“I … I just didn’t have anything more to give,” I confided to my cycling psychologist on our ride this morning. “I was empty.” Allen and I ride one morning a week at Umstead. It’s typically a mildly competitive ride where we save just enough air to chat about bikes (lot’s of debate about whether to go the 29er route), rides (mountain centuries that Allen does and I talk about),…

Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast, especially come summer. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. 
To help ease this trying transition, we’re running a new feature every Monday, at least during the summer, called 90 Second Escape. Essentially, it’s a 90-second video of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake…

For 10 years, the Huck A Buck has been an institution for Triangle area mountain bikers. And for the last two years, the race’s organizers, Happy Fun Racing, have said the 2011 edition would be the last. But a month ago, we detected waffling. It might be the last, one organizer let slip. So, was Sunday’s race the last? GetGoingNC.com took its cameras (just one actually, a flip video) to…

“Man, isn’t this embarrassing?” the mountain biker said as he pushed his bike up the steep hill to where I was already leaning over my bike, sucking air. I thought he was referring to being with me this far into the race. “I lost my water bottle,” I said, making conversation by way of commiseration. I gulped some air to continue, but before I could he reached into his second…

Steve uttered an annoyed grunt and pulled off the trail. “My seat,” he said. “It slipped.” Instinctively, I pulled over to take a look. He gave me a funny a look, gave the seat a quick shove, and hopped back on. Moments later, another annoyed grunt, followed by another trailside stop. “I need to get out my wrench.” Again, I pulled over and stopped. Nothing unusual here — one guy…

Today was the 9th running of the Huck-A-Buck, the longest running (I’m pretty sure) mountain bike race in the Triangle. The race is run by Happy Fun Racing, a local bike club who’s tongue-in-cheek catch phrase is “Nothing But The Best.” Tongue-in-cheek because the race is known for it’s laid-back attitude. Laid-back, but well run by Chris Pappas, Pat Lundergan and a bunch of other Happy Funners who understand what…