Time to head down east.

It's official- I'm moving back to Charleston in 3 weeks. Got some details to hammer out with a job down there and I'm gone. Planning on spending the next couple of weeks riding all the trails around here that I can. Not that I won't be back but I need to ride them anyways. Planning a 4-5 hr. -4 a.m. night ride soon so I can see the sun rise from the parkway- that will be cool, I need for the rain and fog to go away first though. I also need to hang out in Asheville one weekend, haven't been up there enough lately, and ride the Green River Gorge, haven't done that either. I'll be back for the Swank 65 race so I guess I need to go ride Farlow Gap a couple of times too. Need to go to a couple of resturaunts I've been wanting to go to also. Anyhow- I'll write more on this later. DH

I heard there is a bike race around here somewhere, but I don't see anybody else on a bike!

Went up to Sugar Mountain this weekend for the National Mountain bike Series race. My how the times have changed. Doesn't seem like there were more than 200 people there all weekend. Most classes had 6-8 racers in them. 6-7 years ago there would have been 80-100 per class. Guess everyone took drugs and went to race on the road.
Anyways, saw some XC racing on Fri.- Teammates did well in the JrX race. The Semi-Pro race was pathetic- wish I had raced it now. Got some super D practice runs in- pretty gnarly Downhill, technical and fun- not real fast in most places.
Saturday was rainy and overcast all day- decided not to practice, figured the course would be all chewed up and different on Sun anyways. Watched the Pro Men and Women's XC races- very wet and muddy, saw some hurtin' people out there.
Sunday was my big day. Short Track race @ 2:30 followed immediately by 2 DH runs and the super D race. I was pretty nervous- They made me race Pro Super D because of my XC license. I would have been happy to Sandbag the 30+ class like Robert Marion did.
Anyways- got a good warmup then raced the Short track.
The race started fast with many attacks. Everyone was racing at inhumane speeds up the mountain, I could hardly believe it possible! Then the officials neutralized the race. They gave us all drug tests. The race leader was ejected, then a few others, then a couple of teams withdrew. One guy that was impossibly out of contention took testosterone and was kicked out. Everyone screamed and cried that they were innocent. Once that was taken care of, the 13 of us left raced on. The day afterwards even someone else turned in a positive test as well.
Wait----- My mistake, that was some other race. My race was not nearly as exciting.
On to the Super D. I was cooked after the Short Track and wondering if I could hold it togather for the SD. I ended up being first off in the Pro class. Pedaled really hard and rode real fast, then lost my chain and spent a very long time unjamming it from between the bottom bracket and the small chainring. Then I had to run up a hill after freeing the chain, causing a huge slowdown and losing precious seconds. Rode as hard as I could the rest of the way to post a new fastest time ( the good thing about being the 1st one down !). My time stood for a couple of riders then the heavies started knocking time off. I ended up 14th. 20 seconds off the podium. I would have been real close without the chain problem.
Came home exhausted and went right to bed. Raced a total of 25 mins. this weekend and feel like I've been in 25 car wrecks. Later- DH

Back in action

Rode up to Kingsport TN yesterday w/ Robert. It's only been 10 months or so since I have raced on the road. They were having a crit up there so I decided to go ride around in little circles for awhile. LAME. There were 3 or 4 big teams there w/ good representation from each. One team had like 15 guys and attacked twice each lap for the 1st half till a break was established. Robert and I chased on each time. After about the 15th attack I couldn't go with them anymore and a break of 8 was established. The rest of the racing was very negative and dissapointing. One of the better represented teams had no one in the break and were content to sprint for 10th place I guess. I was relentless in the harrassment ot these guys for the remainder of the race. None of the solo riders would work and teams w/ guys in the break were sitting in too (that one was understandable- I would be content too.) I have only been training well for about a week and was not strong enough to bridge solo ( not for lack of trying ) so I had to sit in. One lap to go and we have 8 up the road with a chase group of 4 dangling. Robert lights it up with me on his wheel. When he is done at the 1K to go mark- I roll off solo. I blow buy the 4 man chase group and they watch me go. No one jumped on my wheel which was really weird. Anyways- solo to the finish to end up 9th, one out o the money- my standard position. Gimme a couple of weeks more of training and I'll be rolling. Later- DH

Busy 2 weeks

I've been real busy the past 2 weeks.
1. pulled out all my stitches and started riding again.
2. Spent a week coaching the USA Cycling Athlete Development Camp here in Brevard. (there are some super fast 15 year olds coming up- so look out!)
3. I've worked up to 6 hour MTB rides now. No speed at all but I can ride all day.
4. Rode moto down to the Clemson S.E. Regional MTB race to hand out bottles to friends. Everybody I know finished on the podium- that was cool.
5. Rode Moto all morning on the 4th w/ Robert, Shawn, and Kelly out at Weyahutta ATV area. Crashed hard on a rock section but somehow didn't get hurt bad for another 3 week period. My luck must be changing (knock on wood.)
6. Attended ( along with every other biker in town) Wes D's 4th of july/ horseshoe/ croquette tournament/ shindig. Great time , then we went to the college for fireworks, then home.
7. Liza and Alex finally came home after what seemed like months of vacation.
That's all for now, I'll write more later- DH

Boredem

I am sooo bored. Some stitches "fell" out of my knee today. Scissors "fell" on them, then they "fell" on the wheelroom floor. This was fortunate- they were so loose and useless, they needed to come out and if I don't have to wait in the doctor's office, it's that much better. More will probably fall out soon.

I've had alot of time on my hands and built up my Yeti hardtail as a cross, fireroad, commuter bike. See attatched photo. Looks fast and feels light. Too bad I can't bend my knee enough to ride it yet.

I have been watching TV later at night because I don't need as much sleep when I'm not riding 3 hrs a day. Saw a great show on the History Channel last night. There is a DeBeers Diamond mine in Canada-near the Arctic Circle. The only problem with this is it is 350 miles from the nearest road in Yellowknife ( Northwest Territories I think). There is nothing but lakes and swamp for 10 months of the year. This mine uses an incredible 10,000 tractor trailor loads of supplies , problem is- there is no way to deliver it. Here is the "brilliant" solution. For 2 months in the winter, the temp gets down to 40 BELOW. They build a 350 mile road of 24" thick ICE for the trucks to drive on to the mines. All over 200 ft. of water in whiteout conditions. As soon as the weather is ready, they send truck after truck 24/ 7 until the "road "melts when it warms. The Ice buckles and cracks when these 30,000 lb. trucks drive on it because the weight causes waves under the ice. Drive too fast and the wave will break through and your truck goes in. It's OK if you keep moving. If you break down, you will probably die. If the truck doesn't move, the dead weight and vibration from the engine will break through the ice- and you go swimming. If you shut off the engine- well it is 40 below and that will be the end of the line too. These drivers come from all over to risk their lives. It is worth it- they make more in 6-8 weeks than they will in a year driving elsewhere. I think that's pretty cool. ( no pun intended ) All I want to know is how do you figure out it is OK to drive an overweight tractor trailer 350 miles over a frozen lake? They have done it for 60+ years now. I wanna meet the 1st guy to say- "sure- I'll give it a go" Later- DH

Nasty

Sweet Home Alabama

Here are some pictures from last weekend in AL. First off- The first sign we see when we get into AL is in the picture. " Keep Alabama The Beautiful". What does that mean? The beautiful what? Did the corrections facility that made the signs have budget cutbacks and not finish them, or is AL trying to catch up with the literacy rate in Mississippi? Anyways- The other picture is me pedaling around the racecourse for awhile.

On another note- I'm getting mobility back, I can hobble around a bit and move my knee more everyday. Hopefully it won't keep me out too long. Later-DH

New Crutches

After all my health problems the last 3 weeks I thought I was in the clear. Went to Birmingham for Bump and Grind, great course- fun to ride. Had no expectations and didn't get last so it was a good weekend. Pics to come. Had a good time with Liza that weekend, got some travelin and good food in too.
Had a great week riding too- feeling so much better, fast without trying on Tues. Group ride and good rides all week.
Till last night. Went out on the Sycamore Cycle's Group ride. Actually one of the best I've done- nice and mellow with everyone riding a good pace. Stopped to regroup on Hickory Knob and start the DH. 1st right hand turn and I get off line and clip a log. I have to jump over the bars, land and roll in the soft grass to a stop. Not a hard fall and a very soft landing. I think I was even laughing while I crashed.
I go to stand up and notice my knee is hanging wide open and I can see stuff in it that I'm not suppose to see- like cut muscle and tendons. So with the much appreciated help of the Sycamore crew I got "patched up" with a sweat band, tube , and electrical tape. Wes D and Stephen carried me back to the top of Hickory Knob where I got back on my bike. One legged all the way down Black Mtn. Trail, then Clawhammer back to the Stables where Chris was waiting w/ the truck.
Long story short- got 20 stitches w/ 5 inside my knee. Tendon got smashed and briused but not cut so I'll be alright. Got home At 1:30 am .
Anyways- So looks like Cross season is rapidly becoming my focus due to my compounding innability to train this year for the normal season. Guess I am suppose to get some rest this year. I'll post pics as soon as I can pick my van up (the camera is in it.) Later- DH

What Next?

Well I'm 90% over the cold, allergy, sinus infection whatever mess it was that crushed me the last 2 weeks. Rode yesterday and the day before. Last night I got a stomach virus and was in the bathroom every 1/2 hr. all night long. At least I've lost some weight- but I doubt I will feel good enough to race this weekend. We are still heading over though- maybe I can recover in time. I'll know soon enough! Later-DH

Like All Good Train Wrecks- Gotta Get Back on Track

OK- disregard last night's post. Got some sleep, got talked at, and re-focused cause you know what? I've got too much unfinished business! There are too many races left out there that I haven't won. Time to get it together and go win em.

180 degrees

Couldn't sleep last night. I was so stressed out and restless I only got about 2 hrs. in. I was so bent out of shape that I decided to quit riding. Not just racing but riding all together. It's been so long since I felt fast and honestly, good about ANYTHING that I felt like I couldn't take anymore dissapointment. If I can't race well ( and it's been a couple of years since I have ), then I don't want to waste my time with it. In fact if I had my camera at work today, my bikes would be on E-Bay right now.

But Liza convinced me to ride today and race this weekend. Since it is our anniversary this weekend, I decided to ride if she wants me to. So I came home and rode the rollers for a half an hour tonight. I feel a little better now but only time will tell how it all works out.
Stay Tuned.... DH

Memorial Day weekend

Lots of stuff went down this weekend. 1. Cookout at Kent and Mary's place Fri. night- good food, fellowship, horseshoes, and stupid humans on bike tricks.

2. Got out Sat morning for a ride with Robert. 1st time on the bike in a couple of weeks- finally felt well enough to ride. Or so I thought- nice day but I was miserable- felt like I was riding at 13,000ft.- just couldn't get a full breath. So Robert unintentionally worked me over all morning. 3. White Squirrel festival this weekend, hung out downtown for a while- it was packed. The major excitement there was the soapbox derby car races down Jailhouse Hill. Checked out Wes D's car and saw some practice. Already some good wrecks in practice. Should be plenty of carnage to be had when the real racing starts this afternoon.

4. Ate lunch and went hiking at Black Balsam with Lisa and Jim who were up from Bufort, SC for the weekend.

5. Got out this morning for a hike with Liza. Left from Black Balsam on the Art Loeb Trail out to Shining Rock. It was a beautiful day out. Came back on Ivestor Gap Trail for about 8-9 miles round trip.

Planning to resume training tomorrow- I can finally breathe and think I can start getting some efforts in on the bike again soon. Later- DH

Hiawassee Trip

Had to go to Hiawassee, GA to pay a speeding ticket today. Actually it was in Hayesville, NC. Rode over on the moto last night to stay at uncle's house. Nice ride over - 100 miles on nice twisty roads. Finally starting to feel better, been out of action all week with a sinus/ allergy infection. It got so bad that I had to bail out on my team @ 12 hrs. of Tsali. Really bummed out about that but I was so bad off that I was bleeding out the nose from it.

Anyways- $140.00 later I got the ticket taken care of and headed home. Sort of. First I headed to Murphy to locate the Tellico ORV area. Couldnt find it but I did get a 70 mile loop in in the middle of western NC and TN. Headed home. Nice day out so I took the long way home. Headed off of 64 towards Standing Indian Campground. This was good because there was free water there at the campground. After Clay County had taken all my money and then some I didn't have, I had Zero dinero. Free water coupled with the huge package of 89 cent generic fig newtons worked out well. 20 miles of beautiful scenery and gravel switchbacks later I popped out on 441 south of Franklin, NC. Got back to 64 and rolled on back to Brevard. Hungry and tired, I took a shower and now I'm going to bed. Later- DH

Pics

New Moto- Forest road mayhem.

Yeti- still the coolest bike I own.

Technical difficulties

Something has been wrong with my account for a couple of weeks. Finally got that straightened out now so I can post again.

Quick 3 week wrap-up. I'd like to post more but can't right now.

1. New bike is up and running- rides great.
2. Won the Circle the Bald (20 miles solo and a new course record)
3. Hung out w/ my family in Hiawassee, GA
4. Had a great day on Brasstown Bald watching TDG w/ my uncle
5. Didn't have a great day at Cohutta 100 ( a long day, OK but not great) WAY too much gravel road riding.
6. Funeral
7. 2 new motorcycles
8. Drove to Charleston Fri night to race on Sat- Race cancelled w/ no notice- Nice!
I'll elaborate more soon- Later DH

It's days like this that make me glad to ride my bike

Beautiful day today. Low 60's, cloudless, but 40 mph gusts. After 3 hrs. on 45 degree rain yesterday I was ready to roll out! Headed up 276 to the Blue Ridge Pkwy. Got my 3 intervals in on the steeper sections on the way up. The wind was not an issue and I felt great, easily turning over 3 taller gears than I normally use on this ride. Got to the top and the wind showed up! I guess when you are on a ridge 2500 feet above anything else you might get some wind every now and then. Snapped some overlook photos back toward Brevard ( couldn't see my house from there) and headed on up to Graveyard Fields. I figured if I made it there I would have a 28 mile, 3,300 foot climb done- plenty for my sorry climbin' self. Passed some ice and a quick check found the temp to be 49 deg. @ 5000 feet. Got up to Graveyard, ate a Clif bar and hightailed it back down to get home. Feeling good this week, hope to rest up, get 3-4 hrs. in on Sat, then rock the house in Athens on Sunday. Later- DH

Spring in the Mountains

I rode Tuesday- It was sunny and 80 degrees out. I remember thinking " I could probably go for a sleeveless jersey today". Woke up this morning and it was 25 degrees out and snow was covering everything. I thought spring had sprung and it would be warm from here on out. I was wrong- Old Man Winter got us with another sneak attack! I think I'll wait till tomorrow afternoon to get my long ride in, maybe it will be warmer then- probably back to 95 degrees out if these weather trends stay consistent. Later- DH

Rough Week

Finally feeling better now. I hate rest weeks- they always leave me feeling like garbage. I seem to do the best when I am putting in 18-20 hr. weeks consistently. I know I need to rest but man do I feel awful when I do- sore all the time, I eat bad, and I can't sleep. Anyways, been averaging 2 easy hours a day this week. Yesterday's ride had my legs feeling like poopsicle sticks. I tried to do a few sprints to open them up but that only made things worse. Sometimes I wonder if I should jest increase my hours every week without resting and see how long it takes to ride myself into oblivion.

Got to work yesterday- there are alot of changes going on lately- can't use the computers at work anymore so my updates may get slowed a bit. I think we may be getting house arrest ankle bracelets to wear at work too- got to keep track of everyone! I need a new job soon- any leads, please let me know.

Anyways- stressed out enough from work and from my rest week sluggishness I decided to get out on the SS today. Rode Caney Bottom and Butter Gap trails. Legs are coming around again so I had a great ride. Gonna try to get 3 hrs. in tomorrow and get back to 18 hrs next week. Only one more block of Base training left- them I get to go fast!

My FS frame will be in Monday or Tues. so I'll get to build that up- fired up about that. Other than that not much else going on here- headed to Athens for SERC #4 next weekend- that should be fun. Heritage park was a good course last time I raced there (2001). Later- DH

Tsali Race Report

I am too tired to write much now. Had to clean up too much clothing and equipment from the race. It was the most disgusting mud slop I've raced in in a long time. Also the best I've felt in a loong time. I'll give the weekend's details tomorrow but I will say that I got 5th and that qualifies me for Nationals- so that's a load off. Won some money too- good thing because I'll have to use it all to get my bike running again.....ah the vicious circle of racing. Later-DH

What have I gotten myself into?

I recently sat down to plan out the next month's training and racing. In the immortal words of Mr. T from RockyIII- "Prediction?.....Pain!". I knew what I was doing when I planned my schedule but it hadn't sunk in now. This is what I am looking forward to:
April 15th- SERC#4- XC race, short and easy.
April 21st- Cohutta 100- that'll be 100 miles offroad,
April 28th- Dirt, Sweat, & Gears 12 hr- what's that- another 120-130 miles?,
May 5th- Cinco De Marrington 8hr- 13 mile loop (~1 hr laps)= 100+ again.
Then I get a luxurious weekend with no race before 12 hours of Tsali and a 4 day Stage Race the weekend after. I may have to take the whole month of June off to recover before the Cowbell Challenge 12 Hr. @ the end of the month. Vicious Circles I'm talkin about here.
I think I'll go take a nap now- I'm tired thinking about it. Later-DH