Francis Beatty, Mountain Bike trails

Below is a brief excerpt of a Blog / Video description for the MTB Trails at Francis Beatty in Matthews, North Carolina.

Click here for the complete Blog / Video description.

This is a trail description with video for the first half of Francis Beatty.

There's a few different trail entry points at Francis Beatty, but I like starting out at the tennis courts. So starting at the Tennis Courts, you'll roll back out towards the direction you drove in to park and within about a hundred yards you'll see the trail exit on your left and the trail entrance on your right. It's marked well and it's hard to miss the trail.



Once you hang a right and hit the trail you'll only be on it for a short time before you have to cross the entrance road to the park. Cross the road and you're back on the trail and almost immediately into a left turn, that leads into a another and yet another turn. This section is for the most part flat, but can be a bit loose when it's dry because of the sand that collects in the corners. It will not be long before you enter an open grassy area with brush and small trees, that leads you into the woods and a small bump that's decent for lobbing off of. Within no time you'll reach the first split in the trail. If you're looking to get in more miles, stay left (marked with a Black Diamond)... but it comes up fast and it's sandy, so be prepared or you may wash while trying to make the turn.

Saved by a Turd

It's strange how the little things in life can have such a Profound Impact on your future. Lucky for my wife and I, the family dog "Alex" decided to have a bowel movement right where we had planned to sent up our tent during a back packing trip to Mill Springs, NC. It was the well placed turd that kept me from setting up our tent in this perfect little patch of earth, where late in the morning hours a huge tree fell that would have crushed us while we slept.

Read more about this strange story.

Garmin Edge 305

I’ve wanted a GPS for sometime now. But I really felt like it was just another gadget that would be nice to have for capturing my routes, but not a necessity to have for biking. I’ve been riding for 17+ years now without one and have gotten by just fine. However there have been times when I’ve been on a unfamiliar trail in the mountains that had to break out the map and compass. That’s always worked well for me and I must say I pretty good with a compass. But when you’re at an intersection of two or more trails staring at your compass, all the while your legs are getting cold and tightening up, the idea of having a tour guide sounds much better. And when it comes down to it… I’d prefer to ride, rather than to practice my compass and map reading skills.

So, I picked up a Garmin Edge 305.
This GPS is so easy to use and has some great auto features that make it a no brainer like:

Auto pause for when you stop.
Auto Start for when you start rolling again.
Auto lap for when you pass your starting point.
The display and control buttons are easy to figure out too.

So far I'm very pleased with the Edge 305 and I'd buy another without a second thought if needed.

The heart rate monitor is a nice feature too. I haven't set up or installed the cadence accessories as of yet, not sure if I really care about that kind of data, but I'm sure I'll start using that as well eventually.

Garmin Edge 305 GPS, Follow-Up and Review: http://bike-reviews.mtbpath.com/archives/103

And I thought it was cold here in Charlotte today!

Me and a few other guys rolled out to Anne Springs in Fort Mill to get in a ride. According to the weather report it was going to be cold. So I dug out the bibs, face sock and new spiffy winter gloves the wife got me for Christmas and rolled out to meet the guys for the ride.

For the most part it did not feel so bad and I was nice and toasty, but my feet did get cold and half way through the ride the toes felt like they had frozen together and ached! We ended up calling it after one ride and went to some taco joint for lunch.

Back home, I was searching the web for some kind of gear to help keep my feet warm and came across the www.icebike.com website, that lead me to another web search, that landed me on the the New York Times article "Sport Meets Survival: An Iditarod Without Dogs".
Really enjoyed the article and video coverage! Now I'm questioning my definition of what it means to be cold... obviously I have no idea! I'm completely impressed with the determination and will power it must take to consider entering the Iditarod Trail Invitational, let alone finish it!

And I thought it was cold here in Charlotte today!

POV1, VIO Helmet Cam

I finally got a Helmet Cam... a POV1, made by VIO. It took a few rides and testing out to get the right angle for capturing some decent video, but I got it dialed in and it has performed great so far. Not too long after I got it I had the worst wreck of my life when my handle bar clipped a supporting cable for a suspension bridge I was about to cross. When the handle bar clipped the support cable it wrenched my front wheel to the left, throwing me over the right side of the bike and into the suspension bridge's wooden column.

The result was a concusion and post concusive syndrome that lasted for about 8 months. The concusion hurt like hell, but the post concusive syndrome was just down right scary.

I captured the wreck on video too...
What really surprised me about the POV1 is that it survived this wreck and didn't miss a beat.
Wish I could say the same.