PROVEN AGAIN! I’M NO LEVI LEIPHEIMER!

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…

THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND THE BLUE RIDGE BREAKAWAY!

(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…

WHEW! WHAT A DAY–WHAT A RIDE!

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…

Boy! Was I Ever Steamed!

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…

THE WANDERING COLUMN

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…

HOW SLOW IS SLOW?

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…

IN SEARCH OF BALANCE

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…

SUMMER IS HEATING UP!

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…

SMART PHONES MAKE ME NERVOUS

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…

DOES ABSENCE REALLY MAKE THE HEART GROW FONDER?

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)