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