Shortest Day

Sun. More please. Shortest day of the year today (I think). Tomorrow will be 3 seconds longer. I plan to use that time to change my chain.

Another ride today. JDar and I headed out to the dam and back, had some coffee, then I headed home. Took several hours. I love that. Shortest Post.

Can't Stop

Can't stop with this blog thing.  It's self-serving and my motives are questionable but I can't stop.

AEDC was beautiful yesterday.  Cold, very wet but not too cold and wet.  Ended up doing three laps hoping the sun would come out.  It didn't.  Afterward I went to Cracker Barrel and hammered down some fried chicken that still hasn't found it's way into my digestive tract.  I thought it was a good idea since I'd done 4-5 hours in the saddle and covered almost 40 miles.  It wasn't a good idea. I feel terrible still, like there's a football in my lower intestine. 

Headed to East Nasty to get after a greenway ride with JDar in a few.  First sunny day in Nashville since I've been home. 

Ezekiel Bread rocks.

Steevo's at it again:

Bail

Last night I got all worked up thinking I was heading up to Louisville tomorrow for the Cyclo-Claus race.  This afternoon I changed my mind, deciding if I was going to ride around in the cold and wet, I wasn't going to pay $20 and sit in a car 6+ hours.  Instead I'll pay $0 and sit in the car for 1.5-3 hours.  Considering my options as it's been raining and wet.  Had such a nice ride out at AEDC, considering that again or maybe Sewanee, haven't been there since January.  Probably end up at Montgomery Bell since it's closest and probably in the best shape but I'm still a little burned out on the twisty scene over there.

There's also the possibility of doing a long road ride or a multi-use exploration adventure employing the bike and some boots.  Either way, I'm about to crack my second beer and officially bow out of tomorrow's Cyclocross Race. 

No photos today.  Maybe tomorrow's adventure will yield some visual accompaniment.

Winter Riding

Headed to AEDC yesterday, my first time there. Gorgeous.




Took a lap, around 11 miles of sweet singletrack and old fire roads. Ate some food and took a lap in the opposite direction. Much much better counter clockwise. 3 hours, 22 miles.





This is what most of it looked like. Very sweet.

Here's something Colorado could learn from:









Segregation is good for bikes and horses.

Today I tried a new route across town to my meeting, straight down Charlotte. Got home in 32 minutes, usual route takes an hour. This is a good thing.

Found out about a cyclocross race in Louisville.  I went to post something on Twitter and Bob's Red Mill was trying to tell me to go.  So I'm going.  I'm done training.  Training is a dumb idea.  I want to just do things, not train for them.  BSNYC gave me that idea.

Home at Last

If you follow this blog, you may have too much time on your hands.  You also know that I've been on the road, away from home for several weeks.  I have big plans, serious adventure plans for this week, starting first thing tomorrow, but in the meantime, I feel like I should quickly summarize the last few weeks with a simple narrative and some photos.  Ready?

Super Cool Painting at our Managers House

First weekend we were in East Tennessee. I could have raced in the MSG Cyclocross race out there but logistically it was a nightmare and I was sick after Thanksgiving so I bagged it. The previous post shows what I did instead. Spent Monday and Tuesday in Charlottesville doing a photo shoot (photos forthcoming) and doing a shit-ton of band business. This painting is in our managers appartment, I found myself staring at it until the kids eyes freaked me out. Try it.

Railroad Earth with 4 Infamous Stringdusters ripping

We finished our year opening for Railroad Earth for 3 nights.  Our van broke down in VA, so we scrambled, rented a van and beat it to Brooklyn with 45 minutes to spare. Here's video:



RRE is everything a band should be. Everyone (but me) got up and jammed with them the second night and it was sick. Here's a little YouTube Video. It's gets crazy around 6:20.



Sarah came to the last show and we stayed somewhere in Maryland before going to see my grandparents in Lancaster County, PA. Lancaster County is Amish country and is home to two great towns, Intercourse and Blue Ball. We were driving through Intercourse before I even realized it. We had to stop and get a picture:

Welcome to Intercourse, Pennsylvania

Sarah and I rocked Brooklyn and Bayport, NY, then I hopped a shuttle to ISP and flew home but not before seeing this little gem of a magazine cover. Bad timing, eh boss?

Tip #5: Don't get married.

AT Hike

We're playing two nights at the Down Home in Johnson City, TN this weekend.  Woke up this morning to substantial precipitation mostly in the form of snow. Headed to the Appalachian Trail outside town for a quick hike (borrowed the fiddle players car for a couple hours). 2 inches of snow on the trail when I started, probably closer to 4 near the top. Only had a couple hours, but it was really cold and I was vastly under-dressed and alone so the time limit probably kept me in check. There were a few other tracks, mostly filled with snow. Didn't see another soul out there. Beautiful. Here's a couple pictures, they're nothing like Up In Alaska's shots but the clouds were low and there were no vistas:

 

I had my Keen Growler boots on. The boots were perfect, everything else was inadequate and as such, I tried to keep it mellow and pay attention to where my feet were falling (fortunately, with those boots on, I didn't have to pay too close attention).  When these boots wear out, I pray that Keen still makes them because I'd buy them again in a second.

Hiked about a half hour and started to hear a humming sound.  Thought I was coming up on a generator or something but I topped a ridge and stepped into a clearing under some whirring power lines.  It was pretty eerie with the cloud cover.

Tomorrow we're in Roanoke, then two days off in Charlottesville planning The Festy.  One day we'll be scouting the trail system at The Festy site, checking out ride/hike potential and also looking at the possibility of running a cyclocross race out there, as well as designing the layout of the site and daydreaming about the features (multiple outdoor lounges and fire rings, onsite camping, multiple stages, brewery onsite, beergardens...  the list will grow).  The Festy will be the single greatest weekend event ever.  More to come.

Enough About Wanting

Saw this contraption on BSNYC this morning.  He referred to it as an idiot concept bike. I would say I want to have it but since it was just black friday and the last post was all about wanting shit, I'll want not.

Except that I might add the Carolla needs new front axle/CV joints and a radiator to the tune of $800.  Sweet.  I could buy a new bike for that.  I could pay off credit card debt with that.  I could save for future-child's college with that.  I could buy an Xtracycle and stop driving for that.

I know I shouldn't complain but the ride home last night to beat the dark (45 minute TT) agrivated my right knee.  It's a sleeping giant, this knee problem.  I'm beginning to think that the inconsistency of my riding (not by choice, I might add) coupled with a larger gear for the road is setting me up for some long term issues.  I need gears.  I'm sorry, fellow SS lovers, but as my manager said, "single speeds are for assholes."  At least on the road.  Why have I convinced myself that I can/should do 4 hour road rides on a single speed cyclocross bike in the cold, over hills with a 42x16?  It makes you wonder, right?  Maybe Santa will bring me a geared bike for christmas, or better yet, maybe some high-end bike company will stumble upon this ameteur blog and misinterpret my zealousness for readership and offer me a bike.  Maybe my knee won't blow out before ski season...