WNR # 7

Attendance: Myself, Sarah, Benson, Rob, Secret Steve, Charlie, Cheryl, Sherri, and Bobbi.

Weather: Sunny and 53 degrees. Perfect.

Trail Conditions: Stuts. to Kipp and back. Sandy as all get out.

We set out at a good pace, and after the initial shock of that first climb wore off I realized I was feeling pretty good. I haven't ridden that section of trail in a long time with gears. It was kind of nice to be able to get up those couple of tough, short steep climbs without getting off my singlespeed and running. So brisk pace there and a little brisker on the way back. That was my first high intensity ride since getting back from the trip, and I think the week or so of easier riding was definitely the ticket. Legs are feeling good, and I'm hoping to get out for a longish (4-5 hours) ride on Sunday. About a week and half left before this ride. Thanks in advance Hugh for allowing me to drive myself to the brink by riding 100 miles in your backyard. Next weeks WNR @ HQ. This years ride just happens to fall on Cinco de Mayo as well. The after party may get a little rowdier than usual (perhaps I'll move last call back to 10:30 or 10:45). Benson's making margaritas, and Sarah will be in touch about food assignments. Short's Pandemonium Pale Ale will also be on tap. Over and out.

WNR # 6

Attendance: Myself, Sarah, Benson, Rob, Secret Steve, Kevin, Charlie, Seth, and Bobbi.

Weather: Sunny, but cool. Temps. in the high 40's.

Trail Conditions: Except for some sandy sections due to the lack of rain, excellent.

Nice sized group that showed up for the ride in spite of the chilly weather. Thanks to Benson and Amber for hosting the after party, it would have gotten real cold real quick if we'd stayed to hang out by the trailhead. Next weeks WNR will begin at the NCT trailhead off of Stutsmanville Road (where it turns to dirt). My legs are finally starting to feel better after the abuse of the trip, and yoga this morning can only have helped a little more. Hopefully I'll be up for a long ride come Sunday. Check out the video Sarge sent me a link to below. Pretty amazing stuff. Have a good weekend. Over and out.

Patrick at Carlmont from keithdasneak on Vimeo.

The End

Last ride of the vacation was today. EdO and I rode at the Poto trail outside Ann Arbor, and it was a great way to close out the spring training trip. Temps. were a bit cooler than they were down in Georgia (42 degrees, windy, and cloudy), but the nice singletrack and good company more than made up for the long sleeves and knee warmers. I didn't manage to squeeze in a ride yesterday. Intermittent torrential downpours and horrendous winds forced me to skip the ride. Truth be told, even if the weather conditions weren't as bad as they were I probably wouldn't have gone out. Seven hours in the truck with sore, twitchy legs didn't leave me with too much in the way of motivation. Plus, the rest day allowed me to feel relatively good on the ride today. For those not in the know, the Poto trail really is a treat. It's all singletrack;, and while it's a little rough and ridden up in spots, the overall feel of the trail is most excellent. Anyway, eight out of nine days ain't bad. I haven't done the final tally yet, but I'm pretty sure todays ride put me pretty close to 20 hours in the saddle for the trip. I'm sore, but it's been great. I'm sure the high volume of riding will pay some dividends later in the season. For know, it's dinner out at the brewery with EdO, Yukari, and little Rena. Tomorrow home. It's funny, every time I take a good long trip it makes me appreciate home that much more. Thanks for reading.

Untitled by wpeterg at Garmin Connect - Details

Day 7

Today was the seventh day in a row of riding. My legs are officially toast, but I'm going to try and stick it out for two more. I've got a request in on the mtbr.com forum for a decent trail close to I-75 in norther Ohio, and then it's Poto with EdO on Saturday. Nine days in a row if I manage to pull it off. Today's ride was sweet. The fine bike folks of Chattanooga have built quite the trail around the TVA utility/hydroelectric complex. Awesome singletrack with great flow goes all the way around the complex, and you have on and off views of the city/mountains around every turn. Riding new trails is always fun, but this one was a real find. I'll be back for sure. So today put me over the 16 hour mark for the week. I'm spending the night in Knoxville, and I'm just getting ready to head out for dinner. Hope the WNR #5 went okay last night (I already heard about my better half bailing and thanks for giving her sh*t Benson). I'll be home sometime Sunday. Check out today's ride info. below if you're so inclined. Over and out.

Untitled by wpeterg at Garmin Connect - Details

Exploration

I set out from Mulberry Gap yesterday with four other riders to climb up to the Bear Creek Overlook. It's just under 5 miles with about 1,800 ft. of climbing, took us just under an hour. From there, they were planning on doing almost exactly the same ride that I did the day before. We parted ways, and I continued up the mountain to Lake Conasauga. It was another hour, 8 miles, and another 1,000 ft. of climbing to get to the lake.




It was a tad anticlimactic. It was a ton of climbing for such a small lake, but it was pretty. From there I headed down a new to me trail, Tibbs. On the map at the trailhead it showed the trail dumping out on a forest service road that would take me home. The map I was carrying showed the same thing. I still don't know exactly where I missed a turn, but after bombing down the mountain for almost an hour the trail dead ended. I started working my way back up the trail, riding slowly and looking for the turn I must have missed. Consulting my map, I rode up and down the area where I thought the turn must have been. I couldn't see it anywhere. There was however a hiking trail (Emery Creek) that headed in the general direction I wanted to go. I knew I wasn't supposed to ride on a hiking trail, but there was no way I was going to climb all the way back up to the top of the mountain. Plus, I always figured I could play the whole "I'm from out of town" card if anyone gave me a problem. I did encounter a couple of hikers headed down the trail, and they very pleasantly informed me that I was heading in the right direction. I'm sure as soon I was out of sight they started laughing their a**es off. There is a reason the trail is for hiking only. Mainly that you have to cross an ever widening creek/river about a dozen times before getting to the bottom. Doing this with a bike in tow and with stiff plastic soled riding shoes got trickier and trickier as the crossings got wider and deeper. The last crossing was probably 50 feet wide and waist deep. Sarah, you would definitely not have enjoyed this ride. So I made it back to the road, and after another long climb I was back home to the cabin. Note to self: do not return to the Tibbs trail without someone who's ridden it before. I don't know where I'm going to ride today. I got pretty beat up hauling my bike across all those crossings, so it may be a good day for an easy ride. Although situated where I am (mountains in every direction) there may not be such a thing as an easy ride. Over and out.

Check In

Got two rides under my belt down in GA here. Short one yesterday after I got here: 1:45 with about 1500 ft. of climbing in 10 miles. Today, a bit longer: 2:30 with just over 2,800 ft. of climbing for 18 miles. The trails are sweet, the food is still awesome, and I'm almost fully relaxed (tomorrows ride should seal the deal on that score). Time for a shower, and then I'm heading into town to get some more ice for the cooler. Check out this video below, I stoled it from the DC. Have a good weekend.

WNR # 4

Attendance: Riders-Myself, Benson, Matt, Rob, Kevin, and Charlie. Hikers-Sarah, Jess, and Amber.

Weather: Cool, but dry.

Trail Conditions: Very good, but the grassy sections are still a little rough this early in the year (esp. the cart path climb up to the 95 acres). That hill never gets any easier.

Good ride, good grub, good beer. I'd write some more, but I just finished up ten hours in the truck. I'm beat, and I need a shower. Sarge, sorry I didn't specify where I was heading yesterday. My mind was already on the road. At any rate, I'm heading here. Edo, I would love to come and visit you two and the little one on my way home if you you're going to be around. I should even have the energy for a couple of rides. I'll call you in the next day or two. I'll try and post up some pictures and trail info. once I get a couple of rides under my belt. I should be there shortly after noon tomorrow, and I'll be ready to ride for sure. Take care. Over and out.

Adios

I'm hitting the road before sun up tomorrow. Got the bikes tuned up, and so far the weather forecast down there is sounding pretty sweet. High's in the low 70's, and dipping down to the high 40's at night. I'll have nothing to do all day but ride my bike and chill out. I've got a couple of new books from the library. I've got a nice selection of DVD's for the computer. I'm officially ready for vacation. Hope to see a few people brave the chilly weather for the WNR tonight. Otherwise, I'll see you in a couple of weeks. Cycling mileage this year: 334.28. Over and out.


Shi**y iPhone camera.

WNR # 3

Attendance: Myself, Secret Steve, Rob, Seth, Sarah, Chris NGNB (new guy not benson), Matt, Doug, Sherri, Bobbi, Benson, Amber, Kevin, and Charlie. If I forgot anyone, sorry but that was quite a crowd last night.

Weather: Damn near perfect. Mid 60's and sunny.

Trail Conditions: For this early in the spring they are unbelievably dry. I heard a couple grumbles from behind that it was a little dusty breathing coming up the first big climb. I don't normally wish for rain, but it's time to start. So I hope it rains soon (at night).

So we had the biggest WNR crew in quite some time last night. I was a little shocked to see so many show up for a Kipp Rd. WNR this early in the season. Those first 2.5 miles with over 600 ft. of climbing are a real mother fu**er. The trick is to remind yourself that it'll be that much easier next time. It doesn't hurt to think about how much fun it'll be to rip down it at the end of the ride either. Anyway, good ride for me and from what I heard everybody else too. Next weeks WNR @ HQ. I'm pretty sure Sarah doled out food assignments last night, but if she didn't and you'd like to bring something give us a shout. Over and out.