Now for Black...& White Friday's Mountain Ride

Shortly after we left White Top this snow/frost covered hill came up on the right side of the trail. It has become sort of 'tradition' that Ms. Arcen and I do something fun on the Friday after Thanksforgiving involving a wilderness setting and physical body as well as emotional transfer. This year was no different. For two years in a row we have decided to spend that day in the Southwest corner of Virginia in the Mt. Rogers Wilderness area. Last year was a walk up through the snow fields of Mt. Rogers proper and this year we chose to ride the Virginia Creeper Trail between White Top and Damascus.

On Friday Morning we left Charlotte early enough and drove for three hours up through Boone and Mountain City Tennessee to the tiny town of Damascus Virginia. The high landscape between NC and TN was covered in a few inches of fresh snow, giving the trees a painted appearance. The road level temps were around 32F in the morning. Once in Damascus we found Sundog outfitters and parked in their lot. The fellow there hooked Ms. Arcen up with a small 26" wheeled Giant mountain bike and within minutes we were packed up and on the van shuttle headed for White Top, 40 minutes away. There were 4 adults and 2 teenagers already on board talking about horses and horse farms near Roanoke.

Up at the top we unloaded the bikes from the trailer and the family of 4 immediately took off on down the trail. Ms. Arcen and I decided to take a few pictures at the start and then we rode in the opposite direction for just over a mile to a hard ball road that gave us an interesting view of the small Virginia mountain town of White Top. We back tracked to the start and continued the ride toward Damascus. After the second old train bridge Ms. Arcen stopped on the right hand side of the trail and asked if she could climb up the little side hill. Sure. Up on top was a whole new world to her that gave way to a grand view of two snow covered mountains. On the steep scramble down in the flat rock shards she found a small not perfect fossil of either a plant or an insect.

We rode down and through the clean forest and took in the views. The temps for the ride were between 39F and 44F. The kid enjoyed the trail ride, especially the first 4 miles that seemed to require little pedaling for the slope just kept dropping away in front of us. There were many bridges crossing the crystal clear creek. The trail continued on down through several small Virginia towns set against a mountainous back drop. The last 3 miles of the trail back into Damascus flattened out a bit and we arrived at Sundog in right around 2 hours from when we started the ride. It was time for a hot chocolate and a grilled cheese at the local dinner and then the 3 hour return drive back to Charlotte. I was indeed proud of her morale the entire transfer and the way that she engaged the natural surroundings we were in.

Now for the pictures. I have gone back on my decision to identify the images with writing under them. I tried to go blog standard yesterday but ultimately I cannot comply because I just do not like the way that the final product appears. So, I will continue to go against the grain and write on top of the pictures. Sorry for any confusion other than mine.

The Trail marker start at White Top. A little side trail exploration.

One of many bridges.
After we crossed this bridge Ms. Arcen wanted to see what it looked like from the side. She was very curious as to how they built the classic style train bridge.

The couple that she befriended on the van over horse talk and then passed on the trail leaving them behind for the day.

A typical view of the trail.

Out in the country.

The trail crosses many fields that are connected by the wooded sections.

The most peculiar discovery of the day was an adult female deer's entire body skin on the side of the trail. There was no carcass or other parts in sight, just her pelt.

At the end of the ride Ms. Arcen looked into the lens with the passion of completion and physical body transfer. She made me proud as she always seems to do.

Sunday's Mountain Ride First

Due to some scheduling conflicts I was unable to make the early train to Wilson on Saturday so I did some hasty planning and put together a Pisgah ride for Sunday. I called Aaron Kancamagus who recently bought my first generation I9 wheel set for his SS Misfit project. My wheels were not really for sale but he wanted them and made me a reasonable offer that paid for my new, so the deal was done on a handshake without a contract. More on the wheel deal to follow. Aaron called his buddy Dave "I'm gonna beat Team Dicky in 2010 on 26" wheels" Elliston from the great state of Michigan and they scooped me at 0700hrs in the Corolla. After consulting with the authorities I decided that we would park at 1206 and 5015 in North Mills and ride Laurel to Pilot, Down Pilot, across the inner connector for a push up to Pilot Cove, out Pilot Cove to Slate Rock then down the short steep back to 1206 and the car. We had a great ride, the trail and atmosphere conditions were both in our favor. I know people say that the weather was great but I found it too hot for late November in the Pisgah. Seriously, it was densely hot, heated by an abnormally powerful feeling sun on Sunday. Just 2 days before while driving to Virginia via Boone and Mountain City Tennessee I saw morning day time temps just below freezing with snow falling above 3,500ft. That story to follow tomorrow. The 3 of us pushed up the 2,000$ climb and started down Pilot. The descending was dry and not very leaf covered. Through the quad switch and down to the Humvee section that I cleaned a few weeks ago on the Mt. Zion fixed. Not this time free wheeling. I dabbed just before the exit and could not get back on until I was out of the chunder. Still, the huge boulders everywhere made for an incredible mountain scene. Once down and across the connector we pushed straight up again to the ridge that Slate Rock is on. Across Pilot Cove to the rock itself for a back pack lunch with a huge vista. The wind picked up a bit and the temp seemed to drop by 5 or 7 degrees in minutes. We took some pictures after we ate and then made our way down the steep shorter trail back to 1206 for the fire road descent and climb back to Yellow Gap.

I had a great time riding with these 2 guys that I had never ridden with before. Now on to the images and smart ass commentary. Notice that I am changing the way I identify the image from the words at the top of the picture to the words below the picture. I found out that since I started blogging that I was erroneously and against the blog standard describing the image from above. I have to get in line.

Kancamagus snapped this tiny shot of me up on Slate Rock.

leaning on the Corolla from left to right: My old I9 front, Dave's Dicky killer front and my new I9 front.

Dave taking the Laurel Climb at pace.

Aaron coming up through the woods in the tall trees on Laurel.

Here Aaron is describing how it feels to vomit up the tastes of three previous meals.

Now that his mouth is rinsed out he feels much better.

All smiles coming down into the quad on Pilot.

His boys back in Michigan will wish they were there.

Lunch on Slate.

Say, "Cheese".

Apple and Peanut Butter on Slate Rock

taste better vurping up into your mouth than 2 day old salmon does.

On a Foggy Morn

a colorful Thanksforgiving ride was Born. 7 Mountain bikes, only 1 in cyclocross form. Nate rolls down from Asheville way, looking resplendent in red I do dare say.

Swazy looks on through the fog, as white hooped Zack manages the log. When Swazy tried 4 times, he nearly died, the good thing was he never cried.
Boots' second run on the wooden coaster made for fun. On his very first try he fell with a loud thud thump to the ground from up high, cyclocross style almost causing him to die.

UNIBIKER SPOTTED GOING BACKWARDS AT SHERMAN B-RANCH.

John Danger Evans handles the long ride stunt with a dedicated line.

The Unibiker literally Trials'ed up to the same log ride from the scattered berm logs, blop, blop, blop and up then he swung rear end over straight onto the log ride. The Unibiker has Mad Skillz, sorry I missed the photo.

Mad Skillz, zoomed in.

Nathan and Zack discuss the pros and cons of having black vs. while rims on their mountain bikes. In the conversation they discovered that the were in the same fraternity during their time at Appalachian State. I am not sure that either one of them was actually in a fraternity.

Thanksforgiving forested trail ride success as well as other family commitments met with a long walk and a smile. The bike ride stick includes in no particular order, especially performance: The Unibiker, John Danger Evens, Zack(Which I hope is spelled phonetically), Nathan, Who's this Joey, Boots, Swazy and me). This was all Swazy's idea but he had the right one, the Ron Surprenant approved annual get me out of the house on this Holiday for some time in the woods before going normal/traditional. The call went out and 8 of us total united en masse for a tour of the B-Ranch single track and then the B-loop around a fire road or two for the cyclocross rider to 'cool down'. There were some single speed folks as well and some geared who were formally single speed opening the door and stepping out of the, 'I go both ways' closet. It was densely foggy at the 0945hrs start giving the tree covered landscape trail a mountainous feel. The atmosphere sat low on top of us for the first bit but then the solar center of our galaxy did the trick and we were in the light for the back half. Around the course in fine fashion with some folks that I had never ridden with and some that I most definitely had.

The craziest thing that I witnessed was either Boots falling from the highest point of the first roller coaster stunt to the ground with his knee smash or when I saw Swazy cut the course, perhaps more than once. The UCI has been notified with an official complaint and will have a ruling tomorrow.

Dentist Appointment

Yesterday I rode to my dentist appointment in the afternoon. Tenielle, the dental hygienist that I have been visiting for years at Doc Johnson's office snapped this manual exposure I set up for her of me in the chair right before the work started. Notice the vehicle that I arrived on, my little Lemond hanging from the tree outside the window. At F11 I feel that this image looks exactly like I do. Click on picture for more detail of my bike in the tree. Doc Johnson, a local cyclist and world traveler who has been known to do epic tandem tours with his wife around the globe has been my dentist since shortly after I started my career as a messenger in Charlotte. His office is right off the Stay Alive and altho he does not have a bike rack in front he has always allowed me to keep my cell phone in my pocket to give me the ability to direct courier work if the need should arise.

Along time ago, around the winter of 2001/2002 I was on the Stay Alive home after dark with a long ways ahead of me when I flatted. I pulled off onto the grass just off of the side walk and started the fix. A minute later Doc drove into the lot with a bike on the roof, rolled down the window and asked if I needed help. "Oh, it's you!", he exclaimed when he recognized my face. We chatted for a moment and he realized that I had everything I needed so he left as fast as he showed up.

The last time I rode in the 24hrs of Booty early on I came up to the scene of a solo rider who had just been hit and launched over the hood of a car. That's right an elderly lady auto viper pilot pulled out into the line of over 500 cyclists coming and tagged a rider. Sitting up right on the ground with blood on his legs and face was Doc Johnson. I immediately felt queasy knowing that there was 23 hours and change left to go. That feeling stayed with me all the way until around 0130hrs when I accidentally crossed the wheel of an amateur rider causing her to go down. That is a whole different post entirely. Doc survived the hit but did pack the ride in early to take time to fix his broken bike and tend to the wounds on his human form.

Doc went off on medical leave in early October to have Rotator Cuff Surgery. I have heard the rehabilitation part of this surgery is long so yesterday I was seen for my normal 6 month check up by his temporary replacement Dr. White. She saw me after the cleaning and found 2 cavities that I did not know I had. One on each of my upper back of wisdom teeth. The strange thing is that I have not had a filling since I was a kid. As I sat there with her hands in my mouth and listened to her tell Tenielle about my cavities I wondered why I could not feel them. I will have to go back and by some fillings in early January but thanks to good medical insurance provided by my employer I will only have to pay a little for the purchase. Are my cavities affecting the economy?

NodaVelo-No Duh Fool

Geoff(not Jeff!!)Nau, Like not now fool I am on the phone with your momma. Photo Cred: The newly gone and done come back They Call Him Boots dot Blog Spot dot Com. Yo, Yo, Yo-all couriers in the House say, "Yo."

It's all about R E S P E C T, find out what that means to me, give it to me. NodaVelo's own Geoff Nau, like Apocalypse Now, not later called me out in the blog-o-sphere the other day. Altho we have never formally hung out or ridden together we have passed by each other with I(eye) contact and the rolling reciprocating nod. Bike geek talk for, "I'm bad, you are too, wassup?" I think he was a messenger for a few days over a couple of weeks here in the Jar which is like 4 years according to the people person's interpretation of the Unibiker's scale for measuring time with street cred carrying jobs. So, this roughly 4 year former ex-QC messenger, slash fix geared riding fanatic said about his perceptions of me in his post, and I quote, "He seems like the kind of dude that walks softly yet carries a big stick." At first I thought he was talking about something else, however after slight and narrow cursory research I discovered that his art cannibalized Theodore Roosevelt's often mis-quoted, "Speak softly and carry a big stick, you will go far." That confirms his earlier statement, "Although, Bill may not know me personally and likewise", because if he did he would have known that I am loud, real loud. I mean for such a short fellow I am dramatically loud often being hushed by those around me. Almost like damage deaf done from some loudness in the form of individual thermo dynamic entropy at the rate of 250 beats per minute going down range. Imagine 250 beats per minute in pedal cadence. That would be flying. On a long flat road with the wind pushing your back and in your face at the same time. Anyways those of us getting paid to ride in the Jar enjoy checking in with NodaVelo at least once a week to learn what is happening in our community, this site is the straight source for the real urban scene. You should too, this guy is my peeps. Like my boyz from Brooklyn, Connecticut(pop. 7,347) that is...

Late Lately

Yesterday afternoon at 1535hrs the sun broke through on the square. 2 Foster puppies were up screaming in a real life nightmare this morning between 0200hrs and 0400hrs. My beautiful beauty sleep ruined and in place I feel like I am dragging around. They are five weeks old or so and miss their momma. Sarci and Swanee are black, very black and they have strong lungs. I had a plan for this morning, a funny dedicated to RESPECT but now I am late and will have to work on that program for Monday.

In about 20 minutes I will be rolling west for the Jar 10.3 miles away towards my first two jobs of this fine foggy Friday. The below tune not toon will be in my head the whole way! Just watch, maybe it will be in your head too!!



MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Dilate

What happens when it rains? Boy, I sure wouldn't wanna have your job today. Well Mister I would not want your job any day. No, it's not really that bad out there. I hate it for my bike and the parts it wears. The auto viper pilots act different in the rain and low visibility of fog. They are still in the same hurry with in the way back of their mind consideration for the change in surface conditions. That transfers to slower reactions at similar speeds. Foggy damp mornings. Constant urban ick watery black grit from the waist down. The bag is starting to smell funny. The atmosphere seems dense, the roll quiet or more absorbed by the low hanging gray molecules. I sought out a death certificate at the ROD yesterday, public record is an amazing discovery. Why would any one's death certificate be entered twice as was the only one I was looking for? Most all are just entered once. There is more. It is all connected, no way to ignore what I am standing next to. How do people do that unnatural and difficult act. Not a question but a statement.

All the decorations are coming out. The Big Balls and colored lights, reindeer joyfully hanging on the poles and huge over sized stars being bolted together by the guy with the light over his head in the Horry County Courthouse 3 years ago. Dude, Pass me the 5/8ths. The stars' points look like daggers above my headed that I have seen 10 straight years in a row.

I cannot contain it anymore, it is over the top. May I be the first to tell you all:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!