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!

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.

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

'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!

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”

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!

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

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/

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!

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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!

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!

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 :(