North Carolina on my mind.

As Michael shared last week, we headed to Charlotte, NC with our bikes to do a little reconnaissance. Charlotte is on our extremely short short list of possible places to relocate. When choosing a new place to live, we have certain non-negotiable requirements. Charlotte already fit the bill (according to our endless sessions of googlestorming) for many of our specifications therefore a visit was of the utmost importance in order to make a well-rounded decision.

Here's what we found out:

• Requirement 1 - Mountain Biking Culture: The first day we got to Charlotte we attended a race, which took place about 10 miles south of downtown. We expected there would be about 20 bikers participating in this Wednesday evening race. Truthfully, we figured we were probably wasting our time. We were wrong! After we took the turn to enter the park, we saw around 50 cars parked along the street with many more in the parking lot. There ended up being over 250 riders registered for the race! We found out that this series goes on every Wednesday for 16 weeks and rotates between three different trails around Charlotte. Michael found a place to camp out so he could take some pics, and the people passing by us were extremely friendly and welcoming. Requirement full-filled, check!!
• Requirement 2 - Neighborhoods: Naturally, even though we are about a year out from actually moving from Boston, we are curious when it comes to the types of neighborhoods around the city. Prior to our trip - and thanks again to our googlestorming skillz - I had a list of addresses ready to punch into the GPS for our house hunting adventure. Michael and I are hoping for a nice bungalow or craftsman with about a quarter acre or more of yard that's close to downtown. After five years in Southie, we've had our fill of street parking and concrete so really urban neighborhoods need not apply. We were delighted to find so many places with exactly the feel we wanted! Basically, every neighborhood on this list was awesome. Looks like the "not hipster but still highly interested in biking and craft beer" couple will have many options!
• Requirement 3 - An actual city: So we may be ready to get a house with a picket fence, doggy door and a yard providing a justifiable reason to purchase a lawnmower -- but we ain't quite suburbanites yet. Unfortunately, the southeast isn't really full of metropolitan areas. You pretty much have Atlanta and...well Atlanta to choose from. So we decided a small city could possibly work as long as it had the amenities we loved (A major airport hub, professional sports teams, a major university, concert venues, multiple cuisines with many restaurant options, great hospitals and a strong arts district) without the ones we're completely over (subways, traffic, Chinatown I work right here, water issues, non-stop concrete and rodents). Charlotte, albeit small, has a beautiful downtown area with all the things we need. Looks like we're on a roll!
  

Our next step is to visit again in the summer to see how well we stand up to the intense humidity we keep hearing about. I'm thinking that adventure will be sans Treks, since taking our bikes will require us driving again. Not enough time has passed since our 14 hour ride home last Saturday for me to get excited over another possible road trip.


-A

I hurt myself today.

Ok it wasn't today, but I did hurt myself.

On Saturday, Michael and I went on a couple's bike ride for his birthday. We went back to the first place we ever went to together because it has a lot of paved trails for a beginner. I felt like I did a fairly good job, aside from a 60 second crying spell after making it up a steep incline. I made it up the hill while never getting off my bike, but yet I still felt pathetic.

Pointless acute sobbing aside, it was a wonderful day. The weather was a strong and sunny 50 degrees. We rode for the same amount of time as the last trip there, while squeezing in an additional three miles. We even got the chance to take a few pictures. Overall, a great trip.

"Trip" being the operative word.

New Biker Ailments

LEGS

As mentioned in my last post, my legs are suffering. It's been two days since my last (second) excursion on a bike and this morning my quads and calves were (to borrow a saying from another Annie) singing Grand Opera. No, I'm not comparing my sore muscles to Paul Sheldon's car wrecked legs literally, but they do hurt. Walking hasn't been an issue as much as moving into a seated position, stretching to reach something off a high shelf or squatting to pick something off the floor. I feel like I could walk on flat terrain for miles (I don't WANT to...but I could) while walking up two flights of stairs is just not in my wheelhouse right now.

BUTT

As far as my ass, the soreness is somewhat recognizable. Before you start going down the wrong (inappropriate) road on that statement, let me explain. When you venture out into the sun wearing a bikini after months of covering up there's a very specific burn you ALWAYS get no matter how much you try to prevent it. That burn is the most painful right on the line where your bikini bottom separates your legs from your butt. You can put layer after layer of sunblock right there but it never helps. I have no idea why such a burn is inevitable, but now you know a little tidbit about the bikini wearing culture that you might not have been privy to before.

How I'll bike you.

Let me just put my cards on the table; mountain biking doesn’t sound fun. It never interested me. The main reason is probably not what you would assume. You might think my lack of interest stems from being a city girl. That would be a great guess, except I actually grew up in West Virginia and absolutely salivate at the chance to get some quality quiet time amongst the trees, fresh air, wildlife and dirt. Buildings make poor substitutes for trees, bus fumes don’t refresh my lungs, squirrels and rats barely qualify as wildlife and the dirt…well the amount of dirt is pretty much the same but there’s a huge difference between dirt and dirty.

So we’ve established that the great outdoors aren’t my deterrent. So maybe I’m a girly girl. Maybe I’m scared of getting hurt and even more terrified of damaging my new cycling attire that looks adorable on me? No (I mean, it does look adorable, but you can always buy more!). Being from West Virginia, I’ve done a lot of rafting, rock climbing, hiking, skiing and camping. I’ve dealt with the stiff muscles, gashes, broken ribs, poison ivy, black eyes and even a case of meningitis from a trip down the New River (gross). Any physical activity has its risks. Some carry larger risks than others, but it sure beats sitting on the couch and watching Teen Mom 2, so bring it on.

I’m not sure what your other assumptions would be, so I’m going to stop guessing because it makes me sound like a know-it-all. So here’s my reason: I hate cardio. I have no endurance. Running is horrendous. Jogging is ridiculous. I stick to yoga, hiking and playing with my dogs for all my exercise and that works for me.

So... what are you riding?

This may be an appropriate place to start... our bikes!

My first experience mountain biking was back in high school - riding a rigid.  It was a Univega, with this sweet blue paint job speckled with black... it was the 90s and I guess the splattered paint look was in.  I don't have a picture of it, but it's still at my parents house, so maybe I can add one later.

Got away from the sport until the winter of 2009 when my wife got me a Trek 4300 Disc for Christmas... and that is where it all began, I was hooked!!

2009 Trek 4300 Disc

For me, the 4300 has been a perfect starter bike.  It has pretty much let me handle anything on the trail I have wanted to (or felt confident enough to) and has held up well and got me tearing up trails all over the place.  Just last week I was riding down in Florida on it, enjoying beautiful mid 70s to low 80s weather and perfect trail conditions.  

Getting my bike to Florida was my first experience shipping a bike, and it was interesting to say the least.  My initial plan was to ship my new ride so I could actually get some dirt on the tires, but for a number of reasons I wasn't able to box her up and ship her down.  So I shipped my 4300 and I had a lot of fun!!


I've been thinking about my "next bike" for a while now.  I got hooked on mountain biking with the 4300 and probably within 6 months of riding I was "ready" for a new bike.  My skills were growing by leaps and bounds and I felt it was time to handle a new bike.  But what to get?