Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Mid Week And Surgery...............

Tomorrow is the day! The kid goes under the knife, they are gonna put Humpty Dumpty back together again. I thought that was a cute statement, the boy didn't. He's kinda nervous and I don't blame him. He has never had surgery before and doesn't know what to expect. We have to be there early am and of course he can't eat anything after midnight. Tomorrow night is gonna be tough but he will make it. Plus he will have some cool scars to show off. I keep telling him chicks dig scars, that seems to make him smile.

So tonight I am going to hit the road, road bike style. Looking forward to it. I haven't pedaled since I got home Sunday. Last night I had to mow the stupid yard, that's 2 hours I will never get back!

Don't forget the Pisgah Stage Race is going on, local home town hero Sam Koiber has the pro men's lead after day 1. That's pretty impressive considering he doesn't race all the time and there are riders who are going to be on the Olympic mountain bike race team who are racing it. I haven't been able to find a results post yet so I am not sure how my friends are doing yet.

nice logo...
For closing I found this on a race site for the Trans Iowa race. They are one of the sponsors for the race in 2012. I like their sign...........   

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Them Hills Are Alive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As I have already mentioned the Pisgah Mtn Stage Race starts today (Tuesday). There are 2 local guys I know who are doing it and they are going keep everybody up to date. They are using the local club website. If you wanted to check it out here is the link    http://www.tarheeltrailblazers.com/index.cfm .

Anyhow there is a post on the forum, I put it under "going on location" about my encounter with the rattlesnake. A few people have replied with pictures of their own!

DuPont state forest

black mtn
After seeing these pictures it makes you realize "them hills are alive". Man I think I am going to sell the mtn bike and get me a new road bike. I wonder how many times I have pedaled right past a snake and not even noticed it. Makes you wonder, I spend a lot of time in the woods so odds are I have been right by many of them.

Yes I know we have snakes down here too, they don't just live in the mountains. But up there they are a lot more potent! A copperhead will make you sick as a dog, but chances are you will be alright. A rattlesnake, if you don't get help really fast can kill ya. I think I am going to invest in a snake bite kit!!!!!!!!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Glad I Went.............

Rained all weekend here in Charlotte, not in the mountains! Glad I went, never even got the road bike out, the weather was to nice. We got to spend all day Saturday in the woods. The trails were perfect, just a little bit wet and the grip was great!



We rode about every trail in the Bent Creek area and I think half of them went straight up. I never spend any time in the little ring around this area but up there you are in the small gear alot! Got some great pictures and even found a timber rattler! A BIG timber rattler! He was across the trail and we let him take his time getting of the trail!

about 15ft away!
he finally started to move...
see the rattles..I zoomed in for the pic. I wasn't close...
Never once did he rattle either, as you can see from his rattle he was about seven years old. So after we ran into him all I could think of was , he's got to have at least one brother or sister! That's a weird feeling!

a break in the tree line.
So after we got to the top and came down the one downhill, the other guys were ready to call it a ride, we weren't. So we went back up to the top and tied together about 30 minutes of all downhill. That was a blast! You usually don't have that long of a downhill. When I say down I mean down too. My hand s start hurting from holding the brakes that long.

about 3 ft wide tree
We also found a tree beside the lake up there that a beaver had been working over. Never saw the beaver though. That tree was huge too. Those little guys have ambition for sure, if I was a little beaver I think I would drop the littler trees.

Of course we are still getting screwed here in Charlotte, as soon as you get to Shelby heading west gas goes down about 30 cents a gallon. Why, I don't know but it does! The lowest I saw was 3.35 a gallon.

Friday, September 23, 2011

I Don't Know About This.................

Just to bring the one sometimes two readers of this blog who live on the west coast, up to speed it is raining here. Not a little, a lot! Very heavy too.. From my seat looking out the window it is almost raining sideways. Not a good start for a weekend of mountain biking in the mountains. Dem' hills are steeeeep and can be really hard to climb or come down if they are all wet..

I have the truck all loaded and I am ready, BUT... I get to ride way to much to put myself through the mess that it's gonna be up in dem' hills!! Besides, I can drink beer in my own house and have another fridge in the garage(with beer)... I get the feeling some guys have to get away to enjoy a few tasty cold ones!! Never understood that one, why would a woman marry a man who drinks and then get mad when he drinks. That's another blog altogether.

So I ain't made my mind up yet, I want to go, and like going to Pisgah, BUT... I do have a back up plan! Why waste a weekend you already have planned! I am staying like two miles from the Blue Ridge parkway so why not take the road bike. Ride the parkway and stay nice and clean!! See some beautiful scenery and do something different. Stay tuned and have a good weekend.. I should have some great pics come Monday. 
until then refer to above sign...

Thursday, September 22, 2011

S-10 To Ride Again....................

OK, I might have procrastinated just a little on this one, but what the hell I got there! The S-10 my friend, yes I finally took the time to tear into it last night. I always wanted to be a mechanic, I just don't like to get grease under my finger nails.

To the story. My little truck started running hot and then leaking antifreeze a while back, (3 months ago) so I parked it. Finally, I have taken the time to tear it apart!

getting started

surveying what needs to be done

almost out

what I had to remove to get there

final prize
As you can see from the photos, you have to remove a lot of crap just to get to the radiator. But once I got  there it takes about two minutes to remove the radiator. So this morning I call Autozone and they have the radiator for $113.99, not bad I think. Then I think well if a new one is that cheap, repair ought to be cheaper! Wrong!!!! I call a radiator repair shop and they want $120.00 to fix my broken radiator! Are you kidding me, why would you pay more to fix a broken one when you can get a new one for less.. I ain't no brain surgeon but damn I ain't stupid either....................New it is.....................

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Damn Weather........

OK, my commuter plans haven't worked out to good yet this week. It has been overcast and looks like rain at any given moment. Today is the first day it has actually rained yet, but apparently I am to big of a wuss to "just do it".

I have been hitting the road later and later in the evening, but just haven't made the jump to the AM. The last 2 nights I have made it home in the dark. Like a real dumb ass last night I went out wearing an all black riding kit. That wasn't the smartest thing I have done lately. But I do have my tail light hooked up, I don't mind getting caught out like that as long as I have a tail light. I ain't worried about the head light as much as the tail light.

taillight.....
standing in the driveway
8:30pm
I took these shots when I hit the driveway last night. As you can see it was dark, tonight I am going to wait till dark to head out. By the way update on Cody, we have surgery next Thursday the 29th. Then the healing can begin!

sweet..................


For a project while he is out of commission, we are stripping his mtn bike and getting a new frame. I am going to let him build it up over the next few months. Just something to keep his interest....  

Monday, September 19, 2011

Weekend Weather.............

OK we had a great weather weekend, it was a nice change. Now let's get back to sunny and hot! Yesterday I saw the sun come out for a total of about 10 minutes. When it made it's brief appearance I found myself standing outside looking straight up in the sky soaking up the warmth. I do not look forward to winter at all.

Saturday I got ready and went out for a road ride. Of course it being the first "fall ride" I over dressed. I was sweating like a fat man in a sauna. Every year I do the same thing and every year I say "man I don't want to do that again". But the next year comes around and I do it again! I put on the wool socks and got out the wind stopper coat. Long sleeve of course, what else would you do if you wanted to stay warm. I have to remember not to do that again.....

I go through this little valley all the time when I ride. It is like a path to get to where I like to ride. From my house I travel about 8 miles before I feel like I am starting my ride, same on the way home. When I get to a certain intersection I feel like I am almost home, although I still have 8 miles to go. Anyhow I always say I need to take a picture of this valley, then ride right through and never stop! This time I stopped and got the shot.

right side of road

left side of road

the road....
Sunday rolled around and I dressed a lot better and had a good ride followed up with some good beer and a football game. Maybe to much beer but never enough football!

Next I think it's time to start riding to work, I don't know why now is the time, but it is. I woke up yesterday and it just hit me. As you can see from the weather forecast it will be a good week for it. I even woke up early enough to see what was going on at 6am this morning. Guess what, not much, it is still dark, pitch dark! For me to make it I need to leave at 6 and that gives me 2 hours for the ride and clean up before I start work. I live 18 miles away and I like to take my time. Tonight I need to get all my lights ready and then I can ride home after work. Stay tuned for the comuter cronicles.........  

Friday, September 16, 2011

My Kinda Weather..................

Oh yea.......Now this is what I call a great day. Woke up this morning and all of a sudden it's fall! Perfect ridin weather and overcast. Tomorrow is gonna be a good day. I still don't have a plan for tomorrow yet but that won't deter me. Rain or not bring it on! I don't mind the heat but I sure enjoy the cool fall weather.

Last night I hit the road for a quick 30 miles. I haven't ridden the road bike in a few weeks so I put the seat back on it and out the door I went. I had to stop and readjust the seat about 5 miles into it, and what do ya know. I think I accidentally put it in the perfect spot. I was the most comfortable I have been in awhile. Now I wonder if I needed to adjust it all along!

That would be my luck, I probably made my back sore to begin with. So even if it rains tomorrow I will be on the road bike.........................Have a good weekend and see ya next week..............

Thursday, September 15, 2011

What To do?????????????????

It's Thursday and I am already thinking about what I want to do this weekend. Tomorrow night I am going to take the wife to a movie, that will score me some points. Then Saturday I don't know what I want to do. I need a good ride and want to camp. But don't know how I can work that in. I have next weekend already covered so I need to suck up and make the wife happy.

You know the old saying Happy Wife Happy Life!!! If momma ain't happy ain't nobody happy...Blah Blah Blah...

As I have said next weekend I am going to the mountains to ride so I have plenty of time to get things right at home....

Next year I know where I will be at this point in the year. I will be at the Pisgah Stage Race come hell or high water. Don't let the flyer fool you it ain't that tough. It really is tough but I need a year to convince myself other wise. 

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Internet Warning.................

                                                           The Internet Can Cause
Side Effects May Include...nausea, vomiting, headaches, heartburn, hair loss, diarrhea, dry mouth, water retention, painful rectal itch, hallucination, dementia, psychosis, coma, death, halitosis, lung cancer, mental retardation, brain tumors, paralyzation, sleep loss, internal bleeding, internal combustion, a sudden craving to sniff your carpet, an addiction to cocaine, heroin, PCP, speed and Windex, bone weakening, claustrophobia, acne, watching Chachi In Charge (and enjoying it), regular PMS, making Jesus cry, the inability to use proper english in an online environment, homosexuality, AIDS, an urge to stab your spouse, inability to breathe oxygen, urge to watch the Chinese version of Friends, migraines, diabetes, deafness, and of course, the inability to speak properly, and erections lasting longer than four hours see a doctor .
LOL....I found this on the web and thought I would share it with you. If the Internet can cause all that then my kids are forbidden to use the computer anymore. But then again about every other commercial on TV now is for some type of drug. If you listen to the side effects on all of them four ads later they will have covered all of the above.......................

Sherman Greenway................

So last night I get home load up and hit the road. Off to the Sherman Greenway!!! At least that's the name I have decided to give the place. It is a nice fast trail, just not to technical. You can ride there and get in some miles and it works great for Chase to ride but no challenge. Yes, that's where I took Chase Saturday.

So anyhow I went there with the intent of checking the condition of my back. I went as hard as I could for the whole lap. Overall I was happy with the results, this morning I have a little lower back pain  but overall I think it is doing a lot better. Time for the ride was :53min.

That is about where I am when I am racing and training all the time. That was only 1 lap and I know I would have been a lot slower if I had ridden a second lap. But that was not the plan. Tomorrow night I plan on doing 2 laps and if I keep the laps at :56 each it will be a success. Three minutes a lap slower is a BIG difference. Might not sound like much but it is.

Also next weekend I am heading back up to Asheville to spend the weekend riding in the mountains. Cody can't go obviously, and that sucks but I am meeting a group of friends up there so it will be fun. I am going to do my first solo night ride in the mountains. I could lie and tell you its no big deal but that would be a total lie. When I say in  the mountains that's no shit!!!! It's kinda spooky when you get back in the woods during the day by yourself, sometimes you are like 10 miles from the nearest road. Now think about that at night!!!

I could lie and say no big deal but we'll see.. I bet I will be going a lot faster....



OK, for today's pictures I put these trucks on here. I have seen both of these at different mtn bike parks here lately. Mountain bikers have some cool rides.................. 

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Poplar Tent...............

 So Sunday I finally hit Poplar tent! I love the place, technical, fun, and challenging. That describes it the best, and after you ride you can go over to the motocross track and watch some of the guys ride there. I will miss the place that's for sure.

entrance,sign-in area
moto-x track
first signs of fall
way back in the woods
I only went over the bars one time on the rock dam, trying to come down it. No big deal it was pretty graceful and I landed on my feet. Then turned around and got it right the second try. I am going to make a point of getting back up there again this week and this weekend. The parking lot was full and there were a lot of people there. The funny thing is I rode the whole trail and only saw 1 other rider. I like it when it's like that makes you feel like you have the whole place to yourself.

Now on to Monday afternoon. I am at work and the phone rings, it's Cody's doctor and wants to see us in like an hour. So out the door I go and we make it just barely in time. BAD NEWS....He has completely torn his ACL and the PCL has some damage with a cracked bone. We have to wait for the bruising and swelling to go down before we can have the surgery!!!

at the doctors

not a happy kid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The worst part is we are looking at a year of rehabilitation!!!! A whole year!!!! He won't be able to ride his bike for at least 6-8 months and soccer or anything else will be a year!!!!!












Monday, September 12, 2011

Gettin Around...............

That about sums up the weekend. Gettin around, ridin and playing hard. Have I made mention that the Wendy's restaurant up the street from where I work burned down last week. It was full of people and a cop rode by and saw the flames coming out of the roof and went in and got everybody out! Gives the spicy chicken a whole new meaning!!! I know that ain't very funny but at least nobody got hurt. They say it started in the vent for the grill.

hwy 51 and 74 matthews


That place has been there for as long as I have been in North Carolina. Now I have to find a new dollar menu. I know they will rebuild it just not sure when?

Saturday I had planned to take Chase to Poplar tent and ride but he didn't want to go there, said it would be to hard. He hasn't ridden a lot lately so I didn't want to push it. I want him to enjoy it, not suffer. So we went to the Sherman greenway. He did good and had fun so I would consider that a success! He has piano today so it will probably be tomorrow before I get him out and on the trail again. Poor old Cody had the longest weekend of his life, he can't ride run anything.

parking lot getting ready

me in the woods in front of old barn

Chase gettin busy!!!

success he was tired, nap time.....
Sunday I hit the road and arrived at Poplar for a ride by myself. I am gonna miss that place, When you ride there you are riding a real mtn bike trail. Not a greenway!!!! report tomorrow......

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Saturday....

Unusual for me to post on a weekend but what the hell, I ain't got much else to do so far today. I went and got the truck inspected this morning and now I am fixing to hit the road in search of the great mountain bike ride.

Karen is taking Cody to the doctor this morning about his knee and I am taking Chase out with the mountain bike. We are going to Poplar Tent as I said yesterday, it is a little over his head as far as trail toughness but I am looking forward to a ride with just my baby.

Who would have though 20 years ago I would be enjoying the end of Poplar with my youngest son. 20 years ago who would have thought I would have kids anyway!!!!!!

Yes it will be a slow ride with lots of pictures, but I am going to enjoy every last minute of it. Yea, it really means something to me. Before you wonder if I won't miss having Cody along yes I will miss having Cody. The difference is Cody is the oldest and 5 years older than his brother. He and I have been doing rides without Chase for a long time. So it is kinda special to spend time on the bike with just the littlest one....

Look for a full report later this weekend.....Poplar here we come.....

Friday, September 9, 2011

Oh yea..............

It's Friday and I love Friday! What is there not to like about Friday, how could you not like the last day of the work week. At 4pm I want to jump up and down and shout out, it's time to party!!!! or at least relax and get my shit together for the weekend. I am to old to party, well maybe not to old to party, but to old to recover from the party! I used to jump up the next day and hit the road. Now I crawl out of the bed and hit the couch. Then the next thing I know it's Sunday and I am mad because I just wasted my weekend...

So no, I am not going partying. But I do like to ride my bike!!!  A ride it is, a couple rides actually. I think it's time to hit SC and mountain bike. Cheraw State Park is calling my name. But then again, we are gonna lose one of the best trails in Charlotte here in a few weeks so I will probably take my youngest mo-hawk minus son and hit Poplar Tent. I will have to take plenty of pictures and maybe even use my helmet camera and shoot a video! That would be cool! Anyhow I will have a full write up next week, I m going to miss Poplar it is like the only trail in the area that you can still ride when it is raining. They never fell for the line that it ruins a trail when it is ridden in the rain.


I kinda miss the mo-hawk....only a kid can wear this.....

Every other trail in this area except for my favorite trail, Uhwarrie is under the eye of a local club who seems to think you should not ride if it is raining on the other side of the county. They do a lot of work to keep all the options open for us to use so I won't wear them out to much for the one rule I don't agree with.

Since my oldest is out for awhile he will have to sit this one out. Speaking of Cody it ought to be an interesting weekend with him around. My kids are very active and now Cody is inactive! by Sunday he will be a real pain in the ass!!!! I can see this coming already.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Hopefully It's Light Rain...............

Well we hit the doc's yesterday, Ortho Carolina, to see what direction we are going. Looks like the direction is the good old faithful MRI. The doc thinks he has a partial ACL tear and wants an MRI for a confirmation. No I don't have any pic's they don't like you to take pictures as they are doing an exam. You know the deal they are worried you are gonna try and sue them.

They had a bunch of cool stuff on the walls too. They treat a lot of athletes from all different sports, baseball, basketball, hockey. The whole nine yards! From the looks of it if you are famous they hit you up for something of value from your particular sport and get you to sign it. They had a little of everything signed, I recognized some of the names but all the hockey sticks, I had no ideal who those guys are.

Of course the most famous thing I saw had to be the signed Micheal Jordan NC jersey. The only thing that could have made that worth any more money would have been if he had played for Kentucky. Oh well he still had a great career. He just came from a crappy school.....LOL....I love bust in on Carolina.

Of course not to be outdone the Nascar guys donate stuff! Junk. yea, junk. Whats up with that? They make enough you think they could send you a new front clip off a car, not the one that was knocked off the front at the last race they did crappy at. I didn't see any broken hockey sticks or flat basketballs and footballs. All of them looked brand new! So what gives?????

see front end on the right???
Every item from the Nascar world looked just like the picture above. A bunch of junk from a trash bin. Oh well I guess that is what you get. They must need every dime of the 20 million a year budget to race and can't afford to give you anything worth value.

Anyway back, to my kid I will keep you updated with any new news. Hopefully he will be back up on 2 legs before to long. Right now he is strutting around on 1 leg 2 crutches. I will go ahead and answer your next question now. No I can't play with them (crutches), I tried, didn't work he is 6ft2 and I am 5ft9. They are way to tall for me to play with....Why does he have all the fun?????????

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

It Rains It Pours.........

Today will be a short post. I am leaving early for the kid. Last night we had a school soccer game and Cody managed to tear his knee up. So far it don't look good! We will find out today around 2'oclock. He came in the game last night and managed to get twisted up and is in a lot of pain right now.

Stay tuned.......

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Back To The Grind...........

Honestly, I don't really remember if I mentioned I have been having back issues or not. Well I went to the doctor Friday and got the hook-up, what a difference it made. They gave me a shot of steroids and put me on predisone, I swear I could feel a difference Friday night, although my shoulder was killing me from the shot. But with a long weekend in front of me I had to do something. Glad I did.

Well with my back still kinda touchy I did the mtn bike road thing all weekend. To be honest with you I could get used to doing it this way. I put my old trusty Brooks Saddle on and hit the road again. Saturday I put in 65 miles, the speeds are definitely slower, I was on the bike for 4 hours. That's a lot longer than riding the road bike but if I had ridden it I wouldn't have made it that far. I parked in Pageland and went down to Mcbee and back.

nice truck, I pulled a hopper bottom like this

dirt roads call my name

sign says the cemetery dated back to 1840

closed up golf course used to be a fairway

hole 18 Bermuda Run......
Here are a few shots I took on the route today. Don't ask why but I like taking pictures out in the middle of nowhere. I even went by a golf course I used to play a lot and it's now closed. For old times sake I took a lap around the cart path and man has mother nature taken over. It closed 4 months ago and it looks like it has been closed for 2 years.