Snow what..

You can't stop the Holidaze from coming. Snow or no snow, it's on at the moment. If it gets absolutely insane we'll just have a party and ride snowboards in the streets. There is a keg of Pisgah Pale Ale on my front porch and it's snowing like crazy so whatever happens it's going to be a fun weekend. See you at Fuddruckers at 1:00 on Sunday, we roll out at 1:15.

Jut Rut

p.s. If anyone is planning a trip to Boone tomorrow holla.

Back to Business.. of enjoying life.

The last two weeks I have felt as if I was on a roller coaster. I've been going up and down on a ride would not stop. Well, life happens and as a friend said recently all you can do is "roll with it".. That's good advice from a bike perspective and let it roll I did. Emotions have come and gone and I feel much better having let it all run it's course.

Work has been going great, between listing amazing homes and working with great buyers, my etsy site completely blowing up and my new job as a location scout for photo shoots it looks like the rent will be covered for a little while.

After resting the legs and the mind for two weeks I am once again hungry to get out and hit the trails.


Life is good and as I said in the last blog update Jut Rut always comes back strong. And, much like a cat, no matter how far I may fall I usually land on my feet. Oh, speaking of Cats..



Get your Santa suit and a bicycle and get ready to get down.. The Brew Crew is at it again with some Xmas Flavor.. get ready for the 2nd Annual Holidaze Alleycat and Scavenger Hunt. This years event will take place on Sunday December 20th at 1:00 pm.



If you're not sure what an Alleycal Scavenger Hunt involves, here is link to last years race. It was one amazing freaking event.



Same rules apply as last year.. But teams must stay together (Bonnie and Tavis).



You need to bring the following.



A bicycle and light.

A messenger bag or backpack.

Bike Lock.

Pen and paper.

Digital Camera or camera phone.

A few bucks for drinks along the way, if you choose.

A map of the city might help if you don’t know your way around very well.

A cell phone.

5 cans of food for donation.



The event will take place in the downtown Asheville Area on Sunday December 20th 2009. Prizes of all types will be awarded for a variety of accomplishments.



More info to come next week.

It will be family friendly as long as your kids are cool and there will of course there will be a party at the finish with a keg of Pisgah Pale Ale to quench your thirst.

The start location will be announced in the next few days so pay attention.

Can't wait to see ya!


Jut Rut and Crew

When you're living the dream..

It doesn't mean it's always a going to be a good dream. Sometimes life gets you down, but it always gets better, I know that..

Till then I will just listen to Sea Change for a few days and then move on..


It's time to ride the hell out of a bike!


Jut Rut

Riding in the moment.

It's finally raining so I guess I can update this blog. The last few weeks have been a blur of good times, colorful rodo tunnels and dead leaf drift. If you like to shread then you know there is a point in your ride when you are going so fast that all you can think about is what is right in front of you. Well, that's how life has been lately. Ride, ride, work, work, party, then repeat. There has been no shortage of good times and trails lately and if I were more diligent about updating this blog you would have detailed descriptions of the Skank 69, Paris Mountain DH race, Windrock Festival, The Pumpkin Peddaler, Nightmare on Shaft Street, The Swank 65 Pre and Post parties but instead I have been living in the moment and going from one amazing event to another.

Documenting the good times, takes time. But I do it because one day I will be to old to burn it at both ends like I do now. The housing market will rally and my schedule will be filled with more adult obligations and I will be unable to fathom having this much free time. So as a reminder to myself during those times and to remind myself where the month of October 2009 went I figured I should touch on few highlights from the last four weeks.

The Skank 69 rocked and rolled through Pisgah for three days. Festive people on bikes, a keg of beer and some amazing ladies made for three days that I will not soon forget. The lovely ladies of the Pisgah Brew Crew stepped up and designed a ride/party that would take us from Downtown Asheville to other side of Brevard utilzing 95% single track over the course of three days. The car shuttle was carefully planned out, food was ready when we reached camp each day and there was a cold keg of Pisgah Pale Ale ready to help us rehydrate. The ride went something like this..

Downtown Asheville >151 > Bent Creek neighborhood trails > Ingles Field > 5 Points > Lower Sidehill > Upper Sidehill > 5000 > Parkway > Trace > Spencer Branch > Big Creek > Sassafras > Laurel > Yellow Gap > Bradly Creek > Squirrel > Buckhorn > Buckwheat > Club > Cove Creek > Longbranch > Butter > Cat Gap > Davidson River > Cove Creek > Daniels Ridge.

Of course I left out a lot of the trails there were necessary to do a ride of this fashion but this is all from memory and you get the idea. We covered some ground and didn't set foot in a car or a shower for three days. We ate like kings / queens and drank only the finest beer. Men wore skirts and the ladies looked their skankiest. Thanks to Beth, Laura, Kyley C, and Shanna for all the good times and the laughs and to everyone else who came out to play with the crew. Also, a big thanks to our sponsors for the sweet wheels that kept us rolling smooth for three days of rocks and roots and the beers that smoothed the aches and pains from three days of beating up my body.

After three days of riding up mountains it's was time to get down and take advantage of a thing called gravity. Downhill is alive and well in two places most people would not think of when they are wondering where to put big bikes to the test.

Paris Mountain was one of the first rides for me back on the DH bike. Not feeling overly confident on a bike with a 1,000 moving parts I decided to hit Paris for some practice then help out with the race on Sunday. Friday's festivities offered shuttles, big wheels for big kids, a bad ass party and late night bonfire in the rain. I got in about 16 shuttle runs (photo above brado), drank free beer at Barleys with over 100 DH dudes and ladies, had a sick big wheel session thanks to Micheal Mooney on a painted parking deck where I learned how to do 360 degree drifts on a big wheel, and hung out in the rain for the best late night bonfire that never should have happened. Thanks to the Tomato, Brad O (get well dude), and Big J for all the hospitality and good times. You guys know how to throw one bad ass event. See you boys next year with a number plate on my bars..

The next week offer yet another feast of adrenaline. The Knoxville boys threw quite a party at Wind Rock. You can't find a better testing ground for a DH bike or body armor in the Southeast. Hugh descents, big rocks, and easy shuttling make for a long day of going downhill fast. T Gaines got the event sponsored by a brewery and Tyson so the tall boys and burgers were on the house. Big props for putting the event together boys, see you again this weekend..

windrock photos by TGaines.

On to my favorite holiday of the year, Halloween. This year I spent the better part of two weekends in Costume thanks to the Pumpkin Peddler, Nightmare on Shaft Street and Pretty Lights at the Orange Peel. Dr Phil Goode (seen above - photo cred Zimmerman) kept the party going and dispersed his elixirs and baked goods to many people who were getting ill. Si and Becky's was amazing as always. Dancing till 3am, jello shots, and some great costumes wow! Hugh props to Asheville on Bikes! The Pumpkin Peddler was a major success and not even the cold rains could dampen the spirit of the ride or the late night outdoor dance party. Doctor Phil Goode and the Jambalance where there to warm people up with some good medicine and the Jambalance won the best bike costume. Pretty Lights won the best dance party of the year (and that's saying a lot!). Damn, it was fun but I am glad Halloween only comes once a year.

After a week of rest it was time for the Swank 65. Unfortunately I had to work on the day of the race but I did get to ride and party with some of the regions finest bike peeps during the course of the weekend. Beth Roberts invited a few dozen people to party and camp at her pad in Pisgah Forest for a weekend and Pisgah Brewing sponsored the good times with keg of Pale Ale. The Farlow preride put some of my favorite people on one of my favorite trails and for the party post ride at BC we hit more trails just because we could. The weekend at Beth's was awesome and her house was packed with good bike peeps, musicians, and racer types all weekend. Big props to our Brew Crew rider Shanna P who took home a third place women's finish in a tutu on a Single Speed. You freaking rock!

So that wraps up the past four weeks. Now it's time to take it on the road once more with a trip to Knoxville for the "Brew Race" on Friday night then for big bike radness at Windrock on Saturday. And since I am still young enough to burn it at both ends I will be back in Asheville just in time to get ready for "Fuck it, Fry it" on Sunday afternoon.

Life is short. Ride it, fry it.

Jut

Three days of life on bicycles, big mountains, berries, mushrooms and road kill.

In these slow economic times we must find new ways of entertaining ourselves. I have said that in life you often find yourself with either spare time or spare cash in the bank but rarely both. For years I found myself very well off yet working constantly and longing for a spare hour or two in the day that would never come. These days the tables have been turned and I have more spare time yet very little spare funds to throw at a quick but costly trip out west for the SSWC09 Party. So opting for the Dollar Adventure Menu I just spent same amount of money that I would cost to drive to Knoxville TN on a multiday tour of a lifetime.

Myself and three other adventure minded individuals (Denny M.F. Stevenson, Bonnie "Badass" Bloom and "The Mac") spent three days on bicycles that I will never forget. I called it the $20 Tour De Pisgah and had I not bought firewood on the first night I could have reduced the cost of the trip by 25%. But hey, sometimes you want a little luxury while your on vacation.

It all started a just few days ago with the idea to ride to Boone while drinking beer at the last Asheville Tourist Thirsty Thursday Game. We all had the right amount of alcohol in our system to agree that a multi day tour a week later would be a great idea. Not being one to back away from inebriated ideas one week later we found ourselves geared up and ready to roll North.

We picked a tough day to start the tour. Cloudy conditions loomed on the Parkway and cold and rain were inevitable. Boonie Badass Bloom was so kind as to have ridden to Craggy Gardens the day before the trip to test her gear and pick Blueberries for the trip. She warned some of us to "bring your winter gear". To prepare for the trip I attended a show at the Orange Peel and stayed out to 2am dancing with a few friends to some great DJ's and bands. With a few hours of sleep in me the touring bike felt like it picked up a few more pounds. The ride out of downtown Asheville was nothing more than a fourteen mile climb to Craggy to start the day so the tour going out the night before sounded like a great idea. After cutting of some knobbies off the side of my tires to clear the chainstays and making a few last minute adjustments we were off and climbing Town Mountain.

It was quite the way to start a trip and by the time we reached Craggy Gardens we could see the piles of hail on the side of the road from the storm the day before. We put on all the warm clothes we had and prepared for the first decent of the day. Riding from Craggy to Mt. Mitchell was rough. Fifteen feet of visibility, cold descents, sweaty accents, cars, motorcycles and slick roads are not the conditions you want but we did what we could and the Jack Daniels warmed our bones. I will let the pictures do the talking for a bit. enjoy.

First stop of the day.

Mac "feeling it"

Denny and Bonnie warming the bones. Thank you Jack Daniels..

Wild Blackberries = free energy food

The Crew.

Going up the Mountain.

Laughing till we felt like crying..

Tunnel Visions.

Riding in the clouds.

Just keep on pedaling.

What's for dinner Denny?

Living the Pisgah High Life.

Home on the first night.

Waking up to find everything you left out was wet is so awesome on a three day tour..

Bonnie gathering her Chanterelles for dinner.

I won a stage!

I won this stage by beating Bonnie to the ground score laying in the road up the hill. The ground score ended up being a Marines baseball cap. As I picked up the hat I noticed a truck pulled over up the road. He was attempting to drive backwards to pick it up and I rode up to hand it to him. It turned out to be an eight year old looking man and his wife in a beat up pickup truck. I handed it to him politely with a "here you go sir" and he offered me a lift. I grabbed hold of the side rail of the truck and took a pull about 3/4 of a mile up the next mountain.

Little Switzerland.

The horses wanted to race.

Denny picked some corn for dinner. Too bad we found out it was cattle corn AFTER we put it in the pot with the mushrooms and rice packet.

Grandfather Mountain here we come.

Grandfather closeup. There were a few more "bumps" along the ride that day.

Views..

Wow. The Viaduct was amazing!

Next time I will bring a fishing pole.

Our first mission complete.

Wait till dark and sleep in the park.

Ok, let me add to the pics below with a little more information. We are rolling down hwy 221 when we see a deer jump in to the path of a semitruck going 50mph. The deer goes flying off the grill of the truck through the air a good twenty feet, skids across the pavement and tangles up in the metal supports of the guardrail on the side of the road. Dead on impact! As we stand there stunned by what we just witnessed Bonnie is already thinking of how we are going to get the dead deer back home. After a quick call to a friend who was unable to come pick it up, she is distraught and trying to figure out what we can do to take the deer with us. Unable to think of way to haul a 200lb deer on a touring bike we ride on up the road. A mile or so later Bonnie pulls up to inform me she is "going back for the deer". Wtf I ask myself? I catch up to Bruce inform him of Bonnie's plan and his first remark is "I want a steak too." We turn back and roll up to find Bonnie attempting to slaughter this animal with a Swiss army knife. I provide her a more adequate cutting apparatus and she proceeds to cut out some tasty tenderloin steaks while Bruce and I sit back and question our manhood. Ok on the pics.. If you can't stand a little gore scroll down quickly..

Meat Sack.

Bonnie Badass Bloom. If you're plan on getting lost in the woods, take this woman with you..

It looks gross now but will taste so good in a few hours..

Life and Death.

Nature's Own.

If she could have strapped the deer to her bike she would be making deer skin clothes right now for the next trip.
All the boys could do was sit back in awe..

Mmmmmmm.

Almost there.

The Road Kill Grill at Pisgah Brewing..

Beers and Bartenders. How I love thee.

Boonie demonstrating how she provided our dinner.

Wooden Tooth rocking the house.

Bonnie and Bret cooking it up.

Well it wasn't a race but if it were it is needless to say Bonnie "Badass" Bloom won hands down! The girl road to Craggie Gardens the day before the tour to pick berries, brought only a few clothes, a bag of blue berries she picked, a bag of nuts, a block of cheese and some bread she found while dumpster diving. She collected wild mushrooms that we ate for dinner on Friday night then carved up a deer for dinner on Saturday night. I am very pround to announce we have found a new member of the Pisgah Brew Crew, go Bonnie! If this girl ever buys a mountain bike she will crush you while singing to herself on the trail, catch dinner with her bare hands and have it ready by the time you are getting back to camp.

Denny MF Stevenson pulled of a sweet second place by riding a 44 x 18 single speed mountain bike over the 20,000 ft(?) of climbing with a rigged up seat post rack and a back pack and probably spending less than 10 bucks. I was waiting to see him get off and push that bike up some of the steep climbs we encountered but he rode it all with a smile on his face. As we rode up Old-Old 70 after three hard days in the saddle he looks over and says "Never let them tell you that you can't do something, don't listen to those people." Thanks Denny. I won't forget that one..

I guess since Mac bailed due to illness on the second day that I pulled off a third place finish. I felt pretty good considering I had done five light rides over the past eight weeks so I was basicly coming of the couch for this one. The legs held up, the weak ankle did not revolt, the mind was cleared and I probably lost half the weight I put on while I was off my feet.

Mac made it home safe riding solo on day two to sleep off the cold he was riding with on day one. It was great to have him along and I only wished he had been able to make it further with us to enjoy the awesome weather on day 2 after weathering the storm on day 1 of the trip.

So now it's back to business for the next few weeks. Like a squirrel gathering nuts for the winter I am going to give Real Estate my all for the next few weeks while riding some sweet trails of course and start working on a few events for the fall. I moved to the mountains to have the feeling that I am on permenant vacation and this trip has reminded me of the amazing new discoveries and experiences that await just outside my front door. All you got to do is take the first step..

Live limitless..

Jut