Skip to main content

Jackrabbit






Biked 30 miles today at Jackrabbit in scenic Hayesville, NC. It is a beautiful mountain setting bordering Lake Chatuge. This trail is like Tsali lite, which is a longer more technical trail to the north near Bryson City. There are some climbs and a few technical features but it's mostly fast,flowy wonderful singletrack. The singlespeed did well and it was mostly easy to maintain momentum. Continued to be impressed with singlespeed efficiency and fun. I'm beginning to see what they say There was one climb going up High Point that I thought I wouldn't make but the quads and hammies had a little something left.
The Suntour fork on the bike is garbage and I can't wait to get something better, like a Reba. The Suntour is actually a downgrade from the Dart 3 on my Cannondale 29er.
The climb up High Point was grueling and extended, not to mention technical with plenty of rocks and rooty climbing. The singlespeed really challenged me here. A few times today I wanted to drop down to a lower gear.
I was pleased to have no hot foot using wearing the Memphis Belle socks. Usually after an hour I begin to develop "hot foot" but today no hot foot after 3.5 hours. I also had no lower back stiffness, I presume because of how much seated climbing I did. The back stiffness could also be a result of raising the saddle a centimeter or two, or improved fitness!

Overall a great ride and well worth the drive.
Jackrabbit is a great trail system for beginners and it also has good mileage possibilities for advanced riders. There are also some scenic views and it even had a beach!
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Blue Ridge Triathlon race report

First of all, huge thanks to my wife Renee for getting up with me at 4am to get ready for the race and providing pit crew and moral support! Went into my 3rd triathlon in Blue Ridge, GA pretty confident after spending this year ramping up my swim at the Aquatic Center and Open Water Swims at Lake Allatoona.  Swimming being my main limiter and  biking and running, my strengths.  I never realized just how much technique is involved with swimming and it's been a challenge to get faster in the water and to also become comfortable in open water. For this race, I knew I would have no problem with the Sprint distance: 600 yard swim, 18 mile bike, 3.2 mile run. No I don't have an expensive Tri bike with aero wheels, aero bars or aero helmet. In fact, you'd laugh at how much my race bike costs. Hey, I figure I'll build my body up first before diving in fully with the expensive gear. Rested 3 days prior and was battling a groin/adductor pull.  Hurts like crazy unless legs a
Post a Comment
Read more

Bassline of the week!

 I heard this song on a run today and realized what a great bass part it has.  That's Tina Weymouth from  Talking Heads' playing on "Born Under Punches."  Tina, in my opinion, is a consistently underrated bassist.  She really has such a minimalist style. This bassline does exactly what it needs to and nothing more, simple and effective.  It definitely gets bonus points for being in such a quirky time signature as well!  She also uses space and air between notes to provide extra, er, punch.   It's such a strange song frankly, with typical Talking Heads bizarre lyrics, seemingly random guitar licks and synth for that matter. Tina's part could've fallen through the cracks and her slap-and-pop style on the track helps the bass break through the mix a bit. This song is a great example of bass parts that just groove and are perfect in their simplicity.  Enjoy and thanks for reading!
Read more

Raleigh, etc.

It's hot here in Raleigh and I'm stuck in a windowless tiny office writing a technical manual. Actually I'm not writing much of anything. Sometimes the well dries up. I had a pretty bad crash last night on 286. Came through the other side of a creek crossing and front wheel washed out in some loose rocks. I may have applied to much front brake inexplicably.  Really trying to lay off the brakes more and more. Anyway, left elbow and knee are banged up and plenty of road rash. As they say, that's racing. There is a race Saturday here that I thought about entering on a lark but now I may not.
Read more