FATS Phase III Fundraiser

SORBA-CSRA had a trail building fundraiser this Sunday in the Lick Fork, Modoc, Stevens Creek area. The $$,$$$ will be going directly into the funding, building and completion of Phase III of the Fats trails system. This ride was an interesting connection of several well established trails in the area. Many of which have been open since the 70's.

I remember back in the late 90's when riding for Outspokin' we made weekly trip down to this area. Riding the Modoc, Turkey, Wine & Stevens Creek trails. I was once stung by a Hornet on the old Firetower trail. Requiring an Ambulance evac from the area. Then a 7 hour stay in the local ER for treatment from anaphylaxis shock. Needless to say these trails will always have a special place in my heart.

So Mighty D and I headed West on I-20 for the festivities. A 50 mile mixture of singletrack, gravel & pavement. Starting at Lick Fork Rec area traversing the Edgefield County countryside. The halfway point at Key bridge split Wine and Turkey Creek trails. Several more miles of gravel, then onto some pavement. Finishing up the ride back in on Modoc trail.

This was my longest ride of 2008. Riding my garage project 96er SS with possibly a good (if your in shape) gear of 36x18. If your not in shape (i.e. me) this gear was a bit tall. BrouSSard ran a similar gear and made it look easy. So for me a full rigid SS was a killer and by the end of the ride I was toast.

All good things sometimes abruptly come to an end. The trip home Mighty D's Tnag Orange Niner blew off the truck on I-20 at 77 mph. This sweet ride (pic to the left) didn't stand a chance hit quickly by three or four cars traveling at a high rate of speed. After removing the carnage from the interstate the Niner had meet it's demise. Luckily Mighty D has a SS to fall back onto. Sorry for your loss, that Niner will be missed.

Opener Posponed

January 19 Short Track POSTPONED,Posted 6:15PM 1/18/08

"After watching the forecast on the local channels here in Charlotte, it looks as though we are going to be getting snow accumulation during the day tomorrow. In order to avoid the situation we had 2 years ago where we had to shut down the race in the middle of the event, we are going to postpone the January 19 Winter Short Track Series to another weekend. Meck County Parks and Recreation typically will close the parks during inclement winter weather. This is not a Park by Park decision but a decision made within the management of the Meck County Park System.
The event organizers for the Winter Series have decided its best to postpone the event based on the forecast in order to not inconvenience our race participants. Postponing the race on Friday evening will allow everyone to make other plans, whether it be tonight or tomorrow. We truly hate to postpone on event based on the weather forecast but feel it’s the best thing to do in the current situation.
We are very sorry for any and all inconveniences and hope to kick the series off next weekend on Sunday." Series Promoter

I guess this means there will be some kind of double race weekend, similar to last years series. Glad the series opener was set back for I'm finally getting over this little cold I've had. Hopefully getting back into some routine this week.

2008 Season Opener

Go00 - the season will officially start tomorrow at the winter stxc series. Looking like momma "N" will be serving up a fresh case of shity weather

High chance of cold rain turning to snow by afternoon. Sounds like a total badass way to start the season. As of right now I'm on the fence on go or no go. Early in the week I came down with a tight chest. Out of work Thursday hacking up luggies and watching season 2 of Alias. Now back at work and drinking my first of three daily cups of coffee, I wonder if starting the season with this cold is a good idea.

2008 Lake Loop

With 2008 kicking off one week ago it was time for another running of the annual Lake Loop. I started exploring this loop back in 1999. Taking my first group out in May 1999, back in my Outspokin days with the local crew of roadies. Three years later I found myself hanging with the Harrells Crew. Sparking interest with Paul back in 2001 to call together a group of friends and venture out for a New Years Day Lake Loop.

The loop in its original form was 80 miles around Lake Murray. Mostly starting at the Ballentine DMV heading in a clockwise fashion through Lexington. Heading West traversing the farmlands of Lexington county (my homeplace), making our way to the 391 crossing at Black's Bridge. The loop would head North then East towards the Dreher Island area then into the Town of Chapin. Traverse through Chapin back to the DMV.

Waiting till the last moment I decided to run this year’s route counter clockwise. Having put this ride together some many times in so many ways, I needed something in the 65 miler range. A real task giving the shortest possible route is something like 60 miles. Unfortanley this adds many miles of busy highways and not enough country roads for my taste. So the challenge began to spice this thing up and really put the Toby stamp of approval on it. For those of you who don’t know me or have never ridden with me. The possibility of a dirt section is highly possible. This makes for an interesting approach to a road ride. Always expect the unexpected.

What started in 2001 with 6 friends grew to some 20 riders in 2004. The following years were much the same. Until the 2007 ride when cold rain came into the area that postponed the ride till 2008. This 2008 ride was unexpected, with 10 folks verbally committing to the ride. Then at 9:50 a.m. a head count of 63 riders were ready to head out onto the roads of Richland, Newberry, Saluda and Lexington Counties.

Around 63% of the riders were friends of mine from the past 15 years of cycling in the Columbia area. The remaining 37% were friends of friends. It seems as if this ride has really made a foot hold into the local cycling community. Not sure if it’s by word of mouth or just a lack of group rides in new places. This ride has really got people talking.