Ok, so I stole this entire post from Jonathan Pait over at http://lowcadence.com/2009/10/30/hes-back/ . Why? because these videos are proof that I am in elementary school when it comes to the ability of some of these riders out there... Check it out!
Danny Macaskill is back on the Internet… and Norwegian television… displaying his mad skills in Lisbon. Sure, it’s a Volkswagen commercial, but he still amazes me. See if you get the same feeling that he is about to drop down on top of the car in one of the sequences.
Some might say that is cheapening his image by going commercial. I say more power to him as he finds ways to make a living and profit a bit doing what he loves. Though, I do have to say I like the Volkswagen commercial better than the s1jobs.com one.
Enjoy! Oh, and Danny, keep them coming.
Before you watch this video and think I am an amazing rider, please let me clarify... this is not me! Boy do I wish I could fly like that! However, I have a job, wife, and 3 little kids to support, so I am a little less extreme. This video is shot in real time, and takes the guy 2:28 to finish the course. Mark and I rode the course again on Monday afternoon, which is located on the Sulfur Spring trail coming down from the upper parking lot at Paris Mountain, and we finished it in just over 5 minutes. Now, we had been riding for nearly an hour, and had climbed for a good percentage of the ride, but this does not shave 2:30 off of our time... These guys are good! Real good!
I have spent some time over the last week riding arond the area the best I could. I decided to stop by trek bicycles to get some help with a ride route that would't include dodging traffic the whole way. I'm not sure why it has taken me a month to swing by the LBS (Local bike shop) but it is something every biker should do when in a new city.
What are you afraid of?
Well, here I am in Charleston SC and the biggest icon in this city is the Cooper River Bridge. So, I spent the 1st few days here in the waiting room at MUSC looking at maps, and trying to map out a safe way to come from our condo in Dunes West on Mount Pleasant, over the bridge, and down to the MUSC hospital. The other night, I gave it a shot.
I was super prepared. I had my headlamp on the helmet, the blinking taillight in place with fresh batteries. Lets do it!I rolled out from the condo, only to turn back after 100 yards because I realized I hadn't checked my tire pressure before leaving. Sure enough, the humidity and temperature difference in the low country compared to the upstate had had a significant impact on my tire pressure. I was down to 70lbs of pressure. I quickly pumped it back up to 115psi and was soon on my way.
I quickly noticed how incredibly flat this area is. Sure, you notice it while driving around, but something about rolling along on your own power makes it rapidly evident. I was hauling! I mean really moving! This flat stuff was fun!
Then I got winded... and fast. Apparently, the heat and humidity even at 10pm was something my body didn't like. I had to ease off of it a little bit. My average speed fell from 23mph to hover right around 20mph.
My route headed out east from Dunes West through the Park Wes community. I crossed over hwy 17 at the publix stoplight, then took the access road from there to the backside of walmart. From walmart I hooked up with Rifle Range Road which carried me down to Coleman Blvd and the Cooper River Bridge. From the bridge I picked up Bay St, then headed south on Calhoun
The climb over the bridge on a bike is really kinda disappointing. I have run the 10k Bridge run before, and that was some work! On the bike however, the incline came and went in just a minute or so. Then back to the flat again.
All told, I enjoyed the ride. I had one scare where I hit a pothole in the dark that nearly shook my teeth out of my head. I stopped on the next side street to make sure I had not damaged a wheel, pinched a flat, or lost a water bottle. This is the downside of riding at night. My headlamp is pretty high in lumen's, but at 20mph I feel like I am riding ahead the light at times... this is a bad feeling.
As many of you know mountain biking has been one of my favorite pastimes for the past 10 years. Many of my biking friends have tried to trick me in to road biking over the past few years with little success. This year I decided to join them, in the name of cross-training, so I borrowed a bike from one of my buddies. Somehow, I ended up registered for the 34th Assault on Mount Mitchell before I really had time to think it through. For those of you who might not be familiar with the Assault on Mitchell, www.freewheelers.info/aomm/, it is touted as one of the top 10 most difficult road biking events in the country. The ride spans a total 103 miles from Spartanburg, SC to the peak of Mount Mitchell, which is the highest peak east of the Mississippi River. The ride is considered grueling not only because of the 100 plus miles, but the total cumulative elevation gain is over 12,000 feet. To make matters worse, over half of the elevation gain is in the last 25 miles!
After a few training rides and several interviews with past "Assaulters," I felt like I was ready for the challenge. I stuffed the pockets of my nifty road bike jersey with Hammer Gels and Power Bars, filled my water bottles with Heed Electrolyte Replacement Drink, and clipped in my pedals along with 1200 other bikers from all over the United States. We left the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium in Spartanburg, SC at 6:30am on a Monday morning with the common opponent in mind … Mount Mitchell. This event is billed as a ride, not a race, but wouldn't you know that this year the organizers sold 1200 tickets and the Parkway Officials placed a limit of 750 bikes on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Do the math … this meant that 450 riders would ride over 80 miles and not be allowed on the Parkway to finish the ride. That pretty much makes it a race in my book.
I started with my friend Milo and we were able to hang in and draft with a fast group for the first 45 miles or so. We got separated at the top of Bill's Hill, where I stopped to fill a couple of my water bottles. As I was getting back on my bike, I met up with Quentin, another friend of mine, and we rode together with a different pack of fast guys until I got dropped from the group just before Marion NC. Tish met me in Marion with a new supply of Hammer Gels, Power Bars, Heed, and some much needed encouragement. I left Marion and headed up Hwy 80 alone before catching up with Milo at the first water stop on Hwy 80. Milo and I stayed together the rest of the day and we both crossed the finish line with a total elapsed time of 8 hours and 29 minutes! I'm not really sure how to describe the event, but I do know that "Fun" is not the word for it … really.
