Oh My!!!

The time is getting near and I can hardly wait. Many many months, or a few years of waiting and she is almost ready. Need to come up with my paint scheme and then she'll be ready to come home.











Stoked!!!

GO RIDE!!!

PMBAR

Saturday was the ride, if you haven't heard of it check it out. Definitely a good time. 5 checkpoints, need 4 of them any order to get a finish time. Lots of new rules and was told by the head honcho do NOT leave the parking lot until you have read all directions. We got all of the instructions, except one, and yeah it bit us on the ass! Rolled into checkpoint 1 right ahead of Sam Koerber, local fast guy and the dude that wins it every year. He then caught back up to us at checkpoint 2, we had a better route. Then checkpoint 3 is where reality set in, had gone out of out way to hike up pilot only to be informed near the top that you couldn't do it as an out and back, which was our plan, so instead of a 7 mile up and down it turned into a 16 mile chunk with a 5 mile backtrack. Through us for a loop and kicked us out of contention. Got the other 2 points in a grand total of 11 1/2 hours, 85 miles and 17,000' of climbing.
Had planned on a top 5 finish, preferring 3rd but ended up 13th out of 105 teams. Not bad, but definitely the worst showing we have ever had there. Had an absolutely wonderful day in the woods riding with Marshall and seeing friends from all over. An absolutely beautiful day for sure.
Slept for a few hours then drove the 1600 miles home. It took me 28 hours to do the 25 hour drive. Glad to be home!



representing the wagon!


Poppin' wheelies all day.


GO RIDE!!!

Upcoming ride?

So PMBAR is tomorrow! Stoked for a good fun day in the heart of Pisgah, it's why I came to town. Been taking it easy the last few days, working on trying to be fresh on Saturday, more like trying to be fresh for the drive back to CO directly following the ride. That's where the real endurance begins. 30 hours to do a 24 1/2 hour drive and to be treating patients in the clinic. Kinda silly, puts a 10 hr race in perspective. So again, been resting up to be prepared for all of it. Pretty dialed on what I will be needing for the day, I believe. The classic mantra for the ride is, in it to win it. Upon looking at the list of fast folks in it, it's no joke. Any time local fast guy Sam Koerber is involved, it raises the bar to a pretty silly level. Will be stoked for a top five finish, 105 teams are signed up. But again it's all about a good, long day in the heart of Pisgah just riding along. Next time I post, I will be back home in leadville. Can't wait for it! peace

Pisgah Goodness

Rolled into Asheville the other day and stoked for the riding. People are asking why I came back, and I state the obvious........to ride Pisgah. Yeah, the riding here is that good. Spent 8 hours in the ranger district yesterday and it was superb. Just rolling along with Marshall. Legs were a little heavy from the previous week of going big, but they feel spectacular today. Hit the biggest climbs around, pushed a little more than I should have, but that'll change on Saturday. One of the best days on the bike for sure, partly because it was the only thing on my mind.

The vicious is definitely NOT the bike for here.....but there's nothing I can do about that. Put a big front tire on today, a 7" rotor up front and new pads in the back. That should help significantly. Plan on a little dusk ride this evening for a little shakedown.

A week of just hanging out and riding bikes, with PMBAR on Saturday. Definitely a good place to end my vacation.



GO RIDE!!!

18 & 18 ride

Been getting the most of this wv trip, riding a little of this and a lot of that. Hit up a quick gravel grinder on the fixie on sunday followed by a sweet ride on monday. Hooked up with the biking viking and andy at ertc to hit up slatyfork expecting super wet conditions and lots of down trees. The beginning of single track was brutal with all of the trees blocking the trail, but a quarter of a mile in it opened up quite nice. Trails were the driest that I can remember them ever being.

Hopping over this and riding around that was the theme for the first hour or so of single track then it opened up to perfection. Tea creek mountain was superb, possibly in the best shape that I have seen it in. Railed the rock garden and the descent was phenomenal. Easy pedal up bannock where we saw this little guy...........



Then a long gravel road ride back to the cars. 6 hours of riding that ended right as the storm rolled in, a perfect day in the back country of wv........beautiful!

Wednesday is mike's vacation day, at least for the month I have been in town. A spruce ride was in the works but it was too much driving for a day trip so a sweet gravel grinder was laid out from the house in sutton up into Webster county.



The bikes of choice for the day! And yeah, coasting would have been nice and a brake may have been even nicer but what fun is that? A 5 mile road section starts us out, then the climbing began. If we weren't climbing then we were descending. No flat sections were had until the last section of trail (road) for the day. A few of the sections I had never ridden brakeless and I now know why. A beautiful day running from the rain clouds and spinning along. Definitely a great way to spend the day.

All said and done we rode for 7 1/2 hours and hit a little over 80 miles. About 15 of it was on paved roads the rest was gravel, dirt or four wheeler trails, perfect for a road bike! I call it the 18 and 18 ride, at least 18 solid climbs and at least 18 creek crossings. Another superb day.

For you ash-villains, I'll be in town Saturday afternoon!!! peace


GO RIDE!!!

Busy times

Been too busy and out of service to write about what's been going on. Plenty of rides and runs have been happening as well as traveling around wv hanging out with friends, both new and old, while also hanging out with the family. Tired just thinking about what all has been going on.

Multiple 10+ mile runs and no rides under 3 hours. Throw in working around the house and farm along with repairing/painting my truck and most of my days are in the 14 hour range. Crazy busy, but has been a lot of fun.

Had a joint b-day party with my 8 y/o niece, many outdoor adventures with all of my nieces and nephews equals a lot of chaos, but a lot of fun.

Got a 100 mile MTB ride in fayetteville on 4-20 and a quick little spin the day before. I always try to disappear for a few days on and around my birthday. So it was nice to drag some others in as well. 6 brave folks headed out for an all day ride that had never been ridden. 100 miles, 8500' of climbing and plenty of good times. Out for 12 hours with 10 hours of ride time. BoYes has a nice write up and lots of pics at bikebfat.com, so check it out if you wish.



4/19 ride with the b&w and some old friends with the new river gorge. Bridge as the backdrop.





Got a nice little easter Sunday road ride in this am before riding with my niece, nephews, sister and brother in law at the local park. A beautiful day for sure.



The road bike after today's wv back roads road ride. Nice and moisty! Headed to slatyfork in the am. It should be ridiculously sloppy up that way. Should be fun!

GO RIDE!!!

Wet days

So I left the high mountains of CO to hopefully miss part of mud season only to embrace WV during rainy season. Plenty of running and riding to be had, and being soaked to the core in just a few minutes is the norm. It's not totally ideal but at least it's warm enough for it to not really matter. Had a plan to go to Elkins with BoYes to meet up the riddles for a ride. The forecast of 40 degrees and rain was spot on. Nice and steady drizzle right out of the gate, it let up about 2 hours in to it, I believe. Nice and steady pace made for a most excellent day! Wasn't the route initially laid out, but still quite fun. Always enjoy pedaling with those from years gone by.











GO RIDE!!!