Success, or at least a not a failure

The weather down here in North Carolina has been great this year. It has been a relativly mild winter with no snow and a little bit of rainfall. Somehow it seems that most the rain fall occurs right before a weekend. Although the trails were open last Saturday I decided to save myself some time but dish myself out some punishment going for a roadie ride. What that consist of for me is going to the Research park and climbing hills, rolling down them, and then climbing them again, rolling down them, then climbing them again, getting tired, then climbing another hill to go home and have a beer. You get my point. Last time I did that on a Saturday I ended up shaving 2 minutes off my winter short track race time the next day. Seems it is just enough punishment to get me legs going, but not enough to wear me out. So following that recipe for success I decided to ride the local race track Sherman's Branch on Sunday, and it was fast. Not to bore with details but I completed a sub 58 minute lap there. A personal best, and it is only February, still early in the season. Last time I rode Sherman was a few weeks ago and had 1 hr and 5 minute lap time. Now that is an improvement. Not that I am mentioning these times for anybody to congratulate me, because frankly, it doesn't matter, but I do feel like I can compete at a faster time racing than last year, which really is my only goal. I also got the go-ahead from the burrower to compete in more of the Maxxis Southern Classic Series. I have signed up for the first 2 of them, with one coming this Sunday is the Killer 3 down in South Carolina, and the one the week after that is Anglers Ridge Virginia. I don't expect to podium, but hopefully with this "fitness" I have recently acquired some top 10 finishes might be in my future. I can't wait till daylight savings times comes next week so I can be more active after work. I even am trying to help the Burrower with her Cooper River Bridge run 10k run goal by going on a run with her yesterday. She is getting faster every week and she will be ready when the race day comes at the end of this month. Luckily it has been cold in the mornings around here, so I have finally have the motivation, and for once the financial resources to finish the basement. Progress is being made.

Before and after pics. There still is more work to be done but headed in the right direction. New furniture is coming soon. And back to bike related news, I am attempting to narrow down which bike to get for my next ride. With some deals from the local Sun and Ski shop I have it narrowed down to a Rocky Mountain or a Marin. Both 29er hardtail.

A vertex 950 or

Nail 29er. And for some reason I am also thinking of just making things easy and making it a 1x10 drivetrain. Not that I am worried about weight of the bike, but just want to tinker around with it and see what it feels like. Leave me comments and let me know which bike I should think about getting, oh, and also send some words of encouragement for the burrower to kick some ass at her Bridge Run at the end of the month.

A party followed by another party!

Last Thursday was the first of many 29th's birthday for the burrower. In celebration for the event she wanted to have a nice quiet evening at the house with good friends. Instead we got the usual gang.(if any of them reads this, kidding) Her wish was to have a family dinner night making homemade pizza followed by a kinect party. She got her wish. After it was decided that the women folk go to the living room the men were then in charge of making the homemade pizzas. For once this is a decision the women would not regret. Onions, sausage, pepporini, mushrooms, peppers, chicken, bbq sauce, and probably a few other topings in which I forgot to mention all made it onto one pizza or another.

The girls banished from the kitchen

Angus using our bud light rolling pin. After stuffing our faces and bellies it was time to work off those carbs with a little excercise, kinect dance central 2 style.

The burrower and Ashley getting jiggy wit it

Pretty sure I won this round...

And they lost their man card early in the night. Finally just before midnight everyone went home, full, exhausted, and only partially drunk (not the drivers though) And then the party after the party, the last race at the Winter Short Track. This was the party to end all parties even though the high only reached about 40 degrees. The crowd was huge and rowdy. Afros, wigs, tu-tu's, even a pinata (thanks Mutt for the pic)

I almost had it, but the guy after me smashed it down. After the race I did get the candy though. I count that as a win in my book. Before I get to my little recap I just need to backtrack a bit and I don't feel like deleting everything else and starting over. I did manage to get off work early on Friday, headed up to the Sun and Ski shop, picked up some winter riding gloves and hit a quick lap at Shermans branch. I posted a respectable time for February, better than my time last August. Then on Saturday I was too lazy to load up the mountain bike, so I just hit my local hills in the Research park on a roadie ride. Which gets us caught back up to Sunday... So Sunday we get to the track a little earlier than usual and I still manage not to warm up, but layer up in attempt to get warm in the freezing weather. Robert layering up

I ride 2 laps around the parking lot and then line up in the 2nd row left side, my usually starting place. Neil yells on the intercom "Racers..Go". There is a pile up on the right ride as some riders have problems clipping in. I take this to my advantage and hop into the woods in around 8th place. This is the first time all series I have been in the top 10. The trail was dry and fast and I used that to my advantage. I ended up staying with the leaders through the actual mountain bike part of the course and even put a small gap on the guys behind me. And then we hit the fire road. All of the guys that couldn't hang on the downhill ended up passing me on the uphill. Damn roadies. Another 2 laps and I finally settled into my rythem and eventually started picking off one rider at a time. I bombed down the single track, feeling my tires squeal under pressure and hitting the berms and then try as hard as I could on the climb out.

I posted my best last at 3:51, 8 seconds faster than previous laps, and finished a full 2 minutes faster than the last week. I guess the moral of this story is the more you ride, the faster you get. I might have to try doing that more often to get faster. Succuss!!! I did stay around for the single speed class afterward to watch Mr. Hagarty,

teammate Steve Pep,

and Mr. Conginality, Dave Elliston

Then the awards ceremony at East Blvd Bar and Grill. I didn't win anything, but I really dont need an excuse to drink beer and talk bikes. I think the next race is going to be the Killer 3 down in SC. Until then...

YEAH BOYYYY

On the Road again...

I have decided to make this post just like a picture book as a picture is worth more than 1000 words. At least even a bad picture is better than 1000 of my words anyway. After race 2 lackluster results (but great pictures as always by the burrower)I have a family commitment in Knoxville Tennesse so race 3 of the series was out of the question. But if you really wanted to see me in mandex here you go...

I have nice legs.... and goofing off in the tent afterwards

We fastforward our journey through the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains on a Saturday morning

4 hours (and one unnecessary bathroom break later) Where me and the burrower me my rents

Dad not used to the paparazzi and had no comment when asked about the ice shortage in the Sahara Dessert... Grabbed some late lunch at a local microbrew

Walked around downtown Knoxville

Thought about going for a swim....

Got back to the hotel to get pretty for the reception

Even the rents managed to clean up decently

Saw my god-parents who I had not seen since my wedding, and I don't even remember the last time before that

Got the picture with the happy couple

Drank way to much (no pictures of that or the aftermath that occurred) and retired early for the night. And by early I mean we passed out before the bars were closed. We awoke the next morning not hung over (luckily) and had breakfast with the rents and god parents and then packed up and drove back home to Charlotte. It was a fun afternoon to be had in TN and went by way to fast but I still never learned how to speel Tennese correctly while I was there. Maybe next time. I appreciated Jon and Megan for inviting us to their ceremony. Maybe next post will be a little wittier and less reliant on the pictures, but probably not.