Pisgah Mountain Bike Trip NC

Well, I took a trip to Pisgah with some friends, It was an incredible trip full of adventure and fun but overshadowed by an unfortunate disaster that left one of my friends in the hospital. Reconstructive surgery and pins were necessary to try and fix his shattered wrist. The doctor believes he will gain full use of his hand in about a year or so.

The trip started early morning, loading the five bikes, we had to bolt bike racks to the floor with make shift pins and plumbing straps to hold the bikes upright for the day long trip. I rented a Ford Expedition SUV and a small covered trailer. I was originally going to rent a big RV and tow it, but after calculating RV rental and fuel cost against the cost of staying in a hotel for four nights, it would have cost double to take the RV. The bikes were stored in the same trailer they were being transported in so it was convenient and worked out really well. the small trailer wasn't even noticeable behind the huge SUV. We took turns driving so the trip was very pleasant and fun, it felt like we were hanging out rater than driving across the states from, Kentucky to North Carolina.

We got there at 1am, but we were up and riding by 9am. Pisga is incredible, the riding, as challenging or tame as you want it to be. The landscape is spectacularly beautiful, doted by pristine waterfalls and mist covered mountains perfectly framed  by a lush forest canopy. The occasional surprise wooden bridge or creek crossings kept you on your toes so to speak. It was a common thing to see deer sprint out in front as you as you claim one more foot of glorious trail. At one point we did a climb that took us the better part of three hours. but the down hill we got in return was sublime. I cant wait to go back in May. I will be dreaming of the flowing fun singletrack paradise that is Pisgah

One of my new DH trails

Well, here I am again, the doughnut race was a blast, lots or riders and lots of sponsors. more on that later. I have been talking to some local guys and we are planing a trip to a local DH park, there is this event called the fall gathering, from what I understand its a bunch of  down hiller's showing up at the same time and riding the day before Halloween. Sounds good to me, I'm already planning the trip, I'm thinking of renting a small camper trailer, I will show up Friday afternoon and ride all day Saturday, pack up and head home just in time for Halloween. you might be wondering how come I wont be driving the T3 Vanagon....I will tell you why, because the trans gave up the ghost. it wont go into 3rd or 4th....so now I have to order a new trans, engine will be next.... anyways back on topic, here is a short video on the trail, it will give you an idea of the trail, bear in mind the camera makes everything look smaller than it really is. Sexy....I know

Dirt, Guts and Donuts II

The Best Race Ever!!!

Here it is, Ive been here for less than a month and the first bike race in October is coming up in less than two weeks, My bikes will be here in three days so I'm going to go for it. My goal is simple, dont be last. This simple goal might be harder than it sounds, being as I haven't even seen my bikes for over three months and haven't been able to ride one in almost four. The good thing is that the looming race will give me the motivation I need to get on the bike and train hard for the next two weeks. I have to loose at least 10lbs, that will be the easy part. I have to get acclimated and learn the terrain. I dont even know where the place is that the race is being held. No worries, I have a plan. If I'm not doing to good by the time I reach the second doughnut shop, I will stop and eat my way to victory. One thing I got on bike racer types is I can eat some Krispy Kremes like no ones business. While their super tuned digestive system revolts from all the grease and sugar, my goat-like stomach will be chugging away efficiently, digesting the tasty fatpills, fueling me like spinach fuels Popeye. I'm even taking a water bottle full of milk, I will use it to intimidate the competition into submission. That or I will cramp up into a ball and puke my guts out before the first stop....

WE MADE IT HOME

Well, the Vanagon T3 performed perfectly the whole way. Matter-o-fact it was an incredibly smooth drive, We were cruising at 65 to 70mph the whole way. Fuel consumption was great, no leaks no smells, absolutely flawless. I think part of the reason was because when I picked her up, I had to go get fuel, I had a plastic root-beer bottle and I filled it whit gasoline. I put in the glove box and I had a heart to heart with her. I told her that if she stranded me, I was going to pour the gas all over her and set her on fire.....it worked.

About the Greyhound bus.... I have to let it sink a little more before I comment, at this very moment I'm not sure I was amused or disgusted. Kind of like when you get on a really wild ride, it takes a bit before you know if you liked it or not...I will say, when I got home I showered for almost 2 hours.

Time to pick up the Vanagon T3

Well, I got the call, The Van is here, or there, depending on how you look at it. I'm in the border between Tennessee and Kentucky, the van....well the van was shipped to St Louis Missouri. Now I have to find a way to get from a small town in the middle of two states to a major city in the middle of two completely different states. I have to make my way 260miles thats 418.4 for the metric guys, then drive the unproven almost 30 year old Vanagon T3 with over 2k miles on the odo, all the way back, no tools, no spare parts, no nothing. I only have till Friday before storage fees start, today is Thursday, I feel like I'm in some contest.

I thought about hitchhiking my way there, this has tremendous promise of being a lot of fun, the down side of it is, I cant control when I get there, I need to arrive Friday morning, so I didn't consider this option for long.

Option two is, fly there, I can catch a cab to the shuttle terminal, from the shuttle terminal I can ride a van to the Nashville Air port, an hour and a half away, fly into ST Luis and catch another cab the 21 miles to the Overseas Vehicle Processing Station. and then drive back.

Or three, catch a Greyhound bus, I can take a cab to the bus station in town, ride the bus to ST Louis then take a cab to the VPC.

Based on my past experiences.....I'm taking the bus, I'm considering it a cross between hitchhiking and flying. If this bus is anything like the last bus I got on, this should be a heck of a lot of fun. I think its the closest I can get to hitchhiking and still control when I get there. I expect to meet and see some interesting individuals in a six hour bus ride. The great unknown still remains how will the Vanagon T3 behave, she does have a peculiar sense of humor, I just hope this time, the joke, is not on me.

Got The New House Today

Well, went and signed my life away and got the keys to my new home, the house was finished 2 weeks ago. I'm exited, but I think I overdid it, well, at least I wont be short on space for all my gear, bikes and Kayaks. The sucky thing is I have to buy lots of furniture because the house is more than twice the size of my condo in Hawaii, as a mater of fact the kitchen dining room and second living room are bigger then my condo was, not to mention the extra bedrooms and the main living room.

I have been taking cabs since I arrived two days ago, you can see one in my driveway, and let me tell you, it has gotten expensive really fast. I cant wait to pick up the T3 Vanagon in a few days, and thats a huge worry for me all on its own. I have to take a greyhound bus all the way to Saint Luis Missouri, about 5 hours away one way. Then I have to drive back with the Van, unproven over such a long distance and I have no tools or spare parts. I guess we will find out if I'm as good a mechanic as I hope I am.

Truck is on its way

Shipped the Truck yesterday, It was painless compared to shipping the Van, It took about an hour or so. I washed it and drove it right to the port. I had to take an extra long detour because I had put a needles width to much of fuel in the tank, and from my experience with the T3 Vanagon, I was not going to chance it. I arrived with the needle right at the 1/4 (.25 of my fuel tank capacity for you metric guys) mark, so no arguments from the draconian port officials. Getting back home was another issue all to together, those of you that know me really well know I'm not known for my thorough well tough-out plans or for my spelling abilities while were at it. 

I eventually gave up on trying to hitch a ride or find a bus stop near the terminal and ended up calling a cab. while riding on the cab I decided that a stop at the Aloha tower and Gordon Biersch was in order, after an incredible Oktoberfest themed lunch, I took a short walk to a near bus stop. After waiting for almost an hour in the blazing sun, my bus finally arrived. I boarded and soon noticed the smell of alcohol and tobacco, interesting I thought, I soon realized that I had been missing out all these years, it turns out the public bus was more entertainment than HBO on a Friday night. I dont know what was more fun to watch the drunk guy trowing up in the back of the bus, the lady screaming at the bus driver or the crazy homeless guy urinating down the rear exit steps. that was on a 20 minute ride, can you imagine all the fun I have been missing out on all these years. we will never know.....