I happened to Stumble upon this nifty link:

http://www.flybikesbmx.com/en/news/post_1001

Really nifty, if they work. Don’t seem to be in road sizes yet.

Yesterday I loaded up and set out for my first overnight backpacking trip. I have some new equipment I wanted to check out and I wanted to hike the section of Bearwaller Gap I hadn’t previously hiked.

I arrived at the Overlook parking lot about 9:30ish, hit the head, then hit the trail.

Heading down the initial section is straight downhill with few switchbacks. I knew this would be tough when I came back. (I was right.) The trail was mostly covered with the freshly fallen leaves meaning you had to really watch your steps. Naturally, watching my feet means I wandered off of the main trail and ended up heading in the wrong direction. I probably added 45 minutes to an hour to the hike in.

This trail is very hilly and rough. My new hiking shoes (New Balance) did well; though I need to put some arch support inserts into them.

After getting off-trail once I was very careful to find the blue blazes marking the trail. At one point I stopped, looking around, but didn’t see one ahead. I turned to see if I could see one behind me and was startled by a brown animal! I let out a yelp. It was a dog. Her tags say her name is Iris and she stayed with me until camp. Very sweet dog.

The trail follows the edge of Cordell Hull Lake. But it’s always high above it on bluffs. You can’t access the lake. I finally arrived at Two Prong Primitive Campground.

I sat down at the table to have my sandwich, which I shared with Iris.  Then I checked out the spots to set up my tent.

I assumed that others would be arriving later, so I selected a spot up and away from everything.

Then I did a bit more investigating.  There is a spring for water:

And the cleanest privy I’ve ever seen:

Then I made a cup of coffee using my nifty new REI french press coffee cup and settled down with a book.  Throughout the day hikers came by and would usually stop to chat.  Once a hunter came by too.  I had not realized hunting was allowed here so I wasn’t wearing safety orange.  He said his buddies had gotten a deer, but he hadn’t.  I saw deer a couple of times on the trail.

As the sun got lower, I realized I was going to have the campground to myself for the night.  Very cool.

I started a fire in the firepit.  I am a very bad fire builder but finally got a little one going.  Then I started to work on supper.

I had brought a Mountain House meal, spaghetti, so all I had to do was boil water.  That was fortunate.  I really need to work on my cookware.  I had 2 tealight stoves and a cheapo set of Coleman cookware.  I really need to do some upgrading here.  The cookware has no grabbable handles and the tealights are so light as to be unstable.  So It was really aggravating and I lost fuel and water before it was over.  The cookware will need to be replaced outright.  I will modify the tealight attaching a wide flat base.

After eating and cleaning up, I decided to take my book to the tent as the temps were already dropping.  I changed into comfy clothes for sleeping and crawled in.

This is where the equipment testing really came in.  I had ordered my tent and bag from REI, on sale of course.

The tent is an Alps Mountaineering Comet.  I was quite pleased.  It was warm enough that I left the fly open for the night.

The new bag is an REI brand down bag.  Warm as toast.  I think the temps went down in the 40s.  The only time I was chilled was when I woke up at dawn.  But I didn’t have it cinched around my shoulders.  If I had, I don’t believe I would have been cold.

For part of the evening, I just laid with my head stuck out the door watching the stars.  I even saw a shooting star!    I could hear little critters close by and kept grabbing a light to see if I could catch a glimpse of a raccoon, but I never did.

I finished my book and probably went to sleep at about 9:30.

I woke up and laid in the tent waiting for it to get light enough to see to make coffee and oatmeal.  After a fight with cookware I had breakfast.  If it hadn’t been so hard to heat the water, I probably would have had more oats.  I did manage a second cup of coffee though.

After lounging around a bit, I started to break camp.  There was a little condensation on the tent fly.  I don’t think it appeared until after I had gotten up.  Next time, as soon as I’m up I’ll remove the fly.

It didn’t take long to clean up, pack, and police the site.  There is a garbage can there, so I didn’t have to pack out the garbage.

The hike back to my truck started out a bit rough as my legs are sore and I start climbing straight out of the campground.  But I think that also stretched out my calves.

I was hoping Iris would show back up and walk with me a while.  At one point I heard a dog barking.  I called for her, but I think the dog I heard was penned.

Once I stopped to take off my pack and shed a layer of clothing.  I spotted a pretty young buck with a beginner set of antlers.

I had very little trouble heading back, well except once.  I was climbing through a fallen tree and grabbed a stub to pull myself over and through.  It came off in my hand and I went over backwards.  Happily, I landed on my pack.

That last climb up to the parking lot was tough on my poor sore legs and feet.  I was quite happy to spot the red of my truck through the trees.  By then it had really warmed up and I was really sweating.  I sat down on the tailgate of the truck right on 10:30.

Home by 11:30!

I finally rode today after being off the bike what seems forever. Lovely, but chilly ride. First time this fall I needed the full finger gloves.

I’ve been quite busy at the office, happily. But with the days getting shorter that means I’m not getting home in time to ride before dark.

On other fronts I went backpacking last weekend at Bearwaller Gap. This was mostly to test out what equipment I had. I’ve since replaced a couple of things for weight’s sake. The most important change is a new tent, this one, which I’m hoping to try out soon.

I would also like some trekking poles. They sounded rather superfluous, but going up and done a steep rocky hill convinced me of their value.  Maintaining balance with a pack was a challenge.  I one point I had to sit down abruptly so I wouldn’t take a header downhill!

Later,

Where oh where have I been?!

I haven’t been hiking.

I haven’t been riding.

I have been a sorry excuse for a human being!

Until last night.  I could home and sat down to continue my sorriness.  When, suddenly, it came upon me.  I rushed upstairs to change, pumped up the tires and found a blinky light (it was pretty late) and headed out for a quick ride.

It felt good.

I took this with my little point and shoot camera today on my hike atBurgess Falls. It was gorgeous.

Surprisingly it was a tougher hike than I expected.

I’ll upload some pics to my flickr account, over on the right, later.

I get inordinately excited about three day weekends.  So I’m a happy camper today.  Plans include a Saturday Ride, a Sunday Hike, Monday is still open.  I may just sleep and eat.

I got in a nice ride Wednesday night.  I was slothful last night.  Tonight is grocery night.

On other fronts, Madsen Cycles is giving away bicycles.  The requirement is that you link to them from your blog, Twitter, etc.  When somebody clicks through, you get entered.  So look to your right and click through for me.  Wouldn’t that make a great grocery bike?  In the event you add the link and win, you are now required to take me for a ride in the bucket of your new bike.

Although I never win things.  Well, I won a fern once.  It died.

Feels like it.  Cool mornings.  Warm up in the afternoon.  Then cool evenings.

Wait!  It’s only September 1!  We haven’t hit Labor Day yet.

Last evening I got in a nice little ‘about town’ ride.  It was the first day of a get me through fall and winter training plan.  I’ll post about it later if I decide it’s really the one and that I’ll stick to it.

Megan and I are apparently not doing the century we had planned.  I don’t much care one way of the other.  It’s one I’ve done before; so been there, done that.

Enjoy the cool weather!

Our unseasonably cool weather seems to be leaving.  Alas.

Tuesday I got in a very nice after-work road ride.  Hammered a bit for a very nice average speed.  For me.

Last night I decided to swap out saddlebags.  The one I’ve been using is nifty.  It has an attachment that screws onto the saddle rails.  Then you clip the bag on and off.  It’s pretty convenient.  But the downside for me is that I need my saddle set up further and the attachment thingie (technical term) takes up too much of the rail.  So I took it off, opting for my old bag.  Which I now can’t find.  So if I ride this evening, I will opt for my slightly ugly bar bag which I normally use only in cooler weather for adding and subtracting layers.

Perhaps this will inspire me to do some garage cleaning.

We are having spectacular August weather here with temperatures in the 80s at highest for the last few days.

Saturday morning I headed out to explore some new roads.  It’s amazing that I can ride a few miles from home to roads I’ve never seen before.  I rode through some quite rural areas.  It was really pretty.  Big hay bales lined up in the fields.  Horses, cattle and goats.  A stretch where trees on both side of the road overhang and shade until it’s like riding through a tunnel.

That was the point where I had no idea where I was.  That was OK.  I just kept riding figuring that I would come out to a road that I knew.  And I did.

Old Rome Pike.  Hilly there.  I came out to Carthage Highway.  We like out classical references here.  Ride a mile then to Rome Pike (not old though).

A little funny happened there.  I was climbing a hill.  At the apex is a t-intersection.  I was on the straight part.  A pickup truck approached with it’s left turn signal on.  Although he could have turned in front of me, he patiently waited as I went by.  He rolled down his window and said, “I didn’t want to make you stop or slow down!”  I laughed and waved a thanks.

The only sad part of this ride is that I forgot to hit the start button on the Garmin.

I’m sitting in the Customs House in Nashville posting on my netbook.  I love this thing.

Got in a ride last night which turned out to be pleasanter than a regular weeknight ride.  At first I felt a bit tired.  But then I got my second wind, or maybe it was my first.  But I just buzzed around, running a second lap of part of my favorite short route.

The temperatures were pleasant, but it had rained all day so the humidity was rather fierce.

The only downside to the ride was in about the last mile as I headed home (I was hungry).  I started to get a pain in my right hip and lower back.  But I think, after inspecting the bike when I got home, that my saddle has gotten a little off center.  That’s an easy fix so I hope that is all it is.

I ogt in a quick 20 miles before hunger pangs struck and had a good time until the last mile.