Savage Cross 2013: chronicles of suffering, vomiting on my shoes, and a relaxing, restorative car ride home.

 I am almost ready to relive the experience and pain of the 2013 Savage Cross...

but not quite yet.

Oops-I-forgot-my-phone-at-work! ride

Is this training?

Perfect for the gravel today. Worst possible for the pavement. 60*s, fresh rain.
...Brand new conditions...

Set the gearshift for the highgear of your WOOO!

Super-fast feeling quick all-road ride this afternoon. Erinna is headed out camping so I have Zoe all weekend, this was my last chance for a ride until next week and I made good work of it. From West Asheville->Helen's Bridge->Tunnel->Chunns->Vance Gap->Town Mtn->Patton Mtn->Old Toll->Town Mtn-> back to West Asheville.

I had a very scary moment coming down Patton Mtn. I was 'gettin my Strava on' was really hammering hard, slammed into the big ring while standing, and threw the chain. The cranks ceased rotating and my back wheel came off the ground. I got my foot off the pedal, the back wheel down, and I smashed into the ditch. I came out of it OK but.... damn.

WOOOOOO!!!!!

This morning I met up with Jody F., Dawn C., and Ben W for an out-and-back on Heartbreak Ridge. We started at the geyser and were on the bikes at 10:25. The pace was very strong all day. Jody led out for the start of the climb and cleaned every switchback. I took over setting the pace after a quick break at Star Gap and after a while it was just Dawn and I out front. I let her by and by the time we were nearing the field it was everything I could do to keep her in sight.
We took a nice long breather at the field, looked for game cameras, and talked about how Fall was in there air. Then we turned around and went back down the way we had just climbed.
The descent was absolutely spectacular. The trail conditions were perfect today and the work BRA did before last month's race cleared a corridor like I've never seen up there before. Jody told me to lead the descent so I took it. I was feeling a little apprehensive at the top but got into the groove once we were into the meat of the downhill. The GPS says max 24 mph on trail, so, that's not bad. The biggest surprise of the day for me was Dawn's descending skills. I thought it was Jody behind me for a while but no, Dawn was keeping up even after a few warp speed moments where I had to tell myself to pull it back in a little bit, I was going far too fast for a Thursday day ride where I was playing hookey from work.
We regrouped at the bottom, rode back to the cars, then parted ways as it seemed we all had things to attend to, seeing that it was a Thursday afternoon....
Thanks for getting out there Jody, Dawn, and Ben! That was awesome. WOOOO!!!

Thinking outside of the box

Patton Mtn. KOM (again).

I was off work early today and decided a ride was in order. I didn't have much time and my legs having been feeling extremely fatigued after Friday night's effort and Saturday and Sunday's manual labor around the house. So, it was decided, a quick spin around town, including two of the urban gravel roads.

From West Asheville I went downtown past city/county plaza, up College to Helen's Bridge, down through Kennilworth to Tunnel to Chunn's Cove, Up Vance Gap, Up Town Mountain, Down Patton Mtn, Sunset, Down Old Toll, Macon, back through downtown, got the green at Clingman, over the bridge and up Waynesville and I could have been done but.... was not. I took Haywood to 191 to the transfer station and to Hominy Creek Greenway, then State, Hanover, and back home. 23.1/1922'/1:46.


Oh, and I got back the strava King of the Mountain on Patton Mountain Road from Ian B. I was gunning for it but did not think I had it at the bottom. Conditions: mid 80*'s, sunny, lowish humidity, and the gravel roads were dry but not quite dusty.