Who can recommend a quality tree service in Asheville? This is not a job for amatuers. We need some pros. This limb is about 45-50 feet off the ground, four storeys, from the basement floor to roof ridge. Thanks for any leads you may have.
Notice the spelling. This is the “idiot” version of the Iditarod. This happened just down the road from us. I’m so outta the loop!
At least we saw the holiday parade yesterday, which had its own moments of weirdness, albeit less intentional. I may post some videos later.
Another pass from the other side.
We took a trip to Highlands, NC today to visit some friends. On the way back we stopped at this great waterfall called “Dry Falls.” Dry, because you can walk behind the actual waterfall.
Chillaxin' with my crew. Getting wet at Dry Falls.
You can see the path winds behind the waterfall.
Taken from the back side of Dry Walls. Yes, the path goes right under it.
NC Waterfalls has a bunch of great info about Dry Falls.
This is definitely not the highest and best use for bicycles. But it was pretty fun to watch! We saw this yesterday at the Lexington Avenue Arts & Fun Festival in Asheville. And this was hardly the freakiest site at the festival.
Check out how the hub of the rear wheel on these “bikes” is eccentric, i.e. it’s not in the center, and it makes the bike and rider bounce up and down. I’m sure these things were hard to ride, and they were plenty people who fell off before they even made it to the center.
This festival is “all local, all original.” I love living in Asheville.
Lexington Avenue Arts & Fun Festival
AB Tech Business Incubator Reception
They just can’t get my name right. “They” is everyone. Usually it’s “Siegler” or “Zigler” but this time “Siglar.” At least I had a name tag waiting for me and didn’t have to roll my own with a Sharpie!
Glad I went. I’ve been involved with the Incubator in one way or another for the last few years. Recently I started offering pro bono consulting (marketing), along with several other folks including lawyers, accountants, etc. This is consulting for the entrepreneurs in residence. And there are some very cool startups in there.
One of the coolest, and I’m surprised I hadn’t heard about them yet, is Airplanes Direct. That’s right, it’s like Autotrader for planes. In fact, one of the partners founded Autotrader.com, if I heard correctly. They got an award for “fastest launch” or something similar. The guy who spoke for the company said they figured when the economy is bad people will be selling planes and when it’s good people want to buy planes. Makes sense to me.
Another thing I learned is that this business incubator is the largest of its kind on the East coast. Check it out.
Town Mountain Time Trial in Asheville
This was a painfully fun 24 minutes and 11 seconds. About 60-70 folks participated. My time put me pretty much in the middle of pack for the Men’s Masters class. Like a moron I rode it the night before in about 25 minutes just to get a feel for it. (Amazing how much harder I had to push to shave a minute.) I ride the upper section of this course a couple times a week on my way up the mountain, but I never ride the steep part at the beginning because it’s out of the way. I’ll plan better next year.
Big thanks to the Asheville Women’s Cycling Club for putting on this event. Also thanks to all the volunteers!
Here’s a nice video of the 5 mile Town Mountain Time Trial Hill Climb. It’s hard to get a feel for how steep it is though.
I made this flyer recently for my club’s (Asheville Bicycle Racing Club) big annual race: French Broad Cycling Classic. It’s called an “Omnium” because over the three day event there are time trials, road races and criteriums.
You can get the full size flyer (PDF) and more info about this great bike race FrenchBroadCyclingClassic.com. The site is still being updated. Come out and watch the crits if nothing else. More on that later…
I can’t stop playing with Camtasia. This is a ridiculous and self-indulgent video, but I’m sure someone will like it. This is a great bike ride, and if you’re in Asheville I recommend that you check it out. For my out-of-town friends: come visit and we’ll go for a ride. I have some extra bikes!
UPDATE: The castle I mention in the video is Seely Castle. I believe he was the son-in-law of Dr. Grove and he built the castle as his home while he managed the Grove Park Inn. And, yes, Obama did stay at the Inn, I believe when he was preparing for the last debate. It was interesting to watch because the Inn is literally my next door neighbor.
Also, the times I mention in the video, e.g. 85 minutes to Craggy would be pretty fast for someone who is just a weekend warrior. Plan accordingly.
We went to a great bonsai expo at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville. (Don’t let that old school web site fool you, the Arboretum itself is stunning.) I have been interested in bonsai forever and decided to get this Mugu Pine from a vendor in the marketplace. I asked the seller “what kind of tomatoes are these?” but I don’t think she was amused. The truth is that joke is an accurate representation of my gardening and bonsai experience, but I had to get the little guy. Some of the big ones were thousands of dollars. The expo had exhibitions by numerous bonsai clubs from several states. Just as impressive is the permanent bonsai exhibit at the arboretum. I took a bunch of pics and you can check them out at Flickr. Hey, there is a sample below…
My friend Chris Brock is a custom home builder in Asheville, NC. I recently put a web site together for his company, Brock Builders, Inc. They are working on a monster of a house in Biltmore Forest. It’s over 11K square feet with tons of details. I got some pics at the job site this afternoon. The gothic-revival-revival styling may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I think anyone can appreciate the art of the framing in this domed ceiling. Or should it be called a vault?
Want to know what it's like to have brain surgery? Well here's the long version of my experience. Complete with pictures and videos!
"I'm Heavy Duty!" was my original blog about everything. Now it's about new music, old records, live shows, stories, memorabilia, garage band demos, anything and everything else related to music. Over 500 posts at this Music Blog!
"Heavy Duty Incorporated" is our blog about making things. It can be "art" or clothing or almost anything. If we or our friends make something I like to share it. Craft & Art Blog
