The Snake vs The Pilot

Which is tougher, Snake Mountain or Pilot Mountain? I had to find out. After doing Snake Mountain a few times last week and Pilot Mountain the week before, I returned to Pilot Mountain today. This was the first time I was able to complete the climb without stopping. Both of these hills are tough, but I'm going to say Snake Mountain is the tougher one in my books, but just barely. I've come across 2 other mountain climbs in North Carolina, that some guys are saying are tougher. They are ranking Snake as number 3. Interestingly enough though, they rank Hanging Rock in the top 5, above Pilot Mountain which comes in at 9. They also rank Mt. Mitchell in the top 5. So I'm not sure about the guys doing the ranking because I think Pilot is way tougher than Hanging Rock. I think we need to get our own ranking of these hills going - a Wheel Ride For Beer ranking of the top ten toughest climbs in North Carolina. The picture here is from the week before, but it's still at the top of Pilot

The Beermeister is Back

I've been back riding since late August. In fact the last 5 weekends I have ridden 50-75 milers each of which included a mountain climb of either Sauratown, Hanging Rock or Pilot Mountain. This past long weekend I was in the mountains of North Carolina on a fly fishing trip with 12 other guys. We stayed in a rustic lodge off Three Top Rd in Ashe County on a private fishing stream. The activities included fly fishing, golf, hunting, great food, card games, sitting by a roaring fire and drinking a few beers. And of course riding our bikes - at least 3 of us. Philip and I rode 3 rides and Jim Olson came up the last day to join us for one ride. The course we did twice was up Snake Mountain. The entire loop is roughly 37 miles - not a long distance but challenging enough and with some great views. We were about a week past the peak leaf season, but still had beautiful sights. Our trip began from Garvey's Lane on Three Top Rd., but could easily begin at Todd General Store near the intersection of Highway 194 and Railroad Guage Road if you want to try this out. There is ample parking there and also a nice little shop to stop in and get something to eat or drink after the ride. Coming from Garvey's lane we headed about 9 miles to highway 194 and turned right (if you start at Todd, you would turn left onto 194). The first 5 miles had some rolling hills and a small climb up followed by almost 4 miles of gradual down hill and fun riding. Once we turned onto 194 we hit the first of 2 climbs about 3 miles down the road. This climb wasn't that steep, just quite long. The great thing about riding in the mountains is that what goes up must come down. Once we crested the first hill we had a long rest on a fairly steep down hill. We turned right onto Meat Camp Rd. at about mile 14. 2 miles into Meat Camp Rd we gradually began the ascent to the pass between Snake Mountain and Elk Knob. At first it wasn't bad. The hill steadily increased, though, and I watched my speed drop from 13to 8 to 5 mph. I remember rounding a bend and looking at the road ahead and seeing it get even steeper and wondering if it would be possible to finish. I could see a good 1/4 mile of road before the next turn, which doesn't sound like a long way unless you've already gone up 4 miles on a grade approaching 18%. I coulnd't watch my speed the entire time but I did see it drop to 3.6 mph. It's hard to keep the bike upright going that slow. The only way I could manage to keep it moving was standing up for the last 3/4 of a mile on the steep grade. I wasn't able to change my gear ratio without getting too expensive, so it made it a little more difficult - no granny gear. I had to stop the last 1/4 mile just before the first switchback on the first day, but I think it was more mental that day. When we did the course the second time on my third ride in a row I was able to complete it because I was aware of what was ahead. The crest of the hill was at mile 20.5 so essentially all the work was done in the first hour and a half. From there the terrain was down hill at a steep grade for about 5 miles, then flat almost all the way home except the last 2 miles which was a slight uphill. We turned right on Highway 88 and then right again onto Three Top Rd to get back home. Actually we turned right then a quick left to follow Three Top. I reset my odomoter halfway down the decent of Meat Camp and we averaged 21.5 mph on the way home for the last 17 miles. We weren't trying to set any speed records, just doing some easy riding, and still went relatvily fast. Philip clocked the entire trip and we averaged 17.1 miles for the duration. Because the distance was not too great, this ride was challenging, but doable. The hill on Meat Camp Rd was every bit as difficult as any I have tried. The stretch from 194 to the end of Meat Camp Rd and highway 88 is part of the Blood, Sweat and Gears ride that I am doing next year, so it was good to see what lies ahead.

BRAG ($ 10,000 Brag)

BRAG ( Bike Ride Across Georgia)

OK, quick up date. We need to do one of these type of rides. I have learned from experience, trial and error and through many friends I have met on this trip how and how not to prepare. First on the training, no doubt I was in great shape for this no problems there. I really did hammer these rides. I packed too many cloths. The people on this trip have been the best. Bike rides like this are like a HOG ( Harley Festival). Every town we rode to welcomed brag and the towns literally did special events for us. The cool thing was TREK followed our ride and you could sign up for a bike to use at no cost. Well, I got to ride a 6.9 Medone Trek. If you are familiar with this bike which I was not, it cost over $10,000 dollars, yes $10,000. I got to ride a brand new $10,000 dollar bike and yes on the century ride. OMG. When we all get together I will have to tell more stories for there are many to tell and just not enough room to talk. I got to sleep in an RV one night instead of camping which was really cool. Camping can get really old and it sure was hot. There was plenty of beer drinking and I mean these bikers are just like us, drink beer after a ride and enjoy life. Met many new friends.

The bad news. Throughout the last two rides my heel was acting up. It hurt like nothing I have ever felt before. However I kept riding (DUH). On the century ride at the 80 mile marker I thought I had done some serious damage. I was averaging over 20 miles an hour until the last 10 miles I just coasted in trying to make it back to the camp site. I went to the doctor on site and told her my story and she said you did not rupture your heel but it is strained and I must stay off of it for awhile. I thought it was worse, however she said it still could rupture. I was pampered last night but had to leave the race early. Get this, one of the new friends I met drove me to my car which was about 100 miles away so I would not have to stay hobbling around the rest of the week. I could have stayed in a camper with some other new friends but all I would do is get drunk all day while they rode. Figured it was time to come home and let myself heal. Don't know how long I am out but it could be a week or worse. I am still on for the beach trip but BSG I am not so sure about. I did get in over 300 miles in 4 days so a break may not be so bad. Hope I heal.

The "muted" one speaks....

OK the "muted" one is ready to be heard. First, that is one ugly knee! I want to grab Sigourney Weaver and kick the Alien butt that is about to erupt from your leg. You could have just said you didn't want to ride with us you know. In all seriousness, sorry for the injury and glad you are on the (too long) road to recovery. I look forward to helping get that leg back in shape.

Now on to the ride of the week... Carl "aka Lance Carpinski" and I decided to head out of Lewisville Square Thursday evening around 6:30. The skies were ominous but Carl "aka weatherman Carpinski" says the skies where we are going to ride are clear... let's go. We hit the road and he mutters something like, "you haven't ridden a bike unless you've ridden in a thunderstorm just another right of passage" and I begin to wonder about his forecasting skills. Well we are pedaling along at a good 20 mph average and we turn South East (actually I have no idea which way we turned and had NO idea where we were) and I look to my right and the skies are a deep black color and then I see not 1 but 5 bolts of lightning in the distance. I turn to the weather man and ask if we should seek some shelter! He just gives me a look and says, "we can beat this storm back to Lewisville... MOVE IT!". Well I take the lead and start cranking... the skies are getting darker, the winds are picking up, cows are running for the barns, the winds are getting silly strong and lighting is starting to flash all too close. I hear from behind me... "MOVE OVER I think you need a break." and this blur that is "Lance Carpinski" moves by me, grabs the lower handle bars and GONE in a flash. I swear I heard a "sonic boom" when he started to pull away! I shift down but to no avail... CarpiskiStrong is determined to outrun the storm and pulls away, never looking back. I am left in the swirling winds dodging cows and lightning. Well after about 10 minutes, I finally catch up to he who shall not be bothered by mother nature and we manage to actually skirt the storm. Upon returning to Lewisville Square I ask the Big Man, what was all that about? "I didn't want to get wet". Nothing light a little thunder and lighting for motivation. I think we may need to head to tornado alley next summer and do some storm chasing on bikes? Who's in?

David, take care of that knee, Philip, good luck riding around Georgia (watch out for banjo players... "squeal!") and Carl thanks for a great ride Thursday.

Final Post from the Beermeister this year

Xrays done Thursday, MRI done Friday, met with Doctor on Saturday, went to memorial day celebration at the pool on Saturday, played golf on Sunday, operation on Monday, stayed stoned for 3 days after that on morphine and oxycodene. Finally realized I need to wake up and live again. Turns out I had a pretty nasty injury. I didn't completly rupture the petalla tendon but I did tear it. Doctor had to drill holes into my kneecap to sew the tendon back together. I'm not sure why they call it a tendon - isn't it a ligament?? I thought a ligament attaches bone to bone and this appears to go from knee cap (patella) to shin (tibia). Anyway, this is a picture of the incission. I didn't know what to expect. Those are staples in my knee - sort of looks like a caterpilar as a friend of mine pointed out. I just hope it turns into a butterfly real soon! It never really hurt because I have been too doped up to feel it but I swore those pain killers off today. Afterall, This is Wheel Ride for Beer, not Wheel Ride for Drugs! I am not supposed to bend the knee for 6 weeks,so I am in an immobilizer now and that takes me into mid July before I can think about just moving it, so I'm afraid the beach ride is out for me this year. Recovory is supposed to be a painful 6-12 months, so maybe by the time I'm 55 I'll be able to do this stuff again. I'll find something to keep me busy in the meantime and coming back stronger than ever. Beach Ride 2011 or something even longer! Enjoyed all the memories guys and hope to pick this sport up again as soon as I can.

At last the TRUTH/ Marion,Jet Skis and a uncertain future

Okay on a serious note, seems our leader has suffer a potentially serious injury riding a jetski. Yep, he didn't know what he was doing, yes he had a few dozen beers but so what--it's why he is our leader!! Hopefully it is not as bad as suspected but it does not sound good. The WRFB team will struggle without him so let's all hope for the best. Doc sees him on Thursday. He has whipped his ass into great shape and it would be a shame for him to be out of commission for a while.

If worst case happens and the biermeister can't pedal, I feel certain we can find other useful things for him to do to support the team. One would be to give his start number for BS&G to little brother Phillip (more on him later). Phillip found it convenient to register late so as to not get a start number for the 100 miler. He could also drive a personal sag wagon around the course and provide us with some really good drugs, especially at Snake Mountain. He could also sag for the team on the beach ride, ice down all the beer in advance, make dinner reservations etc.. he'd be a natural!! But mainly he's our leader and we need him even if he's gimpy.

Now a quick note about brother Phil and I's ride on Monday. As Phil posted, we rode the Assault on Mt Mitchell / Marion on Monday. Our assault was to Marion for two reasons, one; we registered late and Mitchell was full and two; we're not stupid!! Big, well run ride with lots of riders and great community support. It is really nice to ride a 75 mile course where all intersections were controlled by local law enforcement and car traffic going in our direction was non existent. So we started in the front third of the field but had to fight for position over the first 5 miles, lots of hard efforts before settling in with a group of 80 or so riders. First 35 miles were easy as far as pace and terrain goes but overall it was a very nervous group, lot's of near misses, a few crashes and constant braking for no reason. At 35 miles the course became lumpy and this is where it became evident that Phillip was having a good day. There were two good hills preceding the the first "big " climb of the day. Phillip and I found ourselves at the front over the second one and off we went. There was several miles along a nice valley before a right turn to climb Bill's Mountain. This climb is maybe two miles but not all that bad. It did however allow alot of the previously dropped riders to catch and pass us both, a fact that did not sit well with Phillip. We made our only scheduled stop of the day at the rest station on top and set off to recapture our track position. Unfortunately, I had a flat within a couple of miles costing us more time and track position. This was the time in our ride (about 50 miles) that something happened to Phillip. He stood there while we changed my tire and as he watched all these riders stream by, his eyes narrowed, he started snorting & pawing the ground like a wild animal and I knew I was in trouble! Back on the road he took off like he was shot out of a cannon. For 25 miles he pulled his guts out on the flats, bombed the descents and climbed like a pro. He reeled in everybody he saw and I was hanging on for dear life! Finally at mile 73, as we approached a steep hill that was no more that a half mile long, he moved to the left side of the road and ripped a final violent attack so vicious that I exploded like the JeagerBomb I consumed late the night before!!

He waited for me at the top, being the good guy he is, and we were done. After a quick change and a bite to eat and we drove to Spartanburg for a couple of beers at the Wild Wing Cafe and a return trip home. It was a great trip and one the entire team should put on the calendar for next year.

Be warned though--these Welch boys are not like the rest of us! This ain't your average cycling team!

Injury

I took last week off completly because of exhaustion, thinking I would start my comeback this week. My bike has been in the shop for 5 days and should be ready today. Unfortunatly I'm not ready. Part of my relaxation consisted of sitting on my butt drinking beer all weekend at the lake. Beer and jet skis don't mix. Took the jet ski out and had a bad wreck. I thought you couldn't hurt yourself in one of those things - I've had tumbles before where I just fall off into the water. However, this time I bounced up high and landed on the jet ski as the jet ski was hitting another wave and bouncing up. The full impact hit my right shin and I bounced a second time. The noise my leg made when it hit the jet ski didn't sound like a body hitting plastic - more like a gun shot. I thought I had shattered my leg into pieces. That happened Saturday. Today is Tuesday and I know I didn't shatter the leg, but am concerned that there is some very bad damage. My self diagnoses after scanning the internet is very bad, so I'll spare you my thoughts until I see the doctor on Thursday. At this point I would say there is a 95% chance I'm out for BS&G. I can't walk or move my leg so that would make riding a bike a little difficult. It's too far away yet and don't know exactly what I did, so I can't say yet if the beach ride is out for me, but I think right now I am very doubtful for that. If it is what I think it is, I'm just hoping I can make next year's ride. More after Thursday's prognosis.

Assualt To Marion

Assault to Mount Mitchell/Assault to Marion

I agreed to a ride with animal Carl and had no idea what I was agreeing to. Like some little kid I said yes. I had no idea what I was getting into until signing up for this MOUNTAIN ride at the last minute. I decided to get to Marion early and check it out. As I was heading north from the starting point of Spartanburgh, I realized the hills were getting more and more steep. As Marion came closer I realized that this was a mountain ride, idiot I am. I was to meet Carl in Marion so we could leave one car in Marion and one in Spartanburgh, I was hoping Carl would cancel. Come to find out, Carl was hoping I would to. We got a hotel in Spartanburgh and animal Carl sets our alarm clock for 4:45 am so we can get up early, eat breakfast and make the starting line at 6:30 a.m. Now this is a bike ride understand and there is no prize or money involved just the pleasure of wearing ourselves down and say we did the assault to Marion. Carl and I decided to have a few drinks the night before and a shot to give us our necessary energy for the morning bike ride.

It was a beautiful morning at the starting line and over 1000 riders lined up to assault this organized bike ride that I have not done since I did the death ride in Tahoe when I was 23. Carl said we will have to push ourselves the first hour in order to stay up with the group and then it will calm down and we will be with a group doing around 20 mph up and down hills with very little effort. I do not start well the first hour and or 17 miles. We were flying and getting to the front and I thought I was going to have to quit if the pace remained as it did for 74 miles.I was out of breath and was already thinking I am not going to make it. Well animal Carl was right, after about an hour we got up with a group and went up hills and mountains more easily than I thought. We got in a grove and it was so pleasurable to do about 20 mph and talk to another biker next to you like you were sipping tea or in our case drinking a beer watching a basketball game.

This ride was so well organized. The police stopped cars for us at every turn. There was even sag cars around to help when there was trouble. Carl got a flat tire, of course the back tire and a sag car came out of no where, jumped out of the vehicle with a pump and change the tire for him. The driver even gave Carl another extra tube and offered me one if I wanted it. Wow, what an experience. After the flat, Carl and I exploded to the finish line like no one's business. We caught up with the riders we were riding with that we lost due to the flat. I kid you not, the last 20 miles the other riders looked like they were going backwards. We were flying through the last 20 miles.We picked up one more rider who was going all the way to Mount Mitchell and he was so impressed and thankful for the way we rode the last leg. It was awesome. Carl did not feel well and we all know Carl, he still pushes it harder than we do when we feel great. I am still on a high from this ride and want to do more of these in the future.

The worry is this however, we must get our gears changed. I was at such a disadvantage going up the one big hill as I was getting passed by cyclists spinning their wheels as I am working so hard and getting passed like a turtle. Blood sweat and Gears is not going to be fun without the proper gears and training. BSG is not going to be fun anyhow who am I fooling. Anyhow what a great time Carl and I had. Thanks for the invite animal, had no idea how much fun these rides can be.


Phil

220 miles already ( My week goes Saturday- Friday)

I am not in shape but just realizing that I have done a heck of alot of riding this week. 74 miles with Carl and David in hanging rock about knocked me out. Just like Brew Dave, I was exhausted. However managed to do a 96 mile ride on a total flat service Wednesday and then a 50 miler yesterday. I feel good today, but did not feel good yesterday. Now I have been told by animal Carl to only do 25 miles the rest of the week which I will in order to do the 70 mile mountain ride with him on Monday from Spartanburgh SC to Marion NC. I was not going to do anymore to be honest. I did not realize this was a mountain ride on Monday so a bit concerned, no very concerned. Carl you do not need to wait on me, just wait for me in Marion so I can get a ride back to Spartanburgh SC. Carl should be able to drink plenty of beer as he waits for this tired biker. Enjoy the rest of the week guys. Very concerned about the ride at the end of June in the mountains. BRAG is coming up sooner than I thought. I am exhausted thinking about it all.

Total Exhaustion HIts The Beeremeister

My body is just worn out. I slept 13 hours last night and have gone to bed around 9:00 or earlier the last 3 days. In addition to being tired, I am sick - Awful congestion, aching, coughing - out of breath going up the stairs. All I can think about is that I'm going to loose my stamina in a few short weeks and it took me about 5 months to build up to where I was. It has been over 10 days since I did the half-iron man and I don't know at what point I can keep pointing to that as my reason for being so tired. Of course the sickness doesn't help either, but I was probably more susceptible to becoming sick because my body was exhausted and I didn't realize it. Last week I did 2 rides. One was roughly 25 miles. I had to stop once because of sugar depletion. And the second was the trip up Hanging Rock for a little over 70 miles. Close to 100 for the week, but this week is going to be zero. But I also swam over a mile one day and did a 2 runs. This week is different. No swim, no run, no bike, just sleep and recover. I hope I am able to bounce back in 5 short weeks because we should be experiencing our peak mileage weeks over these next few weeks to build up endurance. I can barely function at work. I'm too tired to drink beer!! Typing this post just wore me out. Looking forward to starting over on Monday. I've never quite experienced total exhaustion like this. Hoping extended rest will help. You guys keep me posted on your efforts - help keep my spirits up!

I have the power

Brewster Dave has given me rights to post. YEAH!! Great ride the other days guys!! Carl, look forward to next Monday and wish me luck if I ride the 250 miler in the next couple of days!! Have a few things to do, but will feel like a long ride afterwards. Hope I don't chicken out or get rained out. I will post my riding schedule soon. I will be riding brag (Bike Ride Across Georgia) June 5Th- June 12Th or at least part of it. If I ride the whole week it is around 450 miles. OUCH!!! I have never done that much in a week. It depends if I do the century ride in the middle of it. If I don't do that it is around 350 miles. Still more miles in a week ever for me. After hanging rock I realize I am not ready for the mountain ride in June, nor do I think I will be.

Phil ( The good looking Brother)
Posted by Philip at 5:31 PM

Carl's Ride Schedule

Carl has put together the tentative schedule for us to follow. Here it is:

Okay, I've finally paid attention to the calendar and it's time to get to work. We really need to do most of the following otherwise the 26th becomes more than just a hard ride.

May 15th- WS-Hanging Rock 65 miles
May 24th- Spartanburg SC to Marion NC 75ish (yes it's a Monday, yes we are supposed to work, yes we have families--so what ) ROAD TRIP
May 26th- First Wednesday nite special King to Sauratown 25-30 miles 6pm start
May 28th-31st- I'm at the lake and will be training the liver most of the weekend--make sure you ride at least 100 miles over the three days
June 5th-KEY RIDE 3 Mountain Madness 75 miles with climbs of Sauratown, Hanging Rock and Pilot in that order. Great ride, good food, cool shirt
June 9th-Second Wednesday nite special near King to Hanging Rock 30 miles 5:30 start
June 16th-Third Wednesday nite special King to Pilot 30 miles 5:30 start

The weekends of June 12th and June 19th I will not be able to ride at all so that is why THIS schedule is The schedule. I'm sure you understand.

Hanging Rock

Carl, Philip and I rode to Hanging Rock and up the mountain and back yesterday. Total round trip of just ove 70 miles, but some real good hills. I had a tough time with it. I had a blow out about 25 miles into the ride. Daddy Carl fixed it for me, but that led to about a 15 minutes undscheduled stop. Carl and Philip made it to the top without stopping, but I had nothing left and had to stop on the way up. I needed water badly and so I spent close to 30 minutes at the top preparing my camelback and eating a sandwhich. On the way back I was nothing but dead weight. I'm just breathing every body's air - just getting in the way. I didn't lead at all on the return trip and started cramping up with 10 miles left. Had to pull over and rest. I was just exhausted. My legs felt fine, but I was just tired. Either I'm in a lot poorer shape than I thought, or my body hasn't recovered yet from the 1/2 ironman last weekend. I'm using the 1/2 ironman excuse for now. I did a 3.5 mile run today, but had to walk several times - again, just worn out. Normally 3.5 miles barely gets my heart rate up. I'm going to try to rest a little better this week to recover so I can bounce back. We averaged 15 mph on the way there. I re-set my odometer at that point and showed us averaging 18.7 mph on the return trip - mine is off a little, and I really thought we were over 20 because rarely did I see my speed dip below that.

Weekly Mileage

Took a little break from just biking this week. I only did 56 miles. But I did all of those in one day, along with swimming 1.2 miles and running 13.1 miles by completing my first 1/2 ironman triathlon event. It took 6 hours and 22 minutes but it was 95 degrees and the wind stayed in my face. Given my limited training in the running category, I was pleased with my oveall performance. As soon as I get my legs back I'll be on the bike again. Roughly 6 weeks of training left before our crazy mountain ride. Are you WRFB guys out there? If so, post your weekly numbers here. We should be doing in excess of 100 miles per week by now.

Training Ride

Training ride for May 15. Appropriately it is included in the wine festival - not a beer festival but close enough. 72 miles trek. Hope you guys can join us.




http://www.surrycountyredcross.org/TourdeVino.html

I can't figure out how to make it a hyper link ,so copy and paste this link to sign up.

May 2, 2010

8 weeks until Blood, Sweat and Gears. Carl and I rode to Sauratown Mountain and back from home. Total mileage was 62. I was tired from the very beginning, but Carl had legs. Carl let 99% of the way. I just couldn't do it, but again it was another confidence boost to know that I could keep pedaling even when my body was tired and my mind was worn out, although having help from Big Carl was paramount. The ride was very hilly and the climb up Sauratown is 2.5 miles. I made the climb without stopping this year. Last year I had to stop and rest once, so again another accomplishment. We averaged 15 mph on the way there and the the total trip was 15.8. We were slow because I couldn't help and had to drage Carl down. Plus the wind was in our face on the way out and I swear it shifted directions so we had a head wind on the way back. Toal mileage this week was 87. Only did 2 rides. The other was a short 25 miler. But compared to last week's 179, I needed a break. Still need to rest a couple of days to catch up. Probably going to take 2 days off. But we plan on doing one trip per week to Sauratown, Hanging Rock and/or Pilot or something similar.

Initial Post

Welcome to Wheel Ride For Beer. This July will mark the second anniversary of our infamous pilgramage on our bycicles across the state of North Carolina, from Winston-Salem to Sunset Beach. I thought instead of annoying you with my weekly emails I would just start a blog instead. Hopefully those of you participating will check it out once in a while and post your own comments. I'd especially like to hear about your training. Also, any recruites we may pick up in the next few weeks.

I'm going to keep this first post short as I am trying to figure this thing out. More to follow as I learn more. Getting ready for tomorrow's ride up to Sauratown Mountain from Winston. It will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 miles and hilly. Good preparation for our beach ride, but even more so for out crazy ride in the mountains. That ride is June 25 - Blood, Sweat and Gears - 100 miles in the mountains of North Carolina with 13000 feet of climbing. Looking forward to it!

Beermeister Dave