Another Taint Tuff is in the books, and I had pics and a whole post written and hit the wrong button and deleted it. Check some of the pics here. Thanks to all who attended. There should be a video soon which I will post along with a more detailed account.
The Taint Tuff is a birthday ride for myself and my friend Greg. I thought it was a great way to get all my friends together and challenge ourselves with a tuff route in Bellingham. I found that if I just waited and tried to get people to ride they didn't have time in their schedule. I also don't get to ride with everyone or most of my friends at one time and thought organizing a ride to bring them together would make me happy. I made shirts, buttons, and ask people to dress in jean wear and don a mustache. Then we have a pot luck party at the finish and hang in to the evening. The last two years the weather in the week leading up to the ride has been horrible, rainy and cold, making for Taintacular muddy trail conditions. This year we started in rain, but the sun came out later in the day, which was nice considering the jean vest I was wearing. This years route was 43 miles with 7500 ft of climbing I believe, and took its toll on folks, we had 35 starters and 13 finishers....next year I have some ideas for accommodating more skill levels. I'd like to thank Pabst for beer without them this ride would have been lacking fuel. Ill talk more about the ride in my next post hopefully it will be accompanied by a video.

If it taint raining it taint training!

Today I went for a ride, it was one of the wettest rides I have been on in a while...Good Taint Training. I'm used to wet trails and mud, but flowing water down the trials, and pissing rain the entire time, Not that misty kind of rain, that steady bone soaking, pouring rain. Thanks James for not calling me and canceling, my feet have finally thawed after a few hours and a few beers.

The Taint Tuff, a celebration of a few of our birthdays that fall in late April or early May, is just a few days away. Its a way for me to get folks together who all enjoy a little discomfort and celebrate. I have been asked why I do so much for a birthday, and its not much about celebrating me or my or our birthdays, as it is a way for me to bring people together for some fun and pain and suffering. Its a way for us to all get together, cause all too often life takes over and years start to fly by. This is my way of asking my friends to save a day for us to get out and enjoy. Nuff said and probably in my usual rambling. I hope in the future more and more of my friends take the time to join me on these rides...I have more ideas believe it or not. For those of you that rode it last year expect about the same as far as the course/route, with a few surprises thrown in for good measure. A week and a half ago we did the arduous climb up sick joke to place the bottle of Bulliet. I forgot just how fun that climb is. Kevin is placing a beer drop or two.

I got this photo, from Greg of Donkelope,of some flask cages being welded just for the occasion...They fit those great Stanley flasks that we all got from SSCXWC last year. Cleavland is getting his camera ready. Randy is still building a bike. Sally will be missed, alas he will be in NYC for work, Matt from Schooner Exact Brewing says that he has something special for us. So remember if it Taint Raining it Taint Training!!!

This is important....

The other day this landed in my inbox. Needless to say it was a bit upsetting. I love riding Galbraith Mountain and think that it would really have a negative effect on the community and tourism is the agreement were terminated. I don't think that it will necessarily stop people from using the mountain, unless they start patrolling it, and actually take the time to arrest and prosecute someone for trespassing. That said it will take away from the experience and the ability for it to grow responsibly. Preserve Galbraith is a website and a facebook page that all of us should be a part of. Looks like someone has taken the reigns and is making a community voice for mountain bikers, trail runners and who ever else is interested in preserving this great resource. Please take time to check em out.

The Taint Tuff is just around the corner...look for photos and video evidence of the going ons in the near future. I am hoping that the weather breaks here in the Northwest and we get some descent weather, or at least the barometer is over 50, sun would be nice haven't really seen too much of that here in the last for however long...now if its overcast and not raining I feel like its a good day.

Last weekend was the first weekend that I didn't mountain bike all year, why you ask, I've got a nagging rotor cuff that I wanted to see if a little rest would help it did a little but I am no good at resting, had to hike, which gets you outside, but is in no way a substitute for riding...good news is the shoulder seems to be responding to the ice and heat and the funny strengthening exercises I am doing...feels ok on the bike, just not so good at work, which I don't have the option of not doing....alas, I will heal and all will be well. It will not keep me from the Taint Tuff, that is a must.

I might have been napping, but we all wake up from those sooner or later.

You all thought I was dead!!!! Like my friend Brian pictured here after my birthday ride, the Taint Tuff. He was just nappin....I can assure you I haven't been napping just got my head so deep in other projects and work that I can't or didn't make time to entertain or rant or just post. Taint Tuff aint no joke, and I'm back from the dead...life has left me questioning lots of things. I stopped writing cause I just wondered if it mattered were you listening? Well I have since decided that you are, but more than that I just feel the need to document. We are currently starting a project about our cross team.
That there is our logo...coming to a cross race or an event near you...we are a single speed team only, which brings me to another photo that I just love, again taken after my b day ride last year...where most of us rode single speeds, but the sentiment rings true...
Great, just Great isn't it. Sometimes I found myself getting all high and mighty about the fact that I rode a single speed, "Up there in them hills, that's just stupid, crazy, you must do a lot of walking" Well I like bikes and in fact single speeds just make for a fun time, but at the end of the day riding in the woods no matter what is between your legs geared or not is the only thing that matters. That was a big old run on sentence, remember when I used to talk about that as well my lack of ability to put the thoughts to the page, well I don't give a hoot about that either anymore....so keep reading, it the content that matters, not that I have much of that right now either...but keep reading. Any ways, last year I helped put on a little race up here in SEattle, SSCXWC, its in SF this year, I hope they are ready for us. If you have not raced cross yet, you should....If you haven't been to the party that happens to have a race somewhere in it, thats SSCXWC, you should put it on your calender. Well that's all for now...I've got a bottle of Whiskey just calling to me and some much needed time on the couch. I won't make promises to post more or any of that, Ill just do it or I won't and that is really what matters at the end of the day what you do or don't do.

Fort Ebey ain't half bad....

Living here in Seattle one has to get used to driving to ride a mountain bike. Lets just say that this has been a challenge getting used to. When I first swung a leg over a bike I could easily ride from the house to a trail in the Tahoe area. This time of year the mountains are all under a white blanket of goodness, so one must turn to the lowlands to get their fix. I usually end up at places like Tokul, Grand Ridge, or Bellingham. This week a friend had his 54th birthday and he wanted to ride the Trail System in the Fort Ebey park. So we loaded the car up Sunday and headed out to the island....Ferries can get expensive with bikes on top of the car, they charge you double for an over height vehicle, ouch...thats a who other story though. Had we not been running late I would have tied the bikes to the top just for the ferry ride, to avoid the extra fee.
Any way we got to Whidbey Island and headed up to the retired Military instillation that is Fort Ebey. I had ridden here once before and remembered having an ok time, but felt like I just went in circles. Lets just say the crew we assembled had a great ride, the trails are buff for the most part, if not punchy no long climbs but really never a flat section at all, and all the climbs were steep, like over the bar steep, like get off and walk steep. Then there is this loop called Stevens or Shawns, something that starts with an s anyways that is technical, slow, twisty, tight, full of switchbacks. Fun. We had a great time, if you want to ride for more than 3 hours you will be riding lots of the same trails, but if you want a place with good trails, and a beautiful overlook, this is it. The scenery is worth the lack of the long ride for sure. So happy Birthday Dewey....may there be many more.

"I just deleted your blog from my bookmarks" Kevin Noble

Those words hit me like a stone thrown at close range. I knew that I was behind on this little thing, but didn't realize it had been almost a year since I had posted. Sometimes these blogs feel like bragging, like look at me, look at how cool I am, like I didn't get enough attention as a kid so I am going to sit and write about my experiences...on the flip side I am having lots of fun and want family and friends to have a window in to my life. Most of my family lives 3,000 miles from here in Vermont. I don't envy them, cold and snowy no longer seem familiar, now it can be 50 and sunny one day I can go ride my mtb year round, all I gotta be ok with is getting wet more often than not. So Kevin thanks for the kick in the ass. Put this sucker back on your bookmarks....If your lucky your pic will be posted her for all to look at. Kevin is after all one of my favorite people to ride with, that and he keeps my bikes running, I certainly am no mechanic. Ill now take this time to tell you a little about Kevin and then in the upcoming days get you up to speed on what life has been, and what I am trying to do in the not so distant future. I will no longer apologize for Rambling or not making sense....this is like my journal so, it will jump around like my mind does on a daily basis...like it or not it is what it is...deal.
Where was I Kevin Noble, one of my favorite people. Why you ask? Cause he is...thats all I have to say. He just is plain and simple...fun to ride with, fun to drink with and an all around nice guy. Kevin and I met years ago at the Cascade Cream Puff, I think it was 2004, I remember thinking "who the hell is this Kona rider in the Drunk Cyclist jersey that I just can't shake." Years later after moving here to Seattle about to start a ride in the Whatcom Falls parking lot he rolled up, we looked at each other with one of those why do I know you looks...."Kevin fuckin Noble" I muttered, stuck out my hand and said "Nat Pellman, Cascade Cream Puff..." "Oh, your the asshole with the Tattoos on the Cannondale that I could catch...i just kept thinking who the fuck is this guy." Well now you know, and we have been riding partners for the last 5 years at least twice a month, if not every Sunday. He showed me all the hidden gems on Galbraith, the Chuckanuts, became my trusted mechanic. Life here in Seattle would not be the same had I not happened in to him in the parking lot a few year back. Thank you Kevin for once again kicking me in to gear.

Wow, I have dropped the ball..

I will start this off by saying that I have not died, I have been meaning to post here when I have something to say, but then life took over and I have let this fade away as a priority. I am going to try to keep this thing up and running by posting once a week, or maybe bi weekly. I have many commitments and obligations these days. Seattle Beer Week is just around the corner. It's going to be bigger and badder than ever, there are so many events planned. We are planning SSCXWC which is also going to be amazing. Those are two of the events that I am planning in addition to my regular job at Brouwer's Cafe. Another event around the corner is my birthday ride, the Taint Tuff, on May 1st up in Bellingham. We are planning on riding on Galby for a bit, then a loop around Blanchard and then back through the Chuckanut's. I think it will be about 50 or so miles by the time we are done. There you have the event's that have taken me away from updating.

Now for a quick update....Cyclocross was awesome this year...look for this year to be even more amazing as the Hodala team grows in strength. We got to race in Woodland Park after all, does it get any more central than that.
I have added some tattoos to my body recently.
I went to Tucson for SSAZ/SSUSA it was great, i recommend it to all of you.
I have been riding my mountain bike, at Tokul, Grand Ridge/Duthie and up in Bellingham. Always better to be out riding than here writing about it.
I got a new Vulture frame that is out of this world, thanks Wade...

ill let you wonder about this one, but it is one of my favorite pics this year.
new ink of our cyclocross teams logo....Hodala!!!!!!!