the hood of the van. Got into nice dry clothes and sat in the warm sunshine and waited. The closest town is Dahlonega, GA. It has a nice city square with a round-about in the center and some cobbled streets. The local "brewery" was an italian place that didn't have much gluten-free options so we went across the street to the Porter House. Excellent choice for dinner after a nice day riding in the mountains.

Friday morning we had another tasty breakfast, packed the vehicles and said good-bye to Mulberry Gap. I will definitely go back and visit again. We drove to Ellijay, GA which is the closest town to MG. Had read about a mtb trail there so we found it and rode. This was a short and easy ride to spin out the legs from day before. Another challenging place for me and I can't imagine riding it on SS.  :-)

Drove into Chattanooga and checked into The Crash Pad, a very cool hostel with superbunks, clean showers and free eggs and coffee in the community kitchen for breakfast. I already have my reservations for Racoon Mtn! 

Went to Booker T and pre-rode the course. Well I rode the outer most loop. My riding buddy went out again with the promoters as they finalized marking the course. After sleeping very well all week and the first night at the hostel, I had a very short night sleep on Saturday and did not race on Sunday. It's probably a good thing, though wish it had turned out different. A good race for him in the Cat 1 race. 

I must say this was one of the best week's holiday I've had in a long time. So relaxed, lots of riding, delicious food and great company. I enjoy going places and riding new trails. It was nice to go to a trail with someone, but be able to ride your own way with no pressure to keep up or feel like you are holding others back. It was nice to ride together the days we did, too. Good friends and good riding are something I will always cherish.

peace 
 
 
  

I'm always amazed

at my ability to not see reality for the desire of a fantasy.

Last week was wonderful. I am trying to keep that memory as long as possible.

Friendship should be cherished over romance.

good times

bike rides and good meals and easy conversations

Part 2.a

so much fun. I am a lucky person. it's been a great week so far. more later.

March 13 Holiday - Part 1

I've taken time off (unpaid) to ride my mountain for a week. Friday I drove to Dalton, GA. Stayed in a cheap motel, pre-reg'd, got my Snake Creek mug (jar) and had dinner. It was a solo kinda day for me. Talked and texted with friends that came down, but never saw anyone.

It was nice being close to the venue. I brought plenty of food. Happy I had a fridge and micro in the room. Sweet potato and hard boiled egg was my pre-race breakfast. It was a cold morning and had snowed overnight. I decided I was going to finish this 17 mile trail. So I took my time. Lack of training/riding certainly showed. I stopped and walked too much, mainly to prevent an asthma attack. I reached the sag and felt good. Tired but good. The remaining part of the ride was new for me. I enjoyed it until the Wall. 34 milers were starting to pass fairly steadily. I watched many others push their bikes up the wall as I did, so I didn't feel too badly about it. Once atop the wall the rock garden begin. I'd heard about them. I was able to ride more than I thought. The pedal strikes were frustrating though. I guess I was just too tired to keep good form. Lots and lots of people started passing, so I pulled over so most wouldn't lose their momentum. It was nice to see a friendly face about a mile and a half before the water tower. Debbie was taking pictures as people rode a rock garden. She was being a kind soul and didn't tag me. I was caught behind a couple of guys riding and I was pushing my bike. 
Once we got to the gravel road I was in relief. I kept it slow until the pavement. Once on the highway I got as aero as I could and let it go. I know I had a huge smile as I crossed the finish line. D.O.N.E. Took my bike to the van and walked back to the festivities. The food looked deelish, but nothing I could eat. I walked around a few minutes but caught a big chill, so went back to the van and drove to the hotel room. The wheezing had kicked in and lasted for about 3 hours. I rolled up in the blankets on the bed and tried to get warm. Hot shower felt great.

Here's a pic of where I'm staying.

More to come
peace
 

Enjoyable weekend

I've been trying to mix things up a bit. Easy trainer ride in the morning before work and hike/run or walk/run after work several evenings each week. Trails are fragile this time of year due to freeze/thaw. 

I've had my Scalpel almost 8 weeks and have ridden it about a dozen times. It's different and I am want to get more comfortable on it. First XC race is March 10. 

Last Saturday Cathy and Kirk with the Louisville Bicycle Club put on a MTB/hike afternoon in their neck of the woods. They live in Crandall, IN. Beautiful area it is. They have a route that includes fire roads, single track and corn fields. The fire roads were mostly mud and made for one heckuva ride. It was a workout, at least for me it was! They were gracious hosts and had food everywhere, even vegetarian chili with no pasta or cheese! 

Snake Creek is in two weeks and I've not been on my scalpel for the amount of time I will be that day. It finally got colder here over last few days and even colder further north. Yesterday I drove to Brown County, hoping for 17-20 miles. Started later than I wanted. Trails were in good shape until I almost got to top of Hesitation Point.  There's an open field just below the picnic area at the top. I didn't realize until I was in it. I got off and walked but it stuck to the tires pretty good. Following a brief trip to the outhouse, I started to ride my bike and the rear derailleur was full of mud. The three creek crossings at the bottom of Aynes got the downtube all covered in ice. Mud and leaves and ice was clogging the rear wheel. I walked back down past the fire road crossing and the trail was shaded and still frozen. Got off several times and walked where the trail was exposed to sunshine. Beautiful day to be in the woods, very cold when the wind found you. 


The Versailles forecast for today started out in the teens. I got up and out of the house by 7 ish. 

Google maps suggested IN 62 to 421 and finally 129. I arrived right about 8:30. Seems better than I-65 to North Vernon. At least it's more scenic. About 5 miles south of Versailles there was a light dusting on snow on the road. 

The park was covered with about 1/2-1 inch. Everything was crisp and bright. There was only one other car in the parking lot and it was 2 guys hiking.

I was first human tracks made today. The only sounds at first were my tires crushing the snow. Then once I got on creek side and later on Grandview there were teeny little paw tracks in front of me running along the trail. The water was lapping at the edge of the banks underneath the frozen edges.   

All of a sudden about 1/2 way back Grandview a wood pecker was making a racket on one of the trees.

I felt good riding today, no lung issues at all. My legs seemed happy as well, though I was quite cautious on the frozen trails. Since I was the only one on the trails I felt it best that I not take any chances falling. I've got to do something about my feet though. Maybe battery operated hunting socks. My toes hurt so badly and then started going numb. Not a good thing!

I miss riding with others. About 90% of my riding is solo. However, today it was so serene, being in the woods. I thoroughly enjoyed my solitude with nature all around me.

Sincere hopes that you had a wonderful weekend, too!



peace

Inside Outside

what I feel like on the inside doesn't always look the same as what I look like in the outside. This is a Very Good Thing!