Charles Myrick

2011-01-03T09:43:00.002-05:00

January 3, 2011

Something fun!

So here we are in a new year and it's time to catch up on the ol' blog. Last year was a roller coaster but ended well and it's time to report some news.

Atlanta Outfitters is doing well. New for 2011, I'm adding mountain biking trips to Bosnia and Tibet! I'm in the process right now of reworking the logo and a potential name change along with some website upgrades. I'm also scheduling some beginner and intermediate MTB clinics, a race, and a few other fun trips to held in the Southern Appalachians. I now have an outpost at the Ocoee River where I can work from and can lead trips that include whitewater rafting, mountain biking, hiking, and flatwater paddling.

In other big news for 2011, I am sponsored by TriSports.com as I pursue qualifying for the Xterra off-road triathlon National Championship. My racing summary for 2010 includes the following:

3rd Place, Xterra Southeast Championship

4th Place, Xterra Panther Creek

Finisher, The North Face Endurance Challenge 13.1 at FDR State Park in Pine Mtn, GA (this was my first half marathon and it was a trail run with ~3500 vertical feet of climbing)

The other bit of big news for 2011 is a partnership between Atlanta Outfitters and Wingnut Gear. I am very excited about this because I get the opportunity to test gear but also have the gear available for clients to test. The gear I'll have available includes (3) packs:

MPS Alpha

Hyper 3.0

Enduro

There is other news and AO updates that I'll divulge in the coming weeks as I get back in the swing of the blog so stay tuned!

2010-03-25T08:17:00.005-05:00

3-25-10
Ode to Pisgah

The following I wrote on MTBR.com in response to a rider from Kansas City trying to make his final determination about where to take vacation this year. Pisgah National Forest in western North Carolina was one of his top 4 choices.

"Pisgah.

Climbs that make you earn the sweet careening you'll do on the way down. Air so clean you you'll sleep like a baby. Creeks that sing you to sleep at night or welcome you to a break in your ride. Tall tall trees to shade you from overheating so you can enjoy the -ahhh of Pisgah that much more.

Come east, young man, and leave the crowds and open spaces for solitude amongst the trails of the Appalachians where trappers and moonshiners and Irish settlers once played. (well, the moonshiners may still be there :D ).

Come east, where few dare to trod for fear of the trees and rocks and roots.

Come east, I say again! You will forever cherish those cool mountain evenings by the fire of friendship where your next brew came from the cold water of the mountain stream and not from a cooler of melted ice.

Come EAST where vistas from the Blue Ridge Parkway having been earned by the ride are that much sweeter!

Come east, to the Land of Waterfalls where you can cool down on Sliding Rock or walk under the Bridal Veil.

Come east. There's nothing like it!"

Pisgah. I really love that forest. The first thing I do each and every time I go to is get out of my truck and just breathe deep the freshness of the mountains. By the third breath, the worries and fears and struggles and stress of life have all been evacuated from memory. The only thing of concern is to nestle into the goodness of God's creation and relax.

2010-03-18T08:23:00.006-05:00

3-18-10
Lots going on

This will be brief so you can get back to work, tucking the kids in or whatever. I'm very excited about this weekend -- I'm headed to the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) and the Tsali trail system. I've not been to Tsali in about 4 years and while it's not one of my favorite trail systems, it's still fun to ride from time to time. The main reason for going is the SORBA Executive Board Meeting on Saturday where I'll get to debut some news about SORBA Atlanta that I'm very excited about. I'll share it with you first though ;)

We got a logo! For the first time in it's 20 year history, SORBA Atlanta has a logo -- the first step in redefining the future of the chapter. We're also revamping our website and will be adding new pages for each of our trail systems that we maintain -- Atlanta Beach trails in Stockbridge, GA International Horse Park in Conyers, and Sope Creek at the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA).

Second, we were accepted to participate in the Atlanta Braves 50/50 Raffle on August 27 -- SAVE THE DATE!!!! We'll need your help! Details will be posted at SORBA Atlanta soon.

Third, we'll be working with the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta Boys & Girls Club on an after school program in the Fall of this year. We'll do this for (6) weeks at the Sope Creek trails and I'm very excited about the positive exposure this will give our organization and mountain biking in general.

What else? Let's just say it: BREAK-UPS SUCK! Makes me wish I were more jaded than I am, but alas, I'm still a hopeless romantic. The Lord is still providing healing and direction and clarity and as long as I stay focused on Him, I know I'll be ok.

Oh, here's another bit of news! Through Atlanta Outfitters I'm beginning to organize two overseas mountain biking treks this year: one to Bolivia and one to Asia. The Bolivia trip will be 4-5 days of riding then 3-4 days of volunteer work with a local non-profit agency that works with street kids in Santa Cruz. The Asia trip may be up to 8 days of mountain biking...details are vague at this point but I'll know more in a couple weeks.

Enough chatter! Now to pictures!
1. Photo collage from the Sope Creek work party last Sunday (pictures courtesy of LadyD).
2. The new SORBA Atlanta Logo

2010-03-17T07:17:00.002-05:00

'n ddedwydd St Padrigs Ddiwrnod!
3-17-10

That string of consanants above is Welsh, in case you were wondering. I am a mix of Welsh, Irish, and Native American (quite the blend -- laid back with a fiery temper)! Unlike some folk, today being St Patrick's Day doesn't change what I normally listen to on Pandora at work. I have a station called Flogging Molly radio and it's a great mix of Flogging Molly (duh), The Dropkick Murphy's, The Pogues, The Coors, The Street Dogs, THe Dubliners, and others. This song just came on by FM and I wanted to share it...

"The Story So Far"

"You always had what you wanted
So leave it behind
And if the glass isn't broken
Then the futures not blind
All that you know means nothing to you
But its the loss of control shatters the truth

Here's the story so far
It's already here
We've made it this far
Sure we battled the spears
But life cuts to pieces
To the wounds from the secrets
Makes it all who you are

Love craves self destruction
It's a blizzard in hand
Lay your cards on the table
But you're not in command
So burn with the fire
You so eagerly lit
Watch the flames flicker higher
Said I don't care about you

Here's the story so far
It's already here
We've made it this far
Sure we battled the spears
But life cuts to pieces
To the wounds from the secrets
Makes it all who you are

Oh it's bitter the pill
That you swallow to feel
I don't care what I lost
I just thank god I'm alive

Makes it all who you are [x5]

That's the story so far"

So that's it, that's the story....so far. We are a work in progress and will only be complete the moment we stand before our Maker. Life is a series of joy and pain -- interesting when you remember we were created in the image of God. We have the same feelings that God does. So why feel guilty about being upset...or hurt...or TOO happy...or TOO passionate about something...or even angry. Just food for thought.

Go drink a green beer today...listen to some fun Irish music and remember that most of it's about real life. Hug a neck today and laugh -- I assure you the Irish are!

Sásta st Pádraig lá!

2010-03-10T09:12:00.004-05:00

10MAR10
A journal entry

So it seems when all is going well, I’m too busy to blog anything. When life slows down I have to catch up here. So many things have happened in the last month and they range from heartbreak to joy – literally. I’m not going to divulge the details and I’ll spare you the grief and sadness that has burdened my heart and soul for the last month. I’ll spare you the details of the ramblings that have overtaken my mind and left me sleepless on many nights. Instead, I’m going to share some of what has picked me up and encouraged me.

This last Sunday night, we (Mt Paran Church of God choir and orchestra) led our first quarterly Night of Worship for 2010 for the church. Since I sing in the choir, I knew full well what songs we were doing and I knew that given my current state, anything could happen in my soul. I was fully prepared to break down during only one song, “Be Everything” which we learned from the writer, Regi Stone, a couple weeks ago during retreat. The words are below. What I was not prepared for, however, was to completely be broken during this service. By song #2, I almost left the choir loft so as to not disrupt others from worshipping because of my weeping. Now, I’ll tell you, I’ve seen people break down in service because of conviction of sin or because God is working in them but it’s never been me – not like this. Also, I like to worship freely, unrestrained, focused on the Lord most high. My favorite songs that we sing are those which come straight from the Word, like “For Thou, O Lord” which is a psalm of David which states “Thou O lord art a shield for me. My glory and the lifter of my head!” Others that I enjoy and feel deeply state: God is my refuge and strength….God is my rock, my fortress…I AM your comfort and relief from your stress….I AM your future… I AM Jehovah Jirah – the Lord that provides for you…I AM your freedom – freedom from pain and hurt and despair. Of course, we sang several songs Sunday night that declared these and I needed it.

I experienced worship Sunday night in a way never have before...and it felt good!

I needed to be reminded that God is there when others hurt me or let me down. Even though I knew and experienced His provisions while in Afghanistan – safety, friendship, etc – I needed to be reminded that the Lord is also there to fill the void that was left when my heart was broken not long ago. I was reminded that unless I fully trust Him to deliver me, to lead and guide me, to PROVIDE for me – not just material things like house and food, but love...companionship…security…did I mention love?

So here's one of the songs that we sang that is very dear to my soul:

Be Everything
by Regi Stone

Be my breath, Be my voice
Be my hands and be my feet.
Be my heart, be my dreams; Lord be everything to me.
I can’t do this on my own, I lay my life before your throne, I will follow you wherever you lead.
If I lose sight of the path, be the road that takes me back.
Lord be everything to me.
Be my will, be my way, be my faith, and be my peace.
Be my rock, be my strength
Lord, be everything to me.

Did you see that part about peace? Did I mention I’ve had trouble sleeping for about a month because of despair and hurt? Peace….that’s what I needed. Peace that I’ve given the problems – the hurt, the relationship, my issues – to the Lord. He is big enough to carry that load and I clearly cannot...otherwise, I’d have no trouble sleeping right?

Be my will. Whoa, that’s a hard one right? I learned something there in the middle of the choir loft Sunday night. You know how the Bible states that if you love the Lord, He’ll give you the desires of your heart? One desire of my heart has been to get married. Yes, I’ve questioned that in the last few months and in doing so, would pull away from my beloved. Yet after a couple days of questioning and making sure, I’d be right back in the game, so to speak. Well, I learned Sunday night that the desires of my heart should line up with the desires of God’s heart first and foremost. That’s not to say that He doesn’t want me to be married but when that desire overshadows my hunger and thirst after righteousness, then it’s not in line with what the Lord wants for me. He created us in His image – not as individuals who alone are just like God but as a couple – man and woman – bringing together the complete picture of His character – strength, love, joy, tenderness, compassion, task oriented drive to succeed and so much more! He wants us to be happy and to be complete here on earth – that’s why the Lord said in Genesis “It is not good for man to be alone.” He knows we need that deep companionship – the love of another human – because He created us IN HIS IMAGE. Yet what we struggle with, or at least what I struggle with sometimes, is first being complete IN HIM and staying focused completely on Him. When I do that, I don’t have to try to be someone I know I am – I just am myself naturally! Specifically, when I’m focused on being who the Lord made me to be, I naturally do all these cute, stupid, fun, romantic things that help maintain a good relationship. When I take my eyes off the Lord and worry or question or get stressed about money or my relationship with my parents or this thing or that, I’m not being myself and that affects me and those around me.

Am I making sense or is this just ramblings from a hyperactive brain?

So you can see where a song like “Be Everything” caused me to be broken. I’ll end with this (no O.T, I’m not posting pictures from the trail work today, I’m sorry). I posted on my Facebook status the other day, “Ouch! Clay pot being re-molded here. Construction zone-- ahead proceed with caution!” That’s where I am, friends. It’s been slow progress to this point but the Lord gave me a book the other night by my favorite author, Max Lucado. It’s called “Facing your Giants.” That’s what I am setting out to do. The book is a study of the boy-king of Israel who was not but a shepherd – much like the boys I saw in Afghanistan tending to the family flocks at 10 and 12 years old. David – the boy that picked up 5 smooth stones from a brook in the presence of thousands of soldiers shaking in their armor at the sight of Goliath. David – the king, a man after God’s own heart…who sinned…who was redeemed and shown the love of God. David faced his giant and now I’m off to face mine...but like David, I am not alone. The Lord, my God…my refuge…my strength…my healer…my Jirah…He is with me.

Voice of Truth
By Casting Crowns

“Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand
But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

Chorus:
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand
But the giant's calling out my name
And he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them lookin' down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth”

2010-01-29T10:05:00.002-05:00

29Jan10
Mission Accomplished!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

I can't shout since I'm at work so you're gettin' it here -- I just received word from a foundation donor that they are donating $5000 to our fundraising for the Sope Creek trail rehab project. That puts us where we need to be in order to get the matching grant from the National Park Foundation which will be combined with the Coca-Cola Foundation grant that we, SORBA Atlanta, partnered with the NPS on.

What this means is that the final phase of the project will happen this year and that we may actually complete the work sooner than expected.

This is such great news because I ran a fundraising campaign all last year and we only received about $1000. The guy responsible for this donation stopped in the middle of his ride one day last Fall while we were working on some muddy spots on the trail to talk with us. I told him how he could help and he's pulled through. WOW....such a relief! AND it helps our position as mountain bikers in a National Park Service unit.

Ahhhh....there....I said it. I'm not going to be able to sit still today - I'm way too excited about this!

2010-01-27T14:22:00.004-05:00

27JAN10
Whew...gettin' busy

Since I last checked in here a lot has happened. Here's the brief:
1. I'm now the president of the Atlanta chapter of SORBA (www.aorbaatlanta.org)
2. In November, Team Atlanta Outfitters had our first training camp in Pisgah National Forest and I got to crush a few souls on Laurel Mountain!
3. I have my 2010 race calendar layed out already. Yes, really. And there's an Olympic distance triathlon on there. GULP
4. I am fully engaged in trail projects at four different locations in the metro Atlanta area including two completely new systems. HOOAH!
5. I turned down a job in Afghanistan.
6. Sarah and I have been looking at engagement rings. Yes, really. Holy jeez...those bloody things are expensive. Maybe I should tell her that 15 people died in the process of that diamond being mined and exported to America. (have you seen the movie Blood Diamond?)
7. Sarah and I drove to Kansas and I saw buffalo, the Gateway Arch, and vast plains that make you want to just stop and look and breathe fresh air and wonder why you live in a city of 4.5 million people.
8. Did a mountain bike ride in the snow....in Georgia. YES, REALLY.
9. I bought a new truck -- a 2007 Honda Ridgeline RTX.

Had enough? Somewhere in all that I'm still in the choir at Mt Paran Church of God and getting regular workouts in. Whew....I'm tired just writing all that!

I realized at Christmas that my oldest niece will get her drivers permit this year. WHAT? Are you kidding me? No freaking way! Why...just yesterday she had climbed inside the dryer to hide from us and laughed at anything I did. Whoa...where does the time go?

So this year is already packed with excitement for me. I have posted the 2010 event calendar for Atlanta Outfitters and hope to actually make some money off that little venture. We, SORBA Atlanta, are working on completely revamping the chapter and have about 50 miles of new trails opening up that are all within 20 minutes of downtown Atlanta. My hope of getting the largest city in the South on the map of great urban trail riding is getting closer.

As for racing, my season starts on 13FEB with the Tundra Time Trial, a road event on the Silver Comet Trail. Team Atlanta Outfitters will make it's official race debut and I'm stoked about that! After that, it's the Chain Buster 12 hour series, Tugaloo Olympic Tri, and a couple others tossed in for good measure.

Oh, we're doing a team for the May edition of the Tour De Cure in Atlanta. Team Atlanta Outfitters will be riding in honor of two riders who suffer from diabetes. You can join our team and ride with us or make a donation at http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/TDC218008030?team_id=440288&pg=team&fr_id=6865.

Enough writing. Now for some pictures...
1. The Gateway Arch. This photo was selected for the Schmap St. Louis Guide at http://www.schmap.com/stlouis/tours_tour1/#p=172743&i=172743_225.jpg
2. Racing at the Rivers Edge Marathon in Charlotte
3. Sarah and I after the choir Christmas special

2009-09-29T07:35:00.004-05:00

September 29, 2009
She's an Ironman!

My girlfriend Sarah just raced her first 1/2 Ironman distance triathlon this weekend in Augusta, GA. A 1/2 Ironman is comprised of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile road bike, and 13.1 mile run. She did this race in honor of Baby John Delano -- a friend's baby who was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder that inhibits the body's ability to process copper. She raised about $8500 for the Menke's Foundation to help them educate doctors and other medical professionals about this relatively new diseases.

I'm very proud of Sarah for this accomplishment and am glad that I got to be a part. Much of our time together the last few months has been on bike rides and runs so now I don't know what we're gonna do to hang out! HA!! Just kidding.

Baby John and his parent's, Brian and Allison, were able to make it to the race in time to see Sarah halfway through the run. Brian flew into Atlanta that morning from a work trip and then they drove to Augusta to see Sarah and be there to support her. It was great to hang out with them and with Sarah's friends from North Atlanta Multisport Club -- it gave me the chance to think that maybe, just maybe tri-geeks aren't ALL that bad!

Well, without further ado, here's a slideshow with pictures from the day. I really cannot say enough about how proud of her I am for this awesome accomplishment! I love you Sarah -- you're a rock star!

You can help Sarah and The Menke's Foundation with a tax deductible donation by going to http://www.firstgiving.com/babyjohn.

(ok, well, I can't figure out how to get the slideshow to run here but in the meantime, here's the link to the pictures on Flickr.com).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/49552511@N00/sets/72157622355333819/

2009-08-28T12:46:00.002-05:00

August 28, 2009
There’s been a lot going on lately with Atlanta Outfitters and with my life in general. I’ve made several changes to the Atlanta Outfitters website and am talking with a couple of folks about a new service line for AO to offer race logistics for small events (fewer than 500 participants).

Speaking of racing, I did my first for the year two weeks ago at the Fools Gold race in Dahlonega, GA. While I’ve not been training for racing this year, I still opted to make a go of the 100 miler. For the first 25 miles, I felt really good. Miles 26-32….I didn’t feel strong at all. However, I did recover after making a stop at SAG #3. Somewhere about mile 42 I completely just lost all energy. I felt fine – I had simply exhausted the engine. I was also having some issues with my drive train and was getting annoyed at the thumping sound that my fork was making (ha..little did I know until last week’s re-build project with Tucker that I had less than 10cc’s of oil in the fork). Anyway, these other matters were merely excuses to supplement my lack of energy so I finished the 50 mile lap and called my race right there. I spent the rest of the afternoon chilling in my camp chair in the shade with some guys from Tampa as we waited our friends to suffer through their second lap.

Today after work I am leaving for Charlotte, NC where I’ll make go at the Rivers Edge Marathon, a 50 mile mountain bike race being held tomorrow at the US National Whitewater Center (aka the Catawba trails). I love this trail system and have been really looking forward to this race since late June. It’s been raining here in Atlanta and in Charlotte and even though the course drains well, I know it’s still going to be muddy and slick. Thus, I’m not really sure my race plan at this point. My main race bike, a Salsa Dos Niner, has Kenda Small Block 8 tires on it which are great for fast hardpack courses but not so great in the mud. My Walt Works bike is built as a rigid singlespeed (SS) and has my back country/ mud tires on it. I’m tempted to do the first lap on my Salsa and see how the course is then maybe swap to the Walt Works if it’s sloppy and not worry about shifting issues in the mud.

More race news:

Through Atlanta Outfitters I am sponsoring a 4-man team for the 12 Hours of Dauset on September 19 in Jackson, GA. I ordered AO jerseys and they will arrive just in time to outfit the team for this race. I’m very pleased with the jersey and am happy to finally settle on a great looking design with a top quality manufacturer. Verge Sports is making the jerseys and I’m taking orders for jerseys, shorts, bibs, and winter gear. The jersey proof can be found at the AO Gear tab on www.atlantaoutfitters.com and I’ll get pricing for the other items up on the page within the coming week.

Let’s see…what else? Oh yea, I’m looking for riders to ride / race for Atlanta Outfitters in 2010. If you are interested, go to www.atlantaoutfitters.com and send me your race resume and information through the Contact Us page. No prior race experience is required so if you’re new to racing or have never been on a team and wanted to be, now’s your time!

October brings us fall foliage tours, camp fires and s’mores, awesome biking and hiking, and we start shaking the dust off our fleece outer wear. In anticipation of this, I’ve put together a trip to Tallulah Gorge in northeast Georgia where we’ll spend the weekend hiking into the Gorge, mountain biking (for those interested) and sitting by the camp fire wishing we didn’t have to go back to reality! This will be the first Atlanta Outfitters City Escape Weekend. For more information and registration on this trip, go to www.atlantaoutfitters.com.

Ok, well, that’s about all I have for now. Stay tuned for pictures and race report from tomorrow. Sarah is going with me so for once, I’ll actually get some pictures of the race!

2009-08-10T09:57:00.004-05:00

August 10, 2009
Sope Creek trail system update
Trail Ettiquette and Rules

Rules of the Trail
1. Never ride or run on wet trails or within 24 hours of a rain event.
2. Always wear a helmet
3. Ride on open trails only. At Sope Creek, this means cyclists are allowed on the doubletrack and not on the singletrack trails. (see map to the right)
4. Control your bicycle -- watch your speed when other trail users present!
5. Yield to others; pedestrians and climbers ALWAYS have the right of way
6. Never scare animals
7. Plan ahead
8. All dogs / pets are to be on a leash no more than (6) feet long
9. Cyclists are not allowed in Johnson Ferry, Vickery Creek, Hyde Farm, Gold Branch, Palisades (except for the Bob Callan paved trail) or other units of the CRNRA unless clearly posted that bikes are allowed. For more information on where cycling is allowed in the CRNRA, please consult with the CRNRA leadership at 678.538.1244
10. The park is closed from sunset to sunrise.

Trail Etiquette
1. Always yield to pedestrians, slow down and verbally notify that you are approaching and which side you are passing.
2. Climbing cyclists and pedestrians have the right of way.
3. Always be courteous to other trail users

THE NEXT BIG THING:
We're working on fall multi-sport festival including trail running, hybrid / road / mountain bike demos, trail work, free basic bike maintenance, and guided bike trips for kids.

There will be work parties in September and October so please stay tuned here.

If you are interested in becoming a part of the IMBA National Mountain Bike Patrol at Sope Creek, please contact me. We need patrollers to assist and educate trail users as ambassodors for the sport of mountain biking but also for the park. You will also help us inform the CRNRA leadership of visitor concerns, trail work needed, etc.

For information on how to help make the Sope Creek Trails better for ALL users, please go to (copy & paste this URL) http://go.imba.com/site/TR/Volunteerfundraiser/TeamIMBA?team_id=1330&pg=team&fr_id=1210

2009-03-24T13:20:00.004-05:00

3-24-09
New trails at Sope Creek & a new business

Here's a preview of the trail realignments that are happening at the Sope Creek trails, located at the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

I've been helping the National Park Service with a trail rehabilitation project at Sope Creek and after waiting 10+ years for new trails, we got 'em! Since I stopped traveling so much last year, I volunteered to take the lead on this effort as a trail coordinator for SORBA and thanks to money coming in from Coca Cola, NPS was able to contract the rough cut work out to Long Cane Trails, a group of professional trail builders and mountain bikers who know how to build some sweet singletrack!

We have a great weekend coming up with the IMBA Trail Care Crew on April 17-18 at Sope and will have a party at Cavern pub in Virginia Highlands in Atlanta on Friday the 17th, and multiple work parties running on the 18th as we execute the finish work on the trails. Details on this and other work parties are at www.sorbaatlanta.org.

If you can help in any way, let me know by dropping me an email at clmyrickjr@gmail.com.

While we have momentum on this, the work being executed at this time is only phase 1 of 2. We cannot execute phase 2 until NPS gets more funding. We'll need about $50,000 in order to make that happen so start saving your pennies! I'm setting up an online donation site through IMBA where you'll be able to make tax-deductible donations for this effort via credit card.

Let's see....what else...oh, I'm getting the guide service off the ground. The business venture is called Atlanta Outfitters and I'll be providing guide services for hiking, biking (both road and mountain), camping, and paddling trips. I'll have a full range of options for fully catered to not and for family and church groups or ultra-light packing outdoorsmen. Stay tuned for a new website which will include more details.

Racing? Um....not sure I'll be able to get much done this spring. I'm hoping to do a 1/2 ironman triathlon over Memorial Day weekend the local 12 hour mountain bike series. Training time is minimal this year with the efforts above combined with work and work travel. I was in Mexico last week for week and will be spending about (3) weeks in total in Dallas, TX between now and the first 12 hour race in the Dirty Spokes series on May 2.

Well, that's all I have time for right now. I hope you're doing well and will check back for updates on Atlanta Outfitters and the trail work at Sope Creek.

2009-01-29T09:04:00.002-05:00

29JAN09
Wow! What a month it's been! The day after my last post I had another crash in Pisgah and since then just been kicking through life. Two weeks ago had another wreck while doing a trail survey with the volunteer coordinator for the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA) which is across the street from where I live (yes, I planned that). In that wreck I severely sprained my left wrist and torqued the left shoulder more so I've not been riding at all, just getting in some runs for workouts.

Let's see...other stuff that's happened...I got back into choir at Mt. Paran Church of God after a little break, my girlfriend and I broke up and I lost my job. The breakup wasn't a big ugly mess, which somehow I don't have -- thankfully! Sarah's an awesome girl and breakups suck, no matter how drama-free they are. The job situation, well, I knew it was coming and had been looking for new employment. I was actually releaved when it happened and I knew that God would provide and take care of me. That was last Tuesday. On Friday, I had an interview, an offer Monday and I'll start my new employ this coming Monday with BVM Engineering in Atlanta. They do design and construction oversight on LEED projects (projects accredited by the US Green Building Council) and also do building commissioning. These are things I've been wanting to get into but the firms I was working with before didn't do them so this is a great opportunity that I am very excited about.

In my time off, I've been catching up on housework that's been neglected, setting up a home office, and catching up with friends. I've also been making some headway on my new business venture -- an outdoor guide service for hiking, biking, camping, etc. Once I get it set up with the State of GA, I'll reveal the name and details so please stay tuned.

Tomorrow I have a meeting with a reporter from the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) about the trail project we're doing here at CRNRA. Oh, which reminds me of another thing that's happened this month -- I took a course and got certified as a Trail Building Crew Leader AND we had a work party at CRNRA on Saturday the 17th, and had 20 people brave the 14 degree temps to help with trail maintenance. I was very excited that so many folks showed up for the first of our monthly trail work parties at the park. The trail system there is known to mountain bikes as Sope Creek and is very technical and much like riding in the backcountry but it's literally just outside the city limits of Atlanta on the shores of the Chattahoochee River. It's been neglected for many years and I've hated to see nothing happen so I decided last year when I realized I was actually going to be in one place for awhile that I'd jump in and try to stir the pot a little. Thankfully, about the same time, a grant was coming down to put into place some trail re-alignments.

Well, gotta go get ready for a doctor's appointment on the shoulder and wrist. I hope that 2009 has started as well for you as it has for me. Sure, it's had it's bumps but God is in control and He provides what we need. For more day to day updates and pictures, you can find me Facebook pretty easily and I host my pictures on Flickr.com. Please stay tuned for the updates on the new business!

2008-12-27T19:49:00.002-05:00

12-27-08
Pisgah riding

Day 1: 18 miles, 2:30, avg 6.8, max 38.5, avg HR 156. Route: Fish Hatchery up FS road to Farlow Gap, down Farlow Gap trail to Daniel Ridge Loop back to Fish Hatchery. Crashed coming down Farlow Gap and landed with my thigh slamming onto a major root so it hurts and is swollen a bit but otherwise a okay. Nothing a little stretching and riding won't hurt.

I think tomorrow we're heading to Dupont. More details and pics later.

Sorry for the lack of activity in awhile. Look for more! Thanks for stopping by.

2008-09-12T13:44:00.001-05:00

9-12-09
Right then, I know it’s been awhile since I posted and for that I have no real excuses. I could yammer on about how I spent the summer trying to balance work overload, training, a new girlfriend, etc but hey, I know everyone has the same stuff to deal with so I’ll spare (even myself) that boredom. Since my last post, I have done a couple of different races:

24 Hours of Conyers by Granny Gear (www.grannygear.com)
Dog Days Crit at Grant Park sponsored by Aarons’ Cycling (http://www.aaronscycling.com/)

I’ve spent a great deal of time this summer getting back into SORBA (www.sorba.org) and trying to get some things launched with the Atlanta chapter, which has all but fallen off the map over the last several years. It’s sad really when you think about SORBA having found it’s start with a small group of mountain bikers in the city who wanted more places to ride because land owners were quickly shutting out bikers. Now that SORBA has grown to (23) chapters in (6) states, the place where it all began finds itself in dire need of help. There are things that we’re working on – 10 miles of singletrack INSIDE the perimeter just (2) miles from GA Tech – for one example but it’s all long range stuff. The low hanging fruit gets missed so for once, I’m trying to focus on short term stuff instead of long term. I’m trying to get us connected with local neighborhood organizations and Boy Scout troops and build relationships with intown residents who look at cyclists as a bunch of suburban white folk with too much time and money on their hands. There are ways to get our message out to the masses without even talking about dirt trails – bike rodeos, basic maintenance, bike safety, traffic safety, etc – are all things that kids who ride their bikes on overworked city streets need to learn. There are local state parks that offer mountain biking opportunities that I’ve just learned about, actually through another cycling organization. It’s a shame that we’ve missed out on leading efforts at these locations.

Let’s see….this weekend Sarah and I (that’s the girl’s name) are heading out to do the Cox MS 150 Challenge or whatever shameless self promoting thing Cox is wanting it called this year. Bottom line remains, it’s a great fundraiser for awareness and finding a cure for MS (multiple sclerosis). Details are at http://www.ms150atlantachallenge.org/about_tour.html. If you want to donate to the cause, please go to http://bikegaa.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=1893492&pg=personal&fr_id=8885. Donations can be made online through that link and are tax deductible. Oh, I should mention that I’m riding for Team Shepherd / HDS Vans. From the website (www.shepherd.org):

“Shepherd Center specializes in the medical treatment, research and rehabilitation for people with spinal cord injuries, acquired brain injuries, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain and other neurological conditions.”

Other upcoming events that I’m planning are the Dirty Spokes 12 hours of Conyers in October and possibly the Swank 65 in November. I’d like to get some at least one other 12 hour in but we’ll see.

As part of SORBA Atlanta, I’ve started a weekly ride called the Turtle River Rumble. This ride is every Thursday night at Sope Creek. The intent is to start getting riders together and working together instead of all of us keeping a low profile by not banding together. There is more low hanging fruit for us to latch onto at this park (Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area) and we’re missing it. I love riding and running and otherwise playing in this park and now that I’m in a position where I’m not traveling, I wanted to jump headlong into getting some stuff happening out there. For more info on this ride, stay tuned to www. Sorba.org/forum under the Rides section.

Oh, the last big bit of riding news is that I’ve been asked by SORBA to lead a team as part of the Team IMBA program. This program is basically set up as a fund raiser for local trail efforts. We’re looking to partner with a local race director for the Dirty Spokes series for 2009 and have at least one multi-person team and a solo rider or two involved at these races. If you are interested in being a part of this team for 2009 or want more information, please email me at cmyrickjr@mindspring.com. More information including benefits of being on the team (jersey, training plans from Boulder Peak Performance, etc) can be found at http://go.imba.com/site/PageServer?pagename=TeamIMBA_homepage. If you would like to donate to trail efforts in the metro Atlanta area, please go to http://go.imba.com/site/TR/Volunteerfundraiser/TeamIMBA?team_id=1090&pg=team&fr_id=1050. Again, these donations are tax deductible and do NOT go to me or any member of the team but are handled through IMBA and SORBA.

Since this is getting long (that’s what I get for not posting in awhile right?) I’ll start wrapping up. Earlier in the summer / late May I met a young lady named Sarah who is a cat. 3 roadie and concentrates on crits. She races for Sorella Cycling (ww.sorella.com) which is a team / club focused on promoting cycling for women. They are a great group of gals that ride road, dirt and all disciplines of each. I’ve really been blessed to have her in my life and we are very much enjoying the time we spend with each other, whether it’s riding, paddling a quiet lake, or hanging with family.

I’ve also had the pleasure of getting to know the Dusacks – Chris, Bridgette, and Norah – over the summer. Hopefully we can get together for Fall weekend of camping and riding. Oh yea, thankfully Sarah can ride a mountain bike pretty well and doesn’t mind it either!

Well, I figure that’s about enough to digest in one sitting but should bring you pretty much up to speed. I’m sure we’ll have some good pictures from the MS ride to post up so I’ll get them up Monday.

2008-05-04T20:51:00.003-05:00

5-4-08
Ft Yargo Aftermath (seems to be the new word for race wrap up)

Two 100-mile mtn bike races in two weeks. Not a bad way to start off the riding season! Yesterday's race was held at Ft Yargo State Park in Winder, GA just south of Athens (for all you Dawg fans). The weather report was 60% chance of thunderstorms but I had been praying all that God would hold back the rain or divert it or something, mostly because I don't have the money laying about to rebuild the drivetrain a second time in two weeks! Rainy mtn bike races wreak havoc on bike parts.

Anyway, all was going well -- got to the arena fine and found our pit area. Oh, I should mention that I was pitting with Xray_Ed, PedalHard, and Nikki. Duckman was nextdoor and was quite the friend by saving our spot for us when he got out there on Friday. The girls from Sorella Cycling were on the other side of Duck and it seemed that there were 30 people over there and I don't think they stopped bringing stuff from their cars until the race was over - it was an endless supply chain! On our other side was Carebear, Shane, and Scott. All in all, surrounded by good folks.

Race start was 10am and so far not a drop of rain. During the first hour and half, however, there were some very light showers on the east side of the lake which simply knocked the dust down and packed the trail in a bit better. Otherwise, the Lord heard the prayers of this sinner and diverted the rain to the south of the race! Not that I was the only one praying He would hold off the rain, mind you. Anywho...I was well hydrated and fueled and had a basic nutrition plan lined out for the day.

My goal was 100 miles then see how I felt and how much time was left. The format for Yargo varied from the Cohutta race in that this was a 12 mile lap and the goal was to complete as many laps before the time cut off as you could. I made short stops after each lap for food and bike adjustments. Some breaks were a bit longer than others but I was okay with it.

Halfway in, at the 50 mile mark for me, I made a nutrition error that you don't hear much about -- I ate too much. Most folks eat too little at these things. Well, I now had to deal with the fact that I was asking my bodt to digest this extra food while still producing the same power it had been. Nothin' doin! Miles 51 to about 65 sucked as I struggled about the course. Finally, I came to the realization that I was completely overthinking this issue and I needed to just ride my bike and have fun! After all, the I'm not honoring anyone represented on my jersey by feeling sorry for myself here. Once I got past that, I did start enjoying the ride again. Unfortunately, my average speed had dropped almost 1 mph which I had to work hard to make up. (I never did).

In summary, I got schooled by the legendary Norma Rainwater who, although we were leap frogging each other on course, finished a lap up on me. I also got schooled by Xray_Ed and Duckman who are both further along in years than I, but my consolation is that neither had done the 100 miler at Cohutta ;)

Final Stats:
Avg speed: 9.9 mph
Avg HR: 152
Total distance: 99.63 (close enough to 100 for it to count)
Mechanical issues: Zero
Crashes: Zero
Near misses with trees: several!

Pictures below:
1. Thanks to Duckman, pre-race -- No I didn't pose for this, he caught me doing a mental check on my gear
2. The mass start
3. A nice jump to have made had I known there'd be a photographer there and what the landing zone looked like. Well, that and self preservation since this was taken on lap 2.

2008-05-01T06:31:00.001-05:00

4-30-08
Recovery and race prep

Let me just say that last week was a definite learning experience for my cycling career. I felt great after the C100 – did a 12 mile recovery ride on the road Sunday, took off on Monday, easy MTB ride Tuesday, then hit it hard Wednesday with a 1300m swim and 5k run. Then came Thursday. Thursday I met up with Tucker to ride at Blankets Creek in Canton. It’s not a technically challenging trail and is a nice place to go get some easy mileage and have fun with the ride. The first lap was a bit faster than I would have liked for a warm up, but I felt fine. I kept tabs on my heart rate (HR) though, and was a little concerned. Instead of riding South Loop, which has a bit more climbing and higher technical difficulty than Dwelling Loop, I asked Tucker to do another lap on Dwelling. I kept noticing that my HR on certain efforts was about 30-40 bpm lower than it typically is, so I really got concerned. I bowed out after that lap and decided to not workout at all over the weekend so that my body could fully recover.

So after taking the weekend off (except to cut grass at my parent’s house), I did a 10k trail run Monday then rode Blankets again last night. The legs are a bit tight which I’m not happy about but it’s manageable. I’ve been stretching (thanks to the constant reminders running through my head from Sarah getting onto me!) and I think I’ll just do some good stretching tonight instead of a swim, since I won’t get to workout until about 9:30 pm.

This coming weekend is a 12 hour MTB race at Ft Yargo State Park in Winder, GA. I was given a free entry from one of the sponsors so I want to do well. I hate that I’ll be missing Pedalpalooza with SORBA Woodstock and the Bike Fellowship gang. The goal this week is another 100 miles. I’ve heard the course is ~15 miles so if I can knock out (7) laps I’ll be happy with that effort. This course is drastically different than the C100 course in that there’s only about 100 ft of elevation gain per lap. Good you say? Well, what that means is there’s no recovery like a long downhill to let the legs rest. You’re constantly on the gas at Yargo. Looks like I’m pitting with Duckman, Xray_Ed, and Pedalpusher so it should be fun at least. I don’t know Pedalpusher, but I think I may be the youngest in this crowd so I have to make sure not to let the old guys take advantage of me! Duckman is strong and rides more in a week than I get to in a month so don’t let age fool ya! It’ll be a good day for racing!

Keep the names coming – I got (3) last week of soldiers KIA overseas. I’ve started a list for them on the left sleeve of the jersey. I do plan to wear it for Ft Yargo this weekend.

One last thing, I have emailed the race director (RD) for the Cohutta 100 about a rule violation that I committed. By accepting food from my support outside of a designated aid station, I broke the rules. I knew it was a violation but I was not really concerned with it at the time. It did not cross my mind at the finish and none of the other racers I was racing with said anything about it. It is grounds for my disqualification but I’ve not heard from the RD. I doubt anyone really cares since I came in 120th but rules are rules. If she does write me back, I’ll let you know.

Now, get back to work slackers!

2008-04-20T14:26:00.004-05:00

4-20-08
Cohutta Wrap Up

Here's the summary with pictures.

Total race time: 11 hours 48 minutes
Total time off bike: 1 hour 19 minutes
Avg speed: 9.6 mph
Avg HR: 148
Max speed: 43 mph

Targets were:
10 hours plus breaks
Avg speed: 10 mph
Avg HR: 150

Conditions:
The weather straight up sucked for the start of an all day epic. It was raining and cold (about 50 degrees) for the first three hours. Course conditions were mush. There's nothing like slogging up a 10 mile climb at 6 mph knowing that ~50% of your energy is getting sucked out of each pedal stroke because of the mud. Once the rain stopped, it was actually pretty nice. On the east side of the Cohutta Wilderness the sun had been out and it was about 75 degrees. It was a bit cooler at the finish but who cared at that point, right?!

The brief:
The first bit of the race flowed very well on the Brush Creek trails. The downhill back to the Ocoee Whitewater Center was a lot of fun and I was able to push past some folks who were being overly cautious on the rock gardens -- something I'm not. I use those spots to make up time and work my way through the field, which worked very well yesterday. Once back at the Whitewater Center, we crossed the foot bridge and as I set up to make the left turn onto the Bear Paw trail, my front wheel went sliding on the wet pavement and I took my token digger (I always crash once at the Tanasi trails), messing up my left knee and left shoulder. All those folks I passed on the downhill and rock gardens caught and passed me right there ---GRRRRR! On the same mile, a bit further up trail, I had my only mechanical for the day -- a broken chain, which was quickly repaired because somehow the Lord only let one link come out so I didn't need a tool or anything. I just grabbed my SRAM quick link, slapped it in, and got back in the race.

Quick stop at Check Point 1 (CP1), then it was onto fighting fireroads for the next ~60 miles. I caught Jono at CP2, grabbed (4) chocolate chip cookies, some chain lube then we were off. Andrew was supposed to meet me at CP2 but we missed each other somehow so I was elated when he came rolling up behind me about 5 miles later on top of the ridge. I grabbed a sandwich, some BURN energy drink, e-caps, changed gloves into some dry ones, and since I was shaking from the cold, I had to get moving again. CP3 took a little longer for me so I could get some ointment on my knee and clean off the drivetrain since the weather was breaking and the course conditions weren't so bad. Grabbed an orange, some cookies, another BURN, maybe an Ensure and a Snickers Marathon bar and was off to Potato Patch. From CP3 along the south side of the Cohutta Wilderness, I know the road so it was nice to be on familiar grounds.

Potato Patch is just past halfway for the day which meant the worst of the climbing was done. Basically, from about mile 28 to 52 it's all climbing. Sure there are a couple little descents but they just tease you and feed you into yet another climb. From Potato Patch to Lake Conasauga is rolling and not bad. From the Lake, it's mostly downhill to where CP4 was (I don't have a clue where on the map it was but it was sunny, warm, and at the bottom of a long downhill)!

From CP4 (about 68 miles into the day) to 5 was about 10 miles. This piece was mostly flat and allowed me to stretch the legs of my Salsa Dos Niner and see what she could really do. Let me say, it was good to have big wheels!! I felt great rolling out of CP4 and managed to catch and pass several riders who were on traditional 26" wheeled bikes. The Dos Niner has 29" wheels which, once you get 'em rolling, it's much easier to keep pace. I caught these two guys who were teammates and using a roadie thing known as drafting -- basically just working together to conserve energy. As I passed them, they tried to catch onto my wheel and draft off me but I shifted up and was going to make them work for it. The next time I saw them was CP5. There was a nasty bit of a climb after the flats but that led to a nice descent into CP5.

At CP5, I took some time to grab some food because I was not planning to stop at CP6. So after yet another BURN, Ensure, beef jerky, gel, e-caps, etc, it was off to fight the last bit of fireroad.

CP 6 was at the start of the last bit of singletrack to the finish, 10 miles to go! The last section of trail is a 2 mile descent called the Thunder Rock Express, but in order to get there, we had to pay for it by doing a 2.5 mile climb from CP6....ARGH!! At the top of this climb, I got hungry but refused to stop and eat -- a mistake which caused me to suffer a bit and go slower on the singletrack than I should have. But I was pushing to make the top of Thunder Rock, knowing it was an easy fast downhill to the finish.

When I finally made the top of Thunder Rock, I grabbed an oatmeal creme pie (number 4 or 5 for the day) and took off for the final descent. I caught a couple other riders, including my friend Jono, which gave me a boost. We rolled out onto the pavement together and made the final push for the finish line.

All in all a good race and a good day. I am pleased with the results and how good I felt for most of the day. Riding in honor of Those Who Serve was a huge encouragement as well. When I started feeling down or wondering what I was doing, I looked at jersey and was quickly reminded that I was riding to honor those who are represented there.

A big thanks to Andrew for driving the course to meet me with food and encouragement and for the pictures which you will enjoy here. A big thanks to all who said a prayer or called or emailed with words of encouragement -- it truly helped get me though.

On a side note, Andrew is starting up his own photography business so if you are in the north Georgia / Atlanta area and need pictures for your youth sports team, family portraits, engagement, sporting activites, church event, whatever, drop me a line and I'll get you hooked up with him. He does a great job as you see below.

To Jono: it was a pleasure doing battle with you this day, my friend!

Pictures:
1. Starting line
2. Here we go!
3. Just an idea of how the roads looked
4. CP3, Peter (Solo Slow Guy) in the blue helmet.
5. Lubing the chain
6. Pushing through Potato Patch
7. Downhill to CP4
8. Victory!
9. Jono finishing

2008-04-18T09:46:00.002-05:00

4-18-08
C100 Pre-Race

Race day is finally here! I want to thank all who have given me names of people you know who are serving in the armed forces and as missionaries. There are a few names of people that I've included who neither but they are special to me -- family, friends, my pastor, music minister, etc. As promised, here are pictures of the jersey that I will be wearing not only tomorrow, but for the 12 hours of Ft Yargo by Dirty Spokes Productions in two weeks and the 24 hours of Conyers by Granny Gear in 4 weeks.

There's plenty of room on the back yet so please, if there is someone who is serving overseas that I can honor with you, please let me know.

I want to add a very special thank you to Sarah for the idea of dedicating the miles and to my best friend Andrew for writing the names on the jersey last night and this morning while I packed. You are both very much appreciated!

2008-04-13T23:25:00.002-05:00

4-13-08
Dateline: Ellijay (again)

Took off after church today for another Cohutta training op with Jono. Yesterday's Bull Mtn plan got rained out so I took the option for a 10k run instead, well two 5k runs at different paces. Today the plan turned out to be a Bear Creek / Mountaintown route, which we've one before and knew the route so we weren't worried about nav errors!

How was it? Well, GREAT! We had no mechanicals, no nav errors, and no injuries. We DID have a few snow flurries at Potato Patch (much more welcome than the biting gnats last week). We DID experience a drop in temperature. Most important, we had a great time! Total distance today was about 24.5 and the avg speed a bit low at 8.7 but if you don't know Mtn Town, there's about 23 wheel washing opportunities (creek / river crossings) and at times we felt like we were doing some cyclocross training with all the downed trees. Some of the water crossings are rideable, many are not and today were thigh deep in places. That's some COLD water boys and girls!

It was a good recon day for the condition of FS64 which helped us make final tire selection for the race. I'm sticking with my worn Kenda Klaws as they have enough tred to dig on the fast descents but not so much that they cause too much resistance on the climbs. The road is in great shape and I'm praying the Forest Service does not do anything to it this week, like adding a bunch of gravel --- that would not be fun on Saturday.

This week, I plan to rest, swim and do some weights. I'll also probably run some, but I need to get the bike cleaned up and prepped for raceday so I doubt it'll see any use this week. The cross training has been suiting me well this spring and I plan to stick to it.

Oh, there's been a change in the jersey I'll be wearing for the C100. I decided not to get a US Army jersey, but to wear a solid color instead with the names of those who are serving in our military and as contractors overseas. I got to thinking today that I might wear it for every race I do this year and folks can add names as we go through the year. It'll simply say "For those who serve" and have their names all over it. Nope, it won't be fancy, but we need them to know we appreciate what they're doing and we support them. Please, if you know someone that is serving and have not already given me their name, let me know who it is. I'm still a few short of a hundred right now.

Well, it's 12:44am and I'm going to try and get some sleep for the second time. Maybe this time it'll work!

2008-04-09T07:02:00.003-05:00

4-9-08
Sunday Wrap Up

Summary:
38 miles, a little over 4 hours ride time, Jono snapped his rear shift cable, a truck ride, two navigational errors yielded us almost to Chatsworth -- who knew FS68 went there?! I thought it ran north / south. Lesson learned: take a map that has more of the surrounding area and better detail.

Ride Details:
The day started fine with arrival to the trailhead on schedule (by2pm) and both Jono and I feeling pumped for a great ride. Route plan was the Firewater 50 route but shifting the start to Bear Creek. There were several hikers about and all were friendly except the guy who parked his Jeep right in front of the trailhead so he, his wife, and two kids wouldn’t have to walk 20 more steps. C’mon, you come to the woods for a hike and you have to save yourself 20 steps? I’ll stay off my “Americans are lazy, self centered……” soapbox but hopefully you feel my pain on this account. The sun was shining, the trail was wet from the rain on Saturday and off we went. I decided to carry a different pack today since we were going self supported for 50 miles. I had entirely too much food packed but I didn’t discover that until later. I’ve ridden with that pack before in Pisgah but today it was too much.

Jono and I joked and razzed each other all the way up Bear Creek but I couldn’t keep pace for some reason. My heart rate was hovering in the 170’s and I couldn’t get it to back down despite a couple of quick stops on FS 68 up to Potato Patch. Once on the FS road, the gnats came out in force which was adding to my frustration – having to swat every few seconds. Thankfully the Lord cares about things about this for us so I prayed that He take do something about the gnats and soon I found that they were not bothering me, even though they were still buzzing about.

We made Potato Patch in reasonable time and made a stop for food. After about 5 minutes, we were off heading toward Lake Conasauga. We were back to our joking and racing each other on the flats and downhills, which was an event that repeated itself all day. I like riding with Jono because we push each other and have fun doing it. We were diving into turns, sprinting out of the turn, faking each other out on passes, etc – just generally having fun with the ride.

We made the top of Windy Gap in good time and started down. We got passed by two (2) dirt bikes but we made that up when one of them got stuck. It was a father-son duo and the son got his bike stuck and dad was yelling directives to him. As I passed the dad, I let him know he should be sure to tell his son’s friends that he just got passed by a spandex wearin’ leg shavin’ cyclist and his response was, “ yea, and one wearing pink no less!” I loved it! After a brief stop at the top of the rocky climb before the big descent, Jono and I dropped in. now, if you’ve not ridden Windy Gap, you have no idea how sketchy, rocky, fast, fun, and dangerous this trail really is. The switchbacks are tight up at the top. The rocks are plentiful, big and loose. Once clear of the rocks, it’s wide open whoop de doo’s and berms. There are sections of the rock gardens that I am still not sure how I got through without crashing. I left Jono somewhere along the long and just let the Salsa Dos Niner (aka PT-6) do it’s thing. As long as I can keep it upright and straight, it will flow. There are no lines through most of those rocks – you just point and go and let off the brakes until you need to adjust.

By the time you make the Milma cut off, the adrenalin is pumping, your heart is bouncing between perfectly calm and “Oh my God I’m gonna die!” Off we went on Milma, heading to Tibbs, still doing well on schedule and the ride plan. Milma is another fun trail with some ups and some downs and creek crossings and rock gardens. At the intersection with Tibbs, we decided for a food stop and to check the map. Now, the map I brought was one that basically just had the FW50 route on it and not much else of the surrounding territory. This intersection can be a bit tricky and since we had each only been there once before, we thought we made the correct decision on our route. After we started riding, and I mean 10 seconds later, Jono’s rear shift cable got caught in his chain and snapped. How the heck did that happen?! I have no idea but it’s one reason I do not like downtube cable routing. We cut the cable and Jono was now relegated to riding with three (3) gears. Fortunately, the chain was stuck on the small cog in the back so he could use his big ring on the DH runs. We knew we were to be climbing back to the ridgeline but somehow we weren’t. We came to this one climb and I thought “Ok, this is it. Elevator up!” Then we dropped again….hmmmm…..As we came into another intersection at the bottom of a climb we knew we were not where we meant to be. We checked the map….checked the compass….and decided to head East on FS 78-B (which was not on my map). We kept staying left at turns and I was hoping and praying that we would come into FS 68, below the Bear Creek trail.

After riding this FS road for longer than we wanted – and praying that we would make it to a road we knew before dark – we popped out quickly onto FS68!! We checked the compass, rode up the road a bit to the cut off for Mulberry Gap (again, not on my map), and stopped for discussion. We both thought we remembered that FS68 ran north / south and if we headed south, we could make the paved road and ride it back to the Bear Creek parking lot. So we headed down the mountain instead of up. Down, down, down, down………still no paved road. As we crossed a river and rounded a right hander, Jono had an epiphany and he knew exactly where we were. He’d been there before on another ride. He said we were near the proper start for the FW50, which is on the Eton / Chatsworth side of the mountain. I disagreed until we found a kiosk with a map. Then all I could do was laugh!

Darkness was setting in as we discovered our exact location was nearly 15 miles from Chatsworth, instead of Ellijay. We were left with the toughest decision all day – to ride up up up up to the Bear Creek cutoff or to hitch a ride. There were some teenagers hanging out nearby and I frankly did not have the legs for the climbing that was before us. We were looking easily at 11miles of nothing but up. Jono tried to motivate me for the climb, but I was having none of it. It was already after 9:00pm, we had both missed dinner appointments, he was down to (3) gears – none of which were ideal for this climbing – and I was beat from carrying too much extra weight. We opted to hitch a ride and this kid Zach very willingly agreed to help us out. He realized how bad it could get for us with the sun gone and the temperature dropping and us being so far off our plan.

We had Zach drop us at the Bear Creek cut off and we dropped in from there for the last section of trail to the truck. Overall it was a great day of riding which my body has taken all week to recover from. It’s Friday as I write this and Jono and I are planning another venture up to Bull Mtn tomorrow. It’s been a very long time since I’ve made navigational errors like the ones last week but I’m glad we were able to enjoy it and ride the week on the adrenalin and memories of Windy Gap and simply enjoying trails that we otherwise wouldn’t have known were so good.

It was great training. Tomorrow will be great training. Next week, I will swim and catch up on sleep in the final days of preparing for the Cohutta 100 next Saturday. I will NOT carry my 2000 cu inch Camelbak tomorrow. I will carry my Camelbak Mule and I will have a better ride. I’m also getting used to the iPod while I ride, it’s actually quite nice –but one earbud only—I still like to hear birds chirping and squirrels scurrying about.

Pictures:
1. Pink Turtle and Chief Hairy Scary at Bear Creek
2. PT-6 at the Windy Gap / Milma intersection
3. Big Chief finishing Windy Gap (he wimped out on the jump :(

2008-04-04T06:02:00.003-05:00

4-4-08
Need some pictures!

I was perusing the blog here last night and realized that you guys might want some pictures. I didn't realize that I had made so many posts of just writing so this weekend I'll get some fresh pictures up -- and hopefully some will be from a big ride I'm going to do Sunday afternoon.

In the meantime, here's a litte warm up. I'm watching a friend's dog for a couple days so Mollie (my great pyrenees) had a playmate. Bear is a good dog and I'm glad I was able to help her out.

2008-03-21T07:43:00.002-05:00

3-21-08
Easter Weekend

Just wanted to say that I hope you all have a great Easter weekend no matter where you are and what you'll be doing. If you are in town (Atlanta) you are welcome to come by my church tonight for our Good Friday service. It will be a music and arts presentation that you will not want to miss. the service starts at 8:00pm and run time is about 90 minutes. Don't forget Easter Sunday morning -- we have two services at 9 and 11:15 with a buffet lunch following the second service that's being catered by Proof of the Pudding. Details and reservations for lunch can be found at www.mountparan.com. Sunday morning service is broadcast live each week so you can tune in even if you're not in the same building. And since I'll be singing with the choir, you really can't miss that!

You are all in my prayers and thoughts as I know a few of you are having some tough situations to face this week with family illnesses, loss of a loved one, or that you live and work with the unknown just outside the front door. I hope you too take time this weekend to remember that Christ came to earth with the sole intention of dying a brutal death on a cross so that we don't have to face an eternity of torture and separation from God. It was no accident or decision of man that put Him there. That's how much God loves each and every one of us. Oh yea, and He doesn't care how messed up we think we are - He already knows that. The great thing is simply this: God accepts us -- and all of our baggage -- no matter what. I don't know anyone here on earth that does that all the time. Parents forsake their children; friends cut each other down with spite or simple meaness; people we care about don't accept us completely, but God does. We don't have to do anything, pray the right way, pay money or anything -- God, through His infinite grace, accepts us and loves us.

Ok, I know some of you tuned out a minute ago, but I wanted to share that with you this Easter weekend. Please take care in your travels this weekend and know that you're all very important to me and I appreciate the friendship and love you have shown me.

On another note, I have a post about a ride that I did last weekend with Jono Senk of Hairy Scary Evolutions located at http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=393396. There are some pictures posted as well for those who like them. I would post them up here but it's just been a crazy week here in a lot of ways so I've not gotten around to it. Chief Hairy Scary and I will be doing the Cohutta 100 together, but I fear he may have a higher pain threshold than I which should make for a great race.

That's it for now. Gotta get moving with the day, ya know. Thankfully my black tea and honey is still warm in my stainless steel Starbucks travel mug!

2008-03-05T22:58:00.002-05:00

3-5-08
Cohutta Planning

As I stated yesterday, I have decided to go ahead and race the Cohutta 100 mountain bike race on April 19. This will be my first 100 mile race but I am getting some good training so I'm confident that I'll be prepared for it physically.

Mental preparation is always the hardest for these endurance events. A couple days ago, someone mentioned that I should dedicate each mile to someone and use that as motivation throughout the race. Well, that's where you come in. I have decided to dedicate these miles to members of our Armed Forces and contractors who are working in Afghanistan and Iraq. I'm saving some space on the list as well for a couple friends that I have working as missionaries in different parts of the world like India and the Ukraine. I plan to write these names on a new jersey from Primal Wear Clothing with the US Army logo on it and wear it for the race. That way I have the list with me during the race and I can look down and see the names of these
folks and after saying a prayer for their safety, keep on with what I'm there
to do. Here is what the jersey will look like (http://www.primalwear.com/Catalog/index.cfm?DIN=1659&catid=18&secID=1).

Therefore, if you know someone who is serving in Afghanistan or Iraq --whether they are a contractor or military -- and you'd like me to add them to the list, please send me their name and location. Same goes if you know a missionary you'd like to add. I will put this info on the jersey like this "Elbert Hwang, Afghanistan." The week before the race I will post a picture of the jersey covered with these names on this page. If I need more space, then I'll get the arm warmers as well!

I know this is a bit different, but thank you for your time. I'm sure that our
folks overseas appreciate our thoughts and prayers so let's not forget them!

Thank you!

2008-03-04T23:56:00.000-05:00

Maybe one day I'll figure out how to change that huge picture at the top of this page!

2008-03-04T23:53:00.002-05:00

3-4-08

A lot has happened since my last post. I got a new job working with a mid sized commercial general contractor in Atlanta, I moved this last weekend into a new apartment, my nephew, Isaac, had yet another surgery (thank God there were no complications at all this time), and my social life is not suffering either. I’ve also been presented an opportunity to go mountain biking in Tibet for a few days this summer. Of course, after all this starts happening, I get an email today from a firm that I wanted to work for about a job in Kabul that they are looking at me to fill.

The last two months have been an absolute whirlwind of happenings and emotions. At the start of the year, I was planning to put my life on hold and head back to Kabul and here I am back in Marietta where I have family not far to the north and south, friends, my church, my job (relocating in April to 10 min from my apartment) and, oh yea, a great trail that’s a 3 minute ride from my front door. I live next door to the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area, aka Sope Creek. Sope just happens to be one of my top 3 favorite places to ride. There are some challenging technical climbs backed up with fast sketchy descents and if you clean everything you try, well, it was a great day! I can get a 13 mile loop there so with (6) of these technical climbs tossed in there, it makes for a great workout.

Along those lines, I’ve decided to do my first hundred miler. I was planning to do this race last year before I went overseas so to get the opportunity this year is great. I’ll be doing the Cohutta 100 which is just up the road a piece in beautiful north GA, with the start / finish being at the Ocoee Whitewater Center near Ducktown, TN. This will be a good precursor for the Tibet trip and will be a big accomplishment. Of course, I have done centuries on the road, but a mtn bike century is another deal indeed. I’ve been getting some great workouts in that include running, swimming, weight training, and riding so I believe that I will be prepared physically. My goal is to complete this race in 10 hours, while being happy with 12 ;) Of course, I’ll keep you posted here with a race report and pictures.

No back to our regularly scheduled program.

2008-01-20T22:45:00.000-05:00

20JAN08
It's a nogo

Here's a funny little story...so I accept this job back in November with the Army Corps of Engineers to go spend 13 months working in Kabul right? I turned down a couple other offers for jobs here in ATL so I could take this one, btw. My first deployment was scheduled for 06JAN then it got pushed back to 21JAN (tomorrow) because of the holidays. This last week they played a wicked game of tug o' war -- you're cancelled. No, you're going. No, you're cancelled. No, you're going. Finally on Thursday afternoon I was advised that the folks in Kabul rescinded the offer and my deployment was cancelled.

Here I am, got rid of my TV, mattress, box spring, dishes, pots and pans, etc because the plan was to buy new ones when I got back in a year. The remainder of my stuff is in storage and I have no job. Pretty funny huh?! At least now I still have time to salvage some time for training for a few races this season!

Well....maybe. I still have a couple options with contractors -- not the US gov't -- to work in Kabul again. Meanwhile, I'm just leaving it up in God's hands to take me where I'm supposed to go. I mean, what better time than now to start something new right? We'll see what happens. I had an interview on Friday that went pretty well and I'll hear back from that firm by Tuesday. I'd be working in the ATL metro area with little travel outside of it for work. Plus, they're building a new office like 2 minutes from where I was living so YIPPEE!!!! Of course, I'd have to find a new place to live but I'd stay in that area. I needed to get out of that old house anyway.

In the meantime, I think I'll go ride tomorrow...or take the dog for a hike...in the middle of the day....just because I can!

2008-01-03T16:31:00.000-05:00

03JAN08
Deployment Delayed

So it appears that for whatever reason, I am not leaving next week. Something came up and I've been pushed back two weeks. I'm actually good with this but now I must review the IRS regulations on my time allowed in country and such. I may have to do my trip "home" to the UK, Bahamas, or someplace else. Drats! I'd hate to come home and have to spend a couple weeks in the Bahamas for holiday. Who wants to join me?!! That's what I thought ;)

Things fell into place with getting packed up in Pensacola and Marietta. I'm officially unemployed until I report so I'm going to take advantage and get some riding and running in. I've been a slug since I got back from Pensacola and I need to work out. At least this delay gives me time to burn off a couple pounds before I weigh in for my new clothes.

Right O' then. I'm off. Much more slouching to do today.

2007-12-12T22:21:00.000-05:00

12DEC07
Phone Calls

As I mentioned earlier, one phone call can change your life. A relative passes. You get a new job. An old friend calls to say hello. All of these open a new chapter in our lives while closing a previous one. Some calls we look forward to. Others we dread. Some are freeing, taking a weight off our shoulders. I had a call like this the other day. It took awhile for everything to process in my head but by the time I left work the next day, it was all pretty clear. I went for the most freeing run of the year last night. Words like stronger and liberated have defined the last couple days. I've slept better than I have in probably two months. I've had this neverending pain in my left shoulder....and it's gone - literally overnight. My phone has been ringing with texts and messages and calls from friends. I've gotten emails from old friends this week. I'm not sure if they know how much the calls and messages mean.

It's just nice to know that certain people in your life want to be there. I hope you have friends who let you know that you're important. And don't forget to let them know it as well.

2007-11-07T06:52:00.000-05:00

07NOV07 Trying something new I think I have a better internet connection this morning so I'm going to try and post up a video from Saturday's Swayback ride. If this works, we may have something new and exciting to work with!!

2007-11-04T12:04:00.000-05:00

04NOV07
Swayback Bridge Trail

Instead of driving 10 hours to Charlotte for the 2nd annual Treeshaker 12 hour race, I met up with a couple friends, Charlie and Chris, for a ride at Swayback Bridge in Montgomery. The weather was perfect at 74 degrees and sunny. We got in about 20 miles (18.6 on Chris' computer but I think he shorted the trail somewhere ;). Swayback has a good mix of everything except BIG hills. There's some climbing, some great downhill runs, rocks, roots, fast swooping hardpack dirt, and well, lots of good places to stop and chat with friends. I got a couple of videos too and I'll try to get 'em posted up with the pictures. It felt great to be on the bike, since this was my first ride in about 3 weeks. It was very much worth the drive up there and getting to spend some time with the guys.

2007-10-18T19:22:00.000-05:00

18OCT07

Ever notice how just a simple telephone call can make the world seem different? Well, in the midst of severe thunderstorms and a tornado here in Pensacola today, one phone call made things seem a lot less cloudy. Sorry, but that's all I'm going to say about it right now except that I'm really excited about what that one call meant.

2007-09-24T23:02:00.000-05:00

24SEP07
Dauset Quick Brief

I met up with Dean and some other friends in Jackson, GA on Saturday for the 12 Hours of Dauset race. The weather was perfect (mid 80's with no rain). The comraderie was excellant! And well, it was simply a great day to ride a bike. I got to catch up with old friends like Steve J and Gary H while making new ones like Charlie from Elba, AL (down near Dothan). This guy shows up for his first ever enduro with a rigid single speed......God bless his lil' heart! I don't think Charlie will be making that mistake again anytime soon! He did a great job completing 6 laps (I believe). As for myself, I got in the same 6 laps and a whole bunch of friendship time. My parents stopped by so I hung with them for a bit while also chatting it up with Duckman, Bruce D, and Tucker. Given that I've not done much mountain biking this year and this was my first solo attempt on the year, I'm happy with how the day went. And hey, with a picture like this, who can complain?! Thanks to Carl for this sweet jump shot.

This 2nd photo taken by Al. pretty much sums up the feeling of the day....

2007-09-18T09:23:00.000-05:00

18SEP07

Another boring day at work. We finally got out office set up on the jobsite and well, apparently we'll be getting weekly airshows from these guys. What a way to start the day! Enjoy!

2007-08-23T12:32:00.001-05:00

23AUG07

Dean recommended that I come to the 13 Hours of Santos on Labor Day weekend….well Dean, you’ve got a race my man! I’d already planned to come over for it and I’ve been planning a few races for September. Since I missed the Granny Gear race at Conyers in May due to my deployment, I was really hoping to catch the Dirty Spokes Productions 6 hour race on 08SEP since I won’t support Stu-Rat. Well, I found out today that the Dirty Spokes gang is only running the Steeplechase side of the Conyers course so I’m reevaluating my attendance there. I’m not interested in racing Conyers unless I can race the full course. Right now, it’s looking like my coming month looks like this:

02SEP: 13 Hours of Santos
22SEP: 12 Hours of Dausset
29SEP: Double Dare in Pisgah (tentative)
06OCT: Santa Rose Tri
TBD: Three Shaker 12 hour

Yes, I said those scary three letters together….T-R-I. The Santa Rosa is a sprint – 500m open water swim, 12.5 mile bike, and a 5k run. I’ve been swimming twice a week, running two to three times, and riding some road and mountain. As my time in Florida continues, I’ll be doing some climbing at Wetherford’s, about 3 min from the house. I’m looking to find a sea kayak so I can drop it in the water on a Sunday afternoon and go catch some rays on the water! I guess what I’m trying to say is that in order to avoid boredom in the flatlands, I plan to keep the workouts mixed up.

I’ve had a lot of folks ask me how I’m doing in Pensacola. Well, I’ve not had much time to get out and find my favorite new hangouts or really get to know the area as work has kept us pretty busy. I’ve gotten into a new apartment, we’re getting the office trailer set up next week, and are pretty much spending our time taking care of some of the upfront paperwork needed to get a new construction project up and running. Overall things are going fine but it still ain’t home. I’ve been home at my house in Marietta, GA about 8 weeks this year. Mollie, my dog, is doing well considering she’s been bounced about quite a bit. She’s settling into Florida nicely, especially with her new haircut – I need to keep her trimmed down in this climate!

So that’s it for now. Sorry for the delayed entry but as I’ve said, getting settled in has been a chore. I hope you’re all doing well and Dean, I’ll see next weekend friend! Drop me an email so we can meet up (cmyrickjr@mindspring.com).

2007-08-07T22:29:00.000-05:00

07AUG07

I'm not sure if I've actually explained why I'm in Pensacola but I'm here as the construction manager for a project for 18 months. The project is an expansion of the Barrancas National Cemetary at NAS Pensacola. So far, this has been interesting and exciting already and I count myself blessed to be a part of this undertaking. The national cemetary program was established in 1865 by President Lincoln in order "to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan." It's amazing to speak with folks here and as a result of the press this project has received, almost everyone I speak with knows about it and speaks highly of it's importance.

I wish I could tell you all there is to know about Barrancas but I'm still learning it. All the details can be found at http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/barrancas.asp.

So I figure that while I'm here in the flatlands I might as well make the most of it for my sporting life. There's a triathlon coming up on 06OCT that I'm going to race in. It's the Santa Rosa Tri and the distances are 500m ocean swim, 18 mile bike, 5K run. I'm not worried about the bike or run but I did a swim workout tonight and I'm really worried about that! I know I can get back into swim shape quickly but WOW it kicked my butt tonight!! I found an outdoor pool with lane swimming open each night and the water felt so nice. Hopefully if I do three (3) swim workouts a week I can be ready for the race. I'll keep ya posted on the progress and the race results, obviously.

I want to get some pictures of the area and the cemetary to you and hopefully you can understand the greatness of this project. Have a great week!

2007-08-01T23:30:00.000-05:00

01AUG07 (edit: 05AUG07)
Dateline: Pensacola, FL

Sorry for not posting much, but the last few weeks have been crazy and my brain's been working overtime --- I think it's time to get some riding in and give the brain a rest ;) It's hot here, flat, and has rained two of the last three days. I'm tired of rain this year. It cannot rain the next four months and I would be totally fine with it! I got in about a 20 mile road ride in an hour about town today so that was good.

2007-06-26T12:56:00.000-05:00

6-26-06 (edit: 7-3-07)
Quickie from Wales

This will be mostly pics and I'll explain 'em later. All's well here in Wales. Rain cleared out and I got to ride down the road a bit to a town who's name I'd butcher if I had to spell it! Here's some pics from the Mountain Mayhem race, London, and riding from today. Enjoy!

Here's a statue of Achilles in Green Park, London. The sky was perfect for capturing this picture so I couldn't pass it up.

Big Ben and the Pink Turtle. Again, couldn't pass this up.

Me with Hans Rey, mountain bike trials rider extraordinaire. This guy's been around for years and is a legend of the sport.

The toilet shot. I had no idea the guy that took this had the toilets in the background, but this was taken right after I finished my last lap at the Mtn Mayhem.

The Kenda UK boys must be rednecks! I almost felt at home when I saw this.

Eastnor Castle looking down on the race camp.

Patrick Adams greeting finishers and thanking them for coming to play at his little gig.

Here's what the crankset looked like following my last lap. Look at that mud! but notice how clean that chain is.....BIG thanks to ProLink chain lube, made right here in Atlanta, GA.

Cymmer Abbey, near Dogylleau, Wales

Riding The Beginning of the End trail, Coed y Brenin forest, Wales.

2007-06-15T12:19:00.000-05:00

6-15-07

Finally.....

Well, it's official: I got to actually ride my bike in Kabul!! There is true Afghani dirt on the Pink Turtle. We had a BBQ tonight at the villa of our security team and instead of walking, I opted for the ride. Hey, it's the only chance to officially get the required escort and get to ride so I had to take it.

No more explanation needed.

2007-06-09T21:50:00.000-05:00

6-10-07
Do you feel that?

It's racing fever and it's spread all the way to Kabul!! Here's where I've been riding for the last couple months....man, it doesn't get any better than this! Wait...I think I've been here too long....remember Pisgah, Clemson, Conyers, Stanley Gap......oooooooooo....Stanley Gap.....YEA!! I remember now =)

Last night was a good workout. I somehow managed to stay at a high power output at an average of 95 rpm for the entire hour. I had some good stuff to watch during this workout too. See, our neighbor on one side is the VP of the country and he had a large gathering of about 100 folks at this house. There were people coming and going and guards and soldiers with RPG's all over the place. Good times! I may get to see the new F-22's running patterns at home, but you don't get guys with AK's and RPG's. HA!

Ok, picture pages, picture pages.....

LOOK!! It's the PinkTurtle Walt Works in action. Take a good look at that becuase that bike is going to be a singlespeed or 1x9 when I get home. The gears are going on the new Dos Niner softail 29er.

There's my view for most of my workouts. Note the privacy screen around the patio next door? Yea, the VP doesn't like us nosey Yanks!!

2007-06-08T00:21:00.000-05:00

6-8-07
12......

And we're back with more from your broadcasting correspondant from the Big Funky K-town. Weather this week has been....well....interesting! We've had sun, rain, hail, sun, heat, cool, sun....did I mention sun? This week also brought on a site visit to a building dedication. The building was constructed by the Germans with money donated from the country of Qatar and it was a cool experience to be a part of. I will say we didn't go just for the dedication as we needed to see the remainder of the site so we can include it in our master planning efforts but it was a fun time anyhow.

I've been talking also with several new contacts about the possibility of executing some facility management training for the Afghan ministries and that has brought me into discussions about collaborative work with the German government as well as the US and Afghanistan governments. It's been a great learning experience to say the least!

Oh, I bought a new mountain bike frame this week...a Salsa Dos Niner. I've been wanting this frame for about two years and just refused to pay the asking price of $1000 for a Japanese made frame when I got my custom WaltWorks for under $800! Well, I found the Salsa for under $700 from the fine folks at http://www.bike29.com/, based in the Green Mountain State (VT) and was able to get a quality new wheelset and the frame for the MSRP of the frame. I'm pleased with that! I also found a new helmet by LAS....I'll post a picture of this funky skid lid when I get home and retrieve it from the mail.

My UK trip is coming together quite nicely too. I have a close friend whose brother lives in London and has offered me two nights free lodging. Turns out the guy lives two blocks from Buckingham Palace so I'll get to see all the sights and it's all within a 10 minute bike ride from Peter's! What a blessing! With the free lodging in London, free camping at the Mountain Mayhem race for two nights, this little adventure is fast becoming a lesson in "How to spend a week in the UK for under $500!"

Ok, now onto the pictures...

Rainbow over Kabul 6-5-07

Entrance to the Kabul Zoo. I'm almost scared to know what's behind that gate!

A couple months back I posted a picture of this mosque and the catwalk to the tower. Here's an updated shot so you can see the progress!

This is a village on the west side of TV Hill. I thought the street running straight up the hill just looked cool, but this gives good perspective on how much of the population of Kabul lives. Remember, there's no running water going to these houses, so the folks up top have to carry buckets and jugs from the wells at the bottom. I won't talk about the lack of a centralized sewage system....I'm sure you understand.

This is the north face of Shir Dawarza, the mountain we hiked back in March. Again, another good shot of the houses.

2007-06-02T07:21:00.000-05:00

6-2-07

18 days and counting!

I'll start with pictures...

Here's Ryan, GIS guru hard at work

Next is Elbert "Princess of Maui", Ryan's trusty assistant taking a break from guitar practice

Self portrait on the patio

Robin & Ruth enjoying lunch on the patio. They're truly great to have around and they're a sweet couple...been together like 30 years. It's fun to watch them!

Here's our Afghan work crew enjoying lunch family style.

Kareema (left) is one of the housekeepers and Sonia is our administrative assistant. Both do a great job of putting up with us Americans!

Token bike shot.....The Pink Turtle enjoys the feeling of home in my pink bathroom. And no, I didn't select this room for myself -- all four baths on this side of the house are pink!

Words of encouragement on Memorial Day from D2.

Crowd mustering for the Memorial Day service. This one was rather special because this command just lost two of it's own a couple weeks back -- the first loss this command has suffered since being in Afghanistan.

My new silk rug!

So, I hope you enjoyed our little presentation today. Now for a word from our sponsor.... hehehe! Sorry, I'm feeling a bit silly today! On a serious note, please keep Chaplain Major Shaw in your prayers. Last week he was with a convoy that was involved in an altercation. His vehicle sustained a hit from an IED. He was mostly fine following the attack except for some bleeding from his ear, which is never a good sign. Monday morning he was airlifted to the main camp in country for evaluation because he was having some chest pains. The last I heard is that he's been airlifted to an army hospital in Germany and once stable, may get a trip home. I know his spirit wants to be here as he was dedicated to being here and serving the camp so please just remember him this week.

On other notes, I've found a 4-man team to race with at the Mountain Mayhem race to be held at Eastnor Castle in Ledbury, England. WOO-HOO!!! This is a 24 hour race and the promoters are saying it's the largest 24 hour race in the world. They have 450 team and 2500 racers on board so it should be a good time!

Let's see....what else in the last week.....oh, I'm not sure if I've stated this yet, but I'll be back in the States on 1 July just before my birthday, so I'll get to celebrate the 4th at home, which I'm very much looking forward to. Well, I think that's about all the news from Kabul today. I hope you'll check back with me for another edition soon.

Oh, and for all you UGA 'Dawg fans out there.....Go Vols! "Rocky Top, you'll always be home sweet home to me! Good ol' Rocky Top. Rocky Top Tennessee!" (Football season will be here before ya know it!)

2007-05-25T12:57:00.000-05:00

5-25-07
Has it been THAT long?

WOW, I guess I didn't realize it's been so long since my last post, but my family's gotten onto me and some friends have to so HI! Here I am! All's well here, I've just been going full bore the last week or so with planning for about (6) new bases here and all the stuff that goes with them.

Let's see....what's happened that's worth reporting? We were supposed to attend an Afghan wedding tonight for one of our workers. Unfortunately, our team lead told our security guys that no one wanted to go and he didn't ask the (3) of us that did! I'm pretty peaved about that, actually, because I think my us not going, we insulted him, especially since he made the effort to ensure that everyone of us -- including all the guards -- had invitations.

What else...I'm coming home 01 July...that's good news, I guess. My replacement is already in country and is getting immersed and caught up so I'm actually glad about that because that means there won't be any lag when I do leave. The transition will be seamless.

I wish I had some new pictures to post up, but alas, there's nothing new to show right now. I have been getting some good workouts both at the gym and on my bike -- spinning, not really riding. Oh, thanks to the $10 downloads from Carmichael Training Systems, I have a podcast of their Steady State spin workout so I can now do a spin class here at the villa. It's actually a neat workout and I'm pretty impressed with the ability to be able to download these things. I guess it's their way of getting ya hooked on smoking so they can reel ya in for the hard drugs! Trust me, I don't see CTS in my future because their personalized programs are just too costly.

Oh, I'm chasing down some more work here in Afghanistan. It seems that some of what my company, MACTEC Engineering, does for core business is not being done here so I'm looking into how we can resolve that! We'll see what actually shakes out of it, but with my new help in country, I can donate some of my workload to her and spend a bit of time marketing this other stuff.

I'm sorry that this entry is a bit melancholy....I guess I'm just ready to get on now. I'm getting info on the Pensacola project which excites me to know that I have work to do when I get home. I'm excited about the time I'm going to spend in the UK and I have an opportunity to race if I can find a team -- registration's been closed for a bit now. There are 450 teams signed up with a total of over 2500 racers! WOW!!! I know mountain bikers pretty well and I'm sure someone of that 2500 will back out and there'll be at least 50 teams looking for riders in the coming weeks. I'm praying so anyway ;) I spent today just reading and watching Shrek. I did an hour on the bike outside and got a bit of sun -- I'm so incredibly scary white it ain't even funny!

Well, so that's that I guess. I kinda really miss home this trip, more than the first trip I think. I miss my friends, driving, going to dinner, my church and choir...I think I miss it all more now since I'm actually leaving it all again when I do get home and I know that. I know God has a lot in store for me and I'm okay with not knowing it all. I just wish I could be home, that's all. Okay, now that you're all totally sorry you asked for an update, I'll let ya go! Sorry to drag ya down tonight. Tomorrow's a busy day starting at 0700 and meetings all day about (5) different things so I need to go to bed.

G'nite!

2007-05-12T20:36:00.000-05:00

5-13-07
Whew, what a day!

And I don't mean that in a good way! Saturday was not fun at all. See, apparently Friday night at dinner, we got a hold of something that was not good. A couple of here in the house were sick as dogs yesterday. I'll spare ya the details, but let's just say I feel 10x better today!

So let's see, what's new here? I'm dreaming up my vacation plans in the UK for the first week of July, I think I mentioned that before. I just found this area in the south of Scotland that has (8) sets of trails -- not just (8) trails -- and the videos are killer! I'm getting stoked about this opportunity. Maybe I'll just stay on the main island instead of having to unpack and rebuild the bike 4 times....hmm.....For my riding friends, check these clips out...http://www.7stanes.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-5S6EYZ. Sweet singletrack goodness!

So yes, my bike made it here. It's in the "trusty" hands of the fine Afghani customs folks at this moment. Hopefully I'll get a chance to go pick it up today -- and HOPEFULLY I won't get charged an arm and a leg in customs fees.

On another note, I've been asked to take on a project down in Pensacola for two years starting in July. It's an expansion of a national cemetary just outside the Naval Air Station there. I'm excited about the opportunity, for sure, but it will mean having to move and find a new church, make new friends...all that jazz. It will all be fine, but I was just starting to enjoy the idea that I haven't moved in 2 years! Well, here we go again! I'll say this, I've been praying that God make it clear as to whether I'm supposed to make a third trip back to Kabul and then I got this call. Guess He can't be much clearer, eh?

Okay, well, I need to get moving. The work day is starting here -- man, I'm thankful to be feeling better today!

2007-05-07T13:04:00.000-05:00

5-7-07
Now that I'm away from the craziness and have WAY too much time to think, I'll get all pensive on ya ;) Most of you know that before Christmas I adopted another Great Pyrenees dog named Gus. Well, with being away and not having time to work with him while home, I had to give him up. He had some destructive behavior that I don't have time to work through since I'm gone. My folks actually found him a good home on a 10 acre farm with a family that had just lost their male Pyr the week before due to a complication in a surgery. So Gus Gus is with good folk.

Ah, since I don't talk about cycling enough lately (geez, here he goes....) I'll toss in some planning here -- maybe one or two of the sponsors are actually playing along. Wait! I only have one or two this year, that's right! Anywho, I bought a new road bike while I was home -- it's a Van Dessel Kermis. It has an aluminum main frame with carbon fork and rear end, Shimano Ultegra components and rides like a dream. I'm having my WaltWorks mtn bike shipped over here to the Kabul-town along with a trainer. I need some spin time to get jacked up for some late season riding and I can't be all out of shape just because I've been here -- my riding friends would never let me live it down. (Hush Joey! Don't EVEN start)! It should get here next week and I'll toss up a picture of it set up and me staring off at the mountains in the distance wishing I were riding them.

The ulterior motive for having the bike here is actually so I can do a race in the UK on my way home. There's this race called the Dusk till Dawn and it takes place on the Isle of Man, between Ireland and England on July 7. And this little race called the Tour de France just happens to start in London this year on July 7, so hopefully I'll catch the stage on the 8th before they head over to Dunkirk, Belgium. My current thoughts have me in Dublin for me birthday on the 3rd which I think will be kinda cool. I have very current ancestry from Ireland so it'll be nice to at least go see the place since I'll be right there ;) Trust me, there'll be a photo essay of these travels for your enjoyment...oh, did I just tease you? I'm so sorry. right!

Allright, a promise is a promise. I'll keep it short. You do realize though that just means I'll have to write more often. HA! You didn't think of that now did ya?!

Oh, and I don't know what happened while I was gone, but my morning Koran reading got switcherood from 5:45am to 4:30am. Those sneaky Muslims! Nothing like waking up to the Koran being read over a loudspeaker at 4:30am 2 blocks from your bedroom window! Guess they'll have to start getting a taste of some Vince Poole sangin' out some praises to the Lo'ord! Now where'd I put those speakers.....

2007-05-06T13:28:00.001-05:00

5-6-07
Kabul Take 2

So apparently I ruint some of ya on my first trip with my blog ramblings because I keep getting asked for more. Well, here ya are….

I’m back in the Kabul-town, just in on Saturday from the good ol’ USofA. I think I messed up by not taking a hotel room for a night in Dubai – I didn’t sleep a wink from Thursday morning until Saturday morning (EST). For some reason I just couldn’t sleep on the planes this time – no, it wasn’t b/c I was all worked up over something – that was last time! This time I think it was b/c I was traveling alone so there was no one to watch out for me and my stuff. Anyone who’s done this internationally knows what I’m sayin! There’s no feeling more insecure than carrying your checked luggage into the airport restroom….twice! I felt like Linus with his blue blanket.

Anyway, I got here without any hitches and even got to enjoy an hour or so and a cup of coffee with a friend in London’s Victoria Station in between my flights. It was nice to see a familiar face!

Let’s see…what else….oh, not much has changed here. There were some crazy times while I was gone where folks decided to get stupid and want to kill someone, but that’s the routine here. Sunday, actually, just as I was walking into church service, I learned of an attack on a US military convoy here in town. This time I have friends who knew those soldiers killed. I’m not sure if I can give details so I won’t. Suffice it to say, this one hit the folks close to home and many on the base are a bit shaken up so please keep them and the families of the victims in your prayers.

There’s more to say, but I’ll try to keep these entries brief this trip. Here are some pictures from the trip home….

Atlanta traffic – man, I missed that! (ahem, not!)

Braves vs Cubbies. Now I DID miss this! Braves won, for the record, so put one in the W column!

Me in London with new friends. Ya know, those Brits are kinda cool folk! Next time I’ll actually have to take the tour as payment for the picture!

I just thought this made for a good picture. It’s the pedestrian tunnel at the Tube in London.

Outside London’s Victoria Station

Dubai skyline, specifically the Jumerieh area I believe. “Like a phoenix rising from the ashes….”

2007-04-11T12:51:00.000-05:00

4-11-07

Wednesday night in the 'Stan. There's Thursday, my last full workday of this trip, then Friday it's off to the ol' Kabul International Airport for a marathon trip home! Am I excited? You bet your bottom dollar there, lil' missy! However, I will say that I'll miss some things about Kabul-town while I'm home. As much as I miss home right now, I'll likely not look at my house the same way. I definitely will not view my life as I knew it the same.

Once you experience something like I have here, your perspective changes -- it has to. For instance, I'm about to go from being one of a handful of people without a loaded gun on my hip and shoulder to getting locked up for even carrying an unloaded one. I'm about to leave a place where women have no say whatsoever....where religion dictates much of everyone's life....where contradictions and social class take first chair to most other things. I'm leaving this and I'll be able to play in my front yard with the doggers. I'll be able to invite the local bum to eat dinner with me and only risk ridicule, not imprisonment. I'll be able to drive down the road and not wonder where the IED is or where the RPG is going to come from. I will sit and watch those darn C-130's at Dobbins AFB from my front yard and remember my flight on one -- thanking God Almighty the Italian pilot didn't make a banking turn like those crazy blokes at Dobbins!

Ya know, I've sat and listened to friends and other people talk their glorious and fun adventures abroad and I've envied them. They talk about friends they've made oversees and getting to go visit them, sometimes in lands new to both. I've been jealous and a bit mad at myself for not being in a position to do that. Now I too have wonderful stories of my own and some great new friends in a strange and beautiful land. Only difference is, they'll never be able to leave and go experience someplace new. Oh they dream it, don't think for a moment they don't! They just will not have the chance...the money...the permission to go somewhere else. They won't, that is, unless someone helps them. I'm glad that God blessed me with the chance to play a small role in reshaping their future. My only hope now is that I can do enough!

Honestly, I dread going back to the office and having to face office politics and...(gulp)...spreadsheets...company policies that MUST be signed. I dread it because they are all meaningless. They serve no REAL purpose in this world. I sat with (3) Army colonels around a dinner table the other night under a starry sky in Konduz and we all feel the same. Powerpoint presentations mean nothing. Spreadsheet reports -- right, they're REAL important. Someone in the office getting all upset because the toner is low in the copier. I look out my window here and see children --and adults-- afraid of walking down the street. I watch jets fly over and wonder if they'll be shot down. I work with people who cannot afford firewood to keep their house -- and wife, and 6 month old child warm. Yet I also have the blessing of working with Americans who have chosen to be here helping. Yes, most of the soldiers I'm working with CHOSE to be here, a few have been here more than once -- that's how important they see their work here. I count it an honor and blessing to stand with them.

Yea, I'll miss Afghanistan while I'm home, I think. Mostly I'll miss my new friends and wish they could just once have the luxury of asking "Honey, where are we eating dinner tonight?" or "Where will I go on vacation this year?" or "Hey man, you wanna go to the ballgame tonight?"

2007-04-09T09:52:00.000-05:00

4-9-07

Easter and Konduz

First, the Easter sunrise service yesterday was really awesome! There was a choir, doves, great preachin', and about 100+ people. I was talking with Chaplain Fisher at the gym tonight, and he heard today that it was the only sunrise service held in Afghanistan yesterday! Now THAT's a testament to the the chaplain staff at the base here. I have a couple pictures which I'll post below.

Chaplain Fisher delivering the opening scripture

The Choir!

Doves that were released but didn't stray far

I actually had to leave the service just as Chaplain Shaw was gettin' cranked up because we had a convoy to the airport for an 8am flight to Konduz, which is province and a city, about an hour flight north. It would take about 2 days to drive there, because the mountains are incredible between here and there! Kabul sits at about 6500 ft above sea level and is surrounded by moutain peaks reaching over 11,000'. Konduz sits at about 1200' and is surrounded by some of the same 11,000' peaks! It was beautiful. The area was lush, the city clean, the people friendly (just as they've been all over), and there are remnants of the Soviets all over the place. It was obvious they got their butts handed to 'em -- there are tank shells that are upside down, fighter jets in pieces, I could go on. The weather was great -- 85 degrees and sunny! I think I actually got a minor tan!

Of props and peaks. Just north of Kabul

Soviet tank graveyard

Afghan surface to air missle delivery vehicles. These have long been retired.

So, on Sunday morning, I found my new dreamland -- Feyzabad (pronounced 'Faiz-a-bad'). It's this little village thats nestled in a grand valley at like 3870' above sea level. The peaks surrounding it range from 7700' to 9800'. We landed on this Soviet runway that was built using corrugated panels for fast construction. There's grass growing through the panels and the only thing you see coming in to it is a faint white line on the ground. The flight into the valley was gorgeous -- pictures do not do this place justice. I was wishing for a video cam! I have a picture below -- and no, that's not Colorado!

View of the valley of Feyzabad looking north from beside the runway.

One last word about Konduz....the Afghan soldiers and police there are really a few notches above the others I've seen in this country. They all wore their wool uniforms squared away -- even in the 85 degree heat, they saluted our colonels (and me for some reason) with a snap and at attention, and basically you can tell these men take pride in what they are doing. That's not to say the others don't, and after mentioning this as a product of the trainers the U.S. has there, one of the instructors was quick to respond that it's the people in that region. They take more pride in everything they are and do -- and it shows. The city of Konduz itself has sidewalks -- not mud-- so folks walk there and not in the street. The markets were clean and colorful. Some burqa clad lasses wore white instead of blue or black. The pride of the tribes living in Konduz really shows through and it was a joy to see!

2007-04-03T11:54:00.000-05:00

4-3-07

"Picture pages, picture pages, time to get your picture pages. Time to get your pad and your pencil!" Ok, if you know where that's from, you're allright! If you don't, well, go ask your parents!

So I went on a little excursion to a western province last week and got to spend 5 days with some pretty cool guys. They're all Colonels and 3 of the 4 actually came here voluntarily out of retirement. I won't bore you with a lot of words this time, just pictures of me from various places last week. I hope you enjoy!

First, me measuring off a potential site for a facility. Proof that I am actually working! I need to fix my vest situation -- that one looks too much like a target. But hey, it's what our Blue H guys have. Not that it'll save me from IED, but it WILL stop an AK round if shot directly at that little plate!

Construction guy had to toss in construction equipment pictures sometime!

In the background is a small village near one of the training facilities we're building.

Ah-hah! Now the fun begins....that's the Iranian border behind me. And it was very cold that day. The above picture was taken the day before and as you can see, the weather took a turn for the worst.

Another shot from the border....

Proof that I am actually in Afghanistan, in case we had forgotten!

Suited up in the HumVee. I'm sending this picture to Rudy Project for their "Show us your Rudy's" picture contest. I bet they never thought they're glasses would be worn in a combat zone.

These were some boys in the passport control office at the border.

The Cdr and I after surveying the site for a facility. Cool guy from northern VA. He's a Navy SeeBee working with the military agency that is leading this work. I could go on and brag here that the Navy guys are actually about to take control of that group because the Army guys are all phasing out. But then I'd upset a Col. or three and would have to make up for it. Oh, I know, Sir, we'll name the South Camp at A-skan for ya! Jack's Stop and Drop! (inside joke ya'll-- you'd a had to been there!)

2007-03-27T10:34:00.000-05:00

3-27-07
Herat

So today was a day of firsts for me:
(1) first time in a private jet
(2) first military convoy
(3) first time getting a workout OUTSIDE in Afghanistan (WOO-HOO!!!)
(4) first time seeing people live like the Patriarchs of the Christian faith

I'm in Herat, Afghanistan and yes, there is obviously internet access here, but not everywhere, just in the military compounds. This province is beautiful! It's mountainous with green fertile land. The towns and villages are amazing -- they're mud hut villages, well, ok not all of them. You've likely heard that much of the Afghan population is nomadic. Well, I'm here to tell ya, it's true. It's beautiful! All over the countryside are flocks of sheep, goats, camels all being tended to by the shepherd. The nomadic people live in these huge brown tents -- which, once you experience the wind here, you gain even more respect for them! In the coming months, I've heard that the wind will howl across these parts at 40-50 mph for about 140 days. As we would drive past, people would run to road and wave at us -- it was quite the sight to behold!

Another sight is the convoy itself. We had (3) HumVees and (4) pick up trucks (1 Ford and 3 Chevy's). If you had told me 6 months ago that I'd be cruising through Afghanistan in a Chevy truck listening to Toby Keith and Kenny Chesney, I'd have asked what you were smokin'! Well, with the sun shining down from Heaven, there I was with guys from GA, MI, NY, NJ, and Afghanistan cruising down the road (oh, this one is newly constructed so it's paved and smooth) singing out Kenny Chesney tunes in the backseat of a Chevy truck! Good stuff! Turns out one of the guys in our convoy is from Macon, GA and lives not far from my folks -- it's a small world, I tell ya.

I'll shut up in a minute and get to some pictures, but this is important. I got to go for a run today in the great outdoors! The headwind was strong but WOW was it nice to be outside and not on a treadmill or spin bike.

Allright, calm down.....here are the pictures....

This camel got away from the herd.

Don't fret -- we're well guarded out here! Notice the "Heartbeat of America" made it to the 'Stan!

Typical mud hut village (sorry for the blurred foreground, but this was taken at about 50 mph through armored glass which is about 2" thick).

Construction geek coming out.... here's a wall being constructed for security at one of our camps.

Not a bad view, eh? Notice the kids on the right side of road waving at us. This was pretty typical of everyone we saw today.

Token bike shot

A guard tower in Herat. The flag may be tattered but the spirit of the people is not. The soldiers here get paid $70 / month. They share one rifle between (3) men. Yet they stand up and guard their country from would be attackers, and they believe in a better Afghanistan, that's why they man their post.

2007-03-23T05:50:00.000-05:00

3-23-07

Bazaar Day!

So it's Friday and we took the afternoon off as usual. I've not felt well the last two days but after starting on a Z-pak and taking a couple ibuprofin last night, I went to bed early and felt better this morning! {WHEW}. We did the typical Friday thing and went to lunch and the bazaar and, of course, I bought more stuff. However, I can't tell you what I got because it might ruin a surprise! I'll let the pictures do the talking.

2007-03-20T13:02:00.000-05:00

3-20-07

سال نوتان مبارک باد

That's "Happy New Year!" in Dari. It's pronouced "Sal- new- tan mob rake baad". Today is New Year's Eve here and so our Afghan friends have off work until Saturday. We didn't really have a choice in the matter, they informed us in our weekly meeting on Saturday that they had off for those 3 days! Ya gotta love how democracy works!

To celebrate, we did the traditional American thing and ordered food. We had lunch catered in and gathered everyone 'round the table. In contrast to American New Year's, there is no alcohol consumed by the Afghan people in celebration. Instead, the tradition is to eat healthy meals which differ is portion and cost from their everyday. The logic is that if you eat well at New Year's, you will have plentiful food and good health in the coming year. Those who can afford to, travel north to Paghram and enjoy the holiday by relaxing away from home. Most others stay home with family and enjoy rest there.

(I'm deeply sorry if the formatting is off today. I'm very tired and have been fighting the formatting on this post for 20 minutes....I give up!)

Here are some pictures from our lunch today...

While on base today, I snapped this shot of the flags which represent the countries participating in the security and assistance of Afghanistan. Nothing like seeing Ol' Glory fly in the breeze of a sunny day! Here you'll see England, Turkey, Holland, Australia, France, Belgium, Italy, Romania, and others surrounding the Afghanistan and US flags.

Now, being the Americans we are and today being a holiday, it gave us reason to go out for dinner and drinks. Yes, expats get to embibe while it's against local custom and culture for the Afghan people to. Thus, we made our way to the Red Hot Sizzlin' steakhouse (which is UN approved, btw) and joined with some Aussie friends of ours from down the block for dinner and drinks. Interesting thing, the Aussies were drinking Corona, a Mexican beer, while the Americans drank Victoria Bitter, an Aussie brew, which was served in a German beer pint glass! Ya gotta love the contrast in this place! It's very easy to see the influence that the rest of the world is having on the country. Of course, I collected the German glass to add to my collection back home ;) It'll go right next to the Harp pint given me by my friend Erin from her trip to Ireland.

I'll close today with a New Year's wish given our staff by Sonia, our Afghan administrative assistant.

Happy New Year to you!

~Charles

Another year unfolds,

New paths we have to tread.

We wonder what life holds

In the brand new year ahead.

My special wish just for you

Is a blessing from God above,

To make this your happiest year,

Filled with joy, Success, Prosperity and Peace

May you enjoy a healthy life and endless luck in this brand new year!
My sincere best wishes for this year and many years to come.

2007-03-18T21:21:00.000-05:00

3-19-07

0700hrs
Dateline Kabul, Afghanistan (like I was going someplace?)

Okay, so I started this blog as an update to my sponsors so they'd be able to quickly see what it is I'm up to with my racing. Well obviously the first part of the 2007 season sees me here in Kabul so I ain't doin' any racing! But this post is going to be primarily about cycling today.

As I cruise the streets here I see literally hundreds of people on bikes everyday -- rain, snow, shine. I saw a guy the other day ride his 50 lb Hero Cycle bike with no tire tread, wearing dress shoes through mud that was almost 2' deep -- and he never dabbed (translated to non-mtn bikers -- put his foot down)! I laughed at it and the guys with me asked if I could do that; my response was that my bike wouldn't get close to this mud and I could name 10 mtb racers back home that would have busted going through that! (and for the record, I probably would've fallen).

The Afghan people ride because it's cheaper than a car or taxi. They wrap their bikes in tape to keep it from rusting. They have full fenders on front and rear tires -- sometimes they splurge and buy aftermarket fenders from the fender vendor on the street. Every one of the bikes has a rear rack and most also have a front rack. See my post earlier (2-23-07 maybe) which has the picture of the Hero bike and you'll see what they ride. I see guys carrying a person on the rear rack. I've seen slabs of raw meat flung over the handlebars and rear rack. I've seen piles of stuff strapped to the bike like I would load up my truck -- and the people ride.

Young, old, man, woman (some with burkas on) -- it doesn't matter. They ride their bikes. Rain? HMPH! Snow? No problem. Sunshine? The bike outnumber cars on the road! (the donkey carts number stays about the same though).

I've often wondered in our travels about town how strong these guys most be on their bikes. I wish I could get more pictures to show you but our security guys won't let me. I want to show you the bike parking lots that are clogged with bikes. I want to show you the shipping container these things arrive in -- just stacked in like sardines, not in a boxes. The Afghani people ride their bike ---oh, did I mention that they have 1 gear? I have 27, to put it in perspective. They ride up the mountains you see in my pictures, and that's just to get home after working all day, and they're likely carrying water or dinner on the rack too!

Getting to the point....so I'm cruising the internet last night and I come across Van dessel bikes website. Something catches my eye about Iraq....I click and get this http://www.vandesselsports.com/athletes.php?team=iraq. Holy crap! There's an Iraqi National Cycling Team? WHAT?! SWEET! So I wrote the main sponsor and asked if they've ever thought about A-stan. We'll see what they say today, hopefully.

Are you listening? Reading between the lines yet? My close friends knew exactly where this was going from paragraph one. SPONSORS! The Afghan people have to be the hardest working folk I've ever seen and they are so excited right now to get 3 days off work this week for their New Year's festivities. They work 6 days a week, every week, without fail. They are fighting to save their country and their culture and their families and for freedom like they've never known. So I ask you, why don't THEY deserve to have some fun once in awhile? Back in the States, we go party and play every weekend -- for TWO days -- and we don't work nearly as hard as these people do.

So the seed is firmly planted in my head. If I get the opportunity to come back here after this initial trip, I want to start doing something more to help. The Afghans have hope for a bright future -- why can't they have a little bit now? Starting today I'm looking into what it would take to start a cycling club or team here in Kabul. Why not? They already ride bikes! I'm contacting Gary Fisher, Cyclists for Cultural Exchange, and every other organization that does work in other countries. Dirt Rag magazine did an article not long ago about Rwanda or someplace off the map like that. Someone out there will help, I know it. I mean, Iraq still has active fighting everyday -- we just have the threat of it everyday here in Kabul so we're already ahead of the game! I want to know what to do, how to do it, how to get the money, how to get a coach, everything it takes -- I want to know it and start getting it in action.

The Lord knew I was getting down and weary because of all this rain, so He sent this little thing my way to keep my brain occupied! Well, it's working!

Any sponsors yet? Don't worry, you'll be hearing from me! Okay, I have to get to work....

2007-03-16T08:04:00.000-05:00

3-16-07

Helmet Head

I finally found a hat that doesn't make my ears look big!

So the trip is on. I gots me armor and departure time. Marv and Jamison just got back a couple hours ago and they had a quiet trip, only their teeth chattering in their head on the roads!

I doubt most of you know this, but I had planned all my life of being a Navy SEAL, but God had other plans for me. So this weekend trip with a bunch of Navy and Army guys will be not only be a nice getaway from Kabul-town, but will be the closest I've been in a long time to the military. Donning the armored vest and helmet a bit ago just got me wondering how different life would have been had God let me be a SEAL.

Okay, we're off to steak & lobster night so I gots ta go! MMMMmmmmmmmm......lobster.......

2007-03-16T03:43:00.000-05:00

3-16-07
Nose Pickin'

I don't know that I've EVER picked my nose as much as I do over here! It's still cold outside and snow still lingers on the ridgelines surrounding this city so we have the heat running inside the house ALL the time. We have split units and floor heaters that run constantly. The house structure is entirely concrete and the floors in all but the bedrooms are tile -- so the place is always chilly. It also lacks the warmth of a place that we, as Americans, would call "home". Thus, with the heat always on the air inside the house is dry which takes it's toll on your skin -- and your nose!

Okay, now that you're laughing and wondering what in the world I'm talking about, I'll get along lil' donkey! Things are good for us here. We're awaiting the return of our friends Jamison and Marv from the Kandahar (K-har) province. They should be landing in a few minutes and since two planes have just departed KIA (Kabul International Airport), I'm guessing flights are still on today. There's really no reason why they shouldn't be, but things change here in a moments notice, with or without reason. I'm still scheduled to make a visit to K-har tomorrow sometime so tonight I'm washing clothes and packing for a few days. Oh, and tonight is steak & lobster night at the mess hall on base so guess where we're eatin' din-din tonight?! Schweeeeeet! Steak & lobster, wash clothes, hang out by the bonfire while clothes are washing......should be a good evening.

Well, not much else to say. I appreciate the emails and phone calls that you send. I'm sorry if I don't get back to your messages quickly or at all. Please just know that I do get them. Please pray that it's a quiet weekend down south in K-har province. Our trip to Kunduz next week has been pushed back, and we've got another site out west of here to go see. That should be a good trip too.

Have a great Friday, I hear it's supposed to be rainy in Atlanta so THFFFT :p That's what you ALL get for bragging to me this week about how wonderful the weather's been!

I still don't know where my house keys are. And Joey, nice try. I DO know where my bikes are...punk!

2007-03-13T22:36:00.000-05:00

3-14-07
0810 hours

The latest is that we do not know for certain if the explosion was the direct result of a carbomb. We do know that 5 are dead, 20 injured. We also know that it was not something that was directed at the military or other Western agency. It apparently was an explosion of (4) shops which all contained gun powder. Like I said, it could still have been an IED or carbomb that started it but the likihood of that is slim right now. See, the people here use open flames for cooking and they drink chai tea like we do our favorite Starbuck's drink. The present news we're getting is that it is likely one of these open flames warming someone's morning chai that caused the explosion. Apparently there was enough gun powder amoungst the (4) shops to do some damage though.

We're still in a lockdown mode until everything clears but it's less of a concern right now.

2007-03-13T21:32:00.000-05:00

3-14-07

0700 hours

Kabul, Afghanistan

Breaking news that I'm sure you'll hear about back home....the Coaltition Forces base here in Kabul just got hit with a car bomb. We're going into lockdown mode here at the Villa and our teammates that were to fly back in today may be delayed in Dubai. The picture shown was taken literally moments after I felt the percussion on the windows and heard the explosion. Right now all is quiet and our PST (private security team) is business as usual. I'm supposed to have a meeting at one of the other bases this morning at 0800 hours and I've just spoken with the Cdr. to see if we're still on but we're not sure yet if the base is in total lockdown.

It could be an interesting morning....

I'll keep ya posted as the day goes on here.

2007-03-12T12:28:00.000-05:00

3-12-07

Happy Monday to you! So not much new to report here except the plans for the week, which lead into a couple prayer requests. It's been raining and snowing a bit more here in Kabul over the weekend so the roads around our neighborhood are back to being mud pits. I joke with our folks here that America just needs to send a few good ol' Georgia Rednecks over here with a slew of Rebel flags and their 4x4's and rest assured, the Taliban would stop any and all activity!

So I promised in my last posting that I'd send you some pictures from the new room on the upper deck of the Villa. So I've included a couple below. Take note that I did not manipulate the color on these at all. I just set my little Fujifilm FinePix A600 to the night setting and snapped away. These pictures were taken this evening, Monday, at about 6:00pm local time.

Alright, moving onto important matters. As I'm sure you've all heard, action is picking up here and much of the rebel activities are in the Southern areas of the country (must be something about the South regions of countries that fuels disdain for government...but I digress...that's another entry for another day). One of the hottest areas of the country is the Kandahar Province. Well, on Tuesday we have two of our team heading to K-har for site visits with our military counterparts. They'll be gone until Friday. I may be heading to Kunduz, which is North of our location in Kabul, on Wednesday or Thursday of this week before heading to K-har for the weekend. Since our team here is working on two different areas, our military counterparts represent the same split in focus thus, it's incredibly difficult to try and coordinate that many people for one trip to go see different things. Hence the reason why I will not be traveling with Marv and Jamison on Tuesday's trip to K-har. Oh, I should add that we will be traveling with military forces so we'll be very well guarded!

Here's a map so you can follow along at home!

Furthermore, I have a new friend that is currently on a trip outside of Kabul, where she is based. She's a Marine who calls Lafeyette, IN home and she works with public relations for the Corps. She wrote the other day that she got to spend some time as the turret gunner on a HumVee for a couple convoys this week and she was pretty stoked about that! To fully understand the danger of this, I've included a picture -- not of any operations currently in Afghanistan -- so you can see how exposed the turret gunner is. This person must be on their toes and have their eyes open no matter what. Watching these guys suit up for transport makes you truly proud to be an American! Jamison, my coworker, is a former Tanker for the US Army and fought in Desert Storm and when he saw the armor these gunners were sporting, he was impressed.

Oh, and I know there've been talks back home about ramping up troop sizes here and Iraq. Well, I may not know much, but I do know that we're seeing a lot of new faces around, many of whom look to be only 19 or 20 yrs old.

Do us a favor and keep all these people in your prayers this week. Not that I'm seasoned here or anything, but it doesn't take long to figure out a thing or two. You can tell the new folks in country by the wide-eyed stares and freshly pressed BDU's. Some of these men and women left children at home to come here. They get no time to let jet lag catch up to 'em - they're put to work straight away in their armor, no matter the time of day.

I'm confident that we'll all be just fine because I know our God will protect us. I've not heard from the Marine in a few days but that was expected. I'm sure she's just fine because I know she spends a good amount of time in prayer before our God as well. Now, that doesn't make planning for the trip to K-har any less stressful. We'll go and do our jobs. If something happens to me while I'm gone, then hopefully I've accomplished whatever it was that God had set out for me to do.

2007-03-10T07:02:00.000-05:00

3-10-07
Who has my house keys? I'm sitting here wrapping up the work day and just had this fear come over me that I have absolutely no idea whatsoever who has my house keys? Is it my parents? Is it one of my friends? Did I leave them on the counter? Not a clue. My folks took me to the airport and I think I left my keys with them. I hope so!

I miss my dogs. My mom told me that they haven't chewed or destroyed anything -- WHEW! I'll tell ya this, the first day I'm home, those dogs aren't leaving my side!

And I'm going for a drive -- just to go for a drive and see my city again. I'll drive my truck with my dogs in the back eatin' it up!

I'll eat lunch at Chick-Fil-A. Yessir. That is where I'll eat lunch. And breakfast or dinner will be at Cracker Barrel. You betcha! And my dogs are comin' with me; the managers are just going to have to understand. And I'm oh so sure they will. {rolling eyes}

So I just moved upstairs to the 3rd floor where I now have a private room. No more snoring roomie. No more of having someone else ALWAYS 3 feet from me. I'll be able to make phone calls without having him in my ear talking to his family. Not that it's bad, it's just that neither of us have had any privacy since we got on the plane in Atlanta. Everyone else here has private rooms. Now we do too. Maybe he's used to it because he's married with 3 kids and since I'm not married and don't have a roommate, I'm not used to it. I'll get you all some pictures of the new digs later on, but it's 3 walls of windows and it's above the power lines so I have clear view to the mountains beyond.

I'm missing my workouts. In order to get a workout, I can't just walk to the base. I can't just drive to the base. I have to coordinate it with everyone else in the house and figure out where my little workouts fit in with everyone's dinner plans because we have 7 people and 2 SUV's. It'll be nice to just take the dogs for a walk around my block. It'll be nice to get on my bicycle and take off down the street when I get home.

I guess you could say I'm in a bit of a slump. I'm not stressed out, I'm not upset, I'm no less thrilled to be here. I just miss the freedoms I'm accustomed to. Last night I just sat in the living room and watched TV, something I've not done in quite some time (since before I left the States).

Cheers all!

2007-03-06T07:01:00.000-05:00

3-6-07

Today got started the best a day could.....with a hike! I'll let the pictures do the talking, but a few of us went out at 5:30am to catch a sunrise hike up and over Shir Darwaza, a mountain that separates Kabul into North and South. There's a wall along the ridgeline that was used to defend the city at some point in history -- I'll have to research that. However, there are records of recent fighting there as well, which is evident by the empty .50cal shells I found along the trail. Now, this was one of those hikes where we were instructed to stay on trail, because there are still mines scattered about. Who would plant them up there? Someone crazy, that's who! Attendees on the hike included Smudge, Frank, Matt, Scottie, Ralph, Jamison, Tillie the bomb dog, and myself. (The first 4 names on that list are guys from Blue H, so we were in no danger at any time)!

Our hike started and ended in two different villages, and I cannot describe the poverty we saw. There is no central sanitation system so basically there's a pipe coming out of the house that is to remove the "stuff" from the homes, but it just gets it outside onto the ground. Kabul is a beautiful city with magnificent landscapes surrounding it, but I'm afraid the residents don't enjoy it as much as we do.

Top of the Shir Darwaza is about 2300 m, and the elevation of the city os about 2000m above sea level. Hopefully you'll enjoy the pictures!

2007-03-04T12:52:00.000-05:00

3-4-07

Today is Yak shanbe (Sunday) the charoom (4th) roz (day) of mars (March). Ha! I'm sure there's a more proper way to put that, but I have to put my new Dari language dictionaries to use sometime, eh?

Well, thanks to a Marine I met on Friday night at a campfire on base, I found out there are church services on Yak shanbe at 1100 and 1900 hours at the Camp. Given that we work on Sunday here, I was able to make the 1900 service (7:00pm) and I'm glad I was able to go. The worship was contemporary with a small praise team and the Word was delivered by one of the new chaplains on base. Chaplain Shaw is a gospel minister from Alabama and I promise you, he almost broke loose a couple times and we came really close to havin' us some CHURCH! It was extremely refreshing. The passage that he used for his message is one of my favorites, from Ex. 33:13-23 where Moses asks God to show him the Glory!

The format was very camp meeting like. The Chaplain asked after the worship time if anyone had anything to testify and folks did. We took communion after the message, and he asked for prayer requests before a brief prayer time.

On that subject, please keep a young Naval officer in your prayers. A few days ago, Lt. Rob (I won't post last names) was in the infirmery with what he thought was a cold. He left there in a coma. He was airlifted to Germany where his condition did not improve and now he is at Besthesda Naval Hospital. His wife is with him, but there has been no change in his condition. I'm sure there are a hundred other stories like this, but this is one I heard of tonight. Please add this family to your prayers. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get any updates, but I am going to try and find out where the Chaplain's offices are and pop in on them from time to time, so maybe I will.

Let's see...what else. Oh, I did mention about my laptop crashing. The good folks I work with in Atlanta are getting me a new one out on Monday I do believe. I've had a webcam up for about 1 day, so when I get the chance to get a new cam, I will and I'll try to get a short film of our offices and inside of the villa, maybe getting some of the faces I work with as well. I've never done anything like that so it may take me some work to figure out, but I'll do what I can. I wish I could take pictures on the base, because I've seen some great opportunities to capture the geography surrounding Kabul with an Army tent or flag or sand bag wall or armored HumVee. I understand the reasoning, but it would still be nice to capture.

Okay, I know I've spoiled you all with pictures so here are a few more. We had the chance to buy some local things at a bazaar on Friday so here are some of my findings.

See those marble goblets and vases? They cost me less than $40 total! Don't feel skimped if you're one of the lucky ones to get a marble vase as a gift, though, remember I'm the one who has to carry 'em home! The blue and gold thing there is a bedspread and matching pillow cases which I got for $5.

Here's my Ghengis Khan warrior helmet! It'll be a good thing to hang on a shelf. I'm not sure how old it REALLY is, but it's cool nonetheless. The thing in my hand is a tool used to harvest vegetables, not a tool of war, but it just looks cool with the helmet!

Is he French or Afghani? The hat was made popular by Masud, the "Lion of the Panjshir", Tajik mujahed commander of the JIA and then top military chief of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. He was assassinated in 2001.

Okay, that's enough for tonight. Oh, and in case you're interested, the attack that you're hearing about on the news today occured on the Jalalabad Rd near the city of Jalalabad. It was not near Kabul, but over the mountain from us. Everything is still quiet here. And I'm keeping you guys back home in prayer as well. I saw the results of the tornados that ripped through south GA and I'm about to call home and check on my folks. I spoke with my sister earlier and she said there was some damage in Macon at my parent's house. I also heard that a friend in Americus sustained some damage to their home and business.

2007-03-01T22:32:00.000-05:00

3-2-07

Friday! Today is our "off" day here, which means we'll work a little bit but will be able to do some other things as well. There's a bazaar today at Camp Eggers at which locals sell their wares and we'll head over there as well as the American Embassey. The weather is nice here today, so it'll be a good day to be outside!

Yesterday a couple of us took a walk up to the grocery store and it was honestly about the highlight of my week! See, since we have the Blue H guys, we cannot go anywhere without an armed escort and because of the rules we have to follow concerning security, they are obligated to ensure our safety, which is why we typically drive everywhere. We're picked up and dropped off behind gates and walls and such whenever possible. Where not, they exit the vehicles first and scan the area before letting us out. So given the chance to take a stroll up the street was a welcome gift! Now, we didn't go unescorted. One of our Blue H guys went with us but I think he volunteered just so he could get a change of pace as well.

I'm excited about the break today. I'll get a chance to catch up on my journal and some reading that I've not had time for this week. Before I left the States, I was doing this Bible study of I Samual with some guys from church and I've not done anymore reading since I got here. Hopefully I'll be able to find a place outside on the patio to catch up on it while taking in some sunlight. Oh, we all went out last night with another contractor and you would not believe the night sky here. I went out Wednesday night as well to have dinner with some folks from ECC, Inc and their compound is located out near the airport so you get a really good view of the sky. It's neat because since we're on similar parallels, I get to see the same constellations as back home. It's a little comforting, to have something here that reminds one of home.

Okay, enough yammering.....onto the pictures!

Ralph & Jamison ready for our stroll

This is outside of the villa. Now, before you go thinking we're living the highlife here, remember -- this is our house and our office and there are about 15 people that live here presently.

Now you see why Ralph has on those boots! This is the street our villa is on.

Here's the little store just up the street from us with it's proud manager of the day! We didn't shop here today, but went to the larger which is on up the block, on a paved road.

Here are the children that "escorted" us to the store.

There's nothing like the smile of a child to brighten your day!

As I eludeded to earlier, here are the bread winners for the family. They were so happy about their new prizes that I couldn't resist this shot.

Here I am with them (notice the paved road).

Sunset in Kabul. I do not know the name of the feature shown, but I'm working to get an unclassified map of the area so I'll be able to tell you soon.

2007-03-01T13:22:00.000-05:00

3-1-07

We are experiencing momentary, technical difficulties. Please stand by. Seriously, my laptop crashed just at the end of the workday today and I'm trying to remedy the problem. I have access to another unit, but it does not have all my files obviously so that may present a problem....ARGH!

Once I get the issue corrected, I'll post up some pictures from our walk to the market today. It was quite an enjoyable time and we got to meet some neighborhood children along the way who loved us taking pictures of them. Granted, they wanted a $1USD for each one, but we obliged. See, I'm told these partically children are the bread winners for their family since their father was injured in some fighting and lost a leg. Turns out, he's the guy I've seen around the block on the crutches!

Okay, well, pictures to follow soon. I promise. Tomorrow is a bazaar and half day work since Friday is like Sunday here. We'll be heading to the bazaar and while there I'll be able to pick up some local things to take home. Woo-hoo! I'll be the first in my family to have the Christmas shopping done this year!!!

Cheers!
~Charles

2007-02-27T13:59:00.000-05:00

2-27-07
We're now officially calling Kabul "KaBOOM"! Okay, not funny, I know but cut me some slack. Actually, the explosion you heard about on the news was at Bagram AFB which is about 1.5 hours north of Kabul. All's quiet in Big K today, another day for the markets to be open and people milling about.

In fact, for dinner, a few of us actually walked to dinner. It was only a block and a half through the mud and we still had the Blue H guys with us, but it was nice to get out and go for a stroll.

I now officially have a webcam, but my Yahoo messenger is not recognizing it. The computer finds it, but Yahoo doesn't, so I'm tinkering with that. I can also be reached by phone through Yahoo messenger, now. My ID is "gak2biker", so feel free to call me if you have Yahoo messenger too! It only costs me one cent / minute to call out, and nothing to receive, I think. Skype costs two cents / minute so look at the money I'm saving!! =)

Anyway, I'm off to bed. No new pictures to report. Today was all work. Catch ya tomorrow!

2007-02-26T14:17:00.000-05:00

2-26-07

One of my friends just emailed some questions that I thought I'd answer quickly before turning in for the night. She said that our villa looks huge. Well, it kinda is! It's a 4 story place, one level just below ground with three others above ground. Our offices are on the below ground floor, along with two bedrooms and a storage room. Our security guys double up in the bedrooms down there. The security guys' main office is on our main floor with the living room, dining room, kitchen, 1 bath, and 1 bedroom. The 2nd floor, where we're at, has 5 bedrooms and the room I'm in sleeps two so 6 of us are here on the 2nd. There are 3 bathrooms on this floor as well. The 3rd floor I've only seen once, but I think there may be 2 bedrooms with baths, and 3 security guys.

In all, I believe there are at least 14 people that sleep in the villa, and we have three more coming in next week for a short time. There's a guard shack manned 24-7 outside the gate you see in the snowy picture, and to the left inside the wall is another security hut where a couple guys stay. Needless to say, we're well covered with guards!

Now, the area of town we're in is obviously not the same as what you see in the pictures I've posted. The villas around us are pretty similar to ours in size. The Spanish Embassy is just around the corner, and the house being built next to us is valued at like $500k - $1M USD. Definitely NOT par for the course in Kabul, but at least there is money coming into the economy, which bodes well for the city and country.

From here on, I'll likely refer to our security force as Blue H to make it easier, at least for me. Okay, off to bed. 8:00 am meeting with the Army and ya can't be late to those things!

Cheers!

2007-02-26T11:20:00.000-05:00

2-26-07

More pics...

Sunrise over the villa up the street from us.

Which of these do you use? Yes, that's a porcelein hole in the floor with foot pads so you can do the one hung low squat! Um....the only time I want to do THAT is in the woods, not in my house.

Moving on....sorry these are not clearer but it was very overcast and snowing today. Plus, these were taken from a moving vehicle...

The morning commute. I'll NEVER complain about my commute in Atlanta again. This is incredible and beyond words. Cars, pedestrians, kids selling things, people on bikes -- all on the street on a mission. There are no lines on the road to seperate lanes. There are no rules of passing except to honk then floor it. It's so crazy, that our driver this morning bumped a guy walking to get him to move. The ex-pats here that drive are told not to stop if they hit someone or run over them or are in an accident. A mob will form and you'll stand no chance against them. It's just THAT crazy!

A bike shop (you knew I'd fine these!)

Typical street scene

"if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either." II Thessalonians 3:10

Amidst the poverty and ruins, the people work. In fact, they realized that a 5 day work week was not enough to get their economy rolling and to restore the country so they are now on a 6 day work week.

I wish I could share more of my pictures, but I'm getting a little frusatrated with loading them on the blog tonight. The blog site is not cooperating and I've spent the better part of 2 hours just getting these up. It's getting late here and I still have some work to do before morning. I'll try to get the pictures transferred to a photo sharing site sometime soon so you can see them all.

2007-02-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

2-26-07

Snowy Monday in Big K. This pic was taken from the balcony outside my room on the 2nd floor of our villa. You can see the muddy streets and the walls that help keep the bad things out.

Here are a few more pictures from move in day...

The room Jamison and I are sharing

The hallway outside our room, 2nd floor of 4

Since I'm having some trouble loading pics, I'm going to close this thread out and start another with some shots from today's excursion.

2007-02-24T12:29:00.000-05:00

2-24-07
Hello from Kabul!
We finally made it! It's 6:45pm here, 9:15am there -- yea it's a weird time zone apparently. We basically didn't sleep last night but we finally got up at like 4 and made our way to the aiport only to be told to wait until 6:30 which turned into 7:15 but the attendant got us on the flight. We had to pay extra for being UNDER the baggage weight -- yea, UNDER!Funny thing is Jamison had more weight than I but we had to pay the same amount - it was basically a "screw you American tax" we think because we were the only ones to pay it. Anyway, the flight was nice --I got to sit in 1st class! Well, the big leather chair with more legroom was about all the difference it was on the flight but I'll take it.

The Afghan landscape is amazing. The mountains are tall, bigger than the Rockies, and they totally emcompass the city of Kabul. In the airport this morning we met some others who work in Kabul and have for 3 yrs, and another guy working security for another outfit. I got some good information from the other two of things to watch out for but also found out from Deana, an Aussie lady, that Sunday and Wednesday are salsa nights, Monday is trivia -- they had to make sure we knew the important stuff! I sat next to a Bulgarian banker on the flight and got more info from him.

Once on the ground in Kabul, you quickly realize you ain't in Kansas anymoreToto! Soldiers running drills just off the runway, soldiers greet the plane, soldiers shuffle you through passport check and baggage claim -- all the while looking at you in a very intimindating manner, even though they're not packing guns. This one lady US Army Capt. almost got herself in trouble. She was packing heat, as was her partner, and they were waiting for some folks on our flight. Well, she kept trying to come inside the terminal and the UN guy kept telling her she wasn't allowed inside with her guns. It's stuff like that which makes ya wonder what we think as Americans sometimes. Why did she persist? There was no reason and all it did was upset the local police who are trying to maintain the rules.

Outside the terminal, our security force was not there. We carried our bags past several guys with guns and other folks were getting shuffled by their security teams into SUV's. I met a guy from SOC, another security detail, and he let me call our guys. Apparently they had called to find out when the flight was coming in and were told 12:30 so they were shocked that we got here at like 11:30. Anyway, it all worked out. One of the locals came up and talked with us for a bit. He works with the tourism board and with airport security and was not pushy but very nice. Once meeting our security detail, they all seem very nice and take their job VERY seriously. They're carrying AK-47's, dress in plain clothes, and drive Toyota 4-Runners -- they like to keep a low profile. The other security details are all in military dress with vests full of shell slings trying to be all bad. Our guys are mostly Scottish, turns out, so I'll likely come home with a touch of Scottish accent!

Even with the unsurety at the airport, it's not really an uncomfortable place. It's really below the poverty line, though, but that doesn't stop folks.Everyone is out buying and selling and playing soccer and doing things, not staying inside or cowling about. That says a lot about the people and their motivation to make this a better place. There's mud everywhere right now because of the thawing in the mountains. Our road is nothing but mud and holes bigger than our SUV! There are "improved" roads but not in the neighborhoods yet.

Tomorrow we'll head over to Camp Eggers and get some briefing over there about our work and the lay of the land there. Apparently that's where we grocery shop and such as well. I'm gonna head downstairs and watch some rugby with the guys on the satellite TV. I guess England's playing Ireland so it ought to be a good game.

I'll get some pictures up tomorrow or Monday. Thank you all for the emails and prayers. I appreciate them very much!

2007-02-23T06:15:00.000-05:00

2-23-07

Well, since we were given an extra day in Dubai, we decided to make the most of it. It's about 3:15pm here and already we've taken quite a stroll about town. We walked to the Naif Souq (spice market) where we went last night, then went for a water taxi tour of the Creek before grabbing lunch. Before departing for that little venture, we tred to track down the Kam Air office only to learn that since today is the Arab world's version of Sunday, the office was closed. The bellhop here at the hotel got us in touch with the Kam Air people via their cell numbers and they had no idea of the situation in Kabul, saying their flight left this morning on schedule. I asked them about getting on the flight tomorrow and the guy just told me to show up in the morning and we'd have seats. Well, that's what we hope to do, but it means tonight is an early night for us, like we thought last night would be. We have to be at the airport by 6:00am, so hopefully this will work.

When I left the States, I knew that one word would have to define this journey: flexibility. Well, we're taking it in stride and trying to make the most of our little break here in Dubai before jaunting off to Kabul, for once we arrive there I'm afraid we'll be in a totally different world, even though it's only a two hour flight from where we currently sit.

Enough with the jabberwocky, here are some pictures from last night and today.

Look -- It's a painted camel, like our painted cows. Apparently all peoples are more similar than we think! I wonder what they were raising money and awareness for.

Here's a sampling of the bicycle that most folks ride. It's a Hero cruiser but the interesting thing is....there are no cables on this bike! That's right, click on the picture and look at the brake lines -- they're s/s metal rods. The owner of this bike tried to sell it to me for 150 AED, which isn't a bad price, but it would cost me much more than that to get it home!

Here's the Naif Souq (spice market). Really cool little place.

Appetizers on Al Rigga Street!

We must have passed this fountain every time we went somewhere. I'm convinced it's like the Big Chicken -- all directions are given from here! "Well, ya get to the pyramid fountain and go...."

Ah yes, dessert!

This was from the boat tour on the Creek. If they call this a creek, I'd hate to see what they call a river!

Dubai Skyline

More skyline

and yet another....

Look at those tower cranes! There are no fewer than 20 tower cranes within 10 minutes of our hotel. That means lots of construction. We didn't make over to the Jumeirah area, but that's where the 7-star hotel is and the Palms and where the new world's tallest hotel is being built. There's a lot of opportunity for construction folks over here ;)

Well, that's about all for now. I hope you've enjoyed your little tour of Dubai today! Hopefully the next pictures you see will be from Kabul.

2007-02-22T16:21:00.000-05:00

2-22-07
4:22 pm EST / 1:22 am 2-23-07 local

We just received word from Kabul that our flight is to be rescheduled for arrival to Kabul on Saturday. Apparently the 23rd is Afghanistan's Independance Day so they're inthe middle of celebrating there freedom from Russian rule and all the airports are locked down. HMPH! Seems like our folks would have known this before we got on airplanes, but I don't mind getting to spend another day in Dubai. It's really nice here and there's a lot of construction going on so I may go job hunting tomorrow! HA!! The people are super friendly and the driving is nutso! If you think Atlanta has bad driving, you ain't seen nuthin' yet! However, I've only seen one car with any dents or damage. It's a very controlled chaos.

We found a nice little market and did some shopping in the little time we had before dinner. I have some pictures that I'll post tomorrow, but given that it's 1:30 am here, I'm off to bed!

Oh, I'm told not to be concerned about the lockdown, it's just a security measure. I'll know more tomorrow but hey, we may end up with another two days in Dubai, who knows?!

Cheers!

2007-02-22T07:18:00.000-05:00

2-22-07
Greeetings from the Renaissance Dubai Hotel!! My coworker, Jamison, and I got into Dubai last night and it was a pretty standard arrival into town evening. Got our luggage -- yes, it all made it -- got checked in at the hotel, then grabbed dinner. You know how it is, you want to try new stuff when you're in a new place and we heard this Cuban band playing in one of the hotel restaurants so that's where we wanted to eat. However, since we changed out of our traveling shoes -- literally-- and put on flip flops, we didn't meet the dress code for that one! Oh, it's so warm here which we are surprised at given that the weather we were expecting was supposed to be in the 50's. (I'm gonna have to learn the C > F conversion so I can understand the weather around these parts!). So for dinner we ended up at Harry's Place, an American styled restaurant / bar complete with am Asian band singing American pop tunes, and they did a relatively decent job with them too!

Not long after dinner it time for a shower and bed. I'd been up since 7:00am EST Tuesday and got to bed last night at like 4:00 p m EST, which means I'd been up for.....33 hours (is that right?). Now, the hotel is nice, but these beds -- WOW!!!! I've never in my life laid on something so much like a cloud! Needless to say, it didn't take long for me to pass out. I woke up a few times just being in a strange place and hearing weird noises, but when I finally looked at my watch and saw it was 3:30 pm local time, I freaked a bit because I'd just lost an entire day -- my first full day in a foreign country and I want to go see the place!

As we traveled to the hotel last night, we passed this place that had a showroom packed full of fully restored classic American trucks -- Chevy, Ford, Dodge -- and Jamison and I both went crazy at the sight! It was most wonderful to see so I'm sure we're going to go there at some point today or tomorrow before we leave. It's actually kind of funny to see the only cars on the road are all American companies. We rode in a Chevy Venture taxi van last night and the Dubai taxi company uses all Chevy and Ford.

Well, sorry no pictures yet. I didn't want to be a silly tourist snapping pictures of airports and the plane we flew on, and the front of the hotel at night then again in the morning. I may get a picture of the bed I slept on, however, because THAT was worth a picture!

I appreciate all the emails and encouragement. Know that you're all in my prayers and thoughts. Time to go see the city!

2007-02-16T12:06:00.000-05:00

2-16-07
Here are a few pictures that I just received from our team in Kabul. They were taken from the rooftop of our villa there! Looks like a beautiful place; hard to believe there are people fighting in a place this beautiful.

2007-02-15T15:35:00.000-05:00

2-15-07

So I figure I'd post a few pictures of the dogs that I've taken in order to make the blog a bit more inviting. These were taken this past weekend. Enjoy!

I'll be leaving these guys behind while I'm gone but they'll be in good hands.

Here's the doggers sitting in the backyard on Saturday night. Gus on left, Mollie on right.

The pictures below were taken Sunday at the dogpark in Marietta. Gus is the second picture and Mollie is the third. This was not long before they both decided to be punks and start fights with the other dogs! Can you imagine these two sweet pups being mean? HA!!!

2007-02-13T12:00:00.000-05:00

2-13-07
T minus (7) days and counting! Money...check. Bible....check. Passport....check. Visa.....Visa.....Visa......hmmmm. Let me get back to you on that! That's one of those things my company is taking care of so let's just say "CHECK" in the hopes that it really IS taken care of (even though I've not heard anything yet). Let's see, what else is there? Oh yea, shots! That's on the schedule for tomorrow. I'm told by the company folks that none are needed -- right!! That's why it pays to have friends at the CDC!

I've had some folks ask me if I'm scared or what will I do if I get shot or any number of 'what if' scenarios. Well, it's easy to answer actually. If I get shot, well, I'll go to the hospital at Camp Eggers. If something lethal happens, then it's okay. But here's the kicker -- I'm not really scared about any of that. I know I'm going and will be covered by the wing of the Lord of Creation so not much else matters. Does that relinquish me of paying attention to my surroundings? Nope. Does that mean I can walk down the street and not care about the loaded down van that just passed me? Nope. I still have to do my part and pay attention to the information I'll be given in the security briefing. No matter what, I know that the Lord has ordained this trip and I just need to depend on Him to provide. We all know that's not as easy as I make it sound, but really, it's not as difficult as we make it sometimes either.

Something struck me last night while listening to a story from a friend that really put some things into perspective. If I say I want to live by the Word of God and that I want to follow God's will and calling then I should probably pay attention when He speaks and ask questions along the way. There've been a lot of things in my life in the past couple of years that I've done where I didn't ask the one important question: "God, is this something you want me to do?" Sometimes we just know, like we KNOW God doesn't want us dealing drugs or shooting someone. But what about driving 10 mph over the speed limit? We KNOW it's wrong, but do it anyway. What about not treating someone as though they're valuable and just seeing them as a means to an end or a way to fill a desire for that moment? What about blowing off a bike ride to spend time helping a friend? HELLO?!! The most important thing in our lives is serving others and not ourselves.

So in that light, I'm off to Afghanistan. My company thinks it's for their work, but I know it's for something entirely different! Even if it's just to allow the Lord God to change my life, then that's better than getting in my car and driving down I-75 each morning with no purpose.

Here's some light reading if you're interested:
Heb 12:1 (you might want to peruse Heb 11 first!)
Psalm 37 -- there's a whole lotta good stuff tucked away there

I gotta go....more things on the to do list to check off. Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day!

2007-02-07T14:13:00.000-05:00

Well, I know it's been awhile but winter has been a rather silent period. Yea, there's always Christmas to keep one occupied, but my day job has kept me pretty tied up too. Okay, well, maybe I've just enjoyed too much of a social life but no matter the reason, I've not been riding. And ya know what? I'm okay with that. I've been in the gym, but I just have not had the time on the few nice days we've had to actually get outside. Take today, for instance, it's a beautiful sunny day, but I'm about to leave one office, go get a passport photo taken, then go to another office location deliver that with a visa application then go run a couple other errands for work before 5:00pm then I have choir rehearsal tonight at 7:00......

Passport photo? Yes, I'm off on a trip oversees. I was asked Monday about going to work in Kabul, Afghanistan for (6) weeks. I head out on February 20 and won't get back until about April 7. Alas, I'll miss the great early season fervor of the breaking weather and riding and I won't get to do the Cohutta 100 as planned, but I'd rather go on this trip than be wrapped up in one thing in life. That said, the next two weeks are filling up quickly with logistics and packing and shopping and trying not to panic. I was okay yesterday, but today I'm a little freaked. There's much to do and most folks plan trips like this over the course of months. Fortunately, all the travel arrangements are being made by my company....WHEW!

It should be a nice trip, actually, that I'm looking forward to. I have a great confidence that the Lord has opened this door and I'm just trusting Him to take care of the details and of me. I'm comfortable with the protection level that we'll have from our security force and since we have folks there presently, it's not like I'm going in to this totally blind.

I'll try to post while I'm gone and maybe get some pictures up to make the reading more enjoyable. I'll see you at the Cohutta 100 race, but don't look for me to be riding, I'll see ya at the SAG stops =)

Thank you in advance for your prayers!

2006-11-28T13:21:00.000-05:00

11-27-06
Thanksgiving Report

Like most, I look forward to the Thanksgiving holiday with all the eating and hanging around the table with my family. In recent years, a couple new traditions have developed for our Thanksgiving celebration:
1. The men go play golf on Thursday morning
2. I take my niece(s) for a mountain bike ride.

One is not neccessarliy as fun as the other. Golf, for example, is not my idea of a super fun time. I've played a grand total of 36 holes of golf in my entire life, both on Thanksgiving Day. Now, I don't mind the driving range and I don't really dislike the game of golf. I respect those who can play it well because I understand the difficulty of hitting that darn round ball and doing so with finesse. For most of the round, I was hitting the ball straight down the fairway. My tee shots were typically long and in the fairway, but my 2nd shots sucked! I almost always topped the ball and couldn't get under the thing, so although it would still go straight, it would only go about 20-50 yards. Then if I did get under it, I'd launch it past the green about 15 yards. My putts got better as the day progressed, but the greens were so fast, we might as well as been putting on plywood.

Taking my niece(s) for a mountain bike ride -- now THAT's fun! I have 3 nieces and a nephew who are all into different things. The oldest niece, Catie, loves riding her bike and I'll be darned if I won't support that! I started this new tradition last year by offering the choice of some present from a department store for her birthday or going out for a ride. She much prefers and anticipates our rides. This time, her sister, Becky (second oldest) wanted to tag along. So on Friday afternoon, off we went. Bikes loaded, brakes adjusted, Camelbak full. For Thanksgiving, our family usually hangs at my parent's house in Macon, GA. Now, I can't stand riding in Macon because the trails are only 4-5 mile loops and they're just neverending technical puzzles that afford no opportunity for the REAL fun of opening up the throttle and letting loose. I've gotten so spoiled with the mountains of North GA, TN and NC that I just don't like the trails in Macon. But my nieces, well, they don't know any better and a 4-5 mile loop is a good ride for them.

We rode for about an hour, but started by playing around on some dirt jumps that OMBA (Macon chapter of SORBA) has built in the field at the Thomson trails. You'll recognize that name, Thomson, because it's likely on your seatpost or handlebar stem! Interestingly, when I lived in Macon and was working for an industrial supply house after high school, LH Thomson Company was a customer of mine. When I discovered that they made these really sweet bike components, it was nice to have something to be proud of come from Macon! The dirt jumps were fun for the girls and I showed them how to roll over them. They kept wanting me to jump them, but given my last jumping incident that resulted in a titanium rod in my right arm, I played it safe and just gave them a quick bunny hop over a large log. That quieted the requests for jumps and off we went to the trailhead.

Here are some pictures from our ride:
1. Catie & Becky preride
2. Catie on the dirt jump
3. Becky on the dirt jump
4. Catie on trail
5. Becky post ride

2006-10-31T23:48:00.000-05:00

10-31-06
Double Dare Report

The quick and dirty review: I raced with Kirstin Reff, adventure racer who was outta shape this time around -- bad girl! That's okay, she got her fair share of the big hurt. Truth be told, Kirstin's a tough rider who (for some reason) has taken the last couple of months off from mountain biking and has just been on her road bike. Great training, but not for Pisgah. Our game plan: enjoy the ride! Use this for training going into the winter months. I'm planning to do my first off road century in April and I just wanted two good days in Pisgah.

Day 1: Mandatory CP at Farlow Gap. We took off from White Pines and headed to Fish Hatchery where we picked up Cat Gap Loop (yes, we hiked it) and took that to Butter Gap. Butter Gap to Long Branch to Glouchester Gap to Farlow Gap. I was having chain issues and my only climbing gear was 2-1 so I was turning a 34-34. Not bad for the Farlow climb, but I had to fix that little problem before Day 2. We found out on the way up to Farlow Gap that there was a bear hunt in progress with dogs on the run. Since the informant didn't advise of any danger to us after having advised him of our potential route, we rode on not giving it another thought. Besides, we had a headwind up to Farlow that was our main concern at that moment.

Once at Farlow, we refueled the bodies and took off down FS140A. At the bottom, Kirstin took a swim in a little pool of VERY muddy water. That's what ya get when you don't stop in time! We gave a group of bear hunters something funny to break up their day. We found out that the bear was about 400 pounds and coming around the ridge not far behind us - now they tell us! After a brief attempt to get the CP at Courthouse Falls, we decided things were getting sketchy with hunters and bears and ensuing nightfall so we turned our trusty bikes towards FS 5003 back to Glouchester Gap. At the intersection of 140A and 5003, we picked up a dog that had been left and since we knew there were hunters on the other side of the ridge, where we were headed, we took the ol' boy with us, hoping to find one of the hunters rounding up their lost ones. We got to Glouchester and got ol' boy a ride home after which we turned our wheels towards White Pines. Downhill all the way!

Day 1 total: 3 CP's, ~40 miles and about 10 hours of riding.

Day 2: Up for the rider meeting and to get the passport for the day, then it was back to the tent to review the day in my head. Kirstin was a bit difficult to get stirring but I made the most of the morning by getting some hot oatmeal and stretching the legs a bit. We left camp about 9:40am with the plan to get the mandatory CP at Turkeypen Gap swinging bridge, while obtaining the CP at the intersection of Black Mtn trail with Turkeypen Gap trail on the way. This was not our best day at all, but we made the most of it.

Day 2 total: 2 CP's, ~25 miles and about 7 hours on the bike.

Here are the pictures: Day 1
Kirstin's handstand at Butter Gap

Me at Farlow Gap (finally)!

Kirstin, just after her swim in this muddle

Me at the intersection of FS 140A and FS 5003, on our way back to Glouchester Gap

Day 2 Photos

A couple from the intersection of Black Mtn Trail and Turkeypen Gap Trail

Here's the WaltWorks trailside on Turkeypen Gap Trail

And here we are at the swinging bridge near Turkeypen Gap. We were a little drained!

Again, a great weekend even if we weren't in the running. It was nice to meet Mike Brown and it was good to see folks like Brado, Zach, MUM, Peter, and Eric again.

Thanks again, Eric, for putting on a great race that is atypical and by far, not the norm! Each race of yours reminds me why I really got into mountain biking in the first place.

2006-10-26T08:19:00.000-05:00

10-26-06

Tree Shaker 12 hour MTB challenge. Hmmm, that's what Neal Boyd called his new little race at Renaissance Park in Charlotte but while I rode the course over the 12 hour timeframe, I came up with a few other names:

12 Rooty Rounds of Reni
12 Hours of Root

I cannot remember the others now, but hopefully you get the picture: the course was pretty darn rooty! I had forgotten just how rooty the trails at Reni Park are. Did that take away from the fun? Nope! I had probably my best race ever this past weekend. My objective, as stated before, was to ride hard until I dropped. Secretly I wanted 100 miles. I wanted to spend more time riding this race than I have in the past. As you may know doing any one thing for 12 hours takes a lot of physical and mental effort. Think about your work day -- do you stay focused on work for 8 or 10 hours? Nope. Same applies to riding a bike. In the past, when I got to my rest stops, I would take more time than I really needed because I was fighting the mental battle. I’d think I need to give my body more rest when in actuality I really didn’t need to stop riding.

The course
Two loop configuration which I call the front 9 and back 9, each with about 4 miles of trail. The front 9 is tight and twisty with rolling terrain. The back 9 is more open and has better flow. The back 9 also has a couple good downhill runs and some nice jumps which break up the monotony. There are several bridges on the course but the Tarheel Trailblazers do a great job with ensuring that entry and exit from their bridges is straight and you don’t have to worry about sliding off because you enter the bridge on a turn (a lesson we could employ here in GA).

Results
SUCCESS! I rode hard – not flat out – and rode constantly. My stops were brief and limited to eating, drinking, and bike repairs. The race started at 9am and my early lap times were in the 45 minutes range. Everything was going well until I snapped a spoke at the beginning of lap 6. No real worries, just cut it off and went riding. Well, about ½ mile into the front 9, my chain snapped. Again, no worries because I carry a multi-tool which has a chain tool on it. I ran the bike out of that section where it would be safe to work on the bike while not impeding the progress of other riders. I got the chain fixed and took off on my ride. I didn’t get a mile before the chain snapped again. Well, at this point I decided anymore time spent trailside was wasted. I had a backup bike at my pit so I took off running with the now broken bike. Once at my pit, I transferred pedals from the Walt Works 29er to my 26” wheeled backup and took off.

Now, I’ve been riding big boy wheels (29”, aka 29er) since April and haven’t been on a 26” wheeled bike since. My friend Tucker helped me build up the backup 26er with some parts that I had laying around. The backup bike is a $120 Access frame from Supergo (before they merged with PBS) and the components are a mix of Race Face, SRAM X.0, X.9, American Classic, Ritchey carbon OS bar with WCS stem and Avid BB-5 disc brakes. When I got on this bike in a race situation, I didn’t know what to expect. I did expect it to be fast and twitchy – it delivered. However, the bike actually felt better than my custom Walt. Of course, that got my brain thinking about other things during the latter hours of the race and of changes that need to be made to the Walt. I digress….

Night was approaching as was the finishing time of 9pm. I stopped to ask the race director about when lights were required and when the last lap was and started to review my status vs. what I wanted. After my bike swap, I realized that I wouldn’t make 100 miles so I decided that I’d be happy with 80 (8 laps) but really wanted 12 laps (96 miles). When I was on my 10th lap, I came up on two other riders and we got to talking about the remaining time we had. I said something about wanting two more laps and they said I didn’t have time. They had understood they last lap time to mean that you had to be back at the finish by 8:30 (the established last lap time). I argued that 8:30pm was when we could START the last lap. I lost the battle and since the current time was 7:45pm, I told myself that 10 was my magic number for the race. I picked up the pace and decided finish strong since I wouldn’t be doing another lap. After I handed in my timing chip, I realized that I could go out for another lap because the last lap time of 8:30pm WAS, in fact, when you could start the lap.

By this time, it was too late but I was happy with 80 miles. I was sitting in 5th place and another lap wouldn’t have changed the results as 4th place was two laps up on me. I broke camp and hung out with friends while cheering other riders onto the finish.

A big congratulations to Peter Rajcani, who finished in 6th place, also with 10 laps. The Rank Riders showed up with two teams in the duo categories – one team in single speed (SS) and another geared. Fatboy and Slim (Mark and John) took 2nd in the Duo SS which is great considering Mark had only ridden a SS once before! My friend Bill snapped the Walt Works fork on his rigid SS and we spoke briefly about how well Walt would take care of him on the replacement.

This coming weekend is the Double Dare in Pisgah, NC. The forecast includes rain for Friday and chance of showers on Saturday. Highs in the upper 50’s with lows in the mid 30’s. The race format is 2-days with 12 hour time limits. Each team is two people that must stay together and we have a list of mandatory gear to carry. We’ll be given 10 checkpoints (CP) to locate each day with at least one mandatory CP each day. Saturday we’ll be riding noon to midnight then 6am to 6pm on Sunday.

Don’t forget the time change this weekend!

2006-10-10T21:44:00.000-05:00

10-10-06

Here are some pictures from the 24 HOA race at Conyers, GA this last weekend. I had the pleasure of racing with 3 guys from Mississippi and we made a 3rd place finish in the 4-man category. It was good training for the Tree Shaker 12 hr in Charlotte in two weeks. I'll be racing solo there and am planning a little different strategy than I have before. It's the end of the season so why not blow it out? Yup, that's right - I'm just gonna ride hard till I fall over and see how far I get.

Now onto the pictures....

WSC Solo Finishers L to R: Sean Sullivan (Team IF) and Rich Dillon (aka Team Dicky). Rich won the SS class with 21 laps (I think) -- on a RIGID bike with 1 gear! That's the same number of laps my team did. Geez that guy is a machine!

Gavin Rossouw, South African Champ and a new friend. That smile was still on his face at midnight when he stopped by for pizza and Red Bull while we swapped his crankset for one with a granny gear; Gavin sheered his off sometime around 9pm and was losing time.

4-man podium, Team 206 to the far right (I'm in the pink Dirt Rag shirt)

Proof that attendance was low for the 2006 24 HOA in Conyers. In years past, this field was filled to capacity.

Team 206 from L to R: Ty, Jeff, Cliff, Charles

Mike Harris - ATL local - smiling as he passes our pit. Mike's a great friend and mechanic and lays it on the line at these races. Way to go Mike!

Jono Senk - ATL local - finishing strong. Jono's an intense fella who loves the thrill of pushing his body. Must be something in the blood of mtn bikers! Great job Jono!

I didn't get a picture of my friend Peter Rajcani but here's a little something I wrote on the mtbr.com forum for him. Peter's a great guy and a solid rider with a pace you can set your watch by.

"Many of you know Peter (aka PRAJC) and know that he does way too many 24 hour races to be as old as he is! Well, chalk another one up for him b/c this weekend he was at the 24 Hours of Adrenalin Solo World Championships in Conyers, GA and he delivered again with a 7th place finish out of 10 competitors in his class.

Last year at the same course, Peter's goal was 15 laps and he rode 15, but only got counted for 14 b/c he finished #15 just minutes AFTER the 1:00pm cut off.

This year his goal was to complete 16 laps on the brutal course and he did -- all of them before 12:00 noon! He looked strong throughout the night and kept his head about him (would you expect less?). The guy that was wrenching for me said after the first lap that Peter looked a bit ragg-ed, but I assured him that was just Peter getting in his zone!

Next time you see him, give 'em a big hollar! GO PEET-AAAA!!!!!!"

2006-10-04T13:12:00.000-05:00

Ready to Race!

Last weekend I joined a few friends for the annual Fall Gathering in Pisgah, NC and had a great time. It seems this time of year everyone is just having fun; I'm not sure if it's because it's Fall or the end of the race season or because new bikes are being shown at Interbike -- who knows? Who really cares? The weather is perfect for mountain biking in the South so that's what we do!

Here's a picture of my friend Eric Wever and I with our Walt Works bikes on Sunday. I had just completed a little 10 mile jaunt before breakfast and Eric was just heading out. Eric's actually the person that introduced me to WW's and I cannot be happier with the purchase.

This coming weekend is the 24 Hours of Adrenalin race at the GA International Horse Park in Conyers, GA. 2006 marks the 10th anniversery of mountain biking in the Olympics and it all started at Conyers. Thus, the race director decided to move the 24 hour solo World Championships to Conyers from Whistler, British Columbia. It should be a great weekend to race or spectate with riders coming in from all over the world to compete for the podium and world rankings.

I'll be sitting the solo race out and joining some friends from Mississippi on a 4-man team. From what I gather from Ty, Jeff, and Cliff I could end up pulling some extra laps because apparently Cliff typically has bike issues, someone else gets stomach cramps, and the other decides he needs his beauty rest. Oh well, we'll have a good time nonetheless! I'll post a report next week, hopefully with some pictures.

On another note, keep your browser pointed toward the Bike Fellowship for a complete listing of GA trails. This listing includes:

1. Lat / long for all you GPS users
2. Physical address for all Google Maps / Mapquest users
3. Website for the trail map if available
4. Contact info for Wildlife Mgmt Areas (WMA's) and USFS trails
5. Link to directions

It is our hope that this will be a single point of reference to direct folks to MTB trails in our state. And since folks are likely to browse the site to see what else we have to offer, they will likely get to see some of the information we have on braking, hydration, bike repair, and a Gospel presentation.

Now quit reading and go ride!

2006-09-25T08:01:00.000-05:00

Kenda ad in Dirt Rag

So I was at the local REI on Saturday picking up some new hiking shoes and grabbed the latest issue of Dirt Rag Magazine. When I got home and got to looking at it, I noticed a couple things: (1)they review the Voodoo Dambala 29er -- a frameset I'm considering, (2) there's a picture of my friend Eric in "The Rider's Eye" section, and (3) I'm mentioned in the Kenda ad on the inside back cover! How cool is that? My name is tucked in between David Wiens and Team Norco...to the bottom left of the word "Discriminating"...to the bottom right of the main picture...and you can read my last name just in front of the handlbars of the bike.

I've been sponsored by Kenda for three (3) years now and really love the tires, but the customer service is great. I get to see Jim Wannamaker at Conyers every year because Kenda sponsors the 24 HOA series and Jim's always there. It's great to see the industry folks hanging out at 3am just as tired as the rest of us, but there to support you when you need it.

Thanks for the sponsorship, Jim, and for the mention in the ad!

2006-09-20T08:19:00.000-05:00

Here's a few pictures from my collection.
1. The Walt Works 29er on trail at Stanley Gap in May 2006

2. Me riding a granite section of the Conyers course at the 24 Hours of Conyers by Granny Gear in May 2006

3. Riding up a short but steep climb at the same race

4. This picture was taken at the 2004 version of Southern Lights 24-7, where a teammate and I finished 1st in the 2-man category

2006-09-18T09:06:00.000-05:00

Getting ready for Fall

Well, the days are getting shorter, the night breezes cooler and that means my favorite season is drawing near. I love everything about Fall but especially two things: (1) getting to wear fleece and (2) mountain biking. I have a couple of events forthcoming that I'm also excited about. They are: the Firewater 50 on 9-16-06, the Fall Pisgah Gathering on the last weekend of September, the 24 Hours of Adrenalin the following weekend, the Double Dare and the Swank 65 -- both in Pisgah, NC. The Double Dare is not really a race by many folks' standards, but it not a race for most folks. It's two days, back to back in Pisgah. The race director picks 10 checkpoints each day and you and a teammate (required) have 12 hours to go find them, in any order.

This past Saturday was the Firewater 50 - a ride in celebration of a guy named Barry's birthday. It all started about 13 years ago on his 30th birthday with 6 of his closest friends going out for a Cohutta Epic. This year there were 87 folks who rode 50 miles of very tough terrain on the southern border of the Cohutta Wilderness in north GA.

The route was Windy Gap > Milma > Tibbs > Potato Patch > Mountaintown Creek > Bear Creek > Potato Patch > Windy Gap. Until Saturday, I had not ridden about half of this route so the climbing was expected, I just didn't know how much.

Stats on the day:
48 miles, ~7700 ft climbing
6:21 ride time, 7:38 total time including SAG's (I gotta work on this!)
146 avg HR, 184 max HR
7.9 mph avg speed, 38 mph max speed

2006-07-27T14:48:00.000-05:00

Bio / Racing Resume

Here's a little about me and my riding history....

Age: 33

Hometown: Marietta, GA

Bikes:
Walt Works 29er
K2 Zed 4.0
K2 Beast
K2 900 Evo
Nishiki Beta
Abici Vader

Favorite Trail(s):
Trumbull Valley, CT
Stanley Gap, GA

Accomplishments:

2005
Captain / Manager Team Ride Eat Sleep Repeat
3-man Division, 12 Hours of Razorback, Reddick, FL
Solo Class, Baker’s Dozen 13 hour race, Modoc, SC
Pisgah MTB Adventure Race, Pisgah, NC
Solo Class, Southern Lights 24-7, Athens, GA
Off-Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell, Old Fort, NC
MS 150, Conyers, GA
Support for Raging Russell Adventure Race, 3-person team
Support for 24 Hours of Adrenalin, (4) solo racers

2004
Captain / Manager Team Ride Eat Sleep Repeat
1st Place, 2-man Division, Southern Lights 24-7
Top 10 Men’s Solo Cowbell Classic 12 Hour
15th Place, 5-person Coed 24 Hours of Adrenalin, Conyers, GA

2003
11th Place, Cat 5 Dilworth Criterium
1st Place, 4-man Division, Southern Lights 24-7
24 Hours of Booty, Fundraising event participant
8th Place, Solo Class, Cowbell Classic 12 Hour Mountain Bike Race
4th Place, 4-man Division 24 Hours of Adrenalin, Conyers, GA
Attended IMBA Trail School, Charlotte, NC

2002
11th Place, 4-man Division, 24 Hours of Adrenalin, Conyers, GA
5th Place, 2-man Division Browbeater 12 Hour Mountain Bike Race

2006 Goals:
1. To complete at least 30 hours of trail work
2. To compete as a solo competitor in three (3) 24- hour endurance events and finish in the top of 25% of the field
3. To promote the growth of cycling in a positive and influential manner in our community through being a ride leader, helping with bike rodeos, and trail advocacy

Other
Member of SORBA, IMBA, Tarheel Trailblazers

Current Sponsors
Terrapin Beer Company, Kenda Tires & Tubes, Rudy Project, Trujillo Construction

2006-07-26T09:18:00.000-05:00

YTD Summary

Here it is, the end of July and I've managed to get in a whopping three (3) races this year -- Granny Gear 24 Hours of Conyers, Cowbell Challenge 12 hour, and the 12 Hours of Dauset. Typically I'd have about 6 or 7 by now but not this year. Somehow I've also pulled off building up my first full custom bike -- a Walt Works 29er! What a machine. I've been riding now for 16 years and have been drooling over other folk's new custom bikes and now I have my own! I originally built it up as a full rigid bike thinking that most of my friends and competitors ride rigid, so why can't I? Well, after breaking the rigid fork I decided that having a suspension (sussy) fork ain't all that bad!

Looking ahead to the Fall months, I am excited about riding and whatever else the good Lord has in store for me! The Woodstock Mountain Bike Fellowship has some great events planned. Some east coast boys from BOMB International are planning a Pisgah Gathering. There's a couple really great enduros coming up -- including the Double Dare in Pisgah, where I broke a bike frame last year 20 miles from nowhere. My church choir has a trip to Israel in 2007 that we're starting to plan for.

Mountain biking ain't all of life, but it works well to clear the mind and keep the body fit. I like the enduro stuff because mostly it's about finishing, not neccessarily about making the podium. You have good rides / races and you have bad ones. This year I've been blessed to be able to ride when I can and spend time with family and friends when I cannot. My 7 yr old nephew recently had severe surgery on his brain stem and was in a medical induced coma for about 3 weeks. My (3) nieces got to spend (6) weeks with my folks for summer vacation. I have two friends that have been unemployed since late last year and have been given life changing reasons why. Sure, it's good to ride but sometimes the "other stuff" is just too important to ignore and those (3) races I've done have been great opportunities to get out and see more friends! There's an Irish saying that I learned a few years back that really defines "friend". It says, "Friends are the family that you choose." There's definitely truth in that.

This blog thing is new to me so bear with me as I figure out how to link stuff and add pictures and make it all professional looking. For now, here are links to some of the referenced stuff in this posting:

Woodstock MTB Fellowship www.bikefellowship.org
BOMB International www.ridedirt.com
Pisgah Productions (Double Dare promoter) www.pisgahproductions.com
Walt Works www.waltworks.com
Granny Gear Productions www.grannygear.com
Cowbell Challenge www.cowbellchallenge.org
Gone Riding (12 hours of Dauset promoter) www.goneriding.com