Abbott's Creek 8

Rode my bike in a figure eight loop down into Davidson County. First time I've been on the road in over a month.

Light, Color, and Long Shadows

Farm at the end of Glenn Hi

Mr. Whicker's Farm

Maple Trees at the entrance to our neighborhood

How's the riding?

No so hot. Let's just say, We're lumbering along. After the crank fiasco, we haven't been on the bike since the January snow. we got out yesterday, though, and we hope to keep it up. Here are few pics from the ride. I can't believe there will come a day this year in which I will think, "It's too hot to ride today."

Whatether

Well it's not like I spent the fall inside. It's actually been a great fall for weather.

T'anksgiving Turkies

Last Thanksgiving the fam spent the day in Kvegas. There were many reasons why this was the case. We were supposed to go to Boone and spend it with the in-laws. However, last year at this time, Papapilk was recovering from injuries sustained because of a biking accident. Not the run of the mill topple or skid or over-cooked turn. This was a full blown encounter with a pickup truck which, after he laid the bike down and skidded in between the truck's front and rear wheels, ran over his pelvis and crushed it in two places.

Needless to say, now that Papapilk has gotten his new trike from Neighborhood Transportation, we're glad to have him back on the road.

2008 Blood, Sweat, and Gears, and Shortcuts

Just to so we're clear. Red knows this is a month late. He's been riding his bike, K? Oh, and he just started back putting in office hours.

Chum and Red signed up to do Blood, Sweat, and Gears. No Famous Leo this year. Instead, Chum and Red were set to meet up at the start. Red arrived at 6:15 for the 7:30 start, and it was just in time. The cars started rolling in right after, and it was bumper to bumper. The weather was cool, and though a little cloudy and foggy, it began to clear just as he arrived. Chum arrived early enough, but check in and parking was a pain. He almost missed finding a parking space.

Rule Number 1. Arrive early. Carpool if you can. Parking is a premium.

Chum and Red arrived at the start line in front of Valle Crucis school, and it was packed. Red heard a rumor that his brother-in-law was at the start and was planning on riding the half-century. Red couldn't find him though.

Red was not feeling too great. Nervous stomach? He didn't sleep well either. Chum on the other had had said that the Chumettes were a little sickly too. Something in the air?

We headed out down to 105 and over to Shulls Mill Rd. The climb up Shulls Mill went as expected. Red climbed harder than he should've. Chum, faithful friend, stayed with Red and paced him up to the Parkway. The ride out through Blowing Rock, up the Parkway to Idlewild was to be as expected. Riders passed Red on the climbs; Red passed them on the descents. He was feeling a little worse.

By the time they made it to Railroad Grade road and the rest stop at 40 miles. Red was hurting. He didn't drink enough, and he had er, an emergency. Red hadn't felt this bad on BS&G sine his first ride in 05 after having eaten a certain high volume, low quality pizza joint. Good thing he ate there the previous night. Endurox and and calamari? Der Jan knows how bad it can be.

Rule 2: Don't eat at Cici's the night before a big ride. Don't eat out for that matter. Just bland normal food will do.

Big Hill Road, 194, then the Ramblers turned right at Meat Camp where they began the climb up Snake Mt. Chum was feeling cheeky, and it didn't seem he and Red were going to make the 7 hr goal. (They might've had Red not spent so much time at the previous rest stop). Here's the last Red saw of Chum climbing Snake. It was further up and further in for Chum as he motored to the finish.

Red on the other hand is a big diesel -- not unlike a a big dump truck. He put it in the low gear and did the squat lunges all the way up Snake. He did the obligatory "snake" swerve to combat the 18% at the top. And he's glad to say he made it without stopping or walking. Red actually passed people on this climb, but only because he wasn't walking. Apocalyptic is all he can say about it. Granted it's not as hard overall as some climbs, but it was hard enough with the bête noire.

Once he was over the top he passed a petite femme of a cyclist who had passed him on the climb. As she saw him accelerate past him on the descent -- as he always does, she said surprised, "You made it!?" Yeah, yeah. He made it.

The rest of the ride was uncomfortable. Red made it over the Col du Tennessee and down into Trade. He made it to old US 421. He caught, passed, pulled a group to the rest stop at Cove
Creek. Red was done, and he was thinking he was bonking.

Rule Number 3: Drink and eat early. Oh yeah, and eat the gels you've been carrying for the last 70 miles, stupid.

What to do? George's Gap? Bethel? 321? He didn't have it today. Red made an executive decision. Executive Order number: He ain't gonna do George's Gap. Instead he'll cut off the 13 mile loop and save himself for wherever he comes out. Bethel? 321? and then Mast Gap and the finish. Was it a good move?

Rule Number 4: It's only a quarter of a mile past the George's Gap turn, and 421 dumps you right into 321 at Mast Gap. If you're feeling bad. Take the shortcut.

Red climbed Mast Gap and made it to the finish, and not too poorly. He saved himself an unknown but most likely worse fate. And the look on Chum's face as Red cheered him to the finish was well worth it.

Blood, Sweat, and uh, Fears?

Blood, Sweat, and Gears is today. Red and Chum will be contesting the the last of the spring challenges or actually the first of the summer ones. But hey, it's Boone. It only started spring in the beginning of May. Incidentally, the only "contesting" will be whether or not Chum will hang back with Red or if he'll get the bit between his teeth. Time will tell. Time will tell.

At any rate, Red, just had the worst night of sleep he's had in a long time. And he's coming off his three month sabbatical in three days. Portent of things to come? He hopes not. At any rate, he's nervous as a cat -- a long tailed one. And buddy, is his but draggin this morning. 13,000 feet of accumulated elevation gain? It'll be interesting. Thankfully, he didn't have any calamari last night and isn't planning on a Goo followed by an Endurox chaser.

2008 3 Mountain Madness Report

Two of the Ramblers made it to Pilot Mt to ride the 2008 edition of 3 Mountain Madness (aka 3 Mountain Metric). Red and Chum lined up, and Red would like everyone to know that he was in front of Chum for a good 30, er, meters or so. The peleton quickly splintered, and it was each Rambler for himself.

Red was sure it was going to start raining -- maybe even thunderstorm. Climbing Sauratown, riders made it into the clouds. Red missed the better photo op by not getting in the road sign which read "Road Ends 500ft" -- that would've been cool, but shoot, he was climbing a mountain at the same time. How's he supposed to do that and get the stupid phone out of his middle-back jersey pocket, out of the zip lock bag he put it in to keep it dry, and turn on, and.... You get the picture. It's still a cool photo.

Anyway, Red worked a little harder than he was expecting to stay in contact with some riders. Thankfully they had a tail/crosswind most of this leg. Sauratown and Hanging Rock at this stage in the ride are not too awful bad. (Granted, they're awful bad in Feb-Mar, but Red's had some training.) And in this ride, the climbs are early enough that your legs are still a little fresh -- that changes though.

Everything was a-okay through the ascent and descent of Hanging Rock, but Red was worried. Why, you ask? Cause he knew that Pilot Mountain was coming up, and he knew he had about 30 miles of headwind to contend with. What did he need? Yep, he needed a train. Luckily he hooked onto a group of Velo-Project-Fitness Center-High Point-Greensboro-Paceline types. And who was leading this train? For a good part it was Greg Kerr of Channel 2 Sports. In his blog, he notes his concern as to whether he'd make it okay. He did great. And I am so thankful for that train to Pilot Mountain. The headwind, had I had to face it alone, would've taken as much of a toll as a fourth mountain.

And so, there's last but definitely not lease, Pilot Mt. I ride Pilot Mt once a year -- this ride. Each time I do, I realize why I only do it once: steep and hot. By this time, the sun had come out and combined with the humidity, it was August-hot. Pilot averages 10%, which on its own and with fresh legs wouldn't be too bad, but that's not the case here. In particular there's one nasty switchback where the grade is over 15% -- I gotta believe. Unfortunately, that switchback comes after a switchback which looks much the same but is not as steep. You forget this cruel trick and think you've dodged a bullet, but the mountain shoots you down. At any rate, after about 45 minutes Red made it to the top and back down. He can't say how grateful he is when that climb is over.

The ride's last ten miles was marked by a good tailwind -- so Red was flyin back. Thinking he had a best time, he tried to bury himself, but when all was said and done, Red did it in about the same time as he's always done it. Well, what can you say? He did it didn't he?

Red guesses some of you'll be doing Ride Across Wilkes this weekend, or better yet, joining Chum and the Good Dr. for a little Assault on Mt Mitchell. Looks to be hot and steamy next Monday, so you boys and girls be sure to drink a lot.

Red'll be layin low for the next couple of weeks, but then he'll jump back in at Blood, Sweat, and Gears. See out there.

2008 Mountains of Misery Ride Report, Part 2

So, at Looney, Red fell forward from the group he was riding with and enjoyed the descent into New Castle -- rippin! Arriving in New Castle, he refilled the bottles with HEED -- which was the ticket. He also downed some Edurorlyte tablets. As an aside, I have to give props to Hammer Nutrition's HEED and their Endurolyte tablets. I felt better on this ride and attribute some of that to their product. On the other hand, the Hammer Gel tropical was awful -- if you're gonna swallow pureed coffee grounds, better just do it and not try to make it taste tropical.

Continuing north, Red made his way into what he calls the "enchanted forest." He doesn't know why, it's just that you're in the woods for such a long time and then you come out into these sweeping valleys, like this one to the right. He thinks it's pretty cool.

While in the enchanted forest, Red rode with a couple of other riders. One of the riders was Erica -- from VA Beach (a lot of mountains there) who was wearing a Conte's Bike Shop kit. Erica said this was her first challenge ride. She was doing great -- very strong. At about 10:30 we made it to the rest stop at the base of John's Creek Mt. After filling the bottles again, it was off to start the first climb. Red headed out with Dan from DC. Dan made it to the top first, surprised? Red just kept to his rhythm and did what he had to. There have been times on John's Creek that Red thought he might fall off the side, but not this time. Were the legs feeling stronger? Red caught up with Dan at the end of the descent. (Red always catches 'em on the descent.) It was a head wind back to Newport, but Red and Dan shared the pulls, and then made the right turn into the spiral staircase. (What's with the cute names? Never you mind, it helps him tell the story). The little ten mile loop out from Newport and back has been a source of great discouragement in the past kind of like climbing a spiral staircase. One of those rollers tops out at 19% -- or at least that's what Red heard. But did Red whine on the spiral staircase this time? Not so much. Red rode with Dan around and back to the Newport rest stop. 84 miles done. Could it be that the last 17 are that difficult?

Red headed out quickly again. 'Cause he was not going to get beat up Mountain Lake by those double-metric masochists: Chum and the Good Dr. It was all pretty cool -- the climb out of Newport over US 460, down and back up again. Granted, he wasn't breaking any climbing speed records, but who cares? At about 1:30 Red had made the last decent to begin the climb up Mountain Lake in earnest. There are a couple of mental steps -- up to US 460, the little descent on Salt Road the climb up to the first turn just past the woods, the rest stop, and the desperation to hear the finish line announcer and music....

The climb was indeed, miserable. It's just too steep. Chum and Red were positing the theory that the asphalt up to Mountain Lake is in fact a glacier which slides down the mountain several feet each year due to the steepness of the grade. VA DOT workers merely add a few feet of road at the top. They are in fact, building a road which will end at the beach. Well, maybe not, but all the same, that road's too steep.

Red was greeted with encouragement by the Rambler wives and Tailights! who finished 40 minutes earlier. Chum and the Good Dr. were no where in site. Mission accomplished. Red's wife was at the finish to snap this photo. (Is that a smile or a grimace? or maybe just relief and gratitude.) Red finished with his best overall time yet, and though he made a lot of promises on that climb up to Mountain Lake, two days later, he's ready to start thinking about the possibility of going again next year? Is that sick?

By 3:30 all the Rambler's were accounted for, and ready for the team photo. Some made a couple of promises after that ride. But you know what Red says, "Misery loves company." Ride Ramblers.

2008 Mountains of Misery Ride Report, Part 1

The Ramblers converged in Blacksburg on Saturday in preparation for the 11th Mountains of Misery Ride from Newport out and around and finally back up to Mountain Lake -- which, before he forgets to say it, is miserable. (Every year, Red thinks, it's just about gutting it out -- just harden up and climb. Red, if you read this next year and intend to do it, get the compact you idiot!)

So, we ate dinner at a downtown Blacksburg Italian Family restaurant, Ceritano's -- "a bottle red, a bottle a white...." Ceritano's serves delicious, authentic, slow food. They made accommodation for our large group and gave us plenty of time to linger and talk -- the Italian way. Which is to say, Americans are much more demanding regarding quick service. Real, slow food is not a timed event, people. Speaking of "people," we were all charmed by the family-Chum's children, "People, I need a straw, can somebody get me a straw? People?" After dinner it was off to S-bucks for a desert coffee. Red ordered a skinny carmel mochiato. Red didn't order decaf :-( but fortunately, Red remembered :-) but he didn't drink his desert :-(.

The Rambler's awoke, loaded bikes, grabbed a bite and were at the start by 6:40. The Good Dr chided his fellow Ramblers about shivering and the cold and the descent into New Castle. He was right, of course; it was 43 degrees!

Chum and the Good Doctor left with the first group at 7am -- these studs did the 126 mile route. Why? Because they could. Tailights! left at 7:05 on the 100 mile ride -- somewhat ambivalently, but he must have made up for his ambivalence, because Red never saw him again. Red started at 7:10 and was thinking those arm warmers would've been a good idea, but after 10 minutes, he was pretty warm, and generally grateful that he wasn't too hot. The sweeping valleys of the VA Blue Ridge are pretty awesome. However, he'd forgotten how rolling a valley road can be. Here's a shot looking back towards the Southwest as we make our way toward New Castle.

Red road with group out to the descent into New Castle, and in particular he road with D.C. cyclist/commuter Denise who said she remembered riding with him last year. (Red does not cut the kind of figure on velo that many forget.) Always grateful for company and conversation, Red was happy to pull on the downhills and be waited for on the climbs. Red told Denise about a peculiarly funny photo-op before the descent into New Castle -- the community of Looney. The road sign behind reads, "Looney School Rd." Who goes to the Looney School? The cyclists on the 11th Mountains of Misery were definitely on the road to Looney -- and they were getting ready to be schooled.

Mountains of Misery, Heaps of Fun

The rest period for Mountains of Misery has begun, and I'm scared -- not of resting mind you, but of the ride itself. I first did the ride in 2004, and was appropriately humbled. There's just no way to know what riding 100 miles over unfamiliar territory will do to you after which you have to climb a mountain. In the past, I've been accused of understatement, and yes, I've summed up the climb to Mountain Lake obliquely, (e.g. it has its moments). Rather than being so circumspect, here are my thoughts on the ride and what one mentally should be ready for. Additionally, I'm writing not as a racer, but as older, fatter, recreational cyclists, who probably over-reaches in his limitations. So why would I subject myself to this sort of punishment? Answer: I deserve it. On the other hand, and somewhat optimistically, you'd be surprised what wouldn't kill you. You can read previous ride reports here.

The rollers out to New Castle are pretty tedious. It's hard to get in a groove. The peleton is usually nervous enough that there's no settling down, and so it's chew-em-up and spit-em-out the back. Just be patient, there are a lot of opportunities to waste yourself. Don't do it in the first 25 miles. The descent into New Castle is a gas, and well worth the price of admission. Just be careful and communicate where you are with other riders.

The Loop out and back to John's Creek isn't too bad. There's great scenery, a few grade surprises, chip and seal roads, and usually plenty of company willing to work together. The broad valleys through which the ride passes makes this one of the more scenic parts of the route. If there's a headwind, don't forget to look up every now and then, otherwise, you'll miss it.

The climb up John's Creek is not gentle, especially on a behemoth like me. It's plenty doable, just find a groove and ride within yourself. This is the first big challenge to your fitness, gearing, and leg strength. Be patient. That last switchback up to the finish is a kicker, and you've got 40 more miles to go. The descent and ride back to Newport is a welcome change, but....

I say this most every year but that loop out 601, well,.... This is the surprise. You know about John's Creek, you know about Mountain Lake. This little ten mile loop? It can make or break you -- I ain't kidding. There are two steep rollers that surprise you. There's usually a head wind for some portion of the ride. It feels like it's mostly uphill. You spend the first 10 minutes watching other cyclists returning to Newport after having done the route, and you have a sneaking suspicion they are either gloating or pitying you. You get these looks which say, "You poor schmuck, you have no idea..." Be mentally ready, this is not a warm up or a way to burn 10 miles. Oh, and watch the road surface, potholes, gravel, cyclists....

Now you're back at the start line rest stop. You have two rest stops before the top: one at around 90 miles and one at about 98 miles. Climbing out of Newport, you begin to feel the damage. You're glad that there's only 18 miles to go, but Wow, what an 18 miles. This section has some climbs and some fun descents. Just after the 90 miles rest stop, there's a great, bombing descent -- watch the curve at the bottom of the hill. Once you make it to the New River, you start your ascent up to Mountain Lake. You'll have a few respites, but for the most part it's "Up, Dave, up."

Technically, your climb up Mountain Lake begins when you cross US 460. It starts out gentle and get's steeper as the climb continues. Just past the last rest stop, is where the heartache and the leg cramping begins in earnest. Find a groove and make it. Sing songs from the soundtrack of Dirty Dancing. I prefer "Do You Love Me?" Besides, you'll be asking a lot of questions at about this time. "Work. work."



Remember, the goal is to finish so you can get that t-shirt. Walk if you have too, plenty of others have done it before you. You'll know you're close when you begin to hear the announcer at the finish line.

Of the rides I do, this is one of the most difficult. Either because it's early in the season or it's well, difficult -- probably both. MoM is also one of the most well coordinated and supported rides I do. My hat is off to organizers for pulling this off -- it's a great ride.

See you around 6:30 am in Newport. The weather looks to be gorgeous. Remember, Saki says,
"Ride together."

Parkway Miles

Climbed up George Hayes Rd to the Parkway, over to Blowing Rock, down Shulls Mill Rd. to NC 105 and over to Valle Crucis. I love this ride. As a straight shot, it's only 22 miles, and it consists of 2 big climbs and 1 long descent. This pic is from Hound Ears and the bottom of Shulls Mill looking over to Grandfather Mt in the distance. Which reminds me. In case you were wondering, only a 131 days until the Bridge to Bridge.

3 State 3 Mountain Start Video

3 State 3 Mountain sans 1 State and 1 Mountain, Part 2

Red and Dr. Pete arrived at the foot of Lookout Mountain after pushing the headwind for 15 miles or so. They turned toward the barn but they'd been discussing the possibility of climbing Lookout either via Ruby Falls or Nickajack (the time trial route during the Tour de Georgia). Rather than head back, Dr. Pete realized that if they turned back South they'd eventually reconnect with the century route and be able to make the climb up Burkhalter Gap. No deliberation here; they did a U-ey and headed South on US11. After 30 minutes Red was beginning to wonder if they'd reach the route, but voila. Haibikingrockincyclists don't lead you wrong. They made the connection and there was a wicked short, steep (18% -ish), climb that reminded them of what they were attempting.

After stopping at the SAG, Red went ahead -- you know he's slow climbing mountains -- made the left hand turn onto Burkhalter Gap Road, and went, well, up. He made it to the top pretty well. The climb was long like Sauratown, but a little steeper. Pilot Mt is harder, he thinks.

Once on top of Lookout Mt, they had some rollers to contend with. Incidentally, it's pretty different than other mountain climbing in that these mountains are more like plateaus rather than ridge lines. They went up and down for a half dozen miles and made the descent down the east side of the mountain to St Elmo.

By the time they made it back to Carter Findley Stadium. The weather was great. Having knocked off about 18 miles was just the ticket.

And... they made it in time for the post-ride pizza feed, which incidentally was accompanied by suds! Have you ever heard such? Beer for 2400 cyclists? It makes me tear up just thinking about it.

Red was heard to say that the 3 State 3 Mountain was the best ride he'd done in a long time. The early season challenge is not too taxing, and the support was amazing. Red just has to give a shout out to the local civil servants who saw the advantage to the community by investing in a ride like this. Granted 2400 cyclist and their families have an impact that probably warrants it, but nevertheless intersections were monitored by sheriff deputies and/or police officers and the SAGs were appropriately distanced, stocked, and staffed. It was very impressive and very appreciated! This is a ride to put on the calendar.

3 State 3 Mountain - 1 State and 1 Mountain, Part 1

All dressed up and no place to go. Here are a small portion of the 2400 cyclists who descended on Chattanooga, TN to do the 3 State 3 Mountain Challenge hiding under the bleachers at Carter-Findley Stadium. The ride, scheduled to begin at 8 am was delayed 45 minutes because of a thunderstorm which rolled through at 7:30 -- an awesome, thunder-clappin, gullywasher. I'm talking "pluitin" rain.

When Red lined up, he actually didn't know itwas starting. Did he see Rich Hincapie? Did he tell you there were 2400 cyclists, starting in the rain? Not likely. Any rate, the peleton kept rolling forward in order to settle into a place for the start, but before they knew it they were rolling and just kept on rolling -- 8-12 mph of rolling -- for 3 miles. Crazy. Did you know that there were 2400 cyclists?

Big Red followed in the rain and by the time he crossed the Tennessee River the frst time, he was soaked. The route climbed up past Signal Mountain and headed for Suck Creek Mountain which marked the first of the states and the first mountain (5 miles at 4-6%). Not a bad climb, though it was l-o-n-g. Red said it wasn't bad because he was able to keep his cadence up and manage his heart rate better. By that he means he was able to 'push' it without starting a lactic- acid-muscle-meltdown. Though Red was passed -- as usual -- on the climbs, he did manage to pass a number of others which made the world's fatest climber happy. But what the heck was that chirping sound, brp, brp, brp.... Wheel wobble. Broken spoke! Blast! The wheel didn't look to bad, so Red pressed forward.

The descent off of Suck Creek -- aptly named -- was a little er, sucky. Nervous riders, newbie riders, careful riders, inexperienced riders made for a little sketchiness -- oh and the wind and the water, and 2400 cyclists made for less than bombing conditions. Finally, at the bottom, groups begain to form up and catch the rhythm of group riding. Red was surprised by how easy a pace many of the cyclists took. This led Red to conclude that this century is more of a 'tour' than an all-out-on-the-rivet-quad-cruncher which was just fine -- it was May 3 for cryin' out loud.

So, gruppettos settled in and made for the first SAG stop at Ketner's Mill. There must have been 700 cyclists at the first stop. Relief from the chill of being wet and descending came from the surprising yet welcome venue of 700 cyclists grouped in front of the feed table. Ah, PBJ never tasted soo good.

Speaking of PBJs, Dr. Pete and Big Red did the ride together. In this picture you see Dr. Pete eating his PBnJ. What you don't see is that he is shivering so much his hand is shaking. Dr. Pete climbed under a fireman's coat to warm up and Red couldn't find him in the mass. Where's Pete?

Heading out sans Dr. Haibikingrockincycler, Red pressed forward feeling better on a ride than he has in recent memory. From SAG 1 to SAG 2there wasn't much climbing worry. The rain had stopped, and though the roads were still pretty wet, there was a sense that this could get better than it had started. Though there wasn't much daunting climbing or head wind, the scenery was amazing. It was beautiful.
After about 2.5 hours Red arrived at the second SAG. Again, hundreds of cyclists. And one stop shopping.... I love the South. At the 2nd SAG Dr Pete and Red reconnected and wrung the water out of their socks -- a lot of water. Nice. And sensing an opportunity, because of the conditions, the potentially late finish, get back to the house, blah, blah, blah, they decided to shorten the ride and take the 62 mile route back.

The route past Nickajack Lake and back over the Tennessee River. Did Red say the scenery was beautiful? Most scenic ride in the SE he'd say. Crossing the Tennessee again Red and Pete headed East along TN 134 into GA. After about 8 miles which was a climb and descent of sorts. Red and Pete came to foot of Lookout Mountain.
To be continued...

Best and Worst Thursday

It's springtime, and you know what that means, sportsfans? Yep, time to muck out the barn and get that manure spreader working. The smell, just about here, about knocked me off my bike today. And the head wind, pushing all that odiforous, punginacity? I couldn't get away fast enough.






Springtime also means wysteria. This was the best smelling place I came across today.

Fleche Knit One

Spring Classics anyone?

Not too motivated this morning -- not too surprised, sports fans? Big Red meandered west and decided to meet his wife where she teaches crochet. The urban, trail ride felt a little like a Paris-Roubaix ride though there weren't any cobbles. The change in pace and route not to mention legs after a day off, made for a fun ride -- a little Greenway, a little jag through Old Salem, and a little jig through downtown. Pretty soon I was heading out Runnymeade Road.
Runnymeade is one of those great tree lined and azalea packed park/roads. In the spring, it's my favorite.

It wasn't a long ride, but it was fun.

Rockin' in the USA

The last time Big Red had been to Hanging Rock was June of last year -- way too long. That's kind of indicative of the year he had.

Thankfully, Red ventured back yesterday. He tried to talk himself out of it: too cold, too lonely, too taxing...you know what the voices say. Red didn't listen...too much.

His climb up from the park entrance wasn't the fastest ever, but for a first time in eight months? Not too shabby.

Let's have some Merlot

Monday. 20-25 mph winds with 35 mph gusts. Tailights (renamed Tempo-titan), Chum, and I meandered for 54 plus miles north, east and south of Kvegas. Wind was out of the WNW at worst provided a favorable crosswind -- until we made the turn west on Yokley towards Lake Tomalex. From here on I was spewing 'merlot' -- that is whining. Bad legs, now power, exhausted, wa, wa, wa.

I came down with strep the next day thanks to my youngest. Spent a day in bed, spent another at the doctor, and now I feel somewhat normal. Doesn't "feeling normal" feel absolutely awesome! I'm always surprised by how good normal is. Now, maybe I can get back on the bike.

Belews Lake Wetlands

Beautiful Saturday. Left while it was in the lower 50's and by the time I got home it was pushing 70. Headed north around Belews Lake and looped back across Goodwill and Freeman.

On the northside across from the dam you have the new wetlands created by Duke Power to deal with all the new clean air act regulations. You can see Hanging Rock in the distance.