It's Been Swell

Edge arrived in Columbia last Spring with a short list of things to accomplish before the day came when he'd be on his way again and would leave ole South Carolina.

Move into new apartment with screen door.  Check.

Overcome fear of the ubiquitous giant white shark.  Check.

Start drinking a beer in March...

Help baby elephant reclaim its dignity.  Check.

Single-handedly lower the price of gas for the Leprochauns.  Check.

Stick it to the Governor.  Check.

Finally finish beer six months later with pals from work.  Total Check!

Well, that's everything on the list.  Having conquered Columbia, Edge has now surrendered his screen door in favor of a sweet back porch in the mountains of North Carolina.  The only item on his list for the move, was not to forget Miss Kitty.

So long 100 degree Columbia blacktop!  ¡Adios la ciudad de mucho calor!

It's been swell.

More Asheville Awesomeness

Or, the day we couldn't find Kenny.

Well, the weekend began auspiciously enough, with a nice casual ride in the Pisgah National Forest Saturday afternoon, in preparation for a group ride in Dupont the following day. Instead of climbing the usual 45 degree angled service roads, we opted for the more pleasant 60 degree angled root gullies.

The serenity of the mountains made it easy to contemplate important issues, like, what will the ride tomorrow be like? Will it be as easy as today? Will it be as beautiful? Who will bring the beer?

The mountains said nothing.

"Hey Jerm, exactly who is coming, anyway?"

Jerm was extremely busy holding the roof up on a cave so I could get through without getting squashed. But in between breaths, he managed to relay that of course Cane Creek Eric and KB were coming, and as a special treat, so were El Ciclo Mundo and Kenny!

Sunday came, and with it another swell tour of Dupont State Forest. El CM came, as did everyone else on the list. But after hours of waiting, it became clear that something was amiss...where was Kenny?

CC Eric: "I just checked the woods, and Kenny wasn't there."

Edge: "Yeah, and I just checked Big Rock, but all I saw was a drunk guy going like this---I looked, but it wasn't Kenny. "

CC Eric: Hey, do you think we should leave your bike up here so Kenny can find us?"

Edge: "Naw, let's leave a blood trail instead, that way I can still ride my bike down the mountain."

El CM: "I'm getting hungry. Let's head back and go get lunch - maybe Kenny is waiting for us in town somewhere waiting to eat."

We tried, but after three hours of wondering, the group conceded the fact Kenny just wasn't going to make the ride that day, and we were all really bummed about it.

Then something very strange happened!! After I got home and enlarged our group fun photo by 5000x, I saw the very fellow who had been missing from our company all day long...Kenny! Had he been there the entire time?? Does it look like he's trying to say something to us?! Ooo that's creepy...The Ghost of J.R., indeed...

Rivers Edge Mountain Bike Marathon

First Place

So I ran up to Charlotte for the Rivers Edge 50 mile marathon, once again not knowing what was awaiting me!

The course was slippery when wet and fast when dry, with a couple of climbs thrown in for good measure. Right out the gate I saw my opportunity to move to the front and took advantage of it! Escaping the traffic jams, I began to settle in and focus on what lay in front of me.

After a couple of ping pong ventures with some trees and a reminder of how slippery roots can get,

I got a grip on things and set a pace that would only be bested by Andy Applegate and Rick Ryle.

After 4 laps I ended up 3rd overall and 1st in my class. I had a great time at the Whitewater Center and enjoyed some Widmer Brothers post race beer before heading to the awards.

Many thanks to the Hoffenchard support crew, and to Cane Creek Eric and his missus for allowing me to extend my stay in the NC mountains and cool down at Dupont on Sunday. Awesome!

Fool's Gold 50

He said...









Five o'clock came mighty early on Saturday morning, and after a quick breakfast provided by the folks at the Hiker Hostel, it was off to the race start. By 5:30 we were sitting in the grass field at Camp Wahsega wandering around in the dark waiting for the 7am start.

After the 100 mile class took off the line, Lauren and I worked our way to the front off the start line only to be greeted by the antics of the Faster Mustache race team. After much anticapation Eddie gave us the count down and off we went!

The Terrapin Beer squad immediatly took control of the front of the race and set the pace for the rest of the day. Throughout the day there were ups and downs, rocks and roots, mechanicals, and gravel road climbs - in the end, the Terrapin Beer squad emerged with riders on the podium in every class.

Jafer took 4th in the 100 mile open men behind Chris Eatough, David took 5th in the SS 100 mile, Bill had a strong start and was leading the 50 mile race until a mechanical threw him into 3rd overall in the 50 mile open men, and as for me, I ended up 2nd overall in the 50 mile open men.

At the finish we were all greeted by beer, bars of soap, and food. On a side note Lauren Paquette (The Hammer) finished strong in 8th in the 50 mile open women. I had a great time and will be coming back next year!

She said...

Oh man, first solo race ever plus my first 50 mile mtb ride...and it was awesome!! Considering how bad my nerves were for a full week and half before the race, I still can't believe how UNscary it ended up being, and how smoothly everything went.

Preparation began the night before with a pasta feast at the Hiker Hostel followed by a quick lesson in supplements and race day nutrition.The next morning we got up for a 5am breakfast with the rest of the bikers staying at the hostel, and I had a funny conversation with someone while waiting in line for french toast.

Lady: "Oh, hi! Nice to meet you, are you the paralegal?"
Me: "Yes! Wow, what are you, clairvoyant?"
Lady: "Well, I'm from Tallahassee."
Me: "..."

So anyway, then we headed off to the camp and on to the race.

Since I had never done anything like this before, I had no expectations and my only goal was to merely finish, that's it. Kept it slow but steady, and by the time I reached SAG 2, I had worked out the kinks in my lungs and my seat, and by mile 22, I was like, holy crap, why do I feel so good?? Yeah! And began passing people for the rest of the day.

That isn't to say of course, that by mile 40 my body didn't begin to fall apart. My neck muscles began to rebel against having to hold my head up, and my hands lost the will to hang onto my handlebar grips. But then I finally reached the last cut into the woods and a friendly volunteer informed me there was only one more mile, and my legs suddenly felt like I hadn't done anything all day! Well sort of, but I high tailed it to the finish, got my soap, and SAT DOWN.


Tons of support from Edge, Hostel Cycling, the SAG volunteers, millions of butterflies in the woods, and all the nice bikers who helped make time on the trails fly by. I was definitely spoiled by having my first solo race experience be such a great one.

Awesome!

Training...for FUN!

With the Fool's Gold 50 right around the corner, it'd be prudent to "get a feel" for what to expect in Dahlonega next weekend. So let's go to Pisgah!










Come on, we can practice pedalling up forest service roads for two hours...just to see what it's like, it'll be great!

What? You're a mountain biker and you hate riding up hill? Welllll, don't get mad, but it turns out we may have "accidentally" climbed 4,000 extra feet, past the trail we were looking for...

But don't get discouraged, look at this cool chimney we found:

That doubles as a bomb shelter!

And don't worry, this is way steeper than Dahlonega, and after three hours of going up, we get to coast downhill, easy peasy:

Fwoo! By the time you get back to the car you'll feel confident you've got next weekend in the bag, because no matter how bad Dahlonega is, it won't be as difficult as today. Right?

**Except that Dahlonega will be today times ten---last year the last guy to finish took 17 hours. Have fun!