PowerBar_Fitness_Community

making the best

I have not wanted to ride on the road at ALL lately. Maybe it's the heat..or maybe I'm just bored with the lack of good training roads in Atlanta. There's not much good scenery close-by and we live in an area with lots of truck traffic and stop lights. Lately, I've been putting more miles on our 2002 Escape which is reaching the end of it's precious life..220,000+ miles on it!!..just because all I feel like doing right now is riding mountain bikes. It's unfortunate that we don't have any good mountain biking within the City of Atlanta. We have Sope Creek..but it's nothing like it used to be. It's about 5 miles of trail, if that, that's mostly used by runners and walkers. I wish we lived in a city that had weekly short track and XC races..heck..I wish we lived in a city where mountain biking was an option without having to drive an hour. We have some secret trails here and there around the city so I've just been trying to mix some of those in on my lower-volume training days.

lunch today
 
thinking that I should have brought bug spray
not many people ride these trails, obviously. some parts are little overgrown and there are lots of trees down
 


I do my fair share of dismounting on this trail..for example here

 

Then, some of the stuff is really fun to ride, too. You always have to expect little wheel grabbers from underneath, though. They like to surprise you.

 

I'm counting down the days until the weekend..we will be checking out the trail and route status for the Fool's Gold 50/100...the race is less than 4 weeks away now!

Mid-summer in Georgia

Summertime in Georgia means getting to the mountains as much as possible to mountain bike. Creek crossings, shade, and the daily thunderstorm all help to make you forget it's 90-some degrees outside. 4-hour mountain bike rides in the mountains have been the norm lately. Exploring some new stuff with Eddie in his preparation for the Trans-North-Georgia race and riding some old stuff like Stanley Gap, Green Mountain, Tibbs, Unicoi that I haven't ridden in awhile.
 
I think I have done more climbing in the last 3 weeks than I have all year combined! At least, that's how my legs feel right now. With the Offroad Assault on Mount Mitchell (ORAMM) approaching quickly, I am going to try to get some rest this week. It's hard to believe that this race season started on January 2 with the Snake Creek Gap Time Trials!
 
My original plan was to taper off on the mountain bike racing after ORAMM in favor of training for a late fall marathon. But, the mountain bike race season never ends around here and there are so many races tempting me
.
Yep, I've signed up for the 100 again. I couldn't resist..I had so much fun doing it last year. This time, though, I'll be racing my Rotwild R.R2 full suspension bike.
 
There's also a new 40 & 80 mile race called the Assault on Brushy Mountain that will take place just 30 minutes from our house in October so that one is a must-do, also. I have no idea what the course will be like but I am definitely going to check it out.

Women's Mountain Bike Weekend at Mulberry Gap Mountain Bike Get-a-way

Women's Mountain Bike Weekend at Mulberry Gap Mountain Bike Get-a-way Sponsored by Topeak and Ergon Dates: Sept 3-6
Location: Mulberry Gap Mountain Bike Get-a-way in Ellijay, GA Amenities: Fresh farm-to-table meals, on-site trail access, massage therapist (advance booking required), dog-friendly, maps available, guided rides, beginner clinics, free give-aways, clean cabins, hot showers, and hot tubs All levels of riders are welcome read more

pedal pedal pedal

For the past several months I've been struggling with pedaling technique. I used to brag about how I had a pretty perfect pedal stroke, but sometime in the past few months something changed. At some point, I started emphasizing one particular motion in the pedal stroke too much, causing certain muscles to fatigue faster, eventually resulting in tightness in my knees, IT bands, and hip flexors. read more

Climbing in the Cohuttas

We spent the long weekend celebrating the 4th of July by hanging out with friends at Mulberry Gap, watching people and fireworks (but mostly people) in downtown Ellijay, and of course climbing almost every hill we could find in the Cohutta Wilderness. read more