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Colds, Storms & Backup Plans
I came back from Vegas with a cold. It developed Sunday night, and got worse as the week progressed. It is still lingering, but blog posts about head colds aren’t very interesting, so I’m not going to...
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Hot Doggett 100, 2013, Mars Hill, NC
At the last minute, I decided to give Hot Doggett another shot. It has been two years since my last attempt, but this is one of my favorite mountain centuries, and I had been longing to ride it again....
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The Length of the Blue Ridge Parkway, October 2013
Now that my fitness has been improving, and the France cancellation gave me some free time in the fall, I’ve been looking for a big goal. Having some sort of event on the horizon helps motivate me to...
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South Carolina Climbs + Odds and Ends
The sick bug continues to plague me. After a week of relatively heavy training, it became much worse, developing into a painfully uncomfortable cough this weekend. Rather than continuing to train and...
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Escaping the Haze
A couple weeks ago, I mentioned that blog posts about head colds are not that interesting. I stand by that statement, but posts about chest colds may be a different animal. As I noted in that post, my...
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Boone Gran Fondo Preview
Over the last few years, Gran Fondo format rides/races have taken the US by storm. They are popping up all over the place, but have been a little slower to penetrate the southeastern market. The...
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The Birthday Ride
It may sound silly to some, but I think a birthday is a time to reward yourself, or “Treat Yo Self” as Rhetta and Tom from Parks and Rec say in the above video. Spend the day indulging in what you...
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Grayson Highlands, Virginia
Since I would be up in the High Country a day early, I decided to make my warm-up ride a little more interesting. Usually I will spin for 10-20 miles before a big ride, just to get the legs fresh. This...
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Boone Gran Fondo, 2013, Boone, NC
Before I delve into the lengthy ride report, I’d like to talk a little about the timed format of this GFNCS. As I noted in the Preview post, the overall course is not timed. They only time four...
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Climbs Project Completed (for now)
There’s nothing like a nasty, lingering cold to help finish long-term projects. Since last year, I’ve been working on revamping the Climbs section to something a little more detailed and pleasing to...
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Blue Ridge Breakaway Preview
Two years later, and I’m coming back. Blue Ridge Breakaway out of Lake Junalaska is still among my favorite organized mountain rides. It was my Ride of the Year in 2011, and could end up repeating this...
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Riding With Steroids
You read that subject correctly. I have shamelessly taken the wheel on the influence of performance enhancing substances. After a few months of annoying setbacks, I decided to turn to chemicals in...
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Wash Out
EDIT: You can disregard most of this post. The heavy rains moved eastward and the forecast looks a lot better. I drove up overnight and will ride. The Blue Ridge Breakaway has not been officially...
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Blue Ridge Breakaway, 2013, Lake Junaluska, NC
After making the decision to cancel my travel plans for Blue Ridge Breakaway, I was disappointed and bummed. This event was at the top of my priority list for the year, and with the nasty weather...
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Haute Route Wake Up Call
As most of you know, injuries ended my Haute Route ambitions this year, although my registration is still good for next year. I’m preparing now to get myself healthy and ready to go, and have been...
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A Busy Fall Season
While it seems that a lot has been happening all year (good and bad), I haven’t had a truly busy cycling season. That looks to finally change this fall, and thankfully I’ve had a good jumpstart in the...
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Flight of the Dove, 2013, Clinton, SC
Of all nearby metric rides, Flight of the Dove probably has the best reputation. I’ve heard many people tell me that this is their favorite ride, either because of the organization, the social...
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The Second Opinion
I haven’t talked about the injury for awhile because there hasn’t been much progress. Physical therapy began three months ago, which has been tremendously helpful in strengthening my hip region, but...
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Shot Through the Hip
Today was the first step in the next step of my recovery – the shot. I have never had a cortisone shot, and many people had led me to believe that it would be painful. I was more concerned with the...
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All In for Hincapie
My main regret about last year is that I missed out on the inaugural Gran Fondo Hincapie. A great many friends and readers rode, and everyone I talked to had an amazing time. There were several VIP...
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