Mountain Preparations continue

I spent a little time preparing the Lynskey for the upcoming trip to the mountains (in between proof reading book reports).  My hope is to try out my race set-up for the upcoming Cohutta 100 on this trip so I have made most of the changes to the rig I intend to make for race day.  The course is a 100 mile loop and goes thru some very remote areas, so it pays to be prepared, but I am trying to balance what all I take with making sure I am comfortable on the bike and I don't want to lug any un-necessary weight up those long climbs.  Basically, I put on a new rear tire (tubeless, 2.1 to save a little rotating weight and new means less likely to flat, right?), new brake pads, new chain, changed the rear cog from 18 to 20, and installed a Mountain Pump for flat repairs.

This is a pretty cool pump.  It's not only light and small it also doubles as a CO2 inflater and has a secret compartment in the handle for storing some tire patches and a tire boot.  I may flip it over to the other side of the frame after I test it out.  The more I think about it it seems like it would be better to have it on the non drive side of the bike. 

Gearing is my big question mark for this race.  I have to choose just one!!  I am pretty sure this is it but we will see.  This is the biggest benefit to having a chance to get up there and do some really long climbs.  I will know if this is enough gear or if I need one more tooth up to a 21.  

The awesome strap race in argyle!  Style points count for something.

I forgot to mention I replaced some frame stickers with Young Life decals!!

I am going to run with two water bottles and set up drop bags to re supply myself along the course every 20 to 30 miles.  My goal is to keep as much weight off my body and on the bike as possible so no Camelbak for this race.  I figure I am going to be out of the saddle for long periods of climbing and earlier this year at San Felasco I used the Camelbak and did nit like it.  I actually think I drank less when I had it on than when I used bottles too.

Tomorrow I will get the Tarmac ready for the Young Life ride this weekend and the upcoming mountain trip.
 

Training, Two Brown Dogs, and Mountain Preparations

Getting back to the daily routine after being out of town last week I got up early this morning and made it out for the Premiere morning ride.  Lets just say that skiing and riding bikes must use different muscles because I had no gas this morning.  Looking back on things I realize I forgot to eat breakfast before the ride...doh!!!  Anyway, I made it!!  Had a great day at the shop and then got home in time to take KK to soccer practice.  I decided to take Maggie and Sailor and give them a walk while practice was going on.  I used a new double dog leash and it worked very well.  It is a bungee cord type material that forms a "Y" and connects to the leash sort of like a bridal.  They did great!!

Mother (right) and son (left)

When I got back to the Jeep I had a few minutes so I mounted up the bike rack in preparation for my upcoming trip to the mountains with my buddy Roger.  4 bikes, two guys and three days in the North Ga mountains.  We will be scouting out the route for the Young Life pledge ride and hope to sneak in a MTB ride on Bull Mountain.  I am looking forward to some good times and great fellowship!!  And getting the ride sorted out and finalized.  I am sure I will sleep better once things are settled and all the plans are in place.

 

Mustache Club

We opened our home to Young Life Midtown club last night and it was Mustache Club!!  Of course KK and the Bug put their spin on the night.....

I don't know how many kids came, but the room down stairs was packed!!  Things got started off with some music, then a little mixer called mustache, uni-brow, side burns.

No club night would be complete without some sort of mess!!  Last night we had some toothpaste and some shaving cream!!  It was awesome!!

Meagan, a senior at FSU, gave the talk and it was amazing!!  She spoke on sheep passing thru the gate and knowing their Shepherds voice in John 10:1-10.  To top it all off it was Boo's Birthday and it was like having a party in the house.  Before club we went out to dinner with our friends Casey and Jason.  All in all it was a great night!!

Back to town

We got home from the ski trip over the weekend and what a difference in the weather.  We left snow and brown colors behind and got home to bright greens and colors everywhere.  KK and took the longboards for a cruise around the neighborhood and here is a sampling of the robust colors on display.  What I think about most when I take these type of close-up shots of flowers is how amazing God's creation is. What is funny is I feel the same way when I am in the mountains.

Happy Birthday Boo!!

Last day

Our last day in Colorado gave us every kind of weather you could get all in one day.  We awoke to a cold morning and the melted snow from the day before had frozen and made for very icy conditions.  Thank goodness for the snow cat army that came by just before the slopes opened up.  Even with the grooming the snow was very icy.  As the day went on the winds picked up and a storm blew in and we got a full on winter storm.  At times the visibility was not much more than 50 feet!!!  The snow felt like stinging needles on your face.  It was a tough day on the mountain.  

 By the end of the day it had cleared and warmed a bit and the last thing on the boys to do list was to climb the mountain slope across from our place.  If you look closely, right by the chair, you can see them on their way up.

We cheered them on and they finally made it to the top!!!! All in all it was a great ski trip.

Colorado Sugar

We had another small dose of powder(or Colorado sugar as KK calls it) overnight so this morning KK and I got third chair and bagged first tracks on Pow Wow.  This is yet another example of why skiing is better than boarding!  While the snow boarders that were in the chairs above us were sitting down buckling there boards on, KK and I were off and skiing!  We probably only got 3-4 inches but it was just great fun skiing this morning.  We all really hit our stride today so we decided that while we were skiing well we might as well hit some bumps and blacks!! In all KK and did 9 blacks and covered all three mountains (we skipped lunch to keep skiing!).  The Bug and FL were both skiing really well and we got the last run of the day in on a great blue called Cresta.  There was literally no one behind us on the run.  This is the first time I have ever gotten the first and last run of the day in skiing.

Grasshopper showed sensei a thing or two on Loco!

This was last night when the storm was closing in

Powder Day

We awoke to 8 inches of fresh today!!  There is only one thing to do when this happens and you are on a ski trip and you are staying less than 400 yards from the ski lift.  Get down there and be the first one on the lift and make first tracks in the snow!!!!!  This is a beautiful view!!!

No one ahead of me!!  I am on the first ride up.  Our place is the first set of places on the right.

Here is KK and RR riding up behind me after my first run.  We made some fresh track in the Cresta Run powder.

Today, we had a little bit of everything weather wise.  We had snow, wind, sunny skies, warm mid day and cold morning and afternoon.

SNOW DAY

We had a big day of skiing today.  The slopes were pretty icy this morning but as the day went on the snow softened up and it was a great day of skiing.  KK and I hit it pretty hard and have now covered the entire Beaver Creek mountain (its actually 4 big mountains).  Today we started out in Arrowhead and made it all the way over to Beaver Creek Village by the end of the day.  We skied with the whole group for a bit in the morning and most of the afternoon but we were the only ones that stayed out the whole day. It was great.  We ended the day with some sledding on the hill outside our place.  Check it out!!!

Change of scenery

What a difference a day makes!!  Yesterday I was mountain biking in 85 degree weather.  Today......

...... snow and sledding in 25 degree weather!!!  We are on a spring break trip with some family and friends for a few days so there should be some good pictures taken and posted over the next few days.  I may try to post some video of everyone skiing too.

Munson Ride

I went for a ride this afternoon with Brett and Jamie down at Munson.  It had been a while since I had ridden down there.  The last time was probably 6 weeks ago with TP.  I know it was really cold last time, and there was trail work going on in several spots.  Today it was 85 degrees and the entire trail is like this......

....... the entire loop is now like a huge pump track.  We were flying around this trail today!!  It was really fun to ride, but I must admit there was part of me that misses the old sandy goodness of the old trail.  I am mostly curious to see what its like after a good rain.  That is when Munson has been epic in the past.  The sand mixed with the pine straw made some super tacky trail, combined with the sweeping turns, well, it was just really good.  That trail has always seen a lot of traffic after a good rain, everybody knows how good it is.  I have a feeling it is going to be different now.  What was weird is we connected to the Twilight trail and no work has been done over there so I guess it will be a go to trail for those post rain rides, its just not as good of a trail as Munson is.  All in all a great couple of hours, some serious cardio and good fellowship with my buds, and no crashes for me, unlike yesterday but that is another story altogether!  

Blue Grass Attack found!!!

Boosterthon 2011, ready, set, GO!!

Go Bug!  

I haven't posted since Monday, so I am catching up on things.  It is funny how something small can throw things out of whack.  This can be said for many things in this life, but I am referring to my camera in this case.  I loaned my camera to KK for the big trip to space camp and got out of my routine for taking pictures each day.  I still had my DSLR, and my cell phone camera and could have easily used one of them to take some shots, but I had a routine going and that one slight little change was enough to derail me.  Pretty pathetic!  Anyway, I am back on track so  here are a few shots from this week.   While I was looking things over for this post, I found the pics of the Blue Grass concert the other night!!  That is my man Jamie on Banjo, and Chapin on Guitar sitting in.  Glad I found this shot!

There have been lots of these around the house lately.... most of them have weapons!

Space Camp!!  One small step... you know the rest!

SNL

Our friends Chris and Amy hosted sunday night leadership for Young Life last night.  It was a beautiful night.  They opened their home and fixed an awesome spread of Jambalaya for everyone.  It was such a rich time of fellowship and encouragement in many ways.  Thank you so much!!!

Bluegrass Attack

Todays picture was going to be a picture of The Bluegrass Attack, a band a couple of my buddies play in.  KK, the Bug and I walked uptown to a coffee shop where they performed last night but when I downloaded the shots to the computer something happened and they are now gone.... forever!!!  The show was great and they played some great Bluegrass the old school way, one microphone doing the Bluegrass two step.  Stand-up base, mandolin, banjo, and guitar were the four pieces that made up the Bluegrass attack.  The one piece that was missing was the dobro.  He called in sick, but they still sounded great!

I did take another shot for the day and it is really more beautiful that the picture of the band!

This is a shot of some crab apple trimmings from the tree in our side yard that Boo has arranged in our dining room.  Pretty amazing!  You should see the whole tree.... maybe today I will take some shots of it and post them.

Rock Lizard

I have seen riders that bring their dog along on their motorcycle rides, I have seen riders with up to 3 dogs on their motorcycle riding, I even have a friend that used to ride with his pet parrot!!  When he was riding the parrot would climb inside his shirt and when they got where they were going the bird would climb out and take up its post on the shoulder.  I never asked what happens on those long rides that may last longer than the constitution of the bird when he was inside the shirt.  Not a pleasant thought.

Today I saw a new one.....

...... this is a Rock Lizard that was out for a ride.  Due to the cold weather the rider had a tank bag with a hot pocket and towel in it to keep the little fella warm and toasty while out on the open road.  Once inside he "rides" on his shirt!!  

Bike Week

This week is Bike Week in Daytona Beach, FL.  With this annual occurrence we get to see a lot of travelers at the shop either on the way down, or heading home after a long week of fun and riding and road tripping.  This year has been no different and we have been busy.  One of the things I love about this week is seeing bikes that are being ridden across the country and how they are set up.  I was walking thru the shop this morning and had to stop to check this one out......

..... yes, it's a Springer!!  This is a bobber style Springer due to the stripped down style.  A bobber is a motorcycle that has had as much stuff removed as possible that is not necessary to keep it running.  Back in the day, front fenders were removed, rear fenders cut down just behind the minimalist seat, air cleaners removed, mirrors, speedos, blinkers, front brakes, you name it..... gone!!  The idea of running without front brakes is pretty crazy, but it is done even today by some.... not me!!  Anyway, this is a pretty bike and I love Springers, so enjoy!

Out with the girls.

KK is off at Space Camp with his class, so I took the girls out to dinner and what else do girls like to do?  Hit the sales!!!  We made a pass thru the department store and somehow made it out without buying anything.  Then we went to the book store where we all enjoyed checking out our favorite bike and jeep magazines or whatever, and made it out without buying anything.... even were given a free copy of the paper.  Then we went to the grocery store and did buy something.  Lets just say a certain someone is addicted to Quaker Oatmeal Squares and it was BOGO on them today.  We loaded up!!

I feel so blessed to have such a beautiful wife and daughter!!  What a great night!

4000' of climbing..... in Florida

This morning I joined the Premiere crew for an early morning MTB ride.  I met them on the power lines, and we rode some great trail!  When we got back to the power lines I decided it would be a good idea to get a few hill repeats in.  Cohutta has been on my mind a lot lately.  I did 12 repeats then headed home.  When I downloaded the file from my Garmin I was surprised to see that I had done 24 miles and nearly 4000 feet of vertical!  1/4 of the way there if it was race day!  Not a bad morning.  Here is a shot from the bottom of the hill.  It is about 1/3 of a mile long..... nothing like the climbs in the smokeys, but about as good as it gets around here.

 If anyone has a recommendation for some good hill work in the area, let me know!!!

Science Project

The Bug has a science project she has been working on at home for the past two weeks.  Tonight was the last night of the experiment and final observations were made.  The project had to do with corrosive properties of water, orange juice, and coke on nails.  Cool project, now all the data must be put together and presented at the science fair next week.  I will take some pictures of the finished project for sure!!!  It is going to be awesome.

  

Friday Saturday Sunday

Meet Smokey......

And Bandito!!!

We went to a  YL committee training overnight down at Southwind and this is what greeted us on Friday night.  It was a great program and great to fellowship with friends.

Saturday morning, this is what greeted us if you got up early....

Of course there was a full breakfast after you had cinnamon buns and doughnuts out on the deck.  Needless to say I ate waaaayyyy too much.

When we wrapped up Saturday evening we headed to Mimi and Poppi's for the night and the Rodeo.  KK was going to ride in the rodeo for the first time!!

He rode the clover leaf last and had a rough time, but he got 2nd place in the arena race and a 5th and 6th place in two other events.  Cousins did great too and Abby rode her new horse in the rodeo for the first time!!!

Sunday morning we headed down to the river with the kids and the horses.  Beautiful black water!!

Then we headed home!!