Trading Spaces

NMBS Sugar Mountain, North Carolina where to begin.

This trip i did everything solo, sans all the homies, but appropriately littered with people from the past, people on parallel paths, and people that are just down right cool. Oh, and the REALLY weird ones too!! I had a challenge ahead of me so intense, i actually failed quite quickly, realizing that i am in fact, addicted to people. Phone contact does not do the trick. I need to be in your space, in your sphere, in your area. Is that weird? Thus the challenge began as i stepped into the first leg of the diverse adventure.

First Stop: Shelli's Dads House:


As i staggered into their home at 3 am, this is what greated me! A note of welcome, snacks for the morning, and a can of easy cheese (i found that myself) to put on some crackers. Since i came way too late to SEE anyone, i slept way too late too see anyone on the flip side. 24 hours of non-contact with ANYONE i knew...oy...Shelli wasn't there. So we traded spaces.

The VENUE
I headed to Sugar Mountain, a two hour drive, which ended up being the lucky number of all things that i needed to get too. I quickly found the familiar faces of Larry Longo and Sharon and i think i actually touched Larry's arm, to make me feel more normal and what not, then i went out for my preride. KILLER!! There is a HUGE mountain to climb, excellent, just what i always wanted. (For those of you who don't know me, i am being serious.) The down hill was, well chaos. Tightly woven trails with cobble stones of roots and rocks. There was a thick layer of mud covering them and then random rock drops and ledges. Insane. Not as steep or as long as those found in VT, but harrowing none the less. Then, there was RAIN i wasn't sure WHAT to do about this stuff, but i kinda liked it!

Unfortunately, it DID NOT rain on race day. I hoped it would, to spice things up a bit, but that was a no go.

After an excellent preride, i headed back to Ashville two hours of course, to meet with Haley and CO

This is Haley. She lived across the hall from me in high school, next to me and with me in college, and i lived on her couch when i first arrived in the IE. we have a lot of history...what she is holding is actually a cupcake made in a ice cream cone. Genious. We were both guests at her sister HEather and her husband Jeremy;s house
Now i know what this "Host Houseing" is all about. Dang. This was my bedroom...
One could get used to that, i also took a bath, nice...

Speaking of Haley she did a bit of art work i thought you might enjoy. This is one of about 30, so perhaps more to come...Baking With Barbie, and Ken for that matter...



Ok, focus. I did go there to RACE in fact. I went to the venue saturday night to stay with Chrissy Bono and her family. they were awesome and right on the course! Super good idea!! (Thanx Cpop!!) I ended up only sleeping 3 hours the night before the race! Shout out to Paige for waking me up at midnight with a hangup call, then my over active head got infiltrated with my over active and overly stressed life, making me awake, forever.

Race day, yehaw! i was bugged and bothered for some reason or another. But in the end, the first place girl and i rode elbow to elbow for about 40 minutes until we came to the top of the climb (yes, it was that long) and she conducted a down hill clinic, just for me. I estimated that she weighed about 90 lbs, the size of my left leg. Super cool chick, was able to be only 6 minutes out, she beat me by 15 in VT. Whats up with that?! I was totally stoked for a 2nd place.

Next, i had to break down the bike and drive to Charlotte to catch a flight. To make the VERY long story super short, i had to get a hotel and eat at Cracker Barrell ALONE AGAIN because of weather issues in Dallas. Dang. More money, more time out of my LIFE!!! Good times were had for sure!!