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!

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!

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

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

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

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