BUMP & CLEMSON : The Good The Bad & The Ugly

Two really great races are BUMP and Clemson.

BUMP, Oak Mountain, Alabama - Shey and Jansen raced this one. We had ducklings hatch that Friday, so I stayed home to take care of them and build an addition to the chicken coop (pictures of that later), then drove to AL to watch the guys race Sunday morning. Everett decided he would start the beginning of his summer by chillin' and ridin'. So, he rode Saturday with the guys and Sunday with me.



I LOVE this course. In fact, everyone I talk to LOVES this course. It's long and fast and hard. There is a new section that they threw in at the end of the course this year. So, if you have raced there over the past few years, you think you are about to finish, but then there is ......more.



The Good: * Shey had a solid race again this year. (I finished my Sunday ride in time to see him on the podium, but didn't have my camera.


* Tristan had a killer race and took third in pro, Travis 4th, Wes had a great race and finished in a strong 6th, Cory flatted and finished 9th. (Cory will practice tip-toeing around those rocky sections for next year)
* Andy raced in Jansen's age group and the start was uber fast and exciting. The front group, including Crazy Chase took off like a shot and it was a great show for us.


* There were lots of Sorellas on the podium in the women's categories and I got to hang out with Bren again, who is training for a the Bike BC 7 day stage race, but this time she is going solo!!!
* It was hot, but good weather.


The Bad: *Jansen flatted and didn't have a second CO2 cartridge, so had to pull out. He was really bummed, as mechanicals and heavy rains have plagued his races this year.
* Tristan hit the last really slick bridge and crashed pretty hard. Uh.....more Tristan crashes coming soon.....that story later.
*Cory flatted and he was riding REALLY strong. Bummer. The fitness was there, but so were the rocks...


The Ugly: I almost skipped even spectating this race, because my poison ivy and bug bites and rashes, etc looked so disgusting. Fortunately the trail was dusty and I think all the dirt and stuff on my legs covered the grossness, while I was visiting with friends after my ride. At least that is what I am telling myself.

Snitchin': I know for a fact that Anet has not been cleared by her orthopedic surgeon to race......shame on you.




CLEMSON, South Carolina: Again, really fun course. Not as hot as it is down here, but still toasty. Place to get ice cream right down the road.

The Good: *Jansen had his day. No mechanicals, no storm, just great racing. He raced smart and had a consistent lap times.


*Everett stayed off the line at the start and filed in behind the guys, as he hasn't been riding as much lately. He probably would have done well either way, but had a good strong race.


*I think I convinced Sven's oldest son that he would do very well to join the circus.


*The expert women's podium was Norma, Tif and Jen. This was really awesome, because I watched Jen race expert for the first time at Clemson last year. That chica has seriously been training and I'm sure she and Tif were happy to hang together through the laps.


*We got ice cream. It was awesome.




The Bad: *Shey broke off his derailleur hanger. Yep, right before regional camps starts. Not sure what he is riding for the week. Bummer. So, he wasn't able to finish and wandered around the venue in a daze, mumbling things about needing points and a bike.



The Ugly: *Ugh, the excuses on the line in some of the categories. Seriously, just get out there and race already!!!! We all have to work, most of us have families and chores. Just be super thankful that you are able to be a part of this amazing sport! Most people have completely forgotten how to accomplish their dreams.....we are living one!


Oops, I almost forgot about Dauset!

Great race on the weekend in between these other races.

It was freakin' HOT and HUMID!! I mean it was bad. Although, Thomas was racing like it was a cool 70 degrees.

They cut out Huff n Puff due to the heat for the pro/experts.

Shey and Jansen had good races.



Austin and Everett hanging out.

Molly and Mason

This past Wednesday, the girls got together for Molly’s birthday dinner. The restaurant served local produce and it was extremely yummy! (more pictures soon)

I met Molly right after work for some shopping before dinner. Her new carriage house is awesome and in a cool area of town. Lilith and sock monkey approve.

Kate brought ultrasound pics and Aimee brought funny stories about what Queen Latifah has been up to.

Special gifts for a special friend who loves coffee, chocolate and cycling.

So, Molly mentioned a Mason Jennings concert that was in Asheville the next night. I mentioned that I would pack some clothes in the car and take them to work the next day in case it worked out that I could get off early and go with her, but I didn't really think it would work out.

So, I forgot the clothes, but it just so happened that I could get off a little early, which is rare, and when I texted Super Mo, she was like, "I'll pull off on the next exit and find a place for you to meet me."

With that I set off in my scrubs, found a pair of pants and a hoodie in the car, had flip flops, needed a shirt and terribly needed a shower. Molly offered her shirt, uh, you know, the one that is obscenely tight on me and looks like those really cool half shirts we wore in the '80's ?!, but the shower wasn't happening. Fortunately, Molly promises she has not sense of smell, yes, she is the perfect traveling companion!!

Apparently, this is what you need for a fabulous road trip:

#1 Aimee bought these and they are like crack...





#2 Caffiene

#3 Do any of us leave home without one of these?

#4, yes the nasty brown banana is a must.

#5. A good friend.

The 3 or so hour drive flew by as we talked the whole way, of course Mo talks to the GPS system and all the other drivers on the road, so she is only talking to me part of the time, but that's okay. I can share.

Mason was amazing and Mo talked to him about his new album, which he reported would not include the "drunk while riding bicycles" song that Molly is so fond of.

When we left, we were walking by a pub and discussing how hungry we were, when we noticed a guy out front had a really great looking plate of food, so we grabbed a small table on the sidewalk and ordered the most amazing steak, covered with blackberries, fresh green beans and fries and two orders of blueberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream.

We fit neatly between a veteran, who was requesting contributions from the passers-by while sitting on his five gallon bucket throne, and a guy who lived on a house boat and made sure to let Molly know that he was pretty much alone.......except for the big dog on the sidewalk beside him. The veteran gave us the history of the Orange Peel, which was the venue for the concert and Molly let the house-boat guy down easy. It was a good night.

We drove an hour, then slept for a bit in a hotel, before getting up early to finish the drive back to Atlanta, as Molly had a morning meeting to attend.

I was so glad to have the time to catch up with a very good friend and hear about her adventures in Peru. She has been a very busy Aunt this year with so many of our friends starting their families, so it's amazing she found the time to spend three weeks out of the country.

As I hit Atlanta I decided to drop by REI, but they weren't quite open and Aimee and Queen Latifah pulled in the parking lot behind me. So, I got to spend some quality time with the Queen and we both agree that EVERYTHING really should go in your mouth AND drooling is tons of fun!

You can see the resemblance to her mother here>

After errand running with Aim and Queenie Pie, I ran home, got a shower, took the boys to see Iron Man 2......which was AWESOME!, then grilled some really yummy steaks with mushrooms for Shey for Father's Day.

More good times with special friends! Thanks so much to all of you.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a really fun Memorial Day weekend at Mulberry Gap. Good food, good riding and really good friends.

We drove up on Saturday and got in a late afternoon ride, where Everett and I took a little detour, ended up on the highway, found a cool nursery and bought a packet of seeds for the garden (much to Shey and Jansen’s surprise), then we finally found them and the road where our car was parked. Quite and adventure.

Saturday was a great feast, including a whole roasted pig. Here is Ginni and Andrew carving it.



The band was amazing and the camping was awesome. Mike was there with the demo bikes and this is his new traveling rig.

Here he is patting it with love.




Here he is about to dance the jig because he is just darned excited to have a big white van to cruise around in. We were all very jealous!



Someone had abandoned some puppies on Pinhoti 3 and I think Andy, Mike, Rob, and Dejay carried them down to MG in their jerseys. SS Rob took one home and so did someone else. That left two for the ladies to find good homes. They were pretty darn cute.

The boys and I were pretty tired, so we left Shey to visit with friends while we headed to our campsite by the creek.



Sunday morning Jansen and I got in a ride before the rain hit. We saw the biggest black bear that either of us had seen. It was early and we had the trails to ourselves until we hit P2, where the guys were playing poker. Then it rained and rained and rained all afternoon and night. Aimee, Rob, Queen Latifah and Molly all drove in on Sunday and we got to hang out, but the thunder/lightening, didn’t allow us our planned afternoon ride. Again, dinner was awesome and Ginni and Diane always do everything they can to make our meals completely amazing.

Andrew built us a fire in the dining hall and we hung out. The boys had to sleep there as their tent was drenched, but ours was dry.

Monday morning Mo, Aim and I headed out for a shorter ride through the mud. LOTS OF FUN!!! The misty mornings are so cool up there and the waterfall was full force from all the earlier rains. Aim blew down P2 and Molly and I played the cautious duo with brakes squealing. Shey and Jansen were at the bottom and in the middle of their ride and the girls headed on for a most excellent brunch. I mean WOW! Tons of fresh fruit, yogurt, turkey sausage, waffles, pancakes, fried potatoes, cake donuts and LOTS OF IT. There is nothing like finishing a ride and having a spread like that laid out for you.

Everyone hit the road Monday afternoon and except Mo who was still writing post cards……a huge stack of post cards.

Another fun weekend with a really cool family and great friends. Life is pretty amazing.

**

Hey Everybody, It's Okay!

For all of you that have been riding with swarms of horse flies buzzing around you.......it's okay.....WE GOT ONE!!!! yep, that leaves only 100 trillion to go...

Here is the great white hunter himself.

One of these guys flew up inside of my bandana and was biting my head at the top of an hour plus climb. Oh, I was not happy!!!! Bites on my head, arms and back.

Everett brought two home in a ziploc bag and mounted one on our wall like a fish. Pretty funny.

Noted this weekend: one mama bear and two cubs, freakin' horse flies, ginormous centipedes, grumpy old dog, stinging nettle, blackberry thorns, absolutely gorgeous green foliage and lots of sunshine.

Ridin', Racin' and Plantin'

Ridin'

The weather around here has been perfect for riding. Not too hot, not too cold, just right. The wildflowers are in bloom and everyone is planting their gardens.

Jansen's hand was extremely swollen from a hornet sting and it looks like it was going to pop. He took two days off of school and the doctor put him on some meds. Then we passed around a sore throat/head cold/chest congestion. So, our schedule has been a bit off lately, but it's always good to have some forced down time.

Here is a pic of when his hand just started to swell. Then it just got bigger and bigger and bigger. Pretty cool.

Not a lot of ridin' over Mother's Day weekend. Just a ton of yard work....and chocolate.

Racin'

The SERC Ducktown xc race was this past weekend. We had planned to spend the weekend there, but there was a good chance of rain and the extra work to dry out the camping gear was not very enticing. So, the guys headed up at 5am the morning of and I bailed and stayed in bed. Shey and Jansen went off at 9:30am and the rain hit hard on their third lap. Both had good strong races and Everett was there for support. I can't wait to head up there to camp and ride for a long weekend. The trails are pretty amazing!

After I rolled out of bed and took care of a couple hours worth of chores (more about the newly added chores around here later) I decided to head to Snellville to check out a new nursery that just opened. They are supposed to have a great selection of permaculture related plants. (blueberries, tea, veggies, figs, etc) I hooked the trailer to the bike and estimated it would be about 40+miles each way.

Okay, as I headed down the road I decided the Bob trailer was a bit heavy and it was getting pretty hot and muggy, so I would take a short cut to get to Loganville, that would cut out 5+ miles each way.

I got used to the weight of the trailer pretty quickly and the additional speed I picked up on the descents, kept my mph average about the same as it would be without the trailer. Cool. I got to Loganville in under two hours and headed down Hwy 78 to Snellville. I had about 3 more miles to go and as I looked down the hwy the traffic was really heavy and really fast. I started to feel really uncomfortable with the speed and closeness the cars were passing me, so I pulled into a parking lot to decide what to do.

"When in doubt go for ice cream" is my main moto! I had seen a Sonic, so even though I only had a 3 mile ride to get to the nursery, I didn't feel safe on that road and didn't have a backroads alternative, so I headed over to Sonic and purchased the sweetest root beer float. It is a little known fact that a root beer float will indeed give you that little boost that is needed to pull a small steel trailer from Loganville to the other side of Covington, GA!

I called and found out how the guys did at their race and they were already on their way home, so I knew we would get there at about the same time. I hit the road quickly in hopes of beating them to the shower.... Well, damn those head winds, I got them all the way home. How is that possible? I don't know. A small storm was blowing in and it rained just a bit, but the wind was not so much fun and it slowed my average speed by 2 mph on the way back. I got hungry and grumpy because going slow is never that much fun. But, my legs felt good and I was thankful for that. I made it home before the guys and got all the hot water I wanted...after a cold soak for my legs. Then I promptly ordered chinese take-out! It was a good day!

Plantin'

I have pulled up all the spinach and most of the snow peas. Those crops have been replaced with tomatos, cucumbers, peppers, squash, onions, tomatillos, corn, artichokes and more tomatos and more tomatos and more...........

The seeds were really moldy, so I didn't think any of them would germinate. Well, I was wrong and I should not have planted so many in each pot....ooops.

We got our first green tomatos a couple weeks ago.

Asian Pears.

To add to my list of chores, I just got in some more chicks.

I spent an afternoon making a new outdoor cage for the pre-teen chicks, so the day old guys could stay in the basement for awhile. The pre-teens are outside in the coop, now.

Everett is our chicken whisperer. He handles the chickens daily and talks to them, so they will be super friendly when they grow up.