- Bad Idea Racing - HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

 I made it through the week.  Work picked a bad time to get busy.  It’s hard to be supermotivated when you got the inexplicable blues.  Yesterday I had 64 jobs which is the most I have ever done in a day.  I was just about as stressed out as I ever get at work.  I get over-run with the feeling that I just want to walk off the job and quit when I get too stressed out.  As soon as I walked in the front door after work The Pie handed me a beer (sensing my needs) and my boss called asking me to come in twenty minutes early today for a couple “before 8:00am” packages.  Great.  I normally leave at 6:30 to get an hour and a half of riding in before work, but today I get to leave just after 6:00.  Just what I needed.

I definitely picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue. 

At least I get to look forward to completing my adoption classes tomorrow.  Just six more hours of sitting still and I’ll get my cap and gown.  Then I will hop in my Dirty Little Box and head to the Gathering with The Wonderboy.  Hopefully the Gathering will turn my frown upsidedown.  Riding and imbibing.  It’s all good. 

I messed up my facial hair.  I went for the chops/Hulk Hogan/soulpatch all at once.  It turned into a pointy weird moustahce thing with chops and a soulpatch.  Then it went to the straight up “authority figure” moustache.  Eventually I was left with just a soulpatch after a half hour struggle with a razor and my sanity.  Why do I bother?  I gotta figure out how to do mockups on photoshop and go in with a plan next time.  

Eight days till the Quickening. 

“Alright, so maybe I went a little over the top with the helmet, but TeamDicky said intimidation is half the battle.” 

I need more interbike coverage. I think the problem is I don’t want to see full suspension/shifty things. I want to see rigid/shiftless things, and I just can’t get enough. Here’s where I’ve been going:

MTBR.COM
PINKBIKE.COM
HCOR.NET
VELONEWS.COM
CYCLINGNEWS.COM
SPEEDGOAT.COM
DIRTRAGMAG.COM

Does anybody know where I can satisfy my need for more materialistic info? I’m not talking about “booth babes” either. Bike parts in glass cases or in their natural habitat, whatever. It doesn’t matter.

I have every part I need to make my 29′er roll minus one frame and two tires. I haven’t laid them all out in the shape of a bike and positioned myself in the mix, but I am not ruling out that option in the future. Rob (Badger guy) is busy at Interbike, and when he gets back there are some frames in the que before he builds the bike he is going to send me for a test ride so I need to be patient. The biggest problem there is that I have the patience of a meth addict that just blew through the last of his stash. I canceled my order for the Jenson Zion frame just so I wouldn’t be tempted to get it to satisfy my short term need for a fix. I did find myself trying to buy large quantities of cold medicine the other day. I don’t know what’s up with that.

I know I am probably splitting hairs, but I would love to see the 24 Hours of Adrenalin folks make it a rule that there is to be NO GEAR SWITCHING for the single speed class. I swapped my gears once during a 24 hour race, but there wasn’t an SS class so I had no guilt there. It just seems like they could somehow enforce it, or at least check the cogs at the start and the finish. Single speed means ONE GEAR (in my world).

Nine more days till the Quickening.

“Listen up lad, one gear means one gear. Don’t be a candy-ass and swap your gears in the middle of the night.”

Most people have a full measure of life… and most people just watch it slowly drip away. But if you can summon it all up… at one time… in one place… you can accomplish something… glorious, or win a 24 hour race if that’s all you really want to do with your life. —Ramirez

I used to never wear socks when I rode in the summer. I just preferred to keep it “gladiator style”. After rubbing my feet totally raw at my first twelve hour race I cut the cuffs off some cycling socks and made my own low-rise socks. Eventually I found out DeFeet made a golf sock that was low cut, and I wore those for the next few years. Years later they started making the Speedee, and I was hooked. I love my Speedees, but when I have to hike-a-bike in sand or silty dirt I tend to get a bunch of crap down in my sock. The “crap” then abrades my feet for hours and causes me great discomfort. Enter the Levitator. They go up plenty high and they even managed to get rid of the annoying seam that grinds on my toes after 20+hours of riding. My only problem?? It seems that high socks are fashionable in the cycling world so I am joining the crowd. I seem to be doing that more and more often these days. Maybe the “crowd” knows something I don’t.

Yes, I bought “trouser socks”. My next purchase will be a frilly blouse.

I also snagged a small saddle bag. How small??

That small. I can barely squeeze a tube, chaintool/tire lever, 4&5mm allens, a piece of chain, and the nozzle of my CO2 dispenser in it. It is very stealthy, and I won’t have to carry ANYTHING in a jersey pocket. That means I can rock out wearing anything I want on top. Who’s bringing an AC/DC concert shirt to the race? Nobody I know.

Yes, I am sweating the details. It seems like a better option than sweating doing something like training.

24 Hours of Adrenalin keeps putting out press releases everytime a big name signs up for the race. I think they forgot about me, so I wrote my own and posted it on the Endurance forum on MTBR. If you don’t go there it went a little something like this:

24 Hours af Adrenalin keeps posting all these press releases announcing the big names coming to the Worlds this year. I get them VIA email and I scan down through the list of names.
Chris Eatough, 2005 runner up Ernesto Marenchin, Mark Hendershot (5th in 2005), Monique Sawicki (2nd in 2005), Louise Kobin (3rd in 2005), Rebecca Rusch, and now Sue Haywood.
Where’s my press release? Don’t they think anybody wants to hear about me?

Rich Dillen returns to the Worlds after a six year hiatus. He thrilled us with an 18th place finish overall in 2000, and now he is returning to dominate (or at least participate in) the single speed class in 2006. He has already taken third place overall (by default) in the National Ultra Series this year, and has been training off and on (mostly off) all year. We’re so excited to have someone who inconsistently visits the podium and thinks cutting his hair before a big race is training join us for the biggest event of the year. So come on down to Conyers and watch Rich sit in his pits trying to figure out which socks he is going to wear before the race starts.

*with a plus or minus 100% margin of error

Ten more days till “The Quickening”.

“There can only be one (gear).”

Sunday I got out for a much needed ride at Anne Springs Close Greenway with The Wonderboy. Even though I am looking forward to the Worlds I am feeling dopier than usual. I can’t say what’s going on exactly in my head, but I need to shake the inexplicable blues off soon. I have been given clearance by the Pie to attend the Pisgah gathering this weekend after adoption class is over at 3:00pm on Saturday. After driving 2.5 hours I should be there just in time to squeeze in a ride which will probably be a gravel climb followed be a scary descent in the dark. Then I’ll get into “gathering mode” for the rest of the evening. Hopefully I will wake up and be capapable of putting in a good ride on Sunday before heading home.

I put the “Assgrater 2000″ back on the Meatplow after Gorilla glueing the broken piece. I figure if it doesn’t end up broken at the gathering I will use it at the Worlds. I really like the way this saddle feels, and I think it scares the competition. Intimidation is half the battle in endurance racing. You just get it in their heads that you’re a sick son of a bitch who eats baby seals for breakfast and that will be in the back of their heads at 3:00AM.

“How am I gonna beat a baby seal eating, plastic spider web saddle riding guy with facial hair that kicks my ramshackle beard’s ass?”

Maybe I’m the only one thinking along those lines….. At least I’m making an attempt at talking some smack. I don’t even know if defending 24 hour SS World champ Dejay is coming to the party. I would love to ride with him as it has been three or four months since we crossed paths last. Seems to be a history of SS 24 hour champs not returning to defend thier crown. Maybe we’re all just too cool to care. 

Oooooh yeah, it’s Interbike time.  I love staring at all the new hardware.  I don’t get as excited about looking through all the websites for coverage as I used to.  There are not a whole lot of developments in the world of rigid single speeding that can happen.  Still I like looking at all the shiny parts.  I think it affirms my masculinity. 

How far do you go to pimp a sponsor? Josh and I posed (obviously) for this shot when we were doing the Trans Rockies for the Race Face marketing guy. While I do like my carbon post, I wouldn’t say that giving it some oral affection was necessary. Josh and I were goofing around, and thought it would be a funny way to show how much we appreciated the free parts. Sell outs? Maybe.

I thought about this a lot after I read Liz Schleeper’s blog and an interesting thing she wrote called “Cyling Blogs Pimp the Sponsor“. She made a lot of valid points and made me feel more typical than I already do. I am different just like everybody else.

I have an index to the right called “Nice Stuff”. I wouldn’t necessarily call them sponsors, but I feel like they deserve some mention. I’ll take the time to address why the have made the list.

First off there’s Burn Energy Drink. I met Tyler (the owner of the company) back when his company was making a drink called Prolyte. He promoted a race called the Prolyte 24 hour race where I won the solo class back in 2001. The payout was big considering the size of the race, and the event has only gotten better and bigger every year. Since then I have always gone back to his race (it’s now the Burn 24 hour race run by Eddie O’Dea), and I bump into him from time to time. When I went to Trans Rockies for the first time he put a little sumpin-sumpin on his site about me. He’s an NC cyclist and so am I. Good enough for me. He’s got “nice stuff”. (from now on when I say someone has “nice stuff” please keep the laughter to a minimum)

Race Face got added to the list next. What did they do for me? Oh, they just sent me to the Trans Rockies for free and put all new stuff on my bike. Do they do anything for me now? Not really, but how much more could I want out of them? Yep, they got “nice stuff”.

I added Industry Nine to the list a couple months ago. They are also a bunch of NC folks. I have been staring at their wheels ever since I saw Marshall from Endless Bikes rolling around on prototypes back in May ‘05. Since then I became friends with Trish who eventually started working there and through Trish I met Jeff. Jeff is the voice you hear on the phone at Industry Nine. I don’t think Jeff reads my blog, and I’m not sure that he even knows that it exsists.We got to talking at the NORBA Nationals (at Sugar Mountain) and came to a happy agreement which got me on a set of wheels. He knows that I do a lot of endurance events, and I know (through Trish) that their wheels are the bees knees. Yes, I paid for them. I also paid extra for the pink color. Why? First off I fell in love with it, second I knew it would get the wheels noticed. People see the crazy wheels, and then people ask about the crazy wheels. I tell them how I feel about the wheels and hopefully some good folks make some money selling wheels that are made right here in NC. When I finally get my 29′er it will be rolling on I9’s, and they will certainly be pink.

So how ’bout Badger Cycles? I don’t even own a Badger (yet). I have only seen a Badger in it’s natural habitat under Brad Cole’s butt (and then only at the start line of a hundie). Rob (Badger builder) Pennell has been reading my blog off and on, and he contacted me when he read about my budget 29′er project. We emailed back an forth and talked on the phone and after talking to him I felt comfortable making a bigger commitment to riding a 29′er next year. He wants to see me on one of his bikes, and so do I. The man makes art that rolls. Let’s just say that we are both giving to this project, and hopefully we both have something to gain.

I’ve had a real sponsor in the past. Thanks to John Moorhouse I was a member of Ellsworth’s Team Twentyfour. We focused on 24 hour racing, and we got paid for results. It provided me with a chance to do more than I thought I would be able to financially, but it burned me out pretty quickly. I did a few races too many, and I lost interest in the multi-lap/hour-after-hour type racing.

I realize that with some letter writing and phone calls I could probably have a sponsor again. I think I have the results to back it up from the last few years, but why bother. I could end up on a grassroots team with a bike I don’t entirely like (aesthetically and ergonomically) wearing funny looking tight clothes that match from head to toe. I am not sure that’s me. I might also have to enter some events I don’t really feel like doing. And for what? A free bike, some shiny clothes, a few entry fees…. I needed that when I was flat broke, but I can take care of myself right now. I want the freedom to ride what I want, when I want, and wearing pajama bottoms if I so choose.

Yeah, I’m pimping some Burn Energy Drink in my PJ’s. I am sure that they sold thousands of cans of their liquid crack with this photo alone.

So why pump the people with “nice stuff”? I like ‘em. They seem like good folks, and I think they like me. I am interested in seeing them succeed (I think Race Face is doing OK without my endorsement), and I think they get some pleasure from watching me succeed (or reading about my more intersting failures). I don’t think of it so much as a sponsorship, but more of a partnership.

Hopefully this is taken for what it is. I am not trying to justify what I “pimp” on my blog. I am assuming that people might be curious why certain products get more than just a hyperlink and a quick “thumbs up”. It’s due to our inquisitive nature that we read these blogs anyways. We’re just curious creatures trying to absorb more info that will entertain, inform, or distract. I hope I managed to help you accomplish all three today. What else were you going to do with your Monday?

I’m really glad I didn’t die the other day after making this post. It would have been too ironic and creepy. Not to mention I have plans this weekend. More adoption classes and riding are on my plate. Plus I still need to run around and grab some stuff in preparation for the Worlds.

I think I have Alzheimers. I keep a Park Tool chain checker right on my work bench in plain sight so I remember to use it from time to time on all my bikes.

It only takes a second to use it, and it can save you a lot of money on your drivetrain. Well the other day I just couldn’t get my chain tight on my ghetto-fixie with semi-horizontal drops. I was getting a little frustrated when I reached over and grabbed my CC-2. What do you know? My chain was off the charts and way beyond the limits of uselessness. After kicking myself in the ass for making such a rookie mistake (again) I put on a new PC-1. Sometimes you get lucky and your cog/ring didn’t get damaged so much that they are useless, and other times you learn a valuable lesson (again). I got lucky this time and the new chain feels like butter. I’m not sure how much horsepower I was loosing to my innefficient drivetrain, but my bike just feels like I put a jet pack on the chainstays. Amazing that when you ride a simple machine how you can feel the nuances of a worn chain, a stiff wheel, or a slightly under-inflated tire. I know you can do the “12 inch ruler” trick to check for a worn chain, but do yourself a favor and pony up for the real deal. You can always get the budget CC-3 which also works, but I think the CC-2 has a better zoot factor.

I found this pic on the official photo site (link to all our pics) for the Trans Rockies. Of course I am to cheap to pay $100 for all my photos so I made a half-ass print (and then snapped a digital image for show and tell). They showed this photo in the slide show at the post-race party and it got a pretty good reception (drunken hollers)(LATE EDIT:  I should mention that I didn’t witness this taking place.  I was out in the parking lot trying to get “chest bumps” when it happened.  I did hear it and wonder what was going on though). This is my idea of having a good time in a multi-day stage race.

EDIT: Drew gave me some tips so here is the pic ripped directly off the photo-site.

Yes, my tongue is hanging out. It always does if I am having a good time. I have plenty of photos to prove it.

I had a chance to get out and purchase a new Boone 19 tooth cog for the Worlds. I think it is the gear I will be using, and my King is on its second life (it has been flipped). It will also be my local cog when my Badger gets done. I just love Boone stuff. I am a slut.

Who loves you baby?

So I guess I had too much time on my hands yesterday. I didn’t want to leave for work early for “training” purposes so I wrote a lot more than I intended. I had a physical at 7:45 am, and I didn’t want to show up all sweaty with my feet stinking. The physical was just another step in the very elaborate adoption process. Consider that hoop jumped through.

I talked to Rob from Badger more last night about my future frame. I got a real bad case of bike lust. The hardest thing about getting a custom frame is I don’t have a picture (torn from a magazine or printed from the interweb) to stare at all day at work. Even when I got my Spicer frame I carried around his simple hand drawing showing the angles and tubing length. Although I am looking for a “strictly business” look (if your business is death and destruction) Rob said he’s gonna sneak some aesthetics into the frame when I ain’t looking. Sounds good. I am also gonna get some sexy internal cable routing for my rear hydro line. This should clean up the front triangle and make shoulder portaging more comfortable.

I am really looking forward to Conyers. Sure, I’m not dropping any weight like I planned, but my mental fitness is getting there. I’m kinda bummed that Elk announced he won’t be there. I have no idea who’s gonna be there on a SS, but you gotta be pretty fit or crazy to do 24 on a SS. I fall into the latter category I think. He woulda made for good company on those suckass pre-dawn laps. I haven’t done a 24 since the 24 Hours of Pisgah last September. To me that’s a good thing because the less I remember how awful it is the further I’ll get into the race before I crack. Twenty three laps, that’s all I want. I got my gameplan, but I think it would be pretty retarded to say what I am gonna do on the interweb. Let’s just say I am throwing in some nostalgic old skool with a little bit of the new. So technically “not old or new but middle school fifth grade like junior high“.

It was good to get all that off my chest yesterday. I feel better. The world didn’t change due to my complaining, but it rarely does. Now I can get my mind back to more important things like fantasizing about a bike which is currently a pile of tubing and a small electrical charge stored in Rob’s brain. For now I will just stare at these teaser photos of Rob’s latest creation.

Yes folks, the roof is on fire.

“Look, it says right here in the manual that we don’t need no water, we’re just supposed to let it burn.”

Oh yeah, I am looking forward to The Extreme Tomato’s dissertation on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart later today. It better be good and have a bike related theme.

My cable was out for most of the morning so I don’t have a lot of time. It’s probably a good thing. I was going to rant big time about the current “crackdown” on Charlotte messengers. Recently a girl was killed at the MS 150 ride in South Carolina. That brought cycling to the attention of the local media again. Then the usual things happen, the local cycling community grieves, says something needs to be done, some drivers complain about cyclists, and everybody wants action. Then the cops uptown are told to “watch” the messengers.

Why do I have a problem with this? I know I break the law. I know I am supposed to obey the same rules as a vehicle. Honestly sometimes it doesn’t make sense. I can wait at a red light while ten people jaywalk through it. In theory I could dismount and join them? If I need to make a left hand turn off a four lane road I am supposed to get in the left lane, signal, and leave my ass hanging in the breeze as traffic zooms by me in both directions (usually with some pretty pissed-off people letting me know how they feel about my decision to “act like a vehicle”). There are safer ways to make the left hand turn, but they are ILLEGAL.

Then we have the cycling advocates telling me I give the whole community a bad name. They think that my actions portray cycling in a bad light. “I want my rights to the road, but I don’t feel like I have to obey the rules” kinda thing. I don’t feel like I have any rights on the road. I never assume my larger companions on the streets care if I live or die. I never make a move unless I know a driver WILL NOT HAVE TO REACT. I never put myself in a place where my ILLEGAL actions put me in danger. If anything an EXPERIENCED messenger breaking a law is watching his ass closer than any other vehicle operator on the streets because he knows a dumb move will get him killed.

So I get the word that they will be cracking down on messengers who don’t stop behind the stopline. How many times in a day do I see cars all up in the crosswalk waiting at a red light? A lot. Have I ever seen one getting a ticket? Never. I watch drivers all day. I see them making illegal turns, running red lights, speeding, and a lot of them are talking on their cell phones. And I am supposed to believe that WE ARE THE PROBLEM?

I’ve had one decent accident in the last four years. It was caused by a car doing something stupid and illegal. I didn’t report it, and I paid for the damage to my bike. I avoid people doing dumb things on a daily basis. I COUNT on people to do dumb things on a daily basis. I know where dumb things happen on a daily basis. The only reason I don’t get in accidents everyday is because I pay attention and ride defensively. Most people couldn’t care less about my “rights” to the road. Almost every scary situation I face is caused by some driver doing something they shouldn’t and forcing me to react to their indifference to my “rights”.

Back to the cycling advocates: They want me to obey the law and quit giving cyclists a bad name. Tell me that you don’t roll a stop sign in a 25MPH neighborhood EVER. Tell me you never speed in your car. Tell me you always obey the law. Can you?

Yes, there are messengers doing dumb things. I used to do dumb things many years ago. Rookies come into the scene and blow the light right in the middle of uptown with cops standing on the corners and people in the crosswalk at lunchtime. Maybe I am failing by not clueing them in. Maybe it is my responsibility to let them know what they are doing. I don’t know.

Then we have cyclists who blow through the uptown who look like messengers. They have their jeans rolled up, messengers bags strapped on, and maybe even rolling on a fixie. They come right through town blowing lights and riding as they please. To a cop they are just another DAMN messenger disobeying the traffic laws. Don’t worry, they’ll take it out on us later. We appreciate that. I am stereotyping here, but sometimes the stereotype fits. It does happen, and it does affect how I make my living so it does bother me.

It’s coming on ten years since I pulled my first job out of my bag. I’ve seen this cycle repeat itself over and over. The big difference is that ten years ago there were three messengers in Charlotte. Now there are closer to fifteen of us. The uptown pool isn’t very big and when someone pisses in it we can all feel the warm currents of urine. I understand that breaking the law is just that, breaking the law. I am just not a fan of “selective harassment”. What does that mean? “Tell all your buddies we are going to be cracking down on messengers breaking the law.” I have never seen a driver get that speech. I don’t think it happens.

I wince whenever I hear a messenger has gone down. Even if he is OK there are ramifications. The messenger could be entirely in the right, BUT there is this perception that we ride dangerous and our actions are very suspect if we are invlolved in an accident. Funny, there are a lot of car-on-car accidents in the uptown everyday, but make it a car-on-messenger accident and the fingers get pointed pretty quickly in our direction. We don’t have a lot of accidents involving bike messengers when you consider how many of us are out there and how many miles we travel a day. There’s a reason. Dangerous riders don’t last. They learn how to ride or they quit/get fired/or just get weeded out through natural selection. The saying goes “There are old messenger, and there are bold messengers, but there are no old, bold messengers”.

So I guess I did have time for a rant. I hate to do this kind of thing. I’d rather be entertaining, but these thoughts overwhelm my brain whenever this topic rears its ugly head. It will never go away, and I know that. I doubt that in my lifetime things will get much better for cyclists in Charlotte. There are some folks that are working hard to make things better. We do have bike lanes popping up all over the city, but we have a long way to go before the general public will feel safe enough to use them. In the mean time I will do my best to keep my head out of my ass and take care of myself. I have a wife, a kid, and a desire to live (intact) for a few more decades. I will ride safe, smart, and illegally (at times). I will do my best to flow like water, taking the path of least resistance to my destination. I will be “the Buddha” and try not to negatively impact anybody’s day with my actions while riding a bicycle. I will keep my anger in check when I am cut-off, pinched, ignored, brushed, and generally shown no respect by my fellow man. I will ride, work, and hope that things get better tomorrow.

My condolences go out to the loved ones of Rachel Giblin, the 15 year old girl killed this weekend. My son is fourteen and this really hits home with me. My problem is I don’t see this as a “cycling issue”. It is a human issue. We need to be looking out for each other a little better when we are moving around on the surface of the earth in such a hurry. You have people’s lives in your hands, and that’s more important than the phone in your hand, whatever social event you’re late getting to, or anything else. Keep that in mind when you grab your keys and head out the door. Pay attention folks, because I don’t want to die today.

Rant over.

Late edit:  I apologize if I offended anybody, but if the message hit home with you I might have made my point.

Box of chocolates my ass. Life is a like simple SS chain. It goes round and round, it’s part of something bigger, and sometimes the quick link can be a pain in the ass. Well I guess life isn’t really like a PC-1 chain at all. I like my women like I like my chains. Cheap, plentiful, and nickel plated… no, that doesn’t work either. I gotta work on getting my PC-1 comments more PC, if you know what I mean.

On an upbeat tone, got any ideas for some Worlds facial hair? I’ve been cultivating a fine crop of fur, and I am not quite sure what to do when it comes to be harvest time. I got the cranial foliage on the top of my head down to “strictly business” length, but I am kinda stuck on what to do with the lower portion. I got two and a half weeks till I get “crazy with the cheez whiz” on the portion between my ears.

Ch-ch-ch-Chia Dicky

With three weeks to go before Worlds what could be the best thing for me to do? Go on a group road ride? Maybe do some laps on a local trail? Nah, why not head to Pisgah and do one of the nastiest descents in the forest. The Pie and The Boy were going to be busy for the better part of the day so I had the window of opportunity and I took it. I was supposed to head out with The Big Worm and The Wonderboy, but plans fell through and Bill Nye the Science Guy hopped in. I mounted my Gazzalodi 3.0 up front, and we headed West to take on Farlow Gap and whatever else we could fit in.

We met a guy named Tom in the parking lot and he came along for the ride. After the long climb to the top of Farlow Bill Nye and Tom armored up, seats were lowered and the descending began. All I can say is if you get a chance to ride Farlow, do it. If you like danger, thrills, spills, and a certain possibility of injury this is the place.

Here’s Bille Nye on one of the rocky sections of Farlow.  Yes, that is a trail.  Yes, it is STEEP.

Alright, here’s the Science Guy apparently happy to be walking away from his bike after it decided it had gone far enough. Are you getting it? Armageddon it.

Yours truly rolling into a nasty section that requires a little thinking, a little luck, and some suspension (yeah right).

The line really is over that BIG ROCK.

Here is the ubiquitous shot of my bike lying in the trail at the bottom of the descent.  Are the Meatplow’s days numbered? 

We ended up getting down with Tom and Bill Nye taking a couple trips over the bars and me dragging my knee (and my now useless knee warmer) down the side of the mountain. Farlow always provides more than it’s share of “Oh shit!” moments and I will always keep it in the rotation. Somewhere around half way down I remembered that I do kinda have a big event coming up and maybe I should reel it in a little bit. Some of the things I was doing were a little over my head at times. It’s just kinda hard to hold back when you’re out in it. It’s just an awesome bunch of nasty riding with some crazy-ass features all the way down.

We followed up Farlow with a nice jaunt down Long Branch. It is not my favorite trail in Pisgah, but it loops up nicely with Farlow and it has some really fast sections.  Anyways, nice day, good ride, awesome weather.

It beats me how people get great ride photos.  Stopping on a trail like Farlow seems against nature.  Once I get in the groove I don’t want to dilly-dally.  So what do you get?  Average photos and a broken-up descent.  Oh well, maybe I’ll leave the camera at home next time.