Winter has come again...

Guess it's that time of year again. The time of year where I must override my bodies natural response to the weather and amount of daylight that makes me want to sit inside and drift into a long slumber. I don't do very well in the winter, I need the sun to make this thing go and to make matters worse, I am moving in a few days and the "to do" list just keeps getting longer. Throw in Christmas and seeing friends and family and wrapping up an eight year real estate career and all I want to do is crawl up in the fetal position with a bottle of Makers Mark and wake up in Asheville in the Spring. Well, that's not going to happen with out some divine intervention so today the plan is to ride for a few hours to sweat out the stress and come home and start packing boxes.

Christmas has not even registered, ever since my days of retail I have had a hard time getting into it. Mainly I just look forward to seeing friends and family that come to town that I have not seen in a while. Christmas these days seems to be more for the kids and since I don't have any, it is easy to not think about it in a "let's go shopping mindset". I have not been to the mall in over a year and hopefully will not have to go to a mall for another year having avoided the holiday buying pressure. The year ahead is going to be an experiment for ole' jut rut. I am looking forward to a year of self sufficiency and less consumption. We have so much in this country to be thankful for and yet somehow many of us (including myself) can easily take for granted what we have and want more to feel satisfied. Only to find that we still do not feel satisfied once we have obtained that next thing we think we had to have to feel good about ourselves. I am guilty of the above myself, three years of a booming business and I have more stuff I don't need and that I have to store, sell or pack up and move. Other than some clothes, my music collection and bikes which offer stress relief, transportation, mental and physical health benefits I don't really need much else. So, it's off to Asheville to live with the hippies and live a little more like a hippy myself. Never really thought I would go big in business, working smarter not harder mentality sometimes leads to more business than you need. Then before you know it your "smarter" approach is a success and your wind up working "harder" just to keep up with it. It's all a learning experience and one that I will learn lessons from but none the less I paid my dues and now I am cashing in the chips and going to learn a few new life lessons. I really think 08' is going to be a great year. So enough about life, (isn't this a bike blog?) I am going to ride a bike and you should too. Peace and good will to all, remember what this time of year is about and enjoy just being with those you love.

Happy Holidaze...

Jut Rut

Back in Black (with red stripes)

The Sycip is back with a pretty new paint job from Spectrum Power Works. Our boy Jamie P provided the design. All I can say is that I am a very happy man... See you on the trail boys and girls.

Polo was fun on Tuesday with Troy taking the prize for the most laid out crash I have seen yet. He was perfectly horizontal before hitting the ground and taking the top layer of epidermis off his arm. Hope that's healing up my friend. 2/4/1 Beer with the Manondale post polo made for a perfect ending to a great day.

The sun is coming out. I'm going riding...

Later y'all!

Jut

My memory of this weekend is a little foggy...

Last week was a mad dash to get the house ready to put on the market. It didn't leave much time for riding but did provide a few nights for drinking and kicking it with the crew. Did a good urban with Dun and Sharp and I am getting use to the idea of dropping of stuff with no worries. Having a big bike is going to allow for some good times. I hope that once I get use to the weight difference I will be faster on the SS. The plan is to ride the hell out of a thirty + pound rig for the next few weeks then get on single speed and rock the Snake Creek Gap.

This weekend rocked! Even though I am only moving 5 hours away and will most likely see someone from the crew every weekend once the weather warms up I had the chance to throw a throw down to celebrate my departure. The crew stepped up and came out in force on Saturday morning to hook up at Franklin State Forest. We had 11 people make the drive up the mountain to Monteagle to ride the new sections of the 20+ mile loop and the great bluff lines that we have loved for years. It was raining and crappy in Nashville but once we got on to the trail the rain was no where to be found. It was foggy with about 20 ft of visibility and the feeling of riding in BC with all the moist rocks and roots. The ride was great although we did set a new record for the number of flats with in a twenty mile ride. I think the total was upwards of 15 flat tires, guess that says something about the trail. Rocks were hiding just underneath the leaves that covered the trail and to boot thorns also claimed more than a few tubes. It was nice though as we found ourselves getting to hang out a lot rather than just hammering on single speeds all day. The ride wrapped up, beers were drank and we headed back home to tap the keg and get the festivities started.

The party rocked. Lot's great people were there. nuff' said, I'm out...

Jut

Giving Thanks...

Another week, a few more good rides. Post Thanksgiving Day ride at Montgomery Bell brought some good people out with Elliot, Dan D., P-track Jim, Rick H, Stick, Pillsbury, a few others. Great day on the leaf covered trails with temps perfect for a fall ride. Two laps and lots of fun thrown in and thrown down. I was great to have so many people come out and join us and of course the pace was pushed and sliding through turns on a few inches of leaves made for an exciting time. It's amazing how much this trail has improved with the addition of some new trail and smoother more flowing lines. I didn't like coming to this trail at all a few years ago and now it has grown into one of the best in the area. It has a little bit of everything and the race loop as it was run this past year keeps you working with out ever pushing you over the edge. It is fast and flows like no other loop I have ridden out there and if you just find a way to incorporate the table top jump in the loop with out backtracking at all it would rock even more. By the way that's Danny D going huge on the tabletop bridge. And next you see pump track Jim say thanks as I learned he built most of the bridges in the back and hauled in the wood to do so. Work like that is tough but most of us don't think about how they got there we just ride and ofter critique them with out thinking someone had to bring this back here and work on it instead of riding for a day. Speaking on the subject I know I have been guilt by not really doing any "paydirt" for the last two years I have been too busy to give any time to the local trails and I do feel guilty but one of my new plans is to start giving back more to the trails that give so much to me. If we all gave a little imagine how many more trails and how bad ass the trails we already have would be. Thanks to all that give their time and energy towards building cool stuff to ride. You know who you are...

Speaking of trail improvements, a number of the crew rode Hamelton Creek yesterday and got to check out some of the new trails and drops that have been added. I like everything that has been done so far and now that I have a bike with some suspension I am loving it even more. Although the chain skipping around on technical terrain I could live without. For the most part the ride was great. I pulled the new series of drops on the backside on the third time on the new bike though the drops are nothing big it is still fun and a little challenging due to a different kind of ride. With the leaves down you can see all the rock drop opportunities at that place. If the city would allow it H.C. could have some serious gaps, drops, and bridges. The new trails give you a taste of how gnarly it "could" get. I hear a downhill section is in the works so maybe they will go big on that section and give people who have bought a full sus bike a reason to ride it in middle TN. All comments aside the trail is great for riders of all skill levels and once again thanks for the people that are out there building these great new trails.

Things seem to be getting better as I am leaving town and I am happy everyone will get to take advantage of all the work happening with HT., M.B. and the pedestrian bridge at Shelby Bottoms. I have watched the bridge happen for the last year or so and always dreamed of the day I would ride my mtn. bike to Hamelton Creek or ride a bike to the skatepark skate the bowls, and finish the day with a round of disc golf at Two Rivers. I guess someone else is going to have to live the dream for me. The dream can be yours if you are a skateboarding, bike freak, disc golfer and are looking for a house in East Nashville just a mile from the Shelby Bottoms Greenway. I will make you a killer deal on my place if you can keep the dream alive.

The house is going up for sale tomorrow and I skipped a ride today to get things wrapped up. Sacrificed one ride for a move towards a simpler life that will allow lots more riding and less time working to pay for a big house. However, I am about to walk in my clients shoes which at the moment are like a pair of ugly, rock hard Penny loafers, that are two sizes to small. Basically to say that it sucks to be selling right now, but some people have to move and I hope they move to my house. If you have been to my pad, you know it rocks. Tell a friend and help me move to the mountains I will give you a free place to stay and free beer every time you visit me. 1920 renovated Victorian, a mile from downtown, three blocks from 5 Points and everything cool on the East Side. Call me if you or a friend needs a cool place to park that car and ride a bike everywhere in Nashville. When peak oil hits and gas is 10 bucks this location & house is going to rock and everyone who thinks it is cool to live in Franklin and drive into work downtown better have saved some coin to keep that SUV running. I better step of the soap box and get some work done before this gets ugly.

Stop the war for oil. Ride a bike.

Peace,

Jut