Boun Natale and a very FELICE CAPODANNO

ok ok ok, I know I don't live in Italy anymore... and my Dutch/Irish/German ancestry is about as far from the olive skinned beauties of the Mediterranean - but there are still traditions there that I am still fond of...

Like the passeggiata - or the evening stroll

And the Nougat festivities with mulled wine at Christmas Time

But my favorite personal tradition is still the Christmas Day Bike Ride...

With the promise of clear skies, I made some left over breakfast, and suited up, watching the weather reports for that 10 o'clock hour when it was supposed to be clearing up... 10:15, helmet on, open the front door to sheeting rain.

(insert your favorite curse word here)

I literally laid back on the couch, cycling shoes hanging over the edge, helmet on, and ran a litany of shitty thoughts about the holidays I don't really like, why on earth a shut town, empty roads, and people staying indoors has to come at the time of year when the weather is most shitty and unpredictable, all the childhood disappointments that I could remember this time of year... a veritable downward spiral of stinking thinking was on its way to becoming Day-Drinking and regrets...

Then something rang in my head...

"If it was easy - everyone would do it!"  The quote I try to live by when things are less than perfect conditions, when you forget your cycling shoes and you are at the trail-head, when you have no water bottles and someone lends you a draw string souvenir backpack and a nalgene, when you had expectations but dont want to spoil the moment.  Ironically by the time I swapped my fest and wind jacket for a bulky rain jacket and headed out the door I was receiving a text replying to my complaints of weather with my own words - "If it was easy - Everyone would do it."

Soaking wet within 30 minutes, and only mist for the next 3 hours, two friend visits, one that supplied grocery bags to keep my feets dry and toasty, some killer views, and roads mostly to myself I was on my way to feeling unstoppable again.

Loni in the Christmas Spirit

NOT the same pic - but the same hill a few miles later...

Old Turnpike is one of my Favorite dirt road climbs...

...and there is some skinny singletrack right off of it.

we use the word "overlook" loosely on days like this.

couldn't even see the end of the parking lot

fog also hides the gradient of hills and before I knew it I was back towards town.

cut through a very foggy and still greenway,

feelin stronger than these Doodes...

...And speaking of the Greenway.... Stay tuned for more info as it happens but in 2017 

50Mileradiusadventures will be adopting a chunk of the Greenway - and im SUPER excited about it!  

Putting the RAD in 50mileRADiusaadventures!!!

Its been one RAD month up here in the High Country!!
When last we spoke early fall threatened colder shorter days and the change of seasons.  Yet today I sit trying to recapture the last month+ in the glaring sun on an almost 50 degree day, sun-kissed forearms from rocking short sleeves, and absolutely glowing with all that the choice to stay in Boone 2 years ago as allotted me.

Seriously, this town, the people, the places you can get to, the adventures, the fun, the laughs, the work, the mission, the opportunities, the love that surrounds me up here all continue to blow me away!


Aside from being my first Pisces Roomate, Sara Parker (@s.pee.72) is an amazing jeweler.   She recently helped me make a pair of danglies for the lovely Ms. Felice Ann Fairfield Manget in honour of Art Crawl.  I first met Sara, and a ton of other folks right there in her studio on a cold November Art Crawl so it was a blast to close that circle with an art project I never thought I would make for someone I never thought I would meet...

Surrounded and Lost

 Speaking of Art... when the weather turns and some of the 50 mile RAD adventures retreat indoors, a simple tri-fold piece of paper, a pen, and some imagination (or more beers) makes for some fun Spirit Animal/ Monster/ Robot art games.  See HERE for instructions...

And the weather DID turn cold...

So I packed it up and went south.  Turns out, just a little out of the 50 mile radius, there is a campground with 16 miles of twisty single track exactly half way between Boone and Palm Coast where my Pops lives.  Worth a looksy: Poinsett State Park

beautiful refurbished cabins for CHEAP!

and twisty singletracks..

3rd deflated balloon I have found this year...

Dad used to say when I was learning to drive, "You only need an inch to miss..." and with that I headed down to Florida to surprise him

never seen cotton in the south before...

No shirt, no shoes, must be home...they were both totally surprised and we had a great week just goofing around...

been a long time since I'd seen the ocean

...and it never disappoints.

Sampled a TON of the local ride spots that I rode more than 2 years ago...

view from the drop platform, these jumps are BIG

Got to hang with the Locals...

Eat Like a Local...

And most importantly, drink like a Local.  James at PC Bike is still doing it - sales and service, with a knack for bringing people together for the King of all Bottle Share Thursdays!  

I got to brave 20 mph gusts for the classic beach side ride to St. Augustine, seriously one of america's oldest, thus most European feeling cities - its like New Orleans Lite... without the open container permissions.

still my favorite bike path of all time...

Great to catch up with the Old Man, my Bro Jeff, and ride my bikes in the warm sun a few more times.  Sending postcards from a little past 50 Mile Radius.

An 8 hour drive in a swanky rental car (jeep stayed in FLA) gave me just enough time to process where Ive been, where I am, and where I am going.  I have always felt like time off the mountain allows me to appreciate time back home on the mountain and this trip was certainly that.  SO much has changed with me since I last saw my family and the reminder of where I'm from socially gave me a great vantage point to drive back into Boone, up to my door, and walk into my space to find a surprise little custom decorated, christmas tree, a cold beer and the smiles I have always wanted to come home to!  I havent always loved this time of year, and I have spent several alone and traveling, most of them on my bike, but this year Im lucky to share some of it with folks who absolutely go NUTZ over it!

a tree made for me...

with hidden messages...

and old traditions revisited.

A couple days back, just enough time to unpack and pack it all back up again - this time to Asheville for the weekend with Felice. With flexible plans to eat drink and be merry the weekend was as adventurous as it was relaxing...

Felice's first Ethiopian food - shes STILL eating with her hands! 

have joke bell - will travel...

legit! Unicorn sightings

and more blue skies than the weather forcast promised!

inside the Biltmore

a reminder that its not just the filthy rich who get to see the world

and a blustry night to see lights

or attempt handstands by the lights

All in all the last month was good.  It was a rocky start with a pretty big snafu on my part at work requiring that I was suspended for a few days, but overall a reminder that nothing is guaranteed, and that I have to stay mindful if I want to keep this lifestyle going.  Monday I found myself back behind the taps in the nick of time!  I missed working, and a few day shifts to catch up with the locals and get caught up on all the amazing beers these dudes are cranking out was the best way to start things off again.

spaghetti westerns...

STAY TUNED - Not just for more winter posts, more pics, more outdoor adventures, but for what 50 Mile Radius Adventures is shaping up to be.
2 words - Sustainable. Experience.
new website, merchandise, gear to help you stay out there, purpose, and a cool logo are all in the works just this week...
stay tuned....
Scotito.