Thought I'd follow suit and help reinvigorate our conus communication portal. Did some AT hiking after tweaking my back and having to stay out of the gym and off the bike for a bit. Two weekends of out and backs, no overnights due to a burn ban in the state forest (still hate camping without the campfire).
Hey, fellas. Sorry I've been so absent on the blog since, well... forever. I spend most of my time elsewhere, but I read many of the posts, rarely respond.
Anyway, in an effort to reconnect with you boys (can't believe I didn't know Schwab had Lymes disease), I thought I'd try this approach.
I'm not even sure if anyone reads this anymore, but here goes...
I haven't posted in exactly one year. Time flies, I guess. My racing season was cut short last year on account of a bad case of Lyme disease. It was terrible and ruined my summer. I stopped riding for nearly three months starting in July. Then it took me about another three months just to get back into shape. I've been riding and feeling well over the past month or so, enough that I felt I could race again. So, I went at it in the Schenectady Easter Mountain Bike Race this afternoon.
Weather was nice, a little chilly. Lots of riders, about 30 or so total. I decided to ride Sport, on account of the above and not really knowing how well or terrible I would do. I've also been fighting off a cold, so I was prepared for the worst.
Race started out kind of mellow and I got after it. Then all of a sudden it was a mad rush and I was pushing way too hard. I backed off and let some riders by and settled in to do my thing. Got in two laps, roughly five miles each. Came in with a time slightly under one hour for the 10 miles, with a 9.5 mile an hour average pace. Amazingly I took first out of a dozen riders, with an easter basket full of candy and gear. I guess I'm back, thankfully. No pics yet.
So we planned a few nights in Santa Fe as I may have mentioned. Monitored weather until the day we were supposed to leave and had to call an audible the night before due to shitty winter weather. The weather map said the South was to be sunny and 60 for our days of travel. Narrowed down to Charleston and Asheville. Asheville wins. Changed flights and lodging and away we went.
Stayed in a loft downtown. Walked the town, ate a ton, hiked, perused some art galleries, etc.
Bulleted Thoughts
-Asheville dining has a lot of focus on local, organic, and fresh; right up our alley so we didn't go hungry.
-I eat my fair share of BBQ, we generally seek it out when traveling for work. Had a lot from MO, TX, AR, and OK. I found the best. 12 Bones in Asheville wins hands down. Not just for one thing, but everything. Ribs, pork, beef, turkey, potato salad, corn pudding, baked beans, green beans. All superior. I can give specific details if you want, but won't bore you here. I ended up eating two dinners and half of Jess' lunch, and yes I finished the cookie and the beer as well.
-Appalacians / Pisgah National Forest is as beautiful as I remember. We were behind the foliage peak, but still lots of bright red to be seen. Blue Ridge Parkway would be a great bike ride. Waterfalls, rhododendron, blue hills, fog, etc. Could spend a ton of time exploring here.
-Neither of us know anything about art, except what we like. The River Arts District is a developing haven for artists rising out of an abandoned industrial area. Very cool and interesting for us even though we know nothing. (I asked before I photographed)
***This will contain a plethora of the typical "boat bow to scenery" shots. You've been warned.***
Few weeks ago had the itch to get back down to the Current for a solo overnighter. Weather has been amazing, so I made the push.
The plan was for 27ish miles, from Pulltite to Two Rivers, where the Jack's Fork joins up. I wasn't going to be on the water until 1PM so I planned to get through a bit more than half and then set up camp on a gravel bar.
Abundant Scenery.
As I passed under a large tree similar to the one at left below, a Bald Eagle took to flight. It takes them a second or two to start gaining altitude, so it flew right over my head and downriver. I could hear its huge wings beating the air. One of those moments where I actually spoke aloud even though no one was there to listen. It got up near the bluff ahead and circled, catching updrafts until I could barely see it. I'd have never noticed, but there were two more up there as well. I don't know if they were eagles or not. Didn't appear to be Turkey Vultures.
Later on I saw another huge bird flying down the river, looked like a Golden Eagle to me.
Almost stopped at Bee Bluff to camp for the night but I was enjoying the river too much to stop. Once dusk came I realized I was moving pretty quickly and had approx. two hours of paddling to go. The allure of a night paddle was too strong so I bundled up and got out the lights. Never had to use them though, the stars were bright.
Talking with Keeven a while back got me thinking about a certain style of motorcycles (and cars and bikes) that I think is cool. The other day I realized that I was a few easy steps away from having my own. Jess' old mtb was just hanging in the rafters, all it needed was handlebars and tires. I pulled off the front brake and lever, inner and outer rings, and front derailleur and shifter. Put on a bash guard from the parts bin. Ran the rear shifter to the seatpost instead, creating by far my most favorite part, the suicide shifter. Slapped on the new bar and tires.
Jess and I headed down to Council Bluff this weekend for a night under the stars. The weather has been great here as of late and we had to take advantage.
Paddled the lake....
And hiked to "The Bluff"....
And in true Seagal fashion took in some Dos Primos. It really is good.
You may remember my old boat, which now belongs to someone else, was nicknamed "The Bernard". I need a nickname for the new boat. It's a bit longer than the last so I was trying to come up with a variation on the original, like Bigger Bernard. It doesn't need to follow that, but I think I like having Bernard in it.
