NAIR = PAIN!

OMG! I am a Veet man for sure. No pictures on this one......but, Nair caused some serious and painful issues during my latest hair-removal experience.

a cappella-ness

I absolutely dig the Fairfield Four and their a cappella-ness!

Caesar & Sushi

My girl-possi Doris, Belinda, Eleanore and I went for a ride to preview the Caesar's Head climb. This is the pose they asked to take of me.....out of the saddle. They sure are a giggly group.

Then we all hit up Sora's Sushi in Brevard, NC. The sushi was good! Much of what is not shown here includes a Summer Roll, Miso Soup, Edamame, and green tea. So we began to talk about what they name sushi rolls in Japan. Do you think they have names like Philadelphia, Superman, New York, etc? I am guessing we are eating Americanized Sushi. How long will it be before McDonalds are serving sushi? It is the "in" thing right now amongst the cool folk!

Sunday Team Ride

Team Velosports went on a guy-only ride on Sunday up the parkway towards Pisgah.....down NC 151 and back through Biltmore Lake (Enka Lake) towards the Parkway again. Lots of climbing and a cold one at the top of the Parkway Climb. Those tunnels are freaking dark too!

This was my first ride since Tuesday. My mini-break off the bike lasted through a very rainy Saturday.

Rob Talk

Rob called me from his new home in New Mexico. It has been 3 weeks already since they moved there. So, it was cool to hear from him. I guess the mountain biking is really good there! Need to visit.

Indoor TT winners!

Really! I stink at time trials. I don't like them and I don't do well at them. So, it is funny how I actually won the Velosports Performance Center's Indoor TT series this winter. It was the best of 2 out of 3 TTs starting in January.

Here is our post-TT picture of the awards ceremony. Funny thing is that Erica kicked my butt by an entire minute plus last Friday. I think it was the wine I had the night before. I am just happy that the time has changed and the sun is up.....so, I can ride outside after the work day. Spring is here!

Greenville Racing: Weekend 3.....the Final Donaldson

Three consecutive weekends of racing is over. Wippeeee!

In summary, I raced okay and stronger than the last two years. I manage to get into a good finishing position a couple times, but could not deliver the goods. Quite honestly, I hate racing Cat 4s and can't wait to get into a safer group where I know I will race much better.

I started the last race on Sunday pretty sure I would not finish it because I had fallen off the wagon a few days before with an entire Digiorno's Pizza (1200 calories) and a overly friendly bottle of Merlot that kind of stayed with me for a few days. But I felt better on each lap and finished the last race of the Greenville training series off the back of the main group after avoiding a crash near the finish.

I guess now the real season starts.

Barnesville: 200 Years

The village town where I grew up turned 200 years this weekend.

From the Wheeling Intelligencer:
The city’s history is one of residents filled with determination and skillfully using natural resources.

James Barnes and his wife took up residency in St. Clairsville in 1803, the year Ohio officially became a state. After operating a tavern, they opened a general store. Barnes obtained a patent from the federal government signed by then-President Thomas Jefferson, for the land on which Barnesville currently sits.

Back in 1808, there were a limited number of cabins that comprised the town. Occupants of these structures were, however, preceded by American Indians. Mounds that once existed in the village have been destroyed. Yet, Track Rocks displaying images carved in rock crafted by prehistoric people were found about 3 miles from the village.

A year later, Barnes built a combined residence and storeroom. The store section of this facility opened in 1810.

A plot of land that produced quality ginseng was also a facet of the early Barnesville community, and Barnes found a way to capitalize on this natural fortune. Barnes thought that if the land was good for ginseng, it would also be good for growing fruit. Barnes was right, and fruit from this orchard came to be respected.

Barnes didn’t forget about unharvested ginseng and encouraged residents of the village to cultivate the plant because it was profitable in Baltimore. Barnes took the initiative to have a drying house constructed to clarify ginseng roots which were taken to Baltimore via wagon. During one profitable season, Barnes sent 30,000 pounds of ginseng to Baltimore.

Read more here....

Snowy Saturday

It was a nice day to head out on a solo ride instead of race in Greenville at the River Falls course. The ride quickly went to cloud cover to snow......snow blowing side-ways.....then the sun was shining to!

I Want Out!

Helloween - I Want Out

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You know how, back in the day, "they" said heavy metal music would corrupt the youth and make them bad people when they became adults...or something like that. Well, after many nights of watching Headbangers Ball on MTV in the 90s, this must have been that song that rubbed off on me.....and in many ways, lyrics, humor, and music.

Greenville Racing: Weekend 2

Saturday's Race:
It was announced at the beginning of the Cat 4 race that there was 189 riders. I didn't bother to count them all, but ok....that is a lot of bicycles. The team went into the Fork Shoals race to try and get Andre a win if things worked out. After lap 2 Andre said his back was hurting a little bit and Calum was starting to have a tough time. The beginning of lap 3 saw the field string out 2 by 2 and about 45 riders remained. The pace stayed high and OJ and I made the cut for the final lap. We did our best to conserve some energy and stay towards the front. On the final left turn we were struggling. OJ was taken down to the pavement by another rider clipping his bars as I made my way to the line to finish 20th.

Sunday's Race:
I think OJ and I would have been happy to throw in the towel after a lap or two by the way we felt at the beginning of this race. Sunday morning I did my best to replenish what I had spent the day before. I had about 4 smoothies high in potassium and other goodies. I was sure that cramping would take me out of today's race. There was a crash on lap 1 at the rail road tracks and seemingly cut the field in half. The smaller numbers would ultimately make for a more enjoyable ride. Laps 1 and 2 were still difficult and I really didn't think I would make the cut after lap 3. I hung on and made it to the start of lap 3. At this point the race became a Sunday ride in the park with speeds around 18 mph and a lot of conversation among the group.....this went on for the entire lap around the backside of the course. This helped me a lot and we came across the line for the final lap pretty hot. On the last lap I left my comfort spot on the back of the pack and moved my way up the right side into the top 1/3 of the pack. In the last KM the pace picked up and I was in a great position to contest the sprint. My hopes were quickly dashed as I got boxed in on the right side by two slower riders and the pack went around me. I gave it a good effort to catch back with 200 meters to go, but there was no way I was going to make it through the pack. I finished at the back of the pack and OJ finished somewhere in front of me. I was happy just to hang on and finish.

OJ packing up the truck carrying the Kenda tent. The tent has been a great place for us the hang out while others race.

Ted King on the front......and George Hincapie about 7 heads back, if you look closely. These guys just finished up the Tour of California last weekend. They are among the local elite who live and race in the area. A junior racer would finish 3rd in the Pro 1, 2 race.

People and you

People do what people do.
It isn't always right and it isn't always cool.
I am just happy to be here and you should be too.