Our newest family tradition, weather depending, the Christmas Eve Crowders Mountain hike. First time using the ergo carrier. Jack is heavy. Pretty awesome views for a 45 minute drive from Charlotte.
Mommas first ride, and our first ride together in 10 months. Couldn’t imagine not riding 10 months and then jumping on a bike!
The sun was lit last night during dusk. Way over dressed in knee warmers and arm warmers. “Winter” is finally setting in here, windy, colder temps, and some long overdue rain.
I’ll need to start taking photos instead of video, but i figured it was worth to add a video with me following people at the local trail.
The sun started peeking out behind the clouds and a day that it was suppose to rain and be miserable, ended up being sunny and in the low 60s. I reached out to Charlie who I rode with during the RRT/Sherman ride and he was down to race the sunlight and the gate keeper at Sherman Branch. At dusk they have a gate and will lock in the cars. We chatted the whole time, so I had to add some music to this. This trail reminds me of Six Mile/Allaire of the area. Very beginner friendly, but very difficult to ride extremely fast. The berms always present a challenge to ride without tapping the brakes. It seems like we have some weather coming this weekend so trying to get the last licks in before it stays wet for a while around here.
Picked up a GoPro to make these writings a little more interesting, going to explore with uploading and making good stuff for yous.
When I moved down here, I couldn’t find a good video of this place, or maybe I just had higher standards of recording. This will hopefully give the fans from NJ a feel of what riding down here is like. This is one of the local trails to me, Rocky River Trail or Steves Trail, on his own private property. It’s 99% single track, has 2 steep climbs, otherwise it flows really, really well. It’s also the rockiest place the Charlotte area has to offer, so it makes me happy.
Thanks for all the love the past couple of weeks, as you can imagine its been a little crazy over here. I wouldn’t say it is hard, but extremely challenging entertaining this new human. We turned a corner this weekend and he’s finally sleeping 3-4 chunks so we can get things done and everyone can feel sort of human. This little guy being totally dependent on us is pretty amazing. Mandi has been a rockstar through the whole thing. It still blows my mind that he will be growing and doing more and more human like things. Talking and laughing and taking real shits. Latest photo I found funny:
Peep my PJ pants.
![[IMG]](https://i0.wp.com/i.onionstatic.com/avclub/5816/60/16x9/640.jpg)
da frog
My folks came to spend the weekend and we were hoping that would be Jacks first cross race since it was local to Charlotte this go around, but with the weather in the high 30s and light drizzle, my Dad was the only one who made the trip. I did one warm up lap and it was an awesome course thanks to the weather. cool ST section that was like concrete instead of mud, little gravel, some good slippery off cambers that were challenging. Couple logs to force a dismount, short uphills that questioned running vs riding. All stuff that makes cross great again. I couldn’t unclip coming into the man made stair section because of mud packed in my cleats, and tipped over. WOOPS. 2 laps and I’m soaked, go change some clothes and try and not get pneumonia.
I haven’t ridden constantly since Jack came into our life, so I’m hoping that skills make up for legs in this case. I spend most of the “warm up time” in the car staying warm, changing clothes. Closer to the start I moved next to the propane heater and did jumping jacks. I had no aspirations for this event but to hopefully ride clean and find a group to duel with. Since I dropped out of the top 10 (SHOCKING) I didn’t get a call up but was able to sneak into the second row.
Off we go and I’m able to stay in the top 10 through here, where the USAC predictor puts me. Notice a couple people struggling with the conditions, and a couple are doing better. Not sure where I’m falling in this case. I guess since I haven’t been riding and with the slippery corners, hard to put down juice, I’m better off. For the first half lap I’m able to keep the leaders in sight and I think about if I had legs, If I would have been with them. I’m in a group of 4 and we are battling through the multiple line choices. They had some over-zealous off camber switchback up and downs that were faster to walk than attempt to ride, which was fun trying to pass people who were trying to ride.
This was a popular corner, mostly because it was greasy and a magnet for crashes. Here someone crashes and I’m all like “miss me wit dat crashin shit”
One guy that I have been battling with earlier this year is having a tough time with the conditions and I give him some words of encouragement. He and two others will be my race. We all just feel like we are maintaining at this point. I gap Corbitt and think I’m in the 12-13’s area. Usually seeing the laps so high is a bummer, but in this case I don’t mind it. The course is so challenging but totally rideable, it’s more of a game to see if you can just stay upright and ride clean. Usually CX is boring when you are by yourself or in no mans land, but this time, even going slow, was a challenge and entertaining solo.
I’m running 22/22 in my tires and the Limus is hooking up great, can’t complain. On the gravel It feels a little squirrely, but since you aren’t turning, it isnt a big deal. I’m super happy with how they are handling.
Then, it’s over with the sound of a gunshot. We are in the city afterall.
I run up the steps and remount before the slippery off camber I posted above. I know that sound all too familiar. My rear tire is gone. I JUST passed the pits. Not like it mattered, I didn’t put my bike in anyway SINCE IT WAS TOO FAR FROM THE PARKING AREA. The crowd that has gathered here gives me a bunch of awwww’s and such. A couple keep telling me to ride it out. So I decide to send it on the off camber that everyone has been crashing on. I crashed lap 1 with air in my tires, what will the rear flat bring me?
sometimes you fall down go boom.
I’m passed by someone that was right on my tail and slap him on the butt, leaving a nice mud print. It looks like I had a 30 second gap on Corbitt, who finished 12th, so I feel confident I would have been in 10th if all things stayed the same.
Bummer to only get 27 minutes of racing in, but it was a fun, FUN 27 minutes of racing.
There is a double weekend out in the mountains, the only real local UCI race in Hendersonville, which Spiller and his Collegiate buddies will be at. I’d really like to get out that way, but as with anything, it’s impossible to plan more than a day in advance now with a infant. Next week another localer race, and that’s really it. Cycling with numbers on goes dormant until January 22nd, where the ST series starts back up. Which just sounds crazy. When do people stop racing?
It got me thinking about the next year and plans/events/goals. I know I will be attempting the Pisgah 55.5k after my DNF with getting lost. That kind of stuff just hangs over me. I have no aspiration to do any XC-type racing in this area, which makes me think… I question JRAing or training. As now training seems to be the best way to get out and gain fitness. I don’t see myself getting up super early on a weekday to get more than an hour of riding in that would be enjoyable. I do see myself reverting back to the drug that is training and having awesome race results.
I’m not sure if I’m built for JRAing. I do enjoy it, I enjoy getting out on the MTB and getting better at that kind of stuff. One of the local trails here has a great set of big berms which I’ve gone from hitting the brakes into, to carving the shit out of them and not tapping the brakes. I’ve met some awesome people JRAing, may be 80%/20% JRA/Racing peoples that I have met. A lot of them don’t race but ride fast a lot. And they are fun to be around. Maybe it’s just the winter blues?
Events I was looking at
March – Assault on Pisgah Pilot – 33 miles, seems like a standard mid/endurance race and not a death march, they claim.
april 1 – 6 Hours of Warrior Creek – I’ve sworn off lap races, but would do as a team of some sorts, Maybe I can convince Mandi to do it? One of us could entertain Jack during the laps.
April 3 – The Stokesville Stoopid 50 – This replaced the Dragons Tale race, Like a Mini Shenandoah 100?
May 21 – Pisgah 55.5k – Redemption.
June – Massanutten Hoo-Ha in Harrisburg VA is marketed as a XC race, halfway between NJ and NC, but 33 miles of super rad killer hard stuff, makes it interesting. I know @jShort always thought about it.
July 29 – Jerdon Mountain Challenge – 26 miles, This is put on by the same people that do the ORAMM race I did, just a smaller version that is a little more fun.
Then, maybe one of these?
Sept 4 – Shenandoah 100 – Something everyone talks about and at some point, I’d like to put this under my belt. Maybe this is the year?
Sept 9 – Pisgah Monster Cross – 70 miles, 9000 feet of climbing, out in Pisgah, highest sections of Blue Ridge Parkway. 40 miles of gravel. I’ve always wanted to do one of these, the whole idea of running the Scalpel with small tires or CX bike that can’t stop, not sure what would be best, but it sounds like a really fun day.
Sept 16 – Fools Gold 60 – Doesn’t seem to be part of the NUE Marathon series anymore, but this is only a couple of hours away from me and while the NUE isn’t behind it, I’d like to check it out.
Readers; if you have any advice on some of these, please share it! I know we have some Fools Gold/SM100 riders out here.
Typing all that out and thinking about my future as a human being and not a cyclist, it almost makes me laugh. How can I plan to do all of this stuff? Many, MANY other people have children and are fast at riding bikes. Something that is new is hard to understand. For example, I never realized how much stuff you can get done in 2 hours while your child is sleeping.
This should be enough for now. It’s been rainy and miserable here for the first time since March, which is odd.
jamespearl 