2011

This year has definitely been interesting for me as far as my cycling and fitness training is concerned. I had big intentions for the year as always with less than spectacular results. I had visions of Mt. Mitchell and doing lots of major climbs and to get thin and fast.
I did a moderate amount of climbing not to include Mitchell. I did however come to the conclusion that my cycling was not about being the fastest fittest one in my group but just to be true to myself by doing the best that I can with the time I have.
My motocross riding has gotten better and have begun riding at some local tracks with my young buddy Zach. It has been a great way to have fun and get the core stronger. I have since constructed another jump at my home track and continue to get stronger and faster. Not too bad for a 40 year old!
This year has brought with it many challenges not related to cycling. Our son has had to be placed into a residential care facility to get the help he needs to overcome emotional issues from early childhood prior to our adopting him. We have prayed and persevered with him and we are hoping for great things from his time there. It is beyond me that there are parents out there who will totally ignore a baby to the point that they cannot develop social and emotional skills that it takes to give or accept love. It's difficult to think of and I pray that God will put those things in him.
My great freind Stephen is now in China for six weeks and while he is gone I have to ride and push myself alone much of the time. My dad and buddy Mike have filled in and ridden with me some which has been nice.
I have enjoyed being a part of Dailymile.com with some of my good freinds. It is a social networking website much like facebook that is geared toward cycling and running. Check it out if you can and become friends with us and log your own personal training.
I have new motivation as of the past few weeks due to having reached a new weight loss goal of 180 lbs. When I began my cycling I was a large out of shape 250lbs. and got down to 205-215 and maintained that for almost two years. I then began a long struggle to lose more but fought within myself and just couldn't seem to do it.
This past september I finally had enough and began a nutrition program that I stuck with and now am 182lbs. The change has been crazy-good and my climbing skills have improved drastically. I still hope to lean down to close to 170 but for cycling purposes had to add calories for fuel and have maintained well. I will begin to manage intake and try to slowly lean down to my goal.
I plan on getting back to my blog and posting training news and fun stories again so be watching for more on that.
To those who don't like to train in the winter I challenge you to get some warm gear and get to it, you are missing out! More to come...

Motocross kids

While cycling has taken a break this saturday we were still busy doing something fun and interesting. My son Robbie and I went down to Orangeburg to get the new(used) honda CR250R that I had been looking at and talking about for the last couple of weeks. I wanted to get another motocross bike to ride with the kids on theirs and it finally worked out! I sat them up on it while on the stand and took their picture. Then they got side by side an it looked like Evie was the mini-me! Anyway they loved it and were in awe of the new Big bike.
I too was somewhat in awe of it when I rode it the first time and realized that I had not ridden a full blown motocross bike this fast in a very long time, the thing is a BEAST! Fast isn't the word, scary more sums it up; but by the end of yesterday after playing in the field with it I finally got used to the power and could relax a bit. After about 20 minutes though my arms pumped up so bad I had to get off of it for fear of hurting myself. More cycling stories to come next week, but for now the motocrossing will have to do.

February 5th Paris Mt. Swamp Rabbit adventure!

Our first climbing adventure started out in downtown Greenville at the Swamp Rabbit trailhead near the center of downdown. We headed north on the trail and spun our way to the Sunrift Adventures outfitter store in Travelers Rest. We stopped for a relief break and then headed south again. We had it in mind to divert to the Altamont Rd. route over Paris Mt. Jim and I were actually reluctant to do so but at the risk of being ridiculed severely by Stephen we did it anyway.
About half way up the climb I was well aware of why we were so reluctant, it was hard! This time of year isn't normally climbing time for me so I was feeling it bad along with my partner in pain Jim "The Package"(little inside joke). When I hit what they call "the wall" I stood up in the pedals and gave it all I had, which wasn't much. We finally made it to where Stephen and Stephen(Big Bird) were, Jim and I were cooked like grilled chicken! We made it though. We decided that there was some satisfaction in being 200lbs and still being able to climb in February. "Being able to climb", used very loosely here.
The descent began after we all stopped for the two pictures shown here as evidence that I am not a liar. I being a confident and normally fast downhiller tamed the steed due to wet sandy roads. Then it happened!
On the way down I noticed two other cyclists coming up the mountain seemingly as fast as we were going down. It was George Hincapie himself, all decked out in BMC glory with another guy(no disrespect intended to him, but we were descending)whom I didn't recognize. It was my 4th Big George encounter since my cycling began 5 years ago. Exciting stuff for a nobody like myself, and of course, the others...hahaha!
Our day came to an end after that when we safely arrived back at Stephens' truck. The day was a success, complete with a George encounter! What more could a flunkie ask for?

February 2nd Windy Ride

I took off from the house this morning hoping that the wind would slack off a bit as the day went on, but I was wrong.
My motivation came from thinking of just how bad I wanted to ride well this spring and all of the upcoming events that I didn't want to trail at the end of the group. My training this year has been sporatic at best due to the awful weather we have been having here and I just didn't want to make excuses for myself. Lord knows I wanted to stay on the couch and be a veggie-burger.
The ride went pretty well though in spite of 25mph gusts and 15-20mph sustained winds. I burned more than expected calories for the time out and that was positive also.
Coming up in april, on the 2nd, I am directing the first "Foothills Flyer" cycling event from our church, Golden Creek Baptist Church near Liberty, SC. The event will feature a metric-century and a half-metric. The long route will feature the well-known Dug Mountain climb that ascends up from the little Eastatoee Creek on Roy F. Jones rd. Then the Bob's Place climb out to Hwy 178 back down to Hwy 11. the short route will have more of the same great scenery without the big climbs.
We will have full SAG support and staffed rest stops with food and fluids along the way. T-shirts and a cookout meal will be provided for the riders after they return from their journey.
I am proud and delighted to be able to put a nice ride together and hope many will participate. The proceeds will benefit our youth program and will help in making sure that the kids of our area have something positive to do.
Click on the Active.com tab in my links to go to the registration for the event.

January 29th Training with Stephen

Today was as great a day to ride in January as I think I've ever seen! It was 60 degrees and sunny with a light breeze. Stephen and I left his place in Clemson and headed toward Central with the intention of making up a new route that really ammounted to nothing more than a big loop around the two towns. On the way through central we stopped and shot the breeze with Red, another cycling buddy of ours, then headed out for a few more miles headed back to Stephen's place. Our ride was a good one, mostly recovery pace, seeing as we were both recovering from being sick this past week. I felt pretty weak at the start but by the time we ended I felt better though tired. We did a fair amount of goofing off and cutting up as usual to make the miles more interesting and ended up having a great time once again. We were supposed to be joined by Jim but early this morning bailed out and did'nt show. I think his riding panties were dirty or maybe his skirt got caught in the chain on the last ride, I really don't know. He is now known as our rolling human stimulus package due to his "BAILOUT" today! Hahahaha! Just kidding Bro! Stephen and I "LANCED IT UP" today by wearing our Lanceish kits, he in the Livestrong kit and I in my Discovery kit; go Lance we'll never be like you! We may have confused some motorists into thinking that in some way we were actually somebody, until they got close enough to notice that I was really a fat guy pretending to be a real cyclist. We still had fun and I went on pretending! Well to all of my followers; five now I think, hope you enjoyed the update and check out today's video, we had fun!

Riding with Stephen and Jim

Today was a enjoyable day of winter spinning with my two buds Jim and Stephen. We headed out from Jim's place for a 25 mile winter training ride that almost turned into a bonk-fest by yours truly. We started the ride off with a nice warm-up pace of 15mph or so and slowly ramped it up a bit. I was doing fine as well as my two faithful companions until a fairly steep, but short(so I thought) hill on one of the secluded roads in the townville/fairplay area. I decided to stay on Shephen's wheel and put forth a leg shattering performance that would rival even the best(fat guy)climbers in the area. I very soon regreted that descision and never really recovered from it, sending me to the back of our trio for the rest of the ride. The last 3-4 miles were better and I was able to scrape enough strength to shoot a short video and a couple of cameraphone pics. So congrats to Jim for dropping me, I'm sure it was a huge boost to his ego! As usual Stephen didn't exert himself even the slightest bit. I know the back of his Kestrel well...whew!

Winter Beauty

This winter has been cold but beautiful at the same time. I find that however awful the cycling has been this new year there have been other things to command my attention. The snow we had was epic for our area seeing as we got 10 inches of the fluff; which hasn't happened in some 20 plus years. The kids went nuts and us adults had to fight, slip and slide our way to work. I had a wonderful time tearing it up with Evie on the 4wheeler out in our pasture while our cattle stared on oblivious to the joy that the snow was bringing us; they were less amused I'm sure.
The photos really don't do the sky and the snow justice but cameras can't see everything. I enjoyed the opportunity to try and capture the beauty for you.
January has offered a select few days to ride and enjoy the company of good cycling buddies, Stephen, Jim and I made it out last Saturday for a nice 32 miles of flat and rolling hills near Townville SC. The prior Saturday Stephen and I made the first Eastatoee loop of the year which was cold! He made fun of my freezing toes as we made our way through the valley and we caught some strange looks from some local trout-fishermen as we stopped at the little eastatoee creek bridge. Most folks look on us as crazies as we roll past them in the cold but they are always nice. Stephen's fun was due to the fact that he had planned for the big freeze by stuffing hand warmers in his shoes and gloves; I didn't though and paid for it. Nevertheless the ride was really great and we had a blast in spite of the numbness.
I hope this year has more of the same great rides and times of great fellowship that last year did. I look forward to some of the new cyclists that I know getting out there and enjoying what so many of us have been! Come with me and give cycling a try, you'll be hooked.

New Year

Well, here is 2011 and this years early training has begun. I welcome any and all who would join me in my journey to top fitness this year.
Plans for this year include the Stars And Stripes Challenge, a personal ride to Mt. Mitchell from home, and SCride4life. More to come later!

 
 
 
 

Evie's Tri 2010

 
 
 
 

Winter Blues

I have once again been bummed out by the next four-day forecast! More rain and icy garbage to deal with. This is really starting to become a soggy nasty winter for us here in South Carolina.
The winter started out really cold but dry, and has now turned into cold and wet wet wet and more wet!
I've resorted to breaking out my indoor trainer alot this year. As the pseudo miles roll by in the living room I watch out the big front window as the wind and rain howl by as if to say, "not today fat-boy"! I have become creative in my trainer workouts by changing up the DVDs alot. The new George Hincapie DVD documentary is great for entertainment, motivation and time on the bike. It is 81 minutes of interviews with George as he rides along through the foothills of Greenville. His documentary makes for a pretty good workout if you can stand to be on a trainer for that long. I then will add some difficulty into the mix by hitting the Time Trial DVD by Carmichael Training Systems. That one is rough if you do it like the DVD tells you to. You must have a heart rate monitor and cadence sensor to correctly complete the training and you should know your physical limits also.
There have been breaks in the nasty weather that have allowed for road cycling also but they have been few and far between. I have also done some running which to me is more like self torture, but works well for burning off calories and strengthening different leg-muscles. I usually pay for it the next day, I hate to run! My Wife is set to begin a routine to train for some of the upcoming spring 5k races and it will give me another reason to get out and run. I enjoy running with her and sometimes my Dad slows down enough to let me run with him too so maybe the winter will turn out OK anyway.
We just returned from Nashville, TN. yesterday and it rained all day long on us as we drove through the Smoky MT. National Park. the interstate through Asheville NC. I-40 is still closed due to the Rock-Slides so we ended up having to go through the mountains to get to the other side so we could continue on and it was a mess! I made the best of it by imagining that I was on my bike in the spring time spinning out routes through the beautiful hills that we were now navigating in the monsoon season. There were winds so high near the top of Newfound Gap that I could actually feel the steering of our SUV becoming light as we rounded several of the corners up there. Kinda scary I thought.
Well, we must press on toward that great thing called spring, so if you are one of the cabin-fever ridden cyclist out there, hang on, spring is not far off.(yeah right!)
I did take a chance today and put my ride through a thourough cleaning. I hadn't realized how dirty she was. I even disassembled my rear derrailuer and cleaned the individual pulleys, then cleaned the chain really well. after that was all done I washed and waxed the whole frame along with cleaning the wheels and tires too! the thing looks brand new aside from a few wear-marks here and there. So I encourage you also while the weather is foul to go ahead and shine up the ride and fix anything you need to in preparation for the next time the weather breaks. Later all!

Winter Riding with Red and RFL 2010!

This past saturday I had the opprtunitiy to ride with one of my best riding buddies, Red Wood. You all should give Red alot of credit since he is in his mid sixties and in pretty darn good shape! I convinced him this past June to ride in the SCride4life with me and he did a fantastic job seeing that it was his first one.
We set out saturday morning and headed up toward Eastatoee valley. The weather was a nice 45-50 degrees with a really wintery feel to it with cloud-covered skies. Red decided that he wanted to tackle the Dug Mtn. climb, otherwise known as the GranyGear hill, so off we went. I decided to get out my phone and shoot some silly little interveiws with the video function as we chugged our way up the climb. I think Red saw less comedy in it than I did but we had a good time with it anyway. We saw the usual stuff along the way with the added bonus of tons of squirrel-hunters and hog-hunters filling the woods along the sides of the roads throughout the valley but none gave us any trouble and were cautious about us on the roads, which was nice. You never know what kind of response you'll get in the mountains with hunters and grown men in tights! We wound around through the valley and headed up into the exit climb past the famous Bob's Place tavern (aka..scatterbrains) I catch alot of jokes about how the folks at Bob's would probably give us a hard time, but to their credit they've always been freindly and waved rather than made any off-color comments. I think most of them write us off as crazy for riding bicycles through the mountains anyway, I get the comment all the time that the only way they'd ride up there is with a motor! I just tell them that I am the motor and have a good laugh and ride on. We finished out the ride that day unscathed and had a great time just riding throughout the countryside talking about the upcoming spring rides and of course RFL 2010!
I encourage anyone and everyone who has a bike and will ride to check out this years SCride4life. It is the annual cross-state ride that benefits the Upstate Pregnancy Care Center in Seneca, SC. It's a great time of riding and fellowship for a great cause! Check it out at www.scride4life.com and join in the fun! We need support drivers and helpers as well as more riders this year. We raise almost half of the yearly budget for the center and they really need our help to continue the mission. You get three days of riding plus two nights stay and food, plus continuous SAG support throuout each days stage. Where else can you enjoy a multi-day cycling event that includes a custom jersey and all the mentioned support for a donation of $300? Plus you will be helping out a great cause in addition to having a great time! I look forward to seeing you there! To God be the glory and be safe out there. Until next time....

Source of Strength

I have to start this article by asking all of you who read my blog to forgive me. I have been writing this page for awhile now and haven't given any credit or praise to God for all he has done for me in my life.
I have used this page as a way to communicate to all who will listen about my cycling and training experiences and that is all fine and dandy but when I leave out the source of my strength and motivation it's all for nothing! That source is the Lord Jesus Christ! He is the fiber by which all is held together, just research laminin, the very protein that holds our cells together and you'll see that it is in the shape of the cross! Yes, the cross that Jesus hung on to give his life for the payment of all our sins. The bible tells us that he is the way the truth and the life, and that no man cometh unto the father but by me. Basically the one way to be able to get into heaven is by belief in Jesus, and no other. Don't shoot the messenger, it's Gods word! I just happen to beleive it's true. So with that said, I now can begin a new outlook for this blog, still about cycling and related stuff, but sharing my faith along the way. After all, God is the source of all my strength, motivation and desire.
I began this day with a nice breakfast with my two beloved ladies(Valerie and Evie)as I usually do. On the way to work Valerie called and said that she had forgotten a couple of bowls that she intended to use for her science lesson today in her 5th grade class. Well as the good husband would do I located them and loaded up in the jeep and took off to deliver them. On the way back I began to listen to some very motivating David Phelps tunes and my heart began to well up with thanks to God whom has been so good to me! I was beginning a round of worship that lasted for an hour or so after I got home. This hasn't happened to me in a very long time since I have been less than the Christian I am supposed to be. I recently began a new study and prayer process that my sunday school teacher and dear freind Gary Edwards had introduced to our whole class. It began with Psalm 91 and is now into Ephisians 6. It talks about being "in Christ". This may sound strange to you or may be familiar sounding but when you really listen to what that says you'll find that instead of Christ being in us it says to be "in Christ"! How is this? I encourage you to find out by reading Psalm 91 and then going to, http://undertheshadowofgod.wordpress.com/ and reading what my dear brother has to say abut this awesome passage of scripture. You will be blessed indeed!

January's Activities

Welcome 2010! Wow, the new year is here and I see that I actually have a follower and some commenters out there! It's exciting for me as the writer to see that someone has at least some interest in what I have to say. I guess I'll have to continue to ramble on about life on the road as a local crazy who still rides in these cold temps.

The cold this year has been worse than I can remember in a very long time. I started out the new year by riding with my dear freind Jamie Moon who braved the long roads of the SCride4life last summer as a new cyclist. We did a modest 25 miles of easy spinning out and around Pickens, SC. It was an enjoyable ride with not too much of the nasty cold getting to us.

I followed that up the next day with a freezing arctic blast with the Greenville Spinners on their First Fifty Ride that goes from Furman University to Table Rock State Park and back. I conned three of my great and dedicated cycling buddies, The Teets, to suffer with me. It was the first ride of that distance for Cindy, wife of my good friend Steven. I thought many times during the ride that if she had a gun I'd have payed with my life! She really did well though and my hat is off to her for persevereing along with us. The treat of the day was seeing George Hincapie out braving the cold along with us, it's good to have such a great cyclist in our area to draw inspiration from. He passed us with ease but took time enough to say "hi" as he passed by, he is one nice guy to be so accomplished. I don't know of any other professional athlete who would acknowlege his fans in such a common and freindly way while he was actually training, makes you feel included in a way.

I remember about an hour before we saw George, I was joking about training out in the cold and commented to Steven that I didn't see George out today, being sarcastic, and then just a bit later, there he was! I was later able to pry my foot out of my mouth, it was funny though.

I tried out a new gadget today that I am excited about! It is a USB sensor that allows infrared transfer of data from my Polar cycling HRM to the laptop and imports it into Polar's Pro Trainer 5 software. I thought it was cool to see in succession the last several days of training and the results in such a way. I enjoy following my training progress and seeing results! I have actually lost another two pounds this week, due to the ability to watch calorie burn and intake so closely.

If you want the ability to track and monitor your stats then Polar computers are the bomb! I have the CS400 and really like it. It tells me everything about my rides all the way down to the percents of grade and elevation, not to mention the physical stats given by the HRM. Cool stuff if you want to train right.

Well, thats all for now so until next time take care out there and keep pedaling away! Thanks again to all who read my stuff and keep the comments coming! I luvs my peeples! and to George, thanks for being you, you inspire us all! (Like he will see this!)

Training Routes

Hello all, I wanted to take a section and show you some of my training routes. These vary greatly in distance and difficulty so pay close attention to the notes associated with each route if they are listed. I try and include specifics about climbing and any dangers to avoid.

Evies' Triathlon

It began as a cool rainy disgusting morning. High hopes for good weather were gone as I looked out the big front window at our house to see an absolute downpour happening! My daughter was to compete in her first triathlon this morning an I was going to have to break the news to her that she'd be competing in terrible weather. As I explained the circumstances to her as she looked out the window she just said "ok daddy, I'll do my best"! I thought wow, she really wants to do this! I was already proud of her and we haven't even left the house yet. We arrived at the YMCA facility in the pouring rain and began locating the transition area in which I would place her bike and gear while my wife and Evie went to sign in and get ready. The transition area was on the edge of the main soccer field and was a sponge full of grass and mud! I hoped at that point that the rain would stop and maybe the kids would catch a break. As I finished placing her things in transition I noticed that the rain was indeed stopping and the wind subsiding slightly, I was pleased. Some freinds of ours started arriving along with grandparents who had come out to see our little athlete perform. We all gathered in the pool area to watch the start and being the good Dad that I am I was going to photograph the whole thing. I looked through the lens and it had fogged up from the heat and humidity of the pool and I thought "oh no, not good"! I was finally able to get the lens clear though and began shooting. Evie swam her heart out and as she got out of the pool I realized that she had possibly swam too hard, she looked tired. I took off with her as she ran toward the transition area trying to shoot pictures without much success. I was able to get some as she hurried her way through transition. It was a blast to see how determined she was as she made the changes from swim to bike and how fast she was, we had practiced the switches before to familiarize her and it worked! She snatched her bike off the stand and off she went running out of transition and toward the road through the water and mud. I was excited as she jumped on the bike and flew off down the road as hard as she could go! It would be several minuites now until she was around the 3 mile bike course and I now had time to get some other shots of some of the other kids. As Evie pedaled down the last stretch of the bike leg she was greeted by me with my camera and all of our freinds holding signs up for her as she ran with her bike back to the transition area for the last time! I notice that in the transition to the run that she was tired and I worried about her being to fatigued to run, but she took off again. Valerie took off across the soccer feild to encourage her while she ran her two laps around the course, Evie was tired and walked a bit but then gave one last push to the finish. I greeted her at the finish and told her how proud of her I was then Brady, our freind and Evies' favorite cycling buddy, came over and hugged her as we all celebrated her finish. She had done it, finished her first triathlon! Valerie asked if we should stay for the awards ceremony and I said that we should out of respect for the other athletes and support them and their efforts. I remember that neither one of us thought that our daughter would place and that it would be encouraging for next time so that she could see the reward of the hard work that it took to earn their medals. As we listened to the announcements of the places for overall and then age groups it came down to Evies' age and a bit of sadness came over me as her name was not called but I didn't let on. Then came the 9 year old age group, 1st, 2nd and third place the announcer said goes to Evie Seitz! She had done it! Wow! We had not realized that due to her late birthday she fell into the 9 age group and not the 8! She had placed as one of the youngest in her group, I was overjoyed and so was she! I was so glad that we had stayed for the awards even though we had not expected her to medal, it was as rewarding for me as it was her. A great day!

Early fall training

Training this year has been way too intermittent for my liking and I have spent much of my rides suffering because of it. After SC ride for life I found myself not being able to get many miles like I am used to. I am excited about my return to training though as I try and work my way back to the form that I had in June. I have to constantly remind myself that I have a life, family, and job that hold priority over cycling and that I'm just not a pro who can ride every day and watch all of my calorie expendature and intake like them. I am constantly worried about eating too much and training to little(I'm guilty!) and have gained new enthusiasm lately with the cooling temperatures and the thought of fall riding. I struggle to find riding partners this time of year though with most of my freinds having children in sports and various other activities that take them away from the road, so I spend most of my time during off days in the week riding alone. I find that our area, upstate South Carolina, is really a wonderful place to ride. Theres nothing like northern Pickens and Oconee counties with the fall leaf display! Eastatoee valley produces some gorgeous scenery in fall and winter that makes riding all of the hills worthwhile. the http://www.cyberspinners.net/ crowd introduced me to these areas for cycling almost three years ago and I've not stopped riding them yet.
I am motivated this fall in part because of my dad. He has started riding with me often and is an inspiration due to his years of dedication, not to cycling, but to fitness in general. Dad was an avid runner for most of my life and after retirement and building his own home near Tamassee, SC is back at it! His addition of cycling to his routine has made me want to train harder and get leaner and meaner so that he doesn't completely blow me away when he really gets his legs in the next year or so. He is the 64 year old size of Alberto Contador at 5'9" and 138 or so lbs! Alot to contend with when I am 38 and 5'11" and 200lbs! Thats a bad recipe for getting dropped if I don't do something about it. It is a complete blessing though to have my dad envolved in the sport and hope to recruit him for the scride4life next year. Our last training ride together we took off on his first really challenging climbing ride up to whitewater falls from Tamassee. He hung in there and stayed right with me for the vast majority of the climb and only has about 3 or 4 months on his bike! On few occasions I was able to pull away slightly but he is riding like a champ! Power-to-weight ratio is definitely the key to climbing success.

Hello Peloton!

Hello upstate South Carolina cyclists! I am excited about this fall and all of the great cycling that upstate South Carolina has to offer us. So far this year on my calendar of events has been 2009 http://www.scride4life.com/ our yearly event in June every year that raises funds for the Upstate pregnancy care center in Seneca, SC. We were able to raise over $20,000 this year in support of this life saving cause and hope that 2010 holds even more in store for the center. I encourage all cyclists to come support our cause by excercising those legs on the way across our wonderful state by doing three, yes three century rides back to back until we reach our coastal destination(undetermined for 2010 as of yet). The website will guide you through signup and fundraising goals for the next year and should be updated in the coming months. Hey, where else in our area can you find a supported ride across the state with hotels and meals, and a cool jersey for $300? It's Awesome!

The picture above is of the USpro roadrace in Greenville, SC this year and what a blast that was to witness! Our hometown favorite George Hincapie took the honors for the third time and earned himself another Stars and Stripes jersey! Our scride4life crowd had a good turnout for the Stars and Stripes Challenge event that preceded the USpro and we did our best to tame the Paris Mtn. climb! From my crowds vantage point at the top of Paris Mtn. for the USpro I realized as I watched the pros just how slow I really am.
I am sure that this fall is gearing up to be a great cycling season and I'm ready to hit the mountains and feel the burn. For those who may be interested the Ride for Raptors is coming up along with the Cherokee foothills event that the Greeenville spinners put on so there are some upcoming events that you all should consider doing. Be safe out there and know your bike laws! Don't be afraid to use them if nessesary, there are some crazies out there. Later!