Dragon's Tale Preview

On Saturday, I'm headed to Roanoke. Sunday is the Dragon's Tale race. With a 10am start time I hopefully won't have to worry about a brisk starting temperature. I'm a little nervous about stringing together 40 miles of mountain biking this early in the year, but I'm committed to giving it a solid effort.

Thanks to my good friend in Roanoke, I have been on the majority of the trails in the race. He's tortured me on everything. The exception is some of the stuff off Broad Run Mountain. Most of my rides on North Mountain, however, have been in the 10-15 mile range. I've never pushed myself on this mountain. That's usually because the mountain usually unleashes it wrath in short distances.  

I expect it to be hard. Really hard! Grouse trail is very rocky in the beginning and if you lose your balance, pick a bad line, or are in suffer mode, you are in for a bad day. The first time I rode it, I flubbed it and ended up walking a crap ton of trail just because I couldn't get solid footing or enough momentum to get moving in the loose rocks. Painful. The worst part is that you have to ride this twice in the race. Oh boy. All of the climbs ar narrow sidehill stuff with rocks and nasty switchbacks. I suck at riding uphill switchbacks, so I'm sure I'll be walking a bunch of them. I'll give 'em a try though, but not enough to blow myself up. The key to this race is going to be recovery. I'm also going to have to think about how much food to carry vs. stash at the aid stations and how much water I need to carry. If I go out too fast and I'll pay the price on the climbs. The ridgeline will keep me honest as its littered with rock outcroppings and jagged off camber technical features. Last time I was up there I fell flat on my helmet trying to navigate one of the rock gardens. It was almost captured on video. 


Speaking of video, I finally got a proper mount for my Contour HD video camera. Now I should be able to capture some video without trying to use some horrible makeshift mount. I did a shakedown ride on the Greenway this weekend. The mount worked great, but I need to work on the camera angle a bit. Although the video is rather boring, it shows how lucky I am to be so close to the greenway. I can get 14 miles in right from my front door which is a blessing when the trails are closed due to rain. 

Well, that's it for me until Monday. Check back for a race report then.

Uncle Sam Doesn't Care

Since I usually owe money to Uncle Sam, I usually delay my tax preparation until the last possible moment. I seem to delay it more each year. I still haven't started my taxes, but I did make a move in the right direction this weekend. To keep my sanity, I made up a new rule this year. The rule is something like this: As soon as I feel frustrated with my taxes I quit immediately and move to something more fun, like differential equations, healthcare reimbursement forms, watching CSPAN, going to the DMV, or watching the The Real Housewives. Pretty much anything but taxes. On Sunday I downloaded turbo tax federal, and the NC and SC state forms. Since I work in SC and live in NC, I have to pay SC taxes and file for a credit in NC, PLUS pay the difference in the NC rate. That means I end up owing more to the Tarheel state. As you might have guessed, taxes didn't last long and I was off running an errand at Target. Uncle Sam doesn't really care that I have other interests besides doing my taxes.

After most of the day was spent and the kiddos were in bed, I cracked the last Sunny Haze beer and headed out to the garage to tackle some much needed work on my bike. Since the man trip to Pisgah last October, my mountain bike has been ridden twice. I punctured my tire in Pisgah and never went back to full tubeless so I had a small project ahead of me.

While removing the rear wheel, I noticed my cassette was looking rather craptastic, so I broke out the citrus degreaser, completely disassembled it and scrubbed it clean, and reassembled it before tackling the rear wheel. I meant to take care of this the previous week during the cabin trip but I forgot the valve stem (still in my Camelbak from October). Doh! Once I retrieved the Pisgah encrusted valve stem from it's hideout, I removed the old tube, put the (clean) stem back in, poured in two cups of Stans tire sealant magic juice and reassembled everything. Then I did the NoTubes dance to seal it up. I also added a scoop and a half to my front tire just for good measure.

My bike area is a complete mess. Take a look. Since the Winter Challenge, I 've been in stack mode. At some point in the near future, I'm going to need to clean this mess up, but it wasn't today.

I regreased my through axle bearings and reinstalled the tires. My rear brake has been dragging for what seems like forever, so that was going to be next, but when I reinstalled the rear wheel, everything was ok. I guess my rear wheel was slightly off axis before. A quick driveway test ensured I had achieved success.

Next up on bike maintenance:

• air pressure check on front and rear shocks
• chain cleaning and wear check
• shift check
• general cleaning

After that, I should be in good shape for the race. Then I'll need to finalize my hydration/nutrition strategy for the race. Sheesh, lots to do before Friday.

Why I ride!

This post has been percolating in my mind for over 4 years, maybe longer, but I've never been at a point to express it. Even those that know me well, probably don't know this back story of why I do what I do. Sometimes I don't even know what I am doing and why I do it. Everybody is influenced by something or someone. It very often changes your outlook or mission in life. I'm no different, just usually a lot more introverted about it. This blog is another vehicle of change for me. Everyone has a story. This is mine or at least a portion of it. Think you know me?

Read the rest of the story.

Checked Out

This weekend, the family and I checked out of Charlotte and headed to the mountains of Western North Carolina. There are a million other things we "need" to do, but sometimes its just good to get away. When the topic came up a few weeks ago, I said yes immediately. It's so relaxing in the mountains. I love it when the whole family escapes to the cabin. The view in the mornings and evenings never gets old.

Since the wife is training for a half-marathon in a few weeks, Saturday morning was kids watch for me while she knocked out 11 miles. It's difficult to find flat areas to run near the cabin, so we headed over to Lake Junaluska which has a lake trail around 2.6 miles. They also have a nice playground which is where I would camp out while she ran. The interesting part of the visit was that the lake was gone. Vanished. Hmm, my immediate thought was that the dam was under repair, but a quick search of the interwebs this evening revealed that they are removing 25,000 cubic yards of silt. Of course I began to wonder how long it would take to fill a 200 acre lake. Good news. they answered that too. About 3-4 weeks. I also investigated the Waynesville Greenway as well. I've always seen it leading off Rt. 19 and wondered where it went. Now I know that it's a 5.3 mile greenway to near downtown. Pretty neat. I'll have to check that out next time I'm in town. The other playground we usually go to is at the end of the greenway, so it'll be a good excursion during the next escape.

After resisting a St. Patrick's Day beer at Nick and Nate's pizzeria, we returned home where I had a ride pass for a couple of hours. Since I didn't have time to head to Pisgah, I opted for a front door ride to Purchase Knob. I have hiked up there a dozen times, but never on the bike. Since it's part of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park bikes are verboten EVERYWHERE. I assumed I'd be ok on the entrance road and I had no intention to poach any of the surrounding trails. I simply wanted to ride some hills. Shortly after exiting the neighborhood, I saw the sign honoring Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton. Let's face it, he's a legend in Appalachia (fer moonshinin' y'all)and just so happens to hail from Haywood County. Sadly, Popcorn met an untimely end as the feds net folded in on him. He was busted in Tennessee and some say had he stayed in NC that his moonshine would still be flowing. Oh well, would have been nice to pull over for a glass of moonshine, but instead, I kept rolling up to Purchase Knob.

It was a 5 mile climb to the top, but its a rather unpleasant gravel grinder. Some sections had me standing and mashing the pedals to survive the grade increases. Once you are up there, you are rewarded with awesome panoramic views of NC, TN, and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It's simply awesome. You can view the webcam at the top here. I stopped for a few minutes to enjoy the view and take a few sips of water. before heading back down.

On the way back down, I remembered a road that headed up to the Cataloochee Ski Resort. The previous night I saw people skiing from the cabin. Given the unseasonably warm weather, I wanted to see first hand if they really had snow, so I hung a right on another gravel road. This particular road is nasty. So much so that there is a warning on it that says its impassable by car. Since my Silverado once made the trip up, I knew it was passable, but would probably be difficult on my bike. It got so steep, I considered walking at one, two, three points. This road averages about a 15% grade over 0.8 miles (the last tooth on the elevation chart below). I definitely pegged my heart rate on this climb, but made it up without walking (barely).

So, were they skiiing? Yes, yes they were. They must make incredible amounts of man made snow here, but still neat.

In the end, I had an unexpectedly hard 10.8 miles. The best part though was that I did it all from the front door.

Survey says?

So much for being a day of rest. Sunday was a day of test(ing). The day to test my legs against the fire breathing dragon by a simulation of mental and physical pain through road biking at an extended distance. In the latter part of last week, I had to back off training slightly to allow for recovery. My knee was still recovering from the Charlotte 10 Miler and I felt it.  It hurt just enough to feel bad, but not enough to quit. Over the course of a few workouts though, that began to change, so I took Friday and Saturday off to let the body mend in preparation for a BIG ride on Sunday.

It's hard to find time to do rides like this due to the time commitment, so I was appreciative when I got the green light from house management. My goal was to get out somewhere between 50-80 miles. Given that I had a time window of 3-4 hours, it was more realistic that I would see something between 50-65 miles. 80 miles would take me well over 4 hours, maybe even 5, so I'm not sure what I was thinking there.

I had prepared everything for the ride on Saturday night. Water bottles, cold weather gear, co2, tubes, I was ready. Imagine my disappointment when I rolled down the first downhill and realized my food (gel and honey stingers) were left on the counter at home. Normally not a big deal, but on a ride of this length, I was worried (and annoyed at myself). Luckily I had added an extra half scoop of GU Brew electrolyte into my Camelbak bottles. After beating myself up for a few minutes, I finally settled into a groove.  My chosen route took me south into Union County through Marvin and Waxhaw. Since I usually ride the Waxhaw sections with a friend (who knows the route) I was a little worried I'd screw something up, but thanks to my Garmin, I had pre-loaded the course to keep me on track. Everything was going great until I got to about the half way point. When I was supposed to turn left there was a sign "NO THROUGH TRAFFIC, BRIDGE OUT" I love my GPS, but it's very hard to judge distances and detours in the middle of a ride. At home off the bike it would probably take me 1 second, but out in the field it was a 5, 10, 20 minute snafu I was unwilling to entertain, so I simply turned around to make it a out-and-back type ride. One the way back I latched on to some team roadies who pulled me a good clip for a couple miles. it was a welcomed relief at mile 40 or so, but I had to lift it up a notch to hang on to their wheels. It felt pretty good to be able to do so since the quads were feeling it at this point. So, here are the final ride stats:






Overall, I felt good. The knee still hurts, but not as bad as a week ago. I'm happy with the ride, so the survey says.....YES... or the Magic 8 Ball says "Signs Point to YES". If I still had a Ouija board I'd ask it too. 
It looks like I'm going to register for the Dragon's Tale this week.

Puff the Magic Dragon

When I'm not mountain biking in Charlotte, I head to Pisgah. Pisgah is a mecca of mountain biking, but there is a very close second to Pisgah, and that would be Roanoke VA. Fortunately, my wife is from Roanoke and her family still lives there. Whenever we head to the Star City, my bike is generally in tow. The Blue Ridge Parkway, Carvins Cove, North Mountain, Fort Lewis Mountain, and even Pandapas Pond in Christianburg all have something to offer. The routes on North Mountain and Fort Lewis Mountain are no joke. They generally consist of very tight singletrack, rocky ridges, long climbs, and some very fun and, in some cases, ridiculous descents (thank you Elevator Shaft). I have walked every climb in Roanoke. Even when I'm "in shape" I'll generally have to walk uphill at some point. It's taken years for me to have the stamina to ride some of the stuff up there. On of my favorite routes traverses the North Mountain Ridgeline. There are three trails off the ridge (Deer, Grouse, and Turkey). Here's a few videos from a trip up there last year.

The Dragon's Tale race rolls out of New Castle, VA, runs down the spine of the dragon, runs up Grouse trail twice and returns on a few tails I haven't been on yet.  At 40 miles, it's a beast of a ride. I have had more pain dished out to me on these trails that I'm wondering why I would return to "race" on them. Honestly, I don't know. I just like riding my bike. Slaying this Dragon will take everything I've got. 

The historic course is described as...

Tight, narrow, mossy, off-camber Appalachian sidehill singletrack that run's a tight and rocky spine like ridgeline. It's a wonder that the bicycles of the 90's were about to complete the course. Not only did they complete the course, but "they" included world famous riders like Flyod Landis, Jeremiah Bishop, Gunnar Shogren, Sue Haywood, Carol Waters and Chris Eatough."

Tomorrow, I head out on the road bike to see if I'm fit enough to try this race. If yes, then I'm registering for the race tomorrow. If no, then I'm still going to Roanoke to ride the beast in a much more enjoyable pace. Either way, I win. I love Roanoke!

10 Guinesses

I probably heard this joke over 15 years ago....

An American walks into an Irish pub and says, "I'll give anyone $100 if they can drink 10 Guinness's in 10 minutes."


Most people just ignore the absurd bet and go back to their conversations.
One guy even leaves the bar. A little while later that guy comes back and asks the American, "Is that bet still on?"


"Sure."


So the bartender lines 10 Guinness's up on the bar the Irishman drinks them all in less than 10 minutes.


As the American hands over the money he asks, "Where did you go when you left?"


The Irishman answers, "I went next door to the other pub to see if I could do it."

...and for some reason it still makes me laugh. The thought of trying that feat makes me sick, but I think this guy might be able to give it a go.

Any time I come up with a new challenge, I automatically think of the Irishman. How do I prove to myself that I can do it before actually doing it?


I'm faced with a dilemma. Today is exactly 4 weeks from the Dragon's Tale race. I've been on the fence for a month or more now. This is a race I have wanted to do ever since I first heard about it. The problem has always been timing. I've never been able to make the stars align until this year. With no excuses or obstacles, it's totally up to me. I have ridden my mountain bike once this year, so I'll be going into the race cold turkey on the mtb and gaining all my training on the Kinetic trainer. My bike has been sitting with a flat tire for over a month now. Is it time to get serious? This is the week to drink 10 Guinesses errr test myself and make a race decision next Sunday.

Today's race probability is at 80%, but I still haven't registered or gone through my "test". Instead of riding the trainer tonight, I had a bowl of ice cream and hot fudge. Great start.

Note: I don't know why beer has been on my brain so much. I think it's because I've been wanting to start home-brewing again. I even made a special stop on Friday to pick up a few craft brews. The winner for me was New Belgium Super Cru this weekend. 

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

-Benjamin Franklin