Jazz Fest

Amy and I went to the New Orleans Jazz Fest last weekend. We had a great time. My cousin Holly and her husband live there, and they were nice enough to let us stay with them.

On Friday we saw Alison Krauss and Robert Plant perform on Friday. I wasn't sure how that combination would work together but they pulled it off really well. They sang some popular songs from both of their pasts and also sang some songs I had never heard before. On Saturday we saw a really good tribute to George Lewis. It was so good it made we want to buy a clarinet and learn to play.

Sunday Holly and John took us on tour of the 9th Ward and St Benard Parish to show the devastation of Katrina. It was unbelievable. Miles of neighborhoods completely abandoned. Everything was destroyed.

We drove back yesterday and going back to work today was really hard. Hanging out, drinking, eating good food, and listening to music is a lot more than working.

Cooper Gap Conquest

Amy and I conquered Cooper Gap on our x2cycle today. We parked at Camp Wahsega so our return ride would be all downhill. We planned to leave everything on the climb. :)

The ride started off with a bad omen. Two ambulances and a cop cruiser came flying by us heading towards Turner Creek. We shook it off quickly though and had nothing but good vibes the rest of the day. I hope whoever they were coming for is okay.

Amy climbed like a rock star. She was breathing easy enough to hold a conversation all the way until the very end where we hit the real steep stuff. When we got to the top she even asked if we could keep going to see the dry waterfall on 42.

The weather was amazing. I wore shorts with arm warmers and was super comfortable. The dogwoods were blooming and half the trees were this beautiful yellow green color. We stopped for awhile by the cabin and took in the beautiful views.

The downhill made up for all the climbing. My arms were flapping around like crazy over some of the brake bumps. It was hilarious.

Next time I think we might park at the top of Cooper Gap and ride over to Hightower Gap to see the lake. Maybe Amy will drive the car back down from Cooper Gap and let me enjoy the downhill again.

Mixing it up at Big Creek

Couldn't work up the motivation for driving up to North Georgia this weekend. Instead Amy and I rode from the house over to Big Creek. We went the back way through the subdivision north of the park and hopped on the Greenway.

We came to the entrance of the Freeride area, and I talked Amy into climbing up to the top of the hill. I got up to the top thinking I would be waiting for a little while for Amy to catch up but she was right there. I was impressed.

We rode back down to the bottom of the hill, and I talked Amy into doing a loop around the advanced and intermediate trails. It was nice change of pace from our normal loops on the beginner trails.

When we got back from our loop I had the bright idea for Amy to time me to see how long it would take to climb up to the top of the hill and come back down again. I have been doing a lot of super slow commuting but not really any high intensity stuff. Going full out up the hill was a shock to the system. I broke 4 minutes but just barely. I think I gave the freerider dudes some good laughs while they watched me run the gully at full speed. It was not pretty. :)

The second time I tried it I felt like my throat and lungs were literally burning. I have heard the expression before, but I think that was the first time I really understood what people were talking about. It sucked. I was less than 10 seconds slower the second time but it felt like minutes. I gotta do that again some time.

Bull Forest Road Ride

Trails were too wet this weekend for the fun stuff. Headed up to Bull to ride some forest roads.



Stepping out of the car I could feel my feet sinking into the clay. Apparently even the locals were having this problem.



I have always wondered what is on the other side of this sign.



One time I road past it for a couple hundred yards. The trail dumped into a large field. The grass was short so I could have kept riding, but I decided I had left Amy alone long enough and turned back. One day I will figure it out.

I also have always wanted to find the waterfall on 77A. We headed over that way but turned back when a school bus pulling a trailer full of horses passed us. Since we would have to turn around at the dead end I decided it wasn't worth spooking the horses. The waterfall will have to wait till another day.

This is my favorite picture of the day.



I love the creek and dark trees.

My sister called us on the way home. We met them for some BBQ and live music at the Swallow in the Hollow. Cool place.