Friday, January 23, 2009

I mountain bike race a few times a year, but am in the recuperating process from a major bike crash last August that left me with a broken back, scapula,and pulled and stretched muscles and tendons. I'm back on the bike now,but need to build my strength and endurance up.

Still battling the aches and pains from my crash and expect to for the better part of a year from what I’m told. So, I bike when I can, rest afterwards, and try to get myself back in shape again. During recovery you don’t think too much about added weight, muscle atrophy, stretched and shorten muscles, and the time and effort it will take to make all of that go away. I’m thinking about it now!

I am also President of the SWAMP Mountain Bike Club and enjoy building mountain bike trails for the SWAMP Club at Balm Boyette Nature Preserve.
We have about 25 miles of fun trails there that are hidden from the average eye. It's a cool place because it is a huge nature preserve, that unless you know where to look, or follow the map, you will probably not get to all of the trails.

I have 3 rideable bikes and one that needs a frame replacement from GT. Of course, finding a GT dealer that is even willing to work with Pacific on a warranty is little more than a dream. So basically that is a place to hold my spare parts...LOL

My main ride is a fine Gary Fisher Sugar Race 9000 aluminum with carbon rear triangle. This bike I race with and at an XL frame with Bontrager Race wheelset weighs in at 27 lbs. I love the feel of this bike and they way it accelerates when I want to go fast. My other mountain bike is a 1997 Gary Fisher Mamba cro-moly. This is a comfortable large frame with upgraded wheels, fork, drivetrain and saddle. It’s very race capable the way it is set up, but I mostly use it for commuting around town on; sometimes I like to hit Croom with it as it is a fun ride on the more flat and subtle climbs found there. My road steed is a carbon fiber Specialized Tarmac Expert. This 17.5 lb. racer is sleek, fast, smooth and fun to ride whether it is a 24 mile group ride or 100 mile event ride. I’m looking to purchase a fixer upper of a single speed beach cruiser that I can just bum around town on, or hook a little trailer to and go spend the day at the beach with, or tote my kayak behind. I think it’s safe to say I have a love for the bicycle.

Before getting severely hooked on cycling I used to do a lot of fishing. That will be getting thrown into the mix again as my kayak is set up for recreation and fishing. I look forward to dropping it in the local waters and paddling out to some old favorite, and newly discovered, fishing holes. High cost of eating out? No, fish cookout in the back yard or Ft. Desoto would be grand. Why do we live here? Paradise year around.