What Up with Jut Rut

Breaking hearts and racing bikes.

2012-02-06T23:38:00.000-05:00

The Heartbreaker is on and Jut Rut is breaking hearts. Look out 2012.

Here we go again...

2011-09-08T21:01:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

The Enduro is coming, are you ready?

Enduro Twenty-11 is coming October 8th-9th. Take off work, tell your significant other you're going to be busy for two days and come ride you bike harder than you ever have. All you single speed party boys and girls, endurance or gravity freaks who like to ride bikes all day (and night) are welcome to test your skills at the Enduro where it takes fitness, skills and some rock star training to make the top 5 of this event.

As you may know by now the Enduro offers roughly ten different events that test the skills of various dirt riding disciplines and a few others. Your limits will be pushed and you will leave a better rider in more ways than one. Most events push you in one aspect of riding, the Enduro provides a testing ground for your mountain biking strengths and weaknesses that is unlike any other mountain bike event I am aware of. For those not comfortable confronting the weaknesses in your bike game then you can still come out and shine in one or two events and feel like your fast. But, you will not have the honor of holding the title of the Most Bad Ass Mountain Biker in the World or the MBAMBW.

Additional information on this years events will be found here in the two weeks leading up to the event but you know the drill by now. Show up, ride and have fun. If you want to know more about the Enduro, check out some previous blog post and you'll have a good idea of what is about to go down.

Jut Rut

One week till take off..

2010-06-04T10:26:00.003-04:00

The Enduro is almost here. The absence of a news updates is due to me staying busy on the bike and in the real world of work. However, if you have been to the Enduro you know how it works.

Show up, have fun..

This is not some official race. It started as a way to celebrate my birthday with friends from all over the southeast and I figured if I put together an event they may have more reason to come and ride trails and DRINK BEER!

Well it's happening and if you're in the loop then you may already know what several of the events are and where they will take place. However, if my busy schedule has kept us from hooking up lately to shoot the shit then this is what you need to do.

SEND ME AN EMAIL! jutrut@gmail.com

Once I have your email I will send you the schedule and let you know what to do. In the spirit of keeping this celebration out of the public eye we are asking that you contact me to share your interest and get unofficially signed up. We have limited time and volunteers to handle each event so as in years past we limit each event to 25 people.

Participants from Enduro De Ocho and Enduro Nueve and ALL Women will receive automatic entry! After that if there is room then you're in and on the roster.

Again, SEND ME AN EMAIL! This is the only way you will know times and locations. Or you can give me a call if you have my number or know someone who does.

That's all for now. It's on and it's going to be rad!

Jut Rut

Next up..

2010-04-23T10:06:00.002-04:00

The Enduro is on the books. Start putting in long hours on a bike and jumping shit. Locations for XC, hill climb time trial, and DH are being explored. Industry Nine and the Caldwell Compound are confirmed. See you in June. Bring your balls.

Jut Rut

A Greener Way..

2010-03-15T15:47:00.003-04:00

When I moved to Asheville to pursue Green Building my timing couldn't have been better. Two weeks after my arrival I noticed the Western NC Green Building Council was offering a green home tour. I chose to take part in the tour by riding my bike to the properties on the tour and as far as I know I was the only one taking part in tour by alternative means. I toured several progressive homes and also got to talk with several Realtors who pointed me in the direction of Ecohouse Realty which I now call home.

I would be willing to bet that I spend more time getting from A- B via bicycle than any other real estate agent in Asheville. I have an intimate knowledge of the streets and the green properties in the downtown area so it would only be fitting that I pull together my knowledge of Real Estate and Green Building and experience on a bicycle and host another unique event.

Press Release..

WNC Green Building Council presents the Many Shades of Green Property Tour

Take a bike ride through Asheville’s core neighborhoods and learn more about green building during the Many Shades of Green Property Tour on April 10th. This year, the WNC Green Building Council will offer a cycling option for the annual green property tour. The tour will include a variety of green properties and provide participants information on bicycle routes and alternative transportation options in Asheville.

Avid cyclist, Justin Mitchell with Ecohouse / Dwell Realty, will lead a tour of seven properties ranging from a commercial green rehab to the first passive hempcrete home built in the country. Green building professionals will be available at select properties to answer questions and provide information about green features and construction methods.

The tour will originate at Biowheels Bike Shop and visit properties in the Downtown, North and West Asheville areas. The ride will be approximately ten miles in total distance and due to the hilly nature of the Asheville landscape a moderate fitness level is suggested and helmets are required.

Time: 12:00 – 5:00
Cost: Free
Start: Biowheels: 81 Coxe Ave. Presentation at 12:00. Ride begins at 12:30.
Finish: Biowheels: 81 Coxe Ave. 5:00

Reception to follow at Biowheels with refreshments & light appetizers.

For general information or to register for the tour visit www.wncgbc.org.

For specific questions pertaining to the bike tour contact Justin Mitchell with Ecohouse / Dwell Realty at Justin@justinasheville.com or 828.713.9400.

Here are a few of the homes that will be featured on this years bike tour.

The Nauhaus - "Prototype House Becomes First Passive “Hemcrete” Home in the World. The material, called Tradical Hemcrete, is made from waste hemp shiv and a lime-based binder. Designers from NHI have opted to pursue Passive House Certification which would make the house not only one of the first ten certified in the US but also the first Passive House hemp home in the world."

Possibly the 1st LEED cert. home in AVL! (certification pending) Truly innovative Healthy-Built home featuring steel and SIP construction. Modern style incorporates passive solar design for serious energy efficiency/money savings. Solar panel awnings shade interior & produce hot water. All appliances included (Energy Star), Icynene, no VOC paints, rainwater harvesting & more.

Cool green built, west-coast style courtyard cottage community in walkable West Asheville. Cottages surround a central patio & are HealthyBuilt Silver and Energy Star. Green features include solar panels, radiant heated floors.

Trend setting, Healthy Home built, affordable downtown residence- views of the river. Prewired for Solar PV or water heating, bamboo floors, gas fireplace, back deck front patio, urban infill at its best. The first of 6 contemporary healthy built Urban "dwellings" in Chicken Hill

The Springtime Cottage. One of the more efficient homes built in Asheville. EcoPanels SIPS construction all but eliminates thermal breaks. Thermosiphon solar H2O, passive design, energy monitor, ERV. Concrete countertops, custom cabinets. One of best blower door tests in history of NC. Projected to use just over 25% energy of code built home of the same size.

So as you can see this ride should be informative and fun. Since I am a sponsored bike racer with Pisgah Brewing Company you know there will be some good beer and the post ride gathering at Biowheels should offer some good food as well. Come and meet new people and learn something new as well. Hope to see you on April 10th.

Justin Mitchell

Ecohouse / Dwell Realty

828.713.9400

Bikes and Porn. Now do I have your attention?

2010-03-04T13:29:00.003-05:00

More snow fell yesterday in Asheville. We picked up several inches in town which probably means there is a new foot or two in the higher elevations. The decision to postpone the Heartbreaker Super, Super D once again has me looking for the next thing to get excited about and maybe you're thinking the same thing.

Well, look no further, the Bike Porn Film Festival is coming to Asheville and the Brew Crew are all about it. There is even going to be an Alleycat Race to kick things off.

We have all heard the stories about what negative effects cycling can have on your bedroom workouts. So we need to counteract those possible let downs with something to get you going.

After giving bikes and porn some thought I have come to the realization that riding bikes is a lot like S&M. Race promoters, jump builders and even your best friend often find great pleasure in making you suffer on a bicycle, damn Sadist. As bike addicts, we sign up for events like Double Dare, we feel compelled to chase down our friends when we feel like we are going to die, or push our limits on a new gap jump knowing we might end up in the Hospital. We know it’s going to hurt but we do it for pleasure that comes once the pain is gone, how masochist is that..

Well don’t expect too much pain from this alleycat (it’s all about pleasure really) but we are going to get crazy sexy for this one. Spring will hopefully be here soon and with it comes a deep instinctual desire to get down so here’s your chance to let it all hang out if you want.

The Bluelight Alleycat / poker run will kick off the Bike Porn Film Festival. The ride / race will start and end at the Kmart parking lot in West Asheville (the Bike Porn Film Fest takes place a block up the street at 9:00). The course will require you hit five checkpoints around West Asheville and Downtown, each checkpoint will provide some naughty good times. Various prizes will be awarded for fastest time, best dressed (male and female) and best poker hand for those that hit all five stops.

Bring five bucks, a bike, a helmet and an open mind. (we encourage you to practice safe riding and safe sex).

You will get a map with the checkpoints listed at the start of the event. Various checkpoints will provide you the opportunity to quench your thirst. Since this is a kick off to the bike porn event so dress appropriately (naughty).

Sponsored by the Pisgah Brew Crew, Pisgah Works and all those who like to get dirty.

The event details are here on Facebook. Try to let us know if you plan to show so we can plan appropriately.

As for the event to follow.. The Bike Porn Film Fest, will take place right up the street from the Kmart parking lot. It's five bucks, BYOB, and will offer a film, various performances, and a DJ dance party, woot woot. The event details for the film fest are simple.

Location: The Mothership 594 Emma Road.

Time: Door opens at 9 pm. Film at 10 pm.

Cost for the film and party: 5 bucks if you ride a bike, 7 bucks if you drive.

18 and over only.

More information about the film and tour can be found here. (May not be safe for work)

That's it for now..

Jut Rut

Trading bikes for boards.. for now.

2010-02-12T13:45:00.000-05:00

Conditions suck for riding a bike above 5,000 ft. So the Heartbreaker is rescheduled for 2/28/2010. Same time, same trail, hopefully with less snow. Every bike addicted fool I know is bitching about the weather, and I am one of them..

Rather then bitch anymore. I took advantage of the horrible mountain biking conditions and rode a mountain in a way that made me happy it was winter in NC. Thanks Beech Mountain and Mother Nature for the best boarding conditions I have ever seen in Western NC. There will be plenty of time to ride this mountain on a bike later this year.

See you fools at the Heartbreaker on the 28th, I'll be carving turns on the slopes till then..

Jut Rut

Will you be Heartbroken on Valentines?

2010-02-08T10:31:00.004-05:00

As of right now the Heartbreaker is in jeopardy of being rescheduled.. A week and a half ago myself and a crew of 8 checked it out and was stoked to find that the trail was in the best shape I have ever ridden it. That was of course the day before mother nature dumped another couple of inches of the snow on it, temps dropped and I am sure the snow and ice of the past weekend have dealt another blow to the superb conditions we experienced. Now I am not pulling the plug just yet but I do plan on checking it out this week and making a call by Friday night. The 10 day outlook looks ok but it doesn't look as though the temps are going to be melting too much snow in the higher elevations this week. Rather then shorten the course I would want to reschedule the race. The Heartbreaker is about feeling some pain both on the way up and the way down and to only race 3 miles or so just wouldn't be heartbreaking enough for a Jut Rut / Crow's Nest Production.

So hold tight. More news coming Friday..

Jut Rut

Check with me in March. Feburary is fully booked already..

2010-01-25T12:55:00.017-05:00

Let the good time roll! 2010 is off to a great start and with a full calendar of amazing events how could one not smile knowing what's in store for the next month. This weekend is the Icycle bike race/throwdown party and then Monotonix later that night. photo cred to suckapants.

Next weekend is party at the Bennett's celebrating my good friend hitting the big 4O and more good music in Asheville. Hopefully the trails will dry out and some good riding can take place on Sunday so I can loosen up the legs and feel ready for the Heartbreaker.

Hell yea, it's the one and only Heartbreaker coming your way. I have a kickass band coming together for the after party but I will keep our musical entertainment hush hush till all the details are wrapped up. I rode the trail last week with Jeff Z and it was in great shape (till I hit snow 2/3rds of the way up). Up to that point the trail was dry, fast with no blow down. If you want to ride Heartbreak in the next few days you might want to consider the ole' out n' back otherwise you might be dealing with this. If you heed my advice and ride it out and back and you get to enjoy scenes like this.

The next weekend will feature either a trip to Bike Love or a winter surfing trip to Folly Beach. Can't really go wrong either way, Bike Love has been a such a wonderful time for the last two years and I hate to even think about missing it (although I can't usually remember them either but that's another story). However, a free trip to Charleston and reports of head high glassy winter waves would be the only thing that may tempt me away from the world class good times that are associated with my favorite AOB throw down of the year.

The next weekend is the Clemson DH race. This race is SICK. Bring the flow and let go of the brakes. It was my first real experience in gravity last year and I am looking forward to hitting this one again with less braking.

I feel very fortunate to live in an area where there are bike events every weekend in February. While it would be nice to be riding the pow pow with my friends out west I am thankful that I will be busting berms and shredding sweet single track over the next few weeks in preparation for the rest of the season.

As for other matters in the life of Jut.. Business is picking up, my green home newsletter is in the works, and I have been working on another blog that that focuses on my passion that pays the bills. The phone is starting to ring with calls for new listing opportunities and buyers looking to make a move in 2010. Funny how when you put it out there and do the work necessary stuff starts happening (duh). If you want to know more about what's happening on the Green Scene here in Asheville (I am referring to homes) send me an email justin@justinasheville.com with your contact information and I will add you to the email or snail mail list and keep you in the loop on green home news and sales information. Or if you want to talk about Real Estate in general give me a call. In an attempt to be cool I am not sure if I have ever shared the extent of my real estate background on this blog since I try to keep it focused on bikes and good times. But just so you know I have over 300 Real Estate Transactions under my belt over the last 10 years and if handling a Real Estate transaction where anything like riding a bike I might be able to keep up with this guy.

That's it for now. Work, ride, repeat..

Jut

Let's break some hearts..

2010-01-09T14:29:00.005-05:00

It's that time of year again. It's cold as hell, my bikes have been collecting dust and the idea of riding my rollers tempts me more and more each day. I have yet to break them out but the need to sweat out the good times from the Those Darlins show on Thursday may the final straw. I am not sweating it though. I literally rode my ass off over the last two years and I know that with warmer temps coming I will be back out there again soon enough. However, there are two events in the near future that will require some level of fitness and focus on a bicycle.

The Icycle is in a few weeks. I have been to this party / race for the past two years and it is by far the most fun race of the year that I don't put on. It has the proper ratio of bike racing to good times that I look for in a race / competition these days. This year I will just be racing the DH and skip the morning XC race. I have plans to race suspension class this year as well as the Hardass class now that I have a squishy bike. I am the reigning Hardass winner, and took 2nd in 2008 so I once again have my eyes on that prize. We will see how the suspension class goes which to be already seems like an exercise in your ability to comfortably drift in the turns and maneuver the final tight right near the finish. I will unfortantaly miss out on the Icycle after party as Monotonix are playing the Rocket Club in Asheville. I saw Monotonix in 08 at the New French Bar and have been looking for another fix of unadulterated rock n rock ever since.

Next on the list is the Heartbreaker. This one happens on Valentines Day and is a Super Super D race. Taking place on one of the premier descents in the area, Heartbreak Ridge is one of the trails that sold me on Asheville a long time ago. Last year we had a three way tie for first thanks to some shotty scoring. This year we will have a new time keeper and will be able to declare an official Heartbreaker. The party will continue at Pisgah Brewing post race and I hope to have a kick ass band there too. The event is free, the beer will be awesome and many of the people who attended last year felt it was one of the best races they had been too. I must admit it was a fun one despite the 5 mile climb required to participate. This race will test you and if it doesn't warm up soon will provide an incredible opportunity to test out those snow tires you have been saving for just such an occasion.

So far 2010 is off to a great start. I've been laying low on the party scene, staying productive and feeling very optimistic about the year ahead. Yes, I'am moving on and it's all good. Wishing everyone out there all the best in the year ahead.

Jut

Jut Rut is dead, love live Jut Rut.

2010-01-02T12:27:00.003-05:00

Warning: Serious Post.

The two year vacation is over. I have lived the dream to the point where I am ready to wake up from it. A lot has become clear over the last two months and I have learned a lot about myself and where the ride I've been on takes you in the end.

I've been at this crossroad before. In 1998, I pushed the envelop to this point. After months of surfing in Costa Rica, snowboarding in CO, then riding the summer out on Folly Beach I was hungry to have responsibilities and feel productive. 1997-1999 were good times indeed and I remember them with a smile on my face but I knew when I was done. The later part of 2009 made it all to clear that it's time for a change once again.

With a new year comes new opportunities. I think I'll take advantage of them and remind myself that before moving to Asheville I had a lot to be proud of that didn't involve riding bikes and throwing down.

I know I had some stuff to process and hundreds of miles of great trails to get to know. I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of both now and it's time to grow in other ways. Does this mean it's back to business for Jut Rut, yes. Does Jut Rut know how to mix business with pleasure, well of course.

So more quality Brew Crew events will happen, dance parties will ensue and of course some level of documentation of rides and races will take place. But be forewarned you will see me in a collared shirt more often.

All the best to all my friends and family in the year ahead. I have a good feeling about this one..

Win in O'10!

Justin

Snow what..

2009-12-18T12:10:00.001-05:00

You can't stop the Holidaze from coming. Snow or no snow, it's on at the moment. If it gets absolutely insane we'll just have a party and ride snowboards in the streets. There is a keg of Pisgah Pale Ale on my front porch and it's snowing like crazy so whatever happens it's going to be a fun weekend. See you at Fuddruckers at 1:00 on Sunday, we roll out at 1:15.

Jut Rut

p.s. If anyone is planning a trip to Boone tomorrow holla.

Back to Business.. of enjoying life.

2009-12-07T18:36:00.008-05:00

The last two weeks I have felt as if I was on a roller coaster. I've been going up and down on a ride would not stop. Well, life happens and as a friend said recently all you can do is "roll with it".. That's good advice from a bike perspective and let it roll I did. Emotions have come and gone and I feel much better having let it all run it's course.

Work has been going great, between listing amazing homes and working with great buyers, my etsy site completely blowing up and my new job as a location scout for photo shoots it looks like the rent will be covered for a little while.

After resting the legs and the mind for two weeks I am once again hungry to get out and hit the trails.

Life is good and as I said in the last blog update Jut Rut always comes back strong. And, much like a cat, no matter how far I may fall I usually land on my feet. Oh, speaking of Cats..

Get your Santa suit and a bicycle and get ready to get down.. The Brew Crew is at it again with some Xmas Flavor.. get ready for the 2nd Annual Holidaze Alleycat and Scavenger Hunt. This years event will take place on Sunday December 20th at 1:00 pm.

If you're not sure what an Alleycal Scavenger Hunt involves, here is link to last years race. It was one amazing freaking event.

Same rules apply as last year.. But teams must stay together (Bonnie and Tavis).

You need to bring the following.

A bicycle and light.

A messenger bag or backpack.

Bike Lock.

Pen and paper.

Digital Camera or camera phone.

A few bucks for drinks along the way, if you choose.

A map of the city might help if you don’t know your way around very well.

A cell phone.

5 cans of food for donation.

The event will take place in the downtown Asheville Area on Sunday December 20th 2009. Prizes of all types will be awarded for a variety of accomplishments.

More info to come next week.

It will be family friendly as long as your kids are cool and there will of course there will be a party at the finish with a keg of Pisgah Pale Ale to quench your thirst.

The start location will be announced in the next few days so pay attention.

Can't wait to see ya!

Jut Rut and Crew

When you're living the dream..

2009-11-30T18:27:00.004-05:00

It doesn't mean it's always a going to be a good dream. Sometimes life gets you down, but it always gets better, I know that..

Till then I will just listen to Sea Change for a few days and then move on..

It's time to ride the hell out of a bike!

Jut Rut

Riding in the moment.

2009-11-10T14:22:00.011-05:00

It's finally raining so I guess I can update this blog. The last few weeks have been a blur of good times, colorful rodo tunnels and dead leaf drift. If you like to shread then you know there is a point in your ride when you are going so fast that all you can think about is what is right in front of you. Well, that's how life has been lately. Ride, ride, work, work, party, then repeat. There has been no shortage of good times and trails lately and if I were more diligent about updating this blog you would have detailed descriptions of the Skank 69, Paris Mountain DH race, Windrock Festival, The Pumpkin Peddaler, Nightmare on Shaft Street, The Swank 65 Pre and Post parties but instead I have been living in the moment and going from one amazing event to another.

Documenting the good times, takes time. But I do it because one day I will be to old to burn it at both ends like I do now. The housing market will rally and my schedule will be filled with more adult obligations and I will be unable to fathom having this much free time. So as a reminder to myself during those times and to remind myself where the month of October 2009 went I figured I should touch on few highlights from the last four weeks.

The Skank 69 rocked and rolled through Pisgah for three days. Festive people on bikes, a keg of beer and some amazing ladies made for three days that I will not soon forget. The lovely ladies of the Pisgah Brew Crew stepped up and designed a ride/party that would take us from Downtown Asheville to other side of Brevard utilzing 95% single track over the course of three days. The car shuttle was carefully planned out, food was ready when we reached camp each day and there was a cold keg of Pisgah Pale Ale ready to help us rehydrate. The ride went something like this..

Downtown Asheville >151 > Bent Creek neighborhood trails > Ingles Field > 5 Points > Lower Sidehill > Upper Sidehill > 5000 > Parkway > Trace > Spencer Branch > Big Creek > Sassafras > Laurel > Yellow Gap > Bradly Creek > Squirrel > Buckhorn > Buckwheat > Club > Cove Creek > Longbranch > Butter > Cat Gap > Davidson River > Cove Creek > Daniels Ridge.

Of course I left out a lot of the trails there were necessary to do a ride of this fashion but this is all from memory and you get the idea. We covered some ground and didn't set foot in a car or a shower for three days. We ate like kings / queens and drank only the finest beer. Men wore skirts and the ladies looked their skankiest. Thanks to Beth, Laura, Kyley C, and Shanna for all the good times and the laughs and to everyone else who came out to play with the crew. Also, a big thanks to our sponsors for the sweet wheels that kept us rolling smooth for three days of rocks and roots and the beers that smoothed the aches and pains from three days of beating up my body.

After three days of riding up mountains it's was time to get down and take advantage of a thing called gravity. Downhill is alive and well in two places most people would not think of when they are wondering where to put big bikes to the test.

Paris Mountain was one of the first rides for me back on the DH bike. Not feeling overly confident on a bike with a 1,000 moving parts I decided to hit Paris for some practice then help out with the race on Sunday. Friday's festivities offered shuttles, big wheels for big kids, a bad ass party and late night bonfire in the rain. I got in about 16 shuttle runs (photo above brado), drank free beer at Barleys with over 100 DH dudes and ladies, had a sick big wheel session thanks to Micheal Mooney on a painted parking deck where I learned how to do 360 degree drifts on a big wheel, and hung out in the rain for the best late night bonfire that never should have happened. Thanks to the Tomato, Brad O (get well dude), and Big J for all the hospitality and good times. You guys know how to throw one bad ass event. See you boys next year with a number plate on my bars..

The next week offer yet another feast of adrenaline. The Knoxville boys threw quite a party at Wind Rock. You can't find a better testing ground for a DH bike or body armor in the Southeast. Hugh descents, big rocks, and easy shuttling make for a long day of going downhill fast. T Gaines got the event sponsored by a brewery and Tyson so the tall boys and burgers were on the house. Big props for putting the event together boys, see you again this weekend..

windrock photos by TGaines.

On to my favorite holiday of the year, Halloween. This year I spent the better part of two weekends in Costume thanks to the Pumpkin Peddler, Nightmare on Shaft Street and Pretty Lights at the Orange Peel. Dr Phil Goode (seen above - photo cred Zimmerman) kept the party going and dispersed his elixirs and baked goods to many people who were getting ill. Si and Becky's was amazing as always. Dancing till 3am, jello shots, and some great costumes wow! Hugh props to Asheville on Bikes! The Pumpkin Peddler was a major success and not even the cold rains could dampen the spirit of the ride or the late night outdoor dance party. Doctor Phil Goode and the Jambalance where there to warm people up with some good medicine and the Jambalance won the best bike costume. Pretty Lights won the best dance party of the year (and that's saying a lot!). Damn, it was fun but I am glad Halloween only comes once a year.

After a week of rest it was time for the Swank 65. Unfortunately I had to work on the day of the race but I did get to ride and party with some of the regions finest bike peeps during the course of the weekend. Beth Roberts invited a few dozen people to party and camp at her pad in Pisgah Forest for a weekend and Pisgah Brewing sponsored the good times with keg of Pale Ale. The Farlow preride put some of my favorite people on one of my favorite trails and for the party post ride at BC we hit more trails just because we could. The weekend at Beth's was awesome and her house was packed with good bike peeps, musicians, and racer types all weekend. Big props to our Brew Crew rider Shanna P who took home a third place women's finish in a tutu on a Single Speed. You freaking rock!

So that wraps up the past four weeks. Now it's time to take it on the road once more with a trip to Knoxville for the "Brew Race" on Friday night then for big bike radness at Windrock on Saturday. And since I am still young enough to burn it at both ends I will be back in Asheville just in time to get ready for "Fuck it, Fry it" on Sunday afternoon.

Life is short. Ride it, fry it.

Jut

Three days of life on bicycles, big mountains, berries, mushrooms and road kill.

2009-09-14T17:55:00.044-04:00

In these slow economic times we must find new ways of entertaining ourselves. I have said that in life you often find yourself with either spare time or spare cash in the bank but rarely both. For years I found myself very well off yet working constantly and longing for a spare hour or two in the day that would never come. These days the tables have been turned and I have more spare time yet very little spare funds to throw at a quick but costly trip out west for the SSWC09 Party. So opting for the Dollar Adventure Menu I just spent same amount of money that I would cost to drive to Knoxville TN on a multiday tour of a lifetime.

Myself and three other adventure minded individuals (Denny M.F. Stevenson, Bonnie "Badass" Bloom and "The Mac") spent three days on bicycles that I will never forget. I called it the $20 Tour De Pisgah and had I not bought firewood on the first night I could have reduced the cost of the trip by 25%. But hey, sometimes you want a little luxury while your on vacation.

It all started a just few days ago with the idea to ride to Boone while drinking beer at the last Asheville Tourist Thirsty Thursday Game. We all had the right amount of alcohol in our system to agree that a multi day tour a week later would be a great idea. Not being one to back away from inebriated ideas one week later we found ourselves geared up and ready to roll North.

We picked a tough day to start the tour. Cloudy conditions loomed on the Parkway and cold and rain were inevitable. Boonie Badass Bloom was so kind as to have ridden to Craggy Gardens the day before the trip to test her gear and pick Blueberries for the trip. She warned some of us to "bring your winter gear". To prepare for the trip I attended a show at the Orange Peel and stayed out to 2am dancing with a few friends to some great DJ's and bands. With a few hours of sleep in me the touring bike felt like it picked up a few more pounds. The ride out of downtown Asheville was nothing more than a fourteen mile climb to Craggy to start the day so the tour going out the night before sounded like a great idea. After cutting of some knobbies off the side of my tires to clear the chainstays and making a few last minute adjustments we were off and climbing Town Mountain.

It was quite the way to start a trip and by the time we reached Craggy Gardens we could see the piles of hail on the side of the road from the storm the day before. We put on all the warm clothes we had and prepared for the first decent of the day. Riding from Craggy to Mt. Mitchell was rough. Fifteen feet of visibility, cold descents, sweaty accents, cars, motorcycles and slick roads are not the conditions you want but we did what we could and the Jack Daniels warmed our bones. I will let the pictures do the talking for a bit. enjoy.

First stop of the day.

Mac "feeling it"

Denny and Bonnie warming the bones. Thank you Jack Daniels..

Wild Blackberries = free energy food

The Crew.

Going up the Mountain.

Laughing till we felt like crying..

Tunnel Visions.

Riding in the clouds.

Just keep on pedaling.

What's for dinner Denny?

Living the Pisgah High Life.

Home on the first night.

Waking up to find everything you left out was wet is so awesome on a three day tour..

Bonnie gathering her Chanterelles for dinner.

I won a stage!

I won this stage by beating Bonnie to the ground score laying in the road up the hill. The ground score ended up being a Marines baseball cap. As I picked up the hat I noticed a truck pulled over up the road. He was attempting to drive backwards to pick it up and I rode up to hand it to him. It turned out to be an eight year old looking man and his wife in a beat up pickup truck. I handed it to him politely with a "here you go sir" and he offered me a lift. I grabbed hold of the side rail of the truck and took a pull about 3/4 of a mile up the next mountain.

Little Switzerland.

The horses wanted to race.

Denny picked some corn for dinner. Too bad we found out it was cattle corn AFTER we put it in the pot with the mushrooms and rice packet.

Grandfather Mountain here we come.

Grandfather closeup. There were a few more "bumps" along the ride that day.

Views..

Wow. The Viaduct was amazing!

Next time I will bring a fishing pole.

Our first mission complete.

Wait till dark and sleep in the park.

Ok, let me add to the pics below with a little more information. We are rolling down hwy 221 when we see a deer jump in to the path of a semitruck going 50mph. The deer goes flying off the grill of the truck through the air a good twenty feet, skids across the pavement and tangles up in the metal supports of the guardrail on the side of the road. Dead on impact! As we stand there stunned by what we just witnessed Bonnie is already thinking of how we are going to get the dead deer back home. After a quick call to a friend who was unable to come pick it up, she is distraught and trying to figure out what we can do to take the deer with us. Unable to think of way to haul a 200lb deer on a touring bike we ride on up the road. A mile or so later Bonnie pulls up to inform me she is "going back for the deer". Wtf I ask myself? I catch up to Bruce inform him of Bonnie's plan and his first remark is "I want a steak too." We turn back and roll up to find Bonnie attempting to slaughter this animal with a Swiss army knife. I provide her a more adequate cutting apparatus and she proceeds to cut out some tasty tenderloin steaks while Bruce and I sit back and question our manhood. Ok on the pics.. If you can't stand a little gore scroll down quickly..

Meat Sack.

Bonnie Badass Bloom. If you're plan on getting lost in the woods, take this woman with you..

It looks gross now but will taste so good in a few hours..

Life and Death.

Nature's Own.

If she could have strapped the deer to her bike she would be making deer skin clothes right now for the next trip.
All the boys could do was sit back in awe..

Mmmmmmm.

Almost there.

The Road Kill Grill at Pisgah Brewing..

Beers and Bartenders. How I love thee.

Boonie demonstrating how she provided our dinner.

Wooden Tooth rocking the house.

Bonnie and Bret cooking it up.

Well it wasn't a race but if it were it is needless to say Bonnie "Badass" Bloom won hands down! The girl road to Craggie Gardens the day before the tour to pick berries, brought only a few clothes, a bag of blue berries she picked, a bag of nuts, a block of cheese and some bread she found while dumpster diving. She collected wild mushrooms that we ate for dinner on Friday night then carved up a deer for dinner on Saturday night. I am very pround to announce we have found a new member of the Pisgah Brew Crew, go Bonnie! If this girl ever buys a mountain bike she will crush you while singing to herself on the trail, catch dinner with her bare hands and have it ready by the time you are getting back to camp.

Denny MF Stevenson pulled of a sweet second place by riding a 44 x 18 single speed mountain bike over the 20,000 ft(?) of climbing with a rigged up seat post rack and a back pack and probably spending less than 10 bucks. I was waiting to see him get off and push that bike up some of the steep climbs we encountered but he rode it all with a smile on his face. As we rode up Old-Old 70 after three hard days in the saddle he looks over and says "Never let them tell you that you can't do something, don't listen to those people." Thanks Denny. I won't forget that one..

I guess since Mac bailed due to illness on the second day that I pulled off a third place finish. I felt pretty good considering I had done five light rides over the past eight weeks so I was basicly coming of the couch for this one. The legs held up, the weak ankle did not revolt, the mind was cleared and I probably lost half the weight I put on while I was off my feet.

Mac made it home safe riding solo on day two to sleep off the cold he was riding with on day one. It was great to have him along and I only wished he had been able to make it further with us to enjoy the awesome weather on day 2 after weathering the storm on day 1 of the trip.

So now it's back to business for the next few weeks. Like a squirrel gathering nuts for the winter I am going to give Real Estate my all for the next few weeks while riding some sweet trails of course and start working on a few events for the fall. I moved to the mountains to have the feeling that I am on permenant vacation and this trip has reminded me of the amazing new discoveries and experiences that await just outside my front door. All you got to do is take the first step..

Live limitless..

Jut

Sack Racing, Festivals, Dance Parties, and LSD.

2009-09-08T17:57:00.017-04:00

Festivals, Dance Parties, and LSD, oh how I love thee. The past two weeks have rocked. The Pisgah Summer Games, LAAFF festival, house parties, bigwheels and mountain bike rides.

The Pisgah Summer Games were awesome. I learned that "fast" on Kitsuma is about 23 minutes from parking lot to park, wiffle ball rules, and watching adults compete in sack races after 8 beers is one of the funniest things you will ever see. Twenty racers and far more competitors later in the day made for yet another quality brew crew event. Kickball, sack races, wiffle ball, a little frisbee, and a lot of great beer made for some fun times. As for the bake sale and funraiser side of things, we raised a whopping 40 bucks after expenses. Well, at least we didn't loose money on our own fundraiser and thanks to Pisgah Brewing for letting us celebrate at the brewery on a Sunday and everybody who came out to play, made food, bought lunch and some baked goods.

LAAFF was amazing, 12,000+ freaky party people and no real issues. I worked on this one for the past few months with a wonderful group of people. I was in charge of organizing about 50 volunteers, which I thought would be a lot like herding cats but instead ran smoother than trying to organize an impromptu game of wiffle ball with fifteen of my friends at the Pisgah Summer Games. Art, bands, costumes galore, bigwheel races, and bike jousting. What more do you want?

photo of joust and chicks on big wheels by jody flemming -

The house parties just keep coming and they seem to turn into a dance party every time. Sleep has become a valuable commodity and I don't even have to be at work at a set time these days. While the parties have picked up I managed to get in a few good mountain bike rides at Bent Creek before re-injuring my ankle while test piloting one of Mooney's big wheels on Friday night. Having a pedal come off while cranking down the sidewalk on a makeshift bigwheel will hurt a weak ankle, but proceeding to get drunk and dance on it till 4 am will ensure the swelling and pain comes back.

I figure that with my ankle (re)injury, a whopping 40 bucks raised at the summer games and no idea of when my next paycheck will arrive that I have more than enough reasons to stay in town. As bummed as I am about missing the SSWC09 Party I am looking forward to hanging out in the mountains I call home and doing LSD. LSD is awesome, it's cheap, it clears the head and makes you stronger. Yes, Long, Slow, Distance or L.S.D. as it is called in some circles will do wonders for the soul.

The time of the year is right for a loooong ride, the price tag for adventure is right and I can obviously do enough partying in my own town to warrant cashing a reality check that says "Stay Put Sucka". So I leave on Thursday to ride a bicycle to Boone on the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway with few of the Asheville crew. If all goes well we will then head west with hopes of making it to Hot Springs NC on Saturday for a nice soak before heading home on Sunday. To my crew that is heading west for the big dance, I wish you well and offer this race advice..

"When you find yourself in the tree house having a dance party at 1:00 am after driving a few thousand miles, riding a few hundred miles, hitting all the sswc preparties, drinking a thousand beers and competing in this years sswc race, you know you've won.."

word up. i'm out.. Jut 2da Rizut

supa-D Funraiser

2009-08-26T14:30:00.002-04:00

Join us for some fun times in Pisgah Forest and Pisgah Brewing Company this Sunday for the first annual Pisgah Summer Games. Bikes, Beer, Burgers and Field Games, need I say more? For the latest details visit the Brew Crew Blog.

We're at it again..

2009-08-20T12:44:00.001-04:00

Pisgah Forest at 11:30. Location to be announced in a few days.

Pisgah Brewing Company at 2:00. Field Games, Food and Beer.

www.pisgahbrewcrew.blogspot.com for more details.

Living the pimp life..

2009-08-03T12:45:00.003-04:00

Actually, it's the gimp life.

It's times like these that I realize how much I love riding my bike. However, I also realize how much of my time I spend focused on riding, talking about bikes, cleaning, and working on bikes.

During my downtime last week I managed to clean the house, organize everything in my room and office, have my car fixed and detailed, and I even washed the dog. This week I am going big! I signed up for all my continuing education classes for Real Estate which I start tomorrow, I am working on getting my NC drivers licence and plates and doing my 08 taxes. I have even been collecting some Karma points by lending a hand however my hobbling ass can help others. Expect to see one organized son of a biatch when the moon boot comes off and I get back to the business of riding bikes.

To all you people out there with working ankles, Jump Something For Jut Today.

another badass jeff zimmerman shot.

When you're on top of the world.

2009-07-27T20:28:00.012-04:00

The only thing you can do is come down..

My life kicked back into gear over the past few weeks in a very good way. Real Estate closings and new DH bikes are never bad things to have in the world of Jut. Lately on rides I can see and feel improvents in my skill level and my fitness is coming back as well. Windrock, Black Mountain, Farlow, Kitsuma, Wilson's Creek, DJ's, street and some local underground flavor. You name it, I've ridden it in the last two weeks.

Most recently was the trip to Wilson's Creek for the third annual NORAMM. Having raced ORAMM for the last three years on a variety of different bikes with varing degrees of hangovers, I figure I will finish, no matter how much I try not too. So, I decided to mix it up and go for a ride that has 100% more single track and 1,000% more jumps, with beer stops along the course and at the finish. A crew of seven lucky party goers under the instruction of the one they call Tomato descended upon Wilson Creek and managed to neither hurt ourselves or meet the park ranger and his dog. The night ride was one of the best in a long time and the days adventure on new trails never let me down. Wilson Creek was as cool and fun as people said it was and I can't wait to go back. Beer stops were enforced and I think I probably maintained a 5/1 beer to water ratio during my entire time at was at Wilson Creek. For all the boys that were a part of it, thanks for the good rides and the laughs. I'm already looking forward to NORAMM next year..

Now onto something really dumb.. The big bike itch just would not go away so I did what any bike addict does and rationalized a plan that would give me my fix. In short, trade two bikes, two frames, and a number of sweet parts out for a super bike that will allow me to dumb stuff. Once you set that plan in motion and do two weeks of squishy bike research this is what you get.

2008 Specialized Demo 7 II with all that pimp shit and a new set of I-9's to bling it out proper. OH FUCKING SNAP! This bike makes you feel like superman. Yea, I use to make fun of this sort of machine in middle tn as dudes rode around hamelton creek but lately I have been looking at lines that really call for some big bike action. I see myself floating over 25 ft step downs and riding 200 ft long elevated skinnies and that's just on day one. Well... reality checks are a bitch......

I got home on Saturday from NORAMM to find this beauty sitting in my living room having been delivered from MOAB by my oldschool bmx brethren turned mountain biker Martin Holten. I took her for a 5 minute cruise then got busy switching the wheels out to my new Industry Nines. These wheels are so hot you gotta touch them with cooking mitts. And the amount of pivots and engineering that went into the suspension is mindblowing. Note that from 2004-2008 I rode bikes with one gear and 85 mm of travel so I feel like I am in so new territory here where I can stop fighting technology and embrace the fact that having a bike with 2,000 moving parts can be fun and allow you do to really rad and at the same time stupid things like hitting this jump on day one of owning a big bike.

Yea, I was dumb. I got a little ahead of myself and thought I could do anything with a big bike. Well, I will do a lot as I realized by hitting the jump in this picture (i took this shot of scott sending it) as well as the third one in the set and sailing a cool 30 ft over a 25ft deathgap stepdown. It felt amazing! Hitting these jumps gave me more hangtime that I have ever felt on a bike and I was pulling it off. Then I got a little over confident and went for the whole set having not done a practice run up on jump #2 which was a good 23ft gap with a shorter lander. Well, the trail floats a little to the left and I thought it went straight. I had the distance but missed the lander to the right and ended up dropping to flat from a good 10 ft up. Caught some dirt or a big rock with my pedal and had all the power transfer into my ankle. What felt like bones breaking only turned out to be a really bad sprain. We'll see how quick I can rally with a sweet bike gathering dust. In the end it was probably good for me to be humbled on my first day out. Going big is fun but you gotta be ready to pay the price for 3 seconds of hang time. So on that note, I am down but not out.

Gimpin and hatin it. (for now)

jut rut

I am going downhill fast..

2009-07-13T17:45:00.004-04:00

Long time, no blog. In short, there is a lot going on these days. Several real estate transactions are in the works and if all goes according to plan I will cover the rent for a few months and get back to the business of having fun. The R.E. market seems to be picking up here in Asheville and my head is finally back in the game. And speaking of game, I would love to check out this new film that focuses on the foreclosure crisis in CA through the eyes of skateboarders. Bad for homeowners, good for skateboarders. Hell yea score one for the cool kids it's good to know someone is making the most out of California's problems.

As for jut rut.. I have been going downhill fast. I do not mean that my life is out of control or that I am in some dark place. No, life is good and with every shuttle run or trip up a mountain on a chair lift I am going downhill a little faster. I was worried last summer when I bought a full suspension bike that I may one day opt for the downhill (gnar) experience verses the ninja line required by single speed with 85m of travel upfront. Well, I put up a good fight but lately the single speed has been collecting dust and main riding I have done has involved riding street, dirt jumps and going downhill as fast as possible.

I did my first real downhill race a few weeks ago. The Beech Triple Crown was both humbling and inspiring. The race was awesome and it pushed the limits of what I thought was capable of on the bike. I also learned that the Maverick will take quite a beating but there is a reason DH bikes don't have a 69 degree head tube. I give it up to the Maverick for not coming apart on the last step down of the course which required leaving the ground for a good seven ft drop over a good 16ft gap to a three ft lander. It also held up last week during a Windrock beat down with T-Dog and the K-town crew who were all on bikes made for riding 80 degree slabs of rock, 14 ft gaps, and running into - then jumping off boulders. My fourth place, yet still mediocre finish at Beech encouraged me to step it up and if nothing else get a bike made to handle the sort of punishment that feels sooooo good. After a year of feeling content with my bike fleet I once again feel the need to buy a new bike (damn). This time around something must go, the most pimped out surly cross check ever @ 1,300. I also must let go of the ultimate Pisgah hard tail, a Dekerf implant complete with matching fork and one super dank custom paint job (1,000). I have been racing the Soul Cycles this year and the Sycip frame has been collecting cobwebs for months now and it is just too nice to have sitting on the floor so it could be yours too (name a price). I think getting rid of a few odd bikes should cover the cost of this bad boy. Oh, and if someone is taking a trip to the beach or the north pole and needs a pugsly, holla.

Gravity rules all. Don't fight it.

Jut Rut

Everything you ever wanted to know about ED9..

2009-06-24T14:12:00.006-04:00

Post enduro it's been back to business. The party lifestyle has been wonderful but all good things must come to and end (or at least be put on hold). For the first time in two years I have been spending more time selling and listing homes than riding bicycles. I have also been catching up on the hours/days of sleep I missed over the last few weeks. It has felt good to get back to some sort of responsibility and professionalism. However, days at the office and showing property has meant little time for a blog wrap up of the enduro. So, in punk ass bitch fashion I am just going to poach someone elses write up. So here is my guest blogger for today, Beth Roberts and her ED9 wrap up.

In addition to be being a major reason this event actually happens, Beth not only organized, keep score and took care of the logistics for a two day event but she also documented it over the last few nights. For those that weren't there this will give you an idea of what took place over 48 hours of riding bikes and partying like it was 1999. Sit back, pop a top on that tall boy and wish you were there.. and if you see Beth out on the town buy that girl a beer. It's back to business.. Jut Rut

The Second annual Enduro from Crow’s Next Productions consumed the lives of a few dedicated riders this past June 13^th and 14th. Known as the ED9 or Enduro De Nueve, this race awards the title - Most Bad Ass Mountain Biker in the World, to the rider that accumulates the most points over the course of the weekend. The weekend consisted of the following events:

Cross-Country Race

Skinnies

Wheelies

Speed Trials

Night Time Pump Track Time Trial

Dodge Ball (non-biking)

Derby

Uphill Race

Downhill

Short Track Downhill

Lake Jump

The Enduro is really just an opportunity for a few people with mad skills to get together, show off these skills, push their skills and have an unbelievably fun time doing it. Last year it was thrown together at the last minute, on a shoe string, underground, and sketchy, and turned out amazing. And the all the same goes for how it came together this year. Points were awarded a little bit differently this year. Last year the only people scored were those that were there for pretty much the entire weekend. This year we gave anyone, even random passers by, the opportunity for points in this event. The number of people participating in any one event equaled the max points awarded and it went down from there. In addition the first, second and third place winners of each event received bonus points (3, 2, 1 respectively). The above events were 11 of the 12 events of the weekend. The 12^th event was “Winning the Party”, which is determined by, the main score keeper at the commencement of the party, which of course is when the Party Winner is done. And finally, additional participation points were awarded - the number of events participated in was added to the total (1-12 points).

It all began at a local trailhead Saturday morning. Marshall Hance pops out at the end of his ride just as people begin gather. He had just completed the course in 47:30, so that was the time to beat. Marshall came and raced before everyone since he had to work all day and miss out on many events which he would have certainly dominated in. Eventually everyone racing made it and was ready to go. Chief Volunteer Kylee Cross and Organizer Beth, lead the racers out down the road to the official start. Special guests to this ride included Adam Ray, pro road racer, hill climber extraordinaire, and Adam Engell - a totally random guy to us who had just finished riding this trail. Adam Engell was training for an up and coming race that covers the same ground and seemed pretty stoked to hop on to this little group ride, for a cool down maybe? The race began and Adam Ray kills it up the climb, dropping everyone but Adam Engell and they kill it till the end. Also on this trail were people who had never seen this technical challenging fast hard trail before. This included Eric Nicoletti, from Georgia, who arrived the day before with his pregnant wife of 8 months, her friend and their 4? year old child. Eric, who got turned around on the course, still managed to come in top 5, setting the tone for the weekend of subtlety killing it across the board.

Results for the Cross Country Race:

1. Adam Ray - 45:45
2. A. Engell - 46:52
3. Marshall - 47:30
4. Dunn - 51:03
5. Nicoletti - 51:05

From here we traveled to Industry Nine, where the afternoon events took place. Snacking on fresh pasta salad and Pisgah Brew riders spent the next few hours preparing for the Skininies, speed trials, wheelie competition, and a dirt sprint with jumps. We were sad to have to bail on the Bunny Hop and Dirt Jumping competition, but a lot had already happened and a lot still needed to happen to finish this day of events and it was a sacrifice, benefiting some in the end, hurting others.

As photographers Jeff Zimmerman and Bryan Bloebaum began to catch air on camera, Johney Massey dominated the skinny ride, Travis and Justin killed the speed trials, and Ryan Taylor showed everyone how to ride wheelies.

Skinnies

1. Massey

2. Travis

3. Jut

4. R. Taylor

5. Bruce

Speed Trials

1. Travis

2. Jut

3. Nicoletti

4. Winston

5. R. Taylor

Wheelie

1. R. Taylor
2. Nicoletti
3. Dunn
4. Massey
5. Gabe

Before heading out to take a break and grab dinner, we fit one more quick race in. A “dirt sprint” through part of the jumps and pump track of Industry Nine’s back yard. Our youngest rider began his participation here in this quick ride through the yard. Ian, Otto’s son, laid down an amazing time it just like his dad.

Dirt Sprint

Kevin Burkhead
Otto
Bruce
R. Taylor
A. Winston

While dusk set in, ferries descended upon the Kenilworth pump track and set up tea lights throughout the dirt and grass. Around 9 something it was dark enough to start the time trial, and Otto and Ian went out for the first runs so that Ian (4 yrs old) could make bed time. This event was nearly impossible to score as each “pedal stroke” was a 7 second penalty and with it being dark we had to go on the rider’s honest opinion as to how many pedal strokes they had or had not needed. I do feel confident that the top riders nailed the whole course without penalty, and therefore got the points that they deserve. Otherwise, sorry, ya know… its really just a bunch of people hanging out so it doesn’t really matter.

Jeff Moreadith (1^st) and 3^rd place Marshall Hance are two people who know every curve of this track so well they could ride blindly and then there is the out-a-towner-Eric Nicoletti, 2^nd place, never been here before, dropping jaws. We did find out later that Eric rides a lot at night.

Night Time Pump Track Time Trial

Jeff Moreadith
Nicoletti
Marshall
Callum
A. Winston

From the pump track those that were still in it to win it, cruised on to the ole flint street bike house to continue to work on the keg from Pisgah Brewing Company.

A killer party ensued and once ready we took off for the local park where we separated in to 4 teams of 5 and had a quick dodge ball tourney where we had our second major injury of the weekend – Travis seriously rolled an already bunk ankle in a heated match on the old fenced in basketball court. Again this year, Justin brought his team in to the final match and dominated to be the last man standing.

It was getting late.. was it 1.. 2..? Participant numbers were getting low but we still had to have a derby. The derby happens fast. Everyone gets on their bikes and as soon as your foot goes down you are out. Adam, the local favorite, dominated again.

Derby

Winston
Denny MF Stevenson
Troy
Jut
Nicoletti

We began to loose more and more participants to the lateness of the evening. This is when the “winning the party” competition begins. A posse of seriously ready to dance ladies and a few key dancing participants, Callum, Justin and Massey tore up the rug and bounced the bass under our roommates room (SORRY!). I battled the majority with respect to the volume. It was too hard to fight for a low volume as the Enduro is a once a year, unprecedented, history making event and this was all part of the competition. Eventually (around 4 am) I finally seized on a dancing break and killed the music. Up until this point Eric Nicoletti was still hanging out (!!!), with a 4 year old and pregnant wife sleeping above. He eventually caved as the last 4 chatted it up on the front porch. Adam, Callum, Justin and Massey and I had one last laugh and said good night and see ya in a few hours at the next trail head for the uphill/downhill battle.

Party Winning

1. (Tie) Adam, Callum, Justin, Massey
5. Nicoletti

However, I actually won the party.. its part of my job on this weekend.

Photo credits to: Bryan Bloebaum's Blue Tree Images and Jeff Zimmerman Photography
More pictures here

The following post is day 2 of the ED9, day one is below.

Sunday Morning, just like Saturday morning, I sleepily emerged from my room around 7 am to find Eric Nicoletti beaming in the hall. Drinking coffee and hanging out with his 5 year old before another big day of events. Just another test of the Most Bad Ass Mountain Biker in the World - Who can get their ass out of bed after a late and long night of dancing, dodge ball, derby and drinking.

Arriving only a little late, we found the folks who didn’t hang the night before were at the trailhead doing laps getting ready to throw down on this uphill. This trail’s a favorite downhill ride - fast, straight and steep. As a climb it was steady, rideable and painful, yet short. At 12:26:00 riders started the climb. Finishing the climb at 12:49:03, Marshall came in just ahead of Will Black, who, word on the street has it, that either he let Marshall win, or he didn’t really know where he was going. Either way, these are the finishing times we got.

Uphill Race (start 12:26:00)
1. Marshall 12:49:03
2. Will Black 12:49:06
3. Denny MF Stevenson 12:50:27
4. Adam Winston 12:51:02
5. Ian Baldwin 12:51:41

Two bikes allowed each this year meant more bikes to carry.

Kyley and Laura had sprinted up the hill ahead of racers, to set up for timing. I cruised with first aid kit, watch and Jesse to the finish of the downhill. After waiting for what felt like an eternity, Marshall pops out of the woods to report on how intense the trail felt, “it felt like my bike was flexing all over underneath me, but it was really the trail moving.” A scary downhill, but oh so much fun! Suddenly rider number 2 pops out – Otto. Marshall knew instantly that Otto had gone faster by only a few seconds. No surprise that Justin came in third on his Maverick, he definitely wanted it enough. But then wait.. It’s Eric Nicoletti!, who had NEVER ridden this trail, EVER. Wow! It’s not an easy descent, and he really nailed it.

Downhill
1. Otto 3:52
2. Marshall 3:59
3. Jut 4:17
4. Eric Nicoletti 4:18
5. Ian Baldwin 4:19

From here we emerged from the woods and were on our way to the finale at John Caldwell’s Compound. Just days before, I.R.L. Construction Cooperative had secured the lake jump, but still more work had to be done to make it safe.

We needed to line it with shingles, test the water depth, then test the jump. Callum Robertson, of I.R.L. Construction, didn’t hesitate for a second before jumping in the algae covered lake to confirm that it was definitely safe. And before we chopped off the top foot of the jump, Callum was the first to launch off. Meanwhile, I am sucked in to a computer, compiling times and places, and converting them to scores.

It was time to get the short track downhill started, but the scene was just not safe. Friends and riders helped fix that. Lines were set up, areas cleared, and the 30+ second short track downhill formed. It ran through garden dirt jumps, huge step-downs, through a small clan of folks barbecuing, road gap, mega monster log pile, to sprint finish by the lake where I recorded the stop time. With crude a walkie-talkie and stop watch timing mechanism, Laura and I attempted to properly record, very short times that came down to the hundredths. Everyone had two runs, and after the first run it looked like John Caldwell might take it with the home court advantage. However, seriously amazing bad ass Kevin Burkehead was clearing the road gap and saving seconds with mad skills. Otto, winner of the mornings downhill race, nabbed second, with Caldwell barley beating Mike Mooney on a Tall Bike or really, what we might call a Monster Bike.

Short Track Downhill
1. Kevin Burkhead 0:30.34
2. Otto 0:30.83
3. Caldwell 0:31.02
4. Mooney 0:31.87
5. Jut 0:31.91

It was time for the event I had been dreading the most and was the moat excited about – The Lake Jump. Knowing that it was going to be safe really eased minds and then it was just a matter of who was going to hit this thing. 7 people stepped up to the competition: Callum, Kevin Burkhead, Mooney, Winston, Denny MF Stevenson, Eric Nicoletti, and Justin. With hound dog Walter yelping his heart out with every lake jump, the crowd cheered and the judges judged, from the banks of the lake to the bass fishing boat. Three or four judges averaged their scores on a 1-10 scale based on wow factor, style, effort and other things that I don’t know at all because I wasn’t judging. I was running the downhill course over and over again, having missed out on all the spectation of this event, it was nice to at least get some runs in.

As Dunn and Massey caught fish and Bryan Bloebaum made history with his wicked shots of lake jumpers. Pictures tell many more words here.

What was likely the winning jump - #1 Callum Robertson launched off in a cork screw rotation with serious speed and awesome overall enthusiasm.

Second place lake jumper Kevin hit the top of the ramp so hard the front wheel tacoed and shot the tube out of the tire (look closely).

3rd - Mike Mooney with absolute showmanship

Adam Winton

Denny Muthafckin’ Stevenson

Eric Nicoletti

Justin Mitchell

After the last lake jump, we commenced to the lawn and enjoyed a classic southern home cooked bbq. Points were added, and the final winners were announced.

Eric Nicoletti with 119 points, stood out at the MBAMBW. A total stranger to the area, finds our totally cryptic blog post, gets in touch with us and shows up to crash on my Flint St. floor with his very pregnant wife, her friend and their kid. Wow. With full participation, his event placing broke down as follows: XC (5th), Skinnies (6th), Trials (3rd), Wheelie (2nd), Dirt Sprint (6th), Pumptrack (2nd), derby (5th), Party (4th), Uphill (7th), downhill (4th), Short Track DH (6th), Lake Jump (6th). Never winning any one event, but having so much overall talent and tenacity. If we had been as lax with passing out bonus points as we were last year, or as arbitrary with how they added up, he would have surely received serious bonus points for showing up and pulling it all off in all of the ways that he did. Thank You Eric Nicoleti. Hope we can do it all again next year.

Final Scores (number of events participated in)

1 eric nicoletti 119 (12)
2 Winston 102 (12)
3 Jut 100 (12)
4 Denny MF Stevenson 87 (12)
5 John Massey 77 (11)
6 Otto Meinert 74 (7)
7 Marshall 72 (5)
8 Greg Dunn 71 (9)
9 Kevin Burkhead 67 (6)
10 Gabe 56 (8)
11 Travis Nevill 54 (6)
12 Ryan Taylor 52 (4)
13 Callum 44 (5)
14 Matt Johnson 35 (4)
15 Mike Brown 34 (6)
16 Troy Foster 31 (11)
17 Mac 28 (6)

Major thanks to - All of the rest of the people that raced and played along.

Justin Mitchell for coming up with the whole idea, for his determination in seeing the lake jump come to fruition and for graciously passing the title.

Kyley Cross for racing to the top of trace ridge Sunday morning, dragging multiple racers around from point to point, taking pictures, record keeping, having fun and a bunch of other things.

Jeff Zimmerman and Bryan Bloebaum, Phil Shaw for catching mad air and classic bicycle shots.

John Caldwell and Nicole for hosting the afternoon’s festivities. Your place was beautiful and the bbq was unreal!

Lela Stephens and everyone else that I didn’t notice because my head was in a computer, who brought and cooked other excellent food. It was a long weekend, we were hungry.

Pisgah Brewing for providing a Keg of James Brown and Lori Diehl for her love for us at Pisgah.

Industry Nine and Jeff for letting us create a huge liability in your back yard while we do amazing things on your wheels.

Jeff Moredith for the Kenilworth Pumptrack.

Lara Lustig, Laura Goetz, and Kelly Cowan for hanging and helping and general shenanigans! And Lara you will be more in charge of scoring next year, fyi.

Chris Bennett for his incredible cookies and help at Industry Nine.

And to Ian and Melissa for not kicking us to the curb after the party.

I hope we can make it all happen again next year. The sooner you let us know that you are interested in participation, the sooner you will find out the ever so important "Save the Date". Otherwise you might not hear about it at all.

-- Beth Roberts

Enduro De Nueve is in the books..

2009-06-16T09:35:00.004-04:00

This is how it started..

This is how it ended..

In between partying to the point that we were burning money on Friday night and jumping 3,000 dollar bikes into a pond on Sunday we covered ALOT of ground. We rode our bikes as though we were rock stars for two days for nothing more than a t-shirt for the winner and the title of MBAMBW. To me, the Enduro is what riding bikes is all about, hanging out with your friends, making new ones, testing your comfort zone, forgeting about all of life's worries and getting rad time after time. Here is the quick run down of events..

Saturday's events - XC race at Kitsuma > dirt jumps, skinnies, speed trials, pump track time trial, wheelie contest at I9 > night time pumptrack time trial at Kenelworth > nighttime dodge ball Monford Park> derby on Flint St> dance party till 4:30 am at the bike house.

After 3.5 hours of sleep it was once again time to rally. Sunday we met up at N. Mills for a crushing hill climb XC race up Trace Ridge > Downhill time trial Spencer > then it was on to camp Caldwell for the final events, Short Track Downhill race and then the finale, Lake jumping.

It took me a day just to recover enough to get this post up. My body still feels the effects of the weekend (as it should) and even though I gave it my all it was Atlanta's very own Eric Nicoletti that is now officially the Most Bad Ass Mountain Biker in the World. It was great to pass the MBAMBW title to someone who not only rode his bike with stamina, style, and speed all weekend but also who was still on the dance floor at 4 am AND had the courage to bring his wife who is 7 months pregnant, his son who was 5 years old and his wife's friend who had no idea what to expect and stay at the flint street house where we were bumping hip hop till 4:30 am. For all you boys who didn't show because you had some excuse, well, you should take a lesson from Eric. My boy lives it and I could not feel better about handing the title off to someone of his caliber. Just so you know I still made the podium and picked up a third place. Adam Winton, took second beating me be by only two points. Final results and some amazing photos will be on the Brew Crew Blog in the next day or two for each event.

Overall the weekend could not have been better, with all recklessness that took place only three people got hurt to the point they could not continue, and no injuries were serious enough to make a trip to the hospital. We were also very pleased that no one went to jail as bailing someone out on Sunday morning would have increased the 20.00 race donation considerably.

Big thanks to our sponsors Pisgah Brewing for the keg and to Industry Nine for the pimp wheels and letting us take over the facilities on Sunday. Jeff Moreadith and John & Nichole Caldwell were incredible hosts and I thank them for allowing us the use of their properties to make my ideas come to life. To all the people who cooked awesome food, timed the races, helped with scoring, took amazing photos, drove several hours to ride all weekend or just hung out and contributed to the good vibes of the weekend I thank you all! This event could not and would not happen without all the wonderful people who came out to play and are a part of an incredible bike scene.

Rock on..

Jut Rut

photo credit goes to Bryan Bloebaum, he rocks..

My cloud has platinum lining...

2009-05-21T11:42:00.003-04:00

Yes, in these rough waters we all need stuff to look forward to. And for those of you looking for something to get excited about, consider me your new savior. Now, you may think that statement is a little over the top but I know something you don't.

THE END-uro IS COMING, ARE YOU READY?

If you're not, you better get down on your knees and pray to the mountain bike Gods for the skills, liver and legs you will need to make it through a weekend that will test every aspect of what people do on big wheel bikes these days. Just so you know how to prepare for such a feat I suggest putting in long miles, riding pump tracks in the dark, hitting dirt jumps, riding logs, bunny hopping everything in sight, practice your wheelies, going down the steepest rockiest trail you can find at speed then climbing the longest steepest hill you can find, and you probably want to know how to swim too. On top of all that, you need to practice doing all of that with little to no sleep with a six pack buzz. Pisgah Brewing will be supplying the refreshments all weekend long so you stay properly hydrated and loose. If you were at last years event then you have an idea of what to expect but know that we have a few new challenges up our sleeve to keep it freshhhh. if you were at the event last year, check your email and hit me back. If you've heard the stories and think you have what it takes to for go for the title of M.B.A.M.B.W (Most Bad Ass Mountain Biker in the World) then track me down and get the details. It's capped at 25 riders to keep it tight so you better let me know. Get ready to jump off..

werd.

jut rut

Alright the vacation is over.

2009-05-18T12:22:00.003-04:00

I have been on vacation. No blogging, very little riding, even less working. Well, all things come to an end so it's back to work in every aspect of what Jut Rut does. I got a for a few good rides last week, showed property and started working on a new listing that will hit W. Asheville soon. I will say that now that the drought is officially over it can stop raining now.. I am heading to some do some ridge riding this afternoon and hopefully it's not too wet out there.

In the OTHER NEWS category.. This years Enduro is just a few short weeks away. The plans have been made and we will once again test 30 souls and find out who is the M.B.A.M.B.W. (Most Bass Ass Mountain Biker in the World) Two days, 15 events, two kegs, two bikes, and countless good times. Details on how to sign up are coming by the end of the week so stay tuned as Jut is back to win so tell your friends.

Later,

The current MBAMBW title holder.. JUt to the RUT

Still playing catch up...

2009-05-06T10:29:00.005-04:00

Wooh. Gearheads was fun. I spent quite a bit of money to have dirt jumps and a bad ass track built in a 65,000 sq ft arena and invite all my friends but hey, you only live once.

To all the peeps and sponsors who came out to play and sell some stuff I hope you enjoyed it. It will happen again only we are going to do it a little differently. As most of you know I would love to see some more cool events happening in this town and if have my way Gearheads will improve with age like a fine wine, and I am truly grateful for the companies and individuals who came out to test my first batch.

After only getting a few hours of sleep over the course of several days and taking three weeks off the bike due to working like a madman and destroying my knees on Laurel Mtn Trail it was time to come off the couch and race PMBAR. I was a little worried that my girl would rip my legs off somewhere deep in Pisgah but the race ran smooth and we had a great time. I have no idea how we finished but I am willing to bet that our route offered more single track and fun lines than anyone in the top ten. If you are racing PMBAR then gravel roads are the way to go. If you are enjoying PMBAR, then you do the whole Black Mtn trail twice, make decisions based on what would be the FUN way to go and stop and enjoy some creek time and overlooks. I know we could do that any day of the week but riding 65 miles and climbing around 14,000 ft in elevation is something you rarely do "just because".

With Gearheads and PMBAR behind me I can now focus on getting back to my Real Estate Business. Spring is bringing out some buyers and sellers along with the spring flowers and I looking forward to doing something I am familiar with rather than creating from scratch like Gearheads. As for riding, I plan on one week off the bike before starting to train for this years enduro and by training for the enduro I mean, drinking, riding anything and everything I can think of, and building up an enduro bike worthy of hanging on to my title of MBAMBW. The Enduro will take place on June 13-14 so mark it down on your calendars and get ready to both suffer and smile.

That's all for now, I have work to do..

Jut

Two Words..

2009-04-21T18:13:00.002-04:00

GEAR HEADS.

Six months of planning and countless hours of work are coming to a close and rest assured that Jut Rut has topped himself.. The Enduro De Ocho was my introduction to the Asheville area and while it was a ton of fun it was not the event you would take home to your parents. Gearheads however, is one event that is all good times but still wears a button up shirt, is courteous and shows up on time. There are going to be some rad events taking place while killer deals take place ensuring that more people do more cool stuff. I myself will be looking for something with eight inches and if Gearheads makes a dime I will probably give in as a gift to myself for just breaking even.

It's only 4 Days till showtime. Get ready for something good. I can guarantee that you will not be able to say you didn't get your 5 bucks worth. Free massages, free contest such as bunny hop contest, dirt crit, kids mtn bike races and computrainers heats. Each of which if you win, you take home some gear of your choice. You can learn something useful from one of the many informative clinics or just get stoked as the best dirt jump builders and dirt jumpers in the area come together to throw down.

Yes, there are good deals and good times to be had. See you there.

Jut Rut

Party on..

2009-04-10T09:49:00.018-04:00

I have been going back to my roots lately. BMX runs deep in my blood and as they say,every goes in circles. Guess I am on a 20 year cycle.. That means I will be taking things seriously in about 7 years. Damn it's nice to have some time off from button up shirts and to be focused on really important things like getting rad. All the pics above came from a short but sweet street ride on Wednesday that took place within a mile from my house. The Montford Gap, Flint Street yard drop, the rockin wall, and the Elementary Hip. I didn't have time to hit the Beverly Hanks Gap or the skatepark so I will just have to save that for another day. I was feeling burned out and Beth suggested I go ride and she would take some pics. Good job girl, the pics turned out pretty sweet for what can be done with four year old point and shoot camera. In other news.. The is going to be a throw down at Pisgah Brewing tonight..

The goods have arrived and the Brew Crew will be kicking it at Pisgah Brewing Company with Jerseys in hand. Come by for the Jersey Release Party, drink some beer and get a few bucks knocked of the price of the raddest jersey in WNC.

BIG THANKS to our sponsors, Pisgah Brewing, your beer rocks. Industry Nine, your wheels rock and roll. Pisgah Works, you make life more interesting. Swiftwick, your socks are wicky, wicky, rad. Suspension Experts for keeping us smooth like butter. Endless bikes for making me step it up with an eighteen. And to all our friends and family who make Asheville and the mountain bike scene a kick ass place to be.

Nothing but love.

Jut Rut

Another one in the books..

2009-04-06T11:02:00.003-04:00

What a week. On Tuesday I was a part of a Bent Creek rescue operation. Friday I had one of the best street sessions since moving to Asheville, hitting the Monford Gap, Skate Park and the new Bev Hanks Gap. On Saturday I hit Clemson for my first downhill race. Sunday was a beautiful 4 hour ride in Pisgah. Too much fun and too little time for details but needless to say it was action packed. I need more hours in the day to keep up with this blog and adequately document some of what's going on in my world. To sum up hours worth of typing I will say..

Bent Creek can hurt you and the skyland rescue crew is your friend. Riding street with your crew is so rewarding and adrenaline is by far my favorite drug. Speaking of adrenaline, I think I may be getting addicted to downhill riding. Sunshine, 70 degrees and perfect Pisgah Singletrack makes for a great day.

Brad O took some great photos of the race. I finished 7th out of 37 in the sport class. Not bad for my first DH race but I gotta lay of the freaking brakes and grow some before the Beech Mountain series kicks off this summer. But for now I am planning on building some big wood kickers for Gearheads and getting comfortable in the air again. BMX is in my blood and like an addict you never really get over it. I suppressed my deep urges for years and even got comfortable in spandex from 2001-2004 but certain things have been coming to the surface since moving to the mountains where speed and bigger hits seem to be the norm.

I still plan on racing PNBAR, SSUSA, and SSWC09. The Brew Crew will be at all the local events pushing our wears and pouring good beers, however, I intend to mix it up this year with a few DH races and alot more time in the streets. It's been too long since I focused more on flow then fitness. I have realized my lifestyle conflicts with a training regimen so why not give into to my passion for style verses telling myself i love the puke feeling I get 30 minutes into a cross country race.

Enough for now.. got to get back to work. Filling 100,000 sq ft of space and throwing 10 events in one weekend just don't happen with out a little work.

Go with the flow.

jut rut

T.G.I.M. thank god it's monday

2009-03-30T12:12:00.016-04:00

Here are a few pics from the weekend. Good people, good parties, cute girls, a ton of beer, bikes galore, and guns. It's Monday, maybe I can get some sleep..

Friday and Saturday was party time. Sunday I went for some good karma and volunteered for the Save the Trails Challenge. Gearheads and Pisgah Works represented an aid station and helped make to make muddy people smile. Even when they only had one shoe or no brakes.

until we meet again. rock one for me..

jut

Here's to Whiskey and Getting Rad..

2009-03-23T22:01:00.005-04:00

With a new sponsor to impress and a new business to run, life has been taking a more serious note as of late. The stress of trying to "train" for races and working 40 hour weeks can take a toll on a good time guy like myself. This is why I have to take time to remind myself why I do the things I do. It's all for the glory winning races like the Whiskey Crit, sweet new gear and catching rad air.

The Whiskey Crit will go down in history as the most broken bones (and teeth) during a 30 minute ride/race I have ever witnessed. I know Kylie meant well when the inspiration struck for this one and she really meant well when she warned the boys not to go for a late night ride on the bum trails with no lights after the Whiskey Crit.

To back up just a bit, the Whiskey Crit involved 4 laps and 5 shots of Whiskey through neighborhood streets and a park. The laps were short but sweet however, sprinting on a track bike while taking a shot of whiskey per lap bike gives you a feeling that could only be compared to mainlining the stuff (just guessing of course). Despite mixing track bikes, crit racing and hard liquor the race itself went off without injury. Alex, birthday boy, took home the win, Adam W. 2nd, Marshall 3rd and yours truly took 4th and a good buzz. The rest of the crew came in, the whiskey took effect and that's when the fun began.

It was back to Alex's and Kylie's house for more good beer and food post race. An hour later, when the call was made for a ride on the bum trails by the river, everyone grabbed their bikes without even thinking about it. Kylie's effort to tell everyone what a bad idea it was just fell on deaf and drunk ears. A few minutes into the ride I hear Jake sliding down the pavement on a step hill just before we hit the trails. 5 minutes of riding, crash #1 on the pavement. Jake was fine and we were back to sprinting into the dark and towards the dirt.

Coming down the next hill Marshall was determined to take the lead and may have succeeded if it had not been for a metal cable that was hanging wheel high between two barriers. Over the bars into gravel with his face, hand and knee taking the majority of the impact. 10 minutes of riding, crash # 2 in gravel. Marshal was not as lucky as Jake and rolled over to immediately announced his front two teeth were gone and his hand was most likely broken. After calling the team car, then turning it down in favor of finishing the ride, we were back it again, racing track bikes on bum trails, on the river, in the dark. We are brilliant..

The main group was charging and at the speed they were traveling everyone had a good "close call" experience however, it was the birthday boy that would take the cake on best crash of the night.. So here I am, riding the trails with a little caution having just witnessed Marshal with half of his front teeth when Alex comes around me as though he was sprinting to the line at the Mellowdrome. Well, the bum trails are not quite as smooth as the track and my next image is one of a track bike five feet in the air sans-alex. A quick, "You alright? Yea, I am fine" exchange is made, he gathers his bike and it's back on the gas. I track his lines as we pick up speed and chase the group of blinking rear lights up ahead. A few hundred yards into our pursuit Alex starts slowing and makes a quick dismount while saying three words you never want to hear, "I'm not ok". Fifteen minutes of riding, crash #3 on bum trails.

Well, I didn't get anything for Alex for his birthday but I know I could have done better than the gift of a broken collarbone that the bum trail hooked him up with and I know he would have appreciated even the lamest gift in exchange for his second crash that occurred 5 minutes later in the street on the the way home. We made it back, more beer was had and a cool and sober Kylie C gave the crew a lift back to the North Side.

So, four crashes in twenty minutes. WTF, that's something broken every 5 minutes. One hellava party Kylie K! Count me in for next year but make sure to invite a doctor and a dentist! (maybe a lawyer too) You rock girl!

The next day I pulled it together enough to get rad again and mix beer and bicycles. Asheville on Bikes was throwing the "Bike of the Irish" and even though I wanted neither after the Whiskey Crit I pulled it together and went out for a ride in the rain with 15-20 others who like to mix good beer and all things two wheels. The ride was good, the beer was cold, and Asheville on Bikes showed a crew around some cool areas of town as we hit a few local breweries and caught up with friends. I was glad I made it out and even pulled off a late night show of High Windy at Jack of the Wood. The Brew Crew was in it for the long haul, High Windy rocked and we shut the place down and drank 50.00 worth of Pisgah Pale in doing so.

Fast forward to one week later. The Banff film fest was in town this past weekend and of course Gearheads was there representing all weekend in Brevard. I camped out in Pisgah Friday after the show and froze my ass off. On Saturday I hit the trails for a fast session at B.C. then it was back to Banff with Beth. Sunday, Beth and I hit the Pisgah for a little pre-PNBAR action and pulled off some sweet lines and creek gaps over the course of a five hour ride. Amazing spring day in the woods and I feel energized with the exception of my ring finger.

If anyone has had this happen to them let me know. I can't straighten it and the tip of my finger is just limp. Not good.. But, there are worse body parts this could happen to and I can still grip a handlebar. Life could be a lot worse..

Ok, enough typing. My finger is freaking me out. jut rut out..

It's Monday. It's Business Time.

2009-02-23T11:14:00.013-05:00

A quick weekend wrap up then it's time for some business. Well, the weekend once again rocked in Asheville. Bruce and I made our trip with M.J. to Black Mtn for some Old Toll action on Thursday followed by brews at Pisgah Brewing. Saturday was the annual Bike Love Event and once again I came, partied, and somehow made it home alive. Asheville on Bikes is in the business of showing bike people of all sorts a good time and they definatly know how to do it right. While having fun they also manage to lead the way in improving the bike scene here in town and keeping a very watchful eye on issues we should all take note of as cyclists. This years Bike Love was even better than last as I realized how many wonderful people I have had the chance to get to know over the past year. The music was great, people danced, the beer flowed all night, and there were bikes and love all round. Sule and Rachel, you rock and thanks for all your hard work..

Now, I know people check this blog to find out what crazy stuff I have been doing lately but let me take just a minute to make an announcement or two that will help me Avoid the Bummer Life for another year. So here it goes, I'm going to talk business..

I mentioned my ride on Thursday but didn't talk about how freaking cold it was. Old Toll took a toll on my face, hands, and any exposed skin. With temps in the 20's and after a taste of 60 degree weather the week before 20 degrees felt COLD. However, thanks to the new sponsor at least my feet stayed warm. I have been wearing the Swiftwick talls all winter long and so far I have yet to go for the winter shoes. I like the feeling of my regular Sidis and with the Swiftwicks on the feet I tend to be just fine.

Now, Swiftwick and my feet go way back to the early days when the company was created and run from the living room of one of my finest friends, Sharp Emmons. I personally witnessed hundreds of socks laying around the living room and Sharp sending out socks in recycled cereal boxes for the first year of it's existence. Well, things do change but fortunately some things do stay the same. The change is that has occurred is Swiftwicks growth. No more boxes of socks in the living room, kitchen, and dining room and no more sock art work sitting on Sharps computer screen. No the company has grown in to a real deal company and packaging is now done by someone other than the owner. But the cool thing is that they still make the best socks and they make them just a few hours south of here. The Yazoo Crew were one of the first teams to run swiftwicks and I still have the Yazoo Swiftwick Prototype. It says a lot about a sock to still have them holding up three years later after countless miles and nights on the dance floor. Well, a few years later and Swiftwick and the Pisgah Brew Crew are now working together to bring you some sweet custom socks to keep your feet feeling fine. They will be available at Pisgah Brewing Company or direct from the Brew Crew so keep your eyes open and I will post up once we wrap up our design. Thanks Swiftwick and now I can join the ranks of Team Dicky and Thad in shameless promotion of a great sock. My one special request as an official Swiftwick sponsored team is getting the Pisgah Brew Crew Grape Cape into production for next winter. Sharp and the boys know what I am talking about and I am still waiting for that prototype..

In other business. Our sponsor that keeps us rolling with style and precession has a new website. Check it out and buy a few sets of wheels. I have been riding their enduro rims laced up to the Mountain hubs for over a month now and I can say my rides have never been better. These wheels go where you point them and never falter. Another very redeemable quality is the fact they they are made down the street from my house. Buying local is big these days and it is comforting to know that your money goes to support people who ride bikes just like you. I have spent some quality time hanging with the I-9 crew and they are a great bunch of core riders. Every piece that goes into one of their amazing hubs is made in good ole' Asheville and they even turn them into a rainbow of colors in-house these days. If you want to go fast and do it in style just click here.

One more item of business then I am done. Drum roll please...

Gearheads-Asheville is up and running. I have finished the planning, the website, the marketing and the date is set (April 24th-26th). With things still slow in the Real Estate world it was time to think of something new to do with my time. Since it has been 10 years since I punched a clock the idea of working for someone just wasn't an option. The Gearheads concept came to me after a few brainstorming lunches with my neighbor Cheryl and we have been running with it since the Fall. I am the kind of person that doesn't like to present something till it looks it's best so I have been working on in secret till I was ready to make the announcement. Well, the day is here and I couldn't be more excited to say that on April 24th-26th Asheville is going to see the largest Outdoor Adventure Gear Sale and Expo the Southeast has ever witnessed. I have rented the Ag Center for a weekend and will be host to individuals, outdoor retailer and outdoor gear manufactures all while pro dirt jump demos, kid mountain bike races, bunny hop contest and so much more takes place. I have a 100,000 sq ft of space to play with so get ready for some fun. It will be kid friendly and we will offer clinics, lectures, and various contest and give aways all weekend long.

The Western NC Scene is just too awesome not to have more exposure for the companies and people who are making a living doing what they love. It is my hope that this type of event will emphasize the fact that we can all help each other by recycling our gear and supporting the businesses that call our region home. More information will of course be mentioned here over the next few months leading up to the event as I wrap up more sponsors and add more events to the schedule. For those that have taken part in the events I have thrown thus far you know how I do it, and Gearheads is going to be the biggest and best event this guy has ever conceived.

Thanks for listening now it's back to business till Ride:30.

Jut

Heartbreaker no, Toothbreaker almost..

2009-02-17T14:18:00.006-05:00

The Heartbreaker was a success! As far as I know nobody got divorced over attending, three ego's were saved and no one was seriously injured. When I woke up to rain all I could think of was the carnage that would follow. Slick rocks and roots for 6 miles of downhill mayhem can take a toll on someone. However, by the 9:30 rendezvous the rain was gone and the trail was already starting to dry out. Twenty two friends and friends of friends came out for one kick ass group ride. We casually made our way to the top of Heartbreak Ridge with a few stops along the way to take in the view and just hang out. After getting to the top there was some more hanging out then we kicked off the festivities around 2:00.

There are not too many experiences in life beat the thrill of a long pisgah single track descent with near perfect trail and weather conditions. With that said, people were hanging it out there. I myself pushed far past the comfort zone into an area that provided a rush that bordered on the limits of what one can legally achieve. A few minutes into my ride an off camber root called me out as I came into one of the first hard switchbacks at mach speed. Everything turned out ok and I have a new appreciation for full face helmets as my teeth would have been the first thing to connect with the ground rather than my helmet. Got back up, found the bike and continued only sightly less determined to go for a fast time. I was happy to see everyone make it down in one piece with smiles on their faces. Several lovely ladies/volunteers made it off the mountain with photos of some fast lines and a few good crashes that only resulted in buried egos and nut sacks.

In the end we had a great time hanging in the woods for a day pushing the limits of what our bikes and bodies could handle. I think we all learned that it doesn't take as much time as you think to make it down Heartbreak Ridge and that everyone that participated has some skills as the times were amazing close.

We finished of the ride with some coldies at a little private party over at our headquarters Pisgah Brewing Company. Chris Craig hooked everyone on up with food and Suspension Experts took care of some peoples suspension needs and bought everyone a round. The Brew Crew brought some beats and Pisgah Works pimped some wears. It was truly a unique event and one that will most likely happen again next year since Valentines once again falls on a weekend. A big thanks goes out to all that came out to play and add to the good times.

The After-After Party was nothing short of more good times. With a keg of Pisgah Pale Ale and a wood fired hot tub in a remote area of Black Mountain how could you go wrong?

On Sunday the crew and I made our way to Kitsuma with our new friend Craig and got in one more good ride to top the weekend off. The trail felt pretty mellow after pushing the limits the day before but it was the perfect ride with my favorite crew of people.

Heartbreaker Pictures here.

Jut Rut

Let's take the scenic route today..

2009-02-06T00:19:00.014-05:00

With a little snow falling on the Asheville the past few days I decided it was time to earn my beer and ride to the brewery (the fun way). I rode up Sunset to Patton Mountain Rd (?) where the ride turned to snow. From there the snow didn't leave my tires. I don't know most of the names of the roads I took or how to explain how I got there but I will say along this particular ride I see a long gravel road climb (when it's not covered in snow) then a water tower, then town mtn rd, then hang a left off T.M. From this point I would only get you lost so I am not even going to try to explain how I get to Shope Creek. Here is a breakdown of the route in a format people around here often use to decribe their ride.

Roads below Town Mountain Rd > a 2 mile(?) gravel road to Town Mountain>Town Mountain >Wildcat Ridge gap ?> Sweet 3 or 4 miles of Doubletrack > Craven Gap > Unnamed Trails and Pugsly Freeriding > Shope Creek > Matt J's House > Warren Wilson Trails > Old 70 > Pisgah Brewing Company Driveway > Brewery > Barstool.

I left my house at 2:30 and got to the brewery at 7:30 just in time to rendezvous with Beth and Bruce who were nice enough to come and pick up Matt and I (big thanks Beth, the bike ride back would have SUCKED). The Pusgly is not the fastest way to get there unless your racing in Alaska but 99% of the time it's not who wins but how you play the game. Enjoy the pics.

Play like you mean it.

Jut Rut

I-cycle, I-drink.

2009-02-03T11:24:00.009-05:00

Sorry in advance for the rambling post but I am still a little fuzzy from the events of the past few days. The brew crew and I cruised down to Fontana Village for the annual Icycle party/bike race. We got there early on Friday afternoon tapped a keg of some tasty Pisgah Brown Ale and after a pint or two we hit the woods for some bike riding. We rode the short cross country loop then proceeded to make some runs on the downhill course. Greg Dunn, made an appearance and the party was on. More beer and shuttle runs on the DH course, partied at the round house with the Greenville Crew and hooked up with Marshal and Adam then hit the DH course for a few more around 1:30 am just to test the course with the buzz I would mostly have come race time Saturday night.

Saturday. The crew stumbled around till 11:00 eating prerace banana, chocolate chip, marshmallow pancakes from Pisgah Works and drinking 20 cups of coffee. The single speed race started at 1:05 and was by far the best race start time that I have been apart of. Before the start of the race a few of the "top contenders" agreed to stash some beers at the top of the hill by the finish line so as to hydrate before starting our second lap. The course this year was made even faster by having clean lines created by Wes and Crew leaf blowing the whole 5 miles of single track. I went out and red lined from the start. Adam and I were rolling along for the first few miles near the front of the pack. He pulled away about half way through but I figured I would see him at the beer stop. By the time I reached my cold High Life I was breathing so hard I could hardly drink my beer. I stood there trying to down a beer like some little girl in middle school as I watched two single speeds cruise past. I got on the bike beer in hand and proceeded to ride to the first climb and finish most of my beer as I walked up hill. I sat the beer down at the top of the climb and went right back to redlining and holding back the vomit feeling that I had. The second lap was fun and I was proud of myself for not puking or loosing any more places. I got back and learned that Adam Winton (the guy that suggested the beer lap) forgot to stop and drink his, Eric C was taken out while trying to pass Bruce and thought he broke his hand. Bruce (the destroyer) not only drank his beer but finished the last of mine that was still sitting trail side while he did a third lap for fun. So contrary to what the results might say. I figure Bruce won, I took second and Adam (i forgot my beer) was bumped by to third, and we will give Eric C a fourth place just for his troubles.

Now for the fun part... the night time downhill. I signed up for the hardass class meaning no suspension, fully rigid. I took the squishy fork of the Soul Cycle and installed the fat ass aluminum fork that came with the frame. With the addition of the new pimp wheel set from I9 my bike is now 98% aluminum so I took a beating but just considered it penance for any of the bad deeds I have done lately (sure beats the cat o' nine tails I have been doing). The course was smooth for the most part and the lack of suspension made a few sections a little more sketch but it was still a playful course. I noticed that Ryan of 26 West Bike Park fame was on a rigid vintage bike and saw another harsh defeat coming just like last year when my ego was bruised when Kip destroyed me on a vintage fat chance with cantilever brakes. Well luck would go my way this time and Ryan's choice to go with a vintage front derailler derailled him enough to slow him down and allow me to take home the win.

Good times, more beer, dance party, karaoke, then kicking it with some of the fastest dudes who go downhill till 2:30 in the am and I called it..

We woke up slow and were the last ones to roll out of Fontana Village. First ones there, last ones to leave. That's how we do it..

The keg is still flowing on Flint street after two more consecutive nights of partying. I think I am getting a cold so I am done trying to kill that thing. If you need a beer today, stop by the porch on Flint Street and pour yourself a coldie.

Snake Creek Part Dos is this weekend. Look out Dalton GA, this time we're bringing beer.

Jut Rut

Nothing to do but ride, ride, ride..

2009-01-25T18:32:00.002-05:00

Get your own knuckles at the knuckle tattoo gun.

Going slower up hills, going faster down hills, and jumping stuff seems to be the theme lately. Of course what goes down must go up at some point (if not consult your doctor) so it's not like I haven't been paying my dues. I had three different rides in three different areas over the past four days that I guess are worth a mention.

Thursday I rode the Kitsuma loop with the ladies.. It's always nice to ride with girls, for a number of reasons. One great reason to ride with your homegirls is a noticeable lack of the ole "were just gonna take it easy today" only to have every dude race from the trail head all the way back to the car. No, most of the female persuasion has a different look on things and a ride with the ladies is more about the ride.. with Shanna and Beth it was simply a few mountain bikers out on the trail enjoying a warmer than usual winter day in the sun on a beautiful mountain. Now, you can't beat a good hard ride with the boys but the lack of testosterone does make it a little more like nature hike then a bike race. This is by no means an insult to the ladies. And, I will let it be known that Beth has destroyed me on this trail before and on this day Shanna rode it on a rigid single speed and kicked ASS! No, the ladies had it going on and kept me working just hard enough to get the heartrate up but still enjoy the view. The ride up old 70 seemed easier than it has ever felt and the new pavement tricks you into believing your just strolling along on some greenway in the park. The hill is still there I just didn't seem to notice.. Kitsuma was is great shape and only a small amount of snow remained. It was a fun two hour jaunt and we topped it off with a post ride pint at Pisgah Headquarters.

On Saturday a crew and I made another trip to Big Ivy / Colman Boundary. Big views, steep descents and a good 8 or 9 miles of climbing was a nice way to spend a Saturday. We were treated to an "ice volcano" that was unlike any ice feature that I have ever seen and unfortunately I will have only memories as I forgot my camera (imagine a 10 ft mountain of ice eating a giant waterfall). The ice cold temps of last week turned the streams and waterfalls into flowing ice sculptures which was the inverse of the last time I rode these trails when the ground was covered in a few inches of snow (as in the blog header pic) and the falls were full of flowing water. Pisgah Bruce, Phil, Saver, C. Craig (sponsor of the heartbreaker), and the cool Colombian Ricardo made the trip and everyone survived a slow, wet and cold climb to the top then a slick Staire Creek decent.

Sunday it was off to the North Mills area for some fun trails with Park and one of the Kerber boys. It was a different kind of ride filled with a lot of thrills and only a few spills. Spending five hours hanging in Pisgah this particular Sunday left me feeling as though I had been to church, school and party all in one. Guess you could say it was a good ride.

enjoy your ride...

jut

Coming in from the cold...

2009-01-21T17:19:00.004-05:00

Current Trail Conditions in Asheville - Cold and Fast. With the ground frozen over the riding pace has picked up. Three sweet rides over the past few days come to mind.

Paris Mountain. It was my first trip to Greenville and I was not disappointed. I called up Brad-o and let him know it was time to mix a little pleasure with the business we have been taking care of (more about this Bissness coming soon) a call was made to Big Jay and the ride was on. Denny Stevenson came along for the trip south and we hit the trails of Paris Mountain by riding out of Dennys friend’s backyard. The trails were rock hard and suppa fast. We hit all the high points for a good tour of P. Mountain and as we rode the trail brought back good memories of some the fast and more flowing trails back home in Nashville. It was also a reminder of how amazing it would be if Percy Warner were open to bikes. The trails in Percy Warner had much of the same qualities as the trail system in Paris Mountain but Percy Warner does not have a Big Jay. The SORBA guys got it going on and the ranger has been befriended and they are pulling of some kick ass events and making some sweet in-town riding available for the folks in G’town. I delivered a growler, Denney dropped off some wool, I ate an overly hyped tortilla soup and we were out.

Bent Creek. T Gaines and Eric made a quick trip to Asheville from Knoxville to mix it up for the day and I jumped on board for a sweet ride at b.c. We hit the outer loop of single track and didn't encounter any of the mud that was evidently there just a day or two before. Deep lines carved through the frozen tundra preserved the signs of those who came out and rode in conditions that should not have seen bike tires (come on people?) but on Saturday in 25 degree temps it was so fast! Eric C came out and ripped it on a cyclocross bike, Bruce and I rode single style, and Eric and T Gaines who had not be on trail bikes in a while let us drag them around on squishy bikes.

Pisgah. What can I say about Pisgah that hasn’t been said? The place is amazing and wherever you ride you are all but guaranteed an amazing experience but Monday surpassed my usual love for the place as snowflakes fell and beautiful lines where carved in to the mountain’s canvas on Laurel Mtn Trail. It was short but incredibly sweet as the snow was coming down fast and it was a day I will not soon forget. I hoped to wake up to a foot of snow the next day but and spend the day looking for good hills, plastic sledding devices, and drinking beer however Asheville saw very little of the white stuff as usual.

We didn’t get any snow but we did get a new president, which is actually A LOT better than a snow day. Good luck Obama, you’re going to need it as we are sitting in one crappy diaper right now that is in a desperate need of change. It was nice to see how fast Bush bailed on the scene and it was the first time I have felt good about our leadership in a long time, if ever. So Obama, please don’t fuck me on this one. It’s alright if he isn’t the miracle maker many hope him to be but come on, live up to half of what you say you want to achieve and I will be happy. He sure can inspire the masses and basically, I am hopeful with out being delusional.

I am not making any money at the moment and I saw my name on the ssws09 list today so this year can only get better and I have some good times to look forward. With a life focused on simplicity shouldn’t that be enough?

Cheers to 2009 everybody, hope you all get enough.

Jut Rut

Can't stop till I get enough... bikes and tacos in 09..

2009-01-12T22:36:00.015-05:00

Well, in lieu of working a lot I have been putting in the miles and making the most of living in Asheville.

Wednesday. Wednesday if now offically "Fix it Wednesdays". Somewhere along the way of deciding it's time to get back in shape I tought it would be a good idea to do fixie sprints day at the mellowdrome in the rain. Good times, cold rain and I realized that I really need to work on my sprinting as I had nothing when I came to hammering HARD for more than 30 seconds. We will see how it goes after another few weeks of this. No tacos, yet.

Thursday. Thursday is now officially "Band Practice". A crew of us hit Heartbreak Ridge and rode into a 30 hour wind gusts and a snow storm around 3,000 ft then rode the last mile or two on snow and ice covered trails. Everyone made it down alive and we celebrated our victory at Pisgah Brewing Headquarters (the brewery) in style. Still no tacos but it's coming..

Friday. Christmas finally came. I ran in to Jeff at Industry Nine and he informed me that my wheels were ready. I was at I9 as fast as I could to pick up the new wheels then hit Biowheels for French Broad Fridays. Free pints were had and wheels were set up on the Maverick. I rode around town for a bit and could already tell a difference as I made it to the Crow's Nest for Taco and Tequila night in record time. Taco and Tequila party quickly turned into a dance party around midnight, records were spinning, a belt was taken off and you don't really want to know the rest. By 1:00 I was done and already planning for a good ride on Saturday.

Saturday. I was ready to get some dirt on the new suppa white rims. Rain clouds were looming over the Mills River area so the call was made to hit Big Ivy. After a good climb, Bear Pen and Stair Creek did not disappoint. And even after a night of Tacos and Tequila I felt faster on the climb then ever before. Took a few runs on the fun stuff then cruised down the babyhead rock, rolly stick decent with confidence. Headed home to more Tacos and the remaining Tecates in the fridge.

Sunday. The call was made for the second big group ride of 09 with the crew from the new years day ride and a few others. We decided on Turkey Pen as a starting point and decided to have fun and just do an out and back on Mullinax and Squirrel to the river. A strong group of Asheville's finest meant that everyone pushed the envelop and it worked for me as I cleaned more of the roots and rocks up to the top than ever before. The new wheels held there line and my legs just kept the wheels turning and before I knew it we were at the top and I had only dabbed about 4 times. Good ride to the river and back with post ride tacos at Papa's and Beer. Headed home for some serious lounging with one more round of late night nachos

Monday. A little business in the morning meant I could feel good about an afternoon ride. Once again I headed north and hit some of the most amazing trails I have yet to lay a tire on in Pisgah. A good 8 mile climb was rewarded by an amazing 4 mile descent and epic views from 5,000 ft. Good times indeed and yes there were more tacos when I returned home. Not a bad day considering it was the most depressing day of the year.

My life sucks.

Jut

The Check is in the Mail...

2009-01-08T10:56:00.003-05:00

It's on bitches.. color your's and get it in the mail. See you in Durango or at Fred's Well which ever comes first. sswc09 is going to something special. I know the Duango Crew and can't wait to see what they come up with.

Heartbreak Ridge in the snow awaits. I'm out..

Jut

09 is off to a good start.

2009-01-04T21:27:00.001-05:00

A wet and muddy Snake Creek Gap kicked of the 09 Race Season. Over 200 riders came out to take part in a race that is arguably one of the hardest 34 miles of single track that you will find to race in the southeast. The combination of time of year the race takes place (Jan, Feb, & Mar), the trail conditions you experience (snow, mud, cold temps), and the technical nature of the Pinhoti trail system make for a challenging experience.I have raced the SCG for the past two years and it is always a great and usually humbling experience. This one was no different and the mud and rain made you earn every mile. Feeling better than I usually do come Jan 3rd I had a great time and finished without feeling like I had been in a bar fight. A few of the SCG races have ended with a feeling that I would be happy to sell my bike and take up a new sport but this one has left me looking forward to a new year of mountain bike racing and going fast.

As for the rest of the crew.. The Pisgah Brew Crew came out in style and kicked some ass. Beth Roberts pulled off a third place (4:29) finish despite wanting to bag it at the half way point due to a drivetrain that required pedaling backwards for every few pedal strokes forward. Marshall threw down a 3:15 which put him in 4th place for the money class. Not bad for his first look at the trail.. Bruce and I rode in at 3:57 putting us in fourth place amongst the 30 people riding with one gear. Shanna Powell kicked some serious ass in the ss class in her first long single speed ride on a rigid bike no less.

I can't wait to do this one again. The new wheels are on the way and I expect to take at least 10 minutes off my time just by having some lighter and better wheels. Take away the mechanicals that added at least 5 minutes to my January time and there is 15 minutes that I stand to gain without the 2009 training plan that I am kicking off. Good times indeed and the SCG is starting to feel like a reunion of sorts with all the great people I get to see and ride with. Next time we will bring some Pisgah beer, step it up a level or two and stick around to raise some hell in Chattanooga post race.

See you on the trail..

Jut

Twas the day before the Holidaze...

2008-12-19T14:09:00.003-05:00

I must confess I've been a little more naughty then nice lately. The holiday is in full swing as I can tell by the string of hangovers from holiday office parties and other xmas season related debauchery. Now that getting down with co-workers is behind me I can focus on the business of bikes and beer. As most of you are aware the Holidaze alleycat is tomorrow and come rain or shine we will be at Pritchard Park tomorrow at 1:00. Bring your cans of food and the items on the listed on last weeks blog post and be ready for further instructions and to ride pedal at least 10 miles around the city.

The race will end where Industry Nine wheels are born (21 Old County Home Road, Asheville NC 28806). So if you want to leave a car and ride to Pritchard Park you can save yourself the hassle of pedaling back downtown in the dark. If you will be joining us strictly for the post race party, show up at Industry Nine (look for the Open House Signs and ballons) around 4:00 and have a beer. The party should be happening at I9 till 7:30 then the kegs will move to another location (most likely the Crow's Nest).

We hope to see you tomorrow.

Jut

The Holidaze is almost here..

2008-12-04T16:51:00.003-05:00

The Holiday season is now upon us and Crow Nest Productions and the Pisgah Brew Crew are planning one hell of a good time. We are proud to announce the first annual Holidaze Alleycat - Scavenger Hunt. Well WTF is an alleycat scavenger hunt you ask, please allow me to explain.

We will converge on Pritchard Park at 1:00 on Saturday December 20th for an urban ride in which there will be a few mandatory checkpoints combined with a search for Asheville landmarks and other objectives, clues, and challenges along the route. If you take a shortest route possible you will ride approx. 7-9 miles so bring a bike or costume that can handle a few miles of pedaling.

The ride will most likely end at a location in West Asheville where food and various drinks will be served (more on this later if you want to drop a car). A keg or two of Pisgah Brewing’s finest will of course be in the house so get ready to party and dance into the night after riding your bike around the city for a few hours.

The ride is meant to be fun but speed and knowledge of downtown Asheville will certainly help and prizes will be awarded for fastest time and most points as well as other awards. The entry will cost you 5 cans of food that will be donated to a local charity.

What will you need to bring?

A bicycle and light.
A messenger bag or backpack.
Bike Lock
Pen and paper.
Digital Camera or camera phone.
A few bucks for drinks along the way.
A map of the city might help if you don’t know your way around very well.
A cell phone.
5 cans of food.

How it’ll work:
Meet at 1pm by yourself or with a team of 2 to 3 people and be given:
1. Set of clues to look for, either pictures, information, or objects
2. Clue to get to the first mandatory checkpoint.
First three to get to each mandatory and complete the task receive X points. Each objective will have a point value on it as well. At first mandatory checkpoint, follow instructions from volunteer. Pretty easy.. Show up, ride your bike and party.

Holiday Costumes encouraged.

Abundance and Bicycles

2008-12-01T17:52:00.015-05:00

Thanksgiving weekend Asheville 08. You name it, I rode it, ate it or drank it. Bent Creek single track, dirt jumps, dual slalom, pump track, nighttime xc racing, urban assault, and girls on handle bars.

Word up to my Flint Street family for hosting the good times on Thursday and all my crew who brought feast and to a lovely lady who dropped off the good stuff. Nashville rock star J Massey and one of Missoula's finest, Jhen, were in Asheville so needless to say we rocked it out in between riding our bicycles for four days.

The first annual Gobbler race came and despite the weather and the hours of post race bike maintenance it will require, I had a blast. I opted out of the downhill due to not wanting to take all my bikes apart but I am sure people got muddy and crashed a lot. I had enough of it after the night time xc race and slept in on Sunday. Good venue, cool event, good people, bad weather, oh well, at least the weather couldn't be much worse next year.

Well, the house guest have left, the fridge is full of leftovers, and there is a half full keg of porter in my front yard. Thanksgiving just won't stop giving.

jut

T.M.T.O.M.H.

2008-11-24T11:19:00.012-05:00

Well, Im a jet fuel genius - I can solve the worlds problems Without even trying I have dozens of friends and the fun never ends That is, as long as Im buying Is it any wonder Im not the president (hes not the president) Is it any wonder Im null and void? Is it any wonder Ive got Too much time on my hands, its ticking away at my sanity Ive got too much time on my hands, its hard to believe such a calamity Ive got too much time on my hands and its ticking away from me Too much time on my hands, too much time on my hands.

-Styx

lovely ladies micheal mooney on his tall mountain bike
credit: smmilleratcitizen-times.com

This weekend offered two totally different rides. Saturday I hit the Asheville Holiday Parade and partied/rode with the AOB (Asheville On Bikes) crew. The Pugsley got a make over and is now equiped with built in speakers and an exhust pipe that is hooked up to a bubble blower. Fun times.

Sunday offered some Dual Slalom and Downhill fun at the Headwaters Adventure Center in Brevard which is home to The Gobbler this coming weekend. The downhill trail will push anyone who isn't use to crazy steep and my years of bmx still didn't prepare me for the dual slalom. A little steeper than your average bmx track to say the least. This weekend should be interesting. At least there will be a good party. J Massey is coming into town, look the fuck out Asheville.

Fall Riding in Pisgah

2008-11-18T10:18:00.013-05:00

I've been laying low and doing some amazing rides lately. Last Friday Ivory and I climbed up Laurel Mtn with 30 ft of visibility at all times to the Parkway and dropped Big Creek in the dark in the rain. We pulled off some amazing technical trails and were having a clean ride till we hit steps at the top of Big Creek. Slick covered in leaves at dusk in the rain they proved to be a good challenge. I barely escaped and Ivory took an amazing fall but lived to tell the tale.

Yesterday we did some early season snow riding in Pisgah. Good times, snow covered roots/rocks and baby possums.

Get out there and ride.

Jut

Get Swanky Yall.

2008-11-07T11:35:00.003-05:00

What a difference a day and chatting with a few of the old school crew makes. The Swank 65 is this weekend and haven't really been getting excited about it until today. Several of the Yazoo Crew are heading to the mountains to join in the fun and Pillsbury is coming in from Chatty. Strength in numbers and good beer waiting at the finish line have me thinking about pedaling hard once again and seeing what I can take. I pulled off a third place finish in SS last year after pedaling my touring bike to the race from Nashville to Asheville in a few days. This year my training for the event consisted of riding everyday i could for two months, taking two weeks off, racing Double Dare, taking two weeks off and now then jumping in head first to the Swank. I have never had a training regimen (obviously) or a planed too far in advance when it comes to racing. I just get excited right before someone says go and a switch flips in me and it on. I think it comes from my years of racing BMX.

To "train" for BMX you simply rode as much as you could after school and on weekends with your buddies for fun and when it came time to line up on the gate you're cool and calm till the gate drops. When you heard that sound of gate hitting the ground, the race was on! I still have the same attitude when it comes to MTB Racing. I say I don't feel like going fast today, then when it's time to race I can't hold myself back.

So, I am once again looking forward to hanging with my friends and fronting with a lackadaisical attitude five minutes prior to racing. I will be thinking "I am going to ride with my buddies and just "chill" and enjoy the ride today" that is until someone says go and I take off. BMX roots never die, thank god.

Riders ready, watch the lights...

Jut Rut (aka Cru Jones wanna be)

What Happened? / What's Zappenin!

2008-11-06T09:55:00.006-05:00

Wow, what an amazing past few days. Halloween weekend was more fun than a thirty something should have! Lots of people on bikes and good times at the Pumpkin Peddler. Have I mentioned that Asheville is a cool town to live in. A good 50 people plus were out in costume and taking it to the streets on Friday night. Then it was off to party with a few hundred more people at the Wedge post bike ride and the Brew Crew even got a gravel lot derby going. The competition was fierce and to my amazement nothing but our livers were injured. We had a number of good riders going for it and it came down to Adam and Marshall dueling it out in the gravel lot with Marshall taking the win from an owl on a fixed gear with skinny tires. Don't mess with the owl... Marshall was the proud winner of a RAD t-shirt which by the way are available. If you don't get the costume, I was Crew Jones for Halloween. Who is Cru Jones you ask, well he was only the coolest bmx kid to come out of 80's and main character in the movie RAD. If you want a t-shirt let me know and just like in the movie they are ten bucks and proceeds go to the RAD Racing Team also known as Pisgah Brew Crew. Pick one up and maybe I will get to race Hell Track.

Saturday was a rest day and there was a plan to lead a ride Saturday night on Farlow Gap. Bruce and I packed up the gear and made our way to the SORBA gathering at Cove Creek in hopes of keeping the party going and combining it with a downhill ride that would offer more opportunities for the type of destruction one should welcome on the Day of the Dead. Well, the SORBA crew is a great bunch but I think our need for a good time out weighed the need to climb to the top of Farlow and risk life and bike so we hung out for an hour or so and sampled some beer and chili and made our way back to town for the Day of the Dead Dance Party. It was a good call and the Apple Pie Shooters combined with killer dance tunes proved to be more fun than a potential hike out of Farlow Gap with broken bones, bike and camping in the cold with a bunch of dudes.

Tuesday was another reason to celebrate and a big high five to Obama, his staff, volunteers and supporters who made it happen. I am feeling better about the direction of the country and our place in the world already. I'm not expecting miracles from him (at least in the first term) but anything is better than the past eight years of right wing - neocon - world domination in the name of Jesus philosophy that president asshole brought to the table.

Alright, enough ranting. Well this weekend looks to be another good one. I am heading to Pisgah Brewing tonight to grab a keg of Organic Goodness for the race / gathering this weekend. Although I am not feeling like "racing" 42 miles in Pisgah on a single speed this weekend I signed up and paid my dues so I will be on the line and ready to do it come Sunday. The Swank 65 is a good race and hopefully my attitude changes and I find my legs when Todd says "GO". It doesn't help that I have a crew of friends heading up for the race and it's difficult to catch up with them as you bomb Farlow Gap. It also doesn't help that my roommate's band, High Windy, is playing Jack of the Wood on Saturday night and I have plans not to miss the show. Keep riding and keep rockin' good people, see you on the trail.

Jut Rut

Get out there and make something happen.

2008-11-04T09:27:00.005-05:00

FOR CHANGE TOMORROW. VOTE TODAY.

Getting Rad in the Fall

2008-10-28T13:18:00.004-04:00

Damn it is a good time to be in Asheville. Fall colors are rockin' and the Maple in my front yard looks like it's on fire. I am finally feeling back to normal after a good week of rest. The Double Dare took a little out of me and it took a few days of r and r to feel like getting back to business. While I was resting I did manage to put together my halloween threads. I won't spill the beans to anyone just yet but I will say it's going to be rad. I had a good first viewing at Si and Becky's Halloween extravaganza. Good times, awesome people, jello shots, dance party and a live performance of The Thriller video, wow.

Another fun weekend awaits and I am looking forward to the Asheville on Bikes - Pumpkin Pedaller this Friday and afterparty at the Wedge. If the P.P. is anything like the good times at Bike Love it is going to be a very fun event.

A good ride on Sunday at Dupont allowed me to purify myself after two nights of beer and dance parties (Happy Birthday Beth, good party!) with a ride in Dupont. Short but sweet ride with Park and Beth. Great trails, beautiful day, vibrant colors and hot tub beers post ride, word.

If you're in Nashville reading this I hope someone will hit this one for me.

There will be an alleycat happening in Asheville this December sponsored by the Pisgah Brew Crew so keep ear to the scene. News will be coming in the next few weeks.

As for the Harvest De Ocho... Well it is sad to report that plans didn't really come together in time to pull of the stellar event we had in mind so.. the plan is to postpone this one till we can make it the level of event that I am proud to put my stamp on. Instead we are poaching other peoples events with some minor throw downs.

First you can find us outside of the Wedge Party on Friday night for a Halloween Hell Derby at 10:00ish p.m. Seems like there should be a few people on bikes in one place drinking beer so why not have a derby. Prizes will be given (good ones) and bikes will be broken (maybe). Come join in the carnage and good times.

Second you will find some of the crew kicking it in Pisgah this weekend with the SORBA folks. There will be a Pisgah Brew Crew night ride taking place so if your there look for me and we will hit the trails for a Day of the Dead - Downhill of Death Ride that should scare the crap out of you. The action begins at dark-thirty at Cove Creek Campground. You have to be a member of SORBA (you should be anyways) to join in this one and register on their site to camp out so sign up and I will see you there.

Finally, we have a good man down who could use a hand. My man Scott Hodge had an unfortuate accident recently and with no insurance the bills are starting take a toll. Scott lives a lifestyle of bicycles and helping others and if you have ever met him you know he is the kind of person that would always give you the shirt of his back. Having experienced the pain of a serious injury while being uninsured myself I encourage you to at least send him some love and if you got a few bucks to spare he could probably use it more than you or I. There is a place to make a donation here. Get well soon brother...

Keep your head in the clouds, your wheels on the ground and rip it up this weekend boys and girls.

Jut

Double Dare. Done...

2008-10-20T15:00:00.012-04:00

Double Dare is done. Pisgah Bruce and I spent the last two days riding over a 100 miles of Pisgah singletrack and climbing over 20,000 ft in the course of 20 hours on single speeds. We didn't make the podium but defiantly made up for it in style points (see pics). Considering this was my first Eric Wever event and my longest two days of riding in Pisgah done back to back I must say we did pretty good overall. By the time the weekend came to a close we hit 14 checkpoints and got both the bonus 1/2 point challenges that involed three things that we trained for daily on out tipe out west, BB Guns, Slingshots, and drinking beer. We covered some ground and finished with 15 checkpoints total however it was not enough to take out the studs that pulled off 1st, way to go Brad and Matt.

For me, it's not so much about winning this race as it is just riding your bike for longer than you would normally and taking routes you would never consider on a normal day in the woods. The race takes you "out there" both literally and figuratively and during the 20 hours on the bike I got to see parts of Pisgah the I not seen in a long time that brought back great memories and parts that I had never seen before. The Fall colors were awesome and I got to see it all on a bicycle! I couldn't have asked for anything more and the keg of Pisgah Pale Ale was a wonderful prize for everyone that made it back to camp each day. A big thanks to my sponsor for the killer beer and a shout out to Pisgah Bruce who took me on as his partner in such an awesome event. He called out a big day two when I could have happily called it a day after the 20 mile / 5,000 ft climb just to get your passport and start the race. I defiantly found the next level of mountain bike racing and think I will be happy hanging out here for a while.

To get into any kind of race report seems like too much work for now. So, I will just say that Eric and his crew of volunteers know how to throw a killer event. And, that I had a great time at your party.

Jut

This one's for the little guy...

2008-10-17T10:42:00.004-04:00

It's time for the Pisgah Brew Crew to step it up. Our sponsor has taken the number one spot in the "Best of Asheville" as the #1 Brewery in Asheville. This is the first time a brewery has beat out Highland Brewing Company for the top spot in years. Way to go guys, keep making the good stuff and I will keep drinking it. Go Organic!

In other news my company, EcoHouse, has been climbing the ranks as well. Our small boutique office has gone from 45th in production and market share to 15th in the course of one year. Not bad considering we have about 10 agents and we are going toe to toe with offices of 50 plus agents. So give it up for the little guy doing it the right way. Go green!

Speaking of the little guy doing something right, I want to welcome our newest sponsor S.EX or Suspension Experts as they are also known. Kevin and Phil will get your suspension set up and have it back to you with the quickness and you don't have to mess with sending it off and having it sit in a line of shocks at some manufactures headquarters. Also, it pays to have someone who will listen to you and set up a shock well suited for your riding style. Go big!

With so many good sponsors and hopefully one more good one to come the pressure is on for the Pisgah Brew Crew to climb our way to podiums across the country and prove once and for all that you can win the party and get on the podium the next day. As I have said before "you must live like a rock star if you want to ride like one". See you at the Double Dare, we have a keg of the best Pale Ale around and a few other tasty treats for the winners. Be ready to rock.

Jut

rock n' fuckin roll

2008-10-15T12:05:00.008-04:00

photo by sucka pants.

Double Dare training continues... saw these guys last night at a tiny club in Asheville. Woooh. If they come to your town, don't miss them. more pics of these guys live shows here.

It's nap time.

Jut

Back to the Basics

2008-10-13T09:23:00.003-04:00

Getting back to basics here is Asheville. Mountain bike racing and the pursuit of a good time is what this blog is all about and that's exactly what I have been doing over the past week. I have been spending some time in Pisgah in preparation of the Double Dare. Although I have been riding the trails in Pisgah for almost 12 years now I must admit I am a little nervous about what I will encounter this weekend. Day one will bring up to 12 hours of suffering like I have never experienced then I have to get up on Sunday and be ready to start at 6:00 a.m. and do it all again. This will be my first experience with an Eric Wever event and he was cool enough to allow me to race this one having not done the PMBAR, I guess if you are holding the MBAMBW Title you can sometimes get around the rules. Plus, it's not like it's going to hurt the race promoter if I get in over my head, it will be me that will have to deal with the decision. I was feeling prepared both mentally and physically prior to the fun had at Thad and Hillary's wedding last weekend. The wedding was so much fun that as we were leaving and about to ride home on bikes I thought a freestyle maneuver was called for in the parking lot. Well, I now know it is not as easy as you might think to ride on to a car hood on a cyclocross bike. I looped out and came to a rest on the pavement rather quickly with my ribs crushing the can of redbull that was resting in my messenger bag. I don't think anything is broken but I know it's not right. The decision to race the single speed in up in the air and if things don't improve expect to see Jut racing a bike with gears for the first time in 5 years.

The decision to opt for gears and suspension instead of a single speed was only made more difficult after picking up the Maverick (not John McLame) from Suspension Experts last week. Kevin should be given a medal of honor for saving my bikes life and bringing the suspension back from the dead. The Maverick went into battle over the last few months and came out with PTSD and several broken bones. Kevin returned it to me in better shape than when I bought it. The boys over at S.EX know what they are doing and I have learned that a rigid bike is more fun than a suspension bike that doesn't work like it should so do yourself a favor and let Kevin and give your ride some love if your shock not up to par.

Other notes, if you didn't know the Black Keys kick ass! The boys rocked it out at the Orange Peel. They are the single-speed version of rock n' roll if I ever heard it. Just what you need and nothing more.

Speaking of single speeds and rock n roll... The Harvest De Ocho is on! It will be going down on the Day of the Dead, actually the night of the Dead, 11-1-08, in Pisgah Forest. This one's free so bring a bike, a bright light, a costume, and cup for beverages. Details to come soon.

One more thing before I go. As you may have noticed I am racing for a new beer team. Pisgah Brewing has deemed me worthy of sponsorship and will be keeping riders from going thirsty at all of our future events and at Double Dare this weekend. I want to first thank Yazoo Brewing Company for all the good times and good beer they have donated me and the crew over the last few years. We did what we intended to do and changed the Nashville Cycling Scene for good and I know the boys back in Nashville will keep the fire burning and the beer flowing (hey somebody throw an event in Nashville). However, since it is a long drive to have a pint of Yazoo I had to do something and Pisgah Brewing Company saw the vision and embraced it. Check out the new site and be sure not to plan anything for weekend of Nov 1-2, it's going to be good.

Keep it rocking,

Jut

2008-10-03T13:04:00.002-04:00

So here you go. To wrap up the "Right Time, Right Place Tour" here are a few stats and a lot of photos.

Days on the road - 61
Days on the bike - 51
Miles of the road- approx. 13,100
Times we saw it rain - 2
Nights sleeping on the ground - 50
Hotels- 0
Paid for camping - 4
Showers taken - 14
Serpentine belts on the Subaru - 3
Oil change - 1
# of beers consumed - my liver doesn't want to know.
Dollar menu burgers - way too many.

Basically it was two of the best months of my life and I can't wait to do it again next year. Look out Durango, we're coming for ya in 09'.

Enjoy the pics.

Jut Rut

I live a hard life...

2008-09-30T13:29:00.024-04:00

Bruce and I rounded the bases and made it back to home base safe and somewhat sound. Wow, what a trip it's been. Two months and 13 thousand miles later I sit here at the Crow's Nest typing on my ole desktop. I made it without breaking any bones or being arrested and that says a lot.The trip back home was quite an event in itself after wearing myself out day after day for two months. After taking two relaxing days hanging out in Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Forest, we power drove from Cheyenne Wyoming to Nashville TN then proceeded to hook up with Ivory at the High Noon Hollow for some much needed R & R. Instead pf getting any rest we rallied one more time and partied with the M'boro crew till 4 am after getting an hour and a half of sleep the night before. We woke up, went caving then proceeded to make the drive to Pisgah for one more night of camping and a day of riding. We pulled into Pisgah at 1 am and setup camp for the last time. Woke up had a little target practice then proceeded to hit the home trails. I can't describe the feeling of having the tires back on some Pisgah Singletrack but I will say that this place is home.

Bittersweet is the best way to describe the feeling I have today. It is great to be back home with friends, my dog, a bed and other conveniences but after a good night sleep I am already missing the feeling of wondering what is around the next corner. Fortunately I live in a beautiful place with enough good people and good trails to satisfy that craving each day. The trip back was a perfect winding down type of experience with a few more wild ones thrown in for good measure and to make sure I got my fill. So it will be nice to relax and make plans for the next one. I have plenty of good ideas to keep me busy here for a little while and it's my favorite time of year to hanging in the mountains of NC. With new sponsors Pisgah Brewing Company and Ecohouse look for more quality events to be coming from ole Jut Rut and crew. The Enduro De Ocho was just the beginning to what will be some kick ass events coming out of the Asheville area and with this trip under my belt I have a few new tricks up my sleeve.

As for the journey I just had, there is no real end in sight. Life just keeps on coming for all of us and it is up to you to keep your eyes open and see it as an adventure or as a daily grind. Well, I'm not going back to the grind any time soon. I don't see enough happening to keep me very busy in the Real Estate sector so it is the perfect time to sharpen a few more skills that I have been letting slide during the past 8 years of easy money. So, it's art projects and bike event promotion while the fallout occurs from the bomb that has just gone off in the financial and real estate markets. Yes, life is good and once again the timing has come together for ole jut rut. And with a clear head and an open heart I feel like I am just getting started in a new town. The cobwebs are gone and I can't wait to see where the next few months take me. More later, I need a nap.

Keep the fire buring.

Jut

Montana, oh how I love thee…

2008-09-22T13:13:00.043-04:00

Better have the intervention ready when I hit home boys I am about done. Since my last update or check in with the real world I have wrapped up the Seattle portion of the trip in style with Stobin showing us around town and the I-5 urban freeride park then rounding out the night in some kick ass bars and Mexican food in downtown Seattle. Great city, great host, and a righteous last night playing Skeeball and hanging with friends. I had almost become anti-city but Seattle gave me hope in many ways. I know most cities are basically screwed up but Seattle is on to something and felt as progressive as it gets when it came to many aspects I consider important, quality of life, being the main one. We said our good byes to Stobin, “bye Dad” and our Seattle HeadHeadquarters then rolled out at 5 o’clock making it to Idaho by midnight. We pulled the snooze and cruise near Corcour de’ lene and upon waking up and chating with some locals we realized we needed some heavier artillery going into bear country in Montana. We stopped into Black Sheep Sporting Goods and hooked up with one bad ass bb gun (The Rattler), 5,000 bbs, a sling shot and bear bells. We are now Black Sheep V.I.P.’s and ready for what ever kind of trouble that may come our way. After a little target practice behind the building we headed East again. We pulled into Missoula Montana around 3, stopped into Missoula Bicycle Works, chatted with Buck at the shop who gave us two juicy nuggets that would change the way the next 36 hours would transpire. He point us to Rattlesnake Wilderness for a ride and when asked where to go post ride he mentioned the Kettle House for a pint of goodness. Where it went from there words could not describe. All I can say is that I know I have a second home called Missoula and the people, trails, scene, rivers, mountains, and did I mention people are some of the best around. It would take me hours to describe the good times that occurred there over the past 72 hours but the memories will last forever and the pictures will remind me when I am old and can’t even remember my name. It was great to meet so many cool, friendly people that felt like friends I have known forever in such high concentration. And just to sweeten the pot they throw down with the best of them. In many ways it was a little utopia that fit well with the dream world I have been living in for the past two months. I know I tend to get lucky but I scored on this one big time meeting some quality folks that took us under there wing and checked out of the real world with us for a few days. As we were trying to leave we ran into Max from the ss worlds and Fred's Well who is currently riding his bike to Brokyland from Seattle, small fucking world. Good times, we rocked it at the bars, rode the trails for two days, floated the river, ate good, drank good, shot guns, drank tequila, broke hearts and had our’s broken. Yes, life was good in Missoula and to the Missoula crew, know that your are all part of the band and we send you our love. Don’t worry, we will be back.

We narrowly escaped the grip Missoula had on us and headed to Bozeman for Montana Round Two. We had instructions to hook up with another friend of a friend and supporter of the cause who was ready to get in on the action and show us some new trail and good times in another good town. We rallied once again and shut the town down after stopping by a friend’s party and woke up and rode some amazing trail today. As I sit here at 1:45 a.m. I am officially whipped after a great day of riding and stop by another kick ass brewery. More on the Bozeman experience later I am out.

UPDATE: Red Truck found, then hidden. There are some lucky dudes in B.C.

I got an email from our BC brethren and although there are no back flips of trucks for the next few weeks our boy Daren is going to make it.

"Hey Justin, David just sent me your blog. NICE!! Here some more pics I took today. I would love to see them posted on your story page. before and after. You can add in your story that I'm OK but ended up with two compressed fractures in my back. I'll be down for 5 more weeks. Thanks for everything guys. I hope you went north over the Duffy Lake road like I told you and found that open pit copper mine...pretty kewel. Thanks again, you guys Rock!!" Darin

Well there you go, you heard it from the source. Darin lives to tale the tale! Here are a few pics to let you know just how lucky these guys are.

You B.C. boys keep the torches lit I will be back and next time we will jump bicycles not trucks. So glad to hear you made it, we have more good times to come...

I say Shit, God Damn, my life rules.

The Weekend Bender...

2008-09-15T11:40:00.029-04:00

We couldn't start going east just yet... We are back at our Seattle headquarters (Stobin's house) once again. Cleaning clothes, car, and bikes getting ready for a push to Montana tomorrow. The weekend in Bend, Oregon was just what I needed post BC insanity. The BC was experience was rather destructive (Subaru serpentine belt, one therma-rest, front and rear shocks blown on the maverick, lots of brain cells, red truck, Daren's back, and the list goes on) so I was ready for some laid back soul riding. Our Northwest tour guide Stobin had the balls to go out on the road with us one more time and took us to the single speed mecca called Bend, OR. We packed up the ss bikes on Friday afternoon and hit the road making it to Bend around 1 am and kicked it off to a good start by scoring an awesome free campsite a few hundred yards from the trails. Bruce and I partied under the full moon for awhile got some cool photos, built a race track and called it a night as we knew Stobin had some major riding planned for the next two days.

Day one took us all over the trail network closest to town on sweet single track with turns that begged to be railed, technical rock outcrops every so often and a trail that offered incredible berms and about 40 jumps of various sizes but most were good tabletops 15 ft long that were more predictable and cleanable that what we were hitting in BC (check out the video and image another 20 of these over the course of a mile.

Good times indeed, a good 30-35 miles and rode for 5.5 hours and we called it a day and hit town for a soak in the Turkish Bath House (5 bucks) in Bend and two of the biggest slices of pizza on record. A trip by Deschutes Brewery for their Green River Organic Pale Ale and it was back to the campsite for a raging campfire and smore fest. Beers and other items were consumed under the full moon, which lead to more photos and a no bike light full moon midnight ride.

We called it around 2 am and woke up to more beautiful clear skies, breakfast cooked over the campfire remains and a long climb ahead of us. He headed to the skyline trail head and planned on getting in a short 3 mile warm up before embarking on a sustained 14 mile climb up to the 8,000 ft high alpine meadow called Happy Valley. The climb is not as bad as what you might be imagining a 14 mile climb would be like on a single speed due to the 7 waterfalls you pass on the way up a network of smooth rolling terrain through tall cedars forest. Log rides broke up the climb as well giving us a chance to stop and mess around during the three hour climb. Feeling back on my game and in true Double Dare training Bruce and I turned screws on each other seeing who might be in the first to crack after a good long one the day before and no sleep. I backed off halfway up and let him go so I could refuel and finished the rest of the ride pinning every decent and climb for the rest of the day. To say these trails are good for a single speed is a major understatement. They had the flow that you look for when you only have one gear and maintaining speed is crucial. On the way day down the 10 mile decent we pushed each to our limits, leg out in the turns, launching root gaps, and riding several man made obstacles. We knocked out 27 miles in about 4.5 hours after lots of photo opts and just hanging out on a beautiful day in Bend. More giant pizza slices and we were back on the road to Seattle and we made it town in time for Stobin to get a few hours of sleep.

Now we are here in Seattle about to hit the local trails today before heading West on I-90 to hit Missoula MO tomorrow and get in a few rides in a new town.

Now I know this is a bike blog but I do think about a lot of other things and this one I just have to touch on...

A few thoughts on what is happening in America today. Seeing that I haven't really spent time near a tv for a month and a half I turned it on today and thought to myself "it's about damn time..." Our capitalistic economic system is collapsing and I am laughing and having another wonderful day here on earth. Well, I don't feel too bad for a lot of those folks as they knew better than anyone that money only works as long people believe in it. Also, making money on the markets is just gambling for people that have money in the first place. Greed and a need for excess has created the pain that many are experiencing today. I feel I made my own decision to live the simple life and liquidate my possession of houses, condos, and the crap that was keeping me tied to my job. I made the decesion because I to felt the stress that comes when you have too many balls in the air and are dependant on others feeding the system to keep it all a float. But when that change is forced on you it's a hard pill to swallow. Living simple has made all the difference in my life and letting go of those things has allowed me to accomplish so much with out the weight. I know it is going to be a painfull experience for a lot of people that are watching their McMansion go back to the bank or wealth that was created by calling their stock broker disappear. However, I have news flash for them, it was never yours. And when you put that much stake on possessions to make you happy or shape your self image / self worth then you are in need of the same kind of check that our markets are feeling today. Get real, get out there, rock on....

Jut

Living the Jackass Lifestyle...

2008-09-12T13:52:00.021-04:00

All I have to say is if you plan to go to Whistler BC be ready to throw down. I am in the car heading back to Seattle in need of some sleep and a hot shower. We poached a camping spot in a gravel parking area for the first two nights before being asked to leave by the campground host. We decided to move on find another location higher up in the hills. We take a forest service road outside of town and ran into the craziest crew of Canadians I have every meet. Potentially the crazies dudes ever (and that says a lot). I thought I knew how to party but these guys took it to new heights literally. As soon as we met them they were crashing into each others trucks and doing back flips of the roof in to a gravel parking lot. We passed around the bottle of crown and decided to go find a place to get a bonfire going. The forest service road was a four wheeler trail and the Subaru carefully picked lines thru the washed out road littered with giant rocks. We earned our respect from the Canada Crew by even making it down the road for a few miles while they were flying down the roads abusing their new truck that they had just bought for 400.00 bucks. Disaster seemed imminent with the pace these dudes were setting and sure enough as we followed them further into the woods and as we were coming around a curve we noticed skid marks going off the side of the road. We pulled over and saw something no one ever wants to see, red truck at the bottom of the river a good 25-30 ft down. Daren and DR were climbing out and at first glance it looked like Daren’s leg was seriously broken and DR was already on crutches after having knee surgery a few days ago. They had just pulled a Duke Boys bridge out kind of truck launch and lived to tell about it. I went to get black truck while Bruce went down to stabilize the situation. When I got back it turned out that Daren was not as seriously hurt at I first thought however, his back and legs were messed up due to sailing the car 20 ft and landing sideways on a giant boulder then rolling the truck again down the hill coming to a stop with the wheels down. We encouraged him to go to the hospital but instead he wanted start a fire and lay down. This guy was insane! He was doing back flips of the top of the truck 30 minute prior, he has just narrowed escaped death and all he could think about was not fucking up his buddies’ good times and keeping the good times coming. So we proceeded to start the biggest bonfire I have ever seen burning logs so large that it would take two people to wrap your arms around them. These guys even made a beer run into town to be sure that no one was left thirsty. I stayed up until the sun started to come up then closed my eyes for a few hours of sleep. We are just too tired to ride and I think it would a little dangerous any how so we are making out way back feeling fortunate that nothing went wrong considering how intense my BC experience has been.

Well, BC was the furthest point of our trip so technically we are heading home from here. Bruce has had his fill and to be honest I am starting to feel a little homesick as well. Maybe I just need some rest but I would love to be chilling at the crow’s nest with my dog and a few friends right about now. I still have another 20 days or so on the road so I will of course make the most of it starting with a couple of rides in Bend OR this weekend. After Bend we are cruising through Sun Valley, Idaho. Then on to Wyoming, back to Colorado for a few more rides before returning to Asheville. Missing friends and the local trails and trying to figure out how to keep this lifestyle going upon my return to Asheville. I have had too many amazing experiences to have to go back to the normal life and I looking for the way out. The things I have seen, people I have met and experiences from this trip will only last as long as I let them stay in the forefront of my mind so the question becomes how does one making a living following their dreams. I am certainly working on it in between long rides and all night parties with Canadians. We will see what I come up with and representing cool green homes in Asheville isn’t a bad way to pass some time while things come together. However, surfing part of the year and riding mountain bikes the other part, all the while helping other people enjoy their life sounds a whole lot better way to spend it. Live large and go big people, life is too short not to ask for it all.

Jut

RED TRUCK - R.I.P. 9-10-08 - 9-11-08

I have offically been humbled...

2008-09-10T14:58:00.006-04:00

I use to think I knew how to ride a bike. Whistler has humbled me in a way that no other place has. I know, I only have 6 inches up front and 5 in the rear but DAMN, I thought I could still rock some big stuff out. If you are planning on coming to Canada, eah, bring the biggest bike you can find, eah. The double blacks diamonds and pro lines are off the freaking charts and with a hangover I wasn't exactly bringing my A game to the A Line Trail. Bruce ate shit on one of the drops and called it a day. Thanks to Stobins body armor and full face helmet that Bruce borrowed all he has to show is a bruised heal despite going into over the bars into a pile of rocks. Just going down the mountain all day took it's toll on me, the thumb still hurts bad and the left leg is now turning green with accents of black and blue from the crash a few days ago. We are hitting some of Whistlers finest cross country trails today that are still loaded with natural and manmade obstacles. Then a good nights rest and hit the bike park one more time before head back to the states.

Oh, the boarder crossing was an adventure. Due to our shady looks we spent some time at customs talking with the Canadian Boarder Patrol. They decided to let us in despite our criminal past and Bruce's FBI record. We picked up two ginormous bottles of Crown Royal for 21.oo bucks at the duty free store and word is that we have to finish it before heading back so we might just stay awhile if not just say fuck it and find some jobs here. Whistler rocks and if you can ride this shit you got balls and skills. Wish some of you guys were up here so I would have somebody to show up, even the hot chicks are kicking my ass on some of this stuff.

all the best, eah..

Jut

Beaten up, but not broken...

2008-09-08T12:47:00.015-04:00

Wow... The northwest rocks! To bring you up to speed, Bruce and I are doing fine despite the fact that I have been over the bars and sliding down mountains the past few days. Beaten up but not broken is how I am feeling but hey chicks dig scars, or so they say, so hopefully I have a cutie waiting for me as I head to BC today because I am looking rough. The good part is that I feel like I have gotten the crashing out of the way so I am taking my cuts and bruises to the mecca of bike parks, Whister. My great friend Stobin has not only been kind enough to take in Bruce and I and show us around Seattle but has loaned Bruce his 6 in travel bike for the next few days and took us to two of the finest trails that Washington State has to offer over the weekend. I haven't updated the blog since the N. Umpqua and the following day we hit the legendary McKenzie River. Bruce and I got a late start so we decided to ride the road up and take the trail down. Twenty fives miles up on the road meant 28 miles of trail that runs beside the river thru lava flows and majestic water falls. All is going well and once again I am freaking out as we pass turquoise colored lakes filled with Glacier water streams clearer than any naturally running water I have ever seen. Ten miles into the ride you encounter a lava flow that makes for some awesome technical riding. We stop for another waterfall and when I got back on my bike I immediately go over the bars as the result from starting with one foot clipped in surrounded by giant lava rocks. The bike comes over and lands right on top of me and my thumb was bent into a postion that was far from normal but we kept it rolling with my gimp hand and finished the ride at night riding thru the thick canopy of trees with one good hand and virtually no light to speak of. This one was truly the epic of trip so far with over 50 miles of riding and about 8 hours on the bike.

Needing some r&r, we got the call from Stobin and the next day hit the road to Seattle. We made it just in time for a late night bike ride to one of the local spots for food and beers and called it a night. The following day got caught up on laundry and whatnot's and caught up with Stobin after work for a ride on one of Settles greenways and hit Redhook Brewing Company for Pints and finished it off with some great Mexican food. Well rested we hit the road on Saturday for some more five star river trails and volcano riding. Our tour guide Stobin lead us to one of the choicest river trails in Washington, The Lewis River Trail. On Sunday we hit Mt Saint Helens and were treated to views of Mt Baker, Rainer, Hood and of course the big one Mt Saint Helens.

The Lewis River trail was smooth and fast with winding trails through mossy green dense forest with some sweet soil that hooked up more than any ground our tires have touched so far. It also had plenty of shot and sweet climbs that almost lead to disaster as I found my self sliding down the side of a mountain backwards after slipping out at the top of the climb. Fortunately I got some tree love and came to a stop upside down with my bike with me and didn't have to experience the pain of going end over end for the 60 ft that would have taken me thru dead fall to a rushing river. A busted helmet and little brusied (see above pic) but with no holes in me or parts hanging loose we headed back to camp and called it a day.

The Saint Helens ride was over the top and started with a good 6 miles of climbing through one of the only stands of trees that made it through the blast up to the upper base of the mountain littered with nothing but a tree skeletons, small plants, pumice stone and additional aftermath of volcanic eruption. Words can't really do the landscape justice so you can check out a few pictures above. On the way back we were treated to one of the best descents on record with smooth flowing trails with a few tight switchbacks along the way with exposure just to keep you on your toes. Somebody pinch me, I think I may be dreaming...

Put on the freaking breaks...

2008-09-05T15:37:00.002-04:00

Time to downshift into 3rd… I have had the pedal to the metal over the last month and the wear and tear finally caught up to me a few days after the worlds. The riding, the partying, the road, and the events that take place when you combine it all then set it on fire brought me to a place that required some much needed R&R. Feeling some post sswc depression and treating it with dose of reality I made my way to the Lost Coast of California. Feeling a little lost myself it seemed more than appropriate for our next destination point.

With a tip from Fuzzy we made our way to the Kings Range trail, which is an IMBA sponsored trail in the Kings Range Conservation area on the Pacific Coast in Land of the Redwoods. The trail was not officially open however we dropped some names and were given the green light from Gray and Scott the friendly rangers and were treated to 14 miles of sweet California trails made for mountain bikes by mountain bikers. The trails had awesome views of the ocean and an incredible flow with the help of perfectly bermed turns and jumps. After finding a little peace we headed north to Arcadia and Humbolt County.

A quick stop in Revolution Cycles and Justin filled us in on rides in the area. A trail and free camping was in Willow Springs and the word was that there was also a creek (bath) at the end of the trail. With a few rough directions we hit the road and found our way to the campsite at night. Well, eventually we had to have a trail experience that was less than spectacular and the Horse Linto trail was just that. A four mile climb up a hot dusty forest service road to a maze of other fireroads that each ran into dead ends requiring us to go back up on the hottest day of the year (101) for Willow Springs. All was not lost though and the experience of the day was a run in with a mama bear and her three cubs. We checked them out from about 70 feet away and the mustaches must of done their jobs as we sent mama bear running into the woods when see saw us rolling up. We made our way back to camp and decided to stay another day and rest our souls by the creek and called it an early night.

We woke up and had our usual craft hour as Bruce made some charms from a rusty fence for his new Fred’s Well jewelry line and I poured my thoughts onto paper trying to make sense of the last few months, digest all that has happened over the last month and chart some direction for the next few months ahead. We hit the road later in the day and made our way to cooler temps and the Oregon boarder. We found both and pulled over when we hit Ashland Mountain and set up camp at midnight behind the ski resort. Temps were the coldest yet and hung out in the twenties and 40 mile per hour winds ripped at my tent leaving me covered by dust in the morning. Not wanting to brave the cold winds, Bruce made a makeshift nest on top of all the crap in the back of the car and slept only slightly more comfortable than I did.

We woke up and made our way down the mountain and hooked up with Tim from Ashland who was cool enough to ride over to where we were having breakfast and give us a lift to the top of the mountain and a map and informed us of what to expect of the 14 mile Super D course that would eventually drop us back at our car in town. We hooked up with a local before dropping in he showed us a few little local nuggets of goodness on the way down. Killer trail with HUGE gap jumps, plenty of smaller gaps, doubles, and log rides that kept you on your toes looking for that next great hit. We got a call from Tim before we made it out of town and stopped by his place to make our new creation Paqitos on a regular stove before continuing on to N. Umpqua River Trail. We pulled into the area late but somehow managed to camp within a mile from the trailhead we wanted despite having no idea where we were. In case you are traveling anywhere close to Roseburg stop what you are doing and hit the this trail for a few days if you can. Imagine crystal blue waters and raging rapids to your left as you ride through the ewolk village on pristine trails that at one moment offer you excessive speeds then turns to 10in wide trail with a 40 ft drop the next. Some of the tallest trees I have ever witnessed in a rainforest like setting all the while the flowing trail taking you further towards the lake that makes it all possible. We went back to the same camp the next night with the purpose of getting in some more of the 75 miles of heavenly trail the next day. We woke up and hit the trail again feeling the big climbs and 33 miles of riding the day before. We took it at a scenic pace and managed to cover another 20+ miles of trail before heading north once again. As I type this we have just left Eugene and are stocked up with beer and food once again and making our way to the hot springs at the base of the McKenzie River Trail. We will be soaking our weary bodies tonight with hopes of another world class trail tomorrow. Then more hot springs and a drive into Portland on Thursday.

Ok, so that’s enough to catch up on the “where I’ve been” now on to “where I’m at” if you care… All is good, and to all the crew our there I send a big what’s up and know that you are in my thoughts. The past thirty days has been quite an adventure and I feel like I am finally able to slow down and let some things start sinking in. It has been one big party for the last few months and the last month has felt like the after party of a life time. Now most of the guests have left and I think it’s time to start cleaning things up a bit to get ready for the next day. I finally had the feeling the other day that I could go home happy and content but instead I am heading further from home knowing the best days are still to come as I no longer have any agenda other than getting some quality trails and some good thinking done. A lot of things are becoming clear and with nothing to do all day but ride and think I don’t know why people hire a shrink when all they need is a passion and some quality time with themselves on an open road. With a clear and creative mind anything is possible and I am embracing the moment and what is to come over the next few months. I wish you all well and send you my love. If you want to kill some time, here is past month in pictures along with some pics of my wonderful new nephew Noah Ghin Mitchell he is going to be a rad kid. Peace and love ya’ll.

Jut

2008-08-23T13:39:00.053-04:00

It’s not about the race, it’s about the journey. Wow, what a trip it’s been… The sswc08 race itself will be blogged about all over the web so there is no real need for me to cover the actual event. What will not make it to the blogs is the experience in the desert at Fred’s Well with the Durango Crew that showed up and kicked some major ass and will be bringing sswco9 to south west co and the post sswc08 tree house dance party with the Durango crew that got broken up by the cops at skyline park around midnight last night. I would like to give a huge shout out to Curtis and Crew that pulled of one hell of a time and took the time and energy to host something worthy of making me take two months off and drive 10,000 miles. Though pictures don’t even start to either of these two events justice I offer you some. See you all in Durango next year...

Rock it the fuck out!

Jut

We made it...

2008-08-22T13:54:00.002-04:00

We made it to California. It has been a trip within a trip and I am well rested at Aunt Pam's pad in San Rafael. Of course I took it to the edge before resting up on a couch last night and by edge I mean the middle of nowhere Nevada in the desert for a few days with Doom, Jon and crew from Durango and other assorted fellows from CO that we hooked up with at the Windmill, Bike Alter and dry lake bed. Bruce and I drove all night after an evening polo match on the lake bed to make it to California just in time to pick up more beer then meet up with the SSWC08 crew for a ride in Sonoma and free beer and tacos at the sycip headquarters. It was the perfect way to come back to society after a few day in the desert. Post Moab Bruce and I headed to Zion for a ride Gooseberry Mesa and met up with his step brother who just happened to live on the road that lead to the trail. We got up early to beat the 115 degree heat that was expected and rode rocks for a few hours and meet up with a similar soul on day 42 of his experience on the road. From Gooseberry we headed to the extraterrestrial highway for the light show of a life time. If you happen to be heading west stop in Rachael NV around 11-Midnight and see what new toys your tax dollars are going towards. Bruce and I spent an hour saying nothing but "dude! look at that one, dude, look at that one. WOW!" for an hour straight as we witnessed "crafts" turn into fireballs and stop change direction and repeat in the night desert sky. The next morning we met up with the Durango crew at the "other windmill" and we saw jet fighters flying 100 yards above us, as we styled out the bike alter, and shot plastic army men and coins at 20 yards. It was a day that words just can not describe so I won't go into details but I will say that one day felt like a week and I had my own personal burning man experience on la playa and feel like I am more in tune than I have been in years. Today it's off to the S.F. for an urban ride then on to a sswc barbecue. Tonight it's mayhem in S.F. and we will see where I wake up. Pics coming when more time is availalbe. Livin' to the max. Lovin' you all.

Jut Rut

Moab update a few days late...

2008-08-22T00:46:00.007-04:00

Moab Utah Rocks. After the 111 degree day of riding rocks we were about to head north in search of cooler temps. Little did we know that slickrock desert rides are not all that Moab has to offer. After a quick stop by Rim Cyclery we were pointed in the direction of the La Sal Mountains. Just a short 10 minutes out of town we hit Ken Lake for a bath in the cool water then headed up another 15 miles to Gyeser Pass that sits at a very cool 10,500 ft in elevation. The temps dropped 60 degrees over the course of a thirty minute drive. We had found heaven after a ride in hell. The campsite at the entrance to Blue Lake was the best so far and we called it home for three days. The battery in the car when dead but with four gallons of water we knew we would be fine for a couple of days. We rode Burro Pass and Moonlight Meadows over the course of two days. Both of which entailed screaming fast descents and climbs that stretched over 5 miles. Burro Pass takes you up a two mile climb and tops out at 11,500 ft a few hundred ft above the tree line. Long super steep descents with jumps over creeks and switchbacks that made Heartbreak Ridge seem like a walk in the park. No room for error and as Bruce said “you better be good at doing cartwheels if you go off the trail”. On Saturday we decided to ask someone for a jump and took the road back into Moab. Our host Ken and Rachel Moody were awesome and let Bruce and I set up camp in their beautiful backyard. Over a couple of beers Ken mentions a shuttle ride that was planned for the next day and Bruce and I jumped onboard. The next morning Ken, Chris, Bruce and I loaded up the truck and drove back up to the La Sal Mountains and dropped in Hazard County Trail that sits a good 7,000 ft above the slickrock trails below. We started off at a cool 50 degrees as we dropped into the desert after crossing through Aspen forest and alpine meadows with wild flowers in full bloom. I was treated to local lines as soon as we hit the Koopleli Trail that then turns in to UPS or Upper Porcupine Singletrack. The Aspens were soon replaced with scrub brush and cacti and dirt turned to sand and rocks. Ken and Chris lead us on the locals lines away from the painted dots to where the big boys play. The Maverick handled it fine though there were a few times that I seriously questioned some of the 5 ft drops and shutes that were pea gravel on 70 degree slopes. We linked up UPS to LPS (Lower Porcupine Singletrack) then bombed down the 4 mile climb that most people take to the top of Porcupine rim and linked up to the Slickrock Trail. We once again were treated to local lines on one of the world’s most famous trails. After riding half of slick rock we then connected up with Hell’s Revenge for a torturous grind up steep slickrock and sections of sand. The prize trail was still waiting for us ahead as we hit our final descent of the day, The Chili Pepper Trail. The drop into the trail had a few options ranging from a 6 ft drop or a 5 ft step down a few boulders the trail then switchbacks for another eight of a mile with a few inches of sandy loose soil separating you from the a good 50 fl slide down jagged rocks. A jump park sits half way down the trail with 20 ft gaps and step downs that required speed and balls that I just don’t have. There were a few jumps that were with in my reach so se sessioned for awhile then finished it off with a few more sections that were scary just to walk down. We rode back to Ken’s house hit the hot tub and Ken broke out the Barbeque and cooked an amazing Pork Loin washed down with a few too many good beers. At the moment I am 30 miles from Zion National Park heading to Goose Berry Mesa trail for some first class singletrack tomorrow then on to Nevada and a stay overnight at the “Windmill” on the Extraterrestrial Highway for a bike polo match with the Durango crew on their way to the SSWC. Wednesday we will drive due west and cross through Yosemite National Park on our way to San Fransico to see my brother, his wife Yacoco, and my new nephew Noah. Then it time for the party to begin as the SSWC crew starts arriving from all over the country. All is good from the road and if we don’t ride tonight it will be the first day completely off the bike in 16 days. My life rocks. Later.

Jut