Great Pumpkin Ride 2015

Great Pumpkin Ride 2015

This ride was like no other I've ever been on.  It was nutty from the get-go.  George Perry and I drove out to Warrenton, VA for our first entry into Fauqier County's finest road ride.  Not quite a century, the mileage was supposed to be 67 miles.  I ended up recording 74.3 in 4 hours 48 minutes.

Strava Stats Here

George and I started out riding together for the first 10 miles.  We were supposed to continue for the next 57.  Somehow George snuck by me on a downhill and I didn't notice.  So I ride on for a few miles, slowing down, letting everyone pass me, and eventually I turn around.  Did George have a mechanical?  Pull a muscle?  Is he dead?

I ride ~8 miles in reverse looking for him.  To be honest, I was pretty confused as I was absolutely positive he did not pass me.  I send a few texts to him asking WTF?  Eventually he gets back to me and he's waiting at the first rest stop for me.  So then I get my game on for the next 2 hours trying to catch him.  This was the best part of the ride as I was really moving.  I took a quick break to capture my thoughts about the current situation.

All good things must come to an end.  We each got a really nice shirt for the event.  Unfortunately, I tucked them into my water bottle holders under my seat.  One of the shirts came loose and wedged itself between the brake and wheel.  I happened to be going pretty quick on a downhill at the time my back wheel locked up.  Let's just say it's a bit unnerving when descending and this happens.  The skid mark is impressively long.  Rob is my SAG savior who drove me to the 2nd rest stop, where I would meet up with George.

 

     

As you can imagine, I had a few choice words I wanted to capture after this incident.  I really did think my ride was over, but the rest stop 2 mechanic had a tire and tube for me.

And then I find out that maybe my ride isn't over.  I'm waiting for the Rob the SAG support to help me out and get on the road again.

Whoa, there's a familiar face!  George and I actually met up again to do some riding.  George was a trooper on this ride, not the specimen Danny Clarke is, but still did well.  He hasn't been riding much and just the other day he rode 30 miles and about keeled over.  George claims his finest miles were the first 20, which I believe.

Rest stop 3 was at the Old Bust Head brewery.  I can think of worse places to stop.  We enjoyed a fine IPA and were treated to more local talent. I'm a fan of good beer and local talent!

We eventually finished up the last 12 miles from the brewery.  The last 6 miles were all uphill and I'm pretty sure George enjoyed it immensely.  I mean, why else would be taking so long to soak up the surroundings?  And since it is the Great Pumpkin Ride, I treated myself to some pumpkin pie at the finisher tent.  I'm looking forward to this event next year.  The roads were lightly traveled, it was well organized, it's a really cool shirt.

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Shenandoah Fall Foliage 2015

Oh no I didn't, it's true, I didn't.  The original plan was to travel south to the Shenandoah and ride back to back Sat/Sun centuries.  It was a good plan, a hopeful plan, a failed plan.  Turns out the Shenandoah is a lot more hilly and windy than I had envisioned.  It turned out to be enough spending 6.5 hours riding through the countryside of 98 miles on Saturday.

Fortunately I've got my fraternity little brother living in Staunton, VA. Seems I get down there a couple times and year and he is certainly the host with the most.  The ride weekend overlapped homecoming weekend for the mighty Buffalo Gap Buffalos.  We attended the Friday night football game and saw the king and queen get their caps.  So many memories of WT Woodson came through my mind, but I can't remember any of the homecoming people.  The Buffs won a lot to a little with a competent running game.

I got an early Sat start to make the police escort at 8am.  At registration it looked like a bunch of people had spent the night at Shelburne Middle School, where the ride starts today.  The beginning of the ride was cool, fingertips were a little cold.  The sun was shining and it was pretty good weather.

12 miles in we hit our first rest stop.  The lady in charge had obviously spent some time planning for our visit.  I can only describe the scene as something Hansel and Gretal would love, a complete Candy Land buffet.  There were so many sweets, cakes, cupcakes and cookies.  For us century riders, this ain't the kind of food I'm looking for, especially only 12 miles in.  I grabbed an oatmeal bar and got on my way.

There were ~1200 riders registered for the festival.  That's a good number of riders spread out among several different ride lengths.  You know what else there are a lot of in the Shenandoah, yep, Cows!

Cows are everywhere and below are some shots of a few friends I made.  Lots of farms are very pretty, rolling grass, many cows spread out in the field.  Some other cow plants you can smell coming.  OMG, the vileness that is a group of messy cows is outrageous!  The air is thick with the unbelievable scent.  Guess what the road looks like next to these big cow plants?  Yea, packed with cow crap.  As I rode along the crap was flung around by my wheels, hitting my face, the air was filthy ... AGGGHH!

This century had a different feel than so many others.  It was definitely "locally" run.  For example, no one serves lunch mid-way through a century ride.  The food comes at the end.  However, here there was a huge potluck at a town hall with all kind of people eating.  Riders, kids, old people ... looked more like a church congregation lunch than a biker event.

Here's a sample of the local entertainment.

Quick clip from around mile 78.  Totally underestimating the climbing and the wind on this ride.  There are very few flat areas and even the ones that are flat have a headwind.  It's great when you have to climb into a headwind, bonus!

Similar recap with just a little more fatigue, more miles behind me, and more climbing.  I'm not saying this is Mountains of Misery climbing, but it definitely took a toll.  Ride was around 5,000' of climbing.  The wind and bumpy roads definitely added to the physical toll.

Lots of up and down

In the end, I think opting for a single century was the right call.  I went out to eat with Matt's family and friends and enjoyed the steak salad with a tall one (2x).  We stayed up 'til midnight waiting for the homecomers to get back from their night of bonfires, cow tipping, line dancing and all the other things "country people" do :-)

Logans Steakhouse

Click here for Garmin statistics

Click here for Strava statistics

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MoCo Epic 2015

I've ridden the MoCo Epic twice before, in 2013 and 2014.  There were some differences in this ride as opposed to the prior two.  Let's start with the obvious, I don't think I've ever been thrown down as hard as I was yesterday.  25 miles in the ride I approached the bottom of a descent and had to make a sharp left turn to ascend.  I don't think I even saw the little sapling of a tree with really mean intentions.  That sapling hooked my left handlebar end and turned my wheel left .. and yea, I kept going straight.  Right arm extended I was body slammed down on the packed rock surface.  OMG, it took a few seconds to figure out what happened.  Fortunately no one was around to see the charade.

70.11 miles in 7 hours and 45 minutes.  Pretty good days ride.  I'm legitimately sore today from not only from that smash-down but the 70 miles of banging over roots.  It's the equivalent of operating a jack-hammer.  In hindsight, it would help to train on mountain bike trails for a mountain bike ride.

I'm pretty happy with the effort.  In 2014 I was so tired I bailed and only rode 50 miles.  And surprisingly, I rode a little bit faster this year than in 2013 ... go figure.  There is nothing about these events that makes me think I'm getting faster with age.

Start of Ride

Ride started at the crack of 7AM.  It was a gorgeous day with a hint of a brisk fall in the air.  The first few miles were a little chilly on the fingers, but as the sun came out it turned into really nice day.  I think I started near the start of the pack.  I didn't finish at the end of the pack, so all is well.

Sunrise (which I normally don't see)

I was a bit nervous about this ride because I knew how hard 70 mountain biking miles can be.  I've been training this summer for the Reston Olympic Tri so hopefully that would help out on this ride.  As the miles passed I didn't have any issues, except that mile 25 debacle.

Pickles and pickle juice, ew!

About mile 40 my phone pocket-dialed someone.  So I had a quick call with Michelle.  I think she panicked a little bit because she answered and I wasn't saying anything.  I was struggling to get the phone out of my pocket.  She's probably picturing me at the bottom of a ravine, making my final dial.

One of several creek crossings

The dude in the picture above didn't have any issue crossing the stream.  However, the guy behind him started yelling expletives as I was riding away.  I chuckled, because it was pretty slippery at the end of that crossing.  I'm sure he took a small bath.

Here are a few videos taken along the way.

Garmin Statistics (click me)

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2015 Reston Olympic Triathlon

I don't want to be here.  I'm uncomfortable, I'm stressed and I'm tired. It's 5:20am, it's dark, it's cold and raining.  I'm sitting in my car in the South Lakes Parking lot.  I just want to turn off my phone so Bursch can't reach me and go home.  I miss my bed.

That's how my day started, Sunday September 13.

I was thinking about a dream I had last night where I was swimming with the mass hoards around the 1500m lake course.  The turns were crowded.  I was in the middle of the pack, getting kicked and slapped and slowly sinking.   More swimmers were over me, I couldn't get to the surface.  My stress climbs to uncomfortable levels as I sit in the car, in the dark, in the cold, in the rain.  I just want to go home ... then the phone rings.

Bursch asks, "Where you at?".  I'm in the parking lot.  "I'll be there in 3 minutes".  This call did wonders to calm me down.  The sun started to break, the rain stopped,

Bursch and I got our gear together and headed to the run transition area.  After setting up there, we rode our bikes down to the swim area for the first stage of the Olympic Tri.  An Olympic triathlon consists of a 1500m swim, a 24 mile bike and a 10k run.  We've been training all summer specifically for this event.  We are prepared.

I met my buddy Rich Spencer at the transition area.  He's a regular at these events, and harder ones.  Rich knows what he's doing out there.  Funny story with Rich as he transitioning from the bike to the run.  He couldn't find his shoes.  Oh yea, the guy who just happened to ride up before him was trying to put them on his feet!  I'm thinking this doesn't happen often.

The swim portion turned out to be not quite like my dream.  Although there was some bumping in a few spots.  I swam pretty strong and ended up with a 28:16 time ranking 109 out of 455.  Pretty darn good for me.  I took the turns tight, with my head up, keeping myself from getting banged on too much.  Wisps of my dream creeping in my mind.

A quick transition and I'm on the bike.  I'm comfortable on my bike.  I've ridden enough miles to gauge my effort and feel comfortable throughout the course.  Fast descents, decent pace on the flats, and a standing attack on the hills.  I did hold back a bit because I didn't know what to expect on the run.  My time of 1:21:34 isn't horrible, ranking 198 out of 455.

The run is my true nightmare.  I'm not a good runner.  Never have been, never will be.  I don't train much for the run because I'd only hurt myself if I did.  That's what has happened in the past.  I trained with a handful of 2 miles run, plus the 5k last week in the Wakefield Sprint Triathlon.

A 10k run is an ordeal.  6.2 miles of pounding on the ankles, knees and quads.  A sport designed for little people, skinny people, light people ... none of that describes me.  To my amazement, the first mile wasn't an agonizing affair of my body telling me to stop.  Dare I say, it felt "fine"?  This "fine" feeling never went away, mile 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and even the final 1/4 mile around the South Lakes High School track was a "fine" affair.  I'm not questioning how this happened but I sure am thankful.  As expected, I had a blazing 1:02:17 time, ranking 306 out of the 455.

With Rich Spencer (he's fast)

I have a certain amount of pride and satisfaction in being able to complete this Olympic distance.  What I don't have is an overwhelming desire to do it again.  So yea, I'll take my 203rd place and go home.  More sprint tri's are certainly in my future, as they are far more manageable. My only real disappointment today is not getting a finishing photo with my buddy Bursch.  He improved his time over last year so he's happy. Garmin Statistics Link to overall times

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2015 Wakefield Chapel Sprint Triathlon

Of course my Buddy Bursch entered the race.

This sprint triathlon was a partial reason for my motivation to work out all summer.  The bigger reason is the Reston Olympic Triathlon next weekend, but we'll have to wait for those results.  This sprint triathlon was very well organized, nice courses and an overall joy to participate in.  I'm sure a good part of the "joy" came from the fact that I had trained all summer for the event.

It was a beautiful morning, about 65 degrees, to start the swim.  At the beginning of the summer I participated in the Reston Sprint Tri but that event was somewhat of a debacle.  That's what I get for not swimming before the event.  It was a 400m swim in a 50m pool.  My time was pretty good but I was completely, totally 100% spent for the rest of the event.

I wasn't going to make that mistake again for the Wakefield Sprint.  The swim ended up being pretty good with a 6:15 time.  The best part was it didn't wear me out much.  I did notice the quads a little used during the first couple miles of the bike.

Special shout out to Splash, Crash and Stumble.  This was their first triathlon participation.

Julia, Brooke and Michelle

The bike was about as fast as all my training runs.  My real goal was to ride fast and not crash.  Cory Parker wasn't so lucky, as she took a turn too wide, hit the curb and flipped over her bike onto the sidewalk.  Ouch!  She gets "Most Courageous Rider" for the day for finishing the ride.

The run portion is always a nightmare for me.  I'm just not very fast.  The first portion up Quarter Charge Court was "Zero Charge" for me.  I didn't even try to run up that hill.  However, I was feeling pretty good on the flats and downhills.  With 1.5 miles left, I heard a girl coming up behind me.  She ended up being the fastest female.  I decided to pick up the knees a bit as was surprised to hold her off.  At the end of the race I talked to hear and she said she was trying to pass me, but "that vomit feeling" held her back.  Yay for vomit!

Post race mimosas were great, same for the pancakes and all the other food.  Again, really well-run event.  We will be back next year, and I'm sure my summer will be filled with training events.

Here are the Garmin Stats

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Reston Century 2015

Reston Century 2015

Sno-Cones at mile 85

I rode the Reston Century 4 years ago on my own and had a lonely wet time.  This year was far more social and warm as I rode with two of my biking fanatic friends, Danny and Brooke.  Everyone has their own method of training, Danny (4 centuries ridden) decides to ignore the bike and go cold turkey.  Brooke has recently started going on longer rides and this was her first century ride, definitely not her last.

The day started out great as Danimal picked me up, we loaded the bikes, and off we went.  Danimal decided he didn't want to ride his mountain bike so he borrowed our buddy George Perry's bike. Danny wasn't clipped in but at least he had a real bike to ride.  Off to Reston we went, oh yea, and through the full-service lane at the Toll road.  Really?  You still don't have an EZ Pass?

The weather was absolutely gorgeous starting in the 70's and warmed up to the low 80's.  Simply beautiful with not a cloud in sight.  Off we went with ~1300 other riders.

Just a few miles into the ride, nothing hurts

We made some decent time, much faster than I had envisioned given Danimal's bike training habits.  He did really well given the rolling terrain.  To be honest, I was glad the terrain eased up a bit around mile 50 for him because I could totally see him not making it if the rolling hills had continued.  Make no mistake, he's a true specimen, but everyone's got their limits.

The limits were reached around mile 65.  See those two little peaks in the map below, well those ain't so little in real life.  Those are two routine hills, eh?, well routine for most of the centuries I ride, but to those who don't ride they are walkers.  Did I say walkers?  The worst part about the first hill was when we were resting 1/4 of the way up.  A car came by and yelled "Quitters!"  

As the miles logged increased, both Brooke and Danny were starting to show a little wear and tear.  There was another lady on the ride who we nicknamed "Pinky".  Brooke and I were encouraging Danimal by asking if he was going to let Pinky beat him.  Pinky was also having a lot of trouble on that first big climb.  She actually looked down and out.  We passed her and didn't really look back as we figured she was done.

We were ~3 miles from the finish line and guessed who showed up right behind Danimal at the stop light in Herndon ... PINKY!!!  OMG, ride like the wind Danimal !!!!  It was completely comical and impressive how Danimal all of a sudden picked up his lagging pace and crossed the finish line about 100 yards ahead of her.  For a job well done, call A1!

All-in-all it was a fantastic day.  I hope Danimal and Brooke want to go on more bike rides together.  It was a first-class time.

Here's the route information.

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2015 Reston Sprint Triathlon

2015 Reston Sprint Triathlon

Never underestimate the swim portion of a Sprint Tri, even though it's only 1/4 mile.  Practice makes perfect but only 2 practices leaves one imperfect.  I simply couldn't recover from the swim portion long enough to do well on this course.  Heck, I could barely get out of the water and over to my bike (much less put my shirt on) after that swim.

The bike portion was 3 loops and it took most of the first two before I started feeling well again.  The third was much better and I was able to put a little power in the pedal.  Rolling into the transition area for the run was just fine (and very quick).

However, the run portion is not my strength.  The first half mile is so hard to keep the legs moving and get into a rhythm.  The body just doesn't want to cooperate and an immense mental effort is needed to keep moving.  It was a hilly run and a bit slower than my usual slow pace.  Fortunately, my fraternity brother Myles Flint came up behind me on the run, passed me, but then I was able to keep him as a beacon to keep up.  Myles, sorry about passing you at the end of the run :-).

The excitement as I got close enough to the finish to hear the announcers was absolute bliss.  I was getting a bit worn out and knew I just had to keep it together for a couple hundred yards (uphill).  Crossing the finish was quite an achievement.  I was pretty happy with the effort of the day, but we'll need to work on the training program for the Olympic distance Tri in the Fall.

Bike and Run metrics here

1/4 mile swim 6:56
Transistion 3:08
12 mile bike 37:13
Transition 1:51
5K run 31:39
total 1:20:45

Full result link here

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Chesapeake Bay Bridge 10k 2014

I was encouraged to run this event with Erik Bursch (co-worker) and fortunately for me I was able to get a bib number.  I've always wanted to run this but post-911 had stopped the races.  This year the run was brought back and it was awesome.

Sunrise at the Bay Bridge

Over 20,000 people ran on Sunday with beautiful weather.  We were wondering about logistics for transport to the bridge and back but it wall went really well.  It was a gorgeous morning and thankfully not too cold.

AirBnB.com was the way to go for lodging.  We got a place with Marsha who made us some wonderful pumpkin bread.  The house was just a few blocks from Navy Stadium where the buses shuttled us to the starting line.

Wave 3 Group

We took off in wave 3 and it was a bit crowded getting started.  At this point I'm still thinking that a 10k isn't that far.  I didn't train one mile since the Wakefield Triathlon earlier this summer.  I have been riding a lot more so cardio was good.  We were about to see how the legs would hold up.  But hey, the 2nd half of the run is all downhill, right?

On the incline

It really was pretty cool to run across the bridge.  It is quite high.  The guard rails are only 3 feet tall so you better not fall that way to a gust of wind.  The crowd thinned out after 2 miles.  Mile 3 was just over the top of the bridge.  Now I'm thinking that 6.2 miles is a decent distance.  Man, I'm less than halfway through.

The downhill was easy but then it flattens out when the bridge ends.  Surprisingly, running on the bridge is really soft.  There is a lot of flex in the road.  As soon as you hit the ground you realize just how hard that is.  It was quite a change ... my feet are sore.

Gannett Running Team

I rolled into the finish to the biggest drinking corral I've ever seen.  All you can drink ShockTop!  This was a super event and I recommend to everyone to sign up early for next years race.

Garmin stats: Time and Elevation Stats

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MoCo Epic 2014

The MoCo Epic is the 3rd MORE Epic of the year.  The first being the NOVA Epic (which I didn't ride), and then the Patapsco Epic Ride.  See here for the Patapsco recap.  This ride takes you on amazing mountain bike trails that are rolling and super fun to ride.  It's truly remarkable to have this many good trails so close to ride.

I haven't been riding all that much as of late, but have been playing a lot of tennis.  So my tennis game is very good right now, legs for riding maybe not so much.  So Sunday morning was a struggle just to get out of bed knowing what was in store.  I wasn't thinking about the absolute blast of riding through the Maryland woods, I was thinking about the 6+ hours that it would take to accomplish the feat.

There was additional incentive to ride as Jared and I volunteered 8 hours of trail building time to meet one of his scouting merit badges.  We slung a lot of dirt to fix some of the rutted trails.

I got a late start on the course, about 8:30am, when my initial target was around 7am.  It was a victory just to get out of bed.  It'd been raining the past couple of days and I didn't want to ride through mud for half a day.  I did pick up a snap-on fender for the front and rear.  They worked amazing, just check out the first video (no mud on my face).  I was only slight embarrassed to have them on the bike.

OK, so I opted for the 50 mile route instead of the 65.  I wasn't looking to crush myself on this day, and it turned out to be a good decision.  This course runs through Hoyles Mill into the Black Hill before crossing into the fun single track offerings of Little Bennett and Lower Magruder. Next up you’ll tour the Seneca Greenway into Clopper Lake before turning back to the Seneca Ridge Trail and Schaeffer. Overall this route is about 80% single-track with occasional paved country roads between parks.

Overall time for 50 miles was 6 hours 18 minutes.  The last 2 miles were the hardest.  A bit technical with little climbs, rocks and roots.  But then you come out of the woods and see the parking lot!  What a joy that feeling is knowing the ride is about over.  Don't get me wrong, I will ride this course every year for the next N? years.  I will admit it's getting harder.

Information about the MORE EPIC rides.   Here's the official ride map.

Click for my Garmin stats

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Patapsco Epic 2014

Why is it that when I return from a week at the beach I get it completely handed to me on my next ride?  It's not the drinking, laying on the beach, floating in the ocean or the pizza that gets me soft, is it?  This years completely painful ride was the Patapsco Epic.

There are multiple route options and of course I chose the longest one, the 50 miler.  It took a little motivation for me to get out of bed before 6am for the hour ride up to the state park.  One bonus was seeing the sunrise which I don't see very often :-)

No worries on the trip up, simple drive and I rolled into the starting point, registered and got on my way.  The first few miles were just fine and I was thinking this would be an enjoyable few hours on the bike.

The Bloede Dam project was pretty neat.  I had to stop for the picture and video.

I have to say one thing, is this ride had the best aid station food ever.  This one had a chocolate fountain running with lots of goodies to dip in it.  Another station had sno-cones which I haven't seen before.

I've never ridden in Patapsco State Park before, and I may not do it again.  The terrain is relentless, rocky, technical, narrow, rolling, even the the downhills aren't relaxing due to the number of roots, turns and rocks on the trail.  There simply isn't anything easy about this ride.

I feel pretty accomplished just given that I stayed vertical the entire ride.  There were lots of riders bleeding from their arms and legs.

So through 15 miles I was feeling fine but to be honest, I would have been ok cashing it in at that point.  I kept going thinking that maybe the trail would let up a bit.  To my dismay, it didn't.  I reached the 35/50 mile turnaround point and sat on my bike for awhile while talking to the two volunteers.  The 35 mile was a left turn.  The 50 was a right turn.  My bike was leaning left.

I opted for the 35 so I headed down a power line field and found the next trail.  Wait a minute, I know these riders, they were ahead of me.  Turns out I missed a turn and found myself back on the 50 mile route, I just found a shortcut!  I don't know where I am so I rode with them for awhile until the next aid station.  To my delight, beyond this aid station was just a big loop that brought you back.  It didn't take much decision making to decide I was going to turn around now.

That turned out to be the 40 mile turn around point.  That's about 25 miles more than I wanted to ride.  It was a complete death ride on the way back.  The trail never got easier, the rocks got bumpier and it was a real struggle to keep it going.

Really Cool Bridge

There was this real cool bridge we got to cross.  Below is one side of the view from the bridge.  Lots of people were out playing in the river.  This would be a fun day to take the family.

I couldn't have been happier when I finally reached the end.  Red Hot and Blue was serving up some chow that I dove head first in.  Lots of riders at the end party that looked a helluva lot fresher than me.  I just can't believe how difficult that ride was.

And of course my Garmin died on the course so I have no stats.  But it was 40 miles of death in about 5 1/2 hours.

Map: Official Patapsco Map

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Camp Raven Knob - 2014

 Camp Raven Knob - 2014

This was my second season at Camp Raven Knob.  Last year I spent a lot of time riding my bike alone along with attending training hours for Assistant Scout Master and IOLS training.  This year was a bit different as I set my sights on the mile swim (34 mins 21 secs) and helping with the mountain bike merit badge.

Camp this year was a ton of fun and pretty good weather.  All the boys seemed to have an exceptional time at classes and at camp.  At camp when we weren't preparing food, cleaning dishes, in police lines, cleaning tents, hanging clothes to dry, having scoutmaster conferences and review boards, trying to get wasps out of the tents, well, then we were playing board games, cards and sharpening sticks.

Hanging out at camp during free time.

Warrior Mountain is a strange place.  This is a destination along the Ridge Road trail that circles behind the camp.  At the top of the climb is a sign and a half-full trash can.  Why is there a trash can, I don't know.

Warrior Mountain

I had to take a video of the top.

Here's a link for the Ridge Road loop: Garmin Stats for Ridge Road

The Order of the Arrow (OA) arena is used for entire camp events.  Not sure how many get seated here but it's pretty big. 

At the OA arena

A really fun short hike (1.7 miles) is to hike up the Knob.  This is a very steep hike straight up the mountain next to Lake Sabotta.  Here's a shot of the happy campers about to climb up.

About to climb the Knob

The top of the Knob looks down on camp.  You can see the OA arena in the background.

At the top of the Knob

 My most fun activity this week was riding with three scouts and our bicycling merit badge counselors.  Everyday from ~2-5PM we took off to discover trails around the camp.  Most of these trails are pretty difficult as they are unmaintained steep fire roads and are complete hazards on bikes.  All the roots and deep ruts make it difficult to ride.  However, that didn't stop them from being kamikazes down the roads.

There were a couple incidents that were noteworthy.  The first being JT's 5 wipe-outs as we went around Lake Sabotta on a pretty technical trail.  The trail was soaked since we were riding in a monsoon.  Combine that with a fearless riding attitude and you get 5 big falls.  However, JT always got up smiling.  Despite the backward rolls, flying over the handlebars, and sliding off the trail he kept it together and got through it.  I saw most of those falls and each time I was thinking we could heading to the infirmary.

Bellesby Dam along New River Rail Trail

I think the scariest riding moment for me was Evan tearing down one of the rutted fire roads.  This was epic on every level.  He doesn't even have suspension.  He's following Zach who himself was going way too fast.  The two of them were getting tossed all over the place as they roared down the hill.  Evan was getting bounced off his seat, feet flying in the air, completely out of control.  I can't believe his bike didn't crumble underneath him. Somehow the two of them survived.  Man, that would have been a painful knockout fall.

Former train bridge on the New River Rail Trail

Frosted Flake Boy

OK, this was pretty entertaining for at least myself and Zach.  See those frosted flakes JT is eating?  I rode up from behind, snatched them, then offered to every bear, deer and other rider on the path for free!  In JT's words, "That is not OK!"

The Tunnel

Deer in the water

Railroad turnstile

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