Let me be Frank

Velosports Racing

2009-12-24T16:02:00.002-05:00

New Logo Design for the Velosports Racing Club in 2010.

Stump Jump

2009-05-10T19:57:00.003-05:00

Photo taken by Todd Chumley.7th place finish in my first cross country mountain bike race.

Solo Effort in the High Winds

2009-03-08T21:13:00.001-05:00

This was the windiest day of racing for me since a couple weeks ago at the Donaldson. I was lucky and did not get pulled and finished the race and learned a lot about my abilities in a strong headwind and a nice tailwind. This ended up being one of my most enjoyable times ever racing a bicycle.Not on a break-away.......and not sprinting for a great finish.(Picts taken by Jennifer and Lindsay.)

Racing at River Falls

2009-03-07T20:51:00.001-05:00

The first sunny day race, with a climb, allowed me 4 laps and the full exploitation of my Cytomax cotton mouth abilities to not finish this race, but a decision to stop and save my legs for the next days race at the BMW test track.

Forks Shoals Road Race in the Cold Rain

2009-02-28T20:19:00.001-05:00

I'm 2nd wheel behind my friend Zack in the BioWheels jersey. OJ is two behind me.

See Are Vee to Char Lot T 4 Winter Short Track Race #2

2009-01-25T21:25:00.005-05:00

OJ and I jumped in the newly enhanced CRV and traversed la speedy pave to Charlotte for a 2nd hit of the Winter Short Track Series......on this NOT so Sunday. Cold again, but less wind. And.....they ran out of pasta before I could get any!I raced the Sport category and placed 13th, mind you after a 90 mile and 5 hour road ride on Saturday. I was cross-eyed and outside-of-myself with only 6-

1st race of the seaon results with a win!

2009-01-19T09:37:00.005-05:00

My teammate, and good friend OJ Simpson, and I traveled to Charlotte, NC for some short track mountain bike racing. This was my very first short track race and an event that I wanted to try since last year. Since it was my first short track race, I raced the beginner category. OJ says "I'm expecting you to win".The race was 30 minutes (and 7 laps) around a 1-mile mountain bike trail. Part of

Bowling in the New Year

2009-01-01T16:06:00.001-05:00

You look marvelous!

My Peer review...

2008-12-25T23:04:00.003-05:00

You are very welcome! I feel special!PE&RS Peer-Review list. "Thank you to the following people who have served as reviewers of peer-reviewed articles in PE&RS over the past year. These people provide the expertise needed to ensure the high quality of articles we publish each month."

Oh (little) Christmas Tree...

2008-12-25T09:44:00.002-05:00

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, of all the trees most lovelyEach year you bring to me delight, meaning in the Christmas nightOh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, of all the trees most lovelyOh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, with faithful leaves unchangingYour boughs are green, in summers glow and do not fade in winters snowOh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, with faithful leaves

If you're looking for motivation.......

2008-12-24T17:38:00.002-05:00

.......look no further than this!This is SO DOPE!

You can't wrap this

2008-12-24T11:03:00.001-05:00

Crazy Good

2008-12-22T17:18:00.000-05:00

During my last trip home the girls wanted to hit the Dollar General store. It was Crazy Good!

Lucy's Retirement Party

2008-12-10T20:22:00.002-05:00

The Great Gobble Days of Bicycling

2008-11-30T08:51:00.003-05:00

The Turkey Day ride consisted of 3 hours, 37 miles and 3,862 feet of climbing.The post Turkey Day ride consisted of 4 hours, 49 miles and 6,043 feet of climbing.The post-post Turkey Day ride consisted of 3:34, 42 miles and 2,392 feet of climbing. This ride finished in the rain, but we had an awesome tail wind racing back home! No profile posted since there is not much elevation change to see.

5 Pounds of Coffee....

2008-11-26T06:36:00.001-05:00

Yeah, I'm ready for the GobbleDays! I have my 5 pounds of Ethiopian Coffee straight from the Yirgacheffe's! Lets Worka!Disclaimer:The Cane Creek water bottle and the iPod are of actual size and are used as a reference to demonstrate just how freaking big that bag of coffee really is. This image was not enhanced in any way. Let Me Be Frank is not responsible for any skeptism based on

Team Velosports Banner Design

2008-11-16T16:33:00.006-05:00

Over the last couple weekends I have been working on web banner designs for Team Velosports. Check them out.

A Bicycle Ride with Floyd Landis

2008-11-15T18:04:00.011-05:00

It was a Friday. I received unsolicited intelligence from an undisclosed source that Floyd Landis was in town. A few minutes later that intelligence was independently verified twice by two 4th-hand observers. Yes indeed "Floyd Landis is in town". My suspicion started to rise that Mr. Landis would show up at a local ride the following day. So my peeps convened via mobile-cellular technology (

Cabin Build: The cement is hard and the temps are cold

2008-11-11T14:25:00.005-05:00

The cement is poured! The rush was to get this in before the winter set in. Just in time, it was freezing cold this weekend when I visited the cabin site.To stay warm, I set up my tarp as close as possible to the fire. It was forecasted to easily be in the 20's! I was prepared.I built a big fire! This thing kept me very warm and it was a peaceful, clear and cold night. The moon was very

Cabin Build: The Last Pour

2008-11-08T06:30:00.001-05:00

The winter is coming but the cement needs to be poured to finish the footers. The forms are set.The cement mix is ready.The mixing and pouring begin.

Cats Eyes

2008-11-02T22:23:00.000-05:00

Took a trip to Ohio and saw kitties!

Cabin Build: Stepping It UP!

2008-10-26T22:05:00.002-05:00

Since the cabin site is on a sloped mountain side, we need to include steps in the form-work for the footers. There was also some bedrock impeding our trenching efforts. We had to work around this. We were not going to get any cement poured this weekend, but wanted to make a lot of progress on the form-work to finish the cement pour before the winter sets in. The race is on!Here is one big

Cabin Build: Cement Pour Part 1

2008-10-13T21:21:00.003-05:00

Recall the Big Dig post from last fall? Well, our team of cabin builders assembled this particular weekend to start the cement pour. Andy had scheduled a delivery of supplies to be delivered at an undisclosed staging location near his land. The delivery was "supposed" to occur between 7AM and noon on Saturday morning. Hmmmm? This sounds like a cable guy appointment......yeah, "we'll be there

le minor de E and yo maja le G

2008-10-08T07:01:00.003-05:00

I put in some guitar time this morning to clear my mind. Here we have a acoustic doodle in and about the notes within the key of E minor / G major....the same notes really....just so many creative ways to get around the fret board....adding a few triads here and there. Yes, I know the video is dark. The original always looks brighter. Oops!

Diminishing your E minor scales

2008-10-01T06:27:00.001-05:00

Here we are combining the E minor standard scale with the E harmonic minor scale, or the D# diminished. I use interchangeably scales that root from the E minor to F# diminished, G major to G diminished, and D major 5th to D# diminished. Sounds pretty cool huh?

Bear

2008-09-28T21:25:00.003-05:00

Since I've seen 5 bear since the Labor Day weekend, I figured I would start mapping these locations. View Larger MapSaw 3 yesterday, A momma and her two cubs. Saw one today.

Making Maps

2008-09-27T17:22:00.003-05:00

Sometime back in June, my daughter and I were asked by John Wood to draw maps.....any maps that we could think of. So we did. We were amongst several map-makers in the Asheville area. Here is the link.

Pizza: Tom-e-ato your phat feta

2008-09-25T23:31:00.003-05:00

I couple Fridays ago I had a pizza from the Apollo Flame that had Feta, chicken and tomatoes. It was so good that I wanted to recreate it at home. So, I created something similar.In the midst of a floury mess, I kneaded the dough myself. I totally forgot about the chicken. Instead of a traditional pizza sauce base, I used an olive oil and Smart Balance buttery spread base enhanced with

Racing the last ROF of 2008

2008-09-24T23:37:00.000-05:00

Last Ring Of Fire race for 2008. I actually rode pretty well.

More Folk n Ashe with some Beau

2008-09-21T20:24:00.003-05:00

Took a nice ride through Folk n Ashe and included Beaucatcher mtn. Lots of cyclist out this morning. Lets see.....that is about 21 hours of riding since last Saturday, 9/13!

All the rave about US74 and the Bat Cave

2008-09-20T20:32:00.000-05:00

Been wanting to hit the road to Bat Cave and climb up US 74. This was fresh scenery for us and another great ride.

You just wait Mr OJ Simpson!

2008-09-20T10:06:00.002-05:00

Too flat!

2008-09-14T20:48:00.001-05:00

This was a team ride and it was a bit flat for our liking.....so after the rest of the group split off we climbed up Pinners Cove!

Burnsville Burning

2008-09-07T20:05:00.000-05:00

Wanted to try some different roads.....needed to ride some different roads. Some of the best roads in the Appalachians are in Madison and Yancy Counties.....and across the state line in TN. I was riding slow, but having fun!

This was no picnic at Craggie

2008-09-06T20:06:00.000-05:00

Back in the day a ride up to Craggie was the best way to reconnect with my love for riding and any physical uncertainties there were. So, it had been a long time, but we hit the parkway and visited the Craggie Picnic area. The parkway beyond this point was still closed.

Climbing Doggett and Chilling in Hot Springs

2008-09-01T20:02:00.001-05:00

On this ride we ate everything and drank everything between Marshall and Hot Springs. We stopped many times to refuel the batteries and by the end of the ride that made a huge difference. This was a great ride! We put in about 170 miles for the 3-day weekend!

Folk n Ashe and Reynolds Mtn

2008-08-30T20:09:00.001-05:00

It is possible to ride just over 60 miles in and around Asheville and climb well over 100 feet per mile. This was a HOT day and the climb up Reynolds mtn was almost

Weekend Cabining - Bday Bash

2008-08-17T20:56:00.005-05:00

So this was a great weekend to celebrate one of my best friends birthday...in addition to my own.....Andy turned 50 and we rented out some cabins for the weekend and had a great group of friends, which were many old co-workers from my time in Atlanta. Amazing that my closest friends are still from my time in Atlanta from 2000 to 2003. That was a great work experience for me that resulted in

Mid Augusto

2008-08-17T08:23:00.002-05:00

Late night boat rides, long lake views, smiley face pancakes, birthdays, long bike rides and new updates coming soon!

Asheville Grand Prix: September 13th, 2008

2008-08-14T06:48:00.004-05:00

View Larger MapMaking a interactive Google Map for the Asheville Grand Prix criterium race on September 13th, 2008. Be there!

Smily Face Pancake!

2008-08-09T20:54:00.002-05:00

Before she left, she made me pancakes with an everlasting smily face!

0 8 : 0 8 : 0 8

2008-08-08T16:09:00.012-05:00

Today (08/08/08) is my birthday. And with it being August 8th, 2008, I wanted to do something special. So, it was my desire to wake up in a tent at my friend Andy's property near the Cherohala Skyway. After a fun day at Carowinds on the 7th, my daughter and I made the drive and set up camp. We got to the site around 9:30. It was dark. We set up the tent, made a small camp fire and had

Morning Coffee is Pressing!

2008-07-25T06:41:00.003-05:00

I'm always interested in the best coffee brew. I've been drinking coffee made using freshly ground beans in the morning, purchased from a local coffee bean roaster. I've even tried roasting my own beans in a popcorn popper. Put a cup of coffee in front of me that was made with pre-ground coffee, I can tell without even tasting it.Here is an article from Yahoo News that I found this morning:How

Smoky Mountain News: July 23rd, 2008 and Me!

2008-07-23T06:17:00.000-05:00

Simulated fly-overs give bikers a bird’s eye view By Becky Johnson • Staff Writer For a cyclist embarking on one of WNC’s epic century rides, studying the elevation profile can be a bit like tracking the sudden rise and fall of the Richter scale during a major

Smoky Mountain News

2008-07-21T06:52:00.003-05:00

Be sure to check out this Wednesday's edition of the Smoky Mountain News!

2 Days and We Are Home

2008-07-10T20:48:00.005-05:00

On the way out Thursday morning, we stopped by Dogtooth Coffee again. The drive out of CO Springs was both sad and anticipated. I kept looking back in the side view mirror for that "last glimpse" of the Colorado Rockies. Finally, the departure from the mountains passed and we were headed east into the endless horizon of Colorado-Kansas great plains!We arrived in St. Louis late Wednesday night

Garden of the Gods

2008-07-10T18:17:00.006-05:00

After lunch at Poor Richards (pizza!) we had some chill time with Mike and his family at their home. The residential areas in CO Springs are very nice! The roads are wide!I have not seen Mike for a long time. We went to grad school together years ago.The kids got along great together! Instant friends who never knew each other before!We arrived at the visitors center of the Garden of the Gods.

CO Springs and Pikes Peak

2008-07-08T15:50:00.012-05:00

Good day! We started off the day with a stop at Dogtooth Coffee. We had some breakfast and coffee. I picked up a couple bags of beans, Velvet Hammer and Ethiopian Yirgacheffe (EY is my absolute favorite coffee!). I also picked up a Dogtooth Coffee coffee mug! The coffee was great and I will likely stop by again before we leave CO Springs.Then we navigated through CO Springs to US 24 and

6 Degrees of Separtation: And a Stretch, More and Less

2008-07-08T15:35:00.006-05:00

I'm here in CO Springs staying with my friend from graduate school, Mike. His next door neighbor used to be Greg and Alison Dunlap. Greg sent picts to Mike that he received from Daniel that were taken of Danny Pate (from CO Springs) racing the time trial in today's stage of the Tour de France. Danny has been to Greg's house many times. Mike has probably met him across the fence.So, maybe

The Rio Grande and Taos, NM

2008-07-07T23:09:00.011-05:00

We left White Rock, NM early this morning and headed for Taos, NM.Rob had told me about the "coffee guy" in a white van. Since I love coffee he suggested that we stop. He'll be on the side of the road on your way out. "Look for his white van." Sure enough we found it and we got some java-drivin-joe for the road. We talked to the Coffee Guy. He said he's been doing this for 2 years and

Bandelier and Santa Fe, NM

2008-07-07T08:05:00.010-05:00

On Sunday we woke up and headed for Bandelier National Park. It was just a few miles from where we were staying in White Rock, NM.On the way there we found a rock that had fallen to the road.We hiked the short 1.2 mile trail to see the Ancestral Pueblo ruins of the people who lived here 800 to 500 years ago. The main rock formation of interest was the tuff. Tuff is very erosive ash rock that

Pagosa Springs, CO and White Rock, NM

2008-07-05T20:53:00.007-05:00

We left Durango this morning for the next leg of our trip. It was sad to tear down our campsite of 4 days. We've been contemplating revamping our travel itinerary to just stay in Durango. But, we did not.Before leaving town we went back to Carvers Brewing Company Cafe for lunch. Sure enough we had the same server as the night before. She recognized us.We sat on the back patio this time.

Durango and the 4th

2008-07-05T09:15:00.010-05:00

The 4th of July was a lazy day for us. We slept in and didn't drive anywhere. We spent most of the day in downtown Durango, CO. Our campground had a 4th of July parade. Since we had a lazy morning, we just inadvertently got caught up in the celebrations!We ate at Home Slice Pizza. "You want a piece of me?", read the sticker on the side of the trash can! And had a deep dish pizza which we

Arches & the Four Corners

2008-07-04T09:23:00.013-05:00

Today we got up early to beat the 100 degree temps in Arches National Park near Moab, UT. One of the first interesting features we saw was this bee-hive looking rock formation. Here is the Courthouse Towers just after entering Arches National Park. These towers are majestic and awesome! Some of them resemble human figures, arms folded across chest, meditating to ???We drove right to the

Molas Lake, Silverton and Ouray, Colorado

2008-07-02T22:06:00.019-05:00

We got up this morning and made coffee and breakfast at camp. Wow! Camp is a mess, who do you think has to clean all this up?Me in my camp PJs.....has to clean this all up!Checking email and stuff with our wireless internet access from camp.....and watching mama bird feed her babies in the near by tree.Went in to Durango for some coffee. Then drove by Fort Lewis College. This is one of the

Durango

2008-07-01T21:12:00.004-05:00

Got up today and skipped out on the free pancakes at the KOA. Instead we took my CRV to the local Honda shop to have the engine light checked out. The result was a valve adjustment, a distributor cap and rotors and I was set. The CRV is running great now!While waiting on the CRV repair we walked about a 1/2 mile to the nearest Starbucks and had a good time there. We always seem to have our

Bernilillo, NM

2008-06-30T23:24:00.005-05:00

After breaking our overnight fast at Denny's we hit the road for TX and NM. One of the first things we noticed was how far away the horizon appeared to be. You could see for miles....seemed like hundreds of miles before the horizon dropped off. Seemingly the Earth was flat again! What causes this illusion?Since the engine light was still on....and it was even blinking at one point this

Memphis & Oklahoma City

2008-06-29T22:02:00.005-05:00

We departed from Asheville on Saturday morning and made it to our first stop-over, Memphis. We thought it would be nice to visit Memphis. We visited America's Incredible Pizza Company for dinner and it was a fricken ZOO! I've never had such an experience. Totally rude, totally loud and totally a waste of money!!!! Never again!So, we are driving around in downtown Memphis on Sunday morning

Team Velosports: Photo Shoot at the Wedge Brewery

2008-06-23T20:55:00.004-05:00

We scheduled our monthly team meeting and a photo shoot tonight at the Wedge Brewery in the River Arts District of Asheville, NC. The main item on the meeting agenda was some Community Porter and IPA......pitchers of them.Here is the Wedge Studios logo on the building. Okay, lets take some pictures.Bottoms Up! See you on the road, trail, and track.

One: Guess who? Two: Lots going on!

2008-06-21T05:49:00.010-05:00

Driving up and down Interstate 75. Can't remember how much money I've spent on gas lately. It has been a lot. But guess who came to town? And, it was the day before Fathers Day! Luck me!What else would I want for Father's Day other than my daughter and the rest of the summer with her! What a shot over looking the Cataloochee Valley in the eastern portion of the Great Smoky Mountain National

Sesame Street 1972

2008-06-16T22:31:00.001-05:00

The good old days when life was simple!

Why stereotype?

2008-06-12T06:33:00.002-05:00

Big truck. Not parked correctly. Taking up too much space. Hmmmm? I am not perfect either, but.....I'd be willing to bet the owner of vehicle comes out of the store with a case of Budweiser. Yeah?

Trippin on I-75 and Recitaling in Ohio

2008-06-02T06:04:00.002-05:00

Here we are again, time for another dance recital. Been doing the dance recital scene for 8 years now. I still have the flowers from the very first one my daughter was in when she was very young. Aren't they pretty?!Here is that familiar shot in the I-40 gorge that I always seem to remember to take.The drive to Ohio included a 3 hour stretch where I averaged about 4 mph.......no, I wasn't on my

Team Velosports & Deltect Homes: Track Racing!

2008-05-27T07:13:00.000-05:00

(Picture provided courtesy of Retros Picasa Web Album)

Tomato Head Road Race Results:

2008-05-25T09:30:00.003-05:00

Today was my first Cat 3 road race. Little did I know I would be racing with my buddies Michael Jackson and OJ Simpson. We Beat It down with a Butcher knife!Our team results:Andre 5th - The master sprinter sprinting in his junior gear!Adam 20th? (after a busting his butt to bridge gaps, catch multiple break aways and great lead out for Andre)Frank 25th (actually finished a long time after the

Ring of Fire: rtp1

2008-05-22T06:24:00.003-05:00

This was the second Ring of Fire event in Asheville this year. The race happens every other Wednesday. I've been racing the A race which has all the pro, cat 1,2,3s racing in it. The race is 60 laps on a 0.3 mile track. Every 5th lap there are points scored for the first 4 across the line. The first race a few weeks ago, I took a free lap about 25 laps into the 60 lap race after getting off

Making the podium at the 12 hours of Tsali

2008-05-18T09:12:00.015-05:00

We assembled two 4-man squads for the 12 Hours of Tsali mountain bike race, the sport class. There would be Team Velosports Sqaud #1 and #2. I was on Sqaud #2. Each of our squads had one expert class racer (Billy McCracken and OJ Simpson). The rest of us are sport class racers. (For reference there is a beginning class and only one expert class racer can race on a Sport Team squad.)We even

Track Racing: Fixed Gear

2008-05-14T20:13:00.000-05:00

One of the other bicycle race formats that I have been participating in over the last 6 weeks is fixed gear track racing. This is a weekly event called the Mellowdrome Cup Series. Check out the website. There are usually pictures being taken at these events and posted online. I finally made it one of them.Here is a shot of our C race during the neutral lap before the scratch race (picture

Prepping for a 12 hour race

2008-05-13T06:18:00.004-05:00

A few members of Team Velosports were seen at Bent Creek brushing up on their mountain bike skills in prepartaion for the upcoming 12-hour race at Tsali this weekend. Team Velosports will send two 4-man squads to the race. This will be my first mountain bike race! I started out mountain biking in 2001 and used to be a fanatic about it, traveling to get in as many camping-riding weekends as

A Folky Elk-Painted Ox

2008-05-11T07:05:00.007-05:00

So what kind of ride was in store for today? There is no racing, we have our new kits and there are super cool roads near Asheville to ride. Lets do a little climbing. Plus, we need to get used to the climbing feeling in the legs before the Roan Groan race on June 7th.61 miles and 6700 feet of climbing. Any ride that is more than a 100 meet per mile, is a good climbing ride. The profiles

Which one of these things is not like the other?

2008-05-10T09:46:00.003-05:00

Sing along with me! One of these things is not like the others,One of these things just doesn't belong,Can you tell which thing is not like the othersBy the time I finish my song? Did you guess which thing was not like the others?Did you guess which thing just doesn't belong?If you guessed this one is not like the others,Then you're absolutely...right! Three of these things belong togetherThree

The more I bless the more I bleed, part 1

2008-05-08T06:33:00.005-05:00

I blessed the family of a tow-truck driver $150 last night! I hope the kids eat well and mom gets some purdy flowers for Mother's Day!The blessing took place after a great A-race (for me) at the 1st Ring of Fire event of the year and a specially-wonderful meal at Jack of the Wood (....don't park in the Commerce parking lot near by!)Oh yeah.....NC-SC Cycling Association finally posted my Cat 3

Joe Frank Jittery

2008-05-03T08:28:00.006-05:00

So while in Athens last weekend I picked up some Jittery Joes Coffee. I love African coffees! I noticed they had a Zimbabwe roast and I wanted to try that. So I picked up a can of that. And of course my very favorite coffee in the entire world, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe! I've been deprived of this roast over the last year or so. Now when I see it, I get some for sure! Yirgacheffe has a nice

My friend John plays drums

2008-04-29T19:12:00.001-05:00

The Twilight of Athens : A Jittery Grit : And a Spinach-Tortilla Wrapped Fatty

2008-04-28T20:04:00.014-05:00

Went to Athens GA to watch Andre race and see the Athens Twilight Road Race. Andre (in orange) would place 5th in the Amateur race and was the first Cat 3 across the line! Here is a nice shot that Tony snapped of Andre.Here we are packing up Sunday morning from our host house, Susans. Before we packed up we woke for an early morning bike ride and then had an incredible breakfast at The Grit in

Cat 3!!!

2008-04-24T18:57:00.003-05:00

I finally made the upgrade! I haven't had great results this year, but I submitted a request and it was approved in less than 4 hours.******Dear Frank,The following request to change your USCF category has been approved and processed by USA Cycling:Request to change category from Cat 4 to Cat 3

Bike Chase

2008-04-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

Critten in Charleston, SC

2008-04-21T06:15:00.004-05:00

On Friday teammates from our womens and mens teams drove to Charleston, SC to race in the Lowcounty VW crit and the SC State Champs crit. It was a long drive, but nice to get down to a warm place to race.As our women's team raced I warmed up for the Masters Cat 4/5 race. I love this category and always race well. It is both smoother and safer than the normal cat 4 race. I recognized Brett

Kamelot - Memento Mori

2008-04-17T06:26:00.000-05:00

Thought provoking lyrics with great song structure and musicianship. Who wants to separateThe world we know from our beliefsAnd who sees only black and whiteDistinguish loss from sacrificeSome day we may come to peaceWith the world within ourselvesAnd I will await youUntil I close my eyesClose my eyesClose my eyesWhen your time has comeYou know you'll be lonely once againAnd the final winter

The coolest thing that I wrote today.

2008-04-16T20:19:00.000-05:00

Cast no stones unless you are sinless yourself. Give when you have nothing to give. Be merciful, you have already received mercy. Live within your physical/mental bounds and accept them as gifts. Be grateful when there is nothing in particularly to be grateful for. Realize that things could be even worse than they are right now. Make strangers laugh and make them smile. Acknowledge to yourself

My buddy Steve

2008-04-15T00:27:00.000-05:00

Years ago Steve, Julie, Andy and I used to work for the Technical Marketing team of ERDAS, Inc. This period of time was by far the most rewarding, enjoyable and developmental time of my working life. Today Steve is off somewhere pretending to be one of the the characters in the movie The Titanic.....which I can't remember if I ever saw that movie.....so, I can't really name the characters. Is

Post-ride Chow

2008-04-13T17:27:00.002-05:00

There is water in my wheels!

2008-04-12T19:38:00.000-05:00

Today I raced the Donaldson Center again in the Upstate weekend event in Greenville, SC. I went to the race with the plan of trying different things that I normally don't do in a race, like shoot off the front and try to stay away. This was in part to prep for my multiple crits next weekend.It was a rainy drive down from Asheville.My race was 6 laps of the 7 mile course, 42 miles. The first

Why is there a Cervelo SLC-SL in my home?

2008-04-11T18:22:00.002-05:00

I'm only baby sitting it for a short time. Thought I would take a picture of it to make you jealous. This thing weighs in at 14.99 pounds without the pedals and bar tape.

Kids causing trouble at the track

2008-04-10T20:28:00.000-05:00

As me and my training partner were doing a few intervals together we came around turn 3 at the Asheville Mellowdrome. Something was apparently flung from the other side of the wall and landed right in front of my tire and hit my partner in the face. She said it felt like sand. What I saw hit the track in front of me resembled an orange bungee cord. The second time around I notice that some "

Picture Ohio

2008-04-08T06:17:00.003-05:00

Picture Ohio! I found this really neat blog site using Google Alert for Findlay, OH.

Rock Hill Omnium

2008-04-07T06:51:00.008-05:00

This weekend was the Rock Hill Omnium in York and Rock Hill, SC. I went looking for results since I was going to race the Cat 4 Masters 35+ category. I did very well two years ago and was expecting results this time around.Friday night White Rose Sprints 500 meters: This event is unlike any standard Omnium event. An Omnium is usually a 3-day event that includes a Time Trial, Criterium and Road

Forecasting Rock Hill

2008-04-04T07:33:00.003-05:00

Will I be racing in the rain and thunderstorms in York and Rock Hill, SC this weekend? Tune in a see next week. Last weekends very wet Assault on the Carolinas may prove to be a good preview.

Smashed Sqaushed Splattered Chewed Chunked and Spewed

2008-04-04T03:42:00.001-05:00

This book is extra specially close to me. Lance and I went to college together and some of the conversations that we had during those crazy partying years are captured in this twisted adventure. More on this when I return.Carbuncle's Space and website.

NAIR = PAIN!

2008-03-31T04:09:00.000-05:00

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

2008-03-23T17:24:00.004-05:00

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

Caesar & Sushi

2008-03-22T18:47:00.007-05:00

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

Sunday Team Ride

2008-03-16T10:39:00.001-05:00

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

2008-03-15T18:44:00.000-05:00

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!

2008-03-15T13:52:00.005-05:00

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

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

2008-03-10T22:06:00.007-05:00

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

Barnesville: 200 Years

2008-03-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

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

Snowy Saturday

2008-03-08T21:03:00.001-05:00

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!

2008-03-07T08:00:00.004-05:00

Helloween - I Want OutAdd to My Profile | More VideosYou 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

2008-03-03T07:19:00.000-05:00

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