Chestnut Knob

Add to the list of cool climbs you have never heard of: Chestnut Knob. It's a dirt climb, probobly not the kind you want to do on a road bike, but definately could with ease. It's mostly that on a mountain bike, the descent is way more fun. Like really. It's awesome.

Anyways, here is a picture from today(click on it to see a bigger version):


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Happenings

So not a ton has been going on.  Christmas has come and past, and so too has the few days of nice weather.  Did manage to get in a ridiculous ride in Tiger, GA, involving almost no pavement, no map, and no clue where we were for most of it.

This was the "road" we walked on for a while before finding something more rideable.

We also found a cool waterfall on a road we thought would be paved.  Turns out not only was it dirt, but we were going the wrong way, and this was the end of it.

Afterwards, I handled some last minute Christmas shopping and spotted the worlds fattest cat.  Don't be fooled, he is quick.  I chased this guy around the store loudly and awkwardly (my trademark) for a good while before capturing his true girth in a photo.

This morning, in honor and memory of the fat cat (which I assume has died by now due to a cholesterol related death), I made a delicious ham egg and cheese breakfast sandwich.

I love breakfast, kind of alot.

Other cool Blogs

Been a while since I posted last, not like I have an excuse or anything, just acknowledging the fact.

Anywho... Here are a couple of blogs I have been reading lately that I thought were really interesting:

First is http://blog.guerrillacomm.com/ .  It is a blog about guerrilla marketing, and really just shows interesting marketing campaigns from around the world.

Second is http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp .  Which is a great way to get in your morning smugness.  I like to sip coffee and read about avant garde art, so I can feel classy for at least a few minutes a day.

Finally, http://thebicycledoctor.blogspot.com/ .  Scott is the man, and everyone needs to know it.

That is all.

The best climbs you have never heard of

Check this out:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3370672


I cant figure out how to embed that, so just goto the page separately, but it is the wolf creek rd. climb.  Pretty rough dirt road, especially at the top, but its good for nearly an hour or sometimes more of steady hard climbing. It's pretty absurd, the topo map doesn't do some of these stretches justice.  I've done it on road and mountain bikes, it's never easy.  This is just one of the many many climbs in the '6-gap area' that no one really ever rides.  

Blairsville

Back in Blairsville for Christmas, riding here ain't bad:

Macon Ga

So, it's cold in the mountains, so I spent the weekend at my winter home, Christian's place in the Maconga.

Here are some pictures from the weekend in no particular order:

Somewhere about halfway between Auburn and Macon, there is a tiny tiny town, with an awesome courthouse.  Don't worry, there was a pack of stray dogs wandering around the other side of the square, which was causing the worst traffic jam this town has ever seen.  At least 5 cars.

About 15 minutes later, there were some big silos.  I don't know why, but I like silos.

Got to Macon in time to ride some awesome roads, including this, one of the best dirt roads around.

On Saturday it was 36 degrees and pouring rain, which meant a solid breakfast and an excessive amount of coffee.  Yeah, I did fill the holes in the bagel with egg so that i could cram more cheese into the center.  Glorious.

I'm not going to say it was the hardest ride ever done or anything, but it was bad enough that Christian laid down to stretch and fell asleep for a couple hours, while me and his dad watched kung fu movies.  The picture is horrible quality, but is the kind of thing that just needs to be on the internet.  I hope you understand.

Quebexico

So, a couple years back, I got to race in Canada.  "Up there in the bush" as a French hair dresser described Val'dor in line for customs. 





Just found this, which is a pretty cool overview of the race in true Quebexican form (half English half French)


You can even see me sitting at the back of the field watching the athletes actually race.

Pakistan

If it weren't for my natural fear of small arms fire, I would love to go ride bikes, motorcycles, cars, donkeys, anything here:

Crossword

What is 6 letters for "object that a triathlete cannot cross"?


here is a hint:

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Attaboy Nate.

Italia

So, by now you surely know that I love google street view.  Well, I found something cool:

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Yeah, thats the ruins of Pompeii. Awesome.

Cool Places You Have Never Heard Of

Town #1: Waverly Alabama

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Thats it. Really, thats all there is. There are some cool country houses:

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There are for some reason at least 8 churches, despite having about 7 houses:

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Basically Waverly is awesome. I want to open up a general store there. But until then, I will just ride through it every now and then.

Addition

Ok, so I found a picture of flatlands rd.

It is pretty blurry, but I took it with a phone last year, while riding, so all in all, its alright.  Basically you can see that it is a narrow, windy awesome climb.

Also, I would like to add this post.  Any Chinese food is made better by making it an all you can eat buffet:

Best Roads

Over the years I have developed a very specific opinion on what I think a good road is.  Between driving more than any human should, and riding bikes more than many humans drive, I have gained an intimate knowledge of the nuances that go into how much I like a road.  There is one road in Suches, GA that checks almost every box.  Now most people think of the 6 gap loop when they think of road cycling in N. Georgia, but in reality there are over 30 big climbs up there, and most people just never take the turns to get to them.  I will never understand that.  Here is one of those turns:

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Now most people will see this and think, 'Oh there is a driveway on the right, wow, I hope we get to the end of this road soon, I need to fuel up before tackling woody's.' There is so much wrong with this mindset. First of all, they are about to pass one of my favorite climbs, the ironically named Flatlands Rd. Second, there are no less than 4 ways to climb woody's and all of the good ways are almost never ridden, but thats a different story for a different day.

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Flatlands is a dead end road. It is one lane, rough, covered in debris, and all in all a sketchy/terrifying/dangerous descent. At one point, it just sort of ends, and you turn around and begin a glorious climb back up to the big road.

Now I don't have a picture of the climb itself, so here I'll copy and paste some selections from the google search of 'flatlands rd.' none of which have anything to do with the climb:

Safety First Series

As you know, car accidents are on the rise.  With the dangers of the roads ever-present, one can never be too careful.