Exploring The ATG Triangle

That's the Alabama> Tennesee> Georgia Triangle. During the week my hours at work consume all the daylight and all I'm left with is Daybreak and Twilight. Unforunately all the trails in Huntsville are closed to night riding but to make up the lack in riding fitness I took up running two nights a week. It seems to be working as I got in almost 60 miles on the singlespeed this past weekend between Oak Mtn State Park in Birmingham, AL and Cloudland Canyon in Rising Fawn, GA. The weekend before I snuck in a 20 mile ride at Raccoon Mtn in Chattanooga, TN. At Raccoon Mtn I hooked up with some locals on a we're not going fast but we're going fast ride. The trails in the area make the most of the terrian to make it a up and down always churnning the pedals kind of ride. I took some video with the Gopro that I may be able to post up later but the slow internet hotel has limited that. This weekend's ride at the famed Oak Mtn in Birmingham was just as promised. So much fun n swoop singletrack with a bit of tech at the end. The only dissapointment was the famed, "Blood Rock" which was about 50 yards of rock garden that compared to most of the surrounding swooping singletrack. It was still cool though and the newest additions of singletrack on the Mountain including Boulder Ridge and the West Ridge were a blast of off camber boulder riding and rocky singletrack. Sunday I went to Rising Fawn, GA with a light rain falling all day. I went to explore the new 5 points singletrack at Cloudland State Park. This was a cool trail system that had a center starting point to a network of trails equaling about 20 miles or so. All of it drained super well and was fun in swoopy as well. Plans are in the air for this coming weekend. Thoughts of the Pinhoti Trail near Dalton or Mulberry Gap, GA come to mind.

Sweet Trails Alabama

After a week of school in Alabama, the weekend came and I was ready to hit the trails. I drove up to Monte Sano State Park and immediately found the McKay Hollow Trail. I later learned the locals refer to this trail as, "The Death Trail". 2 + miles of hike a biking through a beautiful hollow with a wee bit of riding between the steep and rocky entrances and exits. It was fantastic.





The previous two days of rain provided trails just the way I expected them to be in the southeast. Wet rocks and roots covered with slimy leaves provided a bit of excitement and it made me realize my technical skills for such riding was a bit rusty.



Couple that with a few steep climbs and this being my 1st time on a single speed in some time and there were a few hills that just had to be walked.



Funny enough, I was told to go to the Goat trail for the funnest technical descent and it was awesome but my favorite trail so far has to be the Mountain Mist trail. Rocks and roots line the trail and its flow is sublime.



One of the cool natural features on the Mountain Mist trail is the natural granite wall that parallels the trail for most of its length.



My second day at the park I found the Stone Cuts. It is a hiker only trail of maybe a little over half a mile but I shouldered my bike and made the hike up just to see it. The Stone Cuts are an exposed ridge of capstone that after thousands of years of erosion, split into two and created small caves and low walled " slot canyons".







I go home to Colorado on Thursday for 5 days of Christmas with my family, maybe a ride with friends on some snowy Colorado trails and then back to Alabama for another month or so of school with LG Electronics.

Going To the South East

Lots of changes going on in the Goat Household. I've taken a new job with LG Electronics and will be going to the US headquarters in Huntsville, AL for 6 weeks of training. I've been an appliance service technician for almost 15 years but this training will teach me about their computer system, up my refrigeration certification from a Type 1 to Universal, and provide a good base for working on TV's. I leave tomorrow with a week home for Christmas but otherwise I'll be missing my beautiful family.

As for riding, I've gotten maybe 2 rides in since Thanksgiving. Lots to do and a chest cold that knocked me out for the past weeks. My In-laws got me a GoPro Hero2 as a Christmas present and I couldn't resist getting out for a few hours on a snow bound Green Mtn to test it out.

With all of this loss of fitness I'll be shipping my Single Speed to Huntsville. A kit of cogs are in my tool kit ranging anywhere from 17-20 teeth. If I feel like I'm just spinning out too much there is a cassette in there as well for going 1x9. I hear Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville is the place to go for techy riding and I'll be traveling around the southeast to ride the Pinhoti Trail, Oak Mtn and maybe even ride the Snake Gap Time Trial.

Fall Preview So Far

How Fall Flows. Rides are falling farther apart, fitness is being lost, and snow has covered the high country.

No worries tho as we still have fun

Buffalo Creek



Secret, underground pub rides



That included costumes



Cows do ride in snow, you didn't know?



Some signs needed an understanding of how we feel



Snow makes old trails more interesting



T.I.T.S (Thursday Night Worlds) is still going strong



and T.I.T.S made a Saturday showing at BC









we ended it with the infamous Bucksnort



and recovery rides go better with my girls

Fall Ridin at Indian Creek

Its come that time of year when the internal bear that resides inside starts to hibernate and I find it harder and harder to get motivated for a ride. The Thursday Night Worlds changed to Wednesday last week and I missed it due to Mrs. Goat finding Buddy Christ so I thought to ride Thursday, even had opportunity to ride a few hours with daylight if I had wanted but alas, The bear was sleeping so I didn't.

Saturday, Canyon Rat had a nice loop planned for Indian Creek and section 1 of the Colorado Trail so I decided to tag along and so did Slow. We kept the pace at a good clip with some stops for lollygagging and taking in the day. Just a beautiful fall day, Blue skies, a crisp edge to the air, trails just primed with newly fallen aspen leaves to keep it interesting.

We managed to get the whole Indian Creek Loop in along with a trip to the Platte River Valley overlook on the Colorado Trail. Near the end of the ride I think we all went into our own special places to make it back to the car. Looks like I'm losing some fitness but its all good as I've made peace with myself in that fact for winter riding.

Slow on Indian Creek



Canyon Rat and Slow in the Meadow



South Platte River Valley Overlook



Canyon Rat in the Water

Beanfest V. 2.0

Since The Tour de Goat I've now managed to get three rides under my belt. One Lunch ride of an hour, One Thursday Night Worlds, and this Weekend's BeanFest V.2.0.

Beanfest goes off every year at Buffalo Creek and is run by our local hero; Pablo. That was last weekend and I decided last weekend that instead of turning pedals I needed to hang with the family who had lost me for over seven days the week prior.

This past weekend PBR was contacted by some Boston folks who were gonna be in town and was asked to lead a ride through Buffalo Creek. Since he missed the BeanFest himself, he thought up the Beanfest V. 2.0. Camping, riding, drinking, with mexican on the side. I was just gonna head up with my girls for the camping bit but my little one had been sick last week and complained of her tummy hurting Saturday morning. So I spent the day with the girls and headed up that evening with Lubes for a night of riding with a return to the hacienda for bed.

We got there around 3:30 and the Boston crew didn't show till around 5pm so a few beers were consumed in the meantime of us talking about riding a loop and coming back for the Bostonians. Nick was there, another who had broken a Misfit/ True North Dissent and he was riding his newly repaired Dissent but as he put it, "It was a nightmare process with caution put on high alert in riding it".

photo Cred: PBR


Our ride started around 5:30 or maybe later with the fellas from Boston having to build their bikes and such. Once we got started, I pushed the pace a little high and found two of the Bostonians were in superb condition as they hung my tail like dogs on a rabbit and had me huffing like a chain smoking old lady trying to maintain the pace. This was Wraith, I'm terrible with names but great with bikes; who rode a full suspension singlespeed 29er custom built by Wraith and another fella who was on a gold Turner but riding flat pedals. Fast dudes who pushed me hard and eventually cracked me for the final climb that night. They cracked too and some of the others got past but we kept it in front for 3/4's of the ride.

All in all great fellas. All nine of em, though I can only remember Dave's name and that was because he had some big open heart/ multiple number of bypasses surgery back in February or March. The way he was riding, you couldn't tell. Lubes and I ducked out shortly after the ride so you'll have to check out PBR for all the debauchery and tomfoolery that went on that night and the next day.

Tour de Goat Hangover

I've been back to the real world since last Wednesday but the Tour De Goat Hangover still lingers. Seven days of riding with a couple of cool cats including Guacamole, Mark, Big Ring, and Dicky on trails that railed and weather that couldn't have been more perfect.

The trip was awesome but it left me mentally and physically exhausted. The old cliche of, "I need a vacation from my vacation". So when a snowstorm hit in the mountains this past weekend and all we got here on the Front Range was a light dusting, I took the girls up for a good ol snow ball fight and snowman building right off the Continental Divide Trail near Alice.



a brief photo tour of the Tour de Goat....

Wednesday: Golden,CO...Chimney Gulch> Enchanted Forest> Apex



Thursday: Vail, CO... Bowmans> Two Elks







Friday: Moab, UT...The Whole Enchilada: a shuttle ride of 30+ miles starting in the La Sal Mtns with a short climb to 11,600 ft and dropping to the desert of Porcupine Rim and finally Moab at 4026 ft.

















Saturday: Moab, UT; Amasa Back to Jackson's in the am





to Pipedream in the afternoon





Sunday: Moab, UT; Slickrock in the am







Trans La Sals to Hells Canyon in the PM





it can't be a tour with my name attached to it without some hike a bike









Monday: Fruita, CO; Kokopelli Loops









Tuesday at Buffalo Creek, CO....30 miles of buff n fast singletrack. Just what we needed to end the Tour



all of the Tour de Goat pictures are here