Monday morning had a good weekend glow

I had a pretty eventful weekend by my standards.

Friday was code complete date for a big project I have been working on. I worked diligently all day. Just as I think I am about to finish, I find a big problem I have to fix. Of course it is 5 pm and I am little bummed I will have to work late. I look up though and notice it is pouring outside. Since I ride my bike to work, I instantly get a lot less worried about staying late. An hour later I have my problem fixed. I look up again and yay it has stopped raining.

I hop on my bike, and I hear thunder. I think about it for a second and decide I would rather get hit by lightning than stay at work any longer. I get about 5 minutes into my ride and the lightning starts. Big suckers booming on all sides. Then the rain starts. I decide I am now in the Tour de France, and I must crush Jan Ullrich in this final rain soaked time trial.



I bury myself. Cutting cars off. Sliding through turns. Bunny hopping fallen branches on my road bike. I get home and the lightning is still crashing down on all sides. I am completely positive I said a new record for my fastest commute ever. My lips were numb I was pushing so hard. :)

Saturday I wake up early. I bought a rohloff for my singlespeed, and I am eager to install it. I start reading the manual. I know this is against the man law, but I am really bad mechanic. I need all the help I can get.

I pretty quickly figure out I got the wrong hub. So I feel kinda bad. I keep reading the manual. Wow this thing is so modular. I can order a new axle plate and solve my problem. I feel much better. I look online for the part, and it is only $30 bucks. Compared to some of my previous screw ups that is a pretty cheap fix. I feel even better.

I click on the link to order the part, and I am told the part is sold out and won't get restocked for over a month. I feel bad again. I scour the internet (one of my better skills) and find out it is sold out everywhere. I start sending random emails to different people who I think might be able to help me. Luckily Neil at cyclemonkey (inventor of the really cool monkey bone) replies back and says he has a used axle plate he can ship to me for cheap. Score!

I am super happy again. I finish reading the manual and learn about all the cool things engineered into my hub. Break a shifter cable. No problem just remove the external gear box and shift into whatever gear you want with 8 mm wrench. This thing rocks.

Sunday I wake up early again. I head over to blankets and ride a couple loops (Dwelling + South) on my still single but soon to be 14 speed. I haven't ridden south loop in a while. It is much more eroded than I remember. All the new rocks are challenging and makes the trail more fun. After I finish, I pack my bike up and head over to my nephew's house. I grab a quart of chocolate milk on the way for recovery purposes.

Bubba and I head back over to Blankets Creek. We rode a bunch of loops around Mosquito Flats. We also explored a little on a couple of side trails. Rode some in the skills area too. Then we played around taking pictures.



It was great ride.

Then I hurried home. Jumped in the shower and drove ITP. Amy and I met my little sister and her husband at Alfredo's. We had a great time talking and catching up. I didn't like my lasagna too much. The tomato sauce was very bland. It tasted like Chef Boyardee's pizza sauce. Nothing was cooked together. It was almost like the ingredients were cooked separately then layered together after the fact. Mary Glenn picked up the check as a belated birthday present so I guess it wasn't bad for free. :)

This morning I woke up thirty minutes before my alarm went off. I hopped on my bike and took the long way to work. I must be in my manic phase, but it feels good for now.

Missed encounter

I was supposed to go ride with a friend and his two year old at Yellow River Sunday. I had feeling he might not show so I headed out there by myself around lunch. I took my phone with me while I did some laps in case he called. Around 4 pm or so I decided he wasn't going to call and headed home.

I am glad I went though. It would have been depressing sitting around the house all day and not doing anything.

My last post on Yellow River was pretty negative. I was a little PO-ed that the trails were changed. The original trails were the first trail I had ever ridden and maybe I am a little too sentimental.

The trails are in better shape than the last time I rode. There are still a million rogue trails on the creek side. Someone has taken the time though to spray white X's or white NOT signs on all the illegal trails. In addition the legal trails are marked with a blue blaze. Using this system I was finally able to figure out where you are supposed to ride. I rode every trail in every configuration until I got it in my head how the trails are laid out.

The river side is also looking better. The 10 foot wide logging roads are getting taken over by nature. You can still see where they were bulldozed but the actual riding surface is getting reduced back to a thin ribbon. The river side has very little rogue trails and the legal trails got the same blue blaze treatment as the creek side. There are still a ton of intersections with confusing signs but the blazes make things pretty simple to figure out which way to go. After an hour or so I rode everything twice on the river side and I think I know which trails go where.

All in all it was good day. A little lonely without my friend's company but better than sitting on the couch. My legs had a nice hurt this morning when I tried to climb up my driveway on my morning commute. That put a nice smile on my face.

Camping Trip

We went camping at Ft Yargo this weekend. We got a walk in site at campground #2. Our campsite was on a tiny peninsula with the lake on both sides. There was plenty of trees for shade but no so many that you couldn't see the lake. The site had a tent pad, fire ring/grill, and picnic table. There was a drinking water spigot about 20 feet away. The shower/bathroom area was only about 50 yards away, and they were nice and clean.

We weren't exactly roughing it, but it was my niece's and nephews' first camping trip. We figured we would go somewhere kid friendly and fun so they could enjoy themselves. I voted for Yargo since I could ride my bike there.

Camground #2 is right on the beginner loop hiking/biking trail. I ended up riding on some of the beginner trail on my way over to the outer loop. It seemed pretty flat and smooth. I think it would be good place to ride with my nephew. My nephew came on the trip, but unfortunately he wasn't able to bring his bike. There was a limited amount of space in the car he rode in.

Friday night Amy and I went to Smoking PO Boys BBQ on W Athens St. We both got the pork plate. The pork had a good flavor, but it seemed a little dry. I liked my Brunswick stew. It had a weird vinegar flavor that was different but good. Amy liked her potato salad. I am a bad judge. We have our own family recipe that is different from anything I have ever tasted at a restaurant. If it isn't made like my family makes it, I really don't like it. Amy didn't like her baked beans. It had a weird cinnamon and garlic flavor. I kinda liked it myself.

Saturday night I grilled hamburger and hot dogs. I think I did okay. I probably could have left the burgers on a little longer and got some better grill marks. I hate over cooked meat so I was a little too careful. The hot dogs were excellent though.

Bubba had a little accident after we ate. He tripped and fell and burned his hands on the grill. I went to the CVS and got him some burn medication, but he was really hurting. I felt bad for the little guy. I hope it didn't sour him on the idea of camping forever.

Other than the accident, I had a great time. I am very lucky that my sister and brother in law invited me on their trip. It was nice spending time with my family. I really enjoyed waking up in the morning in my tent.

Still no pics

Every monday, I come in and consider posting here. I usually decide not to because I always forget to bring my camera on my rides. This weekend I once again did not bring my camera, but I am going to post anyway.

Friday I went and saw the movie Wired to Win. I really like seeing the IMAX shots of the Tour de France. I thought the science bits they tried to put in the movie were kind of cheesy. They tried to do some character development by focusing in on two main riders, but they didn't do that so well either. I am glad I went though. Just seeing the scenery was amazing.

Saturday I took my nephew for a bike ride at Blankets Creek. This was his first time riding there. He did an amazing job. He rode all of Mosquito Flats like 5-6 times.

We did have one scary moment where he flew down a hill and accidentally jumped a log. He got about a foot of air and landed it. Scared me to death. Some other riders watched him do it and couldn't believe what they saw. I don't know how he didn't crash. It was very impressive.

After riding for a while we took a break and hiked part of the Dwelling Loop. I tried to show him some of the trail to see if he would be interested in riding it some day. We finished up by doing three loops around Schultz Shute. We climbed up Shultz's and rode down the fast road at the end of Dwelling.

When we got home I found out Bubba had ridden the whole day with no rear brake. I will make sure to check that for him from now on.

Sunday I rode at Big Creek for the first time in a long time. It wasn't very fun. I have ridden there so much. I am just tired of it. I also think I don't enjoy riding by myself as much anymore. I did play around on a new skinny they built. I couldn't ride it for the life of me, but I had fun trying.

Saturday is my birthday. Not sure if I will get to go riding or not. I think Bubba is going camping with my sister so I will miss my new favorite riding partner.

Snakes on a Trail

Amy and I went on a fun ride yesterday at Chicopee. Amy was brave enough to attempt the Outer Loop. This was probably the longest and hardest ride she has been on. She did awesome.

This is the trailhead.



I like seeing the hills bare of any trees. If you can block out the powerlines, you can almost imagine yourself in a cool place like Lost.

Here is one of Amy cruising through a fun s-turn.



I love how the leaves on the trees look like they are floating in mid air.

Here is another one of Amy splashing through a small creek.



Here are some more of those weird purple flowers I saw from last week. Not sure what they are but I like talking pictures of them.









This place is full of bridges.









Here is one of Amy laughing at the "pain" of "Champain Hill".



Amy took this one of me.



Here is one of a waterfall.



And finally this little guy scared the crap out of me.



I threw a rock at him and he ran off the trail back into the water.

Central Park Ride

Amy and I went on ride at Central Park today. Finally I brought my camera. I was actually going to forget again, but Amy reminded me. I am glad she did.

I really enjoyed taking photographs. Normally I race through the ride. I don't take the time to look around and enjoy the scenery. Today was different. Since I had my camera, I kept my eyes open looking for something interesting to put in a picture.

I was at a trail that I wouldn't rank very high as far as scenery. However every time I turned my head I saw something that I thought would make a great photograph.

I wish I had something in my life that would give me the same perspective I got from my camera on today's ride. Something that would help me open my eyes and see all the beautiful things in my day to day routine. I know it is there. I just need an excuse to seek it out.

Here are my pictures. Hopefully there is one in there that will let you see what I saw.

Race Reports

This year's edition of the 12 hours at Ft Yargo race was this weekend. This race kicked off my brief fling with endurance racing. Reading all the reports about the race gave me that sinking feeling in my stomach like I missed out on something great. Ironically it was reading all the race reports that made we want to race in the first place. Even though I tried racing and decided I didn't like it, I still feel weird that I didn't race Yargo again. There is definitely something there that I can't put my finger on.

I love reading the race reports. I love sharing in the suffering that is racing. I love feeling fit. I love the feeling after a long training workout. I love being able to do things I have never done before.

I hate that my stomach is sick before a race. I hate that I worry and obsess about the race. I hate having to ride the same trail over and over again. I hate having to drive for hours every weekend. I hate being scared to ride on the road. I hate that people treat me like a freak for riding my bike so much.

I don't know. Maybe I could commute more often. Maybe I will take my bike up to Ellijay and find out where my limits are. Maybe I could volunteer for a race.

I will figure something out. I am in no hurry.

Tribble Mill

Amy and I rode yesterday at Tribble Mill. She did a beginner's clinic their last year and has been asking to go back for a while now. We had a good time, and I am glad we went.

The trails there are all rogue trails. Since there is not really any one defined loop, you can mix and match different trails and find your own path. Some of the trails are wide and flat lined with pine needles. Riding those trails were like relaxing on an easy country road. Some of the other trails are crazy narrow with steep runs straight up the fall line with massive roots and rocks to navigate. I found one particularly fun section that I played around on while waiting for Amy to catch up. She even asked me to hit that section one more time so she could watch.

About a year ago I some pictures on the web of a guy taking his kid's on a ride at Tribble Mill. The pictures showed them riding a loop around a lake. The scenery was gorgeous and the trail didn't look too technical. Basically it sounded like something Amy would really like. I emailed the guy that took the pictures and asked him about the trail. He emailed me this map.



Before we left yesterday, I forgot to look at this map to see how to get to the lake loop. I am glad I didn't though. I really enjoyed trying to guess how to get there. I think the route we found was pretty interesting. I wish I had brought my camera. We found this cool intersection of three trails with lush greenery and flowers. There was three small benches made out of slabs of granite. We also found this cool slickrock section that reminded me of Conyers.

After our ride we went to the Jazzy thing charity celebration put on by a company that a friend of Amy's works for. It was interesting to here her talking about how hard the ride was for her and how I didn't even break a sweat. I was thinking the same thing about how easy it was for talk to all these people and how I was feeling very awkward trying to make conversation. I guess we each have our strong points.

New Bike

Haven't ridden much lately. I did buy a new bike to ride to work. Scored it from craigslist. Cost about the same as my handlebars on my mountain bike. So for me it was a pretty good deal.

Commuter Bike

It is a steel 57 cm frame. It has 700cc wheels with 35 mm cross tires on it. The guy I bought it from says 45s fit. It has a flip flop hub so I can run it as either a singlespeed or fixie. Right now it has a 39 x 16 gear on it. Not huge but bigger than the 30 x 20 I have been riding to work on. Now I won't have an excuse when a grandma passes me on the Greenway. :)

Not sure how I feel about the pink fork. I am too lazy to do anything about it right now, but I guess I can of spray paint is pretty cheap so I am not worrying about it too much.

Weather and life responsibilities look clear for a Thursday commute. I will report back how it went.

Blankets

Amy and I rode the dwelling loop at Blankets Creek yesterday. I didn't plan very well. First I meant to bring the camera but I forgot. Second we left the house a little too late. By the time we got there it was pretty hot. Like 85 degrees hot. Amy was smart enough to bring extra water. With the extra water and frequent stops, luckily we avoided any dehydration or heat stroke problems.

This was Amy's first time riding the infamous dwelling loop. The loop is a little under 4 miles. Most of the trail winds around the banks of a large lake. There are lots of short steep ups and downs. It is the most popular trail in Georgia. It is also the subject of much heated debate on the SORBA forum. People get very angry when even the slightest change is made to trail. I think most of time people are just bored at work and looking to stir up a little trouble. Most of the volunteers that maintain the trail do not enjoy the criticism however.

We had a good ride, and even made jokes about posting on the forum another controversial blanket's topic as we rode. I found this thread today on the forum of some friends who rode blankets yesterday as well. The pictures might give you an idea of what the trail looked like.

Ellijay

Amy and I took a fun trip to Ellijay yesterday. I love the trails in Ellijay. The scenery is beautiful. Plus there are so many different options to choose from. Dirt roads to ride on during the rain. Painful sustained climbs to test your meddle like Tibbs. Fun rolling singletrack like the second Pinhoti section. Super steep and exposed switchbacks like the third Pinhoti section. Super fast rocky descents with huge berms and waterbars like Windy Gap. Crazy slick wet descents with unending creek crossings like Mountaintown. Fun fast descents with great jumps like Bear Creek. I could ride there everyday without getting bored.

Amy and I rode the Pinhoti 2 and took Shakerag road back to the trailhead. I love the Pinhoti 2 section. It is my favorite trail. It starts off with a little bit of climbing, and then you are treated to a really fast and fun descent. While I had ridden the Pinhoti 2 many times, I had never ridden on Shakerag Rd. I was expecting Shakerag Rd to be just a convenient way back to the car, but I was pleasantly suprised with how nice it was. Shakerag has a beautiful little stream that runs along the road. Mountain laurel covers the hills on both sides of the road. You can hear the sound of the stream falling through the rocks as you ride along taking in the views.

We had a really good ride. I think this is the most challenging ride Amy has ever done. She did awesome. I was wondering how I would like riding without gears and suspension. I had a great time. I really like riding this bike.

We went to the pink pig afterwards in Cherry Log. It was pretty good. Better than Col. Pooles but not as good as some other places I have been to.

Amy and I have been talking about going to Tanasi next weekend. I have never been there so it should be a really fun trip. I will bring the camera this time so I can take some pictures to post.

Lazy Days

This is the fourth day in a row where I haven't ridden my bike. After reading a bunch of posts about the Old Pueblo race and the Susitna 100 race I feel guilty about not riding. I don't understand this line of thinking. Riding should be a fun pastime. I don't understand why I have to make it a required chore.

I stopped training because I didn't think I really enjoyed racing. Today I was reading some posts about the upcoming Dirty Spokes race, and I felt sad that I am going to miss the race. The weird thing is that I don't really feel like I want to race. I just want to be a part of it somehow. Kinda like I want to have my cake without all the strenuous chewing. :)

Maybe I just don't want to ride solo. Maybe I would have more fun riding on a team. Or if I rode solo, just ride a couple laps for fun. If I want to take a break and hang out that is okay.

I don't know.

I think I will wait to see if any of the upcoming 12 hour races have good weather. If a couple days before the race things look good then I will just register and show up with no training or preparation. Then ride till I have had enough. When I am through riding, I can drink beer and cheer on all the hard core dudes.

Ft Yargo

Saturday I went on super fun group ride at Ft Yargo. The ride was organized by one of the number one posters on the SORBA forum. He also happens to be a member of the BOD group. So I shouldn't have been surprised when I pulled into the parking lot and saw the huge turnout.



It was great hanging out in the parking lot. Everyone was telling jokes and laughing. I rode around and checked out all the cool bikes. I saw some really nice Ventanas, an El Mariachi, and a really nice Niner. I even got a couple compliments on the fork and cranks on my bike.

Finally someone decided we should go for a bike ride. The YABA group recently changed the trail design to switch the direction of travel daily. Luckily Saturday the trails was running in the reverse direction of the way I rode it in the Dirty Spokes race. I had never ridden it in this direction, and it was a lot of fun.

The rock garden was just as tough.



Plus the big climb was a lot more fun going down instead of up.



I had a great day with a great bunch of people. I hope I get to go on many more group rides in the future.

Sunday Amy and I rode from the house to Big Creek and did a couple laps. It was a beautiful day, and it felt great to get out of the house.

Icy Weather

I had planned to go on Al's birthday ride on Saturday. Originally the ride was going to be held on one of my favorite trails Bear Creek/Pinhoti. I haven't ridden these trails since I switched to my Fred Flinstone bike so I was excited to try them out with a bunch of people to laugh at me. After the "wintry mix" we received on Thursday the ride was switched from fun singletrack to the forest service roads of Winding Stair so my excitement level declined dramatically.

I woke up early on Saturday morning all snug in my warm bed and quickly decided I would have more fun rolling over and going back to sleep instead of getting up and driving to Dahlonega and riding my bike on the forest service roads in the cold.

At the crack of 2:30 pm I finally got enough motivation to get out bed and ended up doing a fun ride with Amy through our neighborhood. I showed her my secret trail that links the Alpharetta Greenway to the Big Creek Greenway. I also showed her the strange road they added that connects Cranberry Trail to Cranberry Creek.

I discovered this new road one night when I was looking for a piece of flat road to do sprint intervals. It connects two roads that were already connected by a different road so I couldn't figure out why anyone would go to the trouble of building this new road. My best guess is that they plan to eventually build some new houses there. I saw some cast iron pipes sticking up out of the ground at approximate house width intervals. Plus we saw one of those mobile office trailers parked there so it is probably not a bad guess.

After checking out my new road, we headed down to the Big Creek Greenway and did a quick lap. On the Greenway, we ran into some dirt jumpers. One of them had a cool looking wolf dog.

The dog was pulling him like a sled back to his car. I would love to have one of these dogs if I could live some place where it was cold enough for them to be happy.

After the Greenway, we looped back to the house. It was a cold ride, but it was nice to get out for a little while. Amy made me a big mug of cocoa and I crawled back under my blanket and spent the rest of the day relaxing. It was nice.

Yellow River

Amy and I rode at Yellow River yesterday.

The last time we rode there the "improvements" to the creek side were still going on so we just rode the river side. I put the words "improvements" in quotes because many people feel that the word "improvements" is not the right noun to use to describe what Gwinnett County did to Yellow River.

Gwinnett County came in with their bulldozers and turned the fun scenic twisty singletrack of the river side into a confusing network of intersecting golf cart paths. Where you used to feel like you could get away in an almost back country like experience, you now feel like you are in Disney world or something. There are trail intersections with confusing signs every 50 feet. Trails overlap so you can see other people at all times. The land looks raped like a new housing development instead of an old worn beaten down path that barely disturbed the natural feel of the forest.

Since the creek side destruction is now completed we decided to ride over there and check out the damage. It was more of the same. Trail intersections everywhere. There is no longer a clear path. Bikes intersecting with horses every 2 minutes. Signs with arrows pointing in the wrong direction. Spur trails everywhere. The official trail removed all the fun and challenge of the old trail. With all the intersections and signs the relaxing ride in the woods has been spoiled.

Yellow River was the first trail I ever rode. My friend Mike took me there more than 10 years ago. Maybe I am too sentimental about the old trail to give an unbiased opinion of the new trail. After all change is good, I should be more appreciative of the money spent and hard work that went into revamping Yellow River. I have ridden my local trail so many times that I am bored with it. Maybe the Yellow River locals are glad to have something new to ride.

Amy and I still had a good time despite my personal feelings about the new trail. Plus our dinner afterwards at Taqueria was delicious.

Central Park

Only got to ride my bike to work twice last week, but I enjoyed those two days. The water level at Big Creek finally went down enough that the Alpharetta Greenway was open, and I could take the multi-use path to work. It was much nicer and quieter than riding on the sidewalk. Too bad the path doesn't lead right up to my door.

Saturday Amy and I went on an anniversary adventure at Central Park in Cumming. It has been a while since we have been there and the trail is still doing pretty good. A couple places the tractors have run over the trail but otherwise it is holding up really well. It is nice to see something you helped build stand up to the winter weather.

Amy rode really strong Saturday. I think taking her to trails other than Big Creek has really helped her. After her first time ever doing the full lap, she still had enough zip to go out for more so we did an extra half lap. After our bonus half lap, I blocked my need to train feelings and packed it in. Besides it was almost 3 o'clock and I hadn't eaten any lunch or snacks. We solved that problem by stopping off at LutherD's BBQ on the way home.

I saw a post about LutherD's on the SORBA forum awhile ago and have been meaning to try it out. We tried to find it one time before thinking it was either on McFarland or on 141 but it turns out it is on Atlanta Hwy. I checked the map before we left and discovered I had ridden by it on my road bike at least 100 times.

LutherD's is on the Webb bridge road ride route than I do on Sunday's sometimes. It is on that short stretch of Atlanta Hwy before you get to Campground Rd. I guess I hadn't noticed it before because it is the Chevron gas station. There is a sign in front of the gas station, but I guess I never paid attention. I do remember smelling the BBQ several times on my way back to the house. It always smelled really good after drinking Hammer mix for 4 hours.

We made it to the LutherD's this time no problem. Amy loved the BBQ. It was the vinegar based BBQ that is her favorite. I thought my pork was pretty good. I didn't like the ribs too much. I think they might have been beef ribs or something. They weren't log and skinny like the pork ribs I am used to. The they were these short fat curled bones with very little meat. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't my thing.

It was a great day. Sunday was bad either. Amy asked me to move my trainer into the living room so she could do some Spinervals videos. So I took apart my road bike, cleaned it, and put it back together. Then moved my bike and trainer into the living room. I didn't feel like changing pedals so I ordered her some shoes and cleats so she can use my Time pedals.

I even tested out the trainer for a little over an hour while I watched the Bears whip the Saints. I took it easy the rest of the day watching more football and eating Amy's delicious blue cheese chicken dinner. Mmmm chicken leftovers. I can't wait till 5 pm so I get on my bike and go home and get some more chicken dinner.

Changing Things

I woke up at 5am last Saturday to do the Snake Creek Gap race. I turned off my alarm and laid back down in bed. I had been dreading doing the race all week. I decided right then to blow off the race. I didn't go back to sleep. I spent the rest of the week deciding if I want to ever do a race again.

The way I was going about this hobby has been making me miserable. I don't want to think I have to do blah blah blah today. I want to think man I can't wait to go ride my bike today. Hobbies should be fun right?

I haven't made any decisions. I didn't do any training this week though.

I did ride my bike to work all week. That felt great. The day went by much faster and I still have much more energy when I get home from work. I am going to ride my bike to work from now on whenever I feel like it.

I am through with watching what I eat. Life is too short.

I am also thinking about selling my geared full suspension bikes. I go on these really long rides to try and make riding more challenging. Why not go on a shorter ride with a rigid singlespeed? Just as hard but saves you time. My Fred Flintstone bike is also much easier to maintain. Not a lot crap to break.

I also stopped reading so many biking blogs and forums. I think they make me want to buy more crap or make me feel like the races I am doing are too easy.

Other than that I don't know what I am going to do. Maybe a 6 or 12 hour race on my Flintstone bike? Who knows?

Christmas

Spent Christmas in Virginia with my girlfriend's family. Her dad has a farm outside of Orange. It is beautiful there. I was able to ride out his back door on country roads with very little traffic. Seeing all the grass and the hills was a nice change from the pine trees of Georgia.

I am back in Georgia now and I am getting ready for my first attempt at the Snake. The Snake is either a 17 mile or 34 mile point to point time trial. 34 miles doesn't sound like much but apparently the trail is very rocky and steep. I checked out some peoples times from last year and I think it will probably take me between 5 and 6 hours. The cool thing about it is that the promoters give you three attempts at the trail (one in jan, one in feb, and one in march) all for one price of $55.

I thought about just doing the 17 mile version in January to get a feel for the trail then moving on to the 34 mile version in February and March. For some reason the promoters don't want you to switch mid way through. They make you pay twice if you want to switch. My cheapness overrode my wimpyness and I signed up for the 34 miler. It should be good practice for my attempt at the Cohutta in April.

4 more weeks on my winter plan

Did my performance test on Saturday. I planned to do an hour, but I quit after 20 minutes. I was just not having fun. My average watts for those 20 minutes was 1 Watt higher than the test I did 8 weeks ago before I started training and 15 watts lower than the test I did 4 weeks ago.

Not sure what happened. I did the first two tests on the road and I did this one on my trainer. Some people say you get higher numbers on the road.

The second test I did I went out really hard and faded the last 10 minutes. That might have artificially bumped my numbers up on the second test.

Who knows? I am not going to think about it too much.

I have four more weeks of training before my winter plan is up. I figure the best thing I can do is concentrate on that and execute the next 4 weeks to best of my ability.

Adventures

Amy and I went on another one of our "adventure's" yesterday. An adventure consists of

• a long drive to a bike trail with lots of conversation and bonding between Amy and I


• a bike ride with both party members lasting approximately 1 hour on a fun trail


• the ride should be peppered with frequent words of encouragement and praise


• after the ride there is more bonding with hugs and kisses before the party members separate for a short period


• Amy will take the car and find a local restaurant for some lunch. After lunch she will spend the remainder of her time exploring local cities looking at shops, neighborhoods, and tourist attractions. At the end of explorations, she will return to the trail and her read a book.


• I will take his bike and finish off his workout for the day. Riding his bike at whatever pace his workout calls for hoping to get enough endurance to finish his next race.


• After James finishes his ride, the party members will reunite at the car. I will stretch and eat any goodies Amy purchased for him on her exploration.


• After the leaving the trail the party members will start the drive back home and stop along the way for dinner. Both party members will share any fun stories from their time apart.

Our first adventure was at Chicopee Woods in Gainesville, Ga.



We rode down to the waterfall and back to the parking lot with a little exploring along the way. After our joint ride Amy went for lunch and learned her way around Gainesville finding a cool "Old Town" district. I rode the red trail, zig zag, outer loop (twice), some new trail I found that I probably shouldn't have been, and the lake loop. We tried to find a barbecue place off exit 13 on 400 on the way home but couldn't find it. So we ended up at our favorite Mexican place on exit 7.

Yesterday we went to the Dauset Nature Trails in Jackson, Ga.



We rode the entire 3.3 mile beginner loop together. Yay Amy! I think this was Amy's longest ride to date. She rode really well and didn't have to dismount for any of the tricky sections. At the end the ride, I asked her if she was tired and she said not at all. Next time she suggested we add in some more sections. The trail is kept up really well and it is very scenic especially with all the fallen leaves. We stopped several times picking up nicely shaped pine cones for Amy's home decorations. After we separated Amy drove to Jackson and Locust grove and explored those towns. She found a really good barbecue place called Fresh Air Barbecue.



I rode the expert loop. Then I finished off with a repeat of a Pine Mountain and backwards up Huff N Puff. We stopped at the Cracker Barrel on the way home. Great day!

Yesterday also ended my three week block of tempo rides. I have a performance test this weekend. I think I am going to skip my 20 minute time trial on the Silver Comet and do an hour time trial on my trainer. I know I would get higher numbers on the road, but I can't justify driving 3 hours to do a 20 minute time trial. Plus an hour long time trial would be better for estimating my functional threshold. Maybe this is dumb idea, but it wouldn't be my first.