Pisgah/Dupont adventure continued

Beautiful Dupont senery

ED kicking it on the top of Big Rock Candy Mountain!

Crazy enough to see an airstrip in the middle of the woods, but the basketball
goal put it over the top. If there was a ball I would have worked on my free throws.

The camera did a nice job of capturing the beginnings of our

beer induced haze that started at the Asheville Brew n' View.

We are going to use this for when we promo our Beastie Boys

cover band- WIKI, WIKI, WIKI, WIKI!

Sunrise from the back porch of team headquarters on

Tuesday morning before heading back to K-town. ED

got to stay and ride one more day and did the super tour

of Bent Creek. Maybe he took some photos...........

Day 2 of Secret Training

Day two started with my famous blueberry pancakes and bacon for the crowd. Lots o' coffee, lots o' looking at the maps and thinking of what to do. It sure is nice to go ride and not have to have any concept or concern for time. We decided that a super tour of Dupont was in order, so off we went, down to four but optimistic about the day. The weather turned out awesome- at least 10, maybe 15 degrees warmer than the day before and the trails were fantastic. My sidekick and WNC super-stud, Larry took us on the perfect loop of what Dupont has to offer.

"The beer is over there!"

Starting to get behind...

because of all the riding!!! Last weekend Team Ed Racing c/o the Zoo went staight to the heart of all that is good in Western NC for some super-secret training. Sunday morning we woke up to snow on the ground after 60 degree temps on Saturday. Loaded up, ate at the Barrel, and rolled down 40. Once into the mountains the snow started and got hard enough that driving was getting interesting. We pushed on and by the time we got to the Waynesville exit not only was the snow over, it looked as if it didn't even make it over the mountains the night before. Cold temps but lots and lots of sunshine. Parked at North Mills and did the super tour of the Trace Ridge area. Some familiar faces on the trail along with some not seen or seldom seen (in the woods on a mountain bike) made for lots of laughs and a most excellent ride.

After riding we checked into the Team Ed secret training facilities (Bent Creek Lodge) then went and killed the hell out of some Papas and Beer. Back to the cabin more beer, movies, hot tub and sleep to prepare for day two.......

Busy at work

We were very busy at work testing a new TT helmet, trying to eek out any advantages that not riding enough might overcome. I'm figuring that this thing has got to be good for a few minutes at Cohutta.

Larry, my work sidekick and uber-teammate at Team Ed Racing is displaying a different use for the helmet, possibly as an extra in the next Star Wars movie.

We will be busy with "real" work again soon enough but for now the testing continues......

Real riding VS. The Trainer

I am ashamed to admit to having ridden the trainer twice already in 2009. That's two more times than the last five years put together. Not yesterday though-lots o' coffee meets the right cycling apparel meets a true hatred for trainers. BTW, Ed has already logged 1000 miles on Rich Mtn. road this year cause he is doing these crazy long SS rides all the time. He tells me his camera will soon have an SD card, so you all better be ready!

More on Friday Night....

Friday the 13th was the Townsend, Cades Cove, Rich Mtn. Road night ride which seemed like a good idea given the warmish February weather and no obligations for the evening. For the pre-game preparations I thought I would replace the two year old tube in the indy fab's seatbag while at work. Well, when I got up there to start the ride you know where the tubes were.

The counter at work is not a good place for tubes if you are going for a ride. I thought what is worst that could happen- I end up night hiking instead of riding. I took the patch kits that were in the gear bag and went on my merry way. Townsend greenway is well lit and the perfect warm-up-flat and cruising. The road up to Cades Cove is awesome at night- no cars. The loop is beautiful at night even without any moon and lots of critters out and about. I was thinking the chances of flatting were low until maybe Rich Mtn. when the gravel and dirt starts and so far so good. Climbing out of the cove with a 2:1 ratio is good cause it gets the climbing over quicker, and down the other side it was all good, then down the nasty broken pavement descent and I'm home free. Except that right at the bottom of the hill the front went flat!! I thought I'm close enough to ride the pavement out with it flat and not worrying about fixing this as it is getting colder and it's nice smooth pavement out to the highway. Luckily, I kept the steering to a minimum and the Michelin cross tire fits tight enough to not peel off the rim. The only problem was is that I was riding so slow and carefully I was freezing by the time I got to the car. Somehow no damage to the rim and even better no damage to the tire! Good times.

Friday Night Lights

Did some Townsend to Cades Cove out Rich Mtn. last night after work. Super bitchin'.