this space for rent

Saturday is coming quick, I'm set to race the Tumbling Creek 6 hr at Gainesville College.  I'm racing Solo Single Speed category, why?  B/c no one will have me for a team and I like pain.  Which is exactly what I plan on dealing out to anyone dumb enough to tangle with me come race day.  Hodge tried a few weeks back at Yargo and we all know what happened to him, that's right into the wall!
  So Code Red calls me yesterday to tell me that he's got his new weapon of choice all built up and it's looking mean.  It's a Vasago Jaberwocky in black, and built out it's right at about 22 lbs.  Of course he's being modest and trying not to brag as he tells me this, but I can hear the underlying message.  Punk even goes so far as to tell me that he's not feeling good and hasn't been on his bike hardly at all lately.  Can't fool me with such sandbaggin tactics Code Red, it's on!
  So now I'm left to the same decisions that I'm always left to before one of these things, which tires to run, what should I bring to eat, do i start the morning off with coffee or a beer, what playlist to select for the iPod, if the sky were green would we ever know where to stop cutting our lawns........ oh wait, that last one is just my everyday ramblings, nothing to do w/ the race.
  Oh and Al Brown, you might be racing clydesdale, but when  I see you on Saturday I'm gonna come at you like spider monkey all hopped up on Mountain Dew!  It's on foo'


P.O.A.S.
Matt-


songs to kick ass to,

Daddys Cup- Drive by Truckers

My Hero - Foo Fighters (cuz nothing's better for fightin' foos than the foo fighters)

Ace of Spades - Motorhead

Sister Christian - Night Ranger......hey wait a min, how did that sneak in there?

....And they still are, it seems.
Sadly, in search of, but one step in back of,
Themselves and their slow-movin' dreams.
 
  I had this floating around in my head yesterday during my ride up on the Pinhoti trail in Dalton Ga.  We were up there for a hash ride with the  wheelhoppers and like all hashes, had no idea as to what the trail was going to look like or what the distance would be, just a starting point (Pilchers pond) and a direction to head in.  My weapon of choice for the day?  My Niner SIR9 single speed, now for those of you who have yet to be enlightened, let me explain to you why riding a single speed in a group setting is an act of futility ( I know for most of my friends this is going to sound redundant, but I took the time to write it so you take the time to read it punks!)  Since you only have one gear, you have a limited amount of options as to the speed at which you can travel.  On a trail like the Pinhoti/Snake Creek Gap where everything is either straight up or straight down, you're limited to two speeds - either on top of your gear, cranking out and dropping everything in site w/ a little ring and a deraileur or walk.  For most of the ride I opted for the option that involved more pedaling than pushing, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I spent some time off the bike too. 
  So way off the front and alone (which is usually where I like to be anyway) is where I found myself for the better half of the day, the trail was in great shape and just as rocky and fun as it was the last time I rode it.  Funny thing about the relationship I have to this trail, the first time I rode it I swore that it was too technical and rocky and that I was too miserable to even consider going back to ride it again.  Funny how a couple years later I go out of my way to ride places like this.  Anyway, so with the elevation gain portion of the trail behind me the route started the fast and loose decent that leads to Dug Gap.  Now at this point I've been riding in the same direction without seeing any other options for a long time.  On a normal ride this isn't a big deal, but on a hash ride where misdirection is as important as proper direction, it means you're about to get screwed.  Sure enough after riding all the way down to where that portion of trail ends I found three arrows telling me to go back the way I just came from, and thinking back on what I had just ridden I realized I was going to have to ride all the way back to where the Long/Short route option was, which was all the way back at the begining of the single track(5 miles up and over the same gnarly rocky singletrack that I had just ridden over)  However I was happy to be out riding and turned my bike around and rode back to the spot where, sure enough that was the way to go.  The rest of the route consisted of a few more longish climbs, some really great singletrack and finally a 2 mile ride, push, ride, push, ride, push, push, push, push. ehh screw it I'm riding back down service road that led up to an overlook, all I've got from that one is a blister on my heal
  Finally the letters BN appeared in white flour which meant that beer is near and our ride was drawing to a close.  Step it up one last time to get over that last hill, hoping that it was the last hill and sure enough there was the merry band of hashers w/ beers in hand.  A few songs and some jokes at others expenses along w/ some beers and a good day was had by all.
  Unfortunately Saturday mornings ride was plagued by disaster and we had three riders injured in two different crashes.  The first happened when Shannon was taking her turn at the front of the group and pulling hard when she went down hard onto the road, cracking her helmet and aquiring some pretty painful road rash and two cracked ribs in the process.  Just like with all group ride crashes, the domino effect took control and the british chap riding behind her ended up running into Shannon and falling onto his elbow.  Thankfully Todd Park was on the ride with me and he gave me a hand in tending to the injured, ironic how it always seems to be the mountain bikers that know what to do in times of crisis.  Maybe it's because we're a little more used to seeing injuries and have more experience in dealing with them, who knows?  Once everyone was tended to and the sag vehicle showed up to take the injured off to the hospital, Todd and I finished our ride without incident.  Later on I found out that the leaded of the B group ride had hit some sand in the road and ended up going down and breaking his collar bone.
  So folks be careful out there, keep it shiny side up and rubber side down and I'll look to see you in the dirt real soon.  Tumbling Creek is this weekend and I'm looking forward to kicking some ass in the last 6 hr of the year.
P.O.A.S.
Matt-


current playing on my iPod......

Falling away with you - Muse

So I get into work this morning and start my daily routine of checking websites and other blogs, when I catch a mention that the SSWC'08 venue has been choosen and it's coming back to the states!  Excited now I start my internet search for more information, digging through website after website hoping to garnish a little info on when it will be held, frantically I search page after page, nuclear physicists on the verge of developing a new global renewable energy source don't move this fast.  Finally I find it, all signs point to an August race, sweet!  August in Napa would kick ass, and the weather would likely be perfect and the ratio of single speeders to alcoholic beverages would be amazingly proportional.......wait a min (logic side of my brain kicking in now)  isn't there something important that I have to do come August 2008?  Isn't there somewhere I have to be, and a score I have to settle?   AWWWW SHIT!  August 2008 Mt Washington Hill Climb, how could I possibly forget about my grudge match that's already been scheduled for 2008?  For those of you not familiar with my relationship to the rock pile, this past year I drove all the way with the help of Scott Hodge from www.addictivecycles.com from Georgia to New Hampshire with the intention of climbing to the top of that damn mountain only to be turned away because of sub freezing temps and 80+ mph winds at the summit.  Dissapointment doesn't begin to describe it, but just like Ahnold said...."I'll be back"


  So what now?  Well hopefully someone will decide that September would make for a better race date.  SSWC'08 is going to RAWK! and I hope to be a part of it.
P.O.A.S.

BE THERE, THIS MEANS YOU!  Seriously folks, come on out and support a band that is on the verge of greatness.  The guys will be playing two sets, the first being an accoustic affair to warm you up and get you in the mood, and the second being the full on rock the back of your skull off and blow your mind to the back of the room assault on your senses.  If you haven't checked these guys out you need to do so now before you miss out on getting the opportunity to be able to tell all your friends that "I got to see them back when....."
  Check out the band and their music on their website here - http://www.bishopdon.com/
 
As an added bonus everyone that mentions my blog will get the chance to have their picture taken and posted on here, so you can show all those folks at work just how cool you really are   That didn't sound the least bit nacicistic did it? 
 

and everyonce in a while I have a good weekend too, and this one was definitely a good one.  First let me take you back to Thurs night and yet another great Urban Ride in Atlanta.  We made great time and had a decent group with two new faces to share in the fun.  Even managed to work Mason Mill into the route which is something that we haven't done since we got this thing going again.  I always dig riding there b/c no matter how many times I ride there I always seem to find something new that I had not seen before.  Since we got a little bit of a late jump and decided to go for some more miles we didn't make it back in time for the post ride burrito at Willy's however we did hit a pub nearby for a few "recovery drinks".....


 

 
Bam Bam has something to say, what a "shocker"!

So Hodge has convinced me to go on this drop weight now program to shed some much needed weight before I start my winter training.  Basically it involves a very close monitoring of the amount of calories and the lack there of I ingest.  So I started my Saturday with a great riding with the Dunwoody Cycling Group, 40 miles on the road 19mph avg, all done on a mostly empty stomach (hey coffees food right?)  Afterwards I got a call from Clifford asking if I wanted to meet him up at Chicopee for a ride on the 29ers.  As it turns out the local womens cycling group Sorella Cycling had been out there working with the local SORBA chapter doing some work on the trails.  So in addition to getting to ride w/ the big red dog I got to see some friends I hadn't seen in a little while.  Not a bad way to spend a Saturday at all, but my legs were definitely feeling the days work by the time my head hit the pillow Sat night.

Sunday morning was another early start, I was supposed to be up at 7:00 but for some reason I was up at 6:00 and could not convince myself to go back to sleep.  So I got up, did some reading and then hit the road bound for Ft. Yargo to meet up w/ Hodge, Carebear and some other folks.  Ended up riding w/ Flatfender and Bobby Thrash who was riding his cross bike, if there are any cross racers reading this you guys better watch out for Bobby this year.  Had a decent ride, I was definitely feeling the effects of yesterdays rides and the reduction in calories.  The weather was perfect and the trails were in good shape albeit a bit dusty, but what can you do when you're in the middle of a drought right?
  The phrase of the day was, you come near me and I'm gonna put you in the wall.  Which is what I almost ended up doing to Hodge, we were messing around on one of the down hill sections and Hodge tries passing me so I started to put the ole' lean on him.  We were bumping elbows and knees and coming close to trading paint, all the while Clifford is behind us watching and laughing.  Now I should point out here that not only is Hodge a faster and better rider that I am, but the dudes got stupid skills when it comes to pulling moves out of his ass that would land us normal folk in the ER.  So I decide that I should back off and let him pass because he was going to do it anyway, I tap the brakes about the same time I roll over some loose pinestraw and surrender my right to traction as well as direction.  What was once a friendly lean has now become a change in direction for both riders and Hodge's direction was off into the woods.  Somehow he pulled off some ninja move and managed to not only keep the bike rubber side down, but to also drop off of some hidden log and avoid a big arse tree.  I take this opportunity to put some distance between me and Hodge who has now begun to "turn the pedals in anger" to catch up, and homeboy passes me like a freight train and drops the hammer up the next hill.  Now Hodge impresses me everytime we ride, the dude flat out has skills, but to pull that one back from certain doom is just freakin' impressive.  By the way Hodge the story ends the same everytime, and that's with me putting you into the wall every time you come near me.

After the ride Hodge and I headed down to Jittery Joes to check out the car show and grab a cup of the best coffee south of the Mason Dixon line.  Low and behold the first car I see as soon as we crested the hill was this beauty....



It was signed by the whole cast under the hood and was in incredible shape.  There were some great looking cars out on display including Hodge's Fitty Eight Fairlane.  However the highlight of the show for me was this one.....

 

That blue and white was incredible, the kind of paint job that looks perfect under an autumn afternoon sun, not to mention I think I might have found the insperation for how to paint my next bike.  I'm thinking something in blue with some white panels, maybe made by these guys www.ifbikes.com  definitely in steel and definitely classy looking. 

One last image to leave you with before I go....
 
yee-haw bitches
P.O.A.S
Matt-

So a few days ago I had to run home from work on my lunch hour to pick up a few things, including my bike and clothes that I needed for that nights ride.  On the way there I saw something that made me stop and think and then smile for a while.....


that's the elemetary school by my house, and yes those are bikes.  Not just any bikes, but bikes that kids rode to school.   I can remember being that age and wanting to ride my bike to school but not being allowed to because we lived off of a busy street and the school building was too far away.  In reality it was less than 5 miles away, but I can now understand that there's just too much that can happen to a child, even back then much less with the crazy world we live in today.  But to someone that age it has nothing to do with avoiding enraged motorists, or ill behaved dogs, or those bad people that wanted to steal you (thank you after school special for permanently burning that image into my brain)  No to those kids it's just about the fun that is riding your bike to school and in some ways breaking free from the strings that tie you to your parents and keep you from growing up.  I hope that these kids have half the fun that I now have on my bike, and I hope I never forget how cool it feels to be the kid riding my bike to school while all the others have to ride on some big yellow bus.
P.O.A.S
Matt-

songs to run round in yo' head.
The Who- Babba O'Reily
Band of Heathens - Odysseus
The Thorns -  No Blue Sky

Every once in a while a recording artist does something to make me think that rock n roll hasn't quite gasped it's final breath and let loose it's own death rattle.  This morning I caught wind of a story that has breathed some new life into the old machine.  Radiohead has announced that they are letting the fans determine how much they think their new album is worth.  Between now and Oct 10th fans can log onto their site and preorder a downloadable copy of the new album and at check out, the fan can choose how much they think they should pay.

copy of the checkout screen

BRILLIANT!  as my favorite little Guiness guys would say.  So now instead of waiting around for some insider to leak the album to the public ahead of it's release date, the band has done so but with the moral question of "how much do you think my livelihood is worth?"  It also begs the consumer to ask themselves, "what if someone stole the end product of my job from me without paying?" What then?

  Kudos to you Radiohead, you've proven over and over again that a group can exist and flourish without having to rely on the recording industry.  Oh and in case you're wondering what I paid for the new album........ standard CD price, lucky number $13.  P.O.A.S.

 The soundtrack of my brain is currently playing.....

Where is my Mind - Pixies (Surfa Rosa version)

Dead Flowers - Rolling Stones

I'd rather be a Hammer than a Nail - Paul Thorn

The Night They Drove old Dixie Down - Allman Bros Band (recorded live at the Fabulous Fox a few years back)

Friday night saw the return of one of my favorite bands to town Drive by Truckers, give them a listen if you've never checked them out before.  Met up w/ some friends at the Yacht Club in Little 5 Points before the show to have a few drinks and "warm up" for the evening.  Hit the door and hit the floor just as the Truckers were going on stage, they burned through a couple of favorites like Annette, about half way through the set I look to my left and see....FREDDY!  One of the co-owners of Sweetwater.  He looks down at the beer in my hand, Miller High Life (one of my 2 fav cheap beers) grabs the bottle and tosses it out and hands me  two 420s, lets just say the night went downhill from here.  I had planned on staying relatively lucid b/c I had to be up the next day for the Lisa Lee ride, however that didn't quite happen. 

The show was amazing, the band is still on their From the Dirt tour and they were doing a mostly accoustical set.  Patterson sounded good despite having some vocal issues early on, however after the second bottle of Jack Daniels gave up the fight to the band he started sounding better.  Here's a few pics from the show, sorry for the crappy quality but the only thing I had was my cell phone.....

Ok, can you see the sweet devil moon overlooking the stage?  That's an original piece by one of my favorite artists wes Freed, www.wesfreed.com He does the artwork for all of the Truckers album covers and has some amazing pieces, check him out and buy some of his work!

 Sat morn came and the alarm went at 7:00, open my eyes and bring on the pain..... yep I was drinking last night.... yep I've got to get moving, told Code Red I'd be there by 9:00..... Nope can't quite find balance yet, back to bed.  An hour and 5 glasses of water and one glass of Jittery Joes coffee later I was on the road headed for Chicoppee, running late and feeling guilty about it.  I've had this issue of being on time that I've been trying to work on lately, I'm not one to run hours late, but I'm very guilty of constantly running 15 minutes behind the rest of society.  Enough to where my friends have made the joke of "Matt time" where they would tell me to be somewhere 20 min before I actually had to be there so I'd be on time.  Now I won't make excuses, it's just poor planning on my part and I feel bad about it, so I've been trying to be better about it.  Which is why I was driving so hard and fast to make up time and get there.  Thankfully no runins w/ the law b/c I really can't afford another ticket right now.

  I pull into the parking lot and everyone is already on the trail, I was actually happy about this b/c I wasn't too sure about riding with a group as I wasn't too sure the contents of my stomach were going to actually stay there.   There was a punch ride going on, I love these things b/c it makes for a fun mini race against yourself to see how many punches you can get in as short of an amount of time.  Ended up with 5 of 6 b/c even though I was feeling better I really didnt feel like riding zig-zag.  Oh yeah I forgot to tell you why we were there!  Lisa Lee is a local and fellow cyclist who has been having some health problems as of late.  Her health insurance covers most of her treatments however it doesn't cover things like food, gas to treatments and prescription medications, all of which are things that add up fast.  So this ride was to benefit her and last I checked we ended up raising somwhere in the nature of $2700!

   Sat night we met over at Bam-bam and Pebble's place to load up on the bikes and head over to the North Ga state fair, we were definitely in the minority among cigarettes and chevrolettes that were lining the roads as we rode past them on two wheels.  We saw all the sites of the fair like the giant snake, 100 lbs rat, and the man eating chicken (ok so there were more than one of these, but that joke always cracks me up)  The highlight was defintely the King BMX stunt show, these guys were throwing down big time going huge above the ramps.  Pulling backflips and turn down 360s!  I never get bored watching that stuff, there was some flat land riding mixed in and that took me back to the old days, riding my diamond back w/ the gyro headset and trying to do bar spins, watching my neighbor Teddy knock out his front teeth trying to do the same trick, we all kind of gave up trying after that day.  So now that I've made my yearly trip to the fair, I've also amassed my yearly allowance of deep fried foods so today marks a new chapter in my riding plans.  I'm not having to work as much now, so I'm going to take advantage of the fall weather and get some more rides in starting tonight.  Hope to see y'all out there, P.O.A.S.

Matt-

(p.s. sorry for the long post, I'm still trying to figure out the art of condensing what I have to say)