Rode Harris Again

And holy shit people! It rocked! I got a new bike this past Monday - a GT Avalanche 3.0 Disc. I love it. His name is Gustav.

Here's a pic of him and I:


So anyway, I asked hubs (begged, really) if he could come home early enough from work yesterday so that I could go ride. He got home about 5:30 and I jumped in the truck and headed to Harris...WITHOUT MY CAMERA! grrrr

Got there and had a freaking blast! Blew over roots, actually went around turns and tried to bike it up some inclines...it was really fun. I'm hoping I can head out there again today after the ECU/State game is over. '

I want to take the camera this time and show you all some of the trail and the surrounding areas.

American Tobacco Trail Ride 9/13/08

Some photos from a recent journey down the American Tobacco Trail in Apex, NC. I started at White Oak Church Road and went down to the trail head - it was a 10 mile round trip.

ATT Trailhead


Really cool mushroom I passed on the trail.


Another image of the really cool mushroom:


Ummm...yay for mushrooms? This one looks like a planet to me...


The view off the trail from the vantage point of a bridge:


Another view off the trail from the same bridge:


Gameland Access:


And we'll end with some of the swampy goodness that is the American Tobacco Trail:

Exercise...it's the wonderdrug

You may not realize this, but I started out doing indoor cycling a couple months ago, just for exercise. I went on vacation back mid-July and everywhere I looked there were people riding or walking and I found it inspiring. I was already a member of a gym (but hadn't gone in about 6 months for some reason or another), so I started doing the elliptical machines again. I hated it for the most part. Some days I got into a good groove and could go for a while, but it was soooo bloody boring! Then I spied these things called Expresso bikes. I started using them and haven't stopped since.

A couple weeks ago I got my bike - she's just a Schwinn crappy thing. But so far, she does what I need her to do. And anyway, it's not worth it to spend hundreds of greenbacks on something I might not like doing...so this is good. If I stick with the biking, I'll probably end up with a nice entry level mtn bike. I don't see me needing much more than that - I don't plan on getting crazy..just some interesting trails to ride where I can work on my technique and learn a few things, get better at those things, etc etc.

But back to why I'm posting.

I have been in a friggin' FOUL mood since last night. Seriously, I went to bed at 10:30pm in a rotten mood and woke up at 7:30am in a rotten mood. I am not a nice person when I'm feeling blue. And I cry a lot for no apparent reason. Not fun. So earlier today, right before I had to go pick my kid up from school, I was talking to my girl K and I said I might go exercise at the club. She was like YES! You must! So I did. I only did a short 3 mile ride, but I rode hard and hilly. I came out of it feeling sooo much better.

I'm going to do it tomorrow. And maybe even get a little outdoor time on my real bike with the 4 year old...assuming it doesn't rain.

I hit Umstead State Park on Sunday!

...and got my ass handed to me! :) I'm telling you right now...if you are a beginner who is not in shape, do not even THINK about riding Umstead Park until you can go up and down hills with ease. I did about 4 miles and probably walked 1/2 of that just going back up hills. And make sure you take PLENTY of water. Remember folks, we're in NC - it's still humid here - and it'll suck the life out of ya. I had a protein bar in my pack too, which I ate bites of here and there for energy walking back up the hills. It was a life saver. I seriously don't think I could have made it back without it.

Anyway, on to the pics:

The little house on the gravel road leading up to the trail (near or on Graylyn):

On the way down Graylyn:

View 1 of Reedy Creek Lake:

View 2 of Reedy Creek Lake:

Linzee (my bike) waiting patiently for me to finish with the pics, still at Reedy Creek Lake:

I saw a huge web while I was walking back up one of the hills, so I started looking around for the spider. I found him (or her) hiding in a leaf:

And here's a closer in crop of the spider:

Plans, plans, plans

I really want to head out to either Umstead Park or Lake Crabtree Park on Monday. I so hope I get to. I'm dying to get out and spin for a while...outside with the sun shining on me, music blasting in my ears and a grin on my face...and not having to look out too much for ROOTS! Blasted ROOTS! LOL

Our First Trail Ride!

We took our first trail ride today, Linzee and I. We went here: to Harris Lake...close to the Sharon Harris Nuclear Facility, if any of you are familiar with that.

We went on the (beginner trail)...and holy crapola - if that was beginner, I don't want to see intermediate!

I'm a chicken shit...that's what I discovered on this ride. Though I'm less chicken then I thought I was. Doing something like this is usually WAY out of my comfort zone. But I decided I wanted to do it, so I did...at least I tried.

(Keep in mind, I am not completely comfortable on my bike yet). So I get on the trail and immediately think to myself "what have I gotten myself into?" The bit of trail leading to the fork between beginner and intermediate is full of roots and at a slight downhill angle and the turn to the beginner trail is a sharp right...I'm still not good with sharp turns, so I stopped, hopped off and got myself situated on the trail. Next thing I see is a bunch of big sharp looking rocks outlining the trail...at a curve and slight uphill. I think I walked up that too. Then I rode for a bit...until the next thing that got me off the bike. It was like that on and off for the first 1/2 of the trail. I sound like such a pussy, but this is all new to me and like I said, not my normal thing.

Anyway, I continue on the trail and almost fell of my bike when I saw this "rock" in the middle of the trail. Only it wasn't a rock. It was a creature! My favorite kind of creature! And he has been dubbed "trail turtle."

I got through the last half of the trail better than the first half, though some parts of it were still a tad scary for me and I did walk a couple more. I got to the parking lot slick with sweat and dirty (yay!)...and proud of myself for pushing to do as much of the trail as I did even as uncomfortable as I was with parts of it.

Linzee had fun too:

Meet Linzee

That's Linzee. Ain't she great? She joined la familia a couple days ago, much to the seeming dismay of my husband. She and I are going to become goooood friends.

I'm Jodey...mom to 2 boys, wife to 1, at least for the moment.

About 6 weeks ago, I took a trip by myself to make some decisions about life and came home really inspired to try to get healthy. I was already a member of a gym, so I started doing the elliptical machine again. That was fine and dandy, but boring as hell. So I hopped on one of the stationary bikes there, only it turns out the bike isn't so stationary. You actually choose your route/tour and you have to steer while you pedal through your chosen ride. Pretty cool and quite UN-boring. Indoor cycling, as well as friends who ride outdoors, have led to a desire to ride outdoors (cuz I wanna be like Mike :P)...*enter Linzee, stage right.*

So there ya go. The story of how Linzee and I met at Wal Mart (yes...I know...no, really, I KNOW...embarrassing to buy a bike from Wally Hell, but you gotta do what you gotta do) and fell in love. And hey - they gave me 10% off because she has some character scratches. ;)

My idea for this blog is to regale you with tales of me not busting my ass on the beginner trails here in central NC...but who knows? You might luck out and get some ass busted Jodey stories too. Ya never know. That alone should keep you checking back. But if not, there's always the photos I'll be sharing of my journeys around the trails. Not only am I learning to ride, I'm learning to shoot too. (Though I've been at the photo thing for almost a year now).

Enjoy...and laugh. Laughing is good for the soul.