Squishy......your official Bike Patrol Guru?

Someone lost their mind? Someone decided to let Ole' Squishy get himself trained to patrol your local trails? Who was it that thought he would stop to help some poor newbie navigate some hazardous trail obstacle? Who thought he would consider providing a band-aid to someones boo boo they got on their knee? Why would they think he would remove a dangerous tree, branch, or rock from the trail?

Hell if I know, but they decided to do so last Saturday! While many of my friends chose to ride once more into the breach that is Snake Creek Gap some of the others and I became official IMBA/SORBA National Mountain Bike Patrollers. Tryon, Jose, Daniel, Lefty, TVA Tim, REI Bill, Bo, and Darryl along with several people from Chattanooga and Indiana all came together for 8 hours of training at Two Rivers Mansion in Nashville.

The morning started with some basics as to what we as Patrollers were going to do, we added in some bike maintenance classes also as the day progressed. After a lunch which included Good old Southern Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits, and gravy we came together again for some first aid/CPR classes.

TVA Tim, who is a TVA law enforcement officer was kind enough to offer his time and materials to teach all of us this important stuff that allowed us to be certified in first aid/CPR. This is a requirement to be certified as a Patroller.

The plan is for all of us to take some time while riding and wear our patrol jerseys and conduct "Patrols" while riding our bikes. We then log our hours that we have ridden as Patrollers. Then we can use this time volunteered along with our hours spent building and maintaining trails to our advantage when dealing with governmental officials in our efforts to continue to be able to use the trails we have and also more opportunity to get land to use to build new trails to ride on.

We also along the way will assist riders in need and offer advise and counsel where needed to keep the biking experience a positive for all involved. Lastly, we are trail steward to help keep the trails in good shape and report problems with the trails to the proper authority for correction and repair.

While not really a high profile job it is a critical component of mountain biking that I am excited to be a part of here in Middle Tennessee.

Thanks to Darryl and Tim for getting this organized and up and running. Hopefully, I will never be called upon to actually rescue someone in need but if I am it is nice to know we have some amount of training to call upon.

My only disappointment was that Tim promised me that I would be allowed to fire his M-16 rifle he carries in his patrol car and also his pistol he seems to always carry ;(

I guess promises are meant to be broken.......maybe next time....Squish

Workdays are FUN!!!!

Well folks, this past weekend was a workday that Sorba held down at the Cotton Mill Preserve in Fayetteville, TN. We spent Saturday and Sunday building new trail, re-routing some other trail, and doing general maintenance on some of the other trail. This couse is the one used in the annual DSG (Dirt, Sweat, and Gears) 12 hour endurance race that the Squish and most of his friends enjoy participating in each May. The crew at DSG and Moots Cycles generously donated a new frame this year for SORBA to raffle off during the event to raise money for our local trail building club, Sorba Middle Tennessee.

Many of the pictures I took were posted on our blog site we have for SORBA but I chose to exclude a few of the "highlights" of the event due to their graphic nature and post them here on my personal blog.

For some of us, the highlight of the weekend was not the riding or trail building but most likely the keg of Yazoo and the clothes ripping contest put on between Big Poppy, Jeffy, and Officer Mike. Enjoy the photos as we enjoyed the fun times. Come out and join us next time.... we are really nice...Squish

Riding with "Sandy's Friend" from Florida......

Well folks, last Saturday morning "Sandy's" friend Tim from Florida happened to be in Brentwood for the week visiting his family. So good ole' Squish and his neighbor Steve-O decided to take the beach bum out for a ride. We all had a great time turning some laps at Chickasaw on a perfect winter day for mountain biking. Of course, I took a few photos with my new camera to document all of this for "Sandy". Hopefully, he/she reads my blog....... Thanks Tim and Steve for a great time as always...later, Squish

Just your average "Snake Eater"........

"Snake" even the name is nasty..........."Pain Train" Jeffy's little name for the experience sounds crazy...."5 miles of unrideable rock".......what?"Real Climbing"........hey, what do you mean...we have MB here?"Mid-winter racing"........what about base miles?"Well run event and great support"......what's so special?"Great friends and fun party"........who parties at races?"It will hurt but you will love it".....how does that go together?These were the statements I heard over and over for the last two years. They definately sounded a little crazy to an average mountain biker like me.But this year, I decided the time was right to find out for myself. After the January debacle for Cooper and I (due to sickness for him and mud for me) I spent the next month praying for good weather and my return to attempt this beast called "The Snake".Yesterday morning at 4am I met up with Cooper and Jose to meet our fate on the ridges of North Georgia. Cooper and Jose planned to ride the full 34, which I contemplated in January and I decided that 17 would be ideal for me and the amount of riding I have been doing in this cold weather. Now mind you, I decided to do the last 17 miles, which I was told was the toughest part of the course as it includes the infamous "5 miles of rock" at the end. I wanted to experience what I had heard was the toughest part of the course and see if I had what it took to complete it. I thought to myself, well I race Sport class and those races are around that length so surely I can do this with no problem....surely!Well, after the ride down with my boys we arrived in the parking lot again. The weather was a little colder than it was at 4am when I left my house but the sun promised a good day. It felt a little sureal for me, kinda like returning to the scene of the crime from a month before and my choice then of not racing. I didn't get time to speak with many of the others down there as we had to sramble to get registered, our gear on and bikes loaded to be transported to our respective starting points. I didn't even get to see my boy Cooper off and wish him luck in his personal quest. Sorry Coop, I had some inspirational words for you ready to go...LOLI was fortunate to ride in a truck with two others heading to the 17 mile start that was pulling a trailer full of bikes. My bike was on it so after hearing the stories, I kept turning around and checking the trailer. Fortunately, we all arrived safely at the start.Now mind you that a month before Reed, Coop, and I had checked out the scene the day before the race. We walked a little of that muddy climb that starts the 17 mile race. I saw it was tough and knew that my start was not going to be a friendly one. With that in mind I looked around the start for some friends to begin this event with. Jeffy had decided to ride the 17 miler but I did not see him, Didn't see Angela or Doug either. I did see Scuba Steve and Ruthie (Team Lynskey now as both have matching Lynskey bikes) and I saw Brandon and his girlfriend Myra. I decided to warm up a little on the road by the start before the climb and wait on Jeffy to show. Figured I would ride a little with him before he left me. After a trip up and down a road and no Jeffy I decided, what the heck, no time like the present to begin......My approach to this was really not to "race" but to "ride" and have fun as best I could. I brought my Ellworth Evolve full suspension bike with the thought that I would manage the climbs and it would help me when I hit the rocks. If I was really racing I would have brought a hardtail 29er as it certainly climbs better than my Evolve.I want to add a few stats here from my Garmin to let eveyone who hasn't done this some information on how it compares to our local trails, specifically Monty Bell which probably has the most hills around here:2nd 17 miles of Snake:3,706 foot of climbingAverage Ascent grade of 10.5%Maximum grade of ascent was 32.4%Similar Distance at MB on race loop, plus goat path, plus Heartbreak ridge:2,035 foot of climbingAverage ascent grade: 7.5%Maximum grade of ascent: 23.5%In the 17.1 miles of Snake I rode you start with a 2.5 mile climb right off the bat and don't really decend at all until the top which is a 4 miles.After some downhill for a short time you hit another 3 mile long jeep/gravel road climb.A little ridgeline later you have a stead uphill for 3 miles again, which includes the .5 mile "wall" which has to be the 32.4% grade my computer registered.All total of the 17.1 miles, at least 10 miles of that was all climbing and many of those miles include rock, lots of it, and it's at the end when your beat down.....sound like fun?Okay...enough stats for now. They started us one at a time on the 17 mile route. I headed up the hill to the top of the mountain. Within' 1/4 mile I found my granny gear and she and I became "married" for much of the rest of the course. In comparision again, I NEVER ride anything below the middle chainring around here...NEVER.The first hill was tough as you really don't get warmed up before hitting it. But alas, with a constant spinning of my granny I made the top. That is followed by some steep descents and a run through some small creeks down in a valley. That was probably the best 2 miles or so of this part of the trail. Fortunately for me it was only muddy in a few small sections and the weather was beautiful. I was wearing to much clothing but didn't feel like stopping to long to change. We then ascended the jeep/gravel road climb and they had a great sag stop at the top. I wanted to refill my supplies and it was at this point that Jeffy caught me. He smiled but didn't stop...his words of encouragement resonated in my mind.....Come on Kelly...no stopping here....LOLI packed my stuff back up but never saw him again. He looked strong and I wondered to myself how he had climbed all that I had just climbed on a single speed....amazing.The next sections was some ridge line stuff that was amazing with it's views. Much better this time due to the nice clear weather. A little rock here and there but nothing to bad. I rode some with Brandon and Myra, Matt, and Steve and Ruthie. Nice to see some friends out having a good time also. The big question for me was "where are these rocks" and even though I had GPS, "how far was the finish and the two mile downhill road"?When you hit the rocks...you know it. In my opinion, they were not the worst I have seen. Monte Sane and Hamilton Creek have some nasty rocks also. There were a few sections that would have been "unrideable" for those of my friends who like to ride rocks and my full suspension bike that I lugged up the hills certainly helped.What was different and challenging to me was that the last so long (about 4-5 miles) and you are tired when you get there. Try climbing for 8 miles and then doing that stuff. On top of that they are on sort of a climb the whole way. 3 miles with alot of it in the granny, makes it hard to keep your momentum. Without ole' MO the rocks get even harder. You also hit the "wall" which is about a 1/2 mile climb straight up. It was hard to even walk that section while pushing your bike.....The funniest part for me was meeting a hiker on the trail up there. He and I spent a short time together. I would ride a little then get off the bike....he would catch up....and I would think...**** it man I'm on a bike and he is walking, these rocks suck.....I have to get away from this chattering man.....finally I did and laughed to myself how retarded that exchange was.I kept looking for the "tower" that I was told would signify the end of my journey and the 2 mile road home. I thought it would appear in the distance somewhere and maybe it does but I didn't see it until I was right on top of it. I was at this point tired and ready to be done. I though then of my boy Cooper and how he would be feeling when he got here with another 17 miles on his legs that I didn't have on mine....I felt bad for you Coop but wished you well my friend. I asked the dude with me how much further and he said "150 yards".....I was excited to get back on my bike and sprinted the last 150 to what is in effect the last of the hard work.A fast descent down a gravel road and on to the pavement felt great at the speeds I was going. That ride is an exhilerating feeling after the work just done.I finished right at 3 hours. Not fast at all but the ride was completed. I just wanted to experience the "Snake", I really wasn't racing but wanted to feel it all and see what it was about. Needless to say mission accomplished.I then got to spend the next couple of hours watching people arrive from the race. I had some chili and beers with great friends. Good to see Jeff, Scott, Greg, Thad, Jeremy, Adam, Keith, Mike, Matt, Andrew, Rick, Dustin, Doug, Dan, Angela, Jose, Chris, Modo, and some others I might have forgot to mention as I am tired this morning. When all of the crew returned we headed to Chili's resturant for some more food before the ride home.Well, what is my firsthand response to all the rumors heard before that I posted above....they are all true and it is all FUN. I had probably the best time I have ever had at a race, even though it was certainly the toughest 17 miles the Squish has ever ridden.My recommendation is that if you have never done this..you need to. Be smart and pick the right distance for yourself. The 17 was about right for me. I left tired but happy, which is why I do this sport in the first place. To those who do either race it is an accomplishment. To those who rode the whole 34, you have my respect, it is an epic accomplishment to just finish this race.Thanks for all the fun times, it was great to see so many familiar faces down there. Thanks to those who took time to ride a little with me. Great fun....Squish

Jade becomes a biker today.......

Today was a special day in the Benward family. Ole' Squish's daughter Jade finally learned to ride her bike without the dreaded training wheels. It was a cold and windy day but the family convined me to take the to one of our local parks and Jade would attempt to ride on her own. After a little prodding and a few tears, she finally had the courage to ride on her own. I spent the first lap running behind her but finally she decided it would be fun to ride off and leave her dad behind on his own two feet. After an hour or so, she rode the entire lap out there on her own, smiling as she went. Oh, what fun we will have this spring when we all get to go out on a ride and everyone is on their own bikes. Great job Jade............I see a real mountain bike in your near future...........Squish.

Greenway Grindin' with my Hommies...

Thursday brought Middle Tennessee some good weather. Finally, after a week or two of freezing temperatures, rain, and mud we got a 50 degreee day to ride. The local trails were pretty muddy due to the freeze/thaw conditions we have here this time of year but the greenway at Shelby Park was callin' for a fun days ride.

Met up with Chris (the Mongoose), Mike (Big Poppy), Corey (Code Red), and Tim (16 gun) at around 11am for a spin the Percy Priest Dam and back. This ride is around 25 miles or so on the greenway built by Metro Nashville for all of us to use. Along the way we found some fun stuff for the boys to play on like the bench that the Mongoose is hopping on. It was fun to have a ride in the great weather. Felt like summer to me.
I told several of my friends to remind me this summer that if I complain when the temperature gets in the 90's to slap me and remind me how much I hate riding in the cold.

I also enjoyed getting to ride with BP again as it has been awhile trying to get him back on his bike. I think our ride sparked something in the ole' boy as he went out the next day and put 45 miles on this road bike. Looks like it's gonna be a fun year trying to win the yearly mileage contest with him. For the record, I won last year in the last month of December. I think I won by about 100 miles or so. Good for me he took a little time off the bike to play C.O.D. 4 and drink beer during the cold weather. Always fun to watch Corey (Code Red) play on his Redline Single Speed. He has been posting video's of his exploits on our local messageboard NMB the last month or so, but I was privy to a little personal demonstration on our ride.
(16 Gun) Tim also joined in on the fun. The reason for his new nickname is that Tim is an agent for TVA here in Tennessee. The first time I met him he was in uniform and had to open the trunk of his patrol car for some reason. What to my eye's should appear but an M-16 stashed in the back. Brought back some old Army memories for the Squish. Hopefully, Tim never has to use that thing in the line of service. We are having a Bike Patrol Class coming up in March and I have been kidding him and asking if we get a chance to shoot that thing during the training.......LOL
Were gonna miss Tim for a month or so due to some training he is going to this weekend but look forward to some good riding this year when he gets back.


As usual we had a fun ride. We also stopped at the local Jack in the Box for some fuel along the way. I also got to try out my newly built Vassago Optimus Ti which was a true treat for me. Thanks to my friends for coming out and riding with me. Spring will come soon boys and we will be back on some trail again. Below are some more pictures from the ride. Hope you all enjoy. Until next time..............Squish

El President.......yeah right!!!

Well last night it became official. Ole' Squish is the new president of Sorba Middle Tennessee for 2009. We had our annual meeting and elected our new board members. Somehow, I was talked into running for president. It is exciting to me to be viewed by my peers to be able to handle the responsibility. I am not really sure if they are right or not but am willing to give it a go.

Others that were elected last night were Carolyn Heichel as V.P, Tryon Fournier as Sec., Amy and Scott Walvoord as Membership, Darryl Glascock (our former president) as Trails Director, Tim Dennis as Bike Patrol, and my boy Thad Hoffman as Advocacy.

I think we have a great group of people to run the club this year. We are all from different parts of our local biking world here in Middle Tennessee and should bring some good ideas to the table. I also hope it will help with recruitment of new members to the club.

For the unfamiliar, SORBA (Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association) has been around for 20 years or so. There are 25 chapters thoughout the Southeast. The main idea being the building and maintain of the trails we ride mountain bikes on. I spent a lot of time last year doing trail work and organizing group rides for the local club. I also assisted in a race and festival we conducted. All in all, it was fufilling to give back to the sport I enjoy. I also enjoyed working with some new bikers and seeing my riding friends. I am looking forward to the same this year and have some plans for a lot of neat stuff for the club to do this year. It will be nice to have some imput on what all gets done.

Thanks for all the support from my friends and hope to see everyone on the trail soon......Squish