Southeast Bike Expo 2013

The Southeast Bike Expo was a hit again this year!  The number of bikes available for demo was AWESOME!  

Everett worked at the Specialized tent and they had demos flying off the racks!  Jansen, Shey and I took advantage of the cold weather on the first two days of the event to ride several demos before the crowds would hit on sunny Sunday.  I loved the Scott and Jamis 650b that I rode.  Plus there were bamboo bikes and fat tire bikes.

 Frisbee champions were out en masse!!

 But, these guys were there, also...........

 Bikes of all shapes and sizes!

 We even ran into the Sock Man!

 Snyder Cycles was there showing the big companies how it should be done.

 Cleve and Not Cleve made it out to hassle the crowd.

It was cool to catch up with Eric, since the boys and I didn't hit any cyclocross races this year.  He is a great industry rep and can answer any questions I throw at him.

 Jim invaded the Thomson tent and acted like a rep.

Anyway, it was a great weekend for demos.  You had a huge selection of bikes from at least 12 different manufacturers.  Can't wait until next year!

Shey and Jansen are 1 hour into a 6 hour race at Tribble Mill.  I am home nursing Indy after his surgery.  Everett is working at the bike shop.  Hmmm, 6 hrs of playing in the woods sounds like much more fun than 3 hours of trainer!

Jansen is to the right of the tree on the far left and Shey is three guys to the right of him.  Best of luck to them both!



Kari Lindner

Indy goes under the knife....

Indy and I have matching lumps.  I have a cyst on my wrist and he has a huge mass on his leg.  He needed to have his removed.

But first, he wants a tummy rub.

Our first visit was full of anxiety and we both cried, but the veterinarian was cool and took good care of Indy.  Now it was time to schedule the surgery.  I dropped him off on Friday morning and when I called that afternoon, they said all was well.  Jansen went with me to pick him up.  He has a hot pink bandage......everyone thinks he is a girl!  Poor girly-man.

He was pretty doped up when we brought him home.

He passed out immediately and then woke up several times during the night, but is doing okay today.

The only bummer is that I had to skip racing with the guys today, because it would be too cold for Indy to come with us for a six hour race.   But, I have a trainer, movies, pizza and beer.  It will be a good day.

We should get the test results from the mass in a couple weeks.

Kari Lindner

Why you should check the weather forecast.

We all planned to go to Pete's cabin this weekend, but Everett needed to work and Jansen had a ton of school/scholarship work to do, so it was just Shey and me.  Cool, that doesn't happen often.  I didn't check the weather, but assumed it would be cold.  Before we hit Ellijay, it started to snow.  Shey was less than thrilled, I was really excited!

Grumpy

We couldn't make it to the cabin due to the icy road, so we parked down the road and carried our stuff up on foot.

Pete's cabin is awesome and the small heater heats the whole place up in no time!  The hot tub was awesome with snow coming down around us.   It snowed all night.

The next morning we had a yummy breakfast and headed out on our bikes.  The trails are only a couple miles down the road.

Shey hit Green Mt then Stanley Gap.  He said there was 5 inches of snow at the top that no one had touched!  I wandered around Green Mountain, some fs roads and Aska trail looking for new loops to ride.  It was an awesome ride.

I met a hiker out here with his dog.  The dog was having a blast in the snow!

Great weekend!
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This is what happens when we are gone:

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Florida Trip!

Anet calls me on a Wednesday night and asks if I can come to Florida with her......that Friday.   Everything is taken care of and, due to funeral schedules, her mates were not able to come.   Hmmm, I have a ton to do that weekend, but "free" and "sunshine" are two strong arguments and I throw some clothes in a bag.

We hit Dauset Trails for a run on the way down, so Anet can stretch her legs.  (she is coming from Tennessee)  Great run and fun to hang out together.

We duct tape the car together, so it won't fall apart on the highway.  I tell a million stories about rides and people we know, to keep us awake on the drive.

We stay at a cool little hotel by the San Felasco trail system and wake up to walk across to a very cool diner  that serves an amazing breakfast.

Then it was a 50 mile mtb ride at San Felasco.  It was great to see Jim and Kristen and catch up on what was going on with their family.  The first 30 miles were bouncy from the damage done by boars and I was grumpy.  But then it smoothed out and was fun.

We got our tshirts, food and headed down to Santos to camp.  Then I realized I forgot my tent, so Anet put up the Lamberson condo and I got my earplugs out. : >)


The next day we went for a long run at Santos and headed across the street to the bike shop for beer and firewood.  Sweaty Betty was our favorite.  (I stole the doily from a diner, so we could be sophisticated)

Yes, we are just so bada** that we run up trees!

Then a mtb ride after the run, showers, chinese take-out and beer by the campfire.  Life is just so rough!

Another ride/run on Monday morning, then it is time to head up to the cold rain of TN and GA.

Good times and can't wait to do it again!

Laptop Down!

My laptop crashed and all the photos with it.  Everett is doing his best to retrieve anything he can. Until then, the blog will be stuck in November for a bit......

Great "winter" riding!

The winter has been pretty mild in GA and the riding had been great!  We have been able to meet up with a lot of friends to spin our wheels and hit some yummy cafes (or Waffle House) after.  Life is good!

Here I had to black-out our partner in crime, to hide his identity and protect him from getting caught playing hooky.

Night riding has been good.

Hiking Kennesaw Mountain has become a fun family thing to do.

We have a full stable of Niners now.

Can't believe it's January!  Short sleeved kits!

BBQ at the blind pig.

Here's to lots more fun time together!

Mr. Bacon, Chuck Norris, Mr. T and Batman! Merry Christmas!!!

What makes a Christmas great?  Mr. Bacon, Chuck Norris, Mr. T and Batman, of course!!  I think these were our favorite gifts, for sure!

Everett gave me some really cool tea that makes the whole house smell great.

We did some Christmas shopping at Little Five Points and stopped by to see Hodge at Outback Bikes.  Same old "golden" Hodge.  Love him!

Jansen is not good at sharing the couch at the bike shop.

We not only found a Jefferson Starship tshirt at a thrift store in L5P, but we also found the matching album!!!   What are the odds????  Best name for a mtb team ever, they just won't die!

The holidays were amazing.  Again, we are thankful every week for all the fun we get to have together as a family and the time we share with friends.

Rock Concerts and Family

Jansen and I had tickets to see a band I love, Local H playing at the Masquerade on Friday night.  We also wanted to visit Mom and Dad sometime this month before they headed to Yuma, AZ.  Time was running out, but both boys made it clear that seeing Mom and Dad was top priority and we would make it work.  So.......

We saw theses guys.....and they rocked it!!!!!!!!

And the mellow song that made it to the radio back in the day.....

We got home about 3am, threw clothes in a bag and headed out to the airport to fly to TX.  I sat next to an older gentleman on the plane that I could not hear due to the "cotton in my ears" from the jam a few hours before.  So, I smiled and nodded.  (stamp from Masquerade)

Mom and Dad picked us up from the airport and we had a really great day together visiting and catching up.

We walked around Boerne and picked out our Christmas cookies from Bear Moon Bakery.

The guys hung out and talked tools and projects.

The next day we stopped at the outdoor market in town and Jansen made a friends.  They talked for a long time about woods and finishes.  I see this guy and his really cool pens at the Saturday market every year, but this time we spent some time with him and bought two awesome pens.

Hey, Taco Cabana, of course!!!  Love hanging with my amazing parents and they are the best grandparents you could have!

Then, after flying in the previous morning, it was already time to fly back home.  Bummer, but we spent some really good time together and can't wait to see them again this spring!

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Kari Lindner

Asheville in the Fall

 

Jansen and I drove to Asheville, NC this past weekend to pick up a new-to-me boat from Karen Masson.  We left early and met up with Zach for a late morning ride at Bent Creek.  Fun ride with lots of fall colors!

 

We haven't seen Zach in a while, so the guys had a lot of catching up to do. 



Z and J wanted to head into downtown to go to a shop that carries recovered exotic woods and cool wood working tools, but they closed early on Satudays and we couldn't make it there in time.  So, Jansen and I headed over to pick up my boat from the Masson's.  We got to hang out with Marv, Karen and the boys for a bit, which was nice since they are moving to Australia soon.  They will both be sorely missed in the outdoor community.  Karen had run the Shut-In race that morning and had finished with a great time, despite a bad fall near the finish.  We left with a boat, some cool power tools and I even got a great winter coat. 


When I sold my old Perception Dancer, we got a two person kayak so two of us could hang out together at a time when paddling.  However, the boat is super heavy and hard for me to lift by myself if I want to paddle alone, so I am jazzed to get a lighter boat, again.  Here is my new girl!

Karen at an old single speed race.  Pink t-shirt and skirt!

 

After we left the Masson's we were starving, so we hit Five Guys for yummy burgers, then headed out to Zach and Beth's cabin for the night.

 

Gracie, Pre and Toby kept us entertained all evening while we talked and got caught up with what eveyone had been up to the last couple years.

 

 

Gracie

 

Pre

We rolled out around 8am the next morning and headed to Brevard to ride with more friends.  Jansen would take off with Tristan and Cara was meeting me to explore the area.

J and T.

Cara climbing, climbing, climbing.

And crossing bridges, after dipping a foot in a few creeks.

 

 

The weather was amazing and the fall colors were great!  Jansen and I  had a lot of fun and my legs will be tired on my ride today, for sure.  I am so stoked to take the boat out this weekend....or sooner!

 

 

 

Big thanks to J for being a great guy to road trip with.  8 hours of constant entertainment!  I feel the need to get a 50cc moped........

 

 

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