Zeke's Great Smokies 2-Wheeled Adventures!

PROFORM LE TOUR DE FRANCE ONGOING REVIEW…

2012-01-29T10:08:00.001-05:00

January 29, 1944

From the daily diary kept by S.Sgt. G.C. Watts, while stationed in Naples, Italy during WWII… “Week of 01/25 through 02/01 has note “Huge Air Forces operating over Germany) Daily note for 01/29/44 – Go to air field. Joe E. Brown comes down and gives us some good laughs. Eat supper and go to Foggia to USO and see Humphrey Bogart and wife. Cold- …”

This may not be pretty… Even after a night’s sleep, I still may have a RANT getting ready to erupt. Just be warned. Maybe it won’t be more than a mini-rant. It will certainly be about my ongoing review of the ProForm Le Tour De France spinner bike.

But first… A cyclist’s dilemma…

(This is a test provided by a local survey crew…What’s a cyclist to do?)

Imagine if you will…

you are a cyclist heading west to east on the approved bike route of US 74 near Waynesville, NC. You’ve just topped Balsam Mountain gap (3300’ elevation) and are descending in the “gutter” of the highway. Note on your left high speed traffic, consisting of many 18 wheelers and heavy trucks, that virtually always runs faster than the posted speed limit. Note also the rumble strips near the fog line that would prevent you from safely (were that even possible) from merging into the high speed traffic to get around the finely placed obstruction of a surveyor’s sign. Perhaps it required too much energy to place the sign on the outside of the guard rail even though sufficient room existed for it to be placed there. I’m sure the crew never even considered the results of their action when placing the sign along the roadway. (I noted this on a recent return trip from nearby Sylva so just had to take a shot of it…)

The Ongoing Review of the ProForm Le Tour De France spinner…

I posted my initial review of this product on November 9, 2011 after having finally received it following the delay of the 2 week guaranteed delivery date in September of 2011. To put this ongoing review into context, I suggest you start with the initial review above.

My struggles with getting the heart monitor function to work continue to this date. In my latest round of conversation with customer service, I was told that the console on my original shipment wasn’t working and a new one would be sent. Of course, there was a backorder so I was looking at an “end of the month” delay in getting it. (Backorders and delays in shipping have been my constant experience with this company thus far.)

The second console finally arrived this week, which is 3 weeks later from my phone call to customer support. My first opportunity to install it was yesterday (Saturday). I asked the Navigator to add her lovely set of eyes to the mix and to help me be certain that I wasn’t crimping or straining the wiring harness.

First up was removing the original console. I had reinstalled it so that I could use the bike while awaiting the new console. We held the new console and started the connection process and discovered within 30 seconds that the new console is wired differently than the original.

(Note there are 4 plugs on this console)

My first console had only 3 plugs to be connected. 2 were on the right hand side and one was on the left hand side. At this point, I’m thinking that I’ve been sent a console for the 2nd generation of this TdF product. We decided to go ahead and connect this console to see if the heart rate monitor would work and perhaps just not use the extra wire as I’m surmising it is for the bar mounted gear shifts on the 2nd generation model. (I’ve previously been told that my first gen model wasn’t able to be upgraded even though they shipped my model at the same time that they were shipping 2nd gen models.)

Not so fast… as it turns out, one of the male plugs on my first gen model that must be plugged in has a matching male plug on this new console that I received sooooo…. Yep, can’t connect the new console to my current wiring.

(Note the 4 plugs. On the right hand side are two male plugs.)

The small plug on the right has to be a female adapter in order to connect to the male plug coming from the bike. There is nothing on my first gen model to connect to one of the two plugs on the left hand side of the console. I now have one non-working console and one unusable console. What’s a guy to do…?

Who Ya Gonna Call!

But wait, customer service is open. Their listed hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. MOUNTAIN time and, hey, I’m in EASTERN time and it is only 4:30 p.m. here so it is really only 2:30 p.m. there. Why don’t I give them a call? “Ring…ring…ring…”Welcome to the Proform Customer Care line… we are currently closed!” (or words to that effect). The bottom line was that yet again no help is available when needed. So, now I’ve written to them via their customer support email address (256 characters allowed) and received back a reply “

“We have received your email and will process your request as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.” Oh yeah, accompanying the message was “DO NOT REPLY”.

More On-Line Research…

I decided to do some additional research to see if anyone else had run into this problem and returned to one thread I’ve been following at CycleRide. No new posts were on-line but the general dissatisfaction with ProForm customer support is pretty readily available. I found a reference to the Bike and Gear forum on Bicycling magazine’s site. So, I checked it out.

A quick read further adds to the weight of consumer dissatisfaction with this product and especially with the quality of customer service provided. Frequently, you find warnings “ have been on hold for hours several times and they know nothing about the product except that they are inundated with calls about problems. STAY AWAY!”, “Finally made it through to customer service and they wanted ME to take the thing apart and try to repair it despite the fact that I bought an extended service agreement”, and “Do Not Buy This Bike! The bike itself is by far the best indoor trainer I have ever ridden. But the service if you have a problem is beyond terrible.” (Note: comments in quotes are directly from the forum postings. There are in excess of 7,000 posts on this subject.)

I did find one nugget of potentially helpful information and that was one poster indicated he had to buy an additional $99.00 adapter for the heart monitor to work. I’m now beginning to think that the Extension Wire (part 101) that has thus far been unexplained to me by any of the customer service reps I’ve spoken with must have to plug into this adapter. Of course, the manual doesn’t say this.

The first mention of the extension wire is on page 9 of the accompanying manual and merely says to follow the directions that came with the OPTIONAL heart rate monitor if purchased. (At the time of purchase, I wasn’t told that the heart monitor functioning was an optional purchase so, guess what, I didn’t purchase it.) The manual then refers you to page 22 for further directions for the heart monitor function. Being relative literate, I turn to page 22 and sure enough, I find a BOLDED caption for The Optional Heart Rate Monitor. The sum total of information in this section is that it is important for a good workout to maintain the proper heart rate during your workouts. A sentence (in bold typeface) then refers you to the front cover of the manual. The heart rate monitor itself isn’t addressed but there is a one line query “Questions?” followed by contact information. Thus, the loop is complete and no help is provided.

A quick review with the Better Business Bureau shows that Icon Fitness is not a BBB accredited company. Using the Logan, UT address, I found the following BBB results.

(Note that 400 of the 536 complaints related to product/service)

I don’t know how the complaints break down when looking at specific ProForm or Icon Fitness products. There are apparently many different products put out there by this company. Given my experience of them thus far, I’m surprised at the relatively low number of complaints.

Of course, my 30 day guarantee is long gone, the box in which the product was shipped is long gone, even if I could return it, it would cost me a 10% restocking fee according to their literature. That would be near $130.00.

The parts of the bike that I have been able to use have worked well and I’ve not had the problems that so many people have had with connecting to their home networks. I keep holding out hope that with some improved customer service I just might get this thing resolved. I would REALLY like to talk a) someone within a reasonable time and b) to someone, who isn’t looking a the same product diagram that I’m looking at and telling me what I can see on the page in front of me.

It is starting to be a beautiful day here so I’m going to get out and enjoy it and put thoughts of customer service away for awhile. If you are still reading, thanks for taking the time to “listen” to this mini-rant!"

Until later,

- Zeke

A WEEK IN REVIEW…

2012-01-22T09:52:00.001-05:00

January 22, 1944

From the daily diary kept by S.Sgt. G.C. Watts, while stationed in Naples, Italy during WWII… “Dug fox holes for shelter from strafing planes. Went to Foggi for belley tanks for P38 – P-38 leave with 2-1000 lb. bombs each…”

Our unseasonably warm, wet winter continues. As other parts of the country are getting hammered by heavy snows, winds, and frozen temperatures, we’re experiencing almost spring like temps with lots of rain. According to my weather station, we’ve already received 2.10” of rain this month.

I’ve noted a few cyclists out and about but, by and large, most cyclists seem to have retreated indoors or are riding at times when I’m not out and about to see them...

Last Thursday night’s meeting with the Waynesville Lions Club was fun and energetic. Approximately 18 Lions were in attendance as I reviewed with them our recently adopted Haywood County Comprehensive Bike Plan. I enjoyed speaking with this group of community minded citizens and was very appreciative of their willingness to be involved in promoting cycling in the future. I continue to be impressed with the warm reception of cyclists needs by the folks with whom I speak.

Tuesday night’s BicycleHaywoodNC monthly meeting helped set some committees and some short term goals for the coming year. A good turnout of members helped us off to a good start in the new year. This was our first meeting since merging with Blue Ridge Bicycle Club. We are their one and only Chapter, which is new and exciting ground for both organizations.

Also occurring on Tuesday night was the presentation of the South Main St. Study by the design team that has been reviewing options for the southwest entrance to Waynesville, NC. Jennifer Jacobson, BHNC Vice-Chair, represented our group at this meeting and reported that the needs of cyclists were front and center of the two designs presented. Rodney Porter, lead designer, was quoted in the local newspaper story of the event as saying “every person who commented on the plans indicated the need for bicycle lanes.” Consequently, both of the two designs going for the final design plan will include 5’ bike lanes. This effort shows once again the power of people speaking up at public meetings.

Local Cycling Column…

Following, for those so interested, is my most recent cycling column in the local newspaper, the Waynesville Mountaineer… This one generated quite a few comments after publication, which was a surprise to me.!

WINTER TRAINING TIPS

It is the time of the year when every publication you pick up is chock full of tips on how to maintain your conditioning in the “off season”. Cycling magazines are full of expert after expert penning their own hints and proven techniques for sharpening muscle groups so that you will be ready to hit the roads and trails come spring.

Not to be left out, I’ve assembled my own proven tips and techniques for what I call the anti-conditioning conditioning. Yes, through the years, I’ve mastered several workouts and projects guaranteed to insure that you will be at the back of the pack come spring. Most recently, I proved the validity of my approach in the winter of 2010-11 by doing nothing. When spring 2011 rolled around, I watched as my heroine, “Climbing Jen”, glanced backward with a kind countenance as she gracefully found another gear without effort and left me spinning in what appeared to be reverse gear. It was a motivational moment for me! I swore I would improve so greatly over the summer, I would make her see My rear wheel by drop of the first leaf in autumn 2011. I did it too! Of course, she played the “pregnancy” card on me and I didn’t manage to assert my male dominance until her 4^th month of impending motherhood!

In no particular order as they are all guaranteed to result in a meditative state of slovenliness, the following are some tried and true methods tested exclusively by myself guaranteed to keep you at the back of the pack!

1) Do NOT force yourself out of bed in the morning before 5:30 a.m. to be at some workout session that focuses on core strength, as one well known alderman is reported to be doing.

2) In fact, anytime anyone speaks of “core strength” run – run away quickly as what they are really talking about is PAIN! Pain of such intensity that you will swear you’ll never have another baby – and YOU’RE A MAN!

3) Take a close look at that extra-fine piece of exercise equipment sitting in your personal workout studio. (Other people call this a basement.) Notice all of the horizontal surfaces built into the equipment. Next, hang all of your freshly laundered shirts and pants on said equipment. This should prevent your clothing from shrinking and, at the same time, prevent you from using said piece of equipment aiding in the spread of your abdomen.

4) (This is my favorite!) Before returning home or going to the gym post work day, eat a full meal followed by a rich dessert. Return home and declare, “I’ll workout when my food digests!” Remember, you should NOT workout within 30 minutes of eating anything! Immediately, take a prone position in your recliner beside the wood stove. In no time, you will be asleep. In 2.5 hours, wake up, get up, go to bed resting in the knowledge that you have again beaten the “workout bug.”

For more information, visit http://gr8smokieszeke.blogspot.com and www.bicyclehaywoodnc.org . You may also link to Zeke’s Great Smoky Mountain 2 Wheeled Adventures under Opinion on the Mountaineer’s website.

Please let me express my thanks to those folks, who continue to return and read this blog. Welcome to new “follower” Trevor, who joins us from the United Kingdom.

(Note: For those who missed the initial explanation, I’m including entries from my recently deceased father-in-law’s daily journal of 1944 at the head of each post. G.C. Watts was a member of the US Army Air Corp and I’ve found his journal entries to be interesting to consider as I go about my daily life in 2012. I hope you enjoy them as well and can take a moment to consider what one of America’s Greatest Generation was doing on this day in 1944 on foreign soil protecting your right to do whatever it is you’re doing on this day in 2012…)

Until later,

- Zeke

WELL, THAT DIDN’T LAST LONG…

2012-01-15T15:31:00.001-05:00

January 15, 1944

From the daily diary kept by S.Sgt. G.C. Watts, while stationed in Naples, Italy during WWII… “Work all day – Last nite one other flier broke his leg. Put some electric lites in my tent. – Still use a candle to write by…”

What a January workout plan I had. Note emphasis on “had”. You can file it under “Well, that didn’t last long…” But more on that later…

The last couple of weeks have been busy and the coming week isn’t showing any signs of letting up. Starting tonight, with the monthly meeting of the …

Blue Ridge Bicycle Club of Asheville, NC (BRBC), there will be three more cycling related meetings between now and Thursday. This follows on the BRBC day-long retreat last Saturday. BicycleHaywoodNC merged, as of January 1st, with BRBC in an effort to strengthen both groups and gain additional “voices” in our efforts to improve cycling.

On the local cycling scene this week is the presentation of the South Main Street study commissioned by the Town of Waynesville. The study is being presented to the public for comment as the future vision for the southwestern side of town is being contemplated. It will be years (2034?) before most of these recommendations can be considered for funding by the NC Department of Transportation. However, no voice NOW means no voice THEN! Hopefully, we can find some common ground for sharing our vision in this gateway to our community.

Also, on tap for the same evening, is our monthly meeting of BicycleHaywoodNC. It is that time of year where we need to be taking next steps for developing and implementing specific goals of our recently adopted Comprehensive Bike Plan. I’m hopeful for an initial application for League of American Bicyclists (LAB) “Bicycle Friendly Community” this calendar year.

On Thursday night, I will be speaking to the Waynesville Lions Club membership and discussing the Bike Plan. These “chats” are part of our EDUCATION component of the 5 E’s followed by the LAB. We do our best not to turn down any requests for speaking on the bike plan or cycling in general.

An Update on My January Conditioning Goals…

This is best described by the following phrase: Well that didn’t last long… My plan had been to ride the number of miles per day that corresponded to the day of the month. Days 1 through 4 went quite well. I almost broke a sweat. Day 5 saw my downfall however. I made the mistake of eating before I came home and then sitting down in my recliner in a toasty warm room. Not Good! Next thing I knew it was time to get up and go to bed! Ah! So early in the month to fall apart.

I made up for it on the 6th however, which just happened to be my 59th birthday. My plan was to ride the mileage for the day in the morning and then ride the missed mileage from the 5th in the afternoon. (For these purposes, riding the mileage means spinning on my Tour de France spinner bike.) Well, I knocked out the 6 miles for the 6th with no trouble but then other matters, i.e., food, got in the way of that missing 5 miles. My plan was done early. Time to reset goals.

Next, I decided I would just ride as often as I could and then each time I rode would be a minimum number of miles that match the calendar day. I did o.k. on the 8th and the 10th. Missed the 9th. Caught the 11th and then a bummed up hip has kept me off any bike since. Despite visits to the chiropractor and my massage therapist, the hip pain has stopped me or I’ve allowed it to stop me from adding more miles.

Road Rage in New Zealand…

By now, most folks know of the attack on Russ Roca and Laura Crawford during a road rage incident as they continued their ride across New Zealand. You can read the details by following the link above. My point here is to say that I appreciated their public response to the mad Kiwi’s attack and the outpouring of support from across the country. Russ notes in his review of the incident that he relearned the wisdom of sometimes not responding. Of course, had a vehicle nearly hit The Navigator in a similar situation, I’m not sure that my response would have been any less than Russ’s. Still, Bob Mionske has spoken of the need for cyclists to try and refrain from behaviors that help escalate these situations. Perhaps the “silver lining to this cloud” will be an increasing conversation in New Zealand and other locales about sharing the road. I am thankful that the injuries sustained in this incident were no worse than they were.

I hope your coming week is a great one that affords you the time to spin! My best to Bro Dave and his Sunday sunny ride today!

Until later,

- Zeke

THE “GREATEST GENERATION” DIMINISHED BY ONE…

2012-01-05T09:43:00.001-05:00

January 5, 1944

From the daily diary kept by S.Sgt. G.C. Watts while stationed in Naples, Italy during WWII… “Nothing doing today. Rain and snow. Go to town – shave and lunch. For Spagetti and French Fryes it cost 150.00 Lira – In the states it would have cost only 35 cents.”

We lost another member of the “Greatest Generation” on New Year’s Day. The Navigator’s father, age 93, “passed on” after a full and rich life. G.C. was a WWII Veteran serving our country in the Army Air Corp. He saw action in Africa and Italy. One of the discovered treasures in his home was a day-by-day journal that he kept of his activities. I find it illuminating to stop today and consider what he was doing on this date time during the war…

(G.C. Watts, Gen. Colin Powell, The Navigator (on left with camera) during the HonorAir Flight to the WWII Monument in Washington, DC)

Cycling Updates:

While the weather here in Western North Carolina has been less than hospitable for most of us, our fellow BicycleHaywoodNC members “Cross Country”Stan and his better half, Shirley, have managed to avoid our winter weather…

”Cross Country” Stan files this report from the field:

(Cross Country Stan and friends in Mesa)

The Winter in Mesa, Arizona affords many opportunities for bike rides. On December 29, a warm and sunny day, Shirley and I rode the tandem and Jan and Len, our friends from Wisconsin who also live in Green Acres RV Park, did a 25 mile ride to Old Scottsdale. The ride began at our location on Main Street in Mesa which becomes Apache Boulevard after about a mile when we enter the city of Tempe. Tempe is the home of Arizona State University and a really neat town who hosted a real bash of a New Years Eve block party with an estimated 100,000 revelers. After riding down Mill avenue we cross the bridge over Tempe Town Lake and from there enter Papago Park which is also part of Tempe. From this point on to Scottsdale and back to another point on Tempe Lake we rode on multi-use trails and there are probably a few hundred miles of them in the valley. Even riding the roads with their well designated bike lanes is a pleasure.

After spending a few hours in Old Scottsdale we completed our loop back to the RV park.

As for me…

The virus I picked up prior to Christmas seems to want to remain with me. I would be happy for it to move on. While my energy seems to be returning, a nagging cough and ongoing congestion rear their ugly heads once or twice a day.

I have settled upon my motivational goal for the month of January. I’m going to take a page out of my friend’s experiences last year and modify it slightly. Kent “Mountain Turtle” Peterson decided to ride every day in April of 2011. I liked the idea then and it has percolated with me ever since. So, my modification is going to be to try and ride the number of miles each day that corresponds to the number of the day of the month. My goal will be to ride the relevant distance as a minimum each day on either my Salsa Fargo or my ProForm Le Tour de France spinner bike. Obviously, it has been pretty easy thus far having ridden 1 mile on January 1st, two miles on January 2nd, etc..

The biggest challenge to date has been to simply get on the bike. I’ve almost broken a sweat twice now. If my calculations are correct, on February 1st, I will have ridden a total of 496 miles in January. My weight has inched back up over the holidays by 6 lbs. putting me back nearing 190 lbs. I’ll be interested to see if I manage to remove it by the end of January. I’m also curious as to whether my knees and lower back will take the daily repetition of 20+ miles per day after January 19th. I fully realize that this is not high mileage for most seasoned riders but represents enough of a goal as to challenge my current level of condition. I’m hoping that it will give me a good kick-start to spring 2012. I foolishly lounged around last winter and lost quite a bit of conditioning. The plan in purchasing the TdF bike was not to have yet another excellent place to hang clothes for drying but to avoid the mistakes of the past. Will I show the discipline to achieve this goal? As in all things, time will tell…

Until later!

- Zeke

ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS

2011-12-31T15:46:00.001-05:00

As 2011 comes to a close, it is tempting to look back and compile a list of accomplishments and a list of failures. This year, I choose not to do so and will simply say, “Hey some really good stuff happened and, yeah, I didn’t pull everything off I intended.” Unlike Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings, I’m choosing to focus on the space between yesterday and tomorrow.

(Janus – Roman god of beginnings and ending, openings and closings)

Beginnings and endings have been on my mind quite a bit recently. I’m finding the bleed over from…

my personal life and my professional life to be coalescing around trying to focus more on this moment and this place rather than past moments or past places. Similarly, avoiding the anxiety of what might be as I make another career transition is leading to more of a focus on enjoying what is Now professionally and not missing it due to wondering what it will be. With this concept in mind, today I “penned” my latest cycling column for my local newspaper.

It was an interesting experience of focusing on the Now while thinking of both the past and the future. For what it is worth, I offer the product for next week today, as in Now…

HOW IS YOUR NOW?

As I write this piece, we are on the cusp of both endings and beginnings. We look both backward and forward at the same time. Looking backward reveals to us the accomplishments or lack thereof in the past year. Looking forward focuses our attention on what is to come and what will be. In Roman theology, Janus, was the god of beginnings and endings. The two headed depictions of Janus are well known to us even today. One head looks back while one head looks forward.

As a people, we all focus time and energy on the past, hopefully learning from our mistakes and our successes. We also look to the future with either dread or hope. In balance, it is a healthy approach to life. Looking backward and forward affects how we experience our place in the world and our life experiences. When unbalanced, however, it can lead to problems.

Unbalanced looking backward can lead to depression and a focus of our energies on things we cannot change. Events act as an anchor holding us to the past. Similarly, looking forward in an unbalanced way can lead to anxiety and dread of what we are yet to experience. Unbalanced, we look forward to our days with anticipation of pain and fear.

Riding a bicycle has a way of helping you to focus on the Now. When I am descending a mountain, I am very aware of the air in my face, the speed with which my wheels gobble pavement, and the need to be absolutely in touch with where I am Now as I approach the next curve. When climbing to the Blue Ridge Parkway, I am very aware of the Now – the beat of my heart, the intake of oxygen, the gravel in the road. Each moment on a bicycle must be about my Now or my future moments may not come at all. It is this experience of being present at this time in this place, wherever it may be, that is the inherent joy of cycling.

Think about it… When you are in your car trying to text a message, what is your experience of your Now? When you are rushing to save 2 minutes, what is your experience of your Now? As you drift over the fog line while driving your car, what is your experience of your Now and what might that lead to for my experience of my Now?

Research into building positive mental health has shown that focusing on the Now and being aware of our current circumstances in day-to-day living leads to improved qualities of life for individuals and for those who live around them. If you can’t experience your Now from a bicycle, please practice experiencing your Now while driving your car. It will mean that you slow down, hang up the phone, and enjoy the moments of your Now, which just might lead to a whole bunch more of us enjoying our Nows.

As you read this, I hope you are in a good place and able to find pleasure in your experience of this moment. My best wishes to all for many happy NOWS in 2012!

Happy New Year!

Zeke

EMERGING FROM A FOG…

2011-12-28T15:26:00.001-05:00

I’m finally emerging from a multi-day fog of chemical induced surrealistic life experiences. The past few days have been a great roller coaster ride in which shadows and shapes shifted in and out of my Robitussin, Alka Seltzer, cough drop, infused existence.

When last I felt this way, I was soothed/tortured with a cycling reality involving some interesting characters…

My return to the “underworld” began last Wednesday afternoon when a tiny, irritating scratch began to make itself known in my throat. By bedtime, the little bugger of a scratch had grown into two butane lighter fueled torches along my throat walls. My first line of defense was ZiCam, which I did or did not inhale as directed. (I’m still not sure which condition prevailed.) Any any rate, a less than well balanced 6 hours of sleep led to the final day of work before the Christmas Holiday. Fortunately, my current line of work allows for me to avoid human contact when necessary so I remained in my home office tied to the world through 16 gig download speeds and 5 gig upload. My musings, heard only by me and Herbert the Crazy Cat, were mine and mine alone. It wasn’t necessary that they make sense to anyone. Herb was in tune with me as I put finger to keyboard closing out the work demands of a fairly slow work week.

The ZiCam was or wasn’t helping (I’m still not sure) so I began the first of the Robitussin/Alka Seltzer Day/Night cycles. I would rotate between stuffy headedness to crystal clear clarity and back again. Friday came and went without me leaving the house. Herbert, I’m proud to report, made several journeys into the nearby woods. Once, I noticed the floor beginning to swell up and rise toward my face. After calming myself, I discovered it was merely Herbert awakening from a nap underneath my mountain of used tissues. I somewhat recall the Navigator in a HazMat suit hovering over me with a bottle of red fluid, which turned out to be the next Robitussin installment.

Saturday dawned forcefully with the explosiveness of a massive sneeze bringing me several inches above the bed. Linda Blair would have been proud. After my first two medication cycles, I recalled that I had not finished my Christmas shopping for the Navigator. Presciently , I thought the new harness for her Stihl Pro 85 Weedeater might not be a sufficient gift. Thank goodness for the clarity of Claritin. I bundled myself up and asked Herbert where he had hidden the keys to the truck. He did or didn’t answer (I’m still not sure.) I’m hoping that the events of the next few lost hours will someday become known to me. I really want to know how the new Lexus with the bright red ribbon came to be in our driveway and what, if any, that had to do with the big smile on the Navigator’s face. It was or was not well worth it (I’m still not sure). At any rate, the local Sheriff recognized my drug induced state and was quite kind in not pressing charges regarding the car. The Navigator is smiling less now…

I missed, for the first time in my 29 years of wonderful marriage to the Navigator, the Christmas Eve celebration with her side of the family. I either did or did not sleep through most of the evening. I seem to recall Charlize Theron in a Carolina Panthers’ uniform doing a victory dance after she plunged through the line of the woeful Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense. I am told the Panthers actually put away an opponent sometime during my recent sojourn. (Personally, I think people telling me this are just taking advantage of my circumstances.)

Christmas was or was not a pretty day (I’m still not sure). The Navigator and I made it to my sister’s homestead for Christmas lunch. The visit was punctuated by a conversation in which Bro Dave called from Sunny Southern Cal and I coughed back at him. He either did or did not understand my coughing sequence in which I imitated Morse code via coughing spells. The tears escaping from my eyes served merely to enhance the overall ambiance of the moment for those family members watching the performance.

Monday saw the beginning of the lifting of the fog. My medication cycles were slowing, which turned out to be good as I was about out of Robitussin. My head was enjoying longer periods of being present in the same world as the Navigator. Yes, I was finding my way back just as I’ve done in the past when similar maladies have come into my life. This time there was no Headwind Harry accompanying me on a feverish ride. There was only the knowledge that I was now recovering just in time to - (Say it with me!) - go back to work!

Until later,

- Zeke

HOLIDAY GREETINGS!

2011-12-23T11:22:00.001-05:00

From myself and the Navigator, please accept our best wishes for a Joyous and Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah. We hope that your lives are blessed in many, many ways in 2012!

My fellow rider, Paul Casper, has been busy as shown by this photo of his hand built wooden bike!

(Beautiful wooden bike contains multiple types of wood)

I knew that Paul was a talented photographer but I didn’t know that he was a talented wood-worker. Click on the image above to be taken to his photo gallery for close up images of this beauty of a bike…

Normally, this time of year, I would be compiling a list of cycling goals achieved or not achieved. At the moment, I’m fighting a body invading virus of some sort that has my head feeling like a stuffed piñata just waiting for someone to break it open. I doubt many “goodies” would come out if that were to happen. So, I’m going to keep this one short and sweet and simply hope to convey my thanks to those folks, who take a few moments to read my scribblings and especially to those who return for more.

I occasionally get asked why I pursue this venture and I can truthfully say that it helps keep me motivated to get out and ride and to enjoy the bounty of the land. I also find that through this blog, I’ve made friends and acquaintances that I would not otherwise have enjoyed. I find inspiration in the stories of Aaron West, the world of ultra light touring from the VeloHobo, and specifically the writings of Kent “Mountain Turtle” Peterson. For a wonderful Christmas story, be sure to read his latest offering “Santa Is Just As Real As Bigfoot.” There are, of course, others who have directly or indirectly nourished me as I try to find words and stories of interest. Jim Artis, Cycling Experiences, offered much help and many suggestions three years ago as I started out on this little adventure, Bro Dave, whom I’ve discovered was into cycling much earlier than I was, and others, who have been kind enough to post comments and share information with me. To each of you, I say a heartfelt “Thank you!”

I’ll end with the finish from my favorite childhood Christmas story, “Merry Christmas to All and To All A Good Night!”

- Zeke

PHIL–PLEASE “SAY IT AIN’T SO!”

2011-12-12T15:58:00.001-05:00

In recent days, stories have been circulating in and around counties abutting the Blue Ridge Parkway indicating that the Parkway is going to CLOSE TO CYCLISTS.

The story has enough “legs” under it to garner comments from the Adventure Cycling Association and Blue Ridge Outdoors. So, my plea is to Superintendent Phil Francis that he issue a clarification of the Parkway’s intent regarding cyclists under the current draft plan…

I spent a portion of my Sunday reading through the draft plan and looking at parts of it in depth. Additionally, I viewed a brief news clip on local ABC affiliate WLOS-TV in which Superintendent Francis specifically states that “cyclists will still be welcome to use the Parkway.” Now, it was a sound byte and lasted all of 15 seconds so it didn’t add much grist to the mill of conversation on this topic.

In my reading of the plan, I found the following, which I transmitted to our members of BicycleHaywoodNC with encouragement to comment on the draft plan after doing their own reading:

In my reading so far, I find that Option B, the one preferred by the NPS, includes a statement under the trails section (pg 48) that states bicycling would continue to be allowed on the main Parkway road and other parkway roads realizing that cyclists would be sharing the road with higher volume traffic especially in urban areas. (This is my paraphrasing so read it for yourself.) There is also a reference to an off-road trail being built in the Blowing Rock area. This has since been eliminated due to costs and will not be included in the final draft plan.

I’ve pretty much read the major areas of the document. I’ve tried to skim all of it. So, here’s my impressions thus far…

1) Cycling, while clearly not being banned outright in Option B, receives little consideration.

2) The language of the plan emphasizes the driving experience as envisioned by the founding fathers of the Parkway. Unclear to me is if this is a language, semantic issue or if automobiles are clearly given the preference over other forms of use of the Parkway.

3) Option B includes, after further refinement, some of the management concepts of Option C so it really kind of becomes a hybrid B/C model.

4) Option C, page 51, includes under the Trails section a plan to develop off road multi-use trails in the high count traffic areas. I don’t know if this is also a mistake and will be eliminated as noted above in the Blowing Rock area.

5) Option C appears to make more effort than either option B or option A to work collaboratively with various recreational and heritage organizations within the surrounding counties than does the other options.

6) If you look at the tables in the document, you will see that in sensitive areas no mountain biking is allowed and as you move toward less sensitive areas limited mountain biking on trails is allowed, specifically Julian Price area is referenced. You can find this information under Appropriate Recreational Activities (pg 57).

7) Further in the plan, you can see specific plans for individual segments of the parkway. Primarily, our area falls into segment 7 and the Buncombe area into segment 6.

My somewhat overarching view of the plan is that cyclists receive little consideration within the overall context of motorists. The references that I saw to bicycling, while not banning cycling, doesn’t really address safety of cyclists, enhanced facilities for cyclists, etc. On Friday night (I think), when this story seems to have broken, WLOS interviewed the park superintendent. His sound byte (and yes, it was only a sound byte that made it to air) was that the parkway would not be closed to cyclists and that cyclists would be “welcome to continue to use it.” As I watched it, I know that my impressions were colored by my role as a cyclist so I’m trying to take that into account as I write this. To me, it was not a ringing endorsement of the rights of cyclists to use the parkway nor did his statement seem to have much enthusiasm for cyclists. Again, please keep in mind that was how I heard it and someone else may not have heard it the same way or had the same impression. It would be good for the superintendent to clarify the position of the planners and his own support or non-support of cyclists on the Parkway. The sound byte left me wanting more information rather than alleviating any concerns. Unfortunately, the public meeting for our area was held in November so it is too late to make that public comment via the meeting.

There is another piece of the plan that I don’t fully grasp and that is the application for National Historic Landmark status. The pros are apparently that it leads to more funding opportunities and has significant protections down the road for the Parkway overall. The opposing view seems to be that gaining that status would handcuff the management of the parkway in such a way as to prevent future development of things such as off-road trails. Again, I just don’t understand this piece very well.

Please note that the Adventure Cycling article goes into somewhat more detail about the implications of the National Historic Landmark status.

So, what does the future hold for cyclists and the Blue Ridge Parkway? After my reading of the plan, I’d have to say it appears the Parkway will be open for use by cyclists but that they won’t have any particular standing with the management plans, i.e., no widening of shoulders where feasible to allow for safer riding, no facilities, etc. Unfortunately, unless sufficient comment from cyclists is received by the comment deadline of December 16th, we may be left out in the cold again…

Thanks to the VeloHobo for the link to the Adventure Cycling story…

Until later,

- Zeke

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS…. IS AMERICAN MADE!

2011-12-08T19:22:00.001-05:00

Recently, I was having lunch with my friend Il Plummer at the local “bicycle friendly” business Smoky Mountain Café when our conversation turned to ABC network’s ongoing reporting on “Made In America.” I haven’t seen those spots but Il Plummer is the inquisitive type and now that he is retired from his English teaching position, he has lots of time to ponder the situations of the world. He was educating me on the “Buy American” series and recalled that, in one of the earlier shows, ABC reported that if everyone would simply purchase $64.00 per person of products Made in America, we would create 300,000 new jobs….

We puzzled for a few moments on the mathematics of that statement. (Remember he was an ENGLISH teacher and me, well, I might have made it as a US Navy pilot if I could only figure out where two trains would meet when train #1 left the station three hours earlier than train #2 and travelled at a rate 25% slower) . Neither of us figured out the math this time but we did agree that it was our duty to buy at least $64.00 in “Made in America” materials/products/goods this shopping season. Of course, the more we bought American Made, the more American jobs we could contribute to making.

The whole conversation got me to thinking about riding vehicles on two wheels – both the self-powered kinds and the gas engine powered kinds. I still recall a moment of sadness when I found out that my beloved Harley Davidson was no longer made with 100% American parts. I mean heck, if a Harley ain’t American Made, what is?

(One happy dude on a 52nd birthday!)

This led to a brief consideration of my stable of bicycles and where they were made. I decided not to go look because I was concerned I might go into a deep dark depression if I discovered that my bikes were made in southeast Asia. Well, O.K., I suppose the fact that one of my bikes is a Fuji should be a pretty big hint and knowing that both bikes have Shimano pedals might lead me further down the path to depression.

But, then I thought of the headset on both my Salsa Fargo and my Fuji CCR3. They were made by Cane Creek, a nationally recognized company of excellence in building bike parts. Guess where they are located! Cane Creek is a Western North Carolina based manufacturer in nearby Fletcher, NC. This is a big win for our local community and a win for “Made in America.” Visit their website at www.canecreek.com.

So, here’s a suggestion: let’s all buy local and buy American this shopping season. Contribute at least $64.00 for each member of your family to the American pie and then we’ll watch those jobs come rolling in on that train that left 7 hours ago running at 45 mph for 2 hours and then 53 miles an hour for 5 hours. That should put it here just about the time that Santa arrives…

Until later,

- Zeke

‘TIS THE SEASON–FOR BIKE PLANS!

2011-12-05T17:42:00.001-05:00

I’ve just had the pleasure of participating in the latest Bike Plan Kick-Off for the Western North Carolina region this past week. The Land of the Sky regional planning board in conjunction with the Southwestern (NC) Commission is preparing a region wide bike plan that will encompass 7 counties in western North Carolina.

(The BRBP logo is shown to my right during my brief chat with participants)

The $250,000.00 plan is being funded through the French Broad Metropolitan Planning Organization and will carry through to 2013. Representatives from the 7 involved counties met at….

Haywood Community College’s High Tech Center to begin the process of plan development. Participants included local elected officials, town and county planners, cycling advocates, and the general public. The morning session consisted of orientation to the plan and funding for the Steering Committee members and selection of an Executive Committee that will meet at least quarterly over the next 2 years. The Executive Committee will be a decision making body that brings the overall plan together. I was pleased to get a spot on the Executive Committee as one of the 5 at-large advocate seats.

The afternoon session consisted of welcoming messages from the current Chair of the French Broad Metropolitan Planning Organization and Waynesville Alderman LeRoy Roberson. Roberson is a member of BicycleHaywoodNC and advised the participants that the plan would have his full support in moving forward. After the welcoming comments, myself and two other advocates addressed the crowd from our perspectives which included our recently adopted Haywood County Comprehensive Bike Plan, a very successful and ongoing trails plan in nearby Buncombe County, and ongoing plans for a Rails to Trails conversion in Transylvania and Henderson Counties.

This event, by all reports, was a successful kick-off to the regional planning process. You may view more information by visiting the regional bike plan website.

On a more local front…

We continue to move forward with our own Haywood County Bike Plan development. A large part of the development at this stage of the game is educating the public to the plan. Over the course of the next week, myself, Don Kostelec, Project Manager, and Claire Carleton, Haywood County Recreation Director will be speaking to at least 3 groups. I start tomorrow with a 7:00 a.m. chat with the Sunrise Rotary Club of Waynesville and then finish the evening with our monthly meeting of BicycleHaywoodNC. On Sunday evening, we will be attending the annual meeting of Blue Ridge Bicycle Club in advance of our merging with that organization to form a regional advocacy effort. Next Thursday, we have meetings scheduled with The Town of Clyde and Haywood Community College officials to follow through on developing a Park ‘N Pedal for HCC staff and students in nearby Clyde. The plan would be to highlight a safe route to the school in order to relieve parking congestion on campus and to provide an opportunity to improve health and reduce gasoline consumption. Also part of that discussion will be some conversation around the local black smith and welding programs of HCC to design and build some culturally sensitive bike racks for local businesses. That same evening, we will be addressing the Town of Waynesville Board of Alderman at their December meeting to apprise them of developments in the bike plan.

‘Tis the season indeed!

A brief Tour De France spinner bike update…

I continue to be impressed with this product. I’ve found that creating local rides on Google Earth via iFit and then downloading to the bike is an easy process and makes my exercise periods interesting. As one would expect, in developing a better understanding of how the bike functions, I’m getting more comfortable with using it. I’ve had some really good workouts leaving me exhausted and soaked in sweat.

I’ve listed on my “wish list” for Christmas a Brooks B-17 saddle and some Shimano pedals like the ones on my Salsa Fargo so that I might be more comfortable on the spinner and so that I might use my regular riding shoes. On the downside, a new “click-clack” sound has developed on the left crank. I’m going to monitor it to be sure that some part isn’t failing. Still, all in all, I’m quite impressed with the spinner.

Until later,

- Zeke

BEST WISHES TO YOU FOR A GREAT THANKSGIVING!

2011-11-23T18:04:00.001-05:00

This is the week where we pause to consider those things in our lives for which we are thankful. In recent years, it would be easy to overlook some of the positives in our community and in our homes given the nature of the economy fed by ever increasing petroleum prices, corporate greed, grid-locked Congress, and things that we’ve all heard about ad nausem. So, it is particularly important to shine the light of thankfulness on some of those positives from the past year…

In the world of cycling, I’m thankful for the opportunity to pen this post and write my cycling column for our local newspaper on a bi-weekly basis. I always want to remember that there are countries in this world that wouldn’t allow this form of open communication. I never want to forget those who fight for my right to do so.

I’m thankful for the overwhelming positive response that we (BicycleHaywoodNC members) received from municipalities, businesses, and community organizations as we went about developing the first ever blue print for cycling infrastructure in Haywood County. I’m thankful that this blueprint was adopted and will become a central part of a regional bicycle plan in the near future.

I’m thankful for the 97% of motorists, who passed me on our mountain roads and, rather than throwing a beer bottle or other missile at my head, chose to throw up a hand in greeting and gave me plenty of space as they passed me on their way home, to work, or other destinies. I hope I reciprocated with similar courtesy.

I’m thankful that an impending meeting between Town of Clyde officials and Haywood Community College officials, along with BicycleHaywoodNC members, may well lead to some fitness and alternative transportation opportunities for staff and students at HCC as early as next spring.

I’m thankful for the contributions that former BicycleHaywoodNC member and Bethel resident George Ivey made to our community during his residence in Haywood. George’s leadership will be missed on many levels. When you buy local, think of George as he was instrumental in getting the Buy Haywood program up and running. When you enjoy the Great Smoky Mountains, think of George as his leadership in Friends of the Smokies helped bring much needed funding to our National Park. Duke University’s gain in getting George as a Senior Grant Writer is most definitely Haywood’s loss.

I’m thankful that our Haywood County Chamber of Commerce has grasped the potential of inviting cyclists to our community via the Blue Ridge Breakaway. Year three should bring 600 registered souls on two wheels to our beautiful community.

Finally, I’m most thankful for the support of my wife, Kathy aka the Navigator, who graciously supports my time and energy in the cycling world. Without her, the rest wouldn’t mean as much to me…

Please stop for a moment and consider the positives that surround us! Be sure to take a moment and express your thanks to those around you who support you and enrich your lives!

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

- Zeke

Le Tour de France Spinner Bike – An Initial Review

2011-11-18T09:47:00.001-05:00

It is 18 degrees outside this morning as I begin to put finger to keyboard. I’ve been off of my normal writing schedule this week due to numerous commitments in different areas of my life. I did, however, get to spend some time on my recently received Le Tour de France spinner bike from ProForm.

(Shown here in its 99% unpacked and ready to go state!)

I’ve written about the delayed receipt of this product elsewhere so I’ll move on beyond that stage now, i.e., ordering and delivering….

After creating and logging into my gratis iFit account, I created a workout based upon one of my most common rides near my home. This ride begins at the Bethel Grocery Store at the intersection of US 276 and Lake Logan Road. The ride climbs to the Blue Ridge Parkway along NC 215 going along the West Fork and Middle Prong of the Pigeon River, by the Sunburst Campground, and then to the Parkway itself. Maps indicate the length of the ride is 18 miles.

The Wood-man and I debated this length at supper last Friday evening and resolved to double check the mileage. Doing so independently, we each measured 17.6 miles and 17.4 miles on our respective odometers. I further checked the mileage using two additional GPS sources (Garmin Oregon 400t and my HTC Thunderbolt using My Track app). The distances on the two GPS units were comparable to our vehicle odometers.

After having created the ride and saved it to iFit, I then logged into my WiFi signal via the spinner bike’s console and achieved connection to the internet. This was easy to do in general, although, I would sure love an improved keyboard interface on the console. As is, you move to one key at a time using navigational buttons and then press the equivalent of an Enter key to store the selection. I made my log-in name much too long not knowing this was the process. I’ll probably improve my speed with practice. Had I realized this process I would definitely have chosen a shorter login name and password.

Once logged in, I was able to select my created route and start the workout. This was where the fun began. The spinner reacted to the virtual road seemingly just as if I were on my road bike. The bike raised and lowered itself with compatible increases/decreases in pedaling resistance. The actual ride is mostly river grade for the first 5 miles although it does trend upward in elevation going from 2475’ elevation to 2930’ elevation over the first 4.5 miles. (GPS coordinates = 35.4266N, –82.9198W at the junction of NC 215 and Little East Fork Rd.)

To that 4.5 mile point, the pedaling was what I would expect had I been on the actual road. – some slight downhills with some slight uphills and no major grade increase at all. In fact, the highest grade over that mileage was 2.2%.

I was switching between the Google Map display and the elevation profile on the display. There are numerous metrics that you can monitor as you ride but other than mileage and elevation profile I wasn’t paying much attention this date. There is no heart monitor for this unit at this time, which is to me a definite shortcoming. I’m hopeful that is being developed now.

At the 4.5 mark, the first moderate intense climb begins. In the real world, you begin to climb above the Lake Logan dam and then drop down to the bridge across Lake Logan. On my virtual ride, I had worked up a nice sweat by this point and had a heart rate in the upper aerobic range as measured on my Oregon Scientific heart monitor. I could see the small jump in elevation coming on the profile and knew that it was going to be right on schedule with the real world ride.

Sure enough, the front end of the spinner bike increased grade by raising the front end and the pedaling resistance became much tougher in partnership with the increasing grade. In the real world, the max grade, as measured on my HTC Thunderbolt was a max of 8.1%, which is close to what other instruments I’ve used indicate although it is on the low side. I was watching the elevation profile at this point in my virtual ride and could clearly see the “top” of the climb coming. My experience on this segment was feeling more strenuous than what I would have felt in the real world due in part to my current lack of knowledge as to how the “gearing” works on the spinner bike. You increase or decrease resistance by pressing on up and down arrows. The read-out tells you what I believe to be a gearing combination. I haven’t found the documentation on this aspect of the bike as yet.

Once I topped the climb, the bike front end lowered and I “enjoyed” the descent to lake level and the causeway (2999’ elevation: GPS coordinates: 35.4090N, –82.9393W). I stopped at the 6.0 mile mark as measured on my recent metric gathering trip in the Navigator’s Ford Escape. The spinner bike showed a slightly lower mileage mark. On the descent, the pedal resistance dropped to nothing and I was free spinning until I changed the gearing on the display.

Unlike a real ride, I didn’t have to pedal back home on this virtual ride. I simply stepped off the bike and was in the shower in 5 minutes. Subjectively, I felt spent with wobbly legs and had definitely maintained an increased heart rate. I was soaked in sweat as I didn’t wear one of my technical jerseys. The seat on the spinner is still pretty rigid and I’m still dialing it in for fit. I was happy that I was wearing some shorts with nice chamois. It was a good workout that was shortened due to some other duties pressing me for time.

I would not have been out on my road bike this evening getting a workout so this was a much better experience than my previous trainer where I just sat there and spun along. I was impressed and pleased with the performance on this first test ride.

I did discover a previously unadvertised aspect of this product. I purchased the bike under the assumption based upon marketing that I would have the actual Tour de France stages built into the bike computer and that I could imagine myself riding some of the roads of that great race. Well, I can do that. The rub is I have to pay money to do it. The cost is $2.00 per stage or $30.00 for a package of all stages. I do not recall this aspect being advertised anywhere when I was doing my research prior to the purchase. At $1299.00 purchase price, I expected that to be included. (Update 11/25/2011: I WUZ WRONG! The TdF routes ARE BUILT into the CONSOLE of my spinner bike and are accessible at no charge. My previous comments were based upon being on the iFit system, where you can download the TdF stages for a price as noted in my original review.)

So, along with the lack of heart monitor, I’ve gotten a couple of unexpected discoveries after purchasing the bike. Still, my initial reaction to the quality of the workout is very positive. I can choose to pay for the Tour de France stages or simply ignore them. The missing heart rate monitor is likely a bigger issue for me.

I’ll be interested to see how the product holds up over time. I purchased the extended warranty, which I hope I don’t have to use. Having purchased these types of warranties in the past, I know that they usually include a yearly maintenance check-up. I’ll have to peruse the product to see if that is the case here.

(Note: I have received no remuneration or other consideration for the review of this product. I’m pretty sure the ProForm folk don’t know I exist. The opinion here is based upon my sole experience of the product and is for informational purposes only.)

I see we have a heat wave now – 32 degrees! I guess it’s time to get outside and take care of those pre-Thanksgiving chores!

Until later,

- Zeke

BIKE PLAN ADOPTION REALIZED!

2011-11-09T15:02:00.001-05:00

Monday, November 7, 2011, saw the Haywood County Comprehensive Bike Plan unanimously adopted by the Haywood County Board of Commissioners following the plan presentation and submission at the Board’s regularly scheduled meeting…

I had the pleasure, along with Project Manager Don Kostelec, of presenting to the Board the efforts over the past year that resulted in the first ever Bicycle Plan for our rural community. As Chair of BicycleHaywoodNC, I recalled for the Board initial steps in getting funded by the French Broad Metropolitan Planning Organization thanks to the diligent work of former FBMPO employee Heather Stassberger. The 20% match to the $40,000.00 grant was raised through efforts by BicycleHaywoodNC council members during some very tough economic times. No municipalities were asked for money in the process. Early on, the decision was made to develop a comprehensive bike plan for the entire county, which includes a number of townships and unincorporated areas.

The Bike Plan was adopted just in time to become a central part of the FBMPO’s regional bike planning efforts that kick off on November 30th. Haywood County is centrally located between Asheville, NC (Buncombe County) to the east and Sylva, NC (Jackson County) to the west. The central corridor from these two counties will run dead through Haywood. Situated in the mountains of Western North Carolina, a number of touring cyclists enjoy the climbs and descents through the local area each year. Haywood is also home to the Blue Ridge Breakaway, a highly successful cycling event going into its 3rd season.

An Executive Summary and the full Bike Plan may be viewed on-line at BicycleHaywoodNC’s website. Look for it on the Bike Plan link.

IT IS HERE!…

Following a number of shipping delays, my ProForm Le Tour de France spinner bike arrived by freight carrier yesterday. Problems in the quality of shipping had delayed my receipt of the bike ordered on September 5th. I’ve been tracking its progress across the country since October 31st and was pleased to get the phone call yesterday asking “where can we meet to give you your bike?”

If my package is indicative of the overall changes in shipping, the company did a good job of correcting issues. My bike was packed so securely it must have been a Fort Knox security team that oversaw the packaging.

(Before and After - packing that is!)

The manual was concise and easy to follow and I especially appreciated the easy to read list of bolts and screws. I had to supply only a Phillips head screwdriver and an adjustable wrench in order to assemble the bike. While the instructions called for two people to assemble the bike, it turned out to be a reasonable task for one person. When doing it alone, the trick is to be sure you don’t put strain on the wiring harness as you plug in the components.

(Partial assembly showing seat post, seat, and handlebars installed)

I assembled the bike without problems right up to the VERY LAST 2 SCREWS! These are 2 of the 4 screws that secure the console to the handlebars. Despite numerous attempts, I’ve yet to get the two screws to tap into the handlebar. Given that they are on the same “bar”, I’m beginning to think it wasn’t pre-drilled at the factory. I’m not too concerned though as the console is very securely mounted as is.

(Fully assembled with just some final wrappings to be removed)

My final steps, after resolving the last 2 screws dilemma, will be to connect to my WiFi secure network and do firmware upgrades of the console. I should be ready to rock ‘n roll or, at least, workout after that! I did discover that the heart rate monitor for this product is not yet available so I’ll be using my existing Oregon Scientific monitor as an adjunct to the system metrics provided with the unit.

Our weather is already deteriorating today so tonight will hopefully see me getting in an indoor ride! I’ll also get to check out the iFit on-line function of the bike. Who knows, maybe I’ll see you on-line!

Until later,

Zeke

BRO DAVE RIDES AGAIN!

2011-11-01T14:07:00.001-04:00

Some readers will recall that my brother, Dave, had an unfortunate crash a few weeks ago after putting on his new Schwalbe Big Apple tires. The combination of new rubber and moist pavement didn’t work well when he went into a banked, off camber turn. He reported that before he knew it there was no bike under him and his face was bouncing off the pavement, cracking his helmet in the process and lacerating his face by either the helmet attached mirror or his glasses.

(Bro Dave took one on the chin and other places!)

Normally, quite a handsome dude, if I do say so myself, Bro Dave has been treated for his lacerations and fractured wrist and was back on his steed on Sunday..

He reports feeling pretty well and indicates his wrist didn’t bother him a great deal during the ride. He has taken steps to avoid future face/pavement interaction as you can see below:

(Bro Dave wrapped nicely to prevent further facial damage in case of accident)

Note his snazzy Appalachian State University cycling team jersey given to him by his best brother! I’m not sure Bro Dave took as hard a hit at ASU during his football career (starting wide receiver as a freshman) as this cycling accident would tend to indicate.

(Disclaimer: O.K., O.K., that is really just Bro Dave in his Halloween make-up in the first picture. I just couldn’t resist it. The rest of the story is true though. He did crash, he did fracture his wrist, and endure facial lacerations. He is back to riding as of Sunday…)

HAYWOOD COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE BIKE PLAN…

Tonight we present to the Haywood County Recreation Board Advisory Committee our newly developed bike plan – one of only two in N.C. that addresses an entire county. This is a precursor to our meeting with the Haywood County Board of Commissioners next week at which time we will submit the plan for official approval. More to come….

Until later,

- Zeke

LITTLE EAST FORK RIDE CLEARS THE COBWEBS

2011-10-30T07:58:00.001-04:00

Thursday past looked to be the last pleasant day for local riding before the cold front accompanied by rain invaded Western North Carolina so it seemed prudent to get out and enjoy it. A late afternoon ride up NC 215 helped work out the cobwebs and stiff muscles associated with little sleep and uncomfortable time spent in chairs in the family waiting room at our local hospital ICU where the Navigator and I spent the early morning hours attending to a family medical emergency. The ride proved to be a perfect antidote to that “stove up” feeling in my bones…

(Enjoying my colorful new Road Fish jersey from our recent trip…)

The ride started amidst a crowded parking lot of Bethel Middle School footballers…

… and included the Love Joy Road loop up to Lake Logan Road. As I started out, the sun was shining and the air was quite warm. I briefly pondered the need for my wind breaker. That all changed, however, as I made the transition to Lake Logan Road and noted the approaching cold front ushering in thick heavy clouds. It looked as if a deluge would occur at any moment and I could feel the air cooling rapidly.

My timing for the ride turned out to be pretty good as I was ahead of the “end-of-work-day” traffic and had the road largely to myself. A few heavy trucks and construction types passed me heading down the mountain as I climbed the gentle slope of the road. The only meaningful traffic in my direction was a school bus disgorging students from their day of learning at the local school. We played leap frog as I would give way and let the bus pass me on the narrow road and then sometime later, the bus would be behind me again as it had taken off on some side road before returning to Lake Logan Road. We repeated the “give and take” swap a couple of times until the final encounter in which I saw the bus as it was returning to the school. The driver gave me a final big wave as she headed home from her work.

I was on my Fuji CCR3 road bike for the second ride in a row and enjoying the ride although I must admit that I began to miss the Brooks B17 saddle on my Salsa Fargo around mile 10 or so.

Just before having to start the climb above Lake Logan, I took a left onto Little East Fork. This has quickly become one of my favorite spots to ride as it is so pretty and the traffic is quite low. The residents have been generally friendly and respond with waves and greetings as I pass. I took a short break at the Pisgah Camping Club sign to finish off an energy bar and get some liquid into my system although I certainly had not overheated on this ride.

The Pisgah Camping Club is simply a small quarter mile to half mile of park model campers and larger campers that line both sides of the road. The Little East Fork of the Pigeon River runs alongside and the speed limit drops from a high of 45 mph to 25 mph in this one section. As I resumed my spin up the cove, I passed two campers armed with their cameras as they took a hike in the area.

The sky had lightened slightly as I made my way up the road. For the most part, the climb is never more than a mild grade although there was one spot where I hit a 12% climb for a brief spell. It was along this section that I spotted a pretty barn back dropped by fall’s remaining colors.

(The rock silo gives this barn some nice character)

Just beyond the short climb the road levels out until it meets the gravel entrance to Camp Daniel Boone, site of many fond memories for me when I was a Boy Scout. I still recall the night I was “tapped” into the Tsali Lodge of the Order of the Arrow and spent the night alone on the mountain. It was one of those events that stays with you through the years.

Mounting Disappointment…

Last winter, I failed to keep myself as active as I should and paid for it this spring by being in notably poorer condition than I should have been. My weight crept back up slightly but mostly I lost muscle tone and cardio conditioning. Determined not to let that happen again this year, I placed an order for a ProForm Tour De France spin bike on September 5th. Delivery was to be within 2 weeks. I also purchased an extended warranty for the equipment as a safeguard.

I received a rubber mat near the two week mark but no spin bike ever arrived. I received notice that my warranty was in effect, but no spin bike arrived. Finally, I contacted the company via the on-line chat at their website and was informed “they didn’t know when the bike would ship.” This was not an acceptable answer so I managed to connect with the original salesperson, who informed me the company had been dissatisfied with the quality of shipping that was being done and they they were working out the problems.

Prior to that correspondence, I read of a number of customer complaints about the TdF bike not working once they received it. I certainly would prefer getting a working model in good condition so I was mollified by the decision to work out the shipping bugs so that items arrived in good condition. Eventually, I was told by yet another employee of the company that I would have the bike by October 21st. In a follow-up, I was told, by the original salesman, the bike would ship October 21st. Well, October 21st has come and gone and no bike has been received. To my latest query at the end of last week (28th), I was told that the bike would ship by November 11th. So, some 60+ days will have elapsed if the bike actually ships on the 11th.

I note on the company website that they are still advertising the TdF bike and do not have any disclaimers or notices about shipping delays. As I expressed in my latest email to the company, this has been a very negative shopping experience. The only good thing I can see is that they haven’t charged my credit card as yet. The Better Business website reports the following for the company:

To this point, receiving the TdF bike has been a minor irritant. However, with the riding season here becoming shorter and the frequency of nasty weather increasing, the ongoing lack of delivery is going to become significantly more than irritation. I would be interested in knowing if any readers out there have had similar issues with this company. Please feel free to post a comment if you’ve had good or bad interaction with the company or the product.

Ending On A Positive Note…

Bro Dave, he of the sunny Southern Cal area, was to have gotten back on his own Fargo yesterday for the first time since his unfortunate crash a few weeks ago in which he fractured his wrist and endured a laceration above his eye. Hopefully, he had a nice ride yesterday under sunny skies!

Until later,

- Zeke

INCREASING EXERCISE TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST CANCER

2011-10-27T13:53:00.001-04:00

I received a request to share exercise information for cancer patients through this blog. I’m pleased to do so and hope that the information provided by the author is helpful and motivating to all those fighting cancer. Having lost both of my parents to differing forms of cancer, I know the day-to-day struggles that can be barriers to using exercise as a tool to beat the disease. Now, here is the article….

Staying Active When You Have A Million Excuses Not To

Benefits of exercise for cancer patients

Cancer patients have more than enough reasons to want to skip out on exercise. But when people are feeling their worst is when exercise becomes the most important.

There are both physical and mental benefits of exercise for cancer patients. Physically these benefits may include increased lung function, improved heart health, enhanced restfulness, prevention of muscle wasting, reduced risk of osteoporosis, increased appetite, and overall improved physical function.

Exercise can mentally enhance the quality of life by increasing self-esteem, mood elevation because of increased endorphins, relaxation, enhanced independence and reduced risk of depression or anxiety. In the past, research mainly focused on breast cancer patients, but recent findings have shown that exercise is extremely beneficial for all types of cancer, including rare types such as pericardial mesothelioma.

It is necessary, for cancer patients especially, to progress with caution when it comes to planning an exercise routine. An oncology doctor can help when deciding on the level of activity. How much activity recommended is based on qualities such as age, cancer type, treatment type and the degree of physical health prior to diagnosis. Cancer patients must remain in tune to their bodies and act appropriately. But, getting started is often the hardest part.

There are different types of exercise. Simply doing chores or taking the stairs are good ways to begin to become more active. Other types of exercise include flexibility, aerobic and resistance exercises.

Flexibility exercises like pilates, stretching and yoga are great ways to maintain mobility and work on balance. These types of exercise are good ways to get started if the patient doesn’t have a history of exercises or is not ready for vigorous activity.

Aerobic exercises like playing a sport, jogging, or swimming are very important and improve cardiovascular fitness and increase lung function.

Resistance training such as weight lifting is excellent for cancer patients who are able to do these exercises. During cancer treatment there is often a loss of muscle and resistance training is a great way to build back up these muscles.

All three types of exercise are beneficial in their own ways but all share the common goal of increasing overall health.

Liz Davies is a recent college graduate and aspiring writer especially interested in health and wellness. She became particularly interested in ways cancer patients can cope with the side-effects of their treatment after her mother became an oncology nurse for lung cancer. For further information, Davies may be contacted at healthylizd [at] gmail.com. You non-robots out there can put this address into a proper form!

Until later,

- Zeke

FADING COLORS HINT AT THINGS TO COME

2011-10-24T15:22:00.001-04:00

October has been an interesting riding month this year. It started with a week of riding in the Low Country of S.C. where the temps were still quite warm and late summer seemed to this Mountaineer to still be in the air. As we wind down October here in the mountains of Western North Carolina, the fading colors of fall are more the norm with quite cool seasonal temps near freezing occurring.

(Last week’s bright colors have darkened quickly…)

I finally managed to get myself back on two wheels yesterday for a brief spin around the Pigeon Valley Loop. Having ridden my Salsa Fargo each and every ride since purchasing it, I opted for a return to…

my Fuji CCR3 road bike for the first time in 6 weeks. It took a few moments to reacquaint myself with the triple crank drivetrain and get my seat readjusted. Very shortly I felt rejoined to an old friend and enjoyed my easy spin down NC 215 to the town of Canton.

Along the way, I noted that the fields have mostly been gleaned and many have already been turned and put to bed for the upcoming winter. One or two tomato fields retained plants now withering under the morning frosts turning the remaining fruit to blubbery like substances.

(Field along the Pigeon River ready for a winter nap!)

I was surprised not to see other cyclists on the road on such a pretty day. I didn’t pass a single cyclist or overtake a single rider. I did nod in greeting to two cyclists at the Canton Recreation parking area as I passed by. I couldn’t tell if they were starting or finishing their ride.

While there, I took a moment to grab a picture of a sign that does or does not exist depending upon who you ask. Two good sources told me that, at a recent Town of Canton Board meeting, a spirited discussion occurred over whether bicycles were allowed on the Rec Park grounds. Apparently some members of the Board said they were and other members said they weren’t. Also, the existence of a sign prohibiting bicycles was debated.

(Do you see this sign? Some say it doesn’t exist…)

I’m pretty sure I was lucid and coherent when taking this picture and I promise it is not “photo-shopped” into the scene. Note the bicycle in the background. Perhaps the rider can’t read or simply chose to ignore the sign.

It was much too pretty a day to spend much time pondering these particular mysteries of the universe. I clipped back in and continued my ride taking NC 110 south to Love Joy Road and beyond. It was a wonderful day to be outside and, even though my ride was relatively short, I was again reminded of the joys of living in a 4 season area that is blessed with such beauty!

Now, it’s off to our State’s capital city of Raleigh for a couple of days of training. I’m hoping to see some of the oft reported improved cycling infrastructure around the city.

Until later,

- Zeke

TWO BIRDS AND A BIG ‘OL MESS

2011-10-17T17:01:00.001-04:00

O.K., I know what you are thinking and I’m pretty sure that the image you have this moment of birds and a mess isn’t where this story is going. But, then you never know until the story is finished…

I recently realized that in all of my writing of the recent trip to Hilton Head Island and our Low Country cycling week, that I forgot to mention what for me was a new life experience! We had been on the island and at our rental house for a couple of hours when we started hearing these odd sounds from outside. We had stayed fairly busy unpacking vehicles and putting things away so didn’t really attend to the unusual noise with much energy.

Finally, we finished settling in and were sitting on the deck enjoying a cold libation and watching the golfers drive their shots across the lagoon when we kept hearing the sounds from the tall pines that surrounded the house. I finally spotted the perpetrator of the noise. It was an Great American Bald Eagle! To that point in my life, I had never seen one live.

(A Bald Eagle sitting in the trees and singing out for all he’s worth!)

I was torn between watching him and enjoying the moment and trying to get to my camera in the hopes that he wouldn’t fly off before I could get a picture. As you can see, I opted for the camera although I did enjoy simply observing him as well. The image above was as close as I could pull him into focus with my mounted lens.

In just a few moments, he flew off and we discovered what he had been conversing with… a second Eagle that we had not observed. The two of them were magnificent creatures as they soared away from the house and along the lagoon. I’m guessing it was supper time. Despite my wishes, we didn’t see the pair again during our stay.

Now, for the Big ‘Ole Mess…

The Navigator has been a pretty darn good sport about my riding and the equipment and accouterments that go along with the ventures. She really hasn’t said too terribly much about me keeping the Fuji CCR3 in the dining room when I wasn’t riding it. She was less happy about the various lights, tools, etc. that somehow seemed to find their way to the dining room table for extended stays.

Then, we added her Fiona from REI and there simply wasn’t the room for two bikes in the dining room even if she would have allowed it. So, Fiona found home on the lower level where we watch TV with our dogs and the Fuji maintained a vigil upstairs.

But then… I added the Salsa Fargo to the stable and there just became too many bikes in too many places for our comfort level. So….. I called upon my limited carpentry skills and geometry knowledge from 10th grade in high school some 42 years ago and decided to construct a bike rack where everything could be together in one place and mostly out of the way.

This revelation came to me while I was wandering through my local Lowe’s store one day last week. (I’m prone to brilliant revelations while at Lowe’s.) The problem with me and building anything is that I have a pretty impaired concept of scale. I once decided to build a roost for my father’s Bob Whites. I set to purchasing equipment (read MORE power tools) and supplies. The only level place I had to work at that time was on the deck of our then home.

I started figuring and constructing and before you knew it, I had the magnificent new home for my Dad’s birds. One of our neighbors worked with my Dad and made the gentle inquiry of him wanting to know why I was adding a room on to our deck. This was news to my Dad. It should give you some idea of my concept of scale. So, the big day to transport the roost to Dad for his birthday came and I lined up 4 male friends to help load the thing (another hint about scale) and we finally loaded it into my Jeep pickup for the trip across town. There was no room for anything else in the truck. (Yes, my final hint about being scale impaired).

I’m proud to say that the Condo, as it became known, lasted a number of years and supported several hatches of birds. It lasted right up until the moment that Il Plummer and I cut down an oak tree, watched it pivot UPHILL, and then proceed to roll dead under the Condo smashing it and releasing all of the birds back to nature!

The Stage is Set for a Bike Rack…

I didn’t share my intent with the Navigator as she tends to roll her eyes when I infer that I might build something. Plus, I wanted to surprise her by getting my bike stuff out of the way. She was gone on Saturday taking care of her father so I knew I had time to build with wild abandon. So, I did…

My supply list was actually pretty small. It consisted of the following:

3 2X4X8’ studs
1 1X6X8’ board
2 4’ in length Gladiator channels for holding hooks
3 hooks for holding bikes
6 assorted hooks for holding other bike-related materials (helmets, seat bags, etc.)
An assortment of wood screws

The Gladiator channels are 4” wide by 4’ long and I figured they would butt up to each other to cover the length of the 1X6X8’ board. (Oh yeah, when building I rarely go by plans, which may be a variable in my scale disability.)

My first step was to construct the legs/posts which I did by cutting 2 of the 2X4X8’ studs to 7’ lengths. I then cut two 3’ lengths from the remaining 2X4X8’ stud. I marked off 1.5” from the end of the 3’ stud so that I could then nail a 1’ cleat to it and have the 7’ upright screwed to the 3’ stud and the 1’ cleat.

(Joining the upright to the base)

I realized pretty quickly that this wasn’t going to be a particularly strong upright and that I needed additional support of the upright. So, I scavenged another 2X4X8’ stud from my leftover building projects and cut another 3’ length out of it. I then cut each end on a 45 degree angle and screwed the bottom to the 3’ base stud and the top to the 7’ upright. I used my framing square to maintain a 90 degree angle at the cleat. I repeated these steps for the second upright and support that would be needed. I was using 2'” by 6” wood screws that I had in my supply of unused materials.

Next up was to mount the Gladiator channels to the 1X6X8’ board. I simply measured to center the channels on the board and screwed them using the provided screws to the board and to the two uprights. I had measured in 1’ on each end of the board so that I’d have my uprights in some semblance of symmetry.

At this point, I made sure the uprights were securely attached to the face board. I was ready to put the hooks into the channels and stand the whole thing up with hopes that it wouldn’t fall over and that it would fit within the basement.

(A naked bike rack… Ignore the ugly walls in the background. Sad story…)

So, it was time to test out the stability of the rack and I began adding bikes to it. First up was Fiona followed by Fargo and finally Fuji.. The 3 F’s of the household.

(Rack loaded with bikes and still standing!)

(Side view of the rack)

I quickly noted that the design had a flaw in it. The 1X6X8’ flat board with the Gladiator channel had a somewhat sharp wooden corner running the full length of the board. With the weight of the bikes hanging on the hooks, the tires were biting into the sharp corner. I was uncomfortable with this particularly with the skinny tired Fuji. I didn’t want to ruin a new set of tires!

Had I realized this in the beginning, I could simply have run the Gladiator channels flush with the bottom of the board and avoided the entire issue. Now, however, I needed a fix as I did not want to remove all of the screws holding the channels to the board and to the upright. I briefly considered running the board along my router and putting an angle cut on the board but decided I would probably end up ruining the board and having to start over.

I needed help… I did the only thing a sane man with a scale disability could do. I returned to Lowe’s. I wandered the isles. I perused the specialized nuts and bolts. I contemplated titanium and stainless steel. Finally, just as I was becoming dehydrated from the intense effort, the answer appeared before me with all the shock and awe one might expect from the deep dark recesses of a hardware store.

I found myself in front of an 8’ wooden closet rod bin. Could it work I wondered? Why not? What did I have to lose? I could shop secure in the knowledge that Lowe’s would always take the rod back. So, I made a commitment to roundness – to the smooth finish of a pine closet rod.

Returning home with glee (still haven’t figured out how Leah Michele got into my truck…) and wonderment, I attached the closet rod below the Gladiator channel and discovered that YES! IT WORKS! The sharp edge of the wooden board no longer cut into my tires.

(Rod protecting Fiona’s front rubber)

At some point in the near future, I’ll do some sanding and some staining and give the rack a little more finished look. All in all, for a pretty small outlay of funds, I have in fact pulled our stable of bikes together so that everything is in one place and the dining room is freed up for, well, dining. I’m pleased to say that we did not have to add on to the house in order to store the rack. I imagine my Dad is looking down from Heaven saying “well done, son, well done. Now don’t cut any trees nearby…”

Until later,

- Zeke

THE RETURN TO THE HIGH(ER) COUNTRY

2011-10-10T23:45:00.001-04:00

The Navigator, Sherry Shazam, the Wood-Man and I have completed our time in the Low Country of South Carolina and are safely back home in the High(er) Country of Western North Carolina. I indicate High(er) for the benefit of those fine folk living out west whose low places are higher than my high places. Still, High or High(er), it is good to be home. We were welcomed home to a gorgeous view as the mountains have put on their fall colors and are resplendent in yellows, reds, and shades in between. Also, the temperatures are cooler.

(My snazzy new Fat Cyclist jersey got a nice workout in Palmetto Bluff)

We had a great time on our week long getaway. My overall summary goes something like this…

CYCLING THE LOW COUNTRY OF S.C.

I’m just back from a week long stay on Hilton Head Island during which I was able to enjoy the many cycling opportunities in this League of American Bicyclists (LAB) Silver level award winning community. To attain the Silver level award from LAB, a community must have invested much time, energy, and infrastructure throughout all phases of the community.

On the island, bike paths take you everywhere that a public road goes. In addition, a number of the privately owned developments on the island allow cyclists to spin through their properties. The public paths are used quite heavily by tourists and locals alike. Riding to local restaurants, shops, grocery stores, and governmental units takes no more energy than jumping on your bike and pedaling. Of course, the island isn’t comprised of hills and mountains that we enjoy in our local topography. The bike paths are uniformly separated from the higher speed traffic areas such as the William Hilton Parkway so, other than bumping into another cyclist, you are relatively safe on two wheels. You do have to be careful when crossing entrances to businesses or major intersections. Signage along the way helps to direct you in the safest manner possible.

My friend Woody and I enjoyed a nice 8 mile (one way) ride to the local Barnes and Noble store and then caught up on a bit of Low Country history by visiting a cemetery where African-American soldiers in the Union Army had been buried. On that trip, we enjoyed not only a fitness ride but also added to our sense of history without spending money on gasoline or adding carbon to the atmosphere.

The real treat, however, turned out to be off the island. We asked for local riding suggestions from the guys at the Road Fish bike shop near where we were staying. They directed us to Palmetto Bluff just outside of Bluffton, SC. This large development, in excess of 30,000 acres, integrated the needs for cyclists and alternative forms of transportation from the start. A simple registration process at the main gate opened the entire path system up to us during our stay.

We enjoyed many miles of riding on paved and packed gravel roads. Riding along under the large oak trees with hanging Spanish Moss was a great experience. We rode beside waterways populated by White Herons roosting colonially, numerous markers indicating the biodiversity of the area, and along the cobbled streets of the small village in Palmetto Bluff. Whether riding for fitness or for the simple pleasure of being outside and enjoying nature, this was a wonderful adventure.

Outside of the private development, bike paths and bike lanes connected the historic section of Bluffton with the more rural parts of the county and with new businesses under development. Clearly, those communities have come to value cycling and are putting their money where their values are!

With forethought and planning, we can certainly provide similar quality of life opportunities for our citizens and visitors alike.

I was most pleased with my Salsa Fargo and its performance on the various road surfaces upon which we rode. I was also quite happy to be freed from stuffing everything I wanted on a ride into either one of my 3 rear jersey pockets and/or into my small seat bag. The Carradice Long Flap Nelson seat bag really made the riding experience less cumbersome.

Just a brief word of thanks to the guys at Road Fish bike shop for their hospitality and assistance as the Wood-Man and I made them our “home away from home” during our time on the island!

Up Next…

The next several weeks are going to be filled with finalizing our Haywood County Comprehensive Bike Plan, presenting it to the public, and seeking final approval from our local County Board of Commissioners. It’s going to be a challenging and energetic time! I hope you’ll “come along for the ride.”

Until later,

- Zeke

WHAT IS OR IS NOT ON UNION CEMETERY ROAD?

2011-10-05T16:24:00.001-04:00

Yesterday’s (October 4, 2011) ventures out and about on Hilton Head Island took the Wood-Man and I to the Hilton Head Diner located off of William Hilton Parkway. We’ve had fine breakfasts and better service at this location while on our trip to the Low Country despite numerous negative reviews on Trip Advisor. Our riding for the day was by plan limited. The most ambitious we felt was…

to take a short ride to the local Barnes and Noble. We were pleased to see that as we rode toward the mainland on the bike paths, there were longer and longer segments where the stop and go riding previously mentioned on our trip was infrequent. We met and passed numerous cyclists on the path during our 8 mile cruise to the book store.

Once there, we found a single bike rack for the entire section of stores. It was in poor condition and, worst of all, hidden behind a column on a blind side of the building where even a passerby would have difficulty noticing a bike or bag being stolen. Not wanting to find out about the local crime rate, I prudently removed my new Carradice Nelson Long Flap bag and carried it into the store with me after locking our two bikes together around the bike rack. Unsurprisingly, the Wood-man and I were the only ones in the store in lycra and spandex. As I checked out with my purchase, the clerk asked if I was riding my motorcycle today. I assured him I was on two wheels…

I was able to purchase two recent releases by two of my favorite authors, James Lee Burke and Lee Child. I’m enjoying the Feast of Fools already as Sheriff Hackberry Holland returns in the Burke novel.

There’s something missing on Union Cemetery Road…

The Wood-Man spotted Union Cemetery Road branching off of William Hilton Parkway as we made our way toward Barnes and Noble. Given the name, we guessed we might find an old cemetery where Union soldiers had been interred during the Civil War. It seemed like a good idea to check out.

Upon returning to the intersection, we headed down the bike path and I spotted a small cemetery off to our left. We had ridden alongside an individual, who told us the road ended just around the corner. Deciding that the cemetery that I spotted might be what we were looking for, we turned back and visited the tombstones.

(Old gravestones were sprinkled among newer residents of the graveyard)

We found numerous gravestones that dated back to the late 1860’s. Many of them appeared to have been homemade with the wording chiseled out of the rock by hand. Quite a few of the headstone writings were almost unable to be read due to age and deterioration. We found several gravesites of veterans but they were of the WWWI and WWII eras. There were also a number of graves of more recent deaths.

We spotted one family that must have experienced a great deal of sadness. There were three children born one year apart (1942, 1943, and 1944) and all were deceased by 1945 with the two youngest having died within 6 months of each other. They were surrounded by numerous other members of their family spanning a couple of generations.

What the Wood-man and I did not find was any sign of a Union soldier being buried on Union Cemetery Road. A quick Google search resulted in numerous real estate advertisements for Union Cemetery Road but no historical information regarding the history of the name.

Our short ride back to our abode in Palmetto Dunes Plantation ended with what is now our daily visit to Road Fish bike shop followed by a very nice soaking in the hot tub, which itself was followed by a fine steak dinner prepared by the Wood-Man. I know – I know: it’s a tough job but really, somebody DOES have to do it…

Until later,

- Zeke

(Postscript:Thanks to principal researcher Il Plummer, additional information is available about Union Cemetery Road and the inhabitants of the small graveyard we visited yesterday. There are, in fact, Union soldiers buried at this spot. They can be identified by the inscriptions U.S.C.I. on the tombstones. This stands for United States Colored Infantry. We did not several of these headstones in the graveyard but could not figure out the meaning of the initials. These veterans were African-American citizens who fought on the side of the Union during the Civil War.

Thanks to Il Plummer for the clarification and update! More information is available at Union Cemetery Road.

FROM A ROAD FISH TO A BLUFF

2011-10-04T11:47:00.001-04:00

In our effort to discover new areas of riding in the Hilton Head Island zip code, we stopped by an excellent LBS, Road Fish Bike shop, and asked for some direction on riding that wasn’t characterized by constant stop and go. As I’ve noted before, HHI has really made cycling from place to place for transportation, commuting, and shopping quite easy. The separated bike paths along major roads like William Hilton Parkway keep cyclists relatively safe from the speeding traffic, which is often quite heavy. From a fitness point of view, the downside of the paths however is…

that at every business entrance, there are small signs for cyclists to stop and allow the faster moving auto/truck traffic ingress/egress to the businesses. This is absolutely understandable as the motorists are leaving 45+ mph roads and decelerating into the parking lots.

What I’ve noted over a couple of years of visits now is that the cyclists tend not to stop and quite often seem oblivious to the approaching vehicles. Yesterday morning, for example, we watched a husband/wife team (that’s a guess at the marital relationship) leave the bike path to enter a primary intersection. The husband looked one way but not the other and the wife, following his track, didn’t look up at all. A vehicle coming from their left could have crunched them both quite easily. I don’t know if the majority of the cyclists are tourists and not used to these paths or if they are locals who have become complacent about safety. Either way, it seems like a formula for injury.

But I digress… The point of the visit to Road Fish was to ask for some local cycling guidance to find a more open space for riding. We were directed to a couple of places off the island. Our belief that such a placed didn’t exist on the island was validated by the staff member at Road Fish as he reviewed the map with us.

Of the two choices, we decided on Palmetto Bluff near Bluffton, SC. A 35 minute drive took us to the location, which turns out to be 30,000 acres of forested land and development. We stopped at the Operations building and asked permission to park and ride the area. A very pleasant young lady directed us to some proper parking, told us to enjoy the trails, and have a good time.

We quickly discovered 10’ wide paved and separated bike paths that took us parallel to New Riverside Road. Signs along the way indicated that cyclists and pedestrians should stay on the paved path and not be in the road. As you can see from the following image, the pathway wasn’t exactly overburdened this day with users.

(Clear spinning ahead in Palmetto Bluff)

I kept expecting to pass other trail users but on our 6.5 mile ride out to the end of the path, it didn’t happen. In fact, the most crowded area we encountered was a small bridge on the path where a mother with her 4 young children were hanging over a small tributary.

(The Wood-Man passing a young family)

We enjoyed the solitary ride back toward our vehicle and didn’t see another soul on the path until we met two approaching cyclists near the parking area. This section of the path was primarily a connector to several housing developments along New Riverside. We ventured into one of them and I formed the opinion that the economy had taken its toll on the development aspect as you could see partially prepared lots for houses where work seemed to have ceased.

After returning to our starting point, the path turned east toward the Atlantic Ocean so we decided to follow it for a period of time. Very shortly, we came upon the main gate to Palmetto Bluffs proper. We stopped and chatted with a very pleasant young man, who was the security guard and on his 3rd day of work in his position. We enjoyed some conversation with him, filled out a short registration form, and was given our decals for permission to ride the trails. The decals did not have to be affixed to our bikes but would need to be shown if requested by security personnel. They cost nothing other than a moment or two of time to fill out the form and will now grant us access in the future to the trails. Keep in mind this is a private community opening up their trails to non-residents.

After resuming our ride, we quickly came into an open marsh area where dozens of White Heron were preparing to roost for the evening. This was the largest gathering of the bird that I’ve seen in one place at one time. It was difficult to get a good image of the group as we were moving at about 15 mph at the time and I took the picture from the moving bike.

(Solitary White Heron keeping a watchful eye)

This section of the bike path took us through heavy canopied trees filled with Spanish Moss, across brick paved access roads to gated homes, and beside small bay-like areas of water with fine homes overlooking them. Another 4 miles took us into the small village that is Palmetto Bluff where we encountered our second security guard of the ride. Again, a very pleasant and helpful young man, who was mounted on his bicycle. I asked him if he got to ride around on his bike all day for his job and he replied, “yes, pretty much… Well, I also have a truck if the weather is bad.” Tough work but somebody has to do it… Both of these young men were very pleasant and took their time to speak with us, which is in such direct contrast with a security guard with whom I had the unfortunate pleasure to meet two years ago while I was on a ride. But, that’s a story for another day.

According to this young security guard it was almost too hard to tell us where the path would take us because the path literally goes everywhere. He made some suggestions for looping around the village and getting closer to the ocean, which we will follow-up on another day. The sky was beginning to sink lower in the sky so the Wood-Man and I headed back the 4 miles to our vehicle as we knew The Navigator and Sherry Shazam were wanting to dine out. Our uninterrupted ride back to the cars brought us to the conclusion of a 20 mile ride in which we had enjoyed virtually no “stop and go” riding and had even been able to expend some energy getting the Fargo and Wood-man’s mountain bike up to 20 mph sprints.

We topped our evening off with a meal at the Red Fish restaurant on Palmetto Bay and Archer roads. Despite the parking lot being pretty well packed, we were seated quickly and enjoyed the ambiance of the room, which is mostly a collection of wines sold by the restaurant. The Navigator and I enjoyed blackened Mahi Mahi over jasmine rice with either a vegetable medley or asparagus. The food was good – not great- and priced reasonably for this area. The selection of wines was outstanding. Our server was a young man, who worked as if it were a Monday evening following a long weekend. Well, o.k. it was a Monday evening…

A Brief Word About Fargo…

The decision to bring my new Salsa Fargo rather than my Fuji CCR3 has turned out to be a good one. The Fargo is exceeding all of my expectations in performance and comfort. The Schwalbe Big Apple tires are similarly turning out to have been a good decision. The ride is smooth and quite comfortable. Even with my new Brooks B17 saddle in the “breaking in” stage, I was never aware of any discomfort yesterday or any other day for that matter.

All in all, a very satisfying day here in the Low Country of S.C. …

(Yes, that is a very satisfied smile underneath the moustache!)

Until later,

- Zeke

DOWN LOW, WAY LOW…

2011-10-03T11:31:00.001-04:00

The Navigator and I, along with Wood-Man and Sherry Shazam, are into our 2nd full day of vacation in the Low Country of S.C. We’ve made our 3rd annual trek to Hilton Head Island for a little fall getaway and Low Country cycling, sun, and, of course, cuisine. But first…

(Final Thursday evening ride of the season!)

BicycleHaywoodNC, our local Advocacy Council, held the final Thursday evening post-work ride of the 2011 season last Thursday (Sept. 29, 2011). Shown above, the 10 final participants enjoyed a delightful evening cruise from Rolls Rite Bicycle to Lake Junaluska and back via parts of the Haywood County Greenway. We enjoyed an easy spin of 10.5 miles along paved roads and packed pea gravel. Bicycles on the trip included a tandem, a mountain bike, a cruiser, my Salsa Fargo, a Surly Long Haul Trucker, two Surly Pacers, and other fine brands. It was quite the eclectic bunch! Due to darkness arriving sooner now, the evening rides have run their course for this season. Another successful season saw more new and newly returning riders joining the weekly rides. Included this year were starting points in nearby Clyde, NC, as well as, some rides originating in Canton, NC.

NOW TO THE LOW COUNTRY…

Our first two days have been blessed with clear sunny skies and temps in the low 70’s during the day. The Wood-Man and I got out for a light spin yesterday just to loosen our legs after the previous days 6.0 hour drive to the island. Hilton Head is a recent recipient of the League of American Bicyclists Silver level commendation for being a Bicycle Friendly Community. The separated bike paths are everywhere and you can travel fully around the island without need of a car.

To get under the heavily travelled William Hilton Parkway, cyclists and pedestrians take an “under highway” bridge that runs along one of the many creeks and tributaries that make up HHI.

(Wooden bridge providing access under William Hilton Parkway)

(View from the bridge crossing under WHP)

Today will bring more extensive riding for me and the Wood-man. We’re going in search of some open roads for some more fitness riding. The speeds are slow where we are staying and the security is tight so you don’t stray too far from the rules of the road. I also hope to get by one or two local bike shops just to check out things. Of course, if I get waylaid by the sun and sand all bets are off…

ZEKE AND THE NAVIGATOR GO INTO HIDING!

2011-09-27T14:53:00.001-04:00

The Navigator and I have been away. We’ve been enjoying some quite secluded time in the woods on a mountain top far, far away. Our favorite campground was running at less than 50% capacity over the end of the work week and through the weekend. It was, in the fullest meaning of the word, glorious…

(Saturday brought clear blue skies highlighting the beginning of fall colors)

The trip started on Thursday amidst…

dark and dreary skies as the forecasted rain seemed to be imminently upon us. When we reached the 5,280’ mark of our trip, I looked west through a gap in the mountains and could see where we were going. It didn’t look good. a heavy dark cloud had descended onto the top of the mountain and was hugging it tightly.

With limited traffic on the road, we were hopeful of seeing some wildlife. We were not disappointed!

(Bull elk and his cows resting and eating in mountainside meadow)

In addition to the elk, we spotted more turkey than we could count and even flushed a Grouse at one point in our trip. Thankfully, the presence of wild hogs was not to be seen this trip. The hogs devastate pretty much any area that they visit.

Into the murky world of the clouds…

We arrived at our designated site and even though it wasn’t raining, the moisture of the clouds resulted in everything getting wet. We did minimal setup on Thursday evening as we knew the cloud wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Friday morning was equally gray and damp as the cloud continued its presence on the mountain. Large drops of water condensed on the overhanging limbs of the trees turning them into early adorned Christmas trees. The first two or three cups of morning coffee were spent enjoying the richness of the forest and the birds that were flitting here and there.

My friend, the Velo Hobo, would certainly not give me any bonus credits for ultra light camping as our setup includes a 26’ Keystone Hobbi camper and lots of comforts of home. The company of our two Labrador Retrievers, Zeke and Orla, add great fun and joy to these too infrequent getaways. As you can see, neither Zeke nor Orla had difficulty adjusting to the sun once it broke through the cloud canopy.

(Old Man Zeke heats up the aging bones thanks to Mother Nature)

(Orla recharges following a walk along the ridge.)

Once the sun chased the cloud away on Saturday, I was able to get my solar panels setup and charged our camper batteries. The system worked well as 5 hours of bright sunshine topped us off for the evening and through our Sunday departure. The panels always draw interest from our camping neighbors so I get to talk about them – a lot!

(No prizes for Ultra Light camping to be won here!)

Sunday morning came around much too quickly and it was time to pack up and head back to the house. As we left the campground, only two campers remained. They were in for a most excellent secluded time! Of note throughout the weekend, lots and lots of bicycles were attached to the cars and campers that did stop over. Additionally, road cyclists were quite abundant on this quiet spur in the National Park. I missed the Fargo but not enough to let it interfere with some fine campfire cooking and quiet reading. I certainly managed to recharge my own batteries with this short quiet trip from home. Next up, we go back to the Low Country of South Carolina in one week for time riding around the League of American Bicyclist Platinum level community – Hilton Head Island.

EXCELLENT DOT RESPONSE!

At last week’s South Main Street study meeting, I had the opportunity to ask of the DOT official at the meeting about adjusting an insensitive traffic light sensor at the intersection of the Super Wal-Mart and South Main Street in our hometown of Waynesville, NC. I made the inquiry in a written note and had to leave the meeting before getting to speak with him. Within two hours, I had an email response back assuring me that DOT wanted to work with us to fix the problem and asking when we could do it. We scheduled it in two days but was rained out. We rescheduled for yesterday and I was met by two NC DOT staff members, who worked with me to adjust the light sensors until they were repeatedly picking up my bike and making the proper lighting changes to allow cycle traffic to enter South Main. This is a very busy intersection and has been somewhat dangerous for riders as they had to either wait on auto traffic to trip the light or take their chances running the red light. The service of the NC DOT was excellent in this case and they get many kudos for the effort!

MY NELSON LONG FLAP SADDLEBAG ARRIVES…

One of my first activities after unpacking the Hobbi was to check out my Carradice Nelson Long Flap saddlebag that arrived. UPS delivered it just before we left on our trip and I didn’t get the chance to check it out.

(The Long Flap Nelson arrived nicely packaged and in good shape)

(Each bag is signed by the person who made it. Thanks Christine!)

(Two leather straps around the dowel secure it to my Brooks B17 saddle)

(After connecting the third strap to the seat post, the bag snuggles into the seat)

(Rear view after fully mounting the Nelson Long Flap)

I have yet to ride with the bag on Fargo so I’m not sure how it will meet my expectations. My first impression was that it was small. However, that was without benefit of having packed it. My research indicated it was of sufficient size for day commuting and light overnight camping. I don’t see light overnight camping in my future so that isn’t much of a concern. The quality appears to be excellent as advertised and I certainly had a great shopping experience with Wallingford Bikes in New Orleans.

My Schwalbe Big Apples arrived at my LBS while the Navigator and I were in hiding so the Fargo is going to the shop today for the new tires. I should have everything ready to go for the Low Country trip on Saturday. I’m looking forward to trying out both the Long Flap Nelson and the new treads.

Until later,

- Zeke

FINALLY, THE FARGO IN ITS ELEMENT!

2011-09-21T15:41:00.001-04:00

Sunday was my first opportunity to take the Salsa Fargo out and enjoy it in its real element – off-road, loose gravel, steep climbs. The Wood-Man and I headed out to the Sunburst Picnic Area above Lake Logan on NC 215. A Forest Service Road just off the picnic/campground area was our destination. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t what I got…

My mindset must have been expecting a nice warm up period of sweet packed pea gravel. What I got was an immediate climb on gravel! Next up was a slight increase in grade leading to an easy fording of the West Fork of the Pigeon River on a submerged concrete slab.

No warm up, no easing into it. We were destined to climb this day. The Fargo was a dream at this point. On my 29” Race King tires with knobby tread, I was cruising up the gravel road for my first off-road experience. With tall trees on both sides and a fine comfortable breeze assisting us, the Wood-Man and I made our way up the mountain.

(Shade accompanied us along with the sound of rushing water on the lower leg.)

After approximately a mile of climbing, we came to our first hair pin turn and noted a single track trail off into the woods. We decided to see what it was like but found it to be outside our comfort zone within 50 yards. I had visions of being clipped in when a bad wobble of the Fargo sent me head first down a 45 degree grade to the creek below. Prudently, we turned around and returned to the Forest Service road with its wider track and loose stone.

I was finding the right gearing for this type of riding and enjoying myself as my heart rate increased with the increase in grade. A short relatively level traverse across the mountain side led to the next hairpin turn and another step up in grade. We could see the section of the road recently climbed as we switched back and forth along the mountain.

After about the third (or was it the fourth) hairpin curve, the road took a significant increase in both grade and length. We were both breathing hard and trying to keep forward motion going. I could not stand up to pedal as that only served to unweight the rear wheel and I would spin in the loose gravel resulting in loss of momentum. Road traffic and horseback travelers had kept the road surface quite stirred up leaving sand, grit, and loose gravel in which we tried to get purchase for forward and upward motion.

Occasionally, the center of the road offered some grass and well packed surface and we could stick to the mountain significantly better. There were no shoulders that looked safe to ride upon as a misstep here or a slip there would either send you into a ditch (the better alternative) or off the steep mountainside.

With each section gained, we would hope to find level ground for a brief respite only to discover yet another length of climb. We reached the top of the gap after surviving what my bike computer indicated was a 24 degree grade.

Once at the top, we were rewarded with some great views through the cuts in the trees.

(On top and looking east!)

Both the Wood-Man and I determined that we weren’t overly interested in dropping down into the next valley only to have to repeat the climb so we took a short 75 yard descent just to be sure we we had “gapped out.” Satisfied that we had reached the top, we turned and rode back over the top.

The Descent…

Of course, what goes up, must go down and this turned out to be the more nerve racking part of the climb for me. To this point, my experience with disc brakes was limited to about 15 miles on paved roads. I had limited understanding of what to expect as we dropped back down the road so I kept a “turtle like” speed in order not to overcook my brakes just in case such a thing was possible. The ride down was a jarring experience and my arms and wrists were worn out by the time we returned to the parking area. Along the way, we passed a young couple hiking with their 3 dogs. The Wood-Man met them on the blind side of the curve and was able to let them know I was not far behind. Fortunately, I saw them with plenty of room to assess if the dogs were on lead or not.

After we returned to the paved road, we rode down to the Lake Logan dam just to add a few miles to the ride and to work off some of the adrenaline from the descent. There was quite a bit of traffic out on this pretty Sunday and almost all of it was friendly and courteous. We had one jerk that felt the need to buzz us but otherwise it was a very nice road sharing experience.

I’m thoroughly enjoying the Fargo and more so each time as I get it dialed in and understand better the differences in the riding styles. I did discover on the descent that my rear brake isn’t adjusted to have the same stopping power as my front brake so that will require some adjustment before the next ride. The big tires with knobby tread, in Wood-Man’s words, “sound like a pickup truck on the pavement.” But, boy did they climb well. I was very pleased with how the Fargo took me further and longer than I expected I could go. It was hard work and a great workout. I’m finding that riding the Fargo less miles is a harder workout than a longer ride on my Fuji CCR3. Between the two, I’m expecting to be a stronger rider in the future.

Still Waiting On the Big Apples…

My LBS ordered some semi-click Schwalbe Big Apples for me near 10 days ago and we’re still waiting on them to arrive. The supplier reports that they are coming from Utah. I’ll be interested to see how they change the on-road dynamics of the Fargo. Bro Dave just put a set on his Fargo and found them to be a great tire for his riding conditions of mixed surfaces on his daily commute to work in sunny Southern California.

Unfortunately, the combination of new tires, somewhat wet roads from the morning fog, floating road oils, and a curve resulted in his going down yesterday morning on his way to work. You know it isn’t a good thing when an email starts out, “First of all, I’m O.K….” Bro Dave reported that he was going slow (25 mph) through a slight curve when the bike just disappeared under him and his head slammed the pavement. His glasses cut him just above his left eye and he says he quit counting at 10 stitches. Along with a sore neck, bummed wrist, and some road rash, he has ground down brake levers and a damaged left gear shifter. A new helmet is absolutely in his future. We will not post images to protect the innocent but he did say that he shocked a few trail users on his way back to his car.

A Most Excellent Shopping Experience…

I’ve been studying and researching on what type of bag or pannier I wanted for the Fargo. My friend the VeloHobo is a big fan of Carradice bags and I followed his suggestion of going with that brand after reviewing a number of other bags and styles. The Carradice line is apparently quite popular as I kept running into the phrase “out of stock” on various website. Finally, I came upon across Wallingford Bicycle Parts in New Orleans. The website indicated the bags were in stock but I still had some questions in my mind as to how this particular bag (Nelson Long Flap) would work with my Salsa Wanderlust rack. Well, I’ve received prompt and complete replies to my questions and excellent guidance for Bill Laine. My order was placed yesterday and I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of my bag. Chapeau to Bill!

Yesterday’s South Main Study Group…

As the representative to the study group trying to decide how the south side of our town should look in the future, I attended the stakeholders meeting of the South Main Study group yesterday morning. I joined, along with business owners and local residents, as we attempted to assist in developing a vision of what the southwestern entrance to Waynesville, NC should look like in years to come. It was an interesting process and I was pleased with the positive reception that cycling issues received. I was mindful of how different it was than the situations that Mia Birk describes in her book Joy Ride as she documents her struggles to bring cycling into the mainstream in Portland. I know that somewhere along the line there will be pushback against cyclists but right now I sure appreciate the overall responses we received.

(Study coordinator Rodney Porter address the South Main stakeholders)

During the meeting, I had the chance to drop a note to the local NC DOT representative attending the meeting. I was asking about the possibility of adjusting a particular sensor at the nearby Super Wal-Mart as it does not pick up bicycle traffic traffic at all – even when we’ve had 9 riders standing together! I had to leave the meeting and didn’t get to speak directly to him.

I received an email from him within 2 hours indicating his desire to help adjust the sensor and asking how soon we could do it. He was ready to do it today, which would have been 24 hours from the request. Unfortunately, the rainy weather resulted in my request to postpone until Monday. Still, what a great customer service response I received!

Until later,

- Zeke

A LITTLE JOY SPREAD TODAY…

2011-09-14T16:14:00.001-04:00

Today was one of those days and events that really lightens the load and makes the heart joyful. BicycleHaywoodNC members were able to fulfill a grant born in the spring of 2011. Healthy Haywood made the grant to the advocacy council last spring in order to add to and replace part of an aging fleet of bicycles for the local school system.

(Clyde Elementary phys ed students run to 15 new bikes!)

On this bright and sunny day, the 15 bikes and 15 helmets were delivered…

to the Clyde Elementary school where P.E. teacher Stephen Sharpe was instructing students on how to ride a bicycle. Every 4th grade student in the school system receives this instruction. Sharpe and Principal Dr. Pam Justice certainly had their hands full as they corralled the very excited kids when the 15 new shiny bikes were being unloaded on to the school parking lot.

John Mudge, council member and owner of Rolls Rite Bicycle Shop, worked with Fuji Corporation to get excellent pricing for the bikes and helmets allowing for the purchase of these much needed additions to the school fleet of bikes.

(Students await the GO command!)

(The face of concentration on this young rider)

The grant project addressed the areas of childhood inactivity leading to later-in-life health issues and strives to encourage children to start off riding early and safely. Principal Justice informed the BicycleHaywoodNC members that the bikes are taken for a week at a time to each of the school system’s locations so that each child gets proper instruction on safety and how to ride a bike. In this school’s case, this one class has all day to be on the bikes and sharpen their skills. BicycleHaywoodNC has pledged to provide additional bike rodeo events so that the children can continue to practice safe riding skills with good instruction.

Watching the kids ride was both entertaining and scary! It took but just a moment to understand that they had not all mastered excellent bike handling skills.

(Council members Yount, Mudge, and Kostelec watch an impending bump!)

The bikes will now happily reside with the Haywood County Schools and hopefully have a long life span spinning joy with each class of kids…

(All photos courtesy P. Casper and C. Carleton)

Most Important Note:

If you have not yet responded to virtually every bike and ped organization’s call to contact your Senators and indicate that they should reject the Coburn amendment to the extension of the Transportation bill, please do so ASAP. Your input is critical to protecting bike and ped funding.

Until later,

- Zeke

MY FIRST FARGO RIDE!

2011-09-09T10:48:00.001-04:00

Well, the first ride on the new Salsa Fargo is in the books and has found its proper place in history. That is probably somewhere between what I ate for lunch yesterday and the current status of my bank account. None of it is earth shaking…

The ride occurred as part of our Thursday night group ride. The group was composed of a wide range of bikes and styles. There were higher end racers, a cruiser or two, a fixie with no brakes other than the guy’s tennis shoe, a Surly Long Haul Trucker, A Surly Pacer, and me on the Fargo.

Until the moment the group gathered for a pre-ride chat, I didn’t realize how big the Fargo was on those 29’ers. I felt like I was towering over folks. There were a couple of moments during the ride when I thought, “Hmm, I could probably climb this guy’s back without much difficulty.” Going from the triple Shimano setup on my Fuji CCR3 to the compact double of the SRAM AVID grouppo has required some adjustment. I noticed the difference while riding the Swamp Rabbit Trail in Greenville, SC last Saturday but, the differences really came home to roost while trying to keep up with the road bikes in a group ride. I found myself pedaling much faster than usual and breathing harder.

The Thursday night ride is an easy cruise for all but the newly “getting fit” riders so I’m not used to working up a sweat quite as much as I did last night. I was very aware later in the evening of how tired my legs were even though the Fargo is surprisingly only 7 lbs. heavier than my Fuji carbon fiber bike. That was an eye opener for me!

At the end of the ride, I was very pleased with the quality of the ride even though I did work a little harder than usual. The balloon tires and CroMoly frame really evened out a lot of road bumps and it was a refreshingly smooth ride even though I’m running a little more aggressive tire tread than is necessary on the road. (Not to worry, my LBS has ordered me some Big Apple semi-slicks for a more comfortable road experience.)

The Brooks B-17 saddle was very comfortable even though this was the first ride. I’m looking forward to when it gets broken in properly. I’ve had to order Proofide from Amazon as no local dealers or REI carried it in my area.

I’m still trying to get the bike setup properly for me and that means setting up my VDO-Z1 bike computer to work on both the road bike and the Fargo. I’ve had a very unsatisfactory shopping experience getting the necessary parts for speed sensor, cadence sensor, and mount for the Fargo. My dilemma, after multiple trips to a bike shop in another town, was finally solved by ordering what I needed from Amazon. If a salesperson ever tells you that the speed sensor and mounts are universal, walk away… They are most definitely not universal.

As I was leaving for the group ride, the FedEx dude pulled into my driveway with the final part I needed and I slapped it on the front fork of the Fargo. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to dial it in so my metrics from the ride weren’t available on the VDO. I’ve been using “My Tracks” on my HTC Thunderbolt as a backup and it has worked quite well although I don’t get exactly the same metrics reported as on the VDO-Z1.

The only problem that I’ve experienced with the Fargo is that the front wheel doesn’t turn freely at all. I know that it is an adjustment with the Avid BB7 disc brakes. Having never used disc brakes before, my skill level and understanding of how they work is limited. Bro Dave is graciously sending suggestions from sunny Southern California and I’ve watched several videos on You Tube about BB7 setup. I hope to resolve the issue later today.

The shop where I purchased the Fargo is 1.5 hours away and they are closed today so calling them is not an option. I think this may be a good learning experience for me…

I hope you are able to get out and ride this weekend as fall of 2011 begins to make itself known..

Until later,

- Zeke

TRIPOD’S VERSION OF THINGS

2011-09-03T19:09:00.001-04:00

“Man, I mean it was Saturday morning - EARLY Saturday morning – well early for me anyway. There I was curled up on top of this cute boxed Surly Long Haul Trucker when these two dudes walk in. JJ was still trying to get the rental bikes out when ‘Ol Baldy and his “French” buddy Il Plummer come traipsing in the door – all in good spirits and such, waking me up. I hadn’t even lapped my milk yet.

(Tripod – Shop Cat Supreme!)

Then they commenced to talk. Buuuurrrrruuuutherrrr! I could tell it was gonna be a long day…”

”The bald one starts introducing himself. Saying he was from the mountains. Said he’d talked on the phone about a Fargo. JJ seemed to know what he was talking about and called out to Nathaniel. They commenced to jaw about and around this Salsa Fargo. Seems we had the only one in 3 states that “he who is mighty bald” could actually come down and see. I guess he’s been wanting one for a long time. He told some sad tale about having dropped all these hints to the Salsa people about sending a free one. Doesn’t look like it worked. Boo Hoo! Let me tell ya a tough story. Wanta know why they call me Tripod? Ah, that would just take us away from this other tale of woe. You can probably guess anyway. You know – a tripod has 3 what? Yes, LEGS! Guess you think you’re purty smart now.”

“At any rate, JJ commences to pull out this snazzy Salsa Fargo with the medium frame and the SRAM Apex gruppo and starts showing it off. “Ol Baldy was mighty interested and “Frenchy”, as I called him, started documenting the whole thing like nobody had EVER bought a bicycle here before. They all headed outside and I contemplated going back to sleep but decided I’d better keep an eye out.”

(JJ showing off the details of the Fargo to Zeke…)

“So I look out the window and there JJ is showing the Fargo off and answering what I’m pretty sure were dumb questions from ‘Ol Baldy.” Then “chrome dome” took a spin around the block while JJ set “Frenchy” up on rental bike so he could ride along and keep up his Doc U Menting. “

(Zeke testing out the Fargo under the watchful eye of JJ)

"Next thing I know JJ had sent ‘em off to ride the Swamp Rabbit Trail and get a feel for the compact double and the 11 X 32 gearing. This being Saturday and all, they probably met up with a bunch of people on the Trail.”

(A couple of shots of Zeke cruising on the Swamp Rabbit")

“When they got back from the test cruise, they were blathering on about the friendly people that they met and how lots of trail riders were saying “the grocery store was open today.” I guess that really was a pretty big thing given the Swamp Rabbit Café and Grocery was having their Grand Opening along the trail today. “

(Barbara & David from nearby Fountain Inn, SC at the café)

“Anyway, ‘Ol Baldy’ seemed to be mighty pleased except for a little shifting concern and Nathaniel went right to work on fixing that up. (Editors note: the concern was about how the shifter was working – not a complaint that just kept moving around. That Tripod!) Course, he needed some pedals and ended up reversing his thinking on Power Grips and got himself a nice set of Shimano PD-M324 2-way platforms. Then, he started in on wanting a Brooks saddle this time. Good thing we stock ‘em. I’m pretty sure we’d have sold some Schwalbe Big Apples if we’d just had the right size. Ah, ya gotta give ‘em a reason to return.”

“Well, I’m getting tired and need a catnap… (Sorry, I’m the shop comedian too!) Guess I’ll start wrapping up this tale. “Frenchy” got a pretty decent photo of ‘Ol Baldy’ with his new Fargo Salsa at the Café. That is a fine looking machine even if what's his name is standing behind it. I did kinda like his shirt though. I wonder where ‘Hasten Slowly” comes from…”

If any of you good folks are ever down at 102 South Hudson St. in Greenville, SC stop by and visit with me. I’ll be here – maybe share a joke with you – maybe not. JJ and Nathaniel will be here though and they’ll give you great customer service just like they did ‘Ol Baldy” and “Frenchy”.

(Shop Owner Nathaniel polishing off the sale!)

(TTR Bikes – Home of great service and good conversation!)

(Editors note: I’m not quite sure how Tripod got control of my blog but I’m grabbing it back now. Have a safe and happy Labor Day and please remember our fellow citizens in harm’s way during this holiday period. Now, I’m out of her to ride MY NEW SALSA FARGO!

- Zeke

PROVEN AGAIN! I’M NO LEVI LEIPHEIMER!

2011-08-29T15:31:00.001-04:00

On the day in which Levi Leipheimer was in the process of proving that he was the best rider in the USA Cycling Pro Challenge, I was once again, if to no one other than myself, proving that I am no Levi Leipheimer. For that matter…

I’m no George Hincapie, Cadel Evans, no Colombian climber, or Jennifer Jacobson (MY local heroine at climbing. She seemingly finds another gear without effort and leaves me in her dust although I must point out that I was holding my own this year after she reached her 3rd month of pregnancy!)

It was a glorious day here in Haywood County for me to catch up my mileage for August. My mileage suffered greatly during July and August this year. Between non-motivating high temps/humidity and a lot of community oriented meetings, I just haven’t been on my bike. I managed to get in two rides in the early part of the week and was determined to get one in yesterday (Sunday).

What a difference a week makes!

One week ago, the fine folks at Burnette Siding Baptist Church allowed us to use their ample parking space as an aid station for the Blue Ridge Breakaway. It was a busy place as shown in the following image:

(Riders on the Metric Century and Century rides stopped here!)

Yesterday, the view was considerably different as I rode the segment of the same route from Bethel Grocery Store on US 276 up Lake Logan Road to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Note the difference in yesterday’s photo below:

(Burnette Siding one week later…)

I was feeling quite good and my legs were feeling pretty strong at this point of yesterday’s climb. I was about 7 miles into the ride at the point of passing Burnette Siding. I was surprised that I didn’t pass or see other cyclists on such a pretty day. One mile further up Lake Logan Road (NC 215), I passed by the Sunburst Campground and picnic area. The campground was mostly cleared out and there were no families enjoying a picnic. Usually, this is a popular gathering place for folk.

I did spot something of interest! It was green and merged into the greens of the forest quite nicely. Seems my buddy W.T. Greene of Canton had placed a nice little “facility” for public use at the picnic area.

(Ahh! Can you save RELIEF?)

I did not, however, spot any water although I’m guessing that the campground had some spigots. Fortunately, I was well prepared for staying hydrated. After a short break for some “fuel”, I started the real climb of the day.

From this point, the climb increases in grade anywhere between 5% to segments of 14.5%. Traffic was light today so I had long swaths of road to myself – just perfect for the soloist rider to think. As often happens for me on these solo rides, I found myself thinking of my parents – both now deceased. I’m sure this day’s mediations were keyed by my friend Ted’s recent post at BikingInLA. More on that later…

One of my observations was that I really wasn’t attending to the encroaching muscular messages from my legs while I was “off in my head thinking of other things.” Once I refocused however, I became quite aware that my muscles were beginning to send messages about the ongoing climb. I began counting the turns and mileage to my next planned stop at the single arch bridge with its waterfalls. This occurs around the 14 mile mark of this segment of ride.

The top image is looking east through the gap of the trees at the single arch bridge. There is a long drop to rocks and creek as you descend this road and there are usually some people enjoying a brisk swim in a “hole” just below the bridge. On the upper side of the bridge is a boulder strewn waterfall that cascades down the mountain. On this day, the couple seen here were attempting to find a sunny place to enjoy each other’s company. The young lady was making a dangerous and potentially fatal mistake by climbing on the boulders in flip flops. I could just imagine her slipping or her foot coming out of the dangerous footwear, falling and hitting her head, and then landing in the rushing water. I encouraged her to take them off but she just smiled and waved. I watched a view moments until they settled just in case someone needed to get the Rescue Squad. Every year, several deaths occur in our county because people climb in wet places they shouldn’t be climbing.

After they were settled and I had eaten a banana, I decided to start my climb again. When I first started the ride, my goal was just to go until I got tired and not set myself up for disappointment by saying I’d reach the Parkway but then turn back early. I considered turning around here and heading home but decided to push myself to the triple arch bridge above my location. A right hand turn leads to a 12% (or greater) climb of about a mile to the triple arch bridge where you again cross the Middle Prong of the Pigeon.

On this part of the ride, in full sun, I managed to maintain a 6 mph pace and was passed by numerous motorcycles and cars. Everyone was pleasant and many folks either waved or gave me a “thumbs up” signal. I finally traversed the triple arch and, rather than turn around here, I just kept pushing the cranks over. Pretty soon, I was worn out and didn’t think I could go any further but I came upon a group of 5 Harley riders enjoying some beer alongside the road. I was determined not to turn around in front of them even though they had no idea who I was or what I was doing other than apparently hurting myself.

I made it another half mile above them and thought I’d popped for sure. I even turned around and stopped with my front wheel headed home. I took the moment to capture another image on this beautiful day.

(Mile 17 on Lake Logan Road below the Blue Ridge Parkway)

My body and part of my brain was saying “go home, it would be so easy. You need some energy left to get back.” Another part of my brain, certainly NO part of my body, was countering with “Yeah, go ahead quit now. You’re just a mile from the top. You’ll really feel good about yourself if you quit now…” I chose to let this side of the coin win and made the turn back up the mountain determined to go at least to the last steep climb just before the Blue Ridge Parkway. In my lowest gear possible, I trudged on knowing that I was either going to make it to the top or fall over from lack of any further ability to turn the pedals.

I came to the last right hand turn and started the steepest climb yet. There is a short straight stretch followed by a right hand turn where you then see a sign that says “Blue Ridge Parkway Ahead”. Having ridden this before, I knew that to be the lie that it is. While it is true that the Parkway is “ahead”, it doesn’t feel like it at all as there are 3 more curves with the grade remaining at 11% to 14% before you actually get to the crest of the mountain and the BRP.

Two hours and 10 minutes after my start, I pulled onto the Parkway and made it to the Courthouse Overlook. I was rewarded with some beautiful scenery as shown below:

(Looking east from Courthouse Overlook)

(Looking south from Courthouse Overlook)

This climb achieved 5,289’ of elevation and included 2717’ feet of climb over 18 miles with a maximum grade of 14.9%. (Note: stats taken from “My Tracks”) Following a couple of quick phone call attempts to The Navigator to let her know I was o.k. and heading home, I took a final bite of an energy bar, washed it down, put on my wind breaker, and headed back down the mountain.

It was a quick descent back with a minimal amount of pedaling on my part. In fact, other than rolling the cranks around to keep the pedals high on the outside of curves, I mostly had to work my brakes to keep my speed under control. I managed my speed between 25 mph and 35 mph on the way back. There were lots of shadows on the road and I was moving in and out of sunny spots making it hard to spot potholes and surface irregularities.

I was quickly back to Sunburst campground where it became necessary to begin pedaling under power again. During the descent, my legs had begun to stiffen so I had to get them warmed back up before the final short climb of the day. This occurs as you go above Lake Logan. Fortunately, on this end of the trip, the climb isn’t as steep or long as when coming from the north. I knew that I just needed to get over that final climb and it was all downhill back to Bethel Grocery Store.

I managed the last 3 miles by spinning a few revolutions at a time, which was just enough to keep up some speed and then coasting while moving around on my seat. I was well past ready to get off that narrow piece of saddle and more than ready to give my legs a break.

The ride was soon over and I sent out my SPOT message to the Navigator so that she would know that I was safely off the mountain and headed home. I developed a new appreciation for the folks that signed up for the Century ride in last week’s Blue Ridge breakaway. I had ridden only 18 miles up to the Parkway and the Century riders would have already put in about 45 miles at the point I began yesterday. From the point that I crested the mountain, the Century riders had another 32 miles of Parkway riding over two 6,000’ peaks before dropping down a 9% grade 2 lane highway and an eventual return to the starting point.

In the end, I was glad I pushed myself to make it to the top. I could easily have quit at least three times but then I would have had both the physical pain and the mental anguish of knowing that I let myself down. The physical pain goes away after a good hot soak in the tub and a good night’s sleep. The mental anguish stays with me much longer and will present itself more strongly on the next ride.

FARGO VS VAYA?

This is no longer a question… The question is now Fargo vs. Karate Monkey. More to come…

Until later,

- Zeke

THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND THE BLUE RIDGE BREAKAWAY!

2011-08-23T11:55:00.001-04:00

(Safety and Route Director Larry East monitors ride action)

This year’s Blue Ridge Breakaway “behind the scenes” action was bolstered by increased use of technologies for GPS tracking. We had a great partnership with…

the Haywood County Amateur Radio Club for the second year in a row. This group of Ham operators provided a ramped up service for 2011. In 2010, we relied heavily upon their ability to communicate in the mountainous terrain of Western North Carolina. While cellular technologies work fine in and around the more populated areas and areas where the topography is more spread out, there are still major “dead spots” where cellular simply doesn’t work.Notably, the climb up to the Blue Ridge Parkway from Lake Logan is so deep and narrow that cellular signals simply don’t get out. In fact, the Ham operators had to set up mini-repeaters at various sites just to get the Ham signal out to civilization.

The ability to communicate with these sites was imperative during the 2010 ride when a rogue weather cell dropped heavy rain and temperatures into the 50’s on the Blue Ridge Parkway.The Ham operators on site helped us get much needed evacuation vehicles to the Blue Ridge Parkway and enabled us to stop further cyclists from climbing into the messy and dangerous weather. Ten riders were treated for hypothermia last year but it could have been much worse.

This year newer technologies were available and we had GPS trackers on each of the 6 Moto-Sag vehicles. We had site based operators at each aid station and another 6 SAG vehicles with mobile Ham operators moving from area to area. Thanks to Best Buy, we had a large screen TV connected to the internet and were able to monitor all of these sites as the vehicles and riders moved around the various courses.

The software also had a weather overlay so we were able to track incoming weather cells and know how and where they might affect the riders. We continued to utilize cellular technologies and Smartphones. For instance, I was able to monitor the progression of the ride from my HTC Thunderbolt as I helped to coordinate the finish line or as I made trips out to assist riders on the road.

(Image of the internet stream used to monitor the ride in progress)

Given the technologies, we were able to speak with the SAG vehicles but not “see” where they were located so we relied on cellular connections to reach them. On the other hand, we could “see” the Moto-SAG’s but not speak with them. On the motorcycles, they couldn’t take cell phone calls so we would contact the nearest aid station via the Ham operators and have the Moto-Sag’s call in to “command central.” This enabled us to deploy and redeploy supplies, SAG support, and volunteers as the ride unfolded. As soon as the Fines Creek aid station closed down we deployed them to the Yellow Face station with more supplies and assistance. This was about a 25 mile drive and an elevation gain of 3000’ plus.

The Ham system worked off of the FEMA model for communications that would be used in a disaster. For us, this meant having an operator at our side in the room as we monitored the ride. This person was the link from the ride organizers back to the communications center where messages were transmitted to the appropriate sites or vehicles. The day’s events provided an excellent training opportunity to put the FEMA guidelines into real time effort. I’ll be looking forward to the debriefing results on our communications aspect of the ride.

Finally back on the bike…

Monday brought me a chance to finally get back on my own bike and get some miles into my legs. I’ve been quite lax in setting priorities to ride over the past six weeks or so. We’ve had a nice cooling off and I was able to spin my way home last night in 79 degree weather with blue skies and fluffy white clouds. I was pleased to see that once I warmed up, my conditioning had not dropped off as much as I feared. Still, I probably couldn’t have ridden the Breakaway this week. I noted that some of the trees are beginning to get some yellows and the late summer plants that flower with purple colors are making their presence known.

I’ll be looking forward to some more riding. Maybe I’ll get that Salsa Fargo ordered and here in time to get some fall riding done on it.

Until later,

- Zeke

WHEW! WHAT A DAY–WHAT A RIDE!

2011-08-22T15:05:00.001-04:00

Well, the Second Annual Blue Ridge Breakaway is now history and the reviews are starting to roll in. (Note: see links later in post.) My day started early, much earlier than I expected as I awakened at 3:00 a.m. I finally gave up any effort to get back to sleep at 4:00 a.m. and pushed myself out of bed so as to keep from disturbing the Navigator’s last 2 hours of sleep. Through bleary eyes, I managed to get a pot of coffee brewing and prepared myself to enter the darkness of pre-dawn. With a cup of freshly brewed Organic Guatemalan in hand, I headed out the door at 4:45 a.m. to begin placing my portion of the road signage on the various courses of the ride…

My route began at Hyder Mountain Road and Richland Creek Road where the routes made their final separations for the day. Century and Metric Century riders would go east to Clyde and 40 miler and 25 milers would go south returning to Lake Junaluska.

I arrived at Lake Junaluska to put up the final signage for parking/start/finish just as the light of day was beginning to make itself known. I was surprised at how many walkers were already out at the Lake getting in their exercise and walking their dogs. The first participants were also beginning to arrive as well and the parking areas quickly started to fill.

The night before I was tasked with providing the start/finish line music and told to pick something EVERYONE would like. No small task, I’m thinking… So, this year’s BRB participants got an earful of Jason Mraz, Dave Matthews, Sugarland, and to build up the energy to the start – Santana! I’m pleased to report there were no “music sucks” reports!

Nantahala Outdoor Center rider applies timing tag…

Early morning fog greeted the participants

as they picked up their timing tags..

The ride was off and running following a brief welcome from Waynesville’s Mayor Gavin Brown and Lake Junaluska Director Jack Ewing. A short safety speech by Nancy Lux led up to the riders being called to action. 407 participants were registered for the event. Three recumbent bikes were noted this year as was at least one family riding tandem.

Riders gathering for the start!

While riders were making their way through the starting chute at Lake Junaluska Assembly, preparations were going on at the various aid stations across the four courses. Volunteers are what make or break an event and this effort is no exception. The BRB organizers were very blessed to have a massive cadre of excited and enthusiastic volunteers to (wo)man the various stops. The 4th stop of the day for Century and Metric Century riders occurred at the Mountain View Church of God on NC 110.

Seen below is the team of volunteers that greeted and assisted riders as they passed through on the way to Burnette Siding where the Metric Century riders reversed course and the Century riders began the 10 mile climb to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Team Mountain View led by Team Leader “The Navigator” (far right)

These folks represent the many volunteers including the Haywood County Amateur Radio Club, who provided invaluable assistance at each site, in SAG cars, and on MotoSags. This year we were able to track the groups using enhanced technologies that will also be used in the event of natural disasters or other emergencies affecting our area. This ride provided a real time test of manpower and equipment and will lead to a safer overall community. (More on this technology in a later post…)

REVIEWS ARE COMING IN!

I was a worker bee this year as opposed to being a participant as I was last year. I’m going to step aside and let some folks, who were participants in this year’s ride express their experiences for themselves. Here are two of the reviews we’ve received thus far. I was glad to meet in person Aaron, who posts at SteepClimbs.com. Enjoy the following links…

From Steep Climbs…

From 789CyclingJerseys…

and a local newspaper The Mountaineer’s write-up…

It’s o.k.! Go ahead and mark YOUR calendar for the 3rd Annual Blue Ridge Breakaway to be held on August 18th, 2012! Same place, same great volunteers, same incredible riding!

Until later,

-Zeke

Boy! Was I Ever Steamed!

2011-08-18T16:03:00.001-04:00

Steamed? You’re dad gum right! Darn tootin’! I was like a cartoon character – steam was billowing out of both ears, which were probably extended out like bull horns. There I was all uptight and in a hurry to get to work and I was running late. As I started up the backside of Ratcliffe Mountain at 8:00 a.m. (well, 8:10 a.m. actually), there it was – in all of its bright orange glory. Cars and trucks, you know - honest hard working people, just trying to get to work – all in a line moving slowly because that self-centered jerk wrapped in his once upon a time neon colored…

some say a vehicle was taking up the full lane of travel. He was holding all of us from getting to work. Gosh, I hate it… (Note: lots of family friendly exclamations here. Please feel free to substitute your own…)

So, what do YOU think was holding up traffic? Is your heart rate up yet? Was it some jerk of a cyclist out getting in people’s way? Was it some tree hugger worried about his carbon footprint? No it was a…..

…neighbor of mine in his bright orange Kubota tractor on his way to repair a gravel road. I wasn’t angry and I wasn’t put out but I did observe that not a single one of the vehicles behind him (and, yes, there were about 8 at that time) blew a horn, mouthed off at him, shot him a “one finger salute”, or buzzed him. Of course, his scrape blade would have done some serious damage had the motorists gotten too close.

I couldn’t help but ponder on the very different behavior and tolerance shown by motorists on this day to this “tractor driving man” and how cyclists so often get treated differently on our highways and byways FOR THE SAME EXACT BEHAVIOR. Was it the appearance of doing work that made the difference? Was it a stereo-typical response to a “good ‘ol boy”? You know – one of us NOT most definitely one of THEM. Traffic was being held up just the same and pretty close to the same speed as if a cyclist had been there. Oh well, another little interlude in my daily existence….

To Fargo or Not?

I finally sold (again) my mother’s house. We sold it once following her death and did some owner financing that turned out to be a bad idea for us. The house came back to us two years ago and we’ve been trying to get it back in shape to sell and then watching it languish in this terrible housing market. We were also watching the dollars go out the door keeping it insured and maintained.

I had promised the Navigator that I would apply most of my financial gains to existing debt so we can maybe, just maybe, retire some day and travel. After all, there is a lot of fine riding out there that I haven’t done yet and, at 58 years of age, I may not have the health or wherewithal to get to do it much later. I have also told the Navigator that some part of the proceeds were going to another bicycle to join our stable of two – My Fuji CCR3 and her Novarra Fiona.

I’ve had my eye on a Salsa Fargo for two, maybe three years now. Through this blog, I’ve made MORE THAN ONE not evenly finely veiled suggestion to the GREAT FOLK AT SALSA that they should just send me one for free. Apparently, their firewall prevents delivery of my entreaties to their Inboxes. I assume this because no free Salsa Fargo has appeared at my home as yet.

So, the time is now, I have the money. I’m ready to purchase. Bro Dave loves his Fargo on the fire roads and trails near his home in sunny southern California. So, I stopped by one of my LBS’s on Sunday and found out that, even though they are a Salsa dealer, they don’t stock Fargos. This, if website inventories are to be believed, seems to be the case for all Salsa dealers within 500 miles of my home.

The sales person, while assuring me he wasn’t trying to talk me out of a Fargo, kept doing a fine and steady job of suggesting that a Vaya is really what I need/want. Need maybe? Want – nope! Still, I did my due diligence and researched the Vaya and it is indeed a fine looking piece of work and does seem to match the general style of riding that I do.

But, that’s my point… I want to broaden my style of riding. I want something that will take me off road and still allow commuting. The Fargo or the romantic idea of a Fargo still seems to be in my future. Bro Dave spotted a nice new one near his home. I could get him to purchase it for me and ship it to me here in the Great Smoky Mountains. But, I’m holding out for my really local bike shop, who is NOT a Salsa dealer, to see if he can order it for me. Apparently, this requires significant mediation, rumination, and a Super Committee. Still, I’m hopeful… It dawns on me that the REALLY REALLY SUPER WONDERFUL PEOPLE at Salsa could ease my pain, my suffering, the pressure on my wallet simply by finally giving in and sending me a free NEW SALSA FARGO. If any of you out there reading this can pull some strings for me, I won’t get mad if you do it!

TOMORROW -

Final prep for the 2nd Annual Blue Ridge Breakaway. All but the final details and last minute adjustments are made The rain is here today and gone tomorrow and Saturday. We’re ready for a great day of riding!

Until later,

- Zeke

THE WANDERING COLUMN

2011-08-11T23:38:00.001-04:00

Last Wednesday brought the normal time for printing of my cycling column in the local newspaper, The Waynesville Mountaineer. I had submitted it on time and knew that it had been received. The on-line edition came out and no cycling column was to be found. I braced myself for the onslaught of questions…

Where is it? What happened? Aren’t you writing anymore? Truth be told, I don’t recall a single question being asked regarding the missing column. Of course, I had the pre-publication knowledge that the Sports Editor has decided to run it on Fridays instead of Wednesdays.

I think that is a good thing as the Friday paper is loaded with upcoming stories and previews of the BIG sport – HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL! (I am a product of that culture and still recall the immensity of winning and losing to the community.) So, hey, lots of folks will be reading the sports page that day and maybe, just maybe, they’ll take a few moments to absorb a few words on cycling!

Of course, a move from Wednesday means that the big shoppers looking for weekend grocery specials may just miss my 500 words that day. I’m not really sure how many coupon cutters jumped over to the sports page anyway. We’ll see if there is any notable change in comments.

For those so interested, here are the bits and bytes of my latest column…

FOR EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON

Five hundred words, five zero zero, the limit of words for this column. It seems too small sometimes when trying to write about what is, in essence, a cultural change. Yet, because of its limit, a writer is forced to be concise and to find that balance between getting the point across and holding the reader’s attention.

This past week really brought home to me how far we’ve come as a society in again appreciating the simple beauty of the bicycle. The past week has also made me aware again of just far we have to go before a cultural change occurs where we, as a people, slow down, and take account of how we treat each other when some of our values aren’t the same.

On Saturday, we had a wonderful time at Waynesville’s Historic Farmers’ Market. Our Haywood County Bike Plan booth was in full swing with many visits from local residents, part time residents, and visitors to the area. Folks were genuinely enthused about the possibilities of safer and improved bike routes and facilities for Haywood County. Unsurprisingly, the most common concern voiced was feeling safe on the roads and feeling respected by the motorists, who share the roadways. Those who stopped by our booth to fill out the Haywood County Bike Plan study spoke of how they would like to be able to ride to the Farmers’ Market and other businesses to make their purchases and get exercise at the same time. They also spoke of the need for bike racks and other infrastructure needs to make cycling easier for them.

On the other hand, this past week also saw me involved in discussions where the cultural attitude that bikes don’t belong on the highways was equally evident. The holders of these views, all honorable and good people, simply hold a value that if a cyclist gets run over, it is their own fault for being on the road. Rather than having a value that goes something like this, “I drive my vehicle at all times as if, just around the next curve, there is a child in the road, a pedestrian walking, or a cyclist making their way home from work.”, the held value was “if I hit you, it’s your fault.”

This isn’t a unique value to Haywood County. It is, in fact, a widely held value across our country. Only in pockets of our country such as Davis California or Portland Oregon or Madison Wisconsin, has a true cultural change taken place where bicycles and pedestrians are valued as equal travelers upon the roads. Make no mistake though, the culture is changing. It is changing for the better. More and more citizens are finding alternatives to $3.78 a gallon of gasoline while Exxon pockets a 41% increase in profits.

Cultural change takes time. I remember when it used to be acceptable to drive drunk in this county. Soon, I hope the majority value will be “SHARE THE ROAD!”

Other tidbits…

We’re down to 1 week before the 2nd annual Blue Ridge Breakaway. The final meeting to cover loose ends is in the morning. We hope to be hosting around 500 cyclists on Saturday, August 20th! It isn’t too late to register if you’re looking for a great ride in some beautiful Southern Appalachian mountains!

Until later,

- Zeke

HOW SLOW IS SLOW?

2011-08-08T10:33:00.001-04:00

The past week has brought me into contact with two stories of “slow”. One of my own making and one simply shared by a co-rider as we “worked” the BicycleHaywoodNC booth at the Canton, NC “Mater Fest” this past Saturday.

Last Monday, “Cross Country Stan”, Don Kostelec, our Haywood County Comprehensive Bike Plan project manager, Claudia Nix, consultant and co-owner of Liberty Bicycles in nearby Asheville, NC, and myself enjoyed a ride…

… a ride that is being considered as part of the “backbone” of our bike plan. The route may become the central artery for moving cyclists west to east and vice versa throughout the county as we link to Scenic Bike Route #2 in Jackson County to our west and to Buncombe County to our east. The point of the ride was to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the route and to develop associated recommendations for the bike plan.

As I’ve noted previously, my mileage suffered greatly in July and I could certainly tell that my fitness had dropped because of it. Claudia was riding her new Trek electric bike and we were all interested in how it would perform. Right off the bat, we could tell the bike was heavy. Of course, adding a battery to a bike would have to increase the weight.

As we left the Super Wal-Mart near the southern end of Waynesville, I really couldn’t tell much difference in the electric Trek and those of us on the traditional human powered versions. Claudia was still peddling just as she would normally. The grade for the first several miles of the route is flat to no more than 1 to 2 percent so it wasn’t at all difficult to ride under most any circumstance.

We came to the first short but steep climb near Central Elementary School and this was where I was to see the power of the battery kick in. Claudia simply accelerated past the rest of us with seemingly no effort on her part. This would be the first of my experiences of being “slow” on this date. Unfortunately, it wasn’t only Claudia to whom I compared as being “slow.” I was to discover that I was also “slow” on most every climb when compared to the rest of the group. I was paying for those few miles of pushing the pedals in July. By the end of the ride, I had exceeded my entire month’s mileage for July. I’m not even going to print how low it was… Still, the out and back ride was very enjoyable and will hopefully find fruition in solid recommendations and later implementation in our comprehensive bike plan.

PERHAPS AN OMEN?

Thursdays are our scheduled group rides for “new and newly returning” riders and I was planning on participating in that ride. As the work day ran down, I started my usual preparations. While in the kitchen of our offices, I heard a man’s voice from the living room/reception area (our Behavioral Health Counseling practice is co-located with other professionals in a historic home in Waynesville.) It is uncommon to hear raised voices. The man was imploring someone to speak to him. At first, I didn’t think too much of it but, when it continued, I decided I should check out matters.

I discovered a policeman and my partner attempting to rouse a consumer from the couch. My partner had discovered that this individual had overdosed on medications and could not be brought out of the stupor that currently characterized the individual’s condition. Seeing this emergency, prompted me to put riding plans on hold and I assisted in resolving the crisis.

Once it was over and things had settled down ( Rescue Squad personnel were gone, co-tenants had returned to their offices or left the building completely, etc.) I realized that I could probably catch the group ride. So, I quickly finalized my preparations, pulled my trusty Fuji CCR3 off of the bike rack, mounted it, took off… uh, something isn’t right!

I looked down and my rear tire was completely flat – not a little flat – completely without air. I had checked both tires when I left home that morning and they were fully inflated. The bike had not been off the rack since. So delayed once, now delayed twice, I took it as an omen that riding in traffic on this day was simply not intended for me. The Fates or whatever were sending me a message – first an overdosed consumer in my office and now an inexplicable flat.

I glumly changed back into my work clothes and joined the Navigator and her sister, Sherry Shazam, for supper. It seemed a reasonable thing to do. To further add to the mystery of the flat, I pumped up the tire when I arrived home and it has yet to lose any air!

NOW, THIS IS SLOW!

Several of us who are BicycleHaywoodNC members were working our “booth” this past Saturday at the Mater Fest, a celebration of the beautiful tomato and enjoying each other’s company sharing tales of riding and tales of associated woe. One such story involved a dog, a steep grade, and what may be a new definition of slow.

As the story goes, the rider was participating in a nearby county ride that included some significant mountain grades. She reported that as she made the climb and the grade became steeper, she struggled up the mountain managing to keep pushing around the cranks but going slower, and slower, and slower. She spied a dog, which turned out to be a Golden Retriever (or was it a Yellow Lab?). The dog was taking an interest in her while she was going slower, and slower, and slower.

Finally, the dog came out to investigate this slowly moving human, perhaps impressed that something moving so slow could stay upright. As our rider is trying to make her way up the incline, the dog, at a brisk walking pace, circles her bike checking her out from all angles. No “dog threat” was made – simple curiosity seemed in play. After a full and thorough examination, the dog merely looked at her, stood on his two hind feet, and planted his front paws on her chest – all while she was trying to maintain forward movement. Now, that my friends, is slow!

FREE TO GIVE AWAY! One HEAT WAVE! Currently stationed in Western North Carolina. Needs new home! Free irritable moods to accompany it! No need to call ahead – just come get the darn thing!

ONLY TWO WEEKS LEFT! The Blue Ridge Breakaway is August 20th! A couple of days remain for reduced registration fees. Come ride the beautiful roads of Haywood County including the Blue Ridge Parkway ( Century riders only!). We’ll do our best to see that you don’t have a Golden Retriever or a Yellow Lab examine you during the ride!

Until later,

- Zeke

IN SEARCH OF BALANCE

2011-07-26T16:15:00.001-04:00

Let me be upfront. I’m not sure where this is going today. Like an unmapped ribbon of road laid out in front of me or, perhaps, like a fine single track previously undiscovered or travelled lightly, I’m pretty much just forging ahead looking for direction or clarity or maybe just release. I’ve had this “bug in my head” for some time now and sometimes I think I have it nailed down and then, just as I start to put finger to keyboard, it flies away like a beautiful Maple leaf with its fall colors as a breeze just keeps easing it out of my reach.

I know it has to do with balance. Some of my professional training recently would lean me toward Mindfulness. There is also an element of personal accountability mixed into this stew of thoughts making electrical connections in my brain. An image that continues to come to the forefront in times of quiet respite is a see-saw.

(The cycle as a see-saw)

I know this particular period of contemplation coincided with or just prior to…

my return to cycling after many, many years away. A physical injury from an unlikely and unpredicted source led me to an awakening from an essentially decade long period of somnolence in some areas of my life. In short, I was unbalanced…

My priorities at the time had become over weighted. Work, of some type, permeated my waking and sleeping moments. I recall my graduate students poking fun at me because the class notes I prepared for lectures were time stamped at 1:00 and 2:00 in the morning.This is not a new story for anyone. The American culture has often been criticized for too much emphasis upon work and I was by far NOT the most imbalanced person I know when it came to work. Still, for me, I was out of balance. My previous activity levels of a good hour of step aerobics followed by 2 hours of racquetball 3 or 4 times a week were gone – out of sight – out of mind. Those hours were replaced with falling into the recliner upon getting home from work and sitting there mindlessly absorbing our culture as presented by the TV.

So, the injury moved me to do something different. I had to hit “my bottom” in order to change my lifestyle and thus my balance. Now, the Mindfulness aspect of this, as I understand it, would be that I accept where I was in that lost decade and move on becoming more focused on what is around me here and now. This is one of the great gifts and great lessons of cycling. For if you aren’t in the “here and now” while riding, you are going to get hurt when the present reaches up and smacks you back into the moment.

While riding and being present in the moment, I still find that thoughts somehow manage to fling off their suppressions and come to the forefront. Having a wonderful memory of my father one day while riding still brings me joy. It came out of the blue when I was more in balance. I wasn’t carrying my worries with me. I was enjoying a great descent with a warm wind in my face and all of a sudden I had such a feeling of peace and of certain knowledge that my dad was with me.

It is little moments like these that keep me in search of balance. As I cycled more and became more educated about the world of cycling, I began to perceive what I thought was imbalance in the larger society. This led to advocacy and I’ve been fortunate enough to find a vehicle through cycling to try and change my little part of the world. I see the great imbalance in what we say (I don’t want to pay these gas prices!) and what we do as a nation (We don’t cut back our use of fuels. We still drive 1 or 2 miles to the store when almost all of us could manage that short distance on foot or cycle and be the better for it.)

Of course, advocacy can provide you with an opportunity to become unbalanced just as work can give you an opportunity to become unbalanced. More time in meetings after work means less time to ride. This leads me to the next thought in this mishmash of thoughts and that is “what is my personal responsibility?” Certainly I can’t reach out and make people live their lives differently even if it is the result of good intentions. Just as I had to do, people have to come to their own “bottom” and find that they are tired of being on either the low end or the high end of the see-saw. Both ends, to me, represent imbalance.

I’m working on the proposition that the best thing I can do is to be personally responsible for how much gas I use and what efforts I make to live more in balance with the world around me. Hopefully, by being personally responsible, I can intrigue someone else to try it and then maybe they will similarly influence someone else.

So, here I am today at the end of my path of thought. Maybe I’m back where I started, maybe not. Wherever it is, I accept it as is and look forward to what is around the next corner. How’s your balance?

Until later,

- Zeke

SUMMER IS HEATING UP!

2011-07-20T15:07:00.001-04:00

The latest summer heat wave has made its presence known here in the mountains of Western North Carolina. I was bemoaning the heat and humidity at lunch at Smoky Mountain Café on Main St. today and a tourist nearby remarked that he was from Atlanta, GA and this was a breath of fresh air for him. Last week’s cooler temps were certainly more attractive to this old mountain man!

(Members of BicycleHaywoodNC avoiding late day heat!)

Yesterday’s monthly meeting of BicycleHaywoodNC did provide the opportunity to escape the late day heat…

Our monthly meeting had a low turnout following several months of high attendance. I’m not overly surprised as the folks making up this advisory council have many other “irons in the fire” and sometimes priorities do conflict. Those in attendance did get caught up on the Haywood Bike Plan developments, our progress in replacing an aging fleet of bicycles for the local school system, and other nuts and bolts items required to run an organization.

Latest cycling column published…

My latest bi-monthly cycling column in the Waynesville Mountaineer hit the streets this morning. This time I wanted to try and stimulate motorists thoughts about the rightful place of bicycles on our streets and begin to set the tone for a big friendly welcome to our incoming guests for the 2nd Annual Blue Ridge Breakaway. You may see the column in print by visiting the Waynesville Mountaineer and scrolling to the Sports Page in today’s edition. (07/20/2011) The column entitled “How Is Your Cycling IQ?” entails 5 brief True/False questions. For those so interested, the text of the column follows:

HOW’S YOUR CYCLING IQ?

Haywood County is just a month away now from the 2^nd Annual Blue Ridge Breakaway on August 20^th. Preliminary registrations strongly suggest that local businesses and residents will get to enjoy the company of near 600 cyclists and their family members. This is double last year’s participation. To prepare for the arrival of our many guests, I thought we might check our Cycling IQ with these 5 short True/False questions. (No, it is not necessary to have watched hours of the Tour de France to take this IQ test.)

Q1. In N.C., bicycles are legally considered vehicles and have the same RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES as any other form of transportation such as cars and trucks.

Q2. Bicyclists must ride on sidewalks and should not be on the road at all.

Q3. If you are parked in your car along a street, open your door, and a cyclist runs into it, it is the fault of the driver of the car.

Q4. When riding on the road, cyclists MUST ride on the extreme right hand side of the road.

Q5. Motorists and/or their passengers, who throw items at cyclists, are engaging in a sport similar to hunting deer or target practice.

So, how did you do? Let’s review the correct answers…

Q1. True – Bicycles are recognized in N.C. and, in most other states, as legal forms of transportation and have full legal access to the road system unless prohibited in areas of fully controlled access (I-40 as an example).

Q2. False –The Town of Waynesville prohibits cyclists on sidewalks in certain areas. Cyclist’s odds of being injured are 4 times greater when riding on sidewalks than when riding in the direction of the traffic flow on streets.

Q3. True – It is fault of the person opening the door. The injury to the cyclist is called “getting doored”. Motorcyclists are also vulnerable to this injury. It is the person opening the door, who has the responsibility to LOOK FIRST and then open the door.

Q4. False – N.C. law indicates that cyclists should ride on the right as far as is safe and practical but may take the full lane when safety of the cyclist deems it necessary. Passing cars are REQUIRED to wait for a safe passing opportunity and then to pass giving a minimum of 2 feet of clearance from the cyclist.

Q5. False – Throwing items at cyclists is an ASSAULT and, upon conviction, can lead to jail sentences. Depending upon the evidence, it might be Assault with Intent to Kill or some lesser charge. Similar action resulting in the death of a cyclist could result in murder or manslaughter charges.

How did you fare on the IQ test? Were you surprised by any of the correct answers? To make the roads safer for all users, please stop and think about these situations as you drive. Please be a great “ambassador of good will” for Haywood County as we meet cyclists and other tourists on our roads!

We were recently informed that our registration for this year’s Blue Ridge Breakaway is running 3x ahead of last year’s registration at this point of the game. We are hopeful of at least doubling our participants to 300 riders this year. It isn’t too late to register yet although slots for the Century ride, which includes the Blue Ridge Parkway, are limited.

Discriminating against cyclists…

For a well written piece regarding how it feels to be discriminated against for being a cyclist, check out Ted’s post for today at BikingInLA. We should all be hopeful that Los Angeles’s anti-harassment CIVIL procedures pass the City Council and become the law of the L.A. land. Maybe it will spread nationally as an additional tool for cyclists to seek justice!

My random Le Tour thoughts…

I’m becoming a Thomas Voeckler fan but am also pulled in another direction hoping that an American based team pulls out a victory at Le Tour. It has been exciting thus far! I’ve been a fan of Thor Hushovd for sometime and am certainly happy to see his stage wins this year.

Stay cool and keep the rubber side down!

- Zeke

SMART PHONES MAKE ME NERVOUS

2011-07-18T23:57:00.001-04:00

Given the headline I’ve chosen, you may have jumped to a conclusion that this post is going to be a rant about drivers and cell phone use. I can understand why you would think that and, a minor element of today’s post just might go somewhere along those lines of thought. But, I think I’m mostly going in a different direction…

But first a little context is in order. I haven’t ridden since June 30th. That is not acceptable. I’ve barely written and that, too, is not particularly acceptable. As noted in my last post, I have stayed busy in my cycling endeavors but it has been energy spent in talking to groups and attending meetings about our bike plan that is in development.

I’ve also been experiencing what I like to call “Le Tour Fatigue". Since July 3rd, I’ve had minimal sleep due to staying up WAAAY too late watching the day’s happenings in France and catching the commentary of THE finest commentating team in any sport in any country. Yes, I do mean Phil and Paul with a fine, fine side dish of the Bobke. I’ve been somewhat confused by Craig Hummer being in the field and Ian McHugh being “in studio.” I’ve been pleased with McHugh’s comportment thus far.

With an unusual heat wave, “honey do” chores, a camping trip, and blah blah blah, I’ve been slack in my exercise. Interestingly, it comes at a time when I’ve been told by my doctor that I’m one of 34 million Americans who are pre-diabetic. But, hey, that’s a post for another day…

I’ve been getting internet alerts that Bro Dave has been out and about riding in sunny Southern Cal although I don’t think any of it was on the shut down 405 and I’m sure he wasn’t in the cycling group that outraced Jet Blue from Burbank to Long Beach. (Thanks to BikingInLa for the great links to this story!)

So, today, a rest day at Le Tour, found me reading up on some of my favorite blogs including Russ and Laura Roca’s great adventure “The Path Less Pedaled.” I managed to get caught up to date on their wanderings and found myself inspired to get out and ride on this Tour rest day. Odd, the way my brain works sometimes…

I knew it wouldn’t be a hard ride and that was o.k. I was just looking for a nice easy spin to get the blood flowing in my legs again. I also have been wanting to try out a new mount for my HTC Thunderbolt and give MapMyRide a trial run using their Android App.

I purchased the mount from a company called Gomadic via Amazon. Below are images of the mount on my bike.

(Top view sans phone)

(Right side view sans phone)

(Seated view of Thunderbolt in Gomadic mount)

As you can see, the real estate of the handlebars is pretty well taken up between my heart monitor (left side) and my bike computer (stem mounted). I’ve had a Pedco camera mount off and on where the phone mount is currently situated. But, hey, I’m getting ahead of myself… Remember – smart phones make me nervous!

My ride started out nice enough after I set MapMyRide to record the workout. I first noticed I couldn’t see the screen in the bright sunlight but I could still tell it was recording as I made my way to NC 215 toward Canton. Things were going quite well, until I noticed an oncoming car edging across the center line toward me. Fortunately, the driver corrected before hitting me and I didn’t have to take any evasive action. In case you were wondering, yes, the driver was talking on a cell phone. There you have it! The expected mini-rant about distracted drivers. But, WAIT, there’s more! … as the commercial would say!

My ongoing nervousness was related to the constant fear that my HTC Thunderbolt was going to pop out of its holder and hit the ground. I pretty quickly discovered that the Gomadic mount doesn’t hold the phone securely enough to compensate for the jarring of the road bike on rough roads. I was spending more time relocating the phone into the holder than I was enjoying the ride. This meant dealing with oncoming and passing traffic while taking one hand off the handlebar to hold the phone down.

Between cars drifting over at me and holding the phone down with one hand, my sense of anxiety increased while continuing to pedal down the road. (Yes, I could have taken the phone off the mount and stored it in my back pocket as usual but I wanted to give it a fair trial under real riding conditions.) I was already attuned to oncoming traffic so when the red pickup coming toward me approached, I took particular attention to see if the driver was on a phone. He was not. Rather, he was making a pistol gesture with his left hand and pointing it at me as if to shoot me and smiling as he went by. Somehow I don’t think he was mimicking Alberto Contador’s personalized victory salute.

Somewhere near the 2 mile mark of my ride, I noticed that my HTC Thunderbolt was rebooting. My guess is that the jostling of the ride caused it to reset. I let it reboot, which doesn’t happen quickly, as I made my way to Canton. Upon rebooting, I discovered the obvious – the recording of my route by MapMyRide did not resume so the track was lost. Shortly thereafter, I pocketed the phone and gave up on the mount having proven to myself that this particular mount is unacceptable for meeting my needs.

I took a brief break in the parking lot of the Black Bear Café before resuming my trek for the day. I was heading south on NC 110 and hoping to enjoy the remaining few miles of my short Monday spin. After about a mile riding on the shoulder, I hit something hard that gave me quite a jolt. I didn’t see it but I sure felt it. Shortly - very shortly - thereafter, I was running on my front rim. I had flatted.

Fortunately, I was near a road intersection and it even had some shade granting me a respite from the late afternoon sun. I started breaking down my front wheel whilst slapping away at insects alighting on my legs. The bugs kept growing in their intensity until I finally stopped working on the wheel long enough to discover that I had stopped at and was standing right on an ant hill! The little critters were exploring new territory by climbing up my legs. I gladly stepped aside and resumed replacing my tube.

Now, this is when the good stuff about today’s ride starts. Had I not flatted, I would not have encountered three separate very nice folk all of whom stopped to see if I was o.k. A young man and two women of differing ages all stopped to be sure I was alright and didn’t need help. I assured them I was fine and thanked them for their concern.

After remounting my front tire, I rode on home in the setting sun with a lot less smartphone nervousness on my mind!

(Just a note: the folks at Gomadic did not solicit my review of their product and probably have no idea that I wrote it. I received no remuneration for this impromptu review.)

Until later,

- Zeke

DOES ABSENCE REALLY MAKE THE HEART GROW FONDER?

2011-07-10T23:19:00.001-04:00

I’ve been absent. I haven’t written in a week due to various and sundry circumstances. I haven’t, in the words of Phil Liggett, “turned a pedal in anger” in about the same time – maybe slightly longer. But, I haven’t been away from cycling…

(Waiting for the crowd of curious patrons at the Red, White, and Boom festival)

The Navigator and I have managed to stay quite busy with cycling related activities. On Sunday, July 3rd, we had an informational booth setup at the Red, White, and Boom Festival in nearby Maggie Valley, NC. Our BicycleHaywoodNC members worked the booth from 2:00 p.m. until closing at 11:00 p.m. Our goal was to introduce the community members/festival goers to our local advocacy council and solicit input to our Haywood Bike Plan survey.

We were co-located between two amusement rides with another group. The other group was raising funds, which resulted in lots of festival goers making a wider detour around our area than we would have liked. Still, we had a few folk stop by and chat with us about cycling needs in their home locales and graciously completed our surveys as visitors to the area.

(Project Manager Don Kostelec (r) and “Cross Country Stan chat during the festival in Maggie)

In addition to the Red, White, and Boom festival, Don Kostelec and I have continued our meetings with representatives from local municipalities regarding the Bike Plan. We’ve been very pleased with the responses thus far. The meetings have been very productive and it has been wonderful to be so well received. One municipality that is due to get some monies for bike infrastructure in the next fiscal year reported to us that they solicited our help to be certain the money was properly spent! Upcoming meetings include the Bethel Community Organization this coming week and two remaining local government groups.

A BRIEF RESURGENCE IN CYCLIST HARASSMENT was noted this week when BicycleHaywoodNC co-Chair, George Ivey, had items thrown at him on 2 of 3 rides. In both instances, vehicles had slowed behind Ivey to wait for a safe passing zone. The vehicles throwing the objects ( a hamburger that found its mark and a drink bottle that didn’t) were third in line and populated by teenagers or young adults. Ivey was able to only get a partial tag number so identification of the offenders was out of the question. In both instances, he reported the events to local law enforcement but it did not result in action against the perpetrators.

As is so often the case, it is hard to duck, keep a bike upright, and gather sufficient evidence to pursue matters. Cars following the offenders apparently made no effort to either check on Ivey or to assist in getting details of the offending vehicles. The silver lining to this cloud is that we may be developing and/or finding an online tool to allow cyclists to report such behavior and use the data for both education and enforcement, which are two of the five E’s of the League of American Bicyclists standards for Bicycle Friendly Communities. Anyone reading this missive, who can suggest such a tool, is encouraged to comment at the end of this post with any appropriate links or suggestions. All input is appreciated.

(Last minute addition: Project Manger Don Kostelec, at the end of a 46 mile ride, was run off the road by a Subaru with a “co-exist” bumper sticker. His new definition of cycle harassment is “BEWILDERMENT!”)

MY BI-WEEKLY COLUMN CONTINUES in our local paper, The Waynesville Mountaineer. For those so interested, here is the text of the most recent issue (July 6, 2011):

HAVE YOU CAUGHT IT YET?

Fever that is… I’m talking about, of course, the Tour De France fever that infects homes round the world for 21 days in July each year. The symptoms usually present themselves as an inability to go outside, loss of interest to mow the yard or do other chores, and a pale pallor of the skin due to lack of exposure to sunshine.

The Yount household has certainly been infected again this year. Fortunately, NBC Sports now broadcasts the daily results of Le Tour almost round the clock on Versus TV and you can watch full Tour events on your laptop, tablet, or phone. Weekend mornings can disappear in 3 to 4 hours of intense Tour watching as we keep up with our favorite riders and teams. Evenings come and go as we watch the daily breakdown and listen for the off the cuff analysis of Bob Roll.

In this post-Armstrong era, Americans have much to be proud of in regard to USA based teams. Garmin-Cervelo, Radio Shack, HTC-Highroad, and BMC are all in the very top tier of the 22 teams competing this year. American Tyler Ferrar bested rival Mark “the Manx Missile” Cavendish in a sprint to take the winning time in Stage 3. This followed Garmin-Cervelo’s winning team trial effort in Stage 2. BMC is led by relatively local homeboy “Big George” Hincapie of Greenville, SC. George is competing in a record tying 16^th Tour De France this year.

Want drama in your sporting events? Well, it is never further away than the fewest of inches in the peloton. In Stage 1, a spectator carelessly edged onto the road as the peloton came by and bumped one of the riders causing a massive crash of riders creating a dominos effect as the riders fell on top of each other while at full speed. This particular crash entangled defending champion Alberto Contador perhaps creating an insurmountable time loss for him. A careless spectator may have done what the governing boards of the cycling sport couldn’t do – ended his drive for a 3^rd straight Tour championship.

There are races within races and the observant fan can always find some aspect of the Tour to get excited about. Understanding the roles of the various colored jerseys/competitions makes for a much richer viewing experience as does gaining an appreciation for the race tactics of the peloton as they run down the daily breakaways.

At the end of the daily stages, the casual viewer may well be so inspired that they go out and try to climb over Water Rock Knob or ascend to the Blue Ridge Parkway above Bethel. The inspired viewer in a fit of “Tour lust” might try to set a new personal time record climbing Rush Fork or go out and individual time trial around the Pigeon River Valley in Canton and Bethel. But, hey, you have to be careful with your time – the next showing of Le Tour is just a few hours away!

For more information, visit http://gr8smokieszeke.blogspot.com and www.bicyclehaywoodnc.org .

AND FINALLY… As I write this, the Navigator and I are enjoying the quiet of our favorite campground. I’m not sure that we’ve heard a man-made sound in about 30 minutes now. The cloud that sat down on the mountain yesterday (elevation 5300’) has yet to mosey on so it has been a mixture of heavy fog and rain since our arrival. This isn’t an issue for us as the solitude that goes with folks staying in their tents and RV’s is quiet enjoyable. The only downside is that I was hoping to see how well my new solar panel charging system would work this trip. So far, I’ve reinforced the idea that solar panels don’t charge under heavy fog, mist, and rain!

(Putting to work my Christmas present from the Navigator!)

I feel a serious nap approaching. Maybe I’ll have dreams of being first on a mountaintop finish and standing on a podium!

Until later,

- Zeke

I’M A “GREASER” AND OTHER ASSORTED STUFF…

2011-06-22T11:37:00.001-04:00

Recently, I became aware of a sale through Twin Six whereby they were donating a certain amount of money of their gross daily sales to the LiveStong Foundation. I thought this was a fine way to be partially responsible for donating to the fight against cancer so…

(When I ride, I declare my “greaser” status!)

I made the purchase of their retro look Greaser cycling jersey. I checked out the sizing chart and ordered what I thought was the proper size. Several days later, the jersey arrived on schedule and I eagerly pulled it on. Well, my idea of a large jersey and the Twin Six sizing chart’s idea of a large jersey turned out to be two different fashion animals. The Twin Six sizing chart actually was somewhat closer to European sizing, which is always way too small for me.

Not to fear though because a short phone call to the folks at Twin Six resulted in a very helpful customer service response. The “too small for me” jersey was winging its way back to Twin Six and an exchange for an extra large jersey had been made.

The larger jersey arrived within 3 business days and fit properly. I’ve now had a chance to get a couple of rides in while wearing it and have been very pleased with the quality of the workmanship and the comfort of the jersey. Preliminary signs are that I made a good buy and investment in becoming a “greaser.”

(Please note: The good folk at Twin Six made no offers to me nor have I received any remuneration for this review. Similarly, I have no relationship with LiveStrong other than to support the cause and donate when I can to fight against cancer.)

Bi-Weekly Cycling Column published…

Today’s edition of our local tri-weekly newspaper (The Waynesville Mountaineer) included the 5th installment of my summer long cycling columns. For those so interested, you may click on the link above to peruse the edition on-line or you may read the text below:

SHOULD NON-CYCLISTS READ THIS?

The Haywood County Bike Plan is now well underway in the planning process. Numerous meetings have been held with consumers, feedback has been sought (100 surveys have been submitted as of this writing), and the engineers are in the process of looking at routes and existing infrastructure. A health assessment of the county was even completed two weeks ago as part of this bike plan. So, if you are a non-cyclist, why should you care about the Haywood County Bike plan?

If you are business person, a large thrust of the plan is to improve cycling opportunities and infrastructure as an economic development tool for Haywood County. In 2003, a study by the NC Department of Transportation, resulted in a finding that the economic impact of cycling is 60$ million dollars a year on the Outer Banks region. The cost of building the necessary infrastructure to support cycling was nine times LESS than the financial income generated year in and year out on our eastern shores. Now, that, my friends, is an excellent investment in time and money! The inaugural Blue Ridge Breakaway last year brought Haywood County 300 money spending cyclists, most of whom were not local residents. Already this year, groups from Canada and Charleston, SC have registered for the 2011 ride. Cycling is a proven income source for communities across this country and we are blessed to have some of the best riding in the country right here in Haywood County!

If you are a health care professional, a citizen, or an employer interested in health care, the Bike Plan will result, in the future, with improved safe routes to schools, shops, offices, and recreation centers. We all agree that sharing the road safely is a critical step in improving the cycling options in Haywood County. As we increase the options for cyclists, improved fitness will help reduce our rates of heart disease, diabetes, smoking and other addictions. Again, this is all good news for the Haywood community.

Finally, as the price point of gasoline stays high, more people are looking for alternative methods of transportation to manage the ever decreasing family income. I won’t belabor this point as I’ve written about it in the recent past. The Haywood Bike Plan will identify those corridors of safe travel from one end of the county to the other and will eventually inter-connect with the upcoming regional bike plan study. It really isn’t hard to imagine a Haywood County that moves a substantial part of the time on 2 self-powered wheels! It just takes study, the will, and patience by all.

If you haven’t completed a Bike Plan survey, please do so by going to the BicycleHaywoodNC site listed below and clicking on the Bike Plan option. The survey is short and to the point.

For more information, visit http://gr8smokieszeke.blogspot.com and www.bicyclehaywoodnc.org .

It’s not too late for a good Father’s Day read…

Check out a really nice story about a son, a father, and a lifelong love affair with bikes at BikingInLA. Amidst all of the reports of cyclists deaths and injuries that he normally finds himself covering, Ted still found time to engage us all with some wonderful memories on Father’s Day.

Speaking of reading…

I am currently thoroughly enjoying reading Jill Homer’s latest book Be Brave, Be Strong, a Journey Across the Great Divide. I downloaded the eBook version from Barnes and Noble and have been enjoying reading the book on my HTC Thunderbolt running on the Android platform. I am about two thirds of the way through the book and have found it to be a compelling read. Several times, I’ve been lost in time while reading her amazing exploits as she took on the Great Divide race from Banff to Mexico, which is currently underway for 2011.

Sharing in her personal trials and tribulations along with dealing with mechanicals while on the trail and being amazed at the amount of kindness shown to her by people she meets on the ride has been inspirational and motivating to get out there and just ride. It is interesting to go backwards in time and read this tale as I’ve been more familiar with her current writings on her blog, Jill Outside. This book has helped fill in pieces of her past that help me more fully appreciate her present. Hey, it’s a good read!

(Please note: As before, Jill has no idea that I’ve written this mini-review and I have received no form of payment or other compensation for writing it.)

Until later,

- Zeke

STORY OF REHAB TO GET YOU THROUGH THE WEEKEND!

2011-06-18T19:06:00.001-04:00

Time and space, or bits and bytes, have recently intersected in my Inbox about two stories of injury and rehabilitation. One story combines a downhill descent of an experienced rider crashing out due to what is still some 10 months later explained at best by a hypothesis of what might have happened. The second story is about a bicycle crash that occurred in a mundane setting doing something that had been done thousands of times before. This time, however, it resulted in serious injury and long recovery…

But first, the fetching group of folk in the image are the participants in last Thursday’s BicycleHaywoodNC sponsored group ride for “new and newly returning” riders. Led by John Mudge, owner of Rolls Rite Bicycle Shop in Waynesville, NC, the riders enjoyed an 11 mile cruise along the Haywood County Greenway to Lake Junaluska and back. A couple of folk stretched themselves physically to make the ride and a couple of folk found some much needed relaxation in the early evening cruise to and around the lake shore.

(Thursday night riders. Mudge is the fellow in the multi-colored jersey!)

Stories of Challenge and Recovery…

The first story occurs on August 20st, 2010 during the inaugural ride of the Blue Ridge Breakaway. Gary Williams, an experienced cyclist from near Gastonia, NC was descending Stamey Cove when something went wrong – very wrong. To do justice to the story and his recovery, I’m going to provide the link to a news article just published 10 months after his crash:

http://www.gastongazette.com/news/complete-58348-photo-accident.html

The second story relates to my friend and occasional riding partner, John Bryan. John lives primarily in Florida where he gets to ride year round. Our paths intersected last year on several occasions and, as it turns out, we had some mutual friends in addition to a mutual love of riding. John just completed BRAG. He graciously gave me permission to share his story of recovery after he read the link related to Gary Willliams. Following is John’s story in his own words…

I've thought about writing about my accident and the recovery, but never have. The accident was one that could happen to any one of us at any time.

All it takes is a slick road, or maybe in some cases an oil spot, or a deer, or almost anything and we can fall.

Most of our falls aren't that big a deal. Everyone who rides a road bike will fall sooner or later. I went over the handlebars one time, years ago, when I cut across a grassy area to take a shortcut; I didn't get hurt.

Everyone who uses "clipless" pedals has or will fall sometime.

The secret is in how you land. Most of the time, you land well. You get some bumps, some bruises and maybe a little road rash. You might hit your head, but if you've got a helmet on, it's no big deal. But every once in a while, one of us lands wrong.

Gary Williams landed wrong. If he had landed a little differently, he would have gotten up, checked his bike and finished the ride. When I crashed, if I had landed a few inches one way or the other, I would have had a bruise and some road rash, but nothing more. It's when we land wrong that bad things happen.

My landing drove my left femur through my pelvis. The femur was fractured, but the pelvis area was really busted up. Technically, that area is called the acetabulum. My acetabulum was badly fractured.

The first hospital the ambulance took me to couldn't treat my injury. My regular doctor, the ER doc and the on call orthopedic doctor all agreed I had to go to a trauma center. They put me back in an ambulance and away I went to the trauma center at St. Mary's Medical Center.

The trauma specialist told me my injury was really rare; I thought about sending my wife out to buy a lottery ticket. He said they usually see it from motorcycle accidents and get just a few a year. Lucky me! But the good news was that he was pretty certain he could fix it so I could ride again.

The surgery to fix my multiple fractures involved cutting through the tissue on my left buttock, cutting two muscles, and placing two plates and ten screws in my pelvis. The surgeon referred to cutting my muscles as "releasing" them; they cut my piriformis, which is the big butt muscle, and my adductor, which I identify as my groin muscle. I lost a lot of blood during the surgery and had to get two units to replace it. They didn't do anything to the fracture in the head of my femur.

There wasn't a great deal of pain once they fixed the injury, although I did get a really neat looking 10" scar on my butt. Morphine, by the way, is as good as advertised! For the first few days, I was sure I would never want to even look at a bicycle again. But then the doctors told me I could ride again and most importantly, my wife assured me my bike wasn't hurt and that she would do whatever she could to help me get back on the bike. Within a few days, I was planning my first ride.

Fortunately, my helmet saved me from any neurological damage like Gary suffered.

After 8 days in the hospital, I went home. They told me I couldn't put any weight on my left leg for 8 weeks. I had to get a wheelchair and a walker.

In one swift second, I went from being an active, athletic, fit person to being an invalid.

The first day I did therapy at home, the therapist told me to lay on my back and lift my left leg; it wouldn't move. A week later, it moved, but it hurt.

My wife and I thought that when the 8 weeks was up that I would just jump up and being running around. I made my appointment for my first real therapy at the out patient center. Just before the 8 weeks was up, I developed a deep blood clot, or DVT, that ran from my groin to my ankle in the left leg.

That bought me another 8 days in the hospital.

Out patient therapy started out with exercises in a warm pool. As soon as I was allowed to put weight on my left side, I felt a pain in my foot. Back to the doctors and x-rays, where they discovered I had an undiagnosed fracture of some bone in my foot; the initial therapy messed it up just when it was almost healed, so I had to deal with that for a few weeks.

There were a bunch of "old" people at therapy who didn't seem to want to get better. I wanted to get better. After two weeks, they told me I was motivated enough to do the exercises on my own.

On April 17, 2010, 4.5 months after the accident, I rode my bike again. I had to lay it on the ground and step over it to get on the saddle. I went just over 8 miles. About half way through the ride, I was thanking God for healing me and I actually teared up.

By June, I was well enough to do some rides from Bethel Middle School, but it was tough. I rode with you guys in July, but was still a long way from full recovery.

It has been slow, but it has been amazing to feel my body heal. It was around April of 2011 before I could swing my leg over the bike to mount it correctly. This was almost 1.5 years after the crash. In June of 2011, I managed to do the BRAG ride, 402 miles in one week. I feel pretty much healed.

The lessons I've learned are many. The first and most important lesson is

"don't fall". The second is almost as important as the first: when you fall, fall the right way and not the wrong way. Always wear a helmet. Be vigilant for slippery spots and never, ever turn the front wheel if you think there might be a slick spot. Stay away from asphalt that has been recently resealed.

The most important lesson is that we should appreciate every single ride.

Each ride is a gift from God. It might be cold or rainy, or hot and humid, or uphill or slower than we would like, but riding a bike beats the heck out of wheeling yourself around in a wheelchair or hopping around in a walker.

I'm about 90% back and expect to be 100% at some point. There have been bumps along the recovery road, the worst of which was the massive DVT. I've had some nerve issues on the non-injured side that are just starting to clear up. I'm dreaming about getting a new back, although I know the one I have is a great bike.

So be careful out there. Let Gary's injury and his comeback be an inspiration when you get some minor or major injury. We can come back from injuries and if you think about it, we really have no choice. We move on.

- John Bryan

Please note that John didn’t write this for publication but was gracious enough to allow me to post it. I do so because I know how easy it would be for either Gary Williams or John Bryan to have become depressed and given up when their lives took such drastic and unexpected changes. Whether a deer crashes you out or the simplest of maneuvers takes you down, both of these gentleman are living proof(and I mean LIVING in its fullest context) that perseverance can overcome adversity. My hope is that when the day comes that I find myself “down and out”, I can recall their journey and take hope from it. I hope you can too!

Until later,

Zeke

P.S. Speaking of inspiration – don’t forget to check on our fellow cyclists from the Cherokee Nation, who are retracing the Trail of Tears.

CAMPING AND CYCLING IN THE HGH COUNTRY

2011-06-15T15:36:00.001-04:00

During our recent “Hide but Do Not Seek” sojourn to the mountains, the Navigator and I enjoyed the relative peace and quiet of being camped at a little over 5,000’ elevation in our favorite National Park Service campground. We were blessed with beautiful mornings, followed by lazy afternoons, which were punctuated by late afternoon storms full of rain, thunder, and lightening. The storms provided great reading a napping time. The storms also passed nicely away allowing for us to enjoy cooking and eating outside around our campfire.

Cycling is never far from my consciousness and, even thought I didn’t cart any bikes with us this trip, I had some opportunity to chat with cyclists we met during our all too brief stay on the mountain…

As other campers arrived, many of them had multitudes of bikes attached to their vehicles and campers. These ranged in size from sub 20'” children's’ bikes with plastic wheels up to and including some nice mountain bikes for moms and dads. One particular set of campers enjoyed full family outings along the parkway.

On Saturday, I caught sight of a roadie heading by the entrance to the campground in full kit. At the time, I was sitting around enjoying some “french pressed” coffee and a John Grisham book, Playing for Pizza, that I’ve missed reading. When the cyclist circled back into the campground whilst apologizing to a family for having scared off some deer eating along the roadside, I forced myself up to go have a chat with him and see where the conversation took me. (I was also feeling a little guilty for not having my own riding tale to post and thought this would assuage some of my guilt…)

The rider, Dave Garrett, was from nearby Cherokee, NC on the Qualla Boundary. A very friendly fellow, we struck up a conversation quickly as he shared that he was enjoying road biking for a change from his usual mountain biking. I took the opportunity to inquire if he had heard of the Blue Ridge Breakaway and was pleased to learn that not only had he heard of it but he was training for the Century ride!

(Dave Garrett taking a breather!)

Dave had started at the southern terminus of the Blue Ridge Parkway and had ascended to the spur that goes out to Heintooga near Soco Gap, which is the scenic road between Maggie Valley, NC and the Qualla Boundary. At this point, by my reckoning using Google Earth, Dave had ascended 3300’ in elevation. Given the in and out nature of the Blue Ridge Parkway as it traverses mountain coves, I don’t find a good way to guesstimate his mileage other than to get it in the 20 to 25 mile range at this point of his ride. I enjoyed talking with him about his upcoming training and participation in the BRB on August 20th.

Always something interesting…

Around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, a Dodge Dakota pulling a U-Haul pulled into the campgrounds. The Dodge had New Jersey license plates. The 5 young men in the vehicle lucked out and managed to snare what is arguably the best campsite in the campground. They proceeded to unpack the U-Haul by unloading cooler after cooler and two folding tables set up end to end. On the tables, was a fifth of what appeared to be George Dickle and a fifth of what I’m thinking may have been Jim Beam. If not, that “Kool-Aid” was mighty dark in color.

Now, I think any rational person observing this would agree that the scenario might seem to indicate a good night’s sleep was not in the offing for the campground. However, the Ranger in charge, who runs a no-nonsense campground, made what he refers to as his “preemptive” welcoming speech.

He welcomed the young men and announced that he expected all of them to be 21 years of age or older if they were going to be sampling that bottle of liquor that kept trying to mysteriously move out of his sight. He also informed them of the “quiet hours” and assured them he would enforce them. After the young men acknowledged his welcoming address, the Ranger continued on his rounds.

Shortly, the loop returned him to their campsite where he noticed all of them standing around a tarp laying on the ground. They looked puzzled so he inquired what the issue was that had them standing around looking at the ground. One of them finally spoke up and reported, “well, Sir, we seem to have left the tent in New Jersey…”

Without cracking a smile, the Ranger advised them they could travel 30 miles one way to pick up another if need be. Shortly thereafter, three of the five young me headed out leaving two behind to secure the “supplies”. Not more than 10 minutes had passed before the afternoon storm drenched the area including the two remaining young men. It was almost 9:00 p.m. before the other three returned to camp. It was less than 10 minutes when the cry went out from their campsite, “Well, F#!K YOU!” It was less than 10 more minutes than the Ranger was making a revisit to the site… It got very, very quiet after that…

(Ranger extraordinaire!)

As I say, we have a Ranger in charge at our favorite campground…

The Cherokee Riders from the nearby Qualla Boundary are moving along on their trip retracing the Trail of Tears. Don’t forget to follow their progress!

Until later,

- Zeke

HIDE AND DO NOT SEEK!

2011-06-13T19:56:00.001-04:00

It has been quiet here at Zeke’s Great Smokies Two Wheeled Adventures. No posting, no comments, no replies since last week. There’s a reason for that. The Navigator and I went into hiding Thursday evening last and didn’t emerge until Sunday afternoon. We went into the woods where there was no data connection and no cell phones. There were no landlines and no other means of incoming communications. I imagine we could’ve read some smoke signals if times really required it. In a word, it was pretty much heaven..

(5280’ feet in elevation brought colors in abundance!)

Still the world didn’t stop and when I plugged in and logged on last night I had word from…

…Cross Country Stan reported in over the weekend as he makes his way east on his trans-Canada summer tour. For his report and to view his images, click on the “Where In The World Is Cross Country Stan”? link at the top of this page.

Also Reporting In…

John Bryan reports on his final days of BRAG. Check out his report and images below.

BRAG is over for this year. My total mileage was 402, spread out over 7 days. It would have been a little under 400 but Google Maps sent us on a wild goose chase Friday. According to Google Maps, the motel was was about 4.5 miles in the wrong direction. Two of us didn’t figure it out quick enough and got an extra 9 miles, making the total for that day 72 miles instead of 63. Those last 9 miles were in the mid-day Georgia heat and were brutal.

Metter, Georgia had a big party for us. They had a live band and lots of local vendors in the park. The attached picture is downtown Metter.

The 10 screws and 2 plates in my left pelvis held up perfectly. If you remember, in December, 2009, I had a really bad cycling accident and was in a wheel chair for 8 weeks. I was a bit apprehensive about how the repaired parts would hold up to a week of hard riding, but it went great. The only physical problems I had were in my quads because the first few days were really hilly and there aren’t any hills down here for training! Next year, I’m hoping to get to Waynesville for a couple of weeks before BRAG to get some serious mountain training in!

Next year’s BRAG will likely begin in Chattanooga, TN and run SE through Georgia. I talked to someone who has ridden RAGBRAI, VIRGINIA, the NC Mountains to Sea ride, Ride Florida and BRAG; she said the NC is her favorite, but that BRAG is the best organized.

The BRAG website is here: http://www.brag.org/

The NC website is here:http://cnc.ncsports.org/contentPages.cfm/contentVariable/Fall_Ride This website is down right now, but it has been the right one in the past.

Hide and don’t go seek…

The Navigator and I enjoyed each other’s company this weekend along with our two aging Labrador Retrievers, Zeke and Orla. We’re all getting “longer in the tooth” and, as a consequence, our walks were shorter and slower but no less enjoyable. We let the Grand Dame of the family, Orla, our yellow Lab set the pace. At 13 years of age and having some health issues, we matched our speed and desires to her abilities. In other words, we stopped and “smelled the roses” more often than usual. Zeke, still feeling his oats as he nears 11, still managed to leave secret encoded liquid messages to any other travellers with the sensitivities to be able to decode the message.

While we didn’t take our bikes this time, it doesn’t mean cycling was far from my thoughts. More on that perhaps tomorrow when I dig out of some work related matters.

Until later,

- Zeke

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

2011-06-08T16:43:00.001-04:00

Our friend and riding companion John Bryan is currently participating in the 2011 version of Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG). John does most of his training in his home state of Florida, which has helped him more than acclimate to the warm temperatures of Georgia. In fact, he may be getting to cool down somewhat as he ventures across Georgia. John has been kind enough to send along some images of the ride thus far.

This past Sunday John and approximately 1100 of his newest buddies left Oglethorpe College in Atlanta on their cross state tour to Savannah. John provided the following descriptive itinerary of the trip before he left.

I leave here on Friday, driving to Savannah, Georgia. Saturday morning, they will put my bike on a truck and me on a bus. The bus and the truck will take us to the starting point at Oglethorpe College, just north of Atlanta, Georgia. Sunday, bright and early, I will join about 1100 other people on the week long adventure they call BRAG.

Sunday, we ride to Oxford, about 55 miles. Part of what makes this kind of ride special is that you have nothing to worry about! You get up, eat breakfast, ride, clean up, eat, nap, eat again and the next day repeat. It is absolutely the best mental break from work you could ever have!

Monday, it’s on to Milledgeville, another 63 miles. We ride through Porterdale and Monticello, stopping for the night at Georgia Military College.

Tuesday, we ride 48 miles to Dublin. We go through Toomsboro and Stephensville community. We travel in Baldwin, Wilkinson and Laurens counties, stopping for the night at Dublin High School. Most of the miles are on back roads that are lightly traveled. Usually, we ride in to BRAG HQ at the end of the ride, typically a school, and then from there ride to a motel. Camping is available and space in air conditioned gyms is usually there, but motels are much nicer. Brother John’s Luggage service takes our duffel bags from motel to motel.

Wednesday is a layover day in Dublin. We have the option of riding 45 miles, 56 miles, a century or nothing. It’s a good day to do laundry! All these small towns go all out providing entertainment for the BRAG riders. Unfortunately, the closest motel we could get is about 5 miles from BRAG HQ, so we will end up riding a few extra miles. But that is pretty typical on BRAG.

Thursday is a 73 mile ride to Metter. BRAG HQ is at Metter High School. Metter has live music planned for us in the downtown park.

Friday, it’s 61 miles to Hinesville. WE pass through a bunch of counties, including Bryan County (my namesake) and then Ft. Stewart. I spent a few weeks at Ft. Stewart years ago, as a 2d Lt., inventorying weapons in the armory.

Saturday is ride’s end. We get a break and ride only 36 miles to Savannah. We have the end of ride barbeque feast and then head home. Saturday is always kind of a sad day for me. Early in the week, the idea of riding 400+ miles is so daunting, but by Saturday, I’m sorry to see it end.

BRAG is a well organized ride through parts of rural Georgia I would otherwise never see. You ride at your own pace. If you want to ride at 20+ mph with the young maniacs, you can do that. If you want to enjoy the scenery and meet some new friends, you can do that too. I’ve ridden BRAG twice before and love it. It’s hard to explain to my non-riding friends, but I think my wife understands. It’s a challenge, but it reminds us that we can do amazing things if we really want to.

Today, I received 3 images of his ride thus far…

(BRAG 2011 participants)

(Zeke’s ancestral home on his Mom’s side – Monticello, GA)

(Bryan figuratively (I hope) out of gas!

Where in the World is Cross Country Stan?

The short answer is I don’t know! I’ve not received word of the cross Canada travellers since they were in Moose Jaw! Hopefully, we’ll here from him soon!

Thanks to both John and Stan for sharing their ride tales and images with us!

Additional Inspirational Ride!

Check out the Velo Hobo to follow the exploits of local Cherokee Natives as they retrace the Trail of Tears on bicycles. The riders left the Qualla Boundary in Western North Carolina for their trip along the northern route that so many of their ancestors were forced to march and where many of them died. Check it out to see how these folk of all ages are experiencing this ride of a lifetime.

- Zeke

THOSE STORIES THAT HAPPEN TO OTHERS

2011-06-06T15:25:00.001-04:00

You’ve read them, you’ve seen them, you’ve maybe even experienced them. The stories that deal with the dominoes affect when problems occur. Sometimes folks will say bad things happen in 3’s. Well, Sunday was my day in the fun barrel…

It was another early August day in early June. The daily temperature was spiking around 90 degrees and you could almost watch the sweat popping out of my skin. The Wood-Man and I had determined it was a good day to ride. After all, any day is a good day to ride! Right?

We met up near Lake Junaluska and started our spin down NC 209 as the Sunday traffic motored on beside us. I was riding pretty easily on Wood-Man’s rear wheel as he broke the headwind. The first few miles went along quite nicely. Soon enough we crossed over to Iron Duff Road at the Haywood Café near interstate 40. The two lane road was fairly quiet as far as traffic goes.

With Wood-Man in first wheel, we came around a bend and into an “S” curve just after crossing over a small creek. Just after coming out of the first left hand curve, I noted something shiny and black moving in the road just as Wood-man was approaching it. It turned out to about a 4’ to 5’ beautiful black snake.It held its position and started to coil just as Wood-Man passed. I went by and, after a moment’s hesitation, the pretty snake started the remainder of its road crossing journey. At that moment, a vehicle came around the corner and crushed it… What a waste!

I’ve never heard that crossing a black snake’s path was a bad omen. I’m just saying…

The Wood-Man and I continued our ride on Iron Duff Road and eventually descended to the Pigeon River where we turned back east on Riverside. Within about 25 yards I noted a bump in my rear wheel and the bike was reacting sluggishly. Sure enough, I had flatted.

I coasted into some shade alongside the river and dismounted to confirm that yep, I had a flat rear tire. Being the well-prepared rider that I am, I whipped out my spare tube, my air cartridge, my tire levers, etc. The Wood-man and I went to work changing the flat so we could, as Willie would say, get on the road again.

Stripping the tire and getting the old tube out went smoothly. Wood-man found a tiny wire that was the culprit of the hour having caused the flat. We checked the tire for further foreign objects and, finding none, proceeded to install the new tube into the tire. This was when the fun began.

First no air would go into the tire and we correctly diagnosed that the cartridge had no air to give. Chunk the cartridge and get another one. Hmm, this one feels heavier, which I took to be a good sign. We aired it up some and then remounted the tire to the bike before finishing off the tire. Oh drat, all the air is gone! The second cartridge was now useless. We moved to the hand pump but that proved to be no help either as air was clearly NOT going into the new tube. The Wood-Man used his remaining cartridge. No good, no air, no tire…

We finally decided the second tube was no good. Wood-Man runs sew-ups and I had no more tubes. But wait! I had a patch kit. (Remember that snide remark about being prepared?) So, we patched the original tube and was able to pump it up. Thinking it would hold, we removed the wheel, tire, and tube again from the bike and reinstalled the original, now patched, tube. We remounted the tire on the wheel and topped off the air. Good to go!

Only some 35 minutes had transpired as we went through all of the cartridges and the two tubes that I carry. I guess now I’ll be carrying 4 cartridges, 3 tubes, and a partridge in a pear tree when I ride. You know you can never be too prepared… I might be able to trade the partridge for some tube patches some day.

The rest of the ride went quite well as we climbed out of the river basin and then climbed over the back side of Hyder Mountain. This full route is part of the Blue Ridge Breakaway, which will be held on August 20th this year.

Having returned to our vehicles, I pulled out all the stops on post ride preparedness. I had the fortunate foresight on this hot day to have packed several cold Gatorades in ice before I left the house. Man, did those taste good!

Our Thursday evening group rides continued this past week with another nice turnout of 10 riders. These rides for “new and newly returning” riders have gone well again this season. We’ve continued our practice of riding routes that demonstrate the very real options to ride to stores and public buildings by bike.

We managed to skirt a couple of passing showers this day. They certainly were welcome as they cooled the air down.

(At the midpoint, riders enjoy the post-shower cool air at Ingles)

Thursday lunch was an opportunity for Nancy Lux, co-council member of BicycleHaywoodNC, to join me on what is becoming our speaking tour of the local service clubs. Nancy and I have developed our own “dog and pony” or “fixie and geared” if you prefer, show where we talk about the benefits of cycling and tout our Haywood County Bike plan.

(Our traveling bulletin board of information!)

(Lux explaining her TT bike while Zeke looks on… )

For this meeting of the Haywood Rotary club, we emphasized the economic benefits of cycling including tourism benefits, economic development, and commuting. Both Lux and I dressed in our “normal” commuting clothes so as to emphasize that you don’t’ have to dress up in spandex to ride to work. We also each brought a couple of bikes to show the very real differences in bike types.

All in all, we received positive feedback on the program and we’re looking forward to our next invitation. So far, we’ve been fed nicely at these events!

REMEMBER: it isn’t too early to register for the August 20th Blue Ridge Breakaway! Groups from Canada and Charleston, SC are already registered and booked!

Until later!

- Zeke

CROSS COUNTRY STAN REPORTS IN FROM CANADA!

2011-06-02T15:37:00.001-04:00

The following report on Cross Country Stan’s cross country trip of Canada was just received. Please click on the “Where In the World is Cross Country Stan?” link at the top of this page.

- Zeke

MAY 2011–THE MONTH IN REVIEW…

2011-06-01T19:53:00.001-04:00

As I sit here this evening, the first day of June 2011 is beginning to wind down. Summer simply jumped up and skipped all that nice preparatory stuff normal for May and seemingly went straight to the hot sunny dry days of late July and August. I hope this isn’t the harbinger of things to come this summer.

(Stamey Cove gets “its green on!”)

After doing my final stats for the month last night, I was not feeling good about my riding during May…

I looked at my total miles for the month and realized that I had come in way under my goal. I knew I would be short but wasn’t expecting to be as short as the final calculation shows. Between a spreadsheet error, too many meetings, and an unpleasant “head” cold that robbed me of my desire to do much of anything, I simply didn’t get out and about on the bike as much as I “shoulda/woulda/coulda” done.

But, then I looked at my calendar and realized that a lot of good cycling related stuff was actually accomplished during May even if I wasn’t on the bike. We continue to make strides in our Bike Plan for Haywood County. Most of the meetings I attended in May were related to getting the word out about the bike plan, so I have to feel good about that. My cycling column is still running in the local paper and there have been no orchestrated efforts to get rid of it. Finally, we had our successful first ever Bike to Work Day ride along with activities throughout the week. So, my actual miles were down but it would seem my “cycling mileage” held steady as measured by getting the word out about the benefits of riding a bicycle – of any kind!

The darned head cold wasn’t much fun and I really can’t find a “silver lining to that cloud.” As close as I can get is to be thankful it wasn’t as bad as the Navigator endured two weeks ago and that the worst of it came and went in about a 48 hour period. I did ride one day at the end of the cold but boy was I zapped. I just didn’t have the energy to move forward…

Polished off the month with a ride!

I did get to finish the month on a high note though. I was determined to ride on the last day of the month and truly thought I was closer to my monthly mileage goal than I turned out to be. I figured a good ride home would get me right at where I wanted to be. (I had not found the calculation error at this point…) I car-pooled in to work Tuesday with the Navigator and off-loaded my bike, backpack with computer, and my Timbuk 2 messenger bag with all of my riding gear.

The end of the work day arrived soon enough and I encountered my first surprise of the day: I loaded my knickers instead of my summer weight bibs. Oh well, I figured it would just feel good in the 89 degree weather. Surprise number two came when the steering on my bike tightened up all of a sudden after about a mile of riding. Fortunately, I was near my LBS and was able to make it there without further difficulty. The Wood-Man had correctly diagnosed a loose headset on my Fuji CCR3 over the weekend. Unfortunately, we over tightened it a bit and after riding that first mile, the previously loose fork, really locked down and wouldn’t turn. It was odd because the bike felt good for that first half mile and then the steering got progressively tighter. A quick release of the nut though and backing off a tad had me on my way again.

The short delay also served to let some of the end of work day traffic get cleared out and I had Raccoon Road, Ratcliffe Cove Road, and Poison Cove Gap almost to myself. I had set in my mind that I wasn’t going to push it hard getting home as this was my first full ride since the head cold. I managed to keep my heart rate in the 145 range until I started the climb over Stamey Cove.

There was no way I was going to make any forward progress at 145 bpm as I would have simply fallen over. Stamey Cove is steep and long to the gap reaching near the 3000’ mark in elevation. I was quite satisfied to simply get to the top and enjoy the descent to the Pigeon River on the Canton side of the mountain.

(Nearing the top of Stamey Cove…)

Once down to river grade, it was just a nice cruise up NC 215 to Bethel to meet the Navigator. The heat of the day had driven numerous local citizens to the river to cool off as evidenced by the numbers of cars parked along the river banks. By this point, I was nearing 7:00 p.m. on my commute home and folks were still cooling it in the stream. It was a pretty ride along the freshly planted fields of the Pigeon Valley as the sun was dropping in the sky.

(Shots of two of the community structures that I pass by on my way home.)

The field behind the school sign is actually a full scale water treatment project that gathers all the run off water from the school buildings and parking lots and filters it through large rain gardens and then into massive tanks buried in the bank behind the sign. The water then works its way into the soil through packing within the pipes and by the time it reaches the nearby river, has already been treated and cleaned of impurities. It is truly a “green” initiative that is paying dividends already.

The farmhouse sits across from the school along the river bank. This is one of my favorite houses in the Pigeon Valley. I’ve never been on the inside but would love to do so one day. Maybe it will find its way on to the local heritage day parade of homes…

May 2011 ended quietly for me – short of my monthly goal but full of other, more important cycling related accomplishments. The final day’s ride was a nice ending to the month. Now, I get to see if I can meet my monthly goal in June!

Until later,

- Zeke

CROSS COUNTRY STAN IS ON THE ROAD!

2011-05-30T16:05:00.001-04:00

Check out the new page added to Great Smokies Zeke’s 2-Wheeled Adventures! We’ve definitely gone beyond the Great Smoky Mountains for this coverage. Our friend Stan Rathbone, nicknamed by me as Cross Country Stan due to his proclivity to ride across countries, is now headed east from Banff National Park. he is following up last year’s successful ride across the southern route from San Diego to St. Augustine. Cross Country will be dropping some images on me from time to time for reposting for his friends to follow his adventure this year! You can find the link at the top of this page!

Happy Memorial Day to all!

- Zeke

ON BECOMING A SELF-PROCLAIMED “FASHIONISTA”

2011-05-26T14:41:00.001-04:00

The recent couple of week’s worth of Bike to Work readings and writings got me to thinking about my own “fashion” choices when riding. I certainly have gravitated to the spandex/brightly colored arena over the past 3 years. Based upon the type of riding I do, that made sense. Now, however…

I’m finding myself reflecting upon more specific needs in both clothing and transporting stuff. My riding has branched out to more than fitness cycling. During our recent sojourn to the Low Country of S.C., I found myself in need of some way to transport purchases as the Navigator and I rode around Folly Beach. I also would have liked to have been more casually dressed than my padded cycling bibs when walking around. You see, us fashionistas must always be cognizant of our public appearances…

I also wanted to be able to speak from personal experience about clothing options for new riders as we encourage more commuting to work and shopping by bike. To that end, I made some purchases… (As an upfront statement: I received no remuneration in any form for these reviews and they were not solicited by anyone.)

First, the looks…

My friend Jack, The VeloHobo, has started a part drive, part ride experience this summer to get to his job site. In doing that, he spoke of a great shirt he was wearing to work. I remembered that I had made that same purchase last year, although it was in a much more eye pleasing color of yellow. (We fashionistas note this stuff!). I remembered my motorcycle touring days and how I had come to wear long sleeve white cotton T-shirts to protect my skin and reflect back the heat. It seemed like a good idea to replicate that effort on the bicycle. Fortunately, my local Belk's store carries the Columbia brand of the shirt so the Navigator, my long-time clothier, graciously brought one home for me.

Next up, was the clothing for things below waist. I really didn’t and don’t want to give up my padded shorts so, a pair of convertible pants (not the kind that drops the seat – that’s called Long Johns) from North Face did the trick.

This past Tuesday provided the opportunity to test out my new ensemble. My niece and her softball team had a home game. My plan was to car pool into work with the Navigator as we often do to conserve gas and I would then ride the bike to the ballgame. I knew in my heart that spandex and brightly colored jerseys would not be the norm of the day for the softball crowd. My need, as a fashinista, was to be within the general clothing norm of the crowd while still presenting the “round about town” look of the chic commuting cyclist.

The second shortcoming I’ve noted as I branch out beyond being a fitness cyclist is the need to carry stuff! Three pockets on a jersey just don’t get it sometimes. It is hard to get alternative footwear, purchases, etc. loaded properly for that gadabout tour of the local shopping district or even to carry sufficient items for a longer than usual self-supported ride. My Fuji CCR3 doesn’t have braze-ons for a rack – not that I would put one on it and a basket is out of the question. The “Wood-man” would never forgive me for that faux pas.

I recalled my friend Kent “Mountain Turtle” Peterson had reviewed an Ergon backpack in the past. I visited his site and renewed my interest in the BD1 based upon his review. I came to find out that the BD1 was not available anymore or, at least, I couldn’t fine one despite a search far and wide including across the Big Pond. I did eventually find a local dealer that could order me one at what I thought was a pretty steep price. More research led to Competitive Cyclist and the opportunity to purchase an Ergon product that was in stock.

After a very friendly and helpful conversation on the phone with Josh at Competitive Cyclist, I ordered the BC2 at a great price. It arrived promptly and was put into rapid use. The setup of the bag was almost as easy as advertised. Instructions are minimal. My only concern was that there is a hole on the inside of the hydration pack compartment that looked as if it should fit around the bolt holding the flink joint in place. In my case, the hole seemed to be offset somewhat and wouldn’t easily fit around the bolt. I was concerned that this would lead to premature wear on the fabric. I worked with it for a period of time and finally managed to get enough leeway in the fabric to stretch it over the bolt end. The instructions didn’t address this issue at all so I’m just going on my “gut feeling” that it was intended to be this way.

(The Ergon BC2 2010 model)

I set out on Tuesday in my natty new commuter attire and my new backpack and headed to the ball park some 12 miles away. The skies were bright and an unseasonably warm 87 degrees at 4:30 p.m. enveloped me. A few immediate thoughts hit me within the first mile. 1) Gosh, I’m glad I didn’t go for tweed! 2) 87 degrees is quite warm and 3) I can sweat no matter how I’m dressed.

The shirt functioned nicely as described by the VeloHobo. Despite it not moving sweat as efficiently as a technical jersey would have done, I could still feel the wind, albeit warm wind, moving through the fabric. the chest pockets with their sticky velcro was a nice touch. The convertible pants fit over my much needed chamois without out constriction or impediment to my riding. Both pieces of clothing dried very quickly upon arrival at the ball park.

I was especially pleased with the backpack as I was able to pack sandals, a lock for my bike, food, drink, a family of 5 hamsters (just kidding, they would have died of heat exhaustion..), and a cap inside the pack. The flink joint performed as advertised allowing the backpack to shift as needed without throwing me around or upsetting my balance. Truthfully, I can see that I might get to where I don’t even notice the backpack with some more experience. One unadvertised function of the pack that became obvious to me as I rode was that it also serves to protect my back in the case that empty beer bottles or other missiles might be launched at me by my fellow “sharers of the road”. (Just for clarification's sake, no one threw a beer bottle at me on this day.)

I’m sure by now you are wondering how the hometown crowd reacted to the arrival of this “fashionista.” I can truthfully say it was an unremarkable, quiet, below the radar event. I guess I’ll have to work on my “diva/o) skills”. Oh yeah, the girls won easily hanging the “mercy rule” on the visitors. We get to do it again tomorrow!

In other news, my bi-weekly column on cycling matters came out in the local paper on Wednesday. It appears on page B2 of the Sports Section of the Waynesville Mountaineer. You have to scroll to the Sport section. My niece, Jaime Geouge, has her picture on page B1 as she takes an “at bat” in her senior year at Pisgah High School.

For those so interested, here’s the text of the third installment of my cycling column:

WHERE CAN I RIDE?

National Bike to Work month is behind us and it is time to turn our attention to other aspects of cycling. One topic that we get lots of queries about is some derivation of a basic question: Where can I ride? Local citizens and tourists alike ask it in one form or another. When addressing road riding, the simple but very generic answer is “about anywhere you want!”

We can fine tune that answer by starting with some general understandings and then “drill down” to more specifics. In N.C. and most other states, bicycles are legally recognized vehicles and therefore are entitled to the same rights and access as any other legal vehicle. This means that most all public roads are legal avenues of transit for cyclists. One exception to the open highways being accessible to cyclists is a road that falls under “full access control”. These roads are legally “off limits” to cyclists. Examples of this are interstates and, closer to Waynesville, the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway from Clyde to West Waynesville.

Beginning at the West Waynesville exit and travelling toward Sylva, the very same road becomes “partially controlled access” and is open to the use of cyclists. This road, or more accurately, the wide shoulders of this road sees cyclist activity as riders travel from Waynesville to the Blue Ridge Parkway and into Jackson County. The section of the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway from Balsam into Sylva is part of a signed and designated bikeway that comes off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is signed route 8.

For recreational cyclists looking for a nice cruise that is relatively flat, Lake Junaluska Assembly allows bicycle activities on the roads surrounding the lake. Cyclists should not ride on the walking path and they must walk their bicycles across the pedestrian footbridge near the swimming pool. Riders may connect to the Haywood County Greenway at South Lake Shore Drive to extend their ride.

In the Waynesville area, another relatively flat route for utility cyclists and commuters is to utilize roads along the Richland Creek basin to get from West Waynesville to East Waynesville. Roads to be used are South Main to Allen’s Creek Extension, Brown Avenue through the Village of Hazelwood and by Waynesville Middle School. Cyclists can then turn left off of Boyd Avenue to access the Frog Level area or they can transit around Central Elementary School on Bryson Street to get to the Haywood County Public Library, the Post Office, and the downtown shopping area. Either through Frog Level or Walnut St. from Main, shoppers and commuters may access the Russ Avenue and East Waynesville businesses.

These routes require a relatively low level of fitness to transit initially. A week or so of this riding and a cyclist will see significant improvements in health and fitness and be ready to tackle roads requiring a higher level of fitness.

Next time: Routes in East Haywood! Also, for more information on rides in our area, visit http://gr8smokieszeke.blogspot.com and www.bicyclehaywoodnc.org .

My fellow BicycleHaywoodNC council member, George Ivey, recently had his most recent column published in yet another local paper. George is the author of the book “Up River.”

Have a great Memorial Day and don’t forget to say thanks to the Veterans and their family members around you!

Until later,

- Zeke

FIRST BIKE TO WORK DAY RIDE ROLLS TO SUCCESS!

2011-05-20T19:09:00.001-04:00

The first ever, to my knowledge, Bike to Work Day Ride came off without a hitch this morning in my hometown of Waynesville, NC. I managed to pull myself from bed earlier than my typical 7:00 a.m. in order to be at the starting point to greet participants…

(Waynesville Alderman LeRoy Roberson meets some powerful women!)

The Navigator had already made her way downstairs and was in full preparation for her day of work. I managed to clear my eyes enough to make some attempt at raising the blinds. (Did I mention that I was up earlier than I wanted to be?) The first blind raised presented a heavy looking gray sky full of what looked like cloth bags ready to split open and drop their precious contents on the land below. Oh No! I thought to myself. It’s supposed to be pretty today! Thoughts of a low turnout or no turnout due to rain swiftly slipped through my sleep deprived brain. (I’m not kidding – I really don’t like to get up early!)

Being quite aware of the condition I would be in this morning, I took steps last night to minimize any required activity to get me from point A (my bed) to point B (the starting point of the BTWD ride) this morning. I loaded my bike up last night leaving me only to complete the most basic of duties before departing. (I’ll leave those to your imagination at this point.)

As I topped the mountain on my way into Waynesville, the first drops of rain started to smear the remains of bugs on the windshield. I could see one rather ominous cloud rolling in from the southwest headed directly for our town. Dropping down the mountain and coming into Waynesville proper did not change the circumstances – light rain continued to fall and the roads began to lightly glisten.

With a sense of dread, I made my way to our starting point on the southwest end of Waynesville and awaited the arrival of the first participant of the day… and waited… and waited. (Seems that in my eagerness, I had arrived perhaps 30 minutes earlier than needed. Still, I’m glad I was there and ready to ride.) First to arrive was Don Kostelec, our Haywood County Bike Plan Project Manager, who had joined us from some 20 miles away to participate in this first ever BTWD event.

Then I noticed – it wasn’t raining! The light drizzle had drizzled away and the roads were dry! More riders began to appear. The parking lot took on the hues of fully kitted riders and riders dressed for work alike!

After some brief welcoming remarks by yours truly, we headed out on our ride under the escort of the Waynesville Police Department “cycle patrol” and car mounted officers, who controlled traffic at each intersection along our route granting us free wheeling movement. We got strung out fairly quickly as the lead patrol car was hitting about 22 to 25 mph. A quick radio call to the lead car allowed the group to compress.

Our route took us through the Village of Hazelwood, by two schools, two churches, the public library, and ended with a downhill coast to the mini-park in downtown Waynesville. At the end of the ride, we were feted with coffee and pastries by event co-sponsor Smoky Mountain Café.

(Good coffee and fresh muffins greeted our first ever participants!)

(Brian and Nancy chat post ride!)

(Fellow commuters get to know each other!)

(Rob and Tyler – THANKS GUYS!)

Our ride and event wrapped up within an hour or so. For the record, 14 cyclists comprised this first Bike to Work Day ride. Other places may surely have had more participation but, I’ll bet none of them had more fun! Thanks to all who participated including co-sponsors Smoky Mountain Café and the Waynesville Police Department! I think we should do it again…

Until later,

- Zeke

AHHHH! I’M BLEEDING–CYCLING THAT IS…

2011-05-17T14:56:00.001-04:00

Whew, the past few days have me feeling that if you cut me right now, nothing but cycling “stuff” would flow out of my veins! Our activities surrounding Bike To Work Week and just our usual weekly activities have kept me on the run.

(A cute tandem of smiling sisters!)

The Navigator and I were pleased to be able to participate in the Viet Nam Veteran’s 2011 Bike Rodeo this past Saturday. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. First there was…

…our weekly BicycleHaywoodNC sponsored group ride for “new and newly returning riders”, which is held on Thursday evenings. We had another fine ride this past Thursday and was my first “opportunity” to put my recent BASIC FIRST AID training to use. One of our riders experienced a fall allowing me the opportunity to jump into action and practice what was preached to me.

After securing the scene, I introduced myself and asked if I could provide assistance after I determined the rider was conscious. Her breathing appeared to be pretty stable so I was able to determine that she wasn’t having either respiratory or cardiac complications from the fall. She did not hit her head so I was pretty sure there were no traumatic brain injuries involved.

Next, I whipped out my blue sterile gloves and donned them just as the training video indicated should be done. I assessed her freely bleeding leg wound and came to the conclusion that she did not need stitches due to the injury being more of an abrasion than a puncture wound.. I also determined, with her consent, that a higher level of EMS care was not needed.

I almost applied a tourniquet to ease the bleeding but decided that was probably not in her best interest at this point. Finally, I cleaned and dressed the wound bringing to a close this on-site, high quality first aid episode. Following is a picture of the finished product…

(Proper bike-side manner demonstration following first aid application!)

O.K., so you can probably tell that we were really in a large parking lot that was empty, except for us, making securing the scene pretty simple. Yes, applying a tourniquet would definitely have been over-kill. My final diagnosis: She had a “boo-boo” and EMS gets kind of cranky when called to those scenes. Still, by golly, I was ready! (Thanks to Nancy for putting up with me!) Those aren’t two large rain clouds at the top of the images. Seems my highly trained photo-journalist got his fingers in the frame.

Saturday dawned ugly. Heavy clouds threatening rain made me question whether the Bike Rodeo would survive the day. The Navigator and I loaded up anyway and headed over the mountain to nearby Clyde where the Rodeo was to be held. As soon as we topped the mountain, we were in a brightly lit sunny morning! Yes, the Rodeo was on!

Our group was a co-sponsor of the event along with the Viet Nam Veterans of American, Chapter 980, The Town of Clyde, and the Haywood County Parks and Recreation Department. Six stations comprised the training course for kids 8 to 11. At the appointed time, kids started arriving and going through the skill stations. Along with the Bike Rodeo skills stations, BicycleHaywoodNC members educated parents about our Haywood County Bike Plan development and asked them to participate in the related survey, the Waynesville Police Department drug interdiction dog, Bugger, put on a demonstration, and food and drink were provided throughout to the participants. You can read more and see a slide show of this event (many more pictures of cute kids learning to ride bikes and Bugger too!) by CLICKING HERE! (See the May 11th entry.)

(Yes, I’m cool. Now move along!)

(Gotta earn those merit badges…)

(“Mountain Turtle” says Hasten Slowly!)

Sunday brought writing, writing, and more writing along with (warning: non-cycling activity description follows) hanging blinds for the Navigator. Apparently, in some form of post-ride stupor, I had agreed to do this. In between prepping articles for local papers on the upcoming National Bike Week activities, I managed to get the blinds hung while the Navigator was caring for her dad. Yes, both cats are still alive and well, although it was touch and go there between the first and second sets of blinds.

Monday – rain, cold rain, more rain, clouds ‘nuff said although I did get caught up on my reading somewhere along the line. For a real mountain delicacy check out the VeloHobo’s post on Ramps! I’m also eagerly awaiting Russ and Laura’s departure on their next great adventure! Sadly, I missed out on meeting them last year as they came through Western North Carolina and spent some time with the VeloHobo and my riding partner Wolfpen Andy.

Tuesday (today) – I started the day, along my co-Council member Nancy Lux speaking to one of our local Rotary Clubs about many things bicycle including Bike Week/Day, our Council activities, and the economic benefits to business owners to get involved in providing services for cyclists. We spoke at the Sunrise Rotary and, yes, there is a reason they call it the Sunrise Rotary. It is because the sun comes up during the meeting. Geez, I am not a morning person! Nancy brought in her fixed gear bike and “modeled” the clothing that she wears on her commute to work. Spandex was not included.

(Lux arriving at work after cycling in from home)

Tomorrow should see the publication of two articles on our BicycleHaywoodNC sponsored Bike to Work Day ride and an article that I wrote featuring three local cyclists, who commute to their work.

Finally, Friday brings the Ride to Work Bike event co-sponsored by the Waynesville Police Department, Smoky Mountain Café, and BicycleHaywoodNC. More on that event as it unfolds!

So, how are YOU celebrating National Bike To Work Week! I hope you are enjoying yourself as much as I am. Now, if it would just quit raining and warm up a little. I’ll have to check the Springfield Cyclist’s weather today because that’s what I’ll have tomorrow! One hope I have for my Southern California brethren is that the seeming epidemic of hit and run killings of cyclists stops! I know that my compadre Ted of BikingInLA would prefer to write about other aspects of cycling!

Oh yeah, one final personal note – I would like to celebrate National Bike To Work Week by getting to my first 25,000th page view this week. It’s close – I’m sitting at 24,946 page views as I type!

Until later,

- Zeke

BIKE WEEK PLANNING AND NEW COLUMN IN PRINT

2011-05-11T15:24:00.001-04:00

The preparation for Bike Week is continuing on my end. Running down the loose ends and “nuts and bolts” stuff for the Ride to Work Day ride has been fairly time consuming. I’m pleased that we have secured sponsorship for the ride…

Smoky Mountain Café, my “home away from home”, has agreed to provide the end of ride “goodies” for participants. Additional support is coming from the Waynesville Police Department in both traffic control and having bicycle mounted officers riding with us over the 3.0 mile ride. I’m also working on an article for print in the local newspapers for next week focusing on some folks of my acquaintance that are already commuting to work on a regular basis.

My second column appeared in the local paper, the Waynesville Mountaineer, today. It is looking like the column will be published every other Wednesday for the time being. For those interested, here is today’s text…

GIVE YOURSELF A RAISE!

(Nancy Lux arrives at work on her morning commute!)

It is probably safe to say that when most people think of cyclists, they think of individuals clad in spandex and brightly colored shirts zooming along on expensive and sleek looking road bikes. Or they may picture young adults on mountain bikes dropping off of boulders or riding through the forests. While both of these images would be correct, they really only capture two segments of the overall cycling community across this country and this planet.

In the U.S., utility or commuting cycling has taken a secondary place to our car centric culture. It is often lost on the American public that the first roads in America were built at the behest of cyclists and not auto makers. With gas prices already topping $5.00 per gallon in parts of our country and expected to go much higher here in Haywood County, a strong review of the bicycle as an important means of transportation is in order.

Let’s try some good old Haywood County math: The cost of operating a car is currently set by the American Automobile Association at 58.5 cents per mile so a trip of 8 miles would cost of $4.68. If you make that same trip (4 miles to the store and 4 miles back home) 3 times per week, your cost jumps to $14.04 per week or $60.37 per month. Keep in mind that the AAA set this year’s price point on operating motor vehicles when gas was significantly cheaper ($2.88 per mile)so the per mile costs are now actually quite a bit higher. Annualized over 12 months, those short quick trips to the store cost you $724.46.

If you work at Evergreen in Canton and live anywhere near the junction of US 276 and NC 110, you could enjoy a nice ride on basically flat roads to and from work. A ride from Bethel to Evergreen is approximately 11 miles round trip. Using our previous calculations, a savings in gas costs of approximately $83.00 a month could be realized by parking your car/truck and that is only riding to and from work 3 days a week! Additionally, your employer could get you a monthly stipend courtesy of the Federal Government for commuting to and from work even if it is part time. Live further out? Do a part drive, part ride schedule. Drive your vehicle part of the way to work and ride the rest! You still save gas costs and come out on top in virtually every way that counts!

Why not give yourself a raise? By just changing some of your lifestyle, you can help improve your finances, improve your health, and help save the planet for your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren. Is it for everyone? No, of course not. Is it for YOU? We won’t know unless you try!

Yount may be contacted at gr8smokieszeke at gmail.com . For more information, visit http://gr8smokieszeke.blogspot.com.

Thanks to BikingInLa and Eco-Velo for the inspiration for parts of this column!

You can see the actual article by visiting The Mountaineer. Be aware that you must scroll through the “paper” to the front page of the Sports Section in order to see it.

Until later,

- Zeke

RAMPS, BROKEN CHAINS, AND OTHER NICETIES OF LIFE!

2011-05-03T16:46:00.001-04:00

Aarrggh! It seems like forever since I’ve posted anything here. The days have been jammed full of other activities and, to be quite frank, I’ve not felt like writing when I finally made it home. I’ve managed to keep up somewhat with my reading on a daily basis and have enjoyed Kent “Mountain Turtle” Peterson’s month long “30 days of Biking.” I’ve also enjoyed watching my colleague and friend Jack, the VeloHobo, begin his partial commute to work each day. Jack and I work for the same company although the geographic area that separates us is a couple of hours away. I still recall the day that I discovered that this guy I worked with turned out to be the VeloHobo…

A great deal of my discretionary time (is that like discretionary income- something you think you should have but really don’t?) has been spent on planning for our Bike Week activities and of getting our Haywood County Bike Plan off the ground. We had a “kick-off” meeting last night with our Project Manager, Don Kostelec, who led part of our steering committee and interested others in understanding the scope of matters before us. He also had some great images from around the country of how integrated and not-so-integrated bike plans and facilities work. I was impressed with the breadth of approaches!

A Lesson Relearned…

Last Thursday evening was our weekly BicycleHaywoodNC sponsored group ride for new and newly returning riders. As the riding hour approached, it was clear that we had a group of folks, who were perhaps a little stronger than usual. The appointed ride leader for the evening came down sick so I stepped in to lead the ride. After a short discussion with my co-ride leaders, we decided to add some short moderate climbs to the typical ride and to head out into the country side instead of town surface streets.

After a brief safety chat and identification of ride leaders, we took a right hand turn out of Rolls Rite Bicycle shop and began coasting down to the roundabout, which would take us out Raccoon Creek Rd and to the first short climb up Dock Ratcliff Road. As I was trying to let the group come together, I was just coasting and don’t really recall even having turned a crank until exiting right at the roundabout.

A short dip in the road let me pick up further speed before having to actually put some force behind the pedals. I made about two revolutions and I felt my right foot shoot toward the pavement as all resistance from the drive train was gone. Next, I recall seeing the chain pooling below my pedal and my first thought was the chain had, for some reason unknown to me, slipped off the gears.

Were I only that lucky… It seems the chain, for some reason still unknown to me, had decided to break. So, lesson, relearned… Chain driven bicycles require a functioning chain in order to propel the bicycle. Of course, that fine downhill coast to this point was about to be rewarded with a fine uphill walk back to the shop as I did not have the necessary parts or tools to repair the chain. Additionally, I didn’t want the group held up from their ride and everyone was standing along the side of a two lane road with more than the usual traffic passing.

I convinced the group to move on and began my walk back to the shop. It was only a moment until I spotted my brother-in-law Ron Jon, himself a newly returning rider, headed back to the shop on his bike. In just a few moments, he was back with his pickup and we were loading up my Fuji. It sure saved me about 3/4’s of a mile of walking in cleats and pushing my bike! I was quite appreciative.

I convinced Ron Jon to let me drive his truck and took him to catch up with the group so he could get his ride completed. After getting him back on the road, I headed back to the shop, locked his truck up, dropped my bike off, and jumped into my truck. I decided this was a golden opportunity to get some pictures of the group riding. I headed out the route I expected them to take and finally found them. I did get a few images although they didn’t turn out as nice as I would have hoped. (Thus, you don’t see them here…)

Being “Car Lite” Has Its Challenges…

The last couple of weeks have been challenging to be “car lite” and with gas prices still increasing, it is more irksome than usual. The Navigator and I have seemingly been headed in different directions every day so carpooling in with her and riding home has been infrequent. I’ve had late night meetings almost every night and that has put me in the truck more than I would like. I’ve been more dependent upon my truck the last two weeks because the Harley is still in the shop getting some much needed bodywork completed. So, I’ve reacquainted myself with my F150.

Hopefully, the Harley will soon be home and I can get back to 46 mpg instead of 12 mpg. I’m now carrying a set of power links and a chain break tool (thanks Bro Dave!) on the Fuji and the meeting schedule is slacking up slightly so the forecast for more riding in the near future is rosier.

I did manage a late Sunday afternoon ride. The Navigator had to do some shopping at the Waynesville Super Wal-mart so I loaded up the Fuji on the bike rack and caught a ride into town with her. I then enjoyed a nice 24 mile ride through Waynesville, down NC 209 to the Pigeon River, along the Pigeon to Canton, and then into Canton before turning south on NC 110 toward home. It was a pleasant day and I experienced no negative effects from having eaten Ramps in meatloaf, scrambled eggs, cornbread, and beans at lunch when the Wood-man, the Navigator, Sherry Shazam, and I attended the American Legion Ramp Festival. (For those of you unfamiliar with the delicacy of Ramps, I suggest this reading.)

Hmmm, a Ramp burger – I’m getting kind of hungry…

Until later,

Zeke