WV, Moab and NC All In One Week?

How is that possible? Is he a pilot? Can he fly?

Well, anyone can fly. Just buy a plane ticket.

I went to Brevard, NC, with the boys and girls of Specialized for a few days last week. They wanted some feedback on the 08 high-end mountain line. Ok, twist my arm!

So Spec'd sponsors the current US National DH champ and he HAPPENS to live in Brevard, NC, outside of Asheville. That's him on the right. Mr Chris Herndon. That's his back yard pump track. He's just about the nicest guy on the planet. I got to follow some of his lines while we were riding in Pisgah and it was RAD! Obviously, this kid can ride.

Our hosts from Specialized hired the good folks at Western Spirit to take care of us out in the woods. We got first-class transportation and guides. They were not only super-nice people but great riders. Tim, Heather and Mark deserve a huge thanks from all of us. If you get the chance, hook up with these guys for a NC or Moab trip for sure. Great people, fast riders.

I got back on Friday and prepared to leave for Kent's 'Magic Mountain Cabin' up in the mountains of WV. Billed as a mountain biking and yoga retreat, we rolled down there after Emma's soccer game on Saturday morning. We got choice accommodations with a queen and bunk beds in the central bedroom. As soon as we rolled in to WV, we hit the trail for a hike of a few miles up onto the ridge behind Kent's house. A few people rode while the rest of us hiked.

Susan joined a group for an afternoon yoga session that lasted TWO AND ONE HALF HOURS. (Inside joke emphasis). I hung out with the kids and ran around outside. I laid in the field for a while, drinking in the sun. We all had a great, huge dinner together (after the kids were asleep) and then we watched a few people hang from their toes in Kent's kitchen. Yeah.

Sunday morning we hung out some more and went for a hike down the driveway. The kids got excited about the zip line so we headed up into the town to see if they would ACTUALLY do it. Lo and behold, THEY DID! Kent got Emma into the harness while I shot a few pics. She went right to it and only hesitated once before kicking off from the tower and flying down the zip line. She loved it. Three more rides and it was Jeremy's turn. He's 2. I was thinking 'no way' but he stepped right up. I laced him up into the harness, clipped him in and off he went. He was yelling and shaking his head, mouth agape. He was staring into the sky and just loving it. I couldn't believe it.

There are some days when being a parent is really amazing. Some days the smallest consideration from your kids floors you. Sometimes they leap beyond all expectations and ROCK! Sunday, I was the happiest guy on the planet.

And then I found out that we won the Granny Gear 24 Hour Expert National title and I smiled a little...

More about that later. Let's just say that Laird is a stand up guy and I have even more respect for him now. I was a bit disappointed that the Athens boys weren't able to contest the series at the Moab race due to the fact that they brought a recently-semi-pro-licensed guy and got bumped into 'Just for Fun.' No sandbagging. They, along with seven other teams, were not allowed to race Expert class due to a huge number of sandbaggers. Even if they raced everybody, they would've gotten fifth, handing us the title, but it kinda sucks that it went down that way. I trust Dr Bill and he is a great competitor.

Last year, none of us thought of racing Expert. We registered as Expert for 24 Hours of Big Bear because there were only 5 teams. We got third. We raced Expert all year even though none of us have ever podiumed in an Expert cross-country race.

A bunch of local sport mountain bikers won a national Expert title.

Pretty cool.

Thank you JoFo, MattyD, BK, Kent 'Chewbaake,' Wheaton, Cargo Mike, Steve and Darren. We did it guys!

It's a good thing we all had the support of our families and our team or this would have NEVER happened.

Thanks Susan, Emma and Jeremy. I love you guys.