Last weekend I participated in my second duathlon, the Cape Henry Duathlon in the Virgina Beach area. For those unfamiliar with this event, this is a run-bike-run event. In this particular case it was a 5k run followed by a 20 mile bike ride (32k actually) followed by a second 5k run. I thought that this would be a fun event that would allow me to train for my upcoming half marathon but also continue riding.
DH went with me and we drove up to Virginia Beach on Friday. Packet pickup was on Friday due to the fact that the event was held on Fort Story which is an army base. After we picked up my race packet, we walked around the boardwalk for a bit and the decided to look for a place for dinner. We decided on pizza or Italian and ended up a YNot Pizza which was really good. I would definitely go back there. I had stromboli which was very good and we got some Italian cookies to go. We got some coffee and had cookies and coffee in the hotel that evening.
On Saturday morning we made our way over to Fort Story and I set up my transition area. I was glad DH got to see the transition area because I wasn't sure that my description was doing it justice. I set up a my transition towel with my bike shoes, bike helmet, shades and made sure that I had my water bottle on the bike, etc. I pointed out the mount/dismount line to DH as well. Earlier I made sure that my bike was in a good starting gear.
The first run went well. I was faster than I expected but I don't think that I overdid it. The route was interesting and I enjoyed running by the two lighthouses on base. I saw DH as I was heading to the transition area. T1 went well and I got on the bike and headed out for my three laps on the bike course.
The course was mostly flat but quite windy. Each of our laps went by the lighthouses which was neat. I saw DH on the course and he got a few pictures too! I was pleased with how the bike section went and headed into T2.
The race organizers also had a lot of people on the run and bike routes to cheer for us. That really gave the event a festive atmosphere.
T2 went pretty well but felt a lot slower than T1. This is weird because it was actually faster than T1. I guess that it's faster to get off the bike and put on running shoes that vice versa. Plus I must have been getting tired. By now everyone was really strung out so I was more or less alone on the second run. The second 5k route was the same as the first one. I was pleased with my time. I was not as fast as during the first 5k but was quite respectable. I passed a few people on the run but I was also passed by a few. I knew that I just needed to going at my own pace.
I was so excited. I can do this!
DH met me at the finish line. I got some water and checked the results. My results were not posted yet so we walked down to the after-race party. They had BBQ and a few other things (DH had my beer) and then I walked back to check the results. DH asked if I was ready to go yet and I looked at the results and said, "No! We have to go the the awards." I got second place in my age group!
We went back to the BBQ area and I got a very nice award -- a custom welded lighthouse sculpture that is quite tasteful!
The army personnel were terrific hosts. There were a lot of people to process us through the check point and direct traffic. The area of the base where the race was held was essentially closed to traffic which was great!
On Saturday I participated in the Habitat for Humanity Halloween bike ride.
To prepare for the ride I wanted to replace the cleats on my cycling shoes and get some cleat covers. They had gotten worn during Cycle North Carolina and I really probably should have replaced them sooner. I went to my local bike shop and they went to replace the cleats. Uh oh! Trouble! The hole in the shoe where the new cleats needed to be attached -- stripped! Doing the Halloween ride with one shoe did not seem like an option. I ended up leaving the shop as the proud owner of new bike shoes and new cleats. The cleat covers were out of stock.
My friends and I registered for the 100 mile route. Unfortunately, we got up to misty, drizzly, rainy weather. The radar showed no precipitation and the forecast had been for clearing overnight and some clouds and sun -- not misty, drizzle conditions.
I unloaded my bike and went to test my new shoes and could. not. clip. in. Oh no! OK, I did a test ride around the parking area and the shoes were attaching but not like normal. I found my riding friends -- even Chris who had been sick -- and we were off but only after waiting 5-10 minutes in the rain while some stragglers who were doing the same day registration were getting ready. I had a hard time clipping in at the start but I was able to stay with the group. We thought Chris was with us but we lost him somewhere. Then we saw him briefly at the mile 25 rest stop and lost him again. He said that he ended up doing the 62 mile route.
Overall the ride was pretty good. The people that I was with were in a good mood about the weather and we ended up taking it at an off season long ride kind of pace that felt appropriate to the conditions. We were a small group of four -- Doug and Tom who I planned to ride with and one other rider that joined us along the way. At one point I moaned that I really wanted the sun to come out, I was sick of being wet and my back was getting cold. That became a case of be careful what you wish for, the sun came out and the wind picked up. We ended up doing the 25 or so mile into the wind!
In late October I was invited to join a group that was going to mountain bike in Dupont State Forest, which is near Brevard North Carolina. We never did see any of the famous Brevard white squirrels. Dupont has incredible single track trails, water falls, and slick rock trails. To top it off, the fall colors would be near peak.
The original plan was to go Friday through Sunday. However, rain was in the forecast for Friday, so the trip was shifted out a day. Most of us had tent sites together at a the Black Forest Campground, which is just outside the park. Brian and his family (which consisted of his wife Jillian and 2 1/2 year old twins Iris and Trevor), stayed in a trailer that you can rent at the campground. The trailer was a much better option for the kids. The entire group consisted of Brian and his family, James and Lynna, Sandi and Amy, Chuck and myself.
I was riding up with Chuck, whom I have also kayaked with numerous times. While on our way up to the mountains, we got to see a Winnebago that was on fire. The entire front was engulfed in flames and no firetrucks had arrived on the scene yet.
I asked Chuck about a restaurant called Asiana Grand and where they are located in Asheville. It's a a favorite kayaker stop since it's a huge Chinese buffet that includes sushi at dinner. If you go before 3, you get the lunch rate and can eat sushi when it comes out at 3. Chuck thought we could stop there on the way home Monday, assuming we burned enough calories riding. Later that night James mentioned that HE would like to stop at Asiana Grand on Monday.
When we got near Asheville, it started to pour down rain. When we got onto I-26, traffic was slowed to a crawl due to accidents being cleared from the road. The rain was coming down about 1" per hour, much more than was forecast.
We stopped in Brevard for dinner at restaurant called the Square Root. The restaurant's interior is incredible. The bar is a plank from a tree, sanded and finished, bark and all. The floor consisted of 4" x 4" posts that had slices cut off to form tiles. They also had good beer on draft (local brew called Pisgah Pale Ale, which you apparently can't get in bottles) and great food. I had a fancy version of a cheese steak sandwich (London Broil was used) and freshly made sweet potato chips. The rain continued to pour down, so I was very thankful for the rain jacket I recently purchased.
We drove up the mountain roads through thick fog and rain to the campground. We decided that setting up tents in the downpour and then camping in the rain was just silly. We asked if they had any cabins left. "Why, yes we do. We offered one that was available all three nights to members of your party, but they declined and took one that was only available tonight. They planned to tent camp the other two nights." SCORE for us!
The rain continued throughout the night, then quickly stopped. Only a small amount of rain was forecast, but four INCHES fell. In the morning, some of the people in tents said they had to bail out quite a bit of water from the bottom of their tent.
Going Head Over Heels - Not a Slick Move
Saturday morning at 6 am we were awakened by the sound of kids yelling and screaming in the campground. It wasn't even light yet, so they were also waving flashlights around as well. This went on for hours. Even the cabin's walls couldn't totally block out the din.
The campground offers a pancake breakfast Saturdays and Sundays, which costs $6 for adults. You got all the pancakes you wanted, sausage, coffee, juice, fruit, etc.
The lady making the pancakes would always give out pancakes in stacks of three. Chuck and I only wanted two each. "Oh, no, you can't do that. Otherwise that would waste pancakes". Ok...three it is. We love carbs after all.
A little later Sandi and Amy came to our table, and they each had TWO pancakes?! HUH?
We figured out the plan for the day and headed out. Brian would do things with his family in the morning and would join us for cycling after lunch.
Our first trip was an out and back ride to Hooker Falls. With all of the rain the night before, the river was at a really high level. We all wished we had brought our kayaks, and we passed two guys on the trail carrying kayaks.
After viewing Hooker Falls, we went on towards Triple Falls. Cyclists and horses have to take a different trail here than hikers and his particular trail was not well maintained. It was eroded and had lots of horse hockey. Over the weekend we saw a large number of horses. Everyone was polite and yielded on the trail, but too bad there can't be a pooper scooper rule for horses (or at least move it off the trail). It's not fun to ride through all of that, especially for the people behind you when you can't avoid hitting it.
Triple Falls was amazing sight, especially since it had so much water from all of the rain. Chuck told me that people have run parts of the falls in a kayak, which I think is insane. We then headed to the covered bridge that is above Triple Falls. From the bridge you can see how swiftly the water is flowing just before it goes over the falls. You can hear the falls, but you can't see them from the bridge.
We then went on more trails and continued to climb. We did a nice downhill ride back to the parking lot where we would have lunch and Brian would join us.
After lunch we rode more trails, which included more climbing. But the payback was wonderful. We came down a trail that was an amazing long downhill where you can go really fast. At the end, everyone was all smiles. "Whoo hoo! THAT'S why we do all that climbing".
We ended up back at the vehicles. The women all went back to camp while the guys went to a different parking lot to access the slick rock trails.
Now we were on very wet trails and had to ride through a lot of large puddles and through a lot of mud (with some horse hockey thrown in). Then we reached the slick rock section of the trail, which initially goes right up the mountain. You have to keep going because if you stop, you'll likely have to push your bike. I didn't know what to expect, so I ended up pushing in a few spots. In the slick rock sections, the trails are marked with stacks of stones called cairns. We all admired the view from the top and started heading down the mountain. My brakes were wet and weren't gripping very well. I was following Brian and kept pumping my brakes to slow down. Brian slowed and perhaps had stopped. I slammed on the brakes, which locked up. I went flying over the handle bars yelling "Oh ***K". Thud, I hit the rock and landed on my left hip (which now sports a huge nasty bruise). Brian stopped to see if I needed help. I unclipped myself from the bike, sat on the rock for a minute, saw nothing was broken, got up, and pushed my bike down the rest of the steep rocky parts of the trail.
Meanwhile, a guy on a SINGLE SPEED bike was going up this trail, his dog running along side. Right behind him a woman was carrying her bike up the mountain.
We got to the parking lot, loaded up the gear, and headed back to camp.
At camp, Chuck and I hosed off our muddy bikes. Chuck, Amy, Sandi, and I were the Saturday cooking team, so we had to start prepping for dinner. Janyne had prepared ahead of time Carolina Chicken: boneless, skinless chicken in a marinade consisting of vinegar, yellow mustard, spices. etc. All I had to do is throw the chicken on the grill for 8-10 minutes per side (I can handle that). She also baked banana nut bread and butterscotch blondies. I planned to bring two pounds of chicken, but decided to bring three. It's a good thing I did since it was a huge hit: all but one piece was consumed and everyone wanted the recipe. Chuck provided corn on the cob and Sandi and Amy contributed mashed potatoes.
Click! Sunday morning started out quite chilly, but quiet. At 8:30 am it was 39 degrees. Chuck and I were again happy to have the cabin even though we didn't bother with the "heater" the campground provided for the cabin. The heater is essentially an electric toaster with a fan. It has three settings: off, low, high, but NO thermostat. I could see that if we turned it on, we'd roast. The sleeping bags were sufficient.
Sunday's ride started with a couple of miles of fairly constant climbing. We then came to a stream that you can normally ride across. However, all the rain rose the water level too high so we had to carry our bikes across.
For some reason I fell down in the sucking mud several different times. I also had some trouble on some of the steep climbs, especially if they were really muddy, rocky, or rooty. James said that he should get one of those clickers you use to count with to count my slips, and it would "need double digits". So every time I slipped, he would shout "CLICK". I would even shout click myself if I toppled, which got repeated up the line along with laughs.
After a great downhill ride, we came to Bridal Veil Falls. At lower levels you can walk up the waterfall and go behind some of the water. We all took a break and admired the water.
Going downhill meant we had to go back up to reach the parking lot where Brian was waiting to join us.
With Brian added to the group, we went a different way back to Bridal Veil Falls. At this point, the women in the group decided to head back to the cars and to camp. We would ride a bit more. Turns out I was out of gas. The ride back was mostly uphill and it was quite steep in spots. My heart rate went crazy on each of the steep climbs and I was sucking wind, so I pushed my bike in a few spots. I need to work on sprints that spike my heart rate, especially after riding for quite a few miles.
After making it back to the parking lot, we loaded up the bikes and headed to camp.
It wasn't our night to cook, so Chuck and I could relax after hosing off the bikes. That night we had great chili, hot dogs, and berry cobbler for dinner.
Slick Rock Redux Monday we packed up camp and planned to do a short ride before hitting the road. Chuck and I were happy to not have to take down tents, especially if they were wet.
The plan was to do the slick rock again (oh, goody), BUT take an easier route down the mountain (yea!).
The ride up was actually a lot muddier and sloppier than it was on Saturday since a lot of cyclists had been out over the weekend.
When we hit the slick rock section, I was going along fine in my granny gear until I slipped my chain. However, since I knew what to expect this time, I rode most all of the trail to the top. I only pushed my bike in a couple of places.
We all admired the view from the top, then headed on down. The route down was a lot nicer than the one we took on Saturday. I had NO clicks on Monday, thank you.
We loaded up the gear and headed home.
Chuck and I decided NOT to stop at Asiana Grand. It just wasn't worth the calories. Instead I learned about a great Mexican place (another kayaker hangout) in Morganton. It's El Paso, exit 105 on I-40.
It was a great weekend and I was happy to be invited along. I was told that I was always welcome to join their trips since I "provided excellent food AND entertainment". Click here for more photos from the trip.
Yesterday a group of us went to the State Fair at lunch time. We work just down the street from the fairgrounds.
We had a nice time walking around the concessions area. Nathan and Ray got steak sandwiches from the North Carolina Cattlemen's Association while I went to the booth next to it and got roasted corn on the cob. Then we went to another concessions stand and Jason and Scott got steak sandwiches while Joe got an Italian sausage (apparently, not from the good sausage place). On our way to get NCSU ice cream, we paused to get salt water taffy -- Joe and Jason each got some to bring home -- and we passed a deep fried everything place. I guess that kind of explains the name of the official State Fair blog -- Deep Fried! Joe and Ray got chocolate chip mint ice cream and I noted that the corn on the cob near the rabbit barn looked better than the corn that I had purchased earlier.
From there we started to head towards the free hush puppies, but took a detour to the cider place near the flue cured tobacco barn. Then it turned out that no one wanted cider. Joe debated getting some kettle corn to bring home (Jason had purchased some earlier) and by the bluegrass stage. Then we went to the grist mill and got our free hush puppies and wandered through the Village of Yesteryear. Then it was on to the Amish fudge so that Joe could get some to bring home. The final items on the shopping list were nuts and maple cotton candy.
Joe wanted nuts from a stand on midway near the Kerr Scott building so we headed up that way, stopping along the way for Jason to get a float. We threatened to put Jason on the Vertigo ride after he had his float! The nuts looked good and we passed the ostrich burger place to get there. We debated getting Click it or Ticket clickers for Joe's daughters and went into the Kerr Scott building in an attempt to located them but had no luck. There I overheard a mother telling her daughter, "Oh honey, you won't like that. It's souse." We sampled the honey cotton candy and decided that the maple cotton candy was probably better so we passed on that.
From there we cut through the Green NC display, saw the chick-cans and went to the Commercial building where Joe and I each had a Mount Olive pickle and got maple cotton candy to bring home. On the way out of the building, I got a sample of chocolate covered peanuts and shared them with the group.
We went through the Education building next door and saw the chocolate dipped bacon that we have heard so much about. We decided to get an order to share among for of us. At first, it tasted kind of good but not particularly special -- like chocolate covered salted nuts. Then it just started to taste fatty. The finish was bad -- like gritty bacon grease. Joe said that he wanted something to get the taste out of his mouth. Jason pointed out that the place that sold the chocolate covered bacon also sold sodas. Joe refused to give them more money. It was time for us to leave the fair anyway so we went to the gas station across the street and got a soda and walked back to the office.
Don, who rode to Surf City with us on Saturday, is another indoor camper. He's from Charlotte and we ran into each other a lot this year. I finally got his name in Sanford and it turns out he is friends with Crash Eddy from Oh Melo Velo. I really knew that Don was one of us, though, when we talked about about The Mayor while we were in Dunn.
The Mayor
There is rider that we nicknamed The Mayor last year. We called him that because he thought he was The Mayor of Indoor Camping. Apparently he has been participating in Cycle North Carolina for years. He would come in and try to boss us and, on top of everything, he snored.
We suspected that he was sagged in a lot last year and sure enough, we saw him get off the SAG wagon in Lenoir this year. Don made some comment about the various personalities of indoor campers and I said something about The Mayor. Don asked who I was referring to and I described him. Don said, "Oh, Big John!"
Apparently, The Mayor complained about how tired he was when he got to Sanford. When the coast was clear, Don then wandered over to The Mayor's bike and toggled through his bike computer -- 23 miles. Of the 75 miles on the short route, he had completed 23 miles that day! We later confirmed with our insider at CNC that he sagged in every day!
CNC Day 7 Kenansville to Surf City 21.9 mph average speed 28.1 mph maximum speed 2:25:21 ride time 53.02 miles about 675 feet of climbing
The five us us before our final day of CNC 2009
The day was fun and fast and flat. The Gang of Five -- Tim, Jon, Doug, Chris and me -- rode together. We made a micro stop at the first rest area, saw that it was really busy and decided to go on to the next stop for a final PB&J and we picked up a sixth rider, Don. Tim and Jon wanted to do most of the pulling and keep the speed up. We all rode to the next stop.
The final rest stop: Chris, me, Jon and Tim
As we approached Surf City, the pace picked up to 26 mph or so and we started to string out. We all met again at the park where the ride ended. What a week!
Last weekend I participated in my second duathlon, the Cape Henry Duathlon in the Virgina Beach area. For those unfamiliar with this event, this is a run-bike-run event. In this particular case it was a 5k run followed by a 20 mile bike ride (32k actually) followed by a second 5k run. I thought that this would be a fun event that would allow me to train for my upcoming half marathon but also continue riding.
DH went with me and we drove up to Virginia Beach on Friday. Packet pickup was on Friday due to the fact that the event was held on Fort Story which is an army base. After we picked up my race packet, we walked around the boardwalk for a bit and the decided to look for a place for dinner. We decided on pizza or Italian and ended up a YNot Pizza which was really good. I would definitely go back there. I had stromboli which was very good and we got some Italian cookies to go. We got some coffee and had cookies and coffee in the hotel that evening.
