Mountain Biking Last Night

Rode mountain bikes at Bur-mil last night with Dave and Marty. We met at Dave’s place and rode the greenway over to the start of Owl’s Roost. I had forgotten how tough the little entrance to the woods there was, so I was slow going up but made it. Was very hot and humid in the woods; stopping meant being drenched in your own sweat, while riding at least gave some relief with your own breeze that riding makes.

We ran across several deer back in the woods; which did not seem to mind sharing the place with us and only stared as we rode by.

We rode Owl's Roost and then headed over to Wild Turkey. The trails are nice dry and fast right now. If your in the neighborhood its a good time to ride them.

Breaking the Trainer.

Is it a good or bad sign when you break your indoor trainer the first year you’ve had it? It’s been raining here a fair amount this year, no drought talk yet, which is unusual for us. So the trainer has seen its fair time of my backside since I want to be in good shape for my Leadville attempt. If I’m off the bike for too many days I start to panic about not doing all I can to be ready for it. I do hate to ride in the rain, all that spray that flies up from the road and makes the taste of motor oil most unwelcome in your mouth. Don’t forget the 2 plus hours of cleaning up and lubing your bike properly that always sucks. So the trainer has become my great training partner on those days. Right now my little trainer partner is being fixed. It’s over at CYCLES de ORO getting made all better. I sure hope it recovers from my meanness to it before another round of bad weather gets here or I guess I will have to suck it up and go outside in the rain and train.

More riding and big thanks to my sponsors!

Training is on track. I have ridden 117.5 miles (two days) so far this week. That includes a ride to Hanging Rock State Park and a climb to its top. I was joined by Eddie, Eric and Gary. Eric and I did the post ride beer thing at Bristo 150. That Fat Tire really hit the spot. Last Saturday was the Paceline A ride that was hot and miserable. Summer is in full swing here in North Carolina, with those hot steamy days happening. I drank so much water; I even carried extra bottles in my jersey pockets on the ride. We started with about 30 riders, but by the time we got back to town and I had 68 miles done we only had 7 or so left.
No more broken spokes this week, knock on wood, and the bike has been riding smooth thanks to the folks at CYCLES de ORO. I did however manage to break my indoor trainer, some strange clear fluid leaking out, but Dale at CYCLES de ORO wants me to drop it by so he can take care of it for me.
Anna has been doing a fabulous job helping me with the fundraising part of this endeavor. I want to thank all the Sponsors we have so far. Thank you Maxie B’s, Balance Day Spa, CYCLES de ORO, Proximity Hotel and Omega Sports. Thank you for helping me raise funds to fight Cancer. Please go visit these folks and support those who support me.
Coming soon there will be details on a raffle to win some fabulous prizes that these kind sponsors have given me to raise more funds. Please stay tuned.

Slack and post

Sorry it’s been awhile since I have posted. Rain, Rain, Rain is the word. Our area has been getting its share of afternoon thunderstorms. I don't have water wings on my bike so, I have either been riding inside, or racing storms back to town. Cars have floated from the flooding in town. I have gotten a few rides outside, but luck has not been on my side.

Anna has had to rescue me twice this week off the side of the road. The first, it was a perfect Saturday. I was heading on about a 70 mile ride heading south of town, to climb Caraway Mountain. I have about 8 perfect riding partners. We were cruising fast south of town, and I felt good, when the climbing starting, I was right to the front. Finished the climb in 3rd, still feeling great, and then it happened. I stood up and heard the ping that signaled my rear wheel spoke breaking free. I limped to the store and called Anna. I was 38 miles straight south of town, so it was awhile before she made it but so glad she could rescue me. A little later in the week I was on the Tuesday battle ride and racing a huge thunderstorm back to town, and I made it about 3 miles short of home and had to take shelter in a parking garage from the lighting and rain, and again made the call. She was there in moments. I can’t tell you how nice she has been about saving me. She is my true teammate in this year’s effort and I can’t say enough about how much she means to me.

She lost her Father to Cancer and I lost my Grandfather to Cancer so we both know how important raising funds to fight this terrible disease are. She has raised a lot of funds in the past, but is helping me to raise more funds, she is an amazing woman. We both want to see this Cancer disease defeated.

Along those lines I want to thank her with helping me find sponsors to help raise funds. I the near future we will be announcing plans for more fund raising things, but right now I want to thank sponsors now on board with helping us raise money. Maxie B’s , Balance Day Spa and cycles de ORO have all done a lot to help us raise money to fight Cancer. Please visit these wonderful businesses and show your support to people that have supported me. You can get to them by clicking on the names or on the links in the side bar.

Climbing Hills

The Bike Ready to Go!

Rode 77 miles with 6 great guys on Saturday. We Left the shopping center in Oak Ridge at around 8:15 am and rode the rolling hills to Hanging Rock State Park. Once we got to the park we started to notice quite a bit of other riders, we had merged in with the 3 Mountain Madness. I settled into a slow steady pace and rode all the way to the top. After a fast descent, we rode part of the course backwards around the backside of Hanging Rock towards Sauratown Mountain. We got on a long descent and had a little fun with the pace and a few attacks.

After we almost made it back, one rider was standing up on his bike making a turn and his crank arm of his FSA cranks sheared off. After he picked himself up off the road, assessed the damage to himself and his bike, he walked it to the car, lucky we where so close. We all shared a post ride beer at a Bistro. Was a great day.

Anna's Cheese Balls are still selling well. This picture shows the latest batch:

Please order one and support LAF! Please contact me if you want info.
Thanks to all those who have ordered them!