Last minute decision to head to Chief Ladiga had me rushing this morning to get ready and meet everyone in Anniston. I met Brian at his house and we headed to the trailhead. We met everyone there and had a nice ride heading for Georgia. The weather was about 70 degrees and was perfect for the ride. Everyone else decided to head back about 8 miles from the Ga Line, but me and Moran decided to ride the whole trail. We practiced drafting and generally just had an enjoyable ride. My legs were starting to burn near the end, and were much more sore than I thought they would be for such a flat ride.
However I looked at the Garmin after the ride (as I wore my heart rate meter) and it said we rode 66.5 miles and I burned over 4500 calories. Me and Steph went to Iguana Grill or dinner and I decided to try the Flan for dessert after Balliet talked about it the whole weekend before. I was a bit skeptical on the custard thing, but it was really good. It had a bit of bourbon splashed on it and reminded me of Christmas Egg Nog.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Another Great NC Trip
Had a great trip. The riding was once again incredible and once again Jay's choice of trails was definately the best Pisgah had to offer. Hopefully I can give a brief rundown on the trails later, but pics are currently uploading.
Should be able to see the folders as they get done at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/grundcm
Still trying to catch up on sleep
Goodnight!
Should be able to see the folders as they get done at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/grundcm
Still trying to catch up on sleep
Goodnight!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Trying to stay in Shape
Well, I know this is not exactly in chronological order, but early this month I drug out my rollers to try to get in some riding and stay in shape. I have been consistently riding about 2 to 3 times during each week. I was riding one day and the belt for the headwind (resistance unit that blows air at you to keep you cool) broke. I would like to think it was from the massive amount of power I was generating, but more likely one of the cats decided it would be fun to chew on. I sort of like it because I have to put it in a much higher gear to get the resistance. that makes my mileage look better when I am done. The first few times I would get so tired I would usually fall off and that is when i knew to stop, but lately I have been getting a bit better even being able to stand and peddle and stay on (I can't just start hammering, or the surges will kick the bike off the front of the rollers). I have been turning the TV to one of the music video channels and cranking the music while I ride. It has actually been quite fun.
Also, in purchasing the replacement belt, I priced a set of rollers and I paid less than half of what they cost now (of course that was close to 10 years ago), but I think this is the first bike related item that has increased in value since I bought it.
I got this picture off of their website, and don't think this is for personal gain so hopefully they won't sue me for stealing their pictures.
Also, in purchasing the replacement belt, I priced a set of rollers and I paid less than half of what they cost now (of course that was close to 10 years ago), but I think this is the first bike related item that has increased in value since I bought it.
I got this picture off of their website, and don't think this is for personal gain so hopefully they won't sue me for stealing their pictures.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Rough Day
Well it seemed like it was a rough day for quite a few people, but I will start with my day.
Went to Oak Mtn. for the BUMP third Saturday ride. Started off well except it was a bit chilly. We rode a loop heading in the clockwise direction. It was a nice lap with Me, Chip, Mark, Jim, DeShazo, Micky, Dee, and Hambone. A change I noticed was that someone added another large log across the trail right before camp road. I was not expecting the this and didn't quite make it over. Didn't wreck, but my back tire started spinning and when I tried to hop it over I had to unclip a foot. I actually like this better as both logs are over a foot in diameter, but about a foot of space is between them. This stepped up the challenge a bit, which is what I needed.
We were actually moving at a slightly faster pace than normal and I took the lead on the "Cat, Dog, Snake" section right before the North trailhead. The second to last bridge before the North trailhead has a rooty section leading up and it is a sharp lefthand turn onto the bridge. I was moving through pretty good (just having a good time) and hit a root wrong and my front tire washed out a bit. Trying to not miss the bridge, I ran into a tree that was immediately to the left of the bridge. I didn't think anything about it at the time as nothing really hurt and I just remember putting my hand out and my shoulder hitting the tree (not very hard), so I just kept going. After cruising up to the top of the jeep trail and heading down toward blood rock, I tried to brake and noticed my left finger was a bit sore and I couldn't squeeze the brake easily.
Anyway, we started down quarry road and I was once again having a great time. At the rock jump at the bottom, I jumped it and noticed someone had piled a bunch of rocks in the trail where I wanted to land. I jerked the bike and managed to land on the side of the pile, but shortly afterwards my rear tire went flat. I tried to look at it, but due to the rain I couldn't really tell where the cuts were. I tried to put a CO2 cartridge in it and it wouldn't hold. I assumed there were a few cuts, so instead of putting a tube in it there as I no longer had enough CO2 to fill it, I just decided to walk it back to the car. It was only about a mile on the dirt road and I was meeting others to ride later, so I was not worried about it. I walked/jogged a ways and Mark had gone back and gotten his truck to pick me up. He gave me a ride back. Thanks Mark!
I took the wheel off and checked it out and it had a couple of cuts including a larger one on the sidewall (that I don't think Stan would have sealed) so I just put my spare tube in it. I didn't have another spare to carry with me, but I figured with the tubeless and the tube, I would be fine.
I met Jeremy and Mark and we rode a biot while waiting for Chase to get there. We rode aound and then rode the family trail a couple of times to stay close to the parking lot. Chase showed up and we headed down to the Trail starting across from the canoe rentals. We rode out and had about 2 hours before dark so we figured we would ride for about 45 minutes and turn around. On the double log crossing before camp road, I sucessfully made it over both logs this time (not the most gracefully, but stayed on the bike). We got to the top of the hill before Garrets gultch and Jeremy decided to head back. Chase wanted to keep going, so after chatting for a few minutes we headed on. At the bottom I jumped off the log and of course popped my back tire. I had only put about 45 lbs in and I should have put closer to 50. As that was my last spare I decided to once again walk back. I headed back and once again walked/jogged back to camp road and to the road. The front of my ankles started hurting so I had to walk (biking shoes were not made to do much hiking). I made it almost to the trailhead by the lake when Chase drove up. We threw my bike on the back of his car and he took me back. Thanks Chase!
Of course All this came at a price. When I got home and showered to warm back up my finger turned a nice purpke blue color and swole up. I guess being outside effectively kept it iced all day. I also had bruises on the front of my ankles from trying to run in the bike shoes. As well as being sore from hiking I guess. I feel like I am getting old!
Went to Oak Mtn. for the BUMP third Saturday ride. Started off well except it was a bit chilly. We rode a loop heading in the clockwise direction. It was a nice lap with Me, Chip, Mark, Jim, DeShazo, Micky, Dee, and Hambone. A change I noticed was that someone added another large log across the trail right before camp road. I was not expecting the this and didn't quite make it over. Didn't wreck, but my back tire started spinning and when I tried to hop it over I had to unclip a foot. I actually like this better as both logs are over a foot in diameter, but about a foot of space is between them. This stepped up the challenge a bit, which is what I needed.
We were actually moving at a slightly faster pace than normal and I took the lead on the "Cat, Dog, Snake" section right before the North trailhead. The second to last bridge before the North trailhead has a rooty section leading up and it is a sharp lefthand turn onto the bridge. I was moving through pretty good (just having a good time) and hit a root wrong and my front tire washed out a bit. Trying to not miss the bridge, I ran into a tree that was immediately to the left of the bridge. I didn't think anything about it at the time as nothing really hurt and I just remember putting my hand out and my shoulder hitting the tree (not very hard), so I just kept going. After cruising up to the top of the jeep trail and heading down toward blood rock, I tried to brake and noticed my left finger was a bit sore and I couldn't squeeze the brake easily.
Anyway, we started down quarry road and I was once again having a great time. At the rock jump at the bottom, I jumped it and noticed someone had piled a bunch of rocks in the trail where I wanted to land. I jerked the bike and managed to land on the side of the pile, but shortly afterwards my rear tire went flat. I tried to look at it, but due to the rain I couldn't really tell where the cuts were. I tried to put a CO2 cartridge in it and it wouldn't hold. I assumed there were a few cuts, so instead of putting a tube in it there as I no longer had enough CO2 to fill it, I just decided to walk it back to the car. It was only about a mile on the dirt road and I was meeting others to ride later, so I was not worried about it. I walked/jogged a ways and Mark had gone back and gotten his truck to pick me up. He gave me a ride back. Thanks Mark!
I took the wheel off and checked it out and it had a couple of cuts including a larger one on the sidewall (that I don't think Stan would have sealed) so I just put my spare tube in it. I didn't have another spare to carry with me, but I figured with the tubeless and the tube, I would be fine.
I met Jeremy and Mark and we rode a biot while waiting for Chase to get there. We rode aound and then rode the family trail a couple of times to stay close to the parking lot. Chase showed up and we headed down to the Trail starting across from the canoe rentals. We rode out and had about 2 hours before dark so we figured we would ride for about 45 minutes and turn around. On the double log crossing before camp road, I sucessfully made it over both logs this time (not the most gracefully, but stayed on the bike). We got to the top of the hill before Garrets gultch and Jeremy decided to head back. Chase wanted to keep going, so after chatting for a few minutes we headed on. At the bottom I jumped off the log and of course popped my back tire. I had only put about 45 lbs in and I should have put closer to 50. As that was my last spare I decided to once again walk back. I headed back and once again walked/jogged back to camp road and to the road. The front of my ankles started hurting so I had to walk (biking shoes were not made to do much hiking). I made it almost to the trailhead by the lake when Chase drove up. We threw my bike on the back of his car and he took me back. Thanks Chase!
Of course All this came at a price. When I got home and showered to warm back up my finger turned a nice purpke blue color and swole up. I guess being outside effectively kept it iced all day. I also had bruises on the front of my ankles from trying to run in the bike shoes. As well as being sore from hiking I guess. I feel like I am getting old!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Got back to Raccoon
We finally got back to Raccoon Mountain. I rode up with Tommy and Moran after we decided to put one of my trays on the roof of Moran's car so we could all ride together. It was so cold this took much longer than it should have, but we still managed to stop by Chick-Fil-A and make it to Raccoon before everyone else. We tried to warn everyone that we were
going to be doing a lot of playing, and I don't think they believed us, and decided to ride with us. We went clockwise from the visitor center lot as I like this direction better. The trail was so covered with dry leaves it made it really slick. I had to quickly learn to stay off the brakes in the turns or the wheels would wash out. We had a nice casual lap stopping to play in a few places and got some decent pictures. Tommy said he was going to jump off the rock.
This One: (it is not as high as it looks)
But decided this was not the day. Mark decided to have a go at it and made me look like a wrecking ball. I am not the most graceful and he definately landed with much more style than me.
We ended up splitting up with those of us who wanted to go ride the tree and those ready to head on. We went to the tree and rode across quite a few times.
last time I was here, the tree 
was slick and I slid off a few times, this time I had a much easier time. On around to a nice jump in the trail for a few more pictures and then we headed back around the loop.
I
wanted to explore some of the new trails they had opened, but Moran started having bike problems and I think everyone was getting ready to head back. We rode on and near the end I starteed cramping pretty badly. I realized I had not been drinking enough water and at this point it was too late. I tried to use some hammer gel and jelly bellys, but nothing would make them go away. Fighting throught the pain I climbed the final hill out and going up the last dirt section my legs said no. I tried to step off the bike and that was a huge mistake. My leg cramped and I crumpled to the ground. I had to sit and recover a bit before going the last 50 yards to the end. It looked like I had been in a wreck because I was all dirty. It was a fun ride and I will definately pay better attention to staying hydrated.
All the Pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/grundcm/RaccoonMtn2008_11_22#
going to be doing a lot of playing, and I don't think they believed us, and decided to ride with us. We went clockwise from the visitor center lot as I like this direction better. The trail was so covered with dry leaves it made it really slick. I had to quickly learn to stay off the brakes in the turns or the wheels would wash out. We had a nice casual lap stopping to play in a few places and got some decent pictures. Tommy said he was going to jump off the rock.This One: (it is not as high as it looks)
But decided this was not the day. Mark decided to have a go at it and made me look like a wrecking ball. I am not the most graceful and he definately landed with much more style than me.
We ended up splitting up with those of us who wanted to go ride the tree and those ready to head on. We went to the tree and rode across quite a few times.
last time I was here, the tree was slick and I slid off a few times, this time I had a much easier time. On around to a nice jump in the trail for a few more pictures and then we headed back around the loop.I
wanted to explore some of the new trails they had opened, but Moran started having bike problems and I think everyone was getting ready to head back. We rode on and near the end I starteed cramping pretty badly. I realized I had not been drinking enough water and at this point it was too late. I tried to use some hammer gel and jelly bellys, but nothing would make them go away. Fighting throught the pain I climbed the final hill out and going up the last dirt section my legs said no. I tried to step off the bike and that was a huge mistake. My leg cramped and I crumpled to the ground. I had to sit and recover a bit before going the last 50 yards to the end. It looked like I had been in a wreck because I was all dirty. It was a fun ride and I will definately pay better attention to staying hydrated.All the Pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/grundcm/RaccoonMtn2008_11_22#
Monday, November 17, 2008
No Riding but took a big step
Well, it seems I am slowly moving farther and farther from Mountain bike riding in my posts (moving to the road bike and now this) but I think I will be back on track shortly. I have not been posting lately and wanted to offer a brief explanation.
I got married on November 8. It was incredible how much stress this put on me. I realize I was probably pretty snappy for a few weeks leading up to this and apologize to everyone. I just got back from the Honeymoon on Sunday and am feeling much better. I was not planning on taking a honeymoon immediately but some friends offered us a condo in Rosemary Beach for the week and we jumped on it. I really needed the week to just relax and I think this really helped me get my sanity back and I believe things will be getting back to normal soon.
I missed quite a few rides lately (including a night ride they had at Oak Mountain) and now am really wanting to get back into it. I think I am going to build me a small "skills" park with a few skinnies, a see-saw, and a few other items to help me with my technical riding here at the office. I just need to keep my bike here so I can play at lunch or whenever I need a break from staring at the computer.
I got married on November 8. It was incredible how much stress this put on me. I realize I was probably pretty snappy for a few weeks leading up to this and apologize to everyone. I just got back from the Honeymoon on Sunday and am feeling much better. I was not planning on taking a honeymoon immediately but some friends offered us a condo in Rosemary Beach for the week and we jumped on it. I really needed the week to just relax and I think this really helped me get my sanity back and I believe things will be getting back to normal soon.
I missed quite a few rides lately (including a night ride they had at Oak Mountain) and now am really wanting to get back into it. I think I am going to build me a small "skills" park with a few skinnies, a see-saw, and a few other items to help me with my technical riding here at the office. I just need to keep my bike here so I can play at lunch or whenever I need a break from staring at the computer.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Red Lizard at Monte Sano
A couple of us packed up to go to Monte Sano. A couple of us had ridden there last year after the 24 hours of Conyers race and we got slightly lost and ended up on the Red Lizard Trail. Jay had heard about the trail that was "unridable" and had been talking about going up there ever since. Lately I seem to enjoy the challenge of a technical trail than just riding a smooth flat trail as quickly as possible.
We met up at Cracker Barrell (I forgot about the time change, so I got there in time to have a
nice big breakfast) and we headed up. We played on the rock wall in the parking lot to warm up before hitting the trail. We cruised down the family trail an went down Warpath to get to the 
desired trail. Warpath was a fun littel section also and I have some movies of Lee and Joe riding down one of the rocky sections. We ended up on Red Lizard and spent a good bit of time trying to clean each obstacle. There were some that only 1 or two people cleared and only about 2 that nobody was able to make. Both me and Jay ended up with jacked up derailleurs. I just bent mine 
bad and was able to bend it back enough to keep riding. Jay broke his hanger completely off (along with a piece of his bike), but he had a spare hanger and we were able to continue.
The rest of the trail was just the flatrock trail that was much more smooth (still makes Oak mountain look like a road bike would be more at home). We ended up cutting up through a powerline trail due to time and rode back on mountain mist just to avoid the road. It was a really good time and I was supprised at how much we were able to ride. It is unique to see how different riding styles allowed some people to clear certain obstacles while others could not do it.
I keep saying it, but I relly need to practice my hopping/trials skills as they would have been really helpful on a few of these things.
Pictures (Yes I finally got the pictures up!) at http://picasaweb.google.com/grundcm/MonteSano2008_11_2
We met up at Cracker Barrell (I forgot about the time change, so I got there in time to have a
nice big breakfast) and we headed up. We played on the rock wall in the parking lot to warm up before hitting the trail. We cruised down the family trail an went down Warpath to get to the desired trail. Warpath was a fun littel section also and I have some movies of Lee and Joe riding down one of the rocky sections. We ended up on Red Lizard and spent a good bit of time trying to clean each obstacle. There were some that only 1 or two people cleared and only about 2 that nobody was able to make. Both me and Jay ended up with jacked up derailleurs. I just bent mine bad and was able to bend it back enough to keep riding. Jay broke his hanger completely off (along with a piece of his bike), but he had a spare hanger and we were able to continue.The rest of the trail was just the flatrock trail that was much more smooth (still makes Oak mountain look like a road bike would be more at home). We ended up cutting up through a powerline trail due to time and rode back on mountain mist just to avoid the road. It was a really good time and I was supprised at how much we were able to ride. It is unique to see how different riding styles allowed some people to clear certain obstacles while others could not do it.I keep saying it, but I relly need to practice my hopping/trials skills as they would have been really helpful on a few of these things.
Pictures (Yes I finally got the pictures up!) at http://picasaweb.google.com/grundcm/MonteSano2008_11_2
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