almost heaven...

Holly and Parker left Thursday for a trip to Texas with her mom and sister. This left me bachelor-like for the weekend. What better to do than head to Elkins for a mini reunion with some college friends. No cycling, no running, no swimming; just beer and friends.

The festivities centered around two establishments, CJ Maggies and Jabberwock. Both of these bars have Mountain State Brewing Co.'s beers on tap. At CJ's I had the Almost Heaven Amber Ale, a smooth medium bodied ale, while at Jabberwock I stuck with the Cold Trail Ale generously poured by Joe. The Cold Trail was crisp and refreshing and the brewers at Mountain State are doing it right in Thomas. If you make it to West Virginia, try one of these beers, you won't be disappointed.

Sorry no pictures, the camera is in Texas.

a good week...

This week didn't start off well as I tried to recover from a hell-spawned bonk and stomach bug. By Tuesday that was in the past and only good memories remained from the Whetstone Ridge ride. I'm looking forward to getting back on the ridge and riding most of it, minus the hike-a-bikes of course.


Tuesday found me back in the pool after two weeks off due to the holidays. Not that I wanted to stay dry for two weeks but I could not find the time to get there. All the progress I had made in the previous 3 weeks had been lost. It was back to 1000 meters with frequent stops.

I was back into the pool on Wednesday, then I completed a 2 hour transition. In a race I am disappointed if my T1 (swim to bike) transition is over one minute and 45 seconds. This early in the season I shouldn't complain about a slow transition, because in that time I showered, changed, drove home, ate dinner, pumped up the fork and tires, lubed the chain, fed the dogs, changed clothes, mounted the lights, filled a water bottle, played with Parker, and chatted with James while waiting for Jon E to show up. We rode to SSSoS to taste the new trail section recently built by Jon H. Nice and tight through the trees up to the Pine trail, this new trail had a steady climb to a switchback that led to a swooping contour trail with plenty of flow. I found myself overgeared a few times, I need to get back into a mountain bike gear frame of mind. Seems I'm not the only 'crosser having trouble shifting. After this trail section it was across "Sam's Bridge" to the main trail system. We climbed the powerline trail to the top and dropped to the other side making a right turn to head across to the other new trail section. Up through the cedars and down the slick darkside to the bottom of the big hill. I took James' suggestion and went straight up the hill in the deep grass instead of riding over to the road climb. James and I made it to the top and waited for Jon who finally showed carrying his new Niner, uh oh. Maybe he's carrying the bike to train for another mountaineering expedition, Nope. The cause of the walking was an rear derailleur overshift and now the chain was wedged between the cassette and the spokes; it was stuck below the cassette pins ending our ride. James and I descended quickly to get back to my house so I could drive back and pick up Jon who was walking out. As I'm riding on the trail towards the pond, I see a flurry of white and tan four feet from my head but no sound. Wow that has to be the owl I saw a few weeks ago I thought. I roll to a stop and point my headlamp into the trees and there he is, a screech owl. They are a beautiful creature, this was my second time seeing an owl in the SSSoS. I hope to see more of him. James and I rolled to my house and I went back and picked up Jon ending my first Brick of 2008.

Thursday it was back in the pool, feeling a bit stronger. Laps, Laps then more Laps. No new lap lanes to try out, no mechanicals and no wildlife flying 4 feet from my head, just back and forth in the pool.

another video...

I found this video via Fritz at cycle-licious.



Enjoy...

(thanks Fritz)

Bike-Ped Committee in the news...

The Central Shenandoah Valley Bike-Pedestrian Committee has been working for the past couple of years trying to make roads safer for all users. The committee has worked with VDOT to widen shoulders and have "share the road" signs posted on Rt 250 from Waynesboro to the top of Afton Mountain. One goal is to raise awareness of bicycles on the road. The Daily News Leader published an article on the committee citing the success that we've had. James has a quote, along with yours truly. Good things are happening with a lot of more work to be done. The harrisonburg paper even picked up the article from the AP, the more coverage the better...

ugh, that hurt...

James and I met the CAMBC crew at the Whetstone Ridge trailhead on Sunday. I had never ridden this trail and had heard nothing but stellar reviews. Wet leaves on wet rocks all along Whetstone ridge met our tires for a rolling adventure. When I left the house to meet James, I was feeling a bit queasy but thought it would pass. I had loaded up with a bagel and double mocha from Blue Mountain Coffee, ample fuel for the ride. As I progressed along the trail I felt something wasn't right. About an hour into the ride the first waves of nausea hit as the crew stopped for a regroup and lunch, I tried to drink some cytomax but could only take a few sips. Another half-hour passed and at another regroup stop I pushed my bike past the crew and puked 5 or 6 times. Nothing I could do at this point of the ride but keep moving forward. I started pushing the bike more on the climbs and even the descents and when I descended to Irish Creek road I was riding like a beginner, tentative and hoping for an end to the ride. The climb up Irish Creek road is around 10 miles. At a stop at a small church I refilled my water bottle after pouring out the cytomax which I couldn't even sip. With nothing in my stomach and a few sips of water, a full scale bonk set in to accompany me on the ride up the mountain. James and Michelle rode along with me for a while until I couldn't hang any longer. The plan was made; James would ride up the mountain and come back down with his truck to end my suffering. With around 3 or 4 miles to go Ted G was a welcome sight in his truck. He loaded my bike and we drove to the top where James was waiting for me. Damn that hurt. That was the worse bonk ever, one that I wouldn't wish upon my worse enemy. I went straight to bed when I arrived home wishing for an end to the agony. I still felt bad when I got to work on Monday and then I found out that a stomach virus was running around which was the cause of my pain.

icicle 2008...

January 1st, it must be time for the Icicle Ride hosted by the Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Club. This year's ride was considerably colder than last year's edition. With the slow pace and constant wind it felt colder than it probably was. A few comfortable miles were found by dropping back off the group for an "au Natural" and then pushing the pace to catch back onto the group of 25+ riders. We stuck mostly to the gravel roads outside of Bridgewater and Dayton, and we even went down a road I never knew existed. It's always good to catch up with the H'burg crowd and meet new friends.

And I can honestly say that I've ridden every day this year. Yeah...