pedals, not planks.

Went to the WV for the wknd,
good times at the Canaan MTB
festy. Great to see the wintertime
mtn clan, always good times.

The commute down, wierd
to not have snow to contend
with, but those fucking deer
will keep you on your toes...
happy to arrive in time for
the tail end of Icebox movie
night.

Saturday, reunion time at the
venue, BlackWater Bikes, then
off on the big adventure ride,
led by Suzy & Chaga. Rode
stuff I've never ridden before,
and stuff that that noone else
has ridden before, good vibe
happening in the Valley...so
that's what's under all that
snow...good times into the
early eve, then apres', then
beer:30 & Sarianni's and pile
into the van for a trip to rock
out and catch up some more
at Mtn State in Thomas, whuut?

Sunday, solo roadie effort,
putting a fresh tic on that list.
How many years have we driven
down from Mt Storm and drooled
over thoughts of skinny tire carving
that four mile stretch of tarmac?
Was really wishin' for a big ring
along the way, and maybe a bike
with a bit more intuitive handling.
That would be a nice touch.

Was still a shwoopy big grin fun
time for sure, followed by some
sweeeet rolling fresh mtn valley
road tarmac up thru Jordan Run.
Hit most of the mini marts along
the way, not sure which would
be the last before the next stretch
of grey area, 2 bottles vs the Dolly
Sods, hmmmm.

Find the first roadside Nat'l Forest
kiosk for the Sods at the base of FR75.
Check out the map, refamiliarize
and continue to spin on down to
FR19. See the northern tip of the
Gnarly from a new perspective,
wowsers!, and figure my right
turn is coming up soon.

FR19, settle into the 36:28 and
spin on up the hill thru a corridor
of green and gravel for 30 solid
minutes. Hit one of those high
mtn meadows and take in the
glimpse of a view, qwik sugar
calories and turn pedals on
uphill on a bit more, now against
a more give and take relaxing
rolly pitch for another 40ish minutes.
An hour-plus climb? been a while..

Hit the top, start rolling out the
ridge to the north, and suddenly
begin feeling really small and
exposed. Kind of a weird place
up there, so I sat down on a warm
rock and ate some cookies for a
snack break, marveling at how out
of whack my sense of distance had
become.

Pointed the bike back towards
Laneville and rolled down one
insanely nice fireroad descent
for a road bike. Packed tacky
clay w/ narry a stone or rippled
wash along its entirety, save for
one spot at the top that required
a qwik hop, otherwise, hold your
line and let it roll. Barely even any
braking bumps, just magnifique pave'.

Of course I stopped for a looksy at
the trout stream at the bottom and
breathed a sigh of relief for getting
that bit behind me, amazing what
you can do on plain old belted 25's.
Laneville road was classique holler
riding at it's finest, sneaking a peak
at MPC in summer dress. Finish with a
shortish climb up to the Valley, and spin
her home to the IceBox.

good times. To the legs, it felt like mid
70's, clocked out w/ 6 elapsed, 12ish for
a rolling average over the 67 actually
covered. killing it!

(oh, all pics shot with the new
Pentax toy, can't wait to take it
fishin' this wknd, will hopefully
shake off the skunk I picked up
last night and get some under
water shots...fishin's been good
lately, I was due.)