What did I do?

Being that Friday was Nigel Tufnel day, the city of Charlotte was on pseudo-holiday status. With the unpaid day not at work, I chose to kick around the house until things got warm enough to try out my new garb.

Yep, straight from Headquarters, my new Dirt Rag kit was in the house and in need of immediate break-in. On my way over to Zac's house, I ran into Who's this Joey tooling about town, and just like that, we were three headed to Lake Norman to check out the gnü gnar.

There is no guarantee that if you buy a Dirt Rag kit that you will look even close to this good. Use at your own risk.

Once again, I put the Ardent 2.4 through the paces and came away pleased. Puffy leaves were all over the trail, but confidence was found amongst the super sized corn flakes.

One might notice that I swapped from the Back Forty strap back to the Race strap.

The Back Forty worked fine, but aesthetically I just dig having my junk tucked up tight under my saddle. BTW: I haven't lost that 5mm allen key yet (it's tucked in near the hi-tech plastic hardware). Also BTW: Those of you wanting a strap that you can cut down to the perfect size will get what you're waiting for soon enough.

Saturday, I headed out to Wilson's Creek with the Zero Horsepower crew.

photo cred: Leanne McCann

Classic route selection on a puffy leaf covered trail kinda day with the bluebird skies that we don't see during the summer in North Carolina.

photo cred: Rich D (the other white Rich D)

Only some pseudo mechanicals and close calls on the trail.

photo cred: Rich D (the other white Rich D)

More puffy leaves made for some rough line selection on the rigid frok, but even with a few rim dingers, the Ardent stayed up and alive. Wilson's in the fall will keep your butt puckered... if you're into that kinda thing.

I love "off-season" rides. Not only is the Raxter great for bike transport, it's handy to lean on when you're trying to balance on 1.5 feet with a post-ride beer.

photo cred: Leanne McCann

Good times indeed. Thanks Leanne for letting me borrow your transparent tube top for the ride. Just the ticket for keeping the wind off the nips.

photo cred: Leanne McCann

It was time for some cyclocross spectating on Sunday. I wanted to race, but that's a long story that might get told later. Anyways, cheap six pack on my back, I rolled over astride the Berserker after I felt recovered enough from the day before. Cheering on the locals, mocking the out of towners, and generally doing our best to make the Charlotte cross scene feel a little bit more like an actual cross race with fun and stuff.

Who's this Joey did really well in the single speed race, despite riding a Raleigh strider bike.

It was not as irresponsible of an extended weekend as I'd hoped for, but it was fun nonetheless.

And a special thanks to Chris "Rainbow" Strout for suggesting I watch the "Girl with the tattoo who did this and that" Swedish soft-core porn trilogy. I missed out on a lot of sleep over the weekend thanks to you and your infatuation with movies that have to be read to be enjoyed. Bastard.