Gary Fisher Paragon 69er

This bike is a different bike than most other bikes we ride. It has 29 inch wheels instead of 26 inch wheels. Bigger tires may have some advantages: a smoother, faster and more stable ride. In the past few years I have seen more of these kind of bikes in races especially for big guys. This week, I went on a ride with my boss, Chris and he has a 29er bike. I asked him about the big wheels, he said the bike fits him better(he is the same size as me) and it rolls over obstacles better. I thought about it and it sounds pretty reasonable to me. Also, Durke is getting a 29er but it will be a singlespeed(he can ride anything). I looked at Trek and Gary Fisher 29ers which Mad Dog Cycles deals, the Gary Fisher Paragon 69er interests me the most. It is cheap also, with very good components like Sram X.9 deraillers and shifters, Brontrager tubeless wheels, and Avid Juicy 5 hydraulic disc brakes which makes a real steal at $2,199.99 at regular price. A lot cheaper than most bikes I was looking at. I looked at the Trek 69er at the same price but it didn't have as good components. From Mad Dog Cycles, I can even get a better bargain by being on the Mad Dog Cycles Race Team by getting a 15% discount, also another 10% more off by giving them my old, old blue/purple Klein for some charity thing they are doing(giving them to kids). Then I will sell my previous red Klein for like $500 from ebay or something. So, I did the calculations and the whole price of the bike I will pay is $1149.99! Not bad, eh? I am not going to do this right away, I have to buy a car first. Then I will be able to buy a bike. It will be real sweet!

Biltmore House...

Andrea's graduation

Since I didn't have a chance to ride in the Pisgah National Forest near Asheville, NC on my mountain bike, might as well talk about what I did on that day instead. In the morning, it poured rain so hard and on the tv there was a message about a tornado warning out there in Avery Creek, pretty close where I was going to ride, then the weather turned decent after ten in the morning but everything was muddy. I decided to go to the Biltmore House with the girls and look around. The Biltmore house was owned by George Vanderbuilt, a millionaire who ran a shipping company in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Today, if he was living, he would be considered a billionaire. His house was built between 1888 and 1895, it has 205 bedrooms and 43 bathrooms but the bedrooms are not small, they are huge like really big and spacious, the size of 6 of my bedrooms with 15 foot or so high ceilings. It also has a huge 4 story library full of books. Should of seen the dining room, English type and about 80 chairs, also 7 stories high. Nice stairway. All the bedrooms were decorated differently from different countries, like French, English, German, etc. In the basement, big swimming pool with lights inside. While George Vanderbuilt used electricity for his pool lights, everybody else in other houses didn't have electricity at all so they were in the dark and all that. This guy was so loaded I couldn't believe it. Also I have to tell you this guy had a bowling alley and a gym in the basement. This house is the biggest private home in America. Not a motel, but a real house with only a rich dude, his wife, daughter, a crapload of servants, and a few guests. After a grumpy morning of no hope to ride because of the lousy storm turned the day of education.

North Carolina mountain biking: Owl's Roost Trail...

This is a fun, technical trail but I wouldn't do it again because there were a lot of people on it, I probably will because it's located 10 minutes from Rob's work. It is right in the middle of the city of Greensboro, about an hour north of Karen's house. This is right by a lake and in a park where all the people were. To get there you have to ride on the walkway in the Park where I saw two gay guys walking together(bleh!). Owl's Roost is about 5 miles long so I did two laps and I did it backwards so I can get a better workout. A lot bikers heading towards me. I would say this is more technical than most trails I have ridden there, lot's of roots and logs. I was going to do the Black Mountain trail in Asheville, NC with 2,000 vertical feet of climbing and 13.5 miles but it rained a lot that morning and there was a tornado warning so I went to the Biltmore House with the girls instead. Better than sitting in the motel though but I did find it interesting really. Big house. But a ride would have been funner, all well. A Louis XV red velvet tower cake cheered me up. Thanks Karen for the fun day with you. I have to admit it, the Biltmore House was like the coolest thing.

North Carolina road riding:near Karen's house...

Performance Bike outlet store in Greensboro

The paved roads out in the back country where Karen's house looked fun to ride on so I decided to get google maps and make a ride out of it. The roads weren't so flat and boring like Utah, in NC, the roads were more hilly and windy which made it fun. You could climb three minutes, then go down 2 minutes, then climb another two or three minutes, sometimes four. It was like that the whole two hours I went. I did 30 miles, I enjoyed the ride very much and it was a beautiful day, it was a little hot but I had to go fast to keep me cool.

North Carolina mountain biking: Super Tree Trail...

I liked this trail the best because it's funner, less people(actually there was no one there), and I can get a better workout. This trail is a 5 mile loop and I did two laps. It is located in the Uwharrie National Forest about an hour south of Karen's house. There is another trail that connects to it that it is another 5 miles but I didn't do it because it is way too technical for Rob's bike(no suspension). I did do the trail last time I visited two years ago, so I did do the Super Tree and the other trail. The Super Tree Trail is way fast and rolling, so I did like this one the best. The bike above is Rob's bike(brother-in-law), the one I rode. Very old bike and still works good, better than no bike. I was actually the last rider on it two years ago, so two years later, I put air in the tires(there was zero air), tweeked it a little bit and put my pedals on. I didn't have a chance to take my own mountain bike with me because when we got to the airport, they charged $265 each way so I put it back in the car and tried to figure something else.