StewStuph

This past weekend we took a trip to the mountains of Virginia. It is an area we have visited before with the Boy Scout troop, but this time we went without the scouts. I have been riding consistently again for nearly a year after I bought a new to me cyclocross bike. You can read more about that here . After more than 2,800 miles on that bike since last June, it needed some more work. The headset was pretty much shot and would not be repaired in time for our planned trip to Virginia. So Gina suggested that I get a new bike. I ended up getting a Giant Revolt Advanced 2 from Giant Wake Forest . We arrived at our rental house very early Saturday morning. 1:30am in fact. We found a place to stay that was literally steps away from The Virginia Creeper Trail . Saturday was to be a day we went hiking at Grayson Highlands State Park . We met Gina's co-workers at the park just after 10:00 am and started our hike. We have camped at this park before with the Boy Scouts but have never ...

Music is one of my loves. I am constantly searching out new music, listening to music almost every chance I get. This spring I had a full list of concerts that have now been postponed. Against Me!, Tiny Moving Parts, Deafheaven, Grouplove, Band of Horses, The Milk Carton Kids, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Tegan and Sara, Jimmy Eat World, Turnover.  Yes, it was to be a very busy spring and summer of live shows. Now I am working from home listening to music much the same way I would while I was at work. So I decided to start a playlist of songs. What songs should be added to the playlist?

Recently, I joined a group on Facebook to facilitate group gravel rides at Umstead Park . I've been there a few times before and have more bad luck than good. The first time I rode there I had a very bad cramp. Probably because I tried to do too much too early into my reintroduction to cycling. Another time, I was stung by a yellow jacket. However, with this new group, I was ready to give it another try. So I set up a ride this past Saturday. This time was, once again, a disaster. The ride started normally and we ended up having a total of seven riders. My previous rides at Umstead had excluded one trail due to it being closed. This time though, I suggested we take the trail since I had never ridden it before. I got off the preferred line, and into some looser gravel, and crashed. Not a bad crash, but I did end up on the ground. Later, as we are descending on another trail, I hit a rock and my rear tire went flat. After changing repairing the flat the ride continued. I ...