Because I Can't Help It

I guess the bear stands out more than anything. We got to our cabin Monday evening and just chilled out on the deck. The wind in the pines and the view were unreal. Sometime around 5:30 am T said "something's outside". I went to the plate glass windows in the front, turned on the flood lights, and I heard T say "oh my gosh it's a bear". Sure enough, roaming around like it owned the place was a large black bear. It checked out the hot tub and then walked up to the front door like a dog that wanted to be let in. I grabbed the camera, took it's picture, and then yelled at it. It just looked at me. Finally I guess it had had enough and lumbered to the edge of the porch, climbed over the railing, and dropped off. It had managed to violate the "bear proof garbage cans" and had scattered trash all over the back porch. Needless to say I always opened the door and looked around before I went out to have my morning cup of coffee.

Tuesday morning we rode the Thompson and Mouse trails at Tsali. They had recently been redone and were in excellent shape. T and her new Cannondale did great on Thompson and held up till about 3/4 of the way through Mouse, then she bonked. We ended the day with dinner at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) overlooking the river.

Wednesday we were back at the NOC for our rafting excursion. It seemed harder than last year. This is usually a laid back float but we were working from the launch. Not more than 5 minuets into the trip I hear a splash and look around just in time to see T swimming back toward the boat. B and I didn't laugh (at least not right then). The rest of the trip was uneventful. I have gotten to really enjoy that float. Thursday we drove up to Newfound Gap in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park to hike the Appalachian Trail to Charlie's Bunion and back. It's an 8 mile round trip with plenty of climbing. I got a little freaked out on the actual rock overlook but it was well worth the hike. I had brought rain coats for T and I. B being 15 and smarter than I am elected not to bring one. I remember hearing something about "only a 30% chance of rain". Well guess what? It flooded. It was cold. Some of the best lessons in life are learned the hard way aren't they?
I love the mountains.

Later That Day

Led Zeppelin's Black Dog played on the Gone Riding sound system as I stood looking at the mountains and waiting for PP and Dan K. to finish their race. I had pilfered one of Paul J.'s PBR while he wasn't looking and had a pleasant midday beer buzz going. Ah, nothing like the first days of vacation. I was PUMPED! Not really just because I had won, though that was nice, but the feeling of being done with something I had been working on for a while.

We were staying at the lodge just up the mountain from the race site so we didn't have to drive to the awards banquet that was being held there that afternoon. Plus we had the whole rest of the week off and were staying in the mountains until the following Friday. Can you feel it? Yea, it was good to be me.

We got cleaned up and headed to the lodge's banquet hall. I had asked Paul J. to pick me up a six pack of PBR on his way back from Helen but unfortunately they don't sell beer on Sunday so we resorted to plan B which involved a flask of Jack Daniels and a couple of Cokes. Hey I've done this awards thing before.

I did notice we were the only ones drinking alcohol (at least that I could tell). The food was good. PP and I even went back for seconds. This was the beginning of my 4 pound vacation weight gain.

The awards went quickly. David and Terry Berger do a great job. We got some good swag and were out of there by 4:30 pm. Dan K. was a little reluctant to put on his hoodie and pose for pictures but PP rather forcefully convinced him he should participate.

I had hoped the party would keep going but the cumulative effects of alcohol, food, and racing took their toll on me and after a quiet stroll around the lake we all headed back to our rooms and crashed.

Paul J., Dan K., and PP headed back to Tallahassee the next day while we messed around Helen. After lunch at the Troll restaurant next to the river we drove up to N. C. and checked into our log cabin. I have vacation stories and pictures. I almost can't help myself, I have to post them. Yea I know, it's like a bad joke.

The End

It's over. I know it was a short series and maybe the competition isn't as tough as Florida but it was still fun. Much better than most of the moto series I have run.

The trail in Helen Ga. was hilly to put it mildly. When we got there Saturday afternoon it was a pleasant 75 degrees and was even cooler when we finished an hour later. I just thought I had ridden hills before, but this was real mountain biking (at least that's what Dan K. kept saying). Nothing technical at all. Well maybe a couple of switch backs with roots but I managed to clean everything so they must not have been that big of a deal. There was one hill I don't think anybody in our crew cleaned but that was just because it was steep. I couldn't decide on my race strategy for the next day. Should I hit it hard right from the start or pace myself? I had no idea how I would feel after an hour of climbing because we had never ridden this much slope in a race before. I decided I'd ride with Robert (my nemesis) and let him set the pace. I needed to beat him plus put somebody between us to lock up the championship so I thought if I could push him at the beginning he might burn out. The fact that I might burn out never entered my mind. It probably should have.

We had dinner in Helen that night on the front porch of a steak house and watched the bizarre parade that is Helen on a weekend. The crew seemed pumped to be there. Good times.

Sunday was cloudy at first with clearing forcasted for later in the morning. Still almost fall conditions compared to what we had left behind in Florida. There were 11 old farts in my class, including the SERC series first and second place riders. I had a bad case of the nerves. The start went down a grassy hill, across a bridge, then immediately started climbing. Robert got to the bridge just in front of me and we stayed like that for the first 2 miles. I noticed he was taking longer and longer to recover after we crested the hill tops. When I took a chance to look behind us I could see another rider coming so I went around Robert on a nasty climb and never saw him again until the finish.

I managed to fall on BOTH of the switch backs with the roots. Traffic was terrible with riders walking on almost every climb. I had to tell myself "just 5 more feet, just 5 more feet". On one hill I almost just said the heck with it. It was hard. I don't look foward to doing 2 laps next year and I'm impressed with PP and Dan K. for doing 2 and 3.

To get to the finish line we had to cross the same grassy field and climb the hill we had gone down at the start. It was a steep bugger. I looked behind me when I got into the field and didn't see anybody close. I wanted to make sure I didn't have to push up the the finish so I rolled easy across the field, shifted back into granny, and crossed the line in first.

I pulled off to the side to see where Robert was. I was sure he was right behind me. He had been close at every race this year and it never occurred to me he wouldn't be right there. Then one of the SERC riders came in, then another. Wow, I had won this thing!

Robert eventually finished around 8th. Still good enough to lock up second in the series.

Like most things you accomplish that you think are a big deal the actual winning wasn't as much of a rush as I had imagined it would be. Don't get me wrong I'll brag about this for years but the fun was in the hunt, not the kill.

B got a 7th in his class. He beat my time by 4 minutes which put a big smile on his face. PP got a fourth. Dan K survived on a single speed. Paul J survived.

The banquet and series awards presentation was scheduled for later that afternoon. I'll cover that tomorrow.

Summer Time Is Here

When I walked out onto the back porch this morning to feed my dog I could hardly breathe it was so humid. The thermometer said 81. Really? At 6:00 in the morning? I love the long day light and the fact that everybody in my house is out of school but I'm ready for summer to be done. Maybe it's the constantly wet gear. Or the way my truck is starting to smell. Or the half gallon of water I have to drink every morning before I have my coffee just so I can start to re hydrate. Or, maybe it's the pictures of France from the TDF with all that crystal blue sky and cold creeks. Anyhoo, if it didn't get this hot and ugly down here there'd be more people living here than there already are. So, I'll quit whining for now. And yes, my dog lives outside, and yes, she's happy about it.

Let's see, we did a semi crew ride Saturday morning from Zone 5. It was almost a repeat of the ride we did Monday only at a little harder pace and with some different faces. Then there was the dirty 30 of ZB's Sunday morning. Uh, that was fun? I guess it was really. It was a 2 minute lap of two track that we rode for 30 minutes plus 2 laps. It seemed like we rode for an hour. Round and round like a hamster in a cage. It was hard but when I finally stopped I realized I had kinda enjoyed it. I'm sure I won the over 50 class since I was the only old guy left riding at the end (there were no classes). I got lapped at least once. B made the mistake of listening to BW and HWB and blew up about midway through, but even he said he had a good time. We rolled some easy single track after the "race" and then headed to Los Amigos for tacos. Ahhh, there's nothing like XX's beer and tacos at 11:00 on a Sunday morning. We giggled like school boys. Good times!

Munson Monday was weird. We had a big group that got broken up pretty quick. B and I were on the single speeds and were only up for a mellow ride. Somehow we managed to get sucked into the lead group and went out on Twilight. Another hard ride, but I didn't have as much fun on this one. I'm starting to see a pattern with regards to how much enjoyment I get out of certain rides. Interesting.

This weekend is the last GSC race of the year. It's been fun and I hope B and I get to do it again next year. This series has the best trails (in my opinion). Not having a race to prep for will be different but we have the Fools Gold in August then the Florida series starts in September in Tallahassee. My first race in the sport class; I can't wait. I'll send in a race recap on the GSC in Helen when we get back. I know, you just can't wait.

I'm starting to get the urge for a new XC race bike. Who am I kidding, I always have the urge for a new bike. Maybe sometime in September? The shopping and the dreaming is almost as much fun as the buying isn't it? I'm hung between big wheels and regular ones. Suspension is a must due to my advanced age. I like the way my 29" SS sits but something 25 lbs. or less with 26" wheels might be the best bet. Or it might not. Oh well, I've got plenty of time to decide.

July

Lots of riding over the July 4th weekend. We started with a San Felasco trip on Saturday morning. BW, BJS, B, and I loaded up in BJS's truck and after a stop for bagels and coffee hit the early morning road to Alachua. We got to the trail head around 9:30 but due to some other type of head BJS and BW had to hit we got on the trail closer to 10:00. Man the way those two have got to time their toiletries you'd think they were older than me.


San Fan is nothing but fun single track. You don't have to do loops of the same thing over and over to get a decent amount of mileage. I recorded 5700 feet of climbing and 26 miles by the time we got back to the truck. Nobody wanted any more, we had had enough. The pace was steady and we didn't stop very often. It's was so hot and humid that stopping was torture anyway.


After the required stop at the Conestoga Restaurant we pointed it towards home and B and I were back in Havana by 4:00. I got cleaned up, opened a PBR, and hit the couch to watch the TDF. Air conditioning is a wonderful thing isn't it?


"Well, no good times go unpunished" I thought as I did the yard work in 97 degree heat Sunday afternoon. We did get away later in the day for an easy ride at FM. T is really enjoying her new ride. It's amazing how big a difference 7 lbs. makes in her ability to ride and enjoy the bike. Oh that's a 7 lbs. lighter bike by the way. I would never make the mistake of discussing my wife's weight.


I had planned a long forest road slog for Monday morning but when I didn't get any interest for any company I pulled the plug. I wasn't too pumped to do it alone again. I rode this route last year on the 4th of July solo and while an adventure, it just isn't as much fun doing long distances by myself. Fortunately a Zone 5 crew ride came together at the last minute Sunday night so B and I met the gang at 8:30 (which must be early for them) and did a calm pace for 26 miles on the north side trails. Then I took the fam to see the new Transformers movie that afternoon, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Not a lot of miles when you add it up but I was tired after every ride. The heat makes it seem like we rode twice as far as we did. We're into dog days now so when it doesn't rain in the afternoon I feel like I should be on the bike. Maybe I shouldn't say "should be"; that should read "want to be".

As a side note my main competition in the GSC went to the make up race in South Carolina a couple of weeks ago and managed to get 2nd. That was taking a chance since that was a SERC race and a long way away. But it paid off for him as he now has a 2 point lead over me. I now have to not only beat him but hope somebody finishes between us. Anyhoo all I can do is pedal and hope for the best. I could whine about it, I could point out that I beat him heads up every time we raced. I could complain about the 5 points he got in a time trial that he didn't even ride. Never mind that this is my last chance at a year end award before I move up to sport. At my age I'm not sure how much "better" I can get. Crap, this may be my last opportunity at glory now that I think about it. But after all it's just two old men racing bicycles in the base class isn't it?