Knoxville Cycling Blogs

Since the afternoon “screw you” was bearing down on Haw yesterday I headed away from the rain and to Norris. Glad I did. Up to the Observation point, down to Spooky and back up to the observation point, then down Eagle to MM 7. All without stopping on my 6″ do it all bike. Short and sweet. Flats, adjustable seat post, DH suspension, and Metallica. It was a great ride.

This past Friday, Zeke, Bruce, and I gave a presentation/show-n-tell at my daughter's school.  It went off without a hitch, especially since it was basically a repeat.  Bruce was able to reinforce the importance of wearing a helmet.  He crashed last week on his road bike when the tube blew apart at the seam, blowing the tire off the rim and sending him headfirst into the pavement at 20mph.  Except for a cracked helmet and abrasions down the left side of his body, he was o.k.  His bike was another story ... about $1500 in damage.  So he was able to use his body as show-n-tell.  I think he really got through to the kids!  At least I hope so, since when I asked a number of them if they had a helmet to go with their bikes, they said no.

Zeke incorporated life lessons in to his mountain bike stories.  Things like always be prepared, be humble, respect others, don't be told you can't do anything because you are a girl, and man up.  Zeke also talked me up quite a bit, but what he did not know was that while he was doing that, I was talking him up just right across the hall.  Those kids definitely know now that neither gender nor age can come between you and your dreams.


I talked about nutrition and tried to get down on their level by taking a couple characters from the movie Cars.  Simply put, if you want to be fast and endure like Lightning McQueen, then you need to incorporate lots of fresh fruits, vegies, and lean meats into your diet.  But if you indulge in too many fatty foods and sugary snacks, then you will end up slow and broke down like Mater.  I told them to get their parents to stick to the perimeter of the grocery store and don't make too many trips down the aisles.  We also had a quiz where I held up two foods and they told me which one was healthier.  These kids know ... they got it right every time!  They just need their parents to set a good example and help them stick to the right food choices.


At the end, Mrs. Johnson's class presented me with a big poster wishing me good luck in the Burn.  A lot of other kids also made individual cards for me.  Carly and I thought that was awesome!


I wonder if I made an impact on these kids.  I did not have to wonder long.  On Sunday when I was in Ingles shopping in the produce section, a lady towing 2 kids and a husband, ran up to me and asked if I was the one who had given a presentation at City Park the other day.  Before I could say yes, she was graciously thanking me and telling me that I did make an impression on her daughter.  Instead of buying the usual cookies and chips, today they were purchasing lots of fruits and vegetables.  Wow!  I was amazed.  I told Nicole how proud I was and that her food choices would make her smarter and stronger.

I can only hope that I influenced more like Nicole.  Looks like I will be going back to the schools next year!

Every week we will be putting a different section of the store on sale!  Look forward to saving 10%-20% on selected inventories.  To kick it off this first week we will be putting all saddles on sale 15%.  If you’ve always been looking at a Brooks and not been willing to part with the dough now is the time!  Come by and check things out!

The last town in Tennessee, on I-40 heading to North Carolina, is Hartford, TN. This town, in Cocke County, sits along the Pigeon River, aka the Dirty Bird. There are several whitewater guide services in the center of town. And the Cherokee National Forest makes up the hills visable from town. Just a little further are the Smoky Mountains and somewhere in all that forest is Martha Sundquist State Forest.
For the purposes of this entry, we are concerned with Cherokee National Forest. I am writing this to point out the two long descents that drop into town via the Devils Backbone and the Buzzards Roost.

For those shuttling these descents, the starting point is Hall Top Mountain.




The Hall Top fire tower / photo from the 1930's.




You've gotta get up to get down:
gravel climb on Cabbage Country


pushing up the Buzzards Roost




Hartford, TN and the Tennessee welcome center on I-40





View from the fire tower



The Buzzards Roost








buzzard








Hartford on the ground level:

Untitled from Thomas Gaines on Vimeo.

After looking around we got this.

My sponsors have been gracious enough to send some goodies to me to help with my Burn 24 Hour fundraiser. 
So come find my pit area when you arrive.  Make a minimum donation ($10) and guess how many miles I will cover in 24 hours.  The closest will win the schwag above.  And that is not all of it ... there will be more to come.

As of now, I am up to $133/lap.  Pretty good, but I can do better.

Today is a 2 hour road ride followed by more packing ...

Made my annual trip to a Sun Down in the City. Wow, I am way behind on what today’s youth is up too. But its a shame because they look stupid and act even stupider.

Cragslidt ad:

http://knoxville.craigslist.org/bik/1751507645.html


Road shoes and pedals for sale on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item;=280510088582

Thompson Stem for sale on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item;=280510341629

The Burn 24 Hour will soon be upon me.  Coach has gotten my body dialed in.  Last weekend I went over to the course in Wilkesboro and did an 8 hour dress rehearsal.  10 laps later, I was feeling great and confident that I could reach my goal of 25-30 laps.  Amazing what I can do if I just listen to my coach and keep the power in L2, unlike the previous 8 hour test I did at Raccoon Mountain.

Stumpy ('08 SJ) will be my primary bike.  With the extra inch of travel and relaxed geometry, this bike will keep me as comfortable as one can be racing for 24 hours.  I rode her last weekend and was pleasantly surprised at how well my body felt afterward.

. 
The cockpit has all the necessary items.  A picture of Carly to keep me going when the going gets tough.  I will be racing with the PowerTap as this is my "security blanket."  And it will keep me honest.  Yeah, it is a bit heavier, but I will gladly take the weight penalty. The hardest part will be watching everyone ride away on those first couple laps.

The Ergon GR2 Leichtbau carbon grips will keep my hands happy.  The bar ends I will use not for "out of the saddle" mashing, but for additional hand positions.


Indy ('09 Era) will be on deck.  She will get her chance at a few laps when Stumpy needs a little TLC or lights fitted for the night.  Don't get me wrong; I love this bike.  But for me, it is more suited for XC or short endurance events.


Crash ('06 Epic)  will be on stand-by.  Hopefully, Ol' Faithful will not be needed.

With regards to my fundraiser, I still have a ways to go to reach my goal.  Pledges are continuing to come in, albeit a bit slower.  Thanks to my sponsors (The Outdoor Store, Chamois Butt'r, and Ergon), I am going to have a little on-site contest to try to raise a little more money for City Park and Ingleside schools.  For a minimum $10 donation, you can guess the number of miles I will complete in 24 hours.  The closest will win a bag of schwag.  So please stop by my tent Friday and Saturday (up until 5pm race day) and take your best guess!

In a few hours, I, along with Zeke and Bruce, will be giving our presentation/show and tell to the kids of City Park Elementary School.  Carly seemed to be excited; she dressed in cycling apparel this morning.  Hopefully we can get a few kids excited about being on the bike this summer!

Here is a clip from the 2009 Burn 24 Hour:

Burn 24 Hour Mountain Bike Race from Eric Crews on Vimeo.

Erin and some of her friends ran a 15k at the Biltmore on Sunday morning. Macie and I came along for support, and ended having the ride of a lifetime.
The fog was thick as a blanket, and made for a perfect 60 degree morning with a few hours to spend on a bike. We hooked up the trailer, we so rarely use, and pedaled off on the trails on the Biltmore property.
The trails were fantastic for exactly the kind of ride we were doing: an exploratory ride with lots of great sceenery. Macie loved the geese, I just liked poking around and searching for the "house." Since the race started at the winery and the roads were closed for the race, we got to the house via a network of trails that wondered farmland and woods, creeks, rivers and lakes.
Here's a few pics from the trip, and some from the hike on at Craggy Gardens fromt the day before.

The Biltmore:











Craggy Gardens:








leaving the mountain in a rain cloud:

Bike to Work Day
May 21
7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
Stop by Krutch Park (corner of Market St and Clinch Ave) as you ride your bike to work and grab a biscuit (with your choice of yummy filling) from Pete’s Coffee Shop and coffee donated by Trio Cafe.  Their will be prizes given to the best dressed bike commuters, so break out those suits and high heels! Mayor Bill Haslam will join us to give awards at 8 a.m.

Bike to Work Convoys
Want to bike to work, but aren’t sure about the best route? Or would you just like some company along the way for a change? Meet at one of these locations to join the movement (call 215-3815 for more info):

May 20
Oak Ridge to ORNL
7:45 a.m.
Meet at Jackson Square.
Call Ray Brittain at 574-8949 for more info.

May 21
East Knoxville to downtown and UT
7 a.m.
Meet at Holston River Park, 3300 Holston Hills Road (top parking lot by pavilion).

North Knoxville to downtown and UT
7 a.m.
Meet at Office Depot/Food City parking lot on Broadway, 4212 N. Broadway.

Bearden to downtown and UT
7:15 a.m.
Meet at Third Creek Greenway trailhead, 130 Forest Park Boulevard.

South Knoxville to downtown and UT
7:15 a.m.
Meet at Food City parking lot, 4580 Chapman Highway.

Luke will be leaving from here at FCP around 7am as well and riding to Krutch park and back following the TPO bike map safe route.   Call us and let us know if anyone wants to meet and ride!  865-357-1580

I think this is a early DH race back in the day. But they must be racing it sight unseen. Maybe we should do this at a few races this year.

We don’t claim to be the best because there is no such thing but we truly love what we do and hope that our customers/friends can tell!  We are in the lead so far and hope that all of our hard work giving great customer service and tons of bicycle knowledge will pay off!  Please take a second or two to vote for our store in this contest!   We are here for you!  Thanks so much for making the last 2 years a blast!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/10_at_five.aspx

Going fast and taking chances in a rain storm.

I was able to hitch a ride back from Asheville with a few friends who were heading to Pisgah, (Thanks Chris and Jon!) They had planed to ride Laurel Mountain, so I was game. I had my single-speed and time to kill.
The weather was shifting from blue skies to dark clouds, and back again. Any moment could bring thunder, rain and hail; or bright sunshine. At the very top, a dark cloud moved in and the makings of a tornado was bearing down. The winds were blowing hard enough that it felt like it could blow me off the bike. Rain beat down, and we made the descent in a shit storm. I was a little freaked out, but I kept my composure coming down the mountain in the rocks of Laurel Mountain (in the dumping rain.) I kept moving all the way down and was relieved to reach the bottom, but thrilled out from the ride down!


Enjoying the sun on the way up.



High windy mountain top, just before the rain moved in:

90 plus kids came through our bike safety rodeo last weekend in Townsend!

Friday I left work early to take a busted moto pipe to have it fixed. Once I got home I saddled up and rode down to Haw Ridge. I was still pretty tired from Wednesday’s moto ride, but I had a nice easy ride to spin the legs out. That new fork and raked out headset are terrible at Haw. I have to find some all-travel spacers to reduce the travel. Around 8 pm a big storm rolled thru and we watched it from the porch. Lighting was really close and I always enjoy watching storms.

Saturday morning I got up early and headed off to Windrock to clean up some of the trails. The Windmill trails were overgrown and a few tree were down. After almost 2 hours I made it down and suited up to get in a few runs. I am starting to feel fast on my bike again and I am feeling the fire to pin again. I didn’t do any full runs at race pace but I didn’t do too much stopping and I am getting my suspension dialed in. By the afternoon I was hooking up and it was feeling really, really good. Wrapped up the day with some Capt. Tom’s BBQ and watched a movie with Meghann after Wyatt went to bed.

Sunday I met up with Rick and Devin for a moto ride at Lake City. We had got another storm on Saturday evening and it deterred others from riding. But they really missed out. The dirt was magic. I only see days like that once or twice a year. I ducked out around noon and headed home to hang with Wyatt and Meghann.

What a great weekend. No serious injuries. I did go over the bars in a bad crash on the my moto and my knee is pretty sore from banging the stem.