Muggy in Montvale

Hey! So there's this little place along 460 that is very combustible. It's affectionately known as "Kaboom Town". Where is this "land of en fuego" you ask? Oh it's about 20 minutes east of Roanoke, and Montvale is home to several gasoline distribution tanks. My goal today was to go and ride the trails at Montvale Park. I guessed that the Cove would be a muddy mess given the downpours of the past few days, I just rode Mill Mountain Friday night; and I've wanted to check out these trails for a while. I figured they couldn't be any messier than the other options. I also didn't know how I would feel today. I've struggled for the past 6 days with two extremely sore legs. Yep, overdid it at the gym and paid the price for 5+ days. It was so bad at one point, I couldn't walk up or down steps and needed to grab a door knob to get up and out of my chair at work. Stupid Jen.

Prior to today, I rode this past Tuesday (~10.5miles) at the Cove with Paula – it was the 1^st day post gym goof, so the pain wasn't too bad; well at least until I went to climb. I found myself walking up stuff I've ridden all year long. I just couldn't push/pull the pedals. OW. Friday, the idiots formerly known as weathermen had forecasted rain all day, so I didn't take my bike to work nor did I charge my light for the previously planned Friday night lights ride. At around 7p, Paula called and asked if I still wanted to ride. Of course I did. We ended up meeting at 815p for a night ride on Mill Mountain. It was fun. My legs were sort of cooperative. The lights were great, that is until P's ran out of juice. We rode back up the old road by my light alone and called it a night (~6.2miles). We will probably ride like this again. It's a different vibe at night, plus we saw some weird stuff – reflector raccoons, pooping spider and camera lightning – you had to be there.

Montvale Park is fairly new I'm not sure when they began work on it, nor what the future holds. If it is anything like Falling Creek Park in Bedford, then I expect that there will be more amenities eventually with a sustainable trail system. So far, I can only find the trails. There are two ways to get to them. There is a parking lot on Quarterwood Road or you can park at the baseball fields below Montvale Elementary, which was the option I chose. I was going to attempt to ride the race course for the Montvale Mayhem race that's coming up in October. When I got there, I realized that the weathermen had once again erred in their prediction that it was going to be a cooler, less humid day. It was downright warm and very muggy. UGH.

Anyway, I unloaded my bike and headed out. From the parking lot, you ride towards the baseball diamond then hang a left on the freshly mowed path around a field. I think Kenny P. has a passion for grassy fields. =) I wondered where the trails actually were then I was given a hint of a little yellow diamond with an arrow. Cool. A left then a right takes you to Goose Creek which is probably rideable, but since I was solo I decided to walk across the quaint, cute footbridge. It's not quite wide enough for my handlebars, but I managed.

The first trail I came to was called Yellow Drum. I had noticed this on the map and wondered about the name. Of course, I was reading into it thinking of some cool connection like an Indian had lived here and had a tom-tom which led him to be named Yellow Drum. Well that fantasy was blown to smithereens when I rounded a curve and saw a large, yellow drum. Industrial ya'll. Like you'd see recycled oil in. I laughed, but soon found myself wrecking on a slippery tree root. I'm quite proud that I remembered how to roll. HA HA. My concentration was completely screwed up by the yellow drum. I guess I will remember Yellow Drum for a while. It ranks right up there with Fat Albert (if you've ridden at Falling Creek you know this reference). =D

Let's see, I can't remember specific details about any one trail at this point (I will list what I remember at the end). I can say there are a lot of log hops, which I don't care for because I'm just not that good at it. I felt like some are poorly placed and take away from the flow of the trails. Then again, maybe they are fine going the other direction. There are a lot of tree roots, a few rocky places, plenty of turns and a few bridges. I didn't even bother to try to ride the 2x8 board. I figured with my mud-caked tires, I'd surely wreck. There are a few dips which are very rideable. The trail bed itself is in good shape considering all of the rain this year, however there is a lot of trail litter and debris from the storms and there are a few low hanging trees, branches and vines. I don't know if it was just the hour I was riding or what, but there were hundreds of spider webs. I found myself getting creeped out by them and having to stop on occasion to pull them off. The signage at the park is good, intersections are well marked and the signs are durable and legible. I did get confused at one point where it looks like there are two parallel trails - one is Easy Street the other is Beale's Treasure/Ridgeline (I think). The BT/Ridgeline is marked but the other isn't. I also got totally confused by the yellow and green diamonds with arrows. I'm not sure of their significance, but it didn't seem to me like they were going anywhere. I followed the green ones for a bit after finding the Quarterwood parking lot, but after a bit they switched to yellow?!? I thought the sign for the parking lot was a bit odd too. It points the right way, but there isn't another sign (or at least I didn't see one) after that for the parking lot. I wound up finding the road then turning the wrong way on the road. Hmmm.

I did have the map with me today, and it is helpful. I'm betting after a few more rides there the trails will be easier and easier to navigate. It was my first trip out there and it was warm, so it took me forever to ride 7.25 miles. I would have liked to have ridden more, but I had already been there an hour and a half. Maybe next time, there will be less humidity and less spider webs. I do look forward to riding there again.

Trails	Thoughts as best I can recall…
Easy Street	Fun, fast trail… easy… =)
Beale's Treasure	The climb was a bit of a challenge (keep in mind, I'm not in great shape right now.) It's kind of like a short, curvy Arrowhead(?) The part below the access road was kind of interesting. Off camber in places.
Cliffhanger	Nice connector trail. I think this is where the 2x8 wood bridge is.
Coyote Ridge	Kind of a scary name given the literal meaning of Yellow Drum. Great trail, probably one of the best here. Has a good flow.
Ridgeline	Fast trail, downhill, two bermed turns, of course one right-handswitchback that I couldn't do. BOOO!!! Great trail – really like it.
Yellow Drum	HA HA HA, can't get past my stupidity with the name. Rooty, short trail
Moto X	Not ridden – if it's what I think then I've got to try it.

This post written and published using Microsoft Word.

Up early, out and back

Having had tons of stuff to do recently on Saturdays, I've been trying to plan rides on Sundays. Of course, any plan is subject to change here anymore because of the iffy weather. So heading into the weekend, I knew that again Sunday was going to be my day to ride. Of course, there's no rain in the forecast, but the high today was predicted to be 97°F. Don't know about you, but this is one reason I HATE summer. Everyone around me bitches and moans about snow and colder weather, so this is my opportunity to complain. I hate the heat, and I hate humidity. Fortunately, there hasn't been much of either until now. I decided that I would get up early (which by the way, I also loathe), get my ride in then head into the A/C for the duration of the day.

So, I set my clock for 0630 with the plan to get up and go ride without taking time to fix breakfast. I'm not usually that hungry when I wake up, but during the week, I have to eat because there's no time once you clock in. I got up did the requisite things in order to get ready to ride. I was on the bike and rolling at 0658. My plan was ride an out-and-back. I would head down Plantation Road to Hollins Road to Sanderson to Read Mountain Road to Route 11. Route 11 would take me through Troutville, to Nace Road. I planned to ride out Nace and Lithia Roads then turn around and retrace my path. It took me 46 minutes (12.2 miles) to get from Home to Nace Road. I enjoy riding Nace and Lithia because they are rural, low traffic and offer a steady downhill on the way out and a steady uphill on the way home. There is no shortage of neat things to look at or wonder about.

Of course, when I set off from home, it never occurred to me that it might be a tad on the cool side. I was actually wishing that I had worn a baselayer or brought along one of my sleeveless jerseys and arm warmers. I literally had goosebumps on my arms and legs from Hollins Road until about halfway along Lithia. Once I reached Rt. 11, I ate half of my granola bar then turned for home. Around 0845, the heat got cranking. I swear it was like someone flipped the switch. Weird. Of course, this is about the same time I was trying to climb the steady climb. I felt like my legs had zero power or that something was wrong. I just couldn't pedal as efficiently as I had been. I looked down to see the "marker" tape around my seat post was all squished. My seatpost had dropped at least an inch! No wonder I was having such a hard time. I don't have the bike's original collar on it right now as the bolt head looked like it was getting stripped out. I am planning to head out to the hardware or somewhere to buy a substitute bolt until I can get the correct replacement. The collar that is on the bike is evidently too big and doesn't hold the seat post properly. As I rode, I debated whether I would be able to loosen the stupid collar and raise the seat up. Otherwise, it was going to be a long trip home. I stopped after I got back on Rt. 11 and was able to successfully raise the seat back up. At least, now I could get more out of a pedal stroke. Sheesh, maybe I am high maintenance.

Miles	45.0
Time	2:51:42
Avg Speed	15.7mph
Max Speed	33.5mph
Avg HR	135bpm
Max HR	167bpm
Wildlife spotted	Cows, horses, sheep, crows, birds, squirrel, field mice, turtles x 2, green snake (that I accidently ran over)

Anyway, I made it back home in decent time. I was getting really tired – my legs were aching. I think the seatpost thing threw me off. I didn't think I was going to make it up back up the last hill towards home. That would be embarrassing – having to walk that close to home is forbidden. I was very glad to roll into the backyard and get off the bike. I enjoyed my ride. I do think I can do better than I did today. In fact, I know I can. Not too bad though for not having ridden the road bike in a while much less a longer ride like today.

As I sit and type this blog (1343) it is 87°F, 45% humidity and a 10mph wind… Odd…

This blog written and published using Microsoft Word.

Full Moon Chicky Ride

Before you go getting any crazy ideas about Chickys riding with full moons, look outside. There's a full moon or nearly a full moon (officially that is Thursday night). Let me also say, that I absolutely love Carvins Cove. I am so grateful that the City has allowed the development of the trail system there. I need to remind myself of this and carry my tail out there for trail work in fall and winter. Tonight, Paula and I decided that we've had enough of the lower trails. They are just too muddy lately and with the downpour that hit out there prior to my arrival; we figured it would be another slopfest. I was itching to go to the upper trails anyway, so it was cool when P said she was thinking along those same lines!

I've wanted to climb Buck for a while now. It's been a really long time since I've climbed it. Been down it several times, but up it only once before. We took the road to the trail, so we could avoid the muddy mess that is Hotel. Buck definitely gets you going - some tough little sections, lots of roots and several rocks. I did alright for a while. I did have to walk a few times. There's this one turn that I probably could have ridden, but the price for screwing it up looked painful, so I elected to walk. This trail probably has some pretty views in the fall once the leaves fall. I will go back and photograph it for you. =)

After Buck, we took a short ride up the fire road, to Trough. Haven't been down this trail in a long time either, we usually climb it. This trail is home to the local downhillers. They were definitely out in force tonight. I actually lost count of how many riders were on Trough. There had to be a dozen or more. I'd like to just sit and watch them one day. They are crazy, but talented. We avoided their jump section, but did get to enjoy a speedy downhill ride. Horse Pen is what they call the bottom trail at the end of Timberview Road. We took it to Gauntlet.

Gauntlet sounds intimidating because it is. This would be my second trip ever up it, and my only trip up it since the reroute. OOF. I did great at first. I found a gear I could manage and a pace that I could handle. Rode a good ways (or at least it felt like it) before having to stop. I did ok after this. I had to walk quite a bit, but it appeared as though the others with me did as well. The rerouted top section is absolutely hike-a-bike. Every time, I'd think "you can ride a bit" there would be another frickin pitched up hill. Whose bright idea was this? The trail is absolutely a scream to ride down, but sheer torture to try to get back up. Oh well, I can walk, and walk I did. At one point, I think I was actually pedaling near the top I looked down and to the left. I saw a bear's foot print in the mud. It was probably as big as my fist. This was the first time it occurred to me that the bears could be out and about tonight. DUUUUUHHHHHHH!!! I just kept going as quickly as I could – all the while keeping an eye out of Yogi and Boo-Boo. Fortunately, there were no bear sightings. Would have snapped a picture of the footprint with my cell phone, but I didn't want to be anyone's dinner tonight.

After waiting a brief bit, Paula and new friend Ed (yea we had a dude on the Chicky Ride, we are nice people really, although I think he was ready to kill us both) we elected to return to the parking lot via Hi-Dee-Ho. I should mention that on the fireroad, there was a nice wind, almost fall-like and definitely chilly on my sweaty self. Hi-dee-Ho is fun. I have yet to ride the top three switchbacks. I guess I'm just too afraid of getting hurt. I did ride the lower left hand one (the telephone one.) It was actually fairly easy then I did ride the up-around-the tree turn that follows. Afterwards, the trail is easy and fast. ZOOOOOOM. Could have gone faster had the little voice in my head not been reminding me of how important it is not to kill or maim oneself while riding a bike.

Anyway, I totally enjoyed my ride tonight. It is absolutely one of the best routes we've done. I look forward to repeating it some more. Maybe we should plan to ride it on the Tuesdays nearest every full moon. We could start a new tradition – the Full Moon Chicky Ride. HA HA!! Going to sleepy happily tonight! WOOO!

This post was written and published using Microsoft Word.

Blogger is irritating me…

Why is it that every time I try to post with pictures that I end up having to delete blank spaces? Why is it I can never get my posts to look good anymore? And why the hell can I not have a picture behind my title? I hate Blogger lately. I thought it was supposed to be easy, but for some reason I'm losing patience with it. I had a long post typed up with pictures and it irritated me so much due to the whacked out spacing that I just deleted it. Any suggestions are welcome.

Crickets...

Chirping... Look for a blog post coming soon... Haven't really had anything to talk about... We now return you to your regularly scheduled program already in progress... Crickets resume chirping...