Taking a day off...

Thought I would just take the day off from riding, and enjoy the tour...


see you in the trails..... (tomorrow)

Oak Island Ride

5:00am... dogs woke me up, so I get up and let them outside and then feed them. This is my normal daily ritual, I just wish that on the weekend they would let me slide until around 7am or so...

5:30am... check email, check local tide chart...LOW TIDE!!! Perfect for beach riding.

5:45am... load bike, fill camelbak, head to Oak Island.

6:20am.... well, see for yourself.

(one of my favorite trails)

(Oak Island Light house-about a 5 mile ride from where I parked)

I'm not a real beach-type person, however it is nice when you can get out on the beach before the crowds and it's just you, the sound of the waves, and the scenery.

I've been putting in a lot of miles on my Cannondale Prophet the last few weeks, this morning's beach ride was a great way to get my daily ride in, and change things up a bit....

quote of the day: "Are those motorcycle tires?" and also "What's that run, $200-$300???"

Rain....

The week started off great, I got in a great ride on Sunday while it was nice and cool, then rode again after work on Monday and Tuesday. So, I decided to hit Blue Clay to Patrol yesterday after work, and the bottom fell out... Hopefully, today the rain will hold off.

Back to work...

It never lasts forever, no matter how much fun you are having. My vacation is officially over now, and looking back I have to say it was one of the best vacations that I have ever taken. A lot of quality time with my wife, great friends, and family that I haven't seen in close to 14 years. I got to enjoy the mountains of North Carolina in all of their magnificent beauty, and two days later I was sitting in Emerald Isle with all of my Mom's family surrounded by all of the wonderful memories of my childhood and growing up with my Mom and all of her family.

Yesterday sitting by the pool, looking around at all of my Mom's brothers and sisters, although it had been so long since I had seen most of them, it seemed like just yesterday that we were sitting around Nanny's kitchen table having fun. I am so glad that I made the trip to visit everyone yesterday, now J.J. knows more of my Mom's family, and T.J. finally knows his great aunts and uncles and a lot of cousins. I look forward to traveling back this coming weekend, and seeing them all again because I don't know when I will ever get a chance to see all of them again.

Now, it's time to cut my cell phone back on, put my game face on and head back to the grind...

See you in the trails...

What an adventure....

First of all, I have to thank our great friends Shawn and Kathy for having us up to their home for a few days. Time with good friends is priceless, and I wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything in this world.


Ok, lets get started on the adventure. My truck had been making a funny noise as we got into Nantahala on Thursday afternoon (more on that later), so Shawn suggested that we take the top off of his jeep and take it for the day and just go exploring... Also, since Shawn has lived there all of his life, he broke out a map, and gave us a route that he thought that we would enjoy. Thanks again Shawn, our mapped out Jeep tour was perfect! We left Nantahala and headed to Franklin, stopped to have breakfast and then off to find some waterfalls.... Shawn had pointed us to Highlands, and it did not disappoint.

This was one of the first small waterfalls we saw as we were driving to Highlands. When you are surrounded with views like this, how can you not enjoy yourself. As we drove further we encountered the next fall, which was even larger and more beautiful...

I'm not sure if either of these first two smaller falls have names, I'm sure they do by the locals, but I couldn't find them on the map. After this fall it was several more miles of beautiful views of waterfalls and rapids and then we reached Dry Falls...

Dry Falls is Amazing! They have an elevated viewing platform, and also stairs and a walkway so you can go down under the falls. There are no words to describe the feeling of standing under a waterfall, it truly makes you respect and appreciate God's work...
After spending some time here enjoying the beauty of Dry Falls, we headed further up the mountain towards Highlands. We did pass Bridal Veil falls, which you can drive beneath, but there were several motorcycles under the falls taking pictures so we decided to keep heading to Highlands...

Highlands is absolutely beautiful, it reminded me of Denver Colorado or some of the other smaller Colorado towns I've been through over the years. We rode through the small town and started heading towards Cashiers, but decided to stop and hike up Whiteside Mountain.

It's about mile and a half hike to the top of Whiteside, and the views are spectacular. The day we hiked the mountain it was cool and overcast. The cooler weather was perfect, but the overcast conditions did limit the views from the top. Elevation at the lookout for Whiteside Moutain is 4930ft.

After hiking Whiteside, we decided to just ride for a while and make our way to Bryson City, which was probably an hour or so away. All along the way are views of rock formations, rolling rapids, and several mountain lakes. When we arrived in Bryson City, they were having their 4th of July festival, so we walked around and enjoyed the Arts and Crafts. And of course stopped and bought a few things at Bryson City Bicycles.

After we left Bryson City, we headed back down into the Nantahala Gorge, to stop by the Nantahala Outdoor Center to buy some gifts and to watch the people playing in the rapids.



What a day, what an adventure. We pulled back into Shawn and Kathy's around 7:00. They were just closing up their shop, and we headed down to Nantahala lake to listen to a band that was performing live from the middle of the lake, eat some great food and watch the fireworks.

Vacation July 2010.... this is how life should be....

checking in from Nantahala

Haven't even taken my bike off the truck yet, but that doesn't mean that the fun has not started. Yesterday Shawn and I spent the entire day going to Tennessee to get some "holiday fun", don't want to incriminate myself...LOL. On the trip there we followed the Ocoee River for about an hour, it was beautiful. Then on the way home we actually took an old mountain road - a real honest to goodness dirt mountain road and drove over one of the mountains, that was amazing! After that it was stop by the house and get everyone else and head up on the farm. So far it's been such an amazing vacation, I'll post lots of pictures when I get home. Today, J.J. and I are heading to Highland Falls, Dry Falls, Bryson City, Deep Water Falls, and then going to hit the N.O.C. for some ice cream and watching the rafters come down the rapids. Then when once we get back to Shawn's this evening, we are going to a 4th of July concert on the lake....This is Vacation! (and like I said earlier, the bike is still on t he truck....)

see you in the trails....

All Packed up and heading to Tsali

Yesterday was the first day of my vacation, unfortunately J.J. had one more day before she could start her vacation. We've had our trip to Bryson City/Nantahala planned for a while. I've made the trip to the mountains of western NC the fourth of July for the last four years and this is the very first time that JJ is making it with me. We are staying with some great friends, and it's going to be a lot of fun. Of course the Prophet is making the trip with me, and making yet another return to Tsali to ride my favorite trail - Thomson.

Ok, time to get out of the computer and get behind the wheel for the 7hour drive to the beautiful Nantahala Gorge... Hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July!

See you in Tsali....

what a week....

I put in more miles this week than the past several weeks, which is a surprise to me considering most days when I started my ride the heat index was well into the hundreds. I have a fire road that I enjoy riding, I can get in a good 15 - 17 mile ride with no traffic to worry about, I just put in my ear phones and get lost in the rhythm of the ride. Yesterday for some insane reason, I decided to ride mid day, I filled up my 100oz bladder, grabbed a couple of energy bars and headed off. After about 7 miles I started feeling pretty fatigued, which is odd because normally around 10miles I am in a good rhythm and really enjoying the ride. I knew it was hot, and I knew I had really pushed myself the day before, so I started thinking back a few weeks to my CPR First Aid class and thinking about our discussion on heat exhaustion. I knew I had not reached that point, however I knew that I could be pretty quickly if I didn't find a cool place to rest and try to cool down some. I found a small bit of shade under some tall pines, and decided this was going to have to do. I soaked my handkerchief with water and placed it over my head an neck and sat for several minutes, I was already feeling better. After an energy bar and good 10 minute break, I stretched my legs and decided to head back to the road entrance. Instead of pushing myself the way I did on the beginning of the ride, I took it easy on the way out.

We all ride for different reasons and at different skill levels. Each ride is a different adventure that we take with us that others may never understand. Yesterday made me thankful that I had taken the CPR First Aid class a few weeks back, because I was able to recognize the signs my body was giving me, and I knew what to do before I reached the point of exhaustion.

See you in the trails....

Fathers Day 2010

Had a wonderful Fathers Day spending time with my son T.J. Thanks for everything, it was perfect!

CPR - National Mountain Bike Patrol Class

Celebratory Brew! Passed my CPR Class, Passed My National Mountain Bike Patrol Class, and my online Exam.... All I have to do now is send in my money and wait for my jersey to arrive...

13 days and counting...

Heading to the mountains for five days of great friends, fun and best of all no phones or email.... This year will be even better than the years past because JJ is finally going to go with me. So, this year I won't mountain bike unitl I damn near pass out, I'll actually do the tourist thing because I want to find things that she would enjoy to. So far on my list hike part of the Appalachian Trail, visit some waterfalls, see the Fontana Dam, eat ice cream at the NOC watching the boats come down the white water, and pizza on the river at my favorite dive.... and I'm sure some how I'll squeeze Tsali in there somewhere.

Final DEC Race at Blue Clay 6.6.10

Thought of the day...

Pugsley fork on the way....

The Pugsley fork is on the way, can't wait... Now I'll be able to run a front disc brake on my Tommi Sea....

Oak Island NC

Why am I posting pictures of the beach? Because I finally timed it right and hit the beach at low tide and was able to put in some quality time in the sand. Oak Island was great, I started riding at the first public access all the way down and around the tip to the sounds side which looks across the inlet to Holden Beach. On the way back the tide was coming in and pushed me into the super-soft sand, so I did the last few miles on the road to get back to my truck. Riding the fat-bike on the beach is like an entirely new dimension to cycling, I'm looking forward to lots of riding the sand this summer... Here's a couple more pictures for you...




See you in the trails... or maybe on the beach...