Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Sad News Today




Today is a sad day for us...Our beloved "Best Friend" had to be put to sleep...she has had a few seizures over the last few years and unfortunately she had one just a couple weeks ago and then this past evening she had another one. This morning she couldn't move, so I took her to the vet...sadly she had alot of cancer and therefore because she was such a vibrant outgoing girl it was just to hard to allow her to have to go through alot of surgeries and suffering...she went very peacefully in my lap (one of the hardest things I've ever had to do) but I was glad I was there for her...She will be missed very dearly by Jennifer and I, our day to day world will be very out of sync for a bit, but we will manage...even though she was "just" our pet...we were just like what I used to laugh about when I was younger...the old folks replacing the kids when they left home with a pet and they treated their pet better than the kids...YEP THAT WAS US!!! So she was a BIG part of everyday...heck Jennifer always got up every morning earlier than I just to take Sweetie for a walk...Jennifer will probably get me up tomorrow and want to walk me...:), there are countless routines that invloved Sweetie that we are sorely going to miss...thanks to all for your prayers and the affection you used to show Sweetie, we're going to miss her...God Bless!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

AWESOME Winter Ride Today




WRONG, MisterC...ya see Gambrills is pretty resilent in inclement weather...EXCEPT when it turns into an "ice skating rink"...BUT...even then it turns out to be a BLAST...Sanders and I got up there only to go around ONE turn and say "OH SH**" the road and terrain went to total ice...the trees bushes EVERYTHING was covered in ice...went by the parking lot at the yellow trailand only 3 cars were there...we did see 3 bikers heading into the woods...we got up top and I pulled over just to get a picture, couldn't believe the ground cover it was or looked liked ICE CUBES from your ice tray...it was very incredible...welll we headed on down the road to the Towers...as we rounded one corner there was a cop in the road and a car off the road into a tree...three guys standing on the road all looked okay but the car was "demolished"...the roads sucked...we got to the parking area or shall I say another skating rink....

Well Sanders and I were shocked...we decided to take a hike down the trail...man everything and I do mean EVERYTHING was covered in ice, on the ground was ice in the shape of tree limbs and leaves...the whole trail was covered by these chunks OR was simply a smooth sheet...very hard to walk on very slippery...

We hiked quite a ways down the trail all the way to the first 4 way intersection and man...the rocks look wet but were solid ice over them...the log climbs, holy cow were nothing but solid ice too...damn if your going to ride this...

Then all of a sudden my phone rings and it's Crackerass wanting to know where we are he's at the parking area, sees our bikes on our cars but no us...so we started heading back and he rode down to meet us...when he caught up he convinced us to give it a try said it was easier riding then it was walking...OKAY WHAT THE HECK, I'M ALWAYS GAME FOR A NEW EXPERIENCE...when we were getting ready Nate and a couple buddies came riding up via the power line route, thats when we recognized them form earlier as we were driving up...so hey 3 XC guys, so why not give it a go...after they left we finished getting ready then started out...very strange...a little slow start but then started getting the feel for letting the ice and rocks and obstructions kind of slide and bounce ya around like a pin ball and it worked...before long we were breezing right through...very cool...a few time felt a little "sketchy" but we all managed...now we didn't go up over a couple of the big log rollups cause they were covered in ice and worse so were the rocks on the backside...when we got down to the "jump park" only the top jump was doable, cause the landing area was not icy, the second BIG hit was way to icy and so was the landing...made it down to the bottom, then we turned around and HIKED 2 miles UP...what a *****!!!

half way up 6 guys on DH bikes came ripping by...AWESOME...things were looking up, the bottom half was starting to get just a little softer...by the time we got up top we decided "yep lets keep playing"...so we shuttled the cars and went out for another run...was faster and alot more fun this time...Sanders will tell ya about his fun ride down...:) When we got to the car man we found the mud...it was definenetly softer in the bottom half adn the bikes and our butts really showed it, they were covered in Mud...weeehhaaawwww what a frickin blast were having now...the inside of my car is a MESS now...:)


We did our shuttle thing, and decided one more run would be good...have to bring LOTS of food next time and a PU truck then we can stay till dark...this last run was again faster yet, and softer, and sure alot more fun too...I got a flat in the exact location as last week, Sanders bent his hanger and rear derailuer jsut like last week, then at the bottom just as we were coming to the creek crossing near the car Crackerass broke his chain just like David did last week...weird karma...but man that last run was the best...really feeling it and just runnning in a groove felt GREAT I'm lovin this DH stuff!!!! And Man MUD is what mountain biking is all about...

Made it to the car, went up and got Sanders, then headed into town for a great Mexican dinner...yep Mexican Jason, it's a great meal to fill ya quick...:)

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

WOW I've been missing out on this!!!





Yep got the Down Hill Bike out on a true DH run this past weekend and it was a total blast...It is truly amazing how a bike can REALLY make a difference. First off we (Sanders and I) headed out to Gambrills...we drove seperate cars so that we could shuttle...well we got up there to the mountain and parked my car at the bottom then headed up to the trail head...as we pulled into the parking area a couple guys there were getting ready to head out...we made intros and they suggested we ride with them, they had a PICKUP truck at the bottom of the Mt. Yeah!!! the bikes go in the bed and we all can ride up together the easy way...

Well it was very cool these guys knew the route and their not killer banzi leave ya behind kinda riders...the top 1/4 we already knew but then as soon as we went past where I am accustomed to turning it really started to become fast and fun...we then "bermed" up out of the culvert we were flying down and headed into some sweet single track...a couple little jumps, then the flow....STOPPED...a friggin tree had blown over and stopped the flow, and to bad cause just on the other side of the tree was the run down to some sweet BIGGER jumps...so we had to start there and pour it on to hit the first jump then it hits a big right hand smooooth berm towards a LARGE jump..the biggest I've done to date in my short riding history...wow the bike makes the diff...it landed like I just dropped off a curb...on the sites and through write ups I found that the Perp is a top notch bike for "Big Hits" and it certainly proved itself today...after the big hit it was a short stretch down to another little jump which dropped you into a culvert that you then shot up the other side...but wait....dont jump it unless ya got alot of speed....you see...there is a step up on the top, so ya have to have speed to get up on it or fly over it...well MOST come out of the culvert and merge to the right around the "step-up"...oh I didn't do that...I had about half the air I should have NOT had or should have had MORE...consequently I ran straight into the "up" ramp and went flying over the bars and to the right into a big hole...NO PROB...ya gotta love all the body armour and full face helmet, not a bruise, scratch and best of all NO BLOOD...

We played there a bit then continued on down the steep hill to the end...on the way down the "steep", Sanders caught a stick and bent the hell out of his rear derailuer. We got it bent straight again and it continued to work the rest of the day...well one of the "new buddies" David lost his chain so we made a line and all of us climbed the hill slowly looking for the chain...no chain, so we headed down looking again, I couldn't help think its probably right back at the bike at the bottom of the hill...well....yep there it was 3 feet from the bike right in the middle of the trail...Murphys Law...:) Then we loaded the bikes in the truck, and there began my conversion to "The Dark Side"...wow WE RIDE BACK TO THE TOP...now that is riding bikes...funny the only strain today to my heart was due to excitment not the usual strain from pedaling uphill...my Doctor might really appreciate this new venture of mine....:)

Well we spent the reat of the day trying different trails and shuttling back up...we all had so much fun the last run ended at the bottom just as it was getting dark..got off the mountain at 5:30pm...so it was a GREAT DAY and I'm looking so forward to this coming weekend to do it again...for that matter this entire spring/summer has BIG plans for some exciting mountain bike park riding and racing... Check out the Flickr site for pics of the riding...this coming weekend I am going to mount my video camera so that should be fun to watch....

Happy trails...If Ya Hit It...Hit it Big!!!