Lake Fayetteville Park

The trails at Lake Fayetteville Park continue to see some great improvements. I really like the way the trail system overall is shaping up. Anyone know how the Botanical Gardens deal went down? Anyone create a new STRAVA segment incorporating the new bits yet?

This will bypass the low root section on the northwest side that has been really blown out over the years. 

Nice workmanship. 

Well done. Who is responsible for the build?

Mt. Sequoyah Woods

I have had several people ask me about the trail system at Mt. Sequoyah Woods since I posted last. I wanted to offer up a couple tips that might make your experience better. The OORC recently serviced the trails and they are in good shape. What to expect? The trails are challenging because of the elevation gain/loss with tons of rocks/roots to contend with. I would recommend you ride with your tires in good order. The trails are not so much about flow as they are bike handling skills. It is a great workout but different. You will be in shade about 99% of the time which is nice this time of year but the shade makes it difficult to see some of the rocks. You will most likely have the trails all to yourself. I recommend dropping in from the top of Sequoyah and hanging the first left and staying left (north) at every junction. Eventually it will bring you back south to the pavilion. From there you can turn around and go back or take to the streets. I do not recommend trying to go back up on the southern side. I had to walk quite a bit. It's steep and technical. If your looking for something different to throw into your routine this is it. Word on the street is they will be cutting new trail very soon.

You'll be riding along for about 30-40 minutes and then you'll pop out of the woods to see this pavilion.

Nice view of south Fayetteville.

Long term review of the Continental Revo Sealant is not so good. I had a tiny side wall pinch and the Revo Sealant failed. I burned a CO2 trying to get it to work and ended up walking out. My fault for not having extra CO2 or a hand pump but the fact that the sealant failed to seal a small side wall hole is discouraging. Needless to say I'm running Stan's again. I haven't had a flat in two years with Stan's. Experiment over. I'm still using the bottle that it came in though. The small tip works great. 

Le Tour

The 100th running of Le Tour is coming to close. It did not disappoint or sort of did, then really didn't but then did again. One day the tour was won and the next not so fast then on another day it looked promising again and then on another day it was put in the bag. Now the deal looks to be sealed. The men in black are in control not so much because team dominance but because of 1.5 men. I thought all along with the rest of the world that it was Froome's to lose. What impresses me is the attempts from the contenders pretenders to knock the tall lanky man with 170mm cranks off his rhythm. He is confident, cool and collected and has a well rounded game ta boot. Obviously he has done the work to be at his best in July. Even after today's stage there is still a sliver of hope for some great bike racing to be had. I'm confident that Bjarne Riis' team will make a big splash with his two headed snake at a key moment in the coming days. It will be interesting to say the least. Now, if we can get the 'littles' Nairo & Joaquim to launch their long range missiles we might see some spectacular fireworks or better yet interesting tactical scenarios. The time trial results showed today that the contenders pretenders have planned all along to be good in the third week. Is it too little too late? Let's hope that the Saxo's are staying in the same hotel as the Movistar's and Katusha's this evening.

I've decided I have nothing against Froome. But to do this I must consciously put aside my suspicions. That's a sad state to be in but those are the times.

My prediction is we will see Joaquim pull out the stops using the steepest pitches and catapult himself onto yet another grand tour podium. Perhaps he will collaborate with Nairo. 

We will also 'get' to see elbows and knees out and that 145 cadence again. Winning.

More wheelies please.

Just a reminder. I'm a mediocre category 3 at best. So, take it for what it's worth and thanks for checking in.