Mill Mnt Road TT

Mill Mountain Time Trial
July 7, 2007

1.86 miles of twisty steep roads leading to the star of Roanoke. Some people hate climbing, some endure it while others love it. I fall in the narcissistic category of loving to climb. I love it so much I did the race twice. Seth and I arrived at the registration tent to be greeted by some of my friends of El Torea. I haven't had chance to ride with them this year so it was good to see them. First signed up for the USCF Cat 5 race with a start time of 1:58 and then the Citizens class "tandem." There wasn't really a tandem class so I guess one was created. Start time of 3:18.



After a little warm-up, I head for the start tent. The clock in front counting down until my time to leave. Bob holds out his hand and begins to countdown, 5-4-3-2-1-go. Off I went. The first section is somewhat of a stair step with steep sections then less steep. I wanted to go out hard, besides its only 1.86 miles. Immediately, my heart rate hit 90% and my legs began to hurt. Halfway up, I caught the guy in front but then the guy that started 1 minute behind me is closing in, drats. 500 meters to go and we make the final turn left and am relieved by 200 meters of a flat section. I did all I could to hold the guy off and he took me in the last 100 meters. Finished in a time of 11:41 . My odometer read 1.937, average speed 9.8, feet climbed 744 (my polar is usually low) with an average grade of 7.4%, Heart rate average 186 (208 max) 89% effort.

No time to rest. I screamed downhill, swapped bikes, picked up Seth to do it all over again. This time with an extra 100 gear and personal! This is Team Tandem at the start tent.

and we are off
Seth is a sprinter not a Time Trialist. I guess most kids are. He rides very hard for about 50 meters and then rests. We had a pre-ride team meeting. I explained to him how I needed an easy, consistent pedal for about 20 minutes. Try explaining that to a kid. I think I finally got the strategy across and it worked well. The few times I felt him stop pedaling and I reminded him to continue he responded, "oh yeah, I was looking at the. . ." ADD already at work.

Hey, quit looking at the camera and pedal

The hardest part was talking. Yeah, have you ever tried to talk to a chatting 6 yr old while riding at 90%? Its hard. And the endless questions about everything around us. I couldn't say, "shut up and pedal harder" because this is supposed to be fun! We had several riders come around us and each time he would say, "daddy, they are catching us, pedal harder." Ah the finish in sight and a final surge up the final 200 meters to the finish 23:15.

Now for the descent. I felt like a tractor trailer riding the brakes downhill. Anything over 12 is too fast and I hear the words "daddy slow down." What, we finally have chance to fly and he says slow down. Well, I am sure that was for the best so I ride my brakes all the way down. My hands hurt by the end.

Now for the rewards. I took Silver in USCF Cat 5

Seth and I took Gold!

What a surprise to hear our names called out, thanks Ron.

Ah, what a day. Gold and Silver. But the biggest reward was doing this with my son and watching him enjoy the event. Encouragement is really important in life, especially to a 6 yr old. You could see the energy return with each cheer and confidence rise with each encouraging word. Thanks to all who cheered for us. Next event, Mill Mountain Mountain Bike TT, hum, I wonder if I could. . . na I better try this one myself.

More Dirt Please

BACKYARD FUN

What do you do if you have a son with a 4-wheeler, honda xr-50, watches all the cool stuff on Fuel TV, and a big backyard? BRING IN SOME DIRT! Dirt makes wonderful playgrounds. So this is my attempt of building a little playground in my backyard. If you like to ride and jump, come, bring some dirt and join us.

Leon and Ryan helping to shape the mounds
The next Ricky Carmichael

seth with his friends colby and tanner, working hard.

what is it about a pile of dirt that kids like?

testing out the jumps


working on a table top jump

Then they found a water hose and turned the table top to a mud pile.

seth practicing the turns.

Well thats it for now. Come on and ride with us and don't forget the dirt!

Holy Rollers Tour Wrapup

Holy Rollers Tour Wrapup

Wow, what a great experience and ride I had with this team. There were so many highlights that I tried to put in the blog but I know that I have missed some. Not only was great training and fun, we helped to raise awareness and money towards some wonderful causes, Initiative of Hope helping children in Brazil, Russia and Mozambique. We participated in collecting the offering in conference, spandex and bikes. The Annual Conference Offering received on Wednesday morning for our Initiatives of Hope partners in Russia, Mozambique, and Brazil, for United Methodist ministries with native tribes in Alaska, and for the Global AIDS Initiative, presently stands at $242,000. Its cool to know that we had a part in this effort.

Ray "LW" Reed demonstrating the proper technique of collecting the offering.

There are so many people that made this ride possible. I am certain I have left some out and for that I apologize. Here are a few more that helped.

Janet "Mom" Hopkins. She drove the food wagon and provided us with all the goodies along the way. And, at the end of each day, she took out dirty shorts, socks and jerseys to be washed for the next day. They were even folded and waiting for us the next morning. She was usually the first up and last to go to bed. She was assisted by Isaac "D-1" Hopkins and Daiquan "D-2" Harris. In case you were wondering the D stands for Domistique. If you are still wondering, well google the word along with cycling.

D1 & D2 showing off their many skills.

Tony "Billy Bob" Moyers. This guy could be Billy Bob Thorton's twin.

Hugh "Click" Gravitt, our photographer and videographer. Most of the photos supplied on the blog were taken by Hugh. You can check out all the photos of the ride by clicking PHOTO.

Wow, in trying to find an email or link for Hugh, I found that this guy is bigtime.

Very nice site and work. Check it out at

Hues Image FX

You would think a guy with his expertise could get a camera that goes "click" or had a flash:) Maybe we can take up an offering to get him one of those disposable cameras for next year.

A big thanks to everyone that took time out of their busy lives to make the ride possible. I look forward to the ride next year. Thanks for taking time to read about our ride and if you are interested in joining us next year, send me an email.

wrc@ntelos.net

I leave you with a final photo of Tizzy "Wilson" Walker:)

Oh yeah, have you figured it out yet? Where the Wilson name came from. Click HERE to solve the mystery. Also, I gave Sandy's name of "Mercy" because she needed lots of it riding with Tizzy:)

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

But until then, ride hard for the end is near!

Holy Rollers Tour: Day 3 Buchanan to Roanoke Civic Center

HOLY ROLLERS TOUR

DAY 3

BUCHANAN TO ROANOKE CIVIC CENTER

APPROX 30 MILES

Gtting ready to roll out from Trinity UMC in Buchanan.



Some of our support bikers. Jim "Sgt Friday" Hope and his sidekick "Officer" Causy.
For those that don't know, thats a little play off the old tv show Dragnet. Of course, I am sure Ray Reed knows about the show:)

I got a little taste of what it may be like for the pros finishing up a long stage race. There was a since of relief and joy that the hard part was over and the finish was in sight. That morning, the Rollers attended a variety of churches geared up in spandex and yellow jerseys. I have always wanted to wear spandex to church. I think I might start preaching in it:) We gathered the crew around 10 at Trinity UMC in Buchanan, grabbed a little breakfast, then began the final miles. The riders were playful this day. Bob "Trickster" Blinn demonstrated his skills by riding with feet on handlebars and sidesaddle. We all were in awe with his level of expertise.


Trains don't even stop for the holy rollers.

Working on my trackstand during one of our stops.

cruizing into troutville

We arrived at the Olive Garden for a hearty lunch and banquet.

Once again, Greg is impressed with the salad

The Pope demonstating the Holy Roller Gig. He then proceeded to hand out awards to all the riders and participants.

Hey, who is watching the bikes?

With our belly's full, we proceeded via the Greenway to the Civic Center.

Destination reached. Roanoke. Although the star wasn't our finish, it would have been a good idea to make a trip up there. It is not far from the Civic Center. For all the RCO members, it would be great to have a resturant up there to dine in after a hard day of riding:)

Civic center seen below.

A couple of victory laps around the fountain.

Team Photo

Greg shed his skirt and was recieved back into the "manclub" after completing 3 laps on the fountain's ledge.

Tizzy "Wilson" Walker giving the Kid a big hug.

Holy Rollers Tour: Day 2 Staunton to Buchanan

Holy Rollers Tour:

Day 2

Staunton to Buchanan

72 miles

The gang ready to roll out

We arose about 6am to get ready for our ride to Buchanan. We were all moving a little slow from the previous day. Thank goodness, the day was to be a little cooler and the ride a little easier. We rolled out from the church and headed to Lexington. What a beautiful ride. I am not real sure what the route was but I would like to do parts of this again. Except for this very belligerent, angry motorists, the ride went very smooth. There was even a nice spring along the way on 252 Middlebrook Rd. We had a little break at a church that's not on the original map so I am not real sure where we stopped. But a big thanks to those that provided all the goodies.

We are led out by our support waggon Tizzy "Wilson" Walker

Out on an early attack.

A cool refreshment found along the way

After a nice break, Ray "The Rock" Stern, LW, The Kid, Hokieman, V-Twin and I lead the way through the rolling terrain. There was some fast section thru here and one S curve that I pulled a "Lance" move. Ray The Rock drifted from the inside to the outside where I was trying to move around him forcing me into a field to do a little cyclocross. Thank goodness there was no ditch, fence or holes, I managed to continue riding through the field bringing the bike back on the pavement. Too bad I didn't have that on video.

Ray "The Rock "Sterns

We came to Trinity UMC in Lexington where we were greeted with warm hospitality and more food. After a long lunch break, we headed out for the remainder miles to Buchanan. We were supposed to meet some kids after lunch for a little ride but we never found those kids. Where are those kids. Some of us noodled around looking for kids to ride with. Every kid we came across we asked if they wanted to ride. We had parents worried about their kids. Some even let the dogs loose upon our team.

Lunch break in Lexington. At this time I would like to thank my sponsor Ensure.

Excellent source of protein, carbs and cals. Plus it just taste sooo good!

Greg showing just how big the salad was from the night before.

This section of the ride was one of the most inspiring to me. I was riding with Lisa "Arabian" Moran, Julie "GI" Buchikos, Bob "Mr. Gadget" McDonald. Ok, I am trying hard to come up with some relevant names. Best I can remember, Lisa likes horses and rode strong and hard, Julie served in the Army and Bob had every gadget you could imagine with him. There was even a small satellite on top of his helmet:) The Pope remarked, "It takes Bob 30 minutes just to get his gear on." Lastly, Jeremy "Rocky" Hopkins. I'll share more on his name later.

Our biker chics, Lisa "Arabian" Moran, Julie "GI" Buchikos. You girls rock!

Basically, we followed route 76 and it was a wonderful road. Rocky continued fighting cramps in which he encountered the day before. He got a little dehydrated the day before. He was about 1 hr late into Lexington due to a flat tire. The crew wanted him to get in the sag wagon and skip 10 miles but he would have no part of it. He wanted to ride every mile. We got about 10 miles into the ride after lunch and he had another flat. I found a small thorn in his tire. Could have been there from the first flat. His legs were cramping the whole afternoon. Honestly, I didn't think he would make it. I thought we were going to have to call in the support wagon to pick him up. But he kept going. We all encouraged one another and continued heading towards Buchanan. We passed under Interstate 81 and turned onto Route 11 about 5 miles from the hotel. We all were tired and had no fuel left in the tank but kept pedaling. Legs were cramping and energy gone. Once again, we had a hilltop finish onto Watstull Inn off of I81. About 300 meters uphill. Rocky had nothing left and didn't think he could make the climb. He kept the pedals turning over and made it to the top without stopping. That is why I named him Rocky. He truly inspired me to try harder. He was knocked down time and time again and never quit but fought back triumphantly. I witnessed so much courage from the riders on this day and hope I can ride with the heart and tenacity they showed.

Jeremy "Rocky" Hopkins on the final ascent

We found a cool pool at the Inn and chilled out talking about the ride. We showed, hopped in back of David "4-cyl" Palmer's (he's V-Twin's dad) truck and headed to Fazarellis Pizzeria Restaurant in Buchanan. We felt like true rednecks downing our Big K cola cruising into town. Side note, The Kid violated the "Man Code" by eating only 1 slice of pizza almost causing him to ride into Roanoke in a skirt but couldn't find a skirt for him to wear.