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Today's ride was similar to yesterday....

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:55:40 GMT

except that the wind had turned around 180 degrees and was blowing 20+ mph from the SE. It was cool to be going twice as fast as the day before on the same stretches of road (and twice as slow on others!). I tried to take it a little easier, I was a little excited yesterday for my first ride out here. Today I was enjoying the sights a little more. Plus I hope to get in a long ride tomorrow, 60+ miles, and needed to save up for that.

It was a little warmer today, in the 60s. And the sun was bright. At one point in my ride I rode past a heard of cattle, maybe a hundred or so. Most times they just watch you ride by (they are very curious animals), but this time a few starting running away. Then the entire herd was running. It really was cool to watch them all in motion. Then I thought to myself, how magical it must have been for native Americans and early settlers to have witnessed thousands of buffalo running in much the same way.

This is beautiful country. The scarceness of trees adds to the beauty of the open spaces. Here are the picts from today:

It's about 1.5 miles down roads like these to get to pavement. 23mm tires make that an interesting little journey

Back in the Missouri Valley Country

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:33:16 GMT

First ride out here this year. Here is Platte, SD. In the central part of the state, right near the Missouri River. Only had time for 30 miles today. It was really windy, even more so than normal. But it felt great to turn some pedals again. I also need to keep this short, have to get back to work. But here is a view that I had today:

Went to Visit an Old Friend Near Clemson University Today...

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 22:29:32 GMT

Saw a very dear friend today. I first met her a few weeks after I had moved down. She is resides a few miles south of Clemson, SC. I hadn't seen her in a few months, but I had thought about her often. She's naturally beautiful, unspoiled. She is quite a handful as well. She has gotten the best of me many times this year, but has also brought me joy and satisfaction. I have missed her, and as I will likely not see her again for sometime I was very happy to have visited today. We spent a few great hours together, and like every other day I have ever spent w/ her I was happier for it.
I brought a friend with me, someone that also knows her well, but doesn't have quite the attachment that I do. He left not nearly as happy as me. She can be very unforgiving. Whom is it about which I speak? Her name is a forerunner to her beauty. She is Issaqueena State Forest............. And now you know, the rest of the story

Yes, about the ride. I stopped by E's house about noon to chat with my buddy and wait for his wife to get there and relieve him of his parenting duties. After she arrived the three of us talked the required amount of time (just kidding, she is very cool) and the E and I were off. I was sporting a Michigan gear ratio today, 38/16. To give you a frame of reference I ran 32/16 in the cross country race here-and won. So, I knew I was over geared. But I was looking forward to the challenge. And for the first time that I recall E had gears on his bike.
Because of driving, socializing and working I hadn't ridden a bike since Tuesday. Normally that would make me sluggish, but not today. I felt good, "Real Good"! I was riding a rigid singlespeed and in no time at all my hands were feeling the sting of sharp rocks and protruding roots. It never went away, but I dealt with it. The bike felt good under me though, my first ride on the Geisha at "The Queen". Eric like normal was right on my wheel though all the rough stuff, he is a great bike handler.
After a warm up of the mostly flat Dam Trail we hit the first long climb, a 2/3 of a mile rough two-track climb. I was a little leery of it, having such a big gear for the conditions, but had no problems. The super light bike was great going up that climb. We came back and did the climb again a little later. Then we followed the race course to a very steep climb, and I made it up! I was very pleased about that.
We then shot down the decent on Double Logging Road at scary speeds. My hands nearly went numb from the fast, rocky decent. I had to really force myself to hang on. Then some cool singletrack led us to the base of the 1+ mile climb. It starts out as quite steep singletrack, and I doubted I would make. I went around a few slippery sections and was able to keep momentum and not stall. I continued to tractor up the hill, made a rooty little section and got to a place were it levels out. I couldn't believe I had just climbed that piece with that gear! But the climb had just begun. I had some trouble with a sort of steep section with loose rocks but was able to keep my balance. The rest of the climb was gradual enough that I knew I could make it-but still had to be out of the saddle to do it. This was the same climb that helped me win the XC race earlier in the year, it brings me pain, it brings me joy.
We then took a cool downhill and some singletrack over to a section that E calls "Niel's Loop"! It starts with a 1 mile climb that isn't very steep until the very end, then it's a bear. We made it over to a very cool little section of sweeping trail that E really loved. After that we did the dam trail again, up the climb and then finished up with a little more singletrack.
I had made everything there with my full rigid, tall geared singlespeed. I'm still smiling about as I write this....

here is a recycled pict to give you some of the flavor:

Back in the Palmetto State for a few Days

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:14:33 GMT

and I only brought my MTB. I still have Michigan gearing on it to. 38 in the front and 16 in the back. I guess it will be good strength training, plus make me sound tough when we are talking gear ratios in the parking lot! Actually I did bring stuff to change the gearing, but don't know if I will get around to doing that or not. Full sunshine and in the 80s today. Very nice.

I also wanted to give a shout out to Brian at Village Bike Shop in Cascade for letting Jody and I use the tandem last week. We had a blast and I learned a lot. We raced it on Sunday at Fort Custer after our 1 bike races, but got another flat. We were really flying to, I'm starting to get it. Learning how to handle it a little better. I see a tandem bike being added to the stable in the future.

Just a quick update, need to get back to work. Kind of burned out from the long drive yesterday, plus work to do, but tomorrow I will be riding bike in the Carolinas again.

Here is a picture from the start of the Fort Custer TT:

Fort Custer MTB Time Trial

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:52:33 GMT

This might be my favorite place to ride, or at least one of my top 5 in Michigan. It's a place that I get to ride often. It always reminds me of riding my motorcycle because it's pretty fast, but yet still technical. If you have some guts you can carry speed through areas that are difficult when you are going slow. This time trial course had at least 12 miles of singletrack in it. Although I have been in better shape, I am in pretty good form, and few people that I race against know the trail as well as I. I was looking forward to seeing if I could beat the best in Michigan there, while riding a bike with just one gear.
We got there about 8:45am, got signed up, changed, ect., and I went out for some warm up miles. Saw Chris Goddard, a long time racing buddy, and we went out together for a while. I have missed the interaction with all my racing buddies this year, much more than the racing. I did about 1/2 of the 15 mile course and then went back and refilled water, took some gel, and just spun around for a while. The trail was moist but not muddy. The temps were in the 60s, it was going to be a great day for racing.
I was the 5th rider to take off. I had the favorite to win right behind me, Christian Tanguy. Christian had just won a national 100 mile race the week before. My plan was to see how long I could keep him behind me, then see how long I could hold his wheel. Mark Parmelee started 30 seconds in front of me. Mark has finished second to Christian at a few time trials this year, and it was my guess that he would be tough to beat as well. I lined up, reset my computer, and waited for the "Go".
I got a great start out of the gate. Got my second foot in my pedal without missing a beat. The Geisha (my singlespeed) was geared a little easier that in the past, I was hoping to make myself spin on the flats and hit the climbs and the singletrack hard. After spinning at my max for that first mile, I hit pay dirt-the singletrack. After about 2 1/2 miles I had Mark in sight. He was still a bit ahead of me, but I could tell I had pulled back time on him, and Christian hadn't caught me yet. I was feeling pretty good. After another couple miles we emptied out on to a two track, and I had caught up to Mark, but I couldn't spin fast enough to get by him, so I settled in. I could now hear Christian behind me. We got into the singletrack again, and I let Christian go by. The three of us rode together for a while. The pace really wasn't that bad. Eventually we caught Greg Kuhn, I was really surprised by that. He has been REALLY fast this year. Then there were 4 of us, riding together, at a time trial! Christian then put in an effort, and Greg was able to go with him. Mark wasn't, and I was kind of stuck behind Mark. But I knew that I was in good position. I had 30 seconds on Mark and 60 seconds on Greg.
A little over 1/2 way around I fell back a few seconds. I was having trouble breathing and my legs were feeling heavy. Then we hit the green section of trail, the section I like most. A little more sandy than the red section, I like sand. Plus, fewer two tracks. There had been some trail work done the day before, smoothing out some rough spots, and taking away some of my home trail advantage. Not deterred, I charged ahead. I had given back about 10 seconds to Mark. It took a few miles, but I cut that down to just a few seconds with a few miles to go. Greg was off the side of the trail with a flat tire, bummer. Never like to see that.
At the end of the green trail we turned and had a grassy .3 miles left. Mark was still about 5 seconds in front of me, I caught up to, and followed him into, the finish line. My time was 56.16, the course was .6 longer than last year and I was 1 minute slower. I rode a little faster this year. Christian had beat me by 1:10. After all the racers had finished I saw that Jason Lummis got me by 15 seconds. I would like to have finished second, but I think I rode well considering I hadn't raced in 2 months.
I just didn't have the ability to maintain a high heart rate. A small price to pay for having just ridden my bike when I like, how I like and with whom I like this Summer.
Ed and Cathy Serrat hosted a little cookout afterward. Great food, great conversation. It was a great day doing what I love to do.....

Pictures later...

The Haps as of Late.......

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:23:53 GMT

Been in Michigan for a while now, riding the smoothness and relative flatness that these trails are. Loving the big gear on my singlespeed. She's been named "The Geisha" because she's Asian, and she's a beauty. Pictures if I ever get to a high speed internet connect. Have been getting in quite a bit of riding. Not long rides, not really hard rides, but nearly every day I pedal somewhere for a while. Have a new training partner that keeps me on my toes. Here are a few of the highlights:

Fort Custer: Have ridden here about a bajillion times lately. I'm all geeked up over the time trial race coming this weekend. I've had the fastest time here for four years running, but this year looks to be a tall chore. It's a USAC sanctioned race and part of the Tailwind series. There will be fast dudes here. Plus I haven't been training, just riding my bike and having fun. I think I have a chance, and am going to let it rip on Sunday.

Timbercreek, North Country Trail: A few weeks ago rode here for the first time in quite a while. It's just an awesome singlespeed trail. Much climbing, but pretty gradual. It's beautiful up there (near Baldwin). Great day for a ride, we rode about 30 miles I think. It was a perfect day, save for the stinky potty room!

Cannonsburg State Game Area: Most folks would say, what's so special about CSGA? Nothing really, except that I rode there at night with some cool kids! My first night ride since last August in WI. Nickasauras and I rode ahead, then rode back and then with the others. It was muddy here and there. Did a little crashing. Scared myself often by going faster than my limited sight would allow. Brian and Jody rode the tandem, and got me to thinking.......

Owasippe Boy Scout Camp: We went there on opening day to ride my fav W. MI trail. But this day was like no other before. I rode an off road tandem on this demanding trail! I was very nervous before, and even for the first few miles. Jody was afraid I think, because I was afraid. But she did her best not to let me know. Shortly after we started we passed a group of guys on a hill, and I relaxed a little. Then after we went up a series of tough switchbacks cleanly the jitters were all gone. We made nearly all the climbs on the tough red/blue route. After we were done, we both let ourselves bask in the glow of what we had accomplished. I have always been a team oriented guy, and this was like being on a team again. It was wonderful.

So, anyway, that is some of the highlights. I'm racing this weekend, and then heading back South for a week and a half to visit my peeps down that way. I'll try to post up after the race to let you know how it went..

peace and love.

Niel

F.A.T.S. was SWEET!

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:26:47 GMT

Went to Fork Area Trail System near Augusta, GA yesterday for the first time. Sweet, is all I can say. I use that word all the time. I annoy myself with my constant use of it. I'm glad the people that know me let me get away with using it so much. They gotta' be thinking "Are you 17 years od or what?", I would have to answer that question carefully. I'm not always an adult Anyway, FATS was SWEET!!!!

Arrived to the south trail head at about 12:00. Checked out the trail map and headed out. Right away I knew it was gonna' be awesome. The ground was hard, fast and mostly smooth. After about 20 yards in I launched off the first of the endless number jumps that littered the 32 miles of singletrack. Most of the were just big enough that you would get airborne, but barely. Some of them however you could get several feet into the air. The second of those big air jumps got my attention. The back end kicked out a little and I was a little sideways through the air. Came down straight enough, but it made me think. So I was a little conservative on the big just after that.
The trail is machine cut and mostly side hill trail. It's quite hilly there, but they did and excellent job of switch backing to make the climbs very gradual and give you maximum payoff on the downhills. I had 38x17 gearing on The Crazy Train and it was just perfect for me (y r m v). So, there would be long grinding climbs, followed by long stretches of fast riding with minimal pedaling. It turned out to be just like I had hoped, a nice reminder of the days when I used to ride my dirt bike over terrain just like this.
It was hot, and the night before I had drank wine and stayed up a little later than I would have liked. Soon, however, I was so into the trail and the nature surrounding me that I suffered no ill-effects of the previous nights shenanigans. In what seemed like no time at all I had ridden all 32 miles of that place. I went back to the trail head to look at the map. To make sure I didn't miss anything, a young guy I had passed going the other direction was looking at the map of the 4 different loops with me. After a while I said, "It looks like I did the whole trail". He says, "Oh, what loop?". I respond, "All of them". He asks, "(You mean today?!". I smile and say, "Yes". Then I asked him what time it was, he tells me and I realize I have a little time left to ride. I tell him that I am going out to do the 7 mile loop over again. He didn't respond, and his jaw dropped. I love my cycling addiction.....

Some pictures of the place. It's gradual elevation changes so it's hard to see that these are downhills. But they are high speed sections.

A Few More Rides to Tell You About........

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:41:11 GMT

Yesterday I took headed about an hour South to one of my favorite trails, Lynches Woods Park, in the city of Newberry, South Carolina. It is a very cool city park that doesn't get many people and very few bikers use this great trail. I have no idea why it isn't flooded with MTB'ers. It's very highly rated on MTBR.com. And there aren't too many trails in that area. Actually, I have only been there twice since I moved here, once in Jan. and Once in Feb. Because it's right off I-26 we usually stop there on the way down or coming back from/to Michigan. No huge climbs, but constant small ups and downs. Twisty and turny. A fair amount of roots and a few rocks. Creek crossings. Lots of logs over the trail. About 12 miles of sweet single track.

I started a little before noon, and it was getting warm quickly. Right away I notices the ground was hard and fast. And as I kept going I found that it was the driest it had ever been for me. First time not being there in the Winter likely had a little to do with that. But I also found that there were lots of pine needles and some leaves down, making things a little slow. Lots of spider webs across the trail. Like I said, not much traffic. Several downed trees gave the hard trail a few more challenges for me. I really love trying to clear big logs in the trail. I was able to get over almost all the ones that were even remotely doable. One I fell over on and one I put a foot down. I made a creek crossing with rock banks and bottom for the first time. Made this one super steep climb that is real hard on a singlespeed (or any bike). I felt great, even as the temps climbed into the 90s. I was having too much fun to notice.

I did 2 full laps and one little piece for a 3rd time. Then did the rolling dirt road that goes all the way around the park, 5 miles or so. Felt surprising good for having single speeded the day before at a tough course. Very happy that I went to visit the first South Carolina MTB trail I had ever ridden, way back in about 2002. Here are some pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=96544&id=524984326&l=e947571c2b

Today I got up way before the sun and rolled out with my buddy KW for a 30 mile ride through the country side, north of town a ways. I was looking forward to a day of spinning my legs and not having to grunt and groan up some steep, rooty hills. I enjoyed chatting and cruising through the rolling country side. We got back a little after 8:00am and I was already soaked in sweat. Hot and humid in the Upstate of SC today. Glad I "got er' done" nice and early today. First time in over a week and a half that I had been on the road bike. Spinning is almost as much fun as mashing.......

My bike rides lately, the readers digest condensed version....

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:06:10 GMT

Hey, Remember Me? The guy that used to write in his blog about biking stuff?! I've been pretty addicted to facebook. Sorry. If you are on, add me as a friend. Here is a brief summary of some recent rides:

Tryon, NC. 70 miles of foothills. 200+ other riders. Went off the front, a few times. Caught caught. Made the breakaway, got dropped. Got tired, got cramps. Finished with 7,000 feet of climbing. Ate from the buffet. Enjoyed talking to KW on the way home.

Greenville, MI. Group mtb ride w/ my oldest (in more than one sense of the word!) buddies. We rode the trails, the paved trails and the paths that aren't trails. Did some stunts, didn't crash, watched others crash, had a relaxing night on the bike. Slid down the water slide a few different ways. Had mexican food and Michigan beer.

White Cloud, MI. Rode the North Country Trail with a friend. It was a perfect day, a great trail and she made me smile and laugh. 30 miles of more singlespeed goodness.

Augusta, MI. Stopped on the back South. Short on time. Still did red to the green, twice. It was nice. It was smooth. It was fast. It was Michigan.

Spartanburg, SC. Solo ride at Southside Park. It was even more rooty and bumpy than I had remembered. Used every millimeter of suspension on my bike, countless times. Did all the trails, and the cool ones twice. Left with my legs sore, my hands hurting and my face smiling.

Majestic.....

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:27:14 GMT

I really needed to get out on the bike yesterday. I hadn't ridden since the race last weekend, what with moving to a different place this week and all. It really had nothing to do with training, or any upcoming races, it was all about spending time doing what I love to do. We all need to have an escape from the pressures and mental grind of the day to day business of living. I had an excellent escape yesterday.

I started the ride from the parking lot of the Table Rock visitors center, like I do most times I ride in the area. Right at the base of all the mountains, big parking lot, restrooms (w/ air conditioning). Headed out at 1:30pm. It was a beautiful day, upper 80s, with very low humidity and a mild breeze. Took the round about way over to Caesars Head Mtn. Country roads that mainly follow the Saluda River, with a few good climbs and nice pavement. Then it was time to climb the mountain.

I wasn't really in a "type A" mood yesterday. I didn't go after the climb with full gusto, but the 7 miles it takes to get to the top are such that there is no such thing as taking it easy. With mild discomfort I made my way to the top. Once there I rewarded my efforts with the breath taking view from the top of Caesars Head. I've stood on that rock and looked out many times now, and am still humbled by the natural beauty of our world each time. I had a nice talk with a dad and his kids about the "funny pedals" on my bike, and about how much more fun it was gonna' be going back down than it was coming up. Then I was on my way to the next stop, to see something truly majestic.

Camp Greenville was another 7 or 8 miles up the road and into North Carolina. The three miles of road from the Caesars Head to the road the camp is on is a great stretch. Somewhat, but not all, down with mild twists and turns. Very flowing, almost like a nice mountain bike trail. The rest of the way to the camp was a mix of more flowing roads and some tight, steep switchbacks. One last turn, and I was there. Pretty Place, Camp Greenville.

I've seen some pretty cool views in my life, but the beauty my eyes were taking in at that moment brought me to my knees, literally. I was in a mountain top chapel, looking at a wooden cross with a background of mountains and valleys. To say I was moved wouldn't scratch the surface. It had been almost 2 hours to get there, but the sight of this place instantly made me forget about that.

After taking a few pictures, I turned around and headed back the way I came. The return trip was about 45 minutes faster, despite the 10mph headwind. My legs got a little weary in the final 20 minutes, but not bad for such a tough ride. I got back and ate a couple cold, S. Carolina peaches from my cooler-nothing could have tasted better at that moment. On the drive home, and at nearly every moment since, I've been replaying the tape in my mind. It was a majestic day.

pict 1, Don't recall seeing that kind of sign in MI :-p
pict 2, The Saluda River
pict 3, The view from Caesars Head
pict 4, Pretty Place Chapel, the view from the pews
pict 5, The view from the other side of the cross at Pretty Place