Thanksgiving 08

What a different Thanksgiving than normal this year, I found myself at home alone since JJ was visiting her grandfather and TJ was tagging along with my sister. I had no time limits, no plans, nothing to do but get out on my bike and ride, which was great because I have been off my bike so much lately.

I waited until it was warm enough to comfortably ride in shorts, loaded up the Prophet and headed to Blue Clay. Plus, I wanted to check out the trail extension that I had read about on the SBA website.

I arrived at the trails, and there were a few people hitting the pump track, and a few others coming off the trails, so I headed out for my first of what was hopefully to be two laps. The ride was going well, I was trying some of the stuff that Derrick had shown us in the class a few weeks prior. I hit the first skinny - no problem, hit the second little skinny and lined up for the log hop - no problem, then the next log hop- hell yeah, this is going to be a good day. Then I came to the log ride, that I have done many times..... .....Damn! That's going to leave a mark!

I got about ten feet down the log, my back wheel slid off and I tried to get my leg out of my peddles and caught my lower calf on my big chainring.... Well you win some and you loose some... Here's a few more pictures of the log I was attempting.

I sat down for a minute and cleaned my leg up a little, and thought to myself, there is no way I'm going to let this beautiful day go to waste. I finished my lap of Blue Clay, which the trails were in great shape. After my first lap, I decided to do a quick lap of the beginners trail, when I finished up there, I ran into my good friend Peter, and took a break and enjoyed some great Thanksgiving conversation.

I have to say, even with taking a nasty spill, it was a great day!

Picture of the day...

I was surfing the net checking out mountain biking pictures and ran across this picture, it's just to cool not to post....

Greenfield Lake

What a busy weekend, I even took Friday off and still never rode my bike. I guess that's to be expected though, it was my sister's wedding and it seemed JJ and I had as much running around to do as the bride and groom. The wedding came and went and was a pretty ceremony, and I can honestly say that I never thought I would see my sister get married again. I sure am glad she's happy!

Sunday, JJ and I headed up to IHOP to meet her sister before she headed back to Seattle. We don't get to see her much, so this was a bad weekend for her to show up. I only got to have breakfast with her this trip, but it was well worth it.

After breakfast, hitting the grocery store and returning all of the tux's, JJ and I decided to ride over to Greenfield Lake and feed the ducks. It was nice and peaceful and we were both thankful that all of the running around was over for the long weekend....

Rain - Day 3

Another day of rain and thunder storms. We just opened the new pump track this past weekend, now it looks like it will be closed at least for a week to come, after the rain stops. Bummer!

Kicking it Old School

My earlier post about the mountain bike clinic and Derrick got me thinking about the old days. I knew I had some pictures of me riding the New River Trails back in 1997, so I dug them out and scanned them... Here's just a few. I was riding a 1997 Cannondale Killer V 500, man I wish I still had that bike today. Here's the pics...

Mountain Bike Clinic 11-9-08

It's not everyday that you get to ride with a professional rider, especially not here in the Wilmington area. Today would be my exception. About a week ago, Shawn at Bike Cycles posted that there would be a free mountain bike clinic put on by a professional rider today. To my suprise, the pro was none other than Derrick Meready, which I grew up down the street from.

The last time I saw Derrick, he was ripping up the streets with aspirations of becoming a professional skateboarder with good friend Michael Good, in the small town where we grew up. Both Derrick and Michael both were phenomenal skaters, so it would not have surprised me if they both went pro.

I got to catch up a little with Derrick today after the clinic, and he is doing well for himself, and in his second year as a pro rider for Mad March Racing based out of Snowshoe West Virginia. I have to say he put on an awesome clinic, he was very informative, and I picked up several tips that will help me become a better rider (other than loosing about 50lbs). It was cool not only riding with a pro, but catching up briefly with an old friend....

Cooper's first day on the trails.....

Here's some pictures from Cooper's first big day at the trails.... Here he is fresh from his nap in the truck on the way to the park, completely unaware of what's in store. Now that J.J. has arrived to take some pictures, it's time to show Mom what we've been practicing. Let's start with a nice easy pace down to the other end of the trail. Ok, time to stretch our legs.... Whew.... now that Mom's seen what we've been working on, it's time to find a comfortable place to chill... And here's one more just for Mom, she likes it when I act silly for the camera... What a big day, Cooper got to meet most of the regular gang, checked out the pump track and the mud...LOL, and begin working on being a trail dog. I think this was just the beginning of something great, I look forward to years and years of great rides with Coooper!

We'll see you in the trails....

Beer of the week....

Another good beer choice....

Welcome to the Family

We lost Milo, our male black lab several months back to a epileptic seizure that he never came out of. We knew that the day would come, but we never expected it to be as soon as it was. Milo was the best, I miss him every day.

A few weeks ago, JJ surprised me with our newest member of our family, Cooper. Cooper's a 15 week old Chocolate lab. Although he can never replace Milo, he has brought back mischief to the house. Here's a picture with him laying on the bed with our adorable Jezzie (who rules the house!) I plan on Cooper hitting the trails with me this fall and winter, we've already bought him his very own camelbak. I hear he's going to make an appearance at CANbike....

Duh!

I will never understand why people insist on riding a trail the day after we have 4" of rain... Come on people use your freakin' head, it's not just a hat rack you know. If riding the trail is going to cause more work for the others that spend countless hours keeping the maintenance on these trails up, building new things for people to enjoy, etc, then wait until the trails are open...

It just really pisses me off when I see people out there that don't want to follow a few simple guidelines that would make life better for everyone.

I guess this is going to earn me the douche bag award for the week, but who cares...

Trail Day - part 2

Man, things are really beginning to come together. With all of the changes that are happening out at BC, I think our CANbike event is going to be HUGE! The two trail days this weekend were incredible, the amount of volunteers we had was probably the most I've seen on any single trail day yet.

BC is going to become even more popular in the days to come, I can just feel it. Here's my favorite picture from today. If you are curious, you need to come down to Blue Clay and see for yourself.....

Trail Day

Have you ever noticed that it's the same people showing up for trail day, every time? I am curious if it's this way for all clubs and trails. Personally, I always feel better riding the trails knowing that I've put in my time working on them. It just annoys me when I hear people complaining about the trails or wanting to change thing, but for some reason, they hardly ever show up to help out. AND the part that really gets me, is they can make time to ride on days that there's no work, but if it's a trail day... they can't be found. If you are reading this, and you think I'm talking about you, you are probably right....

Here's a few pictures from yesterday... I also want to give a huge thanks to all of the BMX guys that came out and helped with the trails yesterday, without those guys we would not have gotten half as much done!

I want to leave you with one last picture, this is what it's all about.....The Kids!

See ya in the trails!

Time to ride....finally

Work has been insane lately, working for a generator company plus a major hurricane hitting Galveston, well, you do the math - INSANITY! However, the days go by quick and all of us in the office have a good time and make the best of it.

Yesterday I had an opportunity to sneak out of the office around 5:30, and head over to Blue Clay, it hand been a week or so since I had been on my bike. The trails were in great condition. The weather is finally beginning to break, and the days are getting shorter so I'm looking forward to some great night rides very soon. Hopefully I can sneak out again this afternoon, and put in a few more laps...

TS Hanna

I actually managed to get away from work before 7pm, which has seemed an impossibility this past week. I headed home, stopping off to get gas for the generator and chainsaw in case the storm causes us to loose power and/or knocks down some trees.

Once I finally got home, JJ helped me make room to get both vehicles, the lawn mower and all of the bikes in the garage; talking about packing 10lbs of shit in a 5lb bag. We're all hunkered in, just waiting to see what Hanna has in store for us. I'll post pictures tomorrow, if I can get online.

Stay safe and I'll see you in the trails....

Picture of the Day!

Could not pass this up, I don't know what he did but when my wife and I came through the parking lot, this is what we saw.... Way to go Leland PD!

ramblings

To much rain, not enough peddling! However, I'm going to hit the trails this morning and put in a few miles before heading over to see my dad. I haven't seen him in several weeks, so I'm very excited to be going over to visit him.

I've been working a lot on the CANbike stuff, it's coming along slowly, and the event will be here before you know it. In case you don't know, it's a mountain bike event that I am helping organize to raise money for breast cancer awareness, I hope we have a great turn out and raise tons of money.

Here's the logo on a Tshirt I saw online, I will add it to the collection just as soon as payday rolls around....
Have fun, be safe, and I'll see you in the trails!

Mid August ride at Blue Clay

I finally have most of the prizes and raffle items lined up for CANbike, so I have a little spare time again. This morning, I slept in, which is so unusual for me. It felt good to sleep in, but I missed my early Sunday a.m. ride downtown. It's just cool to be down on the river so early, and watch the people and be able to ride without fear of the lunatic drivers that crowd the streets around mid-day. I've been giving Erol's idea of Ciclovia much thought, and I think this would have a dramatic impact on our region. The downtown area is the perfect place!

Since I missed my morning ride, I met up with Brannon and we hit Blue Clay! First of all, the new parking lot is great! No more parking in mud, or fear of getting your vehicle stuck in ruts. The Blue Clay Bike Park project has come a very long way, and it's great to have had a role in it.

Today was the first time I have rode BC in a while, let's face it, it's the middle of summer and snakes are out. I wouldn't classify myself as having a fear of them, more like a huge respect for them. I've seen my fair share at BC, and I try to avoid them and let them go about their way. Today, Brannon spotted the only one, a black racer about two feet in length.

I didn't break out the camera, I just enjoyed my "SLOW" ride around the trails, and talking to friends that I haven't seen in a while. While talking with Peter, he commented on how mountain biking seems to pull people together outside of biking, and I couldn't agree more. Normally, and there are exceptions, mountain bikers are a friendly laid back group of riders, that love to share a story, catch up on old times, or lend a helping hand when needed.

Hopefully work will allow me some spare time this week to hit the trails, because I sure need all the spinning I can get in.

See you in the trails!

Downtown Wilmington on Sunday am

This past week was a bit more hectic at work than normal, lots of big shows going on that kept me at work when I was hoping to be peddling. This morning I woke up early as I always do and decided to put in another downtown Wilmington ride like I did a few weeks back. This ride is a ride of solitude for me, I like to get downtown before 7am, when the sun has only been up for a little while. You get to see tons of cool stuff, this morning was no exception, as soon as I parked my truck, a tug boat pushing this huge barge came down the river. (See photo below) I took this next picture from the same location and you can still see the fog in on the opposite side of the bank that has not burned off from the morning sun yet. (picture below) While I had my camera out, I figured I'd get a couple of the USS North Carolina, which is also on the opposite side of the river from downtown.(pictures below)


Downtown Wilmington early on Sunday mornings is so peaceful, however not as dead as you may think. There were lots of road cyclists out enjoying the morning air, several joggers and as always the people out for an early morning stroll or walking their dogs.

I was in a club meeting recently, and Erol was explaining his ideas about having a Cyclovia here in Wilmington. As I rode this morning, I gave this a lot of thought, downtown would be a perfect place. I rode through several sections of the historic downtown, up and down the old cobblestone roads, and there is so much to take in.

I had a road bike for a while, and I sold it because it only hung in my garage and never saw much use. Now, I find myself pondering another road bike, or maybe set my hardtail up as a commuter with some fat city tires, that would be nice...

See you in the trials...or the streets downtown.

2009 Cannondale Bad Boy

I've always like the Bad Boy line by Cannondale, but when I saw these two pictures, I think I like it even more. From what I've seen on the forums, this is the euro model. Hey Cannondale, let's get these in the shops here, because I want one!!!!

and my Sunday Afternoon ride

JJ had to head down to Ft Fisher to take some engagement pictures for a couple that's planning on getting hitched, yep she's a photographer check out her site at jjpearce photograpy. So I took advantage of the opportunity and threw the dirt jumper on the truck and away we went. Sorry, no action shots but I really like this first one. I had fun just playing around while the love birds smiled for the camera....
(Me at Fort Fisher)
(still me, and still at Fort Fisher)
(Just chillin)

Sunday morning ride...

I've been thinking about riding the downtown area on Sunday mornings for a while now, so this morning I decided to check it out. I wanted to get down there before there was a lot of traffic, so I headed down around 7am. I'm an early riser anyway, so this fits perfect for me on the weekends. I think next week I'm going to try to get there a little earlier, and try to catch the sunrise which would be cool.

I parked at the beginning of Market Street near where the horse carriages are normally located. I figured this was as good as place as any. I took a right on Water and followed it all the way to Nutt St., from there I worked my way to North Front Street until it intersects with Third, and then took a right and took Third all the way down to Queen St. From there I headed down to the public boat ramp and took some pictures and then took Front back down to where I had parked. Sounds convoluted I'm sure, but it was fun. I took advantage of the hills on Nun, I think it was because we don't have tons of them and I need all the practice climbing that I can get. Once I finally got back to my truck, I took a breather and then did the entire route in reverse to see which way had more climbing. I ended up with 11 miles, and had a great time in downtown Wilmington.

There were several other people out riding as well, most on their road bikes, some on cruisers and I was the solo mtbr downtown at the time. I saw a few guys skateboarding, lots of folks walking or walking their pets. Speaking of pets, I'm a dog owner and lover, but if you are going to walk your dog down the River Walk, don't let the PISS on the wooden posts! This is just wrong....

This ride was a lot of fun, so much that it may become my weekly Sunday morning ride... Hope to see you out there. Here's a few pics from this morning.

(Downtown Bridge)

(Downtown Storefronts)

(My bike at the boatramp near the Downtown Bridge)

Not enough hours in the day...

I haven't updated this page in forever it seems, and if you would have seen me on the trails yesterday, you would have sworn I was a noobie. My new position at work is great, and I should be able to ride everyday, but I don't. For the past month, I have been helping my wife and Mary Ann with the CANbike event which is a mountain bike race to raise money for breast cancer. I've been hitting everyone I can think of online for donations, so I've spent way to much time typing and no where near enough time peddling.

I am excited about CANbike, it's for a great cause, and I have been blown away by the support of some of the companies. I wish they were all that way, but I know that's just not possible.

New Rims!

I've been wanting to get a new set of rims for a while. A few weeks ago while I was at a bike shop near Bent Creek, I talked to a guy about all the different ones that Mavic has to offer, and decided to go with the Mavic CrossTrails. Thanks to Shawn at Bike Cycles for getting them for me!



I'm heading out today and pick up some tires from Brannon, and hopefully these will be put together and on the trail by tomorrow!!

New Purchase

I'm tired of doing yard work! I have 2 acres of land, and I have been using a Honda Push mower and my trusty weed eater for 4 years. I'm done! I told J.J. that I am going to buy us a riding mower. J.J. had a great question, how am I going to pick it up and get it to the house. So, I bought this. Dual purpose, next trip to Tsali, I can load it up with gear....

Beer of the Week

I figured I'd share another passion of mine, good beer! It's hard to find new beer here in Wilmington, but I do try to mix it up. So here's my Beer for this week. Pete's Wicked Ale.