With the heat ratcheting up a notch the dog days of summer have officially arrived. Speaking of which, Boogy has lost about 10 lbs and is much more active as of recent. We’ve been taking him occasionally to a pond behind our neighborhood where there have to be about 50 bullfrogs that regularly congregate for the usual casual coupling and what not. The hilarity started the first time we took Boogs with us. The pond is only about 30-40 feet in diameter and as Boogy runs around, the frogs all jump into the water just out of reach in front of him and drive him absolutely nuts. They hop back out of the water relatively quickly and the process repeats itself until all the frogs are in the water, at which point Boogy leaps forth and tries even more sadly to get them in their element. He usually does some shallow dives with his head and ends up getting a bit choked up. Meanwhile more frogs make their way back on the bank and the process resets itself. The first night we did this, Boogs went non stop for about 30 minutes. Every now and then we’ll catch one for him to sniff and that eye and nose near the prize keeps him very motivated.
Some of the bullfrogs are pretty big and must smell good to dogs.
Boogs also went to Bark at the baseball park last week and met lots of other dogs there. While I was unable to attend due to my rescue squad shift Monday night, Abby informed me that there was a doorbell sound they played several times over the speakers, which set off a chain reaction of dogs barking around the field. On one occasion the pitcher had to actually stop and laugh.
Waiting for balls (base variety)
Two weekends ago we also fetched a very large piece of driftwood Abby had been eyeing on the shore at Concord park. Our plan is to somehow get this monstrosity out of the water enough to cut it up into segments and make benches out of it. While I was sick on the retrieval day, Abby and her parents paddled our canoe over to the park, tied the log up and towed it back to our shoreline near the house where it is tied now. The log turned out to be 35 feet long and unexpectedly huge. So now were’ brainstorming of different way to get it out of the water with everything from a boat trailer idea to a hand winch and levering it up onto the shore. For now we’re content to let it sit while we think of the best way.
Loading up Boogy who was little to no help and 60-70 lbs of extra weight (wet dog).
Corralling the log from the shoreline where it was half floating was no easy task.
Log wranglers.
Pre departure from Concord with Boogy offering some help by standing on the log. It took 30 minutes to get over to the log and about 1:30 to paddle back with it.
A friend of mine and a helluva cross racer, Travis Book and his band the infamous stringdusters came to town Friday and I decided I was going to go see them. His wife also happened to cross paths with him this particular evening and she opened in a solo act for his band. She did a Blue plate special with WDVX on the radio and they both brought down the house that evening. My interest in live Bluegrass and the like were rekindled by the night's performances.
My first blue plate special at the new venue.
Travis and his wife live on the air.
The Infamous Stringdusters burning it up and kicking ass! (as I blind them with my flash on...oops, amateur move)
Before the show we also stumbled across the Knoxville 4 square guild. They play every Friday night they can on the stage at Market square. There were girls in dresses, little kids, and even dudes with megadeath and my bloody valentine shirts playing. The most aggressive and dastardly players were actually the little kids as they were so damn low to the ground it was hard to cover their shots. My first round I tried to take it easy on this 5 year old with a snap on bracelet and she spiked it in my face. Needless to say the next time around I had no qualms shoving the ball at her with some speed. I made my way to the "King" square once. Up to this point in my life I had never played 4 square so I had a blast.
Abby also found a dachshund puppy she just had to hold.
The following morning at 5:45 Am Abby and I headed home for a father's day ride with mom and dad. We rode from the 421 Bridge over Holstonmtn down past backbone rock and into Damascus. It was nice to see my old stomping grounds and riding to Damascus reminded me how painfully long it's been since I rode mtb there. I feel a challenge loop trip coming on soon on the old Iron mtn trail.
Our Route.
Elevation covered (small hill repeat on the way back)
A mailbox at the boat ramp was properly themed for the weekend's ride.
Riding up the winding road to the top of HolstonMtn.
Coming into Shady valley. Cloud cover stayed with us most of the day making a day that was supposed to sweltering, not to shabby.
Shady valley is absolutely beautiful and has lots of neat things to look at like this stone barn and grain elevator.
421 through Shady valley is diverted for motorized traffic past this point. A huge sinkhole opened a few months back, due to draining of the underground water aquifer and it was still expanding when we rode by it. It was amazing to see it slowly just sinking before our eyes. It looked like the pit in return of the Jedi where Jaba the Hut throws all his debtors.
Another view of country roads through the valley.
In the fall the cranberry festival in Shady Valley is where it's at.
Sorry Knoxville "the Dragon" doesn't have anything on "The Snake". This tower at the main motorcycle stops will gladly attest to that.
In July the country store plays the Tour De France live for all the motorcyclists to watch. Last summer we stopped in and there were a surprising number of them watching. The motorcyclists up here also seem to be a bit more tolerant of cyclists railing down the corners on the mtn.
There are two types of fuel here for you motorcycle.
Venomous with a little heed might just be the secret to success in the mtns. I'll test it next time.
Tater wedges and a big sandwich in Damascus helped power us back over the mtn.
Dairy King is also much better than the Queen.
Apparently the firefighters here are a little non traditional when it comes to training.
A neat display on the side of someones barn just outside of Damascus.
A few years back this thing was a rust bucket, I think it's been painted since then.
Looks better in B&W anyways.
TN never lets you forget you're coming into our great state.
The backbone rock area has a nice stream for dipping into, good shade, and scenery...ahem Caleb and Andy take note (just a few miles out of Damascus and worth the trip).
Backbone rock.
Climbing back up into shady valley. We met a few TCRC people on the way back and rode up into the valley with them.
Shady.
By the time we looped back by the sinkhole it had deepened about 8 feet and the road around the hole was beginning to collapse...crazy.
Clouds started looking less friendly and more ominous. Descending on the frontside of Holston ran into some sprinkes and made it back to the car just in time to avoid a spectacular thunderstorm.
At home we watched as my parent's resident fat chipmunk battled with birds for feeder supremacy. The munk won most of the time.
Commuting is back in full swing and my back is doing much better. I can put in long slow miles without my it complaining too much now, which is a welcome change. Last month I got a commuter award that motivated me further to avoid taking slack days by just riding to the bus stop and as a result I’ve put in several hundred miles plus in the previous weeks of commuting. (Big for me especially with loaded panniers) Last week was the longest in a while with a total tally of 165 miles from Monday through Friday.
It's a major award! Not quite as a good as a leg lamp, but it will do.
Stashed a "greenway broom" along this wall near walmart to sweep off glass from above.
I need to remember to bring some spray paint to disguise the new public tool.
Somehow I’ve been dodging most but not all of the afternoon thunderstorms. (yesterday I got hammered in a severe thunderstorm shortly before getting home) For a few I’ve had to hunker down in park shelters, but for the most part I’ve been hitting the lulls in between well. The weather for morning commutes has been cool and damp followed by hot clammy afternoons, so motivating myself to ride in the mornings has been a lot easier.
Looking out the lab windows some days...
It feels safer to stay a little later and get some extra work done.
Torrential rains always generate interesting water hazards.
Fenders are good.
Condo construction is bad.
Complaints to the city that make them repave quickly...good.
Lots of debris on the way these past few weeks.
Strawberry and banana shakes await me at home in the evenings as I sit on the porch and watch the distant thunderstorms. Got out for a little trail work here and there and now I’ve really got the hankering to get back on the mtn bike. I’ve got it all adjusted and set up, I just need a week or so of dry weather so I don’t go shredding up wet trails.
Finally got a weekend to take it a little easy, did some yard work and a nice long rec road riding with D, DH, and E out far west on Sunday. I now have an upgraded cycle computer, which lets me log some ride data. I'm most interested in the elevation profiles, but I'm sure I figure everything out in short order. Here's my first attempt at a data log from our nice easy little ride...
Our route.
Speed? Clearly something happened here...
Elevation profile seemed to work well.
Looking forward to fat tire riding in the very near future...
In other news the new "Earth Unfare" opened at the old Bi-Lo site. While I support a message of sustainability their example is laughable. The parking lot was full of people from the Sequoyah hills area who drove their suburbans anywhere from about 1-3 miles down to the store (probably alone). I observed a woman in an Escalade parked with its engine running to keep the A/C on, while talking on her cell phone as I took a picture of this...
This is a bin of water bottles for people on the greenway to entice them into the store where they can buy a $5 head of organic lettuce trucked here all the way from California in much smaller quantities than your typical veggie shipments. (Don't worry it was probably solar powered) Bottled water is perhaps the pinnacle symbol of modern day wastefulness and unsustainability in a community where public water supplies are perfectly good to drink from. However, they did have a recycle bin next to it so the bottles could be trucked away, reconstituted releasing a variety of "toxic compounds" and resold to another customer who has been brainwashed into believing everything public is going to give you cancer. Funny thing is there were 5 empty bottles on the ground and 2 in the recycle bin when I went by. I challenge anyone who says our public water is bad to go to Mexico and have a cool glass of water without getting a raging case of GI disturbance. Until people learn to reproduce responsibly, organic sustainability is a waste of time as our carrying capacity for the planet is already reaching critical levels with current food production.
At least the New Earth Fare is in the third creek watershed vicinity so if you need an extra organic, chemical free, spring fed water bottle just head on downstream to the TN river pollution booms at the end of the tainted tributaries and pick one up.
And this morning another frivolous adventure in excessive over activism...
Another lengthy but action packed weekend report...
In my latest installment into the paved world of bicycle racing I fared well yet again and our team shined again with excellent tactics to sweep all the top spots in the omnium.
Roan Groan (Road Race)-
I was the ire of the weekend, as apparently no roadies understand bling.
As we turned out of the parking lot 3 guys attacked.The absurdity of this move was soon mocked in kind by the peloton but it was entertaining to see them get about a mile down (until they were about the size of ants) the road and then reel them in within about 5 minutes.I could hear the fail music playing the background. (Wah wah wahhhhhhh).As we got a little further down the road and began some gentle rollers I realized quite suddenly and unpleasantly that I was going to have to urinate.My water bottles were both full at this juncture so I immediately ruled out that option.Two of my teammates were on the front of the peloton so I sprinted hard as I could to the front of the group and told them I was attacking up the road to pee and to slow things down if they could.I got about a 40 second gap on the field and pulled it over for the fastest pit stop of my life.Lesson learned, don’t over hydrate before the race in the morning and excessive caffeine is bad to that end as well.
As we approached the base of the climb a moto ref came back to inform us that a break that had formed off of one of the small climbs leading up to Roan was now 3 minutes up the road.At this point we had just turned right towards the mtn and there was visible agitation in the group.The UK collegiate squad, which had a sizeable team presence, moved to the front and started working pretty hard.As we approached the first pitch of climb we pulled in all the escapees save one who was still up the road barely in sight.After a few more minutes of sitting on some UK wheels I decided to make the first move out of the pack bringing Cameron and Tim with me with a small signal.As we moved to the front the field was already fracturing and the chase group with the climbers on the day was now forming.
Cameron and I took a few digs and then some very strong Krystal riders took a few digs as we clawed our way towards the last remaining and defiant rider ahead.It was apparent at this rate we would not catch him, so Cameron and I both upped the tempo until we were noticeably closing the gap at the risk of popping we had to catch the man up the road.As we approached him we took a small rest and then with a surge designed to drop him as we passed, we shot by on the false flat area.
I looked behind me and to my surprise this guy had latched on as we passed him at probably a good 8 mph faster than he was going.This was frustrating combined with the fact that Tim had started cramping and now the sole break away consisted of Cameron, “Strong Krystal climber guy”, and break away guy in 29’er outfit.At 3 miles to the top of Carver’s Cameron laid down a wicked attack which I was prepped for as he slid by me and we managed finally to shed 29’er guy.Then there were three…
Krystal guy wasn’t taking any digs with Cameron and I doing the blunt of the work up the climb.Cameron put in another scorcher and we almost lost contact. Then Krystal guy vaulted in front of Cameron who was recovering of his latest attack and got a good gap on both of us.At this point I thought the race was over but Krystal guy had cooked himself pretty good and I was able to pull back up to him even after a stupid mis-shift which caused my chain to temporarily derail.At this point it was apparent Cameron was going to stay about 60 feet back and it was up to me to try to fend off the Krystal.We traded repeated attacks back and forth and we were at a virtual stalemate.We knew that the course ended after a slow rounding left, it just was in no way apparent which one it was.We sprinted around several corners only to be greeted by more climbing. Rounding the final slow left corner towards carver’s gap he dropped his head for just a moment and I decided to go.As I slid by I heard a grunt of frustration and this helped fuel my effort.
As I rounded the corner I saw people and cars parked and decided this must be it, or near to the summit so I put it in the big ring and put everything I had into it.If I had not gotten a few bike lengths on Krystal guy he surely would have beat me at the line as my final pedal strokes across it felt like wet noodles trying to dance on the pedals.So I started out the weekend with a win and whole lot of lactic acid in my legs.It was very exciting to get a mtn top win and the balds on top were stunning combined with the scenery.I was in my own personal finish in the Appalachian Alps.Cameron managed to fend off the 29er’ guy and Tim and Rich Kidd (aka Shaggy) were not far behind.Our team racked up yet again.
It must have been the bling.
Time trial-
The time trial was the penultimate in "sufferfestability".The left hand loop barely a mile included a rather steep hill, which you had to ride completely once and then ride halfway up again to finish.At 1.7 miles I knew this was not going to be my course.Every ounce of anaerobic threshold, V02 max, and dry heaving threshold I had was not enough to pull off my performance at the Springer TT but I was very satisfied with a 4th place finish, missing the podium by .5 seconds.Shaggy and Tim had phenomenal performances and pulled in at second and 3rd respectively.Cameron pulled off an 11th place finish, even with a few shifting problems.
The Crit-
We had a mixed start in the front and rear of the field until we could get linked up together in the peloton.
Traffic was thick for the first few laps until Chuck popped some people off the back.
The Zebra striped, red shouldered warriors dominated the field.
Once again the highlight of strategy for the weekend we slayed this thing like death metal guitarists at an all night rave.Right off the gun the Honorable Charles Cerney, a traffic court man by day, shot off the line in complete reckless disregard for posted speed limits and signals flying through the course.Our plan was to have him burn a few laps and hopefully drop a few people off the back.It worked beautifully and thanks to him a few people we were worried about in the GC were actually dropped.From here out we moved slowly up the field from the middle of the pack towards the front, assembling our troops for the ensuing battle to come.
The course was hairy to say the least.The main drag funneled down into a one lane chicane of an alley which then proceeded through a series of S turns that proved very technical and devoid of many truly safe lines.Again here mtn bikes cornering can in handy and I found that I was able to accelerate at the end of the straight into the corner and duck lower inside where I did the majority of my passing.Cameron and I both tried some dig on the front and attacks but nothing stuck.At about ½ way there was a prime that I somehow won and got my lunch paid for the day at a local sandwich shop.
After that sprint as the field was recovering a man jumped with Cameron on the front and they were able to stick about a 7 second gap on the field.I made my way to the front of the peloton and commenced gap extension.I managed with a little help from Shaggy to extend this gap to a maximum of 20 seconds.Then the UK squad leaped into action.A flurry of coordinated attacks from their 5 riders halved the gap in short order.With my advantage off the front stretch corner I eventually figured out a good place to repeat a pass after sucking wheel the entire front stretch each lap.As I dove into the alleyway and S turns I would purposely soft pedal and drop the speed of the peloton a few mph.This worked beautifully for the rest of the race.While it was hard work it was enjoyable and every time the UK team’s coach or rider’s voices would pipe up behind me in a streaming line of obscenities, it would only strengthen my resolve to sit on the front and not work for that sake of Cameron in the break.I managed to keep their advantage between 12 and 15 seconds until the end of the race.
Cameron and his break mate.
I tried my best to move to the front on the tight turns, where I could out corner my competitors in efforts to control the field.
Speaking of dirty tactics many thanks to Alex Dayton a Jr. who was “spotting” for me.I told him if he let my break stick I would be his lead out man in the field sprint for 3rd.He agreed and when a rider would move up to pass he would call out the side the attack was coming from so I could move over and cover it.This was ultra frustrating to the riders behind but I decided if I could keep the whole field at bay by myself they just weren’t trying hard enough to reel in the break.
Alex riding "spotter" behind me.
Shortly after here I would move over to cover the UK guys as Alex let me know which side they were on.
The final lap was a pure cluster of hell, attacks came from every direction.The hornet’s nest of riders I had been throwing rocks at the previous 10 laps by myself was alive and pissed.The UK guys all dropped in front of me and pulled Tim and Shaggy with them along with some others, as I was spent at this time and I knew the break was going to stick till then end.As we rounded the final S turn an overzealous UK rider exceeded the friction coefficient for his tires and hit the deck hard sending riders in every direction, as he was the 3rd man back in the peloton.My last vision of Tim saw him flying into the curb and Shaggy just barely missed getting clipped by a rider on the inside.I managed to claw my way from about 20th at this point up to 7th and to my jubilation heard that Cameron had pulled off the sprint win!Unfortunately with his win Cameron and I tied for omnium points and he won out with his better placing overall in the weekend events, but I wasn’t so concerned with that as the fact that our team once again dominated the overall taking the first 3 spots of the omnium points series.
In all, another awesome day of teamwork!I think an upgrade to Kitty 3 road rider is on its way and if so, this I will be truly sad and missing having teammates like this around me to support and return the favor.I need to get back in the dirt soon, or I might start liking this road racing stuff.
Thanks mom for all the crit shots with a point and shoot camera.
KONA BEER has come to Knoxville. It's actually been in the Kroger near my house for close to a month but, with a few people discovering it this past weekend at the disc burner, I figured I'd put my two cents in and promo a good brew. I ran into a rep and his van at the Kroger a few weeks back and he hooked me up. Plus Kona beer helped fuel the courage for me to ask my girlfriend to marry me on the big island of Hawaii the time I first tried it there, and it seems to have worked out well so far. So go buy a 6 pix and support "BEERVIRSITY" in the community. It's been shown time and time again in microbial and macro Ecology that Ecosystems with a higher diversity index are more healthy.
Commuting is slowly picking up and yesterday I made some marginal choices on riding, but ended up ok. Somehow I thought I would be able to dodge the rain and ended up getting about a mile from campus and having to hide under the Alcoa highway bridge in a downpour with hail and lots of lightning. I hate going by the transmission tower on the 3rd creek greenway especially when it’s popping from all the charges trying to build up on it. Needless to say the ride was spirited till I could get clear of a big thunderhead that had developed over my head.
Pretty from a distance
Grocery getting has also recently re-commenced by bicycle on a regular basis for us and we enjoyed a little ride to the store this past weekend for a few necessities.
Now I’ve been an okay fan of Kroger for a while now, but seriously whoever designed the official bike racks to be at the back of the parking lot, not near the store, you’re lame. So we usually lock our rides to the dining porch iron fence in civil disobedience and protest to this matter.
As we locked up this week I saw an amazing “mobile home rig”.This guy had managed to get everything including the kitchen sink onto a well-camouflaged urban/suburban assault vehicle. He also has managed to equip his ride with a state of the art alarm system in the form of a dog, complete with dog bed. I was able to sneak past the alarm system for a few close-ups on the rig and found that clever use of blocks of wood and pipe clamps is all you need to make a sturdy reliable pickup bed on the back of your bike. I unfortunately missed the departure of the hobo bike man, as I wanted to see if the dog got to ride shotgun or got to run beside the guy and his ride like in turner and hooch.
Home furnishings complete with pet and reflectors.
The alarm system seemed to be turned off.
I counted 22 pipe clamps over the entirety of the ride.
After a few photos I found that the alarm system was in fact armed and a little cranky.
Other recent randomness...
There is a new spiral of death under construction in the pedestrian mall area. Looks like a new stage in the new year's garage crit series.
Some of the bullfrogs are pretty big and must smell good to dogs.
Waiting for balls (base variety)
Loading up Boogy who was little to no help and 60-70 lbs of extra weight (wet dog).
Corralling the log from the shoreline where it was half floating was no easy task.
Log wranglers.
