Goshen Pass Loop

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. I find that pictures and words rarely capture experience. Sometimes you just have to go and see for yourself. Here is the cue sheet to the ride that a group of us rode on Sunday. Wait for a nice clear spring day, we were lucky to get a window of low 60 degree temps with a bluebird sky. Next time it's like that, round up some friends, take the ride.
Goshen Pass Loop Cue Sheet

Wayside on Maury River Rd. This is where you'll want to eat lunch, soak feet, fall in river etc.

PS. Kyle totally beat me to having a post about this ride ready. His is much more high tech. If you prefer your phone to a map I suggest you grab his Map My Ride cue. If you are prone to handlebar bags and paper, print my cue sheet. You won't go wrong with either.

Warm Weather = Big Long and Beautiful Road Miles

It doesn't get much better than LOOONG road miles once the weather turns. Collin, Matt, Kurt, and Kyle got out on a ride of exploration. Leaving from Harrisonburg, they traveled South West to Deerfield Valley, on into Marble Valley, out the Goshen Pass (Beautiful!), then back up north "down" the valley, skirting Staunton and making the connection back to Bridgewater and finally all the way to Harrisonburg. You can see the entire loop on Map My Ride Here. 

If you don't know where this spring is in Augusta County you need to. Interested? Come into SBC and ask us about some OLD water out of a Saphire Spring that pumps water out of the ground at a very high rate.

Interested in where we went? Checkout the map:

Visiting the Mother Ship..Quality Bicycle Products (QBP).

This past weekend I left the warm temperatures in Virginia and jumped on a plane to Minneapolis, MN. It is just outside Minneapolis where QBP calls home. You may not recognize the name QBP but you probably have heard of their brands: Salsa, Surly, 45 North are just a few great things they bring to the bike world.

One of highlights of the trip to QBP was seeing some of the new items from Cogburn Outdoors. This hunting fat tire bike and other hunting accessories might end up being a pretty big deal in the outdoor industry!  Do you think this might catch on in Virginia or WV? This might end up being a  tool to bridge the gap between two forest users!

This is just a small portion of the warehouse space at Q. They run a clean, tight ship! It is hard to walk around and not just grab a sharping cart...They have everything you dream about!

What do you get when you mix a bunch of bikers, beer, frigid temperatures & fat bikes? Yes,  fat tire snow races around the trails of the warehouse. A fun night for all who chose to stick around for some of the late night fun!

Hope to go back next year for Frostbike!

Thomas

Why You Should Wear Proper Socks

The importance of a high quality wool sock could not be better demonstrated than by this visual of what happens to Kyle's feet after on a long ride or run with an inferior sock. After realizing that the old man foot was a reoccurring problem, Kyle decided to invest in several nice pairs of Swiftwick brand socks.

If you haven't heard of Swiftwick then you should check out their wool and non-wool sock options. I personally prefer the wool for the cushion but the synthetic option is full medical grade compression to help combat those swollen ankles. Stop by SBC and checkout our extensive selection of Swiftwick socks.

Shredona

Two days into another Sedona trip, and everything is mystical! We rode hangover today with it Mars like terrain. Sam and Nate are both shredding the red rock with style. Here Nate sets up a mini vortex scene of Lego folks.

The guys at Bike and Bean (favorite non-SBC bike shop) have been most gracious  to everyone and today is their Friday shop ride to tour some vortices!

Weather has been perfect, right at seventy during the day and chilly at night. 

Now we head for Los Betos breakfast burritos then a morning hot lap on high line. More to come...

Randonneuring Part 1

One of my favorite ways to see the world is from the saddle of a bike. Long multiple day camping trips are awesome if the time can be had. In the spring of 2012 I was living in New Hampshire and knew that my time there was limited. I would do my best to soak up as much of New England as possible in the time I had. 

I don't remember how I came across it, surely it was some late night Google fueled rabbit hole I had fallen into, but on the other side was the New England Randonneurs. Long story short. I joined and signed up for the 200K brevet in Vermont. What's a brevet? It was an awesome day on the bike. We rode all around Lake Champlain and through the surrounding farms and mountains. It was one of the longest rides I had ever been on and I was pretty pleased with myself. Since then I've completed a bunch of other brevets

Me after my first brevet. Sweet storm trooper kit. I was riding for the Imperial Guard at the time.

Here I am in a new part of the world again and it's getting to be brevet season.  The DC Randonneurs are the most local club. The grand plan as of now is to sign up for the 200K, 300K, and 400K rides. I think you should check it out. If you have never heard of this type of riding learn more about it HERE. Or stop by the shop and ask me about it, make sure you have some time though, I get really excited about this stuff.

The burrito

Do you ever wonder what that handsome guy faithfully manning his post working on your bike eats for lunch? Well this guy is a fan of the burrito! A couple cans of frijoles, an onion, garlic, whatever really and you got lunch for the week. That's how we meet our deadlines at SBC......burritos.  The secret is out!

When I'm Not At The Shop...

This is the shop in my basement.

I'm at the shop.

I don't take work home with me. It's already there.

When I get home from the shop, or sometimes before work, I climb the steep learning curve of  frame building. Alot of materials get destroyed down here, and every now and then something good happens. We keep learning though, always with an eye towards how to do it better.

On the right is my welding table, on the left my make shift design area.

Winter ride update: Hopkins Gap

The sun was out for a brief moment on Sunday to get the wheels turning for a quick spin. Collin, David, and Matt ventured out to get a hot lap in on the Turleytown Hopkins gap speedway. With attack after attack coming from SBC's Randonneur specialist the legs were feeling the burn. A proper recovery was in order.
   La Morena on Chicago Ave, serves up delicious authentic Mexican food, go there If you haven't been. Bean and cheese papusas make a perfect post ride snack and the beet juice is delicious.

Jason Breaks Socail Media Silence!

Greetings inter-nerds. If you didn't already know I'm not usually into computers social shmedia all the non-human contact ways of communicating but since our good buddy Scotty hobbled his self over to the shop to give me a 1 on 1 tutorial and some mucho needed arm twisting....I already feel dirty...here goes. 

I was up super early Sunday for the second consecutive week riding in the forest with friends. Cold temps were on our side, keeping the trail tight and firm. Without it, a slushy brown mess, it would be. We chose Narrowback Trail, since our crew is challenged greatly when the terrain leads us up.

Our rides evolve into a rolling party of sorts which was good since the reward we were looking for was slow and plagued with frost heave.

So much for cold being on or side. I have no pictures because I never bring my phone on rides. Never have, never will.  My friend, immersed in technology shmology, had the camera, the apps, the video, the everything.  But he hit the wrong button & all was lost.  Snowy blessings were besnowed upon us while we waited in the cold for him to hook up all his technology.

We spent as much time chilling with some frostys back at the car laughing at our man who looked more like a cyborg with all the camera and wires all over him as we did riding. Cold was on our reward refreshments side for sure! So here is a picture from a walk in the woods I took with my wife and dog not long ago. Here's a couple videos my man Scott put together of this radical section of trail.

THANKSGIVING from Adventure Seen on Vimeo.

Gnarrowback from Adventure Seen on Vimeo.

The "Hahnenkamm Trail"...Skiing it feels right!

When the snow gets too deep for bikes what do the folks at SBC do? Break out the X/C skis!  Once again the Western Slope Trails at Massanutten proves to be a fantastic playground that is only 7 miles from town.

Hahnenkamm Trail.  Named for skiing!

When we arrived at the parking area on Thursday afternoon  (4 wheel drive truck was needed!!) I could not believe we were going to get fresh tracks, this can be a good or a bad thing when it comes to skis.  After realizing the effort to push the skis through the fresh 15" of snow Dan and I decided to utilize the road to gain elevation.

After the long climb to the bottom of "2K Hours" we took a left and hit "Upper Homestead", this usually quick 1/2 mile took a while to track up. We then took our first right on the "Connector Trail" and then left on the "Hahnenkamm Trail" then back to the parking.  Get out and enjoy our hard work, once the tracks are set at Massanutten it is a blast to ski!






And when you get on the Hahnenkamm Trail you will then understand the  full history behind the name, Hahnenkamm Trail. 

The Connector Trail looks so good with ski tracks!

Next Time I am skiing from the top of the Hahnenkamm Trail (AKA: hole in the guard rail), also the site of the first ever "Dollar Downhill" which then become the "Six Pack Downhill".



-Thomas

It's always in the last place you look...

12 January 2014

11:40PM - Former SBCer, Kurt Rosenberger, and I set out from Shenandoah Mountain Touring's home base, the sovereign nation of ChrisScottistan, for some snowy recreation. 

11:57PM - I snap the following picture and crack a joke about logging those hours for the blog, while Kurt attempts to maintain traction on an over-geared, skinny-tired bike in the background.

12:16AM - I slide on a similar hill climb and lay out on my belly twice trying to stand up.

12:29AM - "I'm going for it, Kurt!" 

12:38AM - I school bus Kurt home and return to my own dwelling. 

12:43AM - After peeling my wet layers, I notice a knife of some sentimental value is missing from the pocket of my jeans.

12:49AM - Back in my wet clothes - this time with empty pockets and little charge left in my lights, I head out to search warm with the knowledge that I can stop looking as soon as I find that for which I search. The wind picks up and roads plowed 15 minutes before are white again. This time feels less pleasant and the weather, less hospitable. 

12:58AM - I dig through the plow pile where I had gone for it 29 minutes earlier fooled again and again by black chunks of ice shed from the patrolling Bobcat's bucket.

1:11AM - I pedal to the site of my hill climb belly slide and fall some more -kicking and pushing snow in search. 

1:13AM - FOUND THE DAMN KNIFE! Cold. Aching brain freeze from headwind on the way home. 

1:46AM - I am dry and mostly warm. My toes and knees are finally back to a normal color. 

The reason your lost knife is always in the last place you look is because it is cold outside and you are tired and only a fool would continue looking for an item once it is found. And momma didn't raise no fool.

-David

Norther Gravel and Birds of a Feather

Out for a gentle gravel road tour yesterday heading towards Singers Glen, in search of the best gravel sections. After a lengthy debate I realized there's not a dud in the bunch, Every section of gravel north and west of town right now is flawless. Moisture content and compaction is so good right now you could even roller blade most sections, if that's what you're into.  The old steel  Breezer equipped with 32c rubber made all the ruts and brake bumps disappear. All the turns that normally require caution feel like riding on rails right now.

I stopped mid ride to ask these guys for directions however, they could not agree.  I reluctantly went with the majority vote, which pointed me towards Joseph Funk road and Funk it is!

A Weekend Without Biking!?

What do you do when it is cold and grey outside, you just spent last weekend super muddy at a great SVBC Superbowl Sunday ride, and you need a break from the bike? A trail run!? Not just any trail run but The Wild Oak Trail Run (often referred to as T.W.O.T.). It is not your ordinary run but a special and unique event that embodies everything that many of us have grown to love about our mountains, our trails, and our trail community. The Wild Oak Trail Run is not a race or at least not really. Consider that 50+ people started but only four "finished" that is because those four finished all four laps for a whopping 100+ miles of Wild Oak Trail. Most others were only participating in the "fun run" portion of the event which involves 26 miles and a bunch of uphill. Mountain bike events and bike events in general could learn an awful lot from the spirit of these free "fun run" events. Kyle got out for the Wild Oak Run and then a Sunday hike to a waterfall in the Shenandoah National Park with former SBC employee, Whitney March.

The rules for the Wild Oak Trail Run are one of our favorite things about the event and nothing sums up the event more than these ten rules. While not for everyone, this type of run/ride/hike/ski/name any other form of human powered mobility and endurance is food for the soul. 

(From the T.W.O.T. Run site)

Who is Invited
Since this is a semi-invitational, here are some guidelines to help you determine if you are "invited". Actually, most of the following determines who is not invited.

• If you are even the least bit worried or concerned about getting lost, don't come.
• If you have questions, don't come.
• If you need a crew, don't come.
• If you need toilet paper, don't come.
• If you expect to be pampered in any way shape or form, don't come.
• If you're a whiner, don't come.
• If you're a freeloader, don't come.
• If you're seeking fame and/or fortune, don't come.
• If you're thinking about writing a report about your experience at Wild Oak, don't come.
• If you crave abuse, if you yearn for abuse, if you are addicted to abuse in any way shape or form (be it physical, mental, sexual, verbal, mathematical, artistic or whatevah) BY ALL MEANS, BE MY GUEST. (This applies to abusees only. Abusers are not welcome. The only abuser allowed is the trail.)

Wootten's Knee Surgery

During the first snow storm of December, Wootten's knee finally blew up after a hard landing in the snowboard park at Massanutten Resort.  On Tuesday, he went under the knife, drill, screwdriver & hammer to have his ACL  & cartilage reconstructed at the UVA Sports Medicine outpatient surgery center.  Dr. Diduch harvested a section of Wootten's hamstring from the front side of his Tibia.  The cartilage lined bone surfaces of the Femur and Tibia were damaged enough for the surgeon to do the microfracture procedure.  Microfracturing is a technique that involves hammering multiple small holes into the surface of the bone, releasing stem cells only found in the blood from bone marrow.  These cells will soon turn into a "superclot", forming fibrous cartilage in the damaged area.  Wootten expects to be on crutches for 6 weeks with a full recovery expected in 6 months. 

He'll be riding the trainer 2 weeks out and hopefully riding bikes around town in time for the Costume Bike Parade in May.  

Another Super Bowl Ride to Remember!!

SUPER BOWL FUN!!

Superbowl Sunday Ride, a Harrisonburg tradition for 30+ years. Some of the crew that made it up to Flagpole Knob...there were many others spread over the mountain when this shot was taken at 1pm from the highest point in Rockingham County. Which way did you go from here?

Yogesh, all smiles on his first Super Bowl Sunday Ride!!

Jason Sajko, many Super Bowl Rides under his belt...this year he was drier then his last year's ride!!

SBC would like to thank all those folks who made it out to Shenandoah Mountain for the 30+ ?? running of the Super Bowl Sunday Ride.  Our whole crew had a blast on the mountain and enjoyed sharing this wet & warm experience with so many customers! The day was long for some, especially those who stayed up late night enjoying Collin's 30th Birthday Bash at the Stokesville Lodge. Some of our crew started at Stokesville, some others began at Mr. J's.  The head count from town  was 24 folks. Then there were so many others who started other places like the  Community Center, Hone Quarry Parking Area or the Dam. Anyway you shake it, it was a big ride!!

Hone Quarry Lake, frozen on a warm day..The little dots by the tower are ice fishing folks!