Pisgah Mountain Stage

This sounds like fun. I won't have to travel to Costa Rica, the Alps or even Brekenridge, Colorado to ride in an epic stage race. I will only have to travel to the town of Brevard to ride the backcountry of Western North Carolina.

Is it too soon to think 2010?

I hate this time of year. The summer heat is on, races take up most of my weekends, race finishes aren't what I trained or hoped for. Then news stories and photos of next years bike start rolling out.
For example, Velo News just posted this story about Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (JHK to his friends) and his sub 20 lbs Superfly Hardtail.
Not to mention JHK also won Bump n Grind in Alabama a few weekends back on a new Superfly Full Suspension.Vacation from work and rides is coming up...let's make the best of it and come back with an attitude adjustment. This should help me focus on a couple races and prep for a few better finishes to help me to feel like I deserve one of these and don't look like a total Fred out on it.

Midwest Women's Mountain Bike Clinic

After riding and training to complete sub 12 hour finishes at both Mohican and Cohutta this spring I am in need of a "fun" ride. So this weekend Snaps and I are going out to the Trek Midwest Women's MTB Clinic . This event is being held in Nashville Indiana at Brown County State Park and is. The clinic is going to give Snaps a chance to enhance her skills on her Cobia plus be able to meet some new friends. So tell your wives, girlfriends, mothers & sisters.

The Trek Bikes Website states:

It is an entire weekend filled with mountain biking, camping, fun and friends. Come for the day or stay overnight. We welcome anyone to attend who is interested in learning to mountain bike ~ whether you are someone who plans to race or someone who just wants to enjoy a day riding in the woods. Our clinic will teach you the skills you will need to feel safe and confident on the trail.

Amazing Race

Phil Keoghan's "Ride Across America Presented by GNC" will kick off on March 28 in Los Angeles and end on May 9 in New York City. Along the way, he'll attend meet and greets with supporters at local GNC stores, visit CBS affiliates, attend open-casting calls for the next installment of THE AMAZING RACE, sign copies of his best-selling book No Opportunity Wasted,attend Bike MS rallies hosted by the National MS Society and ride alongside ex-racers and fans of THE AMAZING RACE.

Phil is riding from coast to coast. Click here to see if he is coming to a city near you.

Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor gloom of night…

Sunday’s OMBC opener at Mohican Wilderness in Loudenville, Ohio was with out a doubt the best and worse race I have ever done.

The morning started off with some light drizzle and the trails were tacky but very ride able shape. Then with less then an hour prior to the start the skies darkened and opened up with a deluge off rain, snow and ice for about 30 minutes. This cold front not only brought the precipitation but also dropped the temperature from a chilly 46 to a cold 37.

This caused many participants to pack up their cars and return home…not me. I am not sure if it was the fact the wife and I drove 3 hours to get there or that I already paid the $25 entry fee.

I have raced this 9.5 mile course several times and the longest it has ever taken to complete a lap was an hour – twenty minutes. So I assumed that the mud and rain would add 20 minutes tops. WRONG! Try over 40 additional minutes for the and an hour longer for the second when the mud turned to what could only be described as peanut butter.



I was not having any fun so when I came around for the start of the second lap Mrs. Averett brought me some dry gloves and said “…you can do it.”. There were several opportunities to quite…but I could hear my wife’s voice in my head saying “I am proud of you for finishing.” That was all it took to ride through cramps, cold, snow, rain, ice the course and mud.

So with what will be a time of over 4:40 I did not DNF. Thanks to everyone who stuck it and waited for me to finish especially my wife. See you at Vultures Knob on the April 18th.