A Meeting Here, A Meeting There

…every where a meeting. My cycling time has been consumed with cycling related meetings since last Friday. I think I’ve attended 3 such meetings in almost as many days. When I wasn’t meeting, I was emailing and/or talking about meetings.

A GREAT SATURDAY TO RIDE!

April 14, 1944 From the daily diary kept by S.Sgt. G.C. Watts, while stationed in Italy during WWII… “Lecture on Mosquito control. We are starting taking medicine tomorrow. Dark nites now good for invasion. Beautiful days too.”

Our first intermediate level ride of the year was held this morning. The Navigator and I enjoyed our first cups of morning coffee as the sun made its way over Mount Pisgah displaying clear skies. The morning temperatures reflected our current warming trend as they hovered in the upper 40’s. It looked to be a great morning for a ride!

 

(What is missing from this photo? Answer below…)

MAY 2011–THE MONTH IN REVIEW…

As I sit here this evening, the first day of June 2011 is beginning to wind down. Summer simply jumped up and skipped all that nice preparatory stuff normal for May and seemingly went straight to the hot sunny dry days of late July and August. I hope this isn’t the harbinger of things to come this summer.

(Stamey Cove gets “its green on!”)

After doing my final stats for the month last night, I was not feeling good about my riding during May…

RAMPS, BROKEN CHAINS, AND OTHER NICETIES OF LIFE!

Aarrggh! It seems like forever since I’ve posted anything here. The days have been jammed full of other activities and, to be quite frank, I’ve not felt like writing when I finally made it home. I’ve managed to keep up somewhat with my reading on a daily basis and have enjoyed Kent “Mountain Turtle” Peterson’s month long “30 days of Biking.” I’ve also enjoyed watching my colleague and friend Jack, the VeloHobo, begin his partial commute to work each day. Jack and I work for the same company although the geographic area that separates us is a couple of hours away. I still recall the day that I discovered that this guy I worked with turned out to be the VeloHobo…

GETTING HIGH ON EASTER!

Easter Sunday was gorgeous here in the mountains of Western North Carolina. The day dawned clear and warm with promises of almost summer like temps in the valley. I was pleased to be able to join up with Cross Country Stan for an afternoon climb…

A “SANDWICH” OF A RIDE!

Yesterday, March 29th,was tapped to be an excellent day wrapped between spring rains. It was to be the ham and cheese between the bread slices – the best and tastiest part of the week long sandwich of weather. It turned out to be exactly that as I departed my starting point at Bethel Middle School…

SIGNS OF THE PENDING SPRING SEASON

The unseasonably warm weather that has graciously been visiting the mountains of Western North Carolina has continued into the early part of the work week. I’ve been lucky enough to get in some road riding with both a small group and solo the last couple of days. While out and about, I’ve noted the early signs of the emerging spring season.

Of course, there are those that we all recognize such as the earliest bloomers making themselves known and the return of certain birds. Its about this time of year that the blue bird does his scouting for nests.

(This hearty fellow will soon be looking for a house…)

It is often hard to tell which birds are the harbingers of spring anymore as we seem to have more birds wintering over than happened in my youth. So, we must look to the tried and true signs of spring to know that the season is nearly upon us. One such sign is this…

RIDING IN TWO SEASONS

Today, Sunday February 13th, was the good weather day that yesterday was supposed to have been. A spring-like weekend had been forecast for our area and everyone was all abuzz talking about it on Friday while we waited for the last of the cold air to move on out. A low pressure system moving in from the southwest was supposed to be bringing in temps in the upper 50’s yesterday under blue skies. Well, the blue skies were abundant but my thermometer seemed to hover in the low 40’s. Still, there was hope for today and that hope was well rewarded with today’s great weather. It was riding time…

(Beautiful skies behind Zeke’s Fuji CCR3)

…AND HARRY MAKES THREE!

By yesterday (Saturday, November 27th), my post-Turkey haze had lifted enough and holiday/home chore duties had been cleared enough to make some time for a ride. Heaven knows I needed it!  The Wood-man and I determined on Friday night that we would get out and put a few miles into our legs this weekend…

FALL WEATHER MAKES GLORIOUS RETURN!

The touch of winter last weekend that resulted n 7” of snow in places and only short lived traces in other places has been replaced by some gorgeous, glorious, sumptuous riding weather. The end of Daylight Savings means that after work rides are a thing of the past for several months. The silver lining to that cloud is that lunch rides are just simply wonderful! The temps are up and pleasant and this day there wasn’t a cloud in the sky…

(A clear sky to the east from Crabtree Church Road…)

 

A RETURN TO THE S.C. LOW COUNTRY!

After what felt like days and days of getting ready for a short mini-vacation, the Navigator and I have arrived on Hilton Head Island for a few days of R&R as the summer season winds down. We’ve returned in the company of the Wood-Man and Sherri Shazam – the Navigator’s sister. We made a similar trip last year and enjoyed the infrastructure for cycling activities. From what I’ve seen so far, the cycling activities have certainly not diminished. I’ve already spotted 3 separate bike shops and lots of folks out cycling on the separated bike paths. Of interest, are all the stops signs warning cyclists and pedestrians alike that cars have the right of way. It makes for a lot of stop and go riding.

Before we arrived here…

Back home, the first tendrils of fall’s outreach were making themselves known. The skies have been incredibly clear and the overnight temps reaching into the upper 40’s making for some fine sleeping weather. Day time temperatures are still reaching the low 80’s and my evening commute home was outstanding.

This past Monday evening, I left the locale of my new office, which is within a stones throw of my old office,  and headed home via NC 209 as is my usual. However, this time, I extended the ride down NC 209 crossing over I-40 and turned back onto Big Branch in order to climb the backside of Hyder Mountain.

(Big Branch looking toward Chambers Mountain)

As the ride home progressed, Chambers Mountain was always to my left and prominent in the landscape. Chambers is easily identifiable because it has become the home of seemingly every known radio tower in Haywood County. Its towers often gleam silver in both the rising and setting suns. On this particular ride, I was surprised that I had nearly ridden all the way around the base of the mountain having been on its western, southern, and eastern sides.

At the top of Hyder Mountain, sits Fincher’s Chapel. Its steeple prominent on top of the highest point of this climb. It is especially noticeable from the Clyde side approach as that is the steepest approach to the gap and the church sits right beside the gap.

(View of the Balsams along the Blue Ridge Parkway from Fincher Chapel) 

This image taken from the gap doesn’t do justice of the 12% gradient approach to the gap. The descent to the base of Hyder Mountain is fast with a couple of sharp curves requiring close attention. The penalty for enjoying the scenery too much on the way down is a trip through barbed wire and perhaps “sleeping with the goats” instead of the better known “sleeping with the fishies” from crime novels.

“The ribbons of my ride”…

From this point, I was back on my usual trip home that I’ve written about many times. However, on this particular day, in addition to being cognizant of the prominence of Chambers Mountain, I also found myself contemplating “ribbons.” No, not the pink, yellow, red, green, multi-colored ribbons used to signify various charitable causes but, rather, the metaphorical ribbons that accompanied me as I made my way home.

I’m speaking of two “ribbons” in specific: Interstate 40 and the Pigeon River. Both are ribbons of sort and would appear as such from views from outer space. Both wind their ways through Haywood County and both have had tremendous impact on the commerce and qualities of life of the citizens bordering their “flow” through our community. Unquestionably, both have provided financial rewards by providing long term income to generations of Haywood County citizens. Of course, both have their detractors as well. The Pigeon, once almost a “dead” river due to paper mill discharges, has been blamed for high cancer rates downstream in neighboring Tennessee.

But, I digress… On this day at this time, I found myself focusing on how each ribbon accompanies me on significant portions of my commute home. I-40 is a constant presence by way of noise generated by passing vehicles as I first cross over it at the intersection with US 209, run alongside it as I make my way to Clyde, run under it on the leg to Canton, and then finally cross over it again as I approach Canton. The Pigeon River actually accompanies me for almost all of the ride on this route.

I first pick up the Pigeon as its path leads it around Hyder Mountain but this is a short crossing only just past the intersection of I-40 and NC 209. I leave the river until after the climb of Hyder and pick it up again at the base of Hyder. The river, at this point, well below the paper mill in Canton, is always the color of tea, which is the result of the tannins used in the production of paper and is enhanced by the permanently stain rock below the water. On occasion, a stench still assaults the nose as I pedal toward Clyde and Canton. I often refer to the stench as “smelling the money” to somehow minimize the noxious affect of paper production.

A short section of my route takes me away from the river briefly but I’m soon reunited with it in Canton at the paper mill. As I circumnavigate the mill, I come back alongside the Pigeon above the mill. The water is clear and fresh at this point before it gives itself up to the rinsing of wood pulp as paper is made. The final 5 to 8 miles of my commute is fully alongside the ribbon known as the Pigeon River. I’ve been blessed to see see it throughout all the seasons, before and after flood stages, and at times of local drought. As I approach the end of this night’s ride, I find myself grateful for the “ribbons” in my life…

“If I can walk it, I can climb it” revisited…

In my recent post, I posited the thought that “if I could walk it, I could climb it” as being important in my evolution as a cyclist. In that post, I indicated I had only tested this hypothesis on a maximum of a 12% grade. Well, I decided I had better continue to test my theory for accuracy.

To do so, I’ve now concluded my last couple of rides by riding from the base of our road up the mountain to the house. In the past, I’ve relied on the Navigator to pick me up and save me or, more accurately, my legs the trouble of climbing our road. This is not a good road by anyone’s estimation. A former wagon track, the road services  3 homes and the fortunately UNDEVELOPED mountain above us. We do what we can to keep it passable by our vehicles. Keeping it in road bike shape has not been anyone’s idea of good way to spend money.

The road is unequal parts of old pavement, river rock, gravel, leaves, dirt, and more than one or two holes. As it turns out it is also a grade of 15%. I can now report that despite a spinning rear wheel costing me momentum, “if I can walk it, I can climb it” remains true. Fortunately, the 15% grade is only .2 of a mile to our drive. So, staying with the theme of “ribbons in my life”, this particular “ribbon of broken road” has helped me continue to evolve and build my climbing muscles. When I crest the drive to our home, that deck sure does look inviting!

Back to the Low Country…

This brings me to the end of today’s epistle as the Wood-Man just called it. We’re heading out to get some protein before we ride!

(The Navigator catches Zeke writing dock side on Hilton Head) 

Hey, it’s a dirty job but somebody’s got to do it!

More later from the Low Country!

-Zeke

THE NEAR PERFECT DAY CONTINUES, PART 2

 

Part 1, A Perfect Day…. The first leg of our Saturday adventure was completed after having climbed from 2,678’ elevation at Bethel Grocery Store in  Bethel, NC to the intersection of NC 215 and the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) at 5,337’ elevation for a net gain of 2,659’ over 18 miles…

 

What goes up, must go down!

Ken’s inexplicable flat was fixed and there was a break in the motorcycle and auto traffic along the BRP, so we headed north riding from approximately mile marker 422. A short climb in elevation resulted in protests from my legs as apparently some part of my brain had sent the erroneous message to my legs that there would be no more climbing. Little did they know…

We were strung out in a pace line as the traffic moved around us steadily and frequently. The ratio of motorcycles to 4 wheeled cages (motorcycle parlance for enclosed vehicles) perhaps increased to 8 to 1. Numerous groups of riders were out on this great day. In fact, as the Navigator and I would discover later, the entire region appeared to be hosting a motorcycle rally over the Labor Day weekend.

Our merry band of self-powered cyclists continued the climb toward Devil’s Courthouse. The parking lot was overflowing as folks were making the hike to the 5462’ top. Our one and only tunnel on this leg of the trip came just yards after passing the hiking trail to the Courthouse. Going into the tunnel was an interesting experience as it was very easy to get disoriented trying to follow along the lines of the dark tunnel. One vehicle lit our way briefly until they decided it was important to pass us in the tunnel. This particular tunnel is relatively short with a very minor left handed curve in it so we were quickly able to literally see the “light at the end of the tunnel.”

The climb crested while in the tunnel and we were on a very nice downhill run as we exited back into the sunshine. The road made for a an excellent descent and let my tired legs recovery somewhat. After passing mile marker 420, we came upon the most congested area of the day at Graveyard Fields. The Fields were the site of a major wildfire during my father’s childhood. 

We couldn’t get into the overlook due to the overabundance of vehicles. I didn’t really care to get into it anyway because we were still enjoying a great descent! We did make it to the next overlook and found some room to pull in and take a break plus get a picture or two.

(l-r, Ken, Wolfpen Andy, Jon, Climbing Jen, Zeke) 

While stopped at this overlook, we met a firefighter/cyclist from Rock Hill, SC, who was driving along the BRP with his spouse. (He graciously took the picture above.) We talked cycling with him for a few minutes and then spotted a lone cyclist making his way uphill going north to south. The fellow turned out to be an acquaintance of Ken’s.

Soon enough, our conversations had ended and we resumed our downhill descent past views of Looking Glass Rock (4493’ elevation). The excellent run downhill ended shortly and we were faced with another long ascent along the BRP. The sun was quite warm and I had a good sweat going as we geared down and made our way to yet another high point along the spine of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Another short break was in order at a crowded overlook as our group reunited again for the final few miles of our day’s ride along the BRP. This particular overlook presented views back toward Mt. Pisgah and the Pisgah Inn. A church group and a large family populated this overlook during the time we were regrouping and catching our breath.

(Ken, Jenn, and Jon with Mt. Pisgah in the background) 

A very short descent from this overlook and a mild climb brought us to Wagon Road Gap (elevation 4535’) where our run along the BRP ended for this ride. We stopped briefly to put on windbreakers and to prepare for the 4 mile steep descent along poorly paved, narrow US 276.

Ken led the way carving out nice lines through the “S” curves as we negotiated the rough road surface at speeds that neared 30 mph at times. More than once, I struggled to remember to avoid braking while in the curves and to scrub off speed before getting into the curve. This was not a time time for sight seeing as a small error here could easily land you down the embankment or buried on the grill of an on-coming vehicle. Once into the rhythm, this was a fun descent that ended too abruptly for me.

The road opens up at the entrance to Looking Glass Falls hiking area. We came back together as a group and had a nice pace line going by the Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground and the Cruso Community Center. The East Fork of the Pigeon was now our companion as we headed “home” to Bethel. A brief stop at a convenience store at Harley Creek was our final stop along the ride.

The remainder of the ride was spent sharing the pull as our pace line passed by Springfield Golf Course and numerous fields of tomatoes and peppers ready for the gloaming. In relatively short order, the East Fork of the Pigeon bore off to the north and we were soon again crossing the West Fork just above its confluence with the East Fork. Some 45 miles had been covered between the 18 mile climb up to the BRP, the roughly 9 mile transit of Parkway, and the 17 mile descent from Wagon Road Gap.

Tired and happy, we returned to the Bethel Middle School athletic field and our vehicles as the hundreds of parents and players were just getting underway with a day’s slate of football!

Was it a perfect day? Other than my slow start of the morning, I can’t think of a thing I would change. The weather certainly couldn’t have been better, the fellowship of the riders was outstanding, and another major goal for this season has now been checked off. Perfect day? I’d say it was darn near perfection…

Until later,

- Zeke

BLUE RIDGE BREAKAWAY, PART III

 

Blue Ridge Breakaway, Part 2 Blue Ridge Breakaway, Part 1

 

(At the end of Part 2, I said my goodbyes to the Navigator and left the 3rd Aid Station at the Church of God on NC 110 headed for Lake Logan. I apologize now for the lack of images to go with the posting. I was too busy riding to take pictures and I haven’t received any from other sources as yet.)

My previous “hosts”, who had pulled me along with them for a short distance on NC 110 were a fading memory as they had pulled steadily away from me. I was back to solo status along Love Joy Road as I headed south. It was along this 3 mile stretch that my interactions were acknowledgments of and greetings to my fellow metric century riders, who had already made the turn and were headed back. I had approximately 5 miles to go before I would reach that same turn around spot. I began to get a sense of where I was positioned with the riders in front of me but, of course, had no idea how many were behind me on the route and whether they were century riders or metric century riders.

There was a steady stream of riders on their return trip and I observed that groups of 3 and 4 helping each other pull were quite common. After leaving Love Joy for Lake Logan Road, I began to struggle in keeping my pace. I could feel the weariness of my legs and an increasing pain in my knees with each pedal stroke. My mind began to drift to thoughts of whether I would be able to climb Stamey Cove again on this day. It was either climb it or accept DNF status. I sensed my hopeful attitude beginning to dissipate.

I came upon the final climb up to Lake Logan. To this point, Lake Logan Road is a very slight grade increase over a couple of miles. Looking at it, you would almost think it was level. After passing the Lake Logan Volunteer Fire Department, the slight grade bumps up against the mountain and you have a rapid sharp increase in gradient as you climb above Lake Logan and its dam. This is a climb of approximately three quarter miles with a grade increase to around 9% and a false flat in the middle that fools you into thinking the climb is over.

Riders making the return route for the metric century were enjoying their descent of this climb as I pedaled my way up the mountain. I caught up with and passed a couple of fellow cyclists as they made their way to the top. Upon reaching the top of the climb, it is a nice tree shaded descent to the causeway across the upper end of the lake. The 4th aid station was now in sight and it looked busy.

While at this station, I had the opportunity to hear the ham radio operator assigned to this station. Cell phone service in this area is, at best, poor and generally non-existent. Each of the aid stations had ham radio operators assigned and they kept ride officials aware of the various circumstances along the courses. At this point in the day, first word came in from the operators on the Blue Ridge Parkway that it had started to rain at the higher elevations. This was not a good omen!

There continued to be century riders stopping at the station before beginning the 10 mile ascent to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I spotted the Unicyclist as he made his way to the station and turned around to begin the last leg home. After consuming some bananas and more Gatorade, I said my goodbyes to the folks at the site and began my own trek to the finish line.

The pain in my knees had mostly subsided and I was only left with the burning sensation of overworked thigh muscles and stiffness in my lower back beginning to set in. I too enjoyed my descent down Lake Logan Road and tried to give out cheerful greetings to those still making their way to the top. The pain on many faces was evidence of their hard work. There were still numerous riders heading toward Lake Logan as I rejoined Love Joy Road. I hoped none of them were century riders because I didn’t see any way that they could make the time cut-off set by the Blue Ridge Parkway officials. It would have been a shame to make it that far and get turned back.

After a very brief stop at the Navigator’s aid station, I was headed toward my second climb of the day of Stamey Cove. This had been the big question in my mind as to whether I would be able to survive two crossings of Stamey Cove in the same day. I had two cyclists, who were clearly riding together, in my view as I began the climb. This side of the Stamey Cove climb is a steady and long increase in gradient until you get to the final approach of the gap. At that point, it jumps way up in grade to approximately 11%.

The rain from the Parkway had now reached the valley and we were being treated to a nice cooling mist as the climb started. The mist became light rain as I got closer to the top. The young couple in front of me had pulled to the side of the road and dismounted about 1/3rd of the way into the steep grade near the top. A vehicle was stopped talking to them and I was hoping that it would move on before I reached their point as I didn’t want to stop and lose my momentum. Somewhere along this ascent, my knees had quit hurting and I was actually feeling pretty good again.

The vehicle moved on and, as I passed the young couple, they called out that the vehicle was warning them of a crash just on the other side of the gap. I made some kind of audible sound acknowledging their information, kept my head down, and kept mashing. I can’t say there was much spin left in me at this point.

A truck came around me on the left and stopped in my lane of travel ahead. One of the ride officials jumped out to warn me to take it slow on the descent because of the crash and because the rain had now increased in intensity and bringing up the oils on the surface of the road. The race official headed on over the gap, which was now in my sight.

I was determined that I was going to go through the gap on my terms so I tried to find the energy to attack, or at least my version of an attack, as I topped the mountain. I rose out of the saddle and began pumping as hard as I could and actually managed to pick up some speed as I approached the crest. When I felt the momentum shift forward and saw my wheels pass through the gap,  I heard a loud scream from nearby. Turns out it was me celebrating my second topping of the mountain on this day.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much time to celebrate because what goes up, must go down after all and I was picking up speed on a wet winding road. I started working my brakes bleeding off speed as I negotiated my way down the mountain and into the hairpin turn where the crash had occurred. As it turns out, it was a one person crash and the scene had already been cleared.

We would come to know that this single bike crash was very serious. Details are yet unclear as to what happened. What is clear is that this rider was taken directly to Memorial Mission Hospital in Asheville with major head trauma. He was in a coma when he arrived at the hospital and surgery was performed to reduce pressure on his brain. His injuries were on the left side of his body and included broken pelvis, collapsed lung, broken nose, and collapsed left eye socket. His family reported that he was an avid cyclist in the Charlotte, NC area and was preparing for a MS 150 race in the near future. (Note: As of this writing, he remains in intensive care. He has begun responding to stimuli and moving his limbs. The family and doctors are hopeful for his recovery although he remains in critical but stable condition.)

My ride down the mountain was thankfully non-eventful and after one more brief climb, I was in Clyde and turning for “home” on the Old Clyde Highway. The rain was steady and moderately heavy at this point and I was ready to be finished.  As I was making my way out of Clyde along the Pigeon, I came upon the Unicyclist again. I pulled alongside and we started up what would become short conversational interludes as we passed and re-passed each other going into Lake Junaluska. He would drop me on the short ascents and I would pass him on the descents. Of course, we were both soaked from the rain at this point. He was riding only in bibbed shorts and I thought he must be getting cool.

We finally made it to Lake Junaluska and South Lake Shore Drive. Along this way, the Unicyclist and I rode side-by-side and actually had a conversation that lasted more than 10 words at a time. It turns out he was from nearby Fairview, NC and was riding Haywood County roads for the first time. I gathered from him that his longest ride on the unicycle was 96 miles in late December when he rode from Anniston, Alabama to Atlanta, Georgia. He explained the workings of the unicycle to me and informed me that it was actually harder on him going downhill than uphill. I had noted that his pedal stroke was very short without any leg extension. He shared with me that he had almost done a “face plant” when he took his eyes off the road earlier and hit a slight depression in the road throwing his body weight forward over the wheel. I can only imagine what outstanding core condition this fellow must have!

We finally reached the end of South Lake Shore Dr. and approached the juncture with US 19. The rain was heavy and auto traffic was clearly ignoring the well marked signs of bicyclists in the road. The Unicyclist and I went our separate ways at this point and I was closing out my first metric century riding solo as I had most of the day. The rain was very heavy at this point and it was difficult to see with both sides of my glasses being wet. The fast moving traffic to my left was throwing up considerable spray adding to the riding difficulty. I recall the feeling that each of my feet had its own hot tub except there was not “hot” in hot tub! The finish was in sight and I did my best to “sprint in.” The Wood-man had cautioned me not to leave anything on the course so I did my best to meet that condition. As I crossed the finish line, the volunteer sitting under her nice umbrella, called out a hearty “Great job! 5 hours and 9 seconds!

I was pleased with the time and the effort and also knew that my actual ride time would be less than 5 hours. My goal had been to maintain a 12 mph average and I knew that I was either right on it or had exceeded it. I was glad to know that I had left nothing on the course. I was soaked, tired, and worn out. It felt wonderful!

THE WEATHER TURNS NASTY…

After getting into my vehicle and removing some of the wet clothing I was wearing, I called the Navigator to report my whereabouts and the fact that I was finished and safely back. She informed me that the Blue Ridge Parkway officials had shut down the Parkway segment of the century route and had turned away any more cyclists from continuing along the route. She also said that a number of participants were stranded on the Parkway.

I immediately contacted the ride officials and offered to go pick up riders in my truck. I was told to go back to Lake Logan and that I would be dispatched by radio from there. I had to go back to the Navigator’s location to get the truck as I had her Escape and she was driving my truck for the day. On the way, I drove over the course making my 3rd crossing of Stamey Cove. (This one was MUCH easier!)  I noted the riders remaining on the course and called their location back in to the ride officials giving rider numbers when I could. There were only 4 riders still on the course between Clyde and aid station #3.

After a quick exchange of vehicles, I made my way back up to the Lake Logan aid station and joined up with Cross Country Stan and Jennifer, both fellow BicycleHaywoodNC council member. We took 3 vehicles to the Parkway to pick up what we were told were 6 or more stranded riders. The intensity of the rain increased steadily as we drove the remaining mileage to the top. I was running my wipers on full speed trying to keep a clear window. Waterfalls were sprouting up along the sides of the roads as the heavy rain made its way to the valley.

Upon arriving at the Blue Ridge Parkway, we pulled into the aid station and discovered that the stranded riders were all safely ensconced in other vehicles and headed off the mountain. The aid station volunteers were doing their best to pack up in the heavy rains and winds that were blowing across the crest of the mountain. Jennifer and I headed back down to Lake Logan to pick up any remaining riders.

I later found out that Dr. Jim, yet another BicycleHaywoodNC council member, was riding the century route and was on the Parkway before it was shut down but after the rain had started. He came upon a rider, who was going in the wrong direction. When Dr. Jim addressed him, the rider did not acknowledge him at all so Dr. Jim turned and pulled the cyclist to the side. He quickly determined this fellow was already hypothermic. With the assistance of the Water Rock Knob volunteers, the cyclist was warmed and transported to Haywood County Hospital for further assessment and treatment.

The decision by Parkway officials to shut down the ride was well justified. This was one of the hardest rains I’ve seen around here in awhile and with temperatures dropping to the very low 60’s and perhaps upper 50’s, the chance for serious injury was high. I was later advised that a large number of the century riders completed the full course before the heavy rains played havoc on the ride.

For my part, I didn’t end up having to rescue any riders but did get to help transport the Lake Logan supplies back to Lake Junaluska. The hour of post ride adrenaline rush from the weather related activities soon wore off. I was beyond pleased to finally get home and soak in a hot tub of water for awhile!

(Next up: perhaps some final thoughts/observations and hey, it’s time to get back on the bike!)

Until later,

- Zeke

AARP PROMOTES CYCLING

The  Association of American Retired Persons (AARP) featured an article on cycling in the July – August 2010 Bulletin. The article titled Biketopia covers the increase in American cyclists and how one town, Brunswick, Maine, has increased their cycling infrastructure resulting in an increase in ridership. There are also 5 helpful hints on how any community can become bike-friendly. Author Rob Gurwitt connects with numerous over 50 years old cyclists involved in the cycling culture around Brunswick. He reports that years ago Brunswick “made  a commitment that every middle-school-aged child should be able to bike safely anywhere in their town.” Episcopal priest John Balicki, 60, former Maine Department of Transportation bike/ped coordinator says “we're not there yet. That’s our next frontier.” It is refreshing and affirming to see that the elders of our generation are taking cycling to heart. It also shows the breadth of the cycling movement in America, i.e., you don’t have to be spandex clad roadie or a MTB flash to enjoy cycling! (Not that there’s anything wrong with it….)

For the on-line version and to see a well done video on the Brunswick bike path, visit Biketopia.

BLUE RIDGE BREAKAWAY

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to drive with Ken Howle, one of the coordinators for the inaugural Blue Ridge Breakaway, around the metric century route of the upcoming BRB. We were using multiple gadgets to get altitudes and mileage measurements for the route. It also gave me a chance to preview the route from the comfort of air conditioning!

We used a SPOT II, a Garmin Oregon 400T, and Ken’s Smartphone using an included maps program. The course had previously been mapped on MapMyRide by the event organizers. Our goal was to compare and contrast any differences we found. Well, to no one’s surprise, we did get differences in both mileage and altitude gain. The MapMyRide result had substantially longer mileage and greater elevation climb than any of the other programs. The SPOT II turned out not be very helpful because the points were “as the crow flies” and did not take into account the road’s twists and turns, which, of course, adds mileage. Our handwritten notes transferred to a spreadsheet matched up best with the Smartphone app used by Ken. We were relatively close in both mileage and elevation gain. We also made liberal use of Google Earth in post drive editing.

Regardless of which instruments was used, I can tell you that the organizers have laid out a very challenging route for both the century and the metric century routes. The metric century and century routes start at the open air gymnasium at Lake Junaluska Methodist Assembly and proceed west on US 19/276 before heading north on US 276. A right hand turn on to Coleman Mountain Road will feature the first climb of the day. Rides will peak out at 2870’ elevation before taking a winding descent to Iron Duff Road.

Turning left on Iron Duff, riders will have a descent to the Pigeon River (elevation 2463’) where the century riders will turn northwest toward Panther Creek and the metric century riders will turn east along Riverside Road. The century riders will proceed along 2 more climbs before getting to Fines Creek and a turn back southeast onto NC 209 and a long climb up the backside of Rush Fork Mountain. Metric Century riders will ride along the river to Crabtree Church Road and a climb up to NC 209 where the first water stop of the day occurs and the two rides rejoin.

Following a short pedal to Golf Course Rd. and Big Branch, both groups will then climb the Crabtree side of Hyder Mountain, which peaks at 2827’ after a climb up from 2492’ at the beginning of Big Branch. This side of the mountain is a longer climb but substantially lower grade than climbing up from the Clyde side of Hyder Mountain.

After descending Hyder Mountain, the riders will make their way to Clyde, NC along Hyder Mountain Road and then cross over Main St. and Carolina Ave. in Clyde. The next climb of the day is Stamey Cove Road with a peak elevation of 3040’ after a steep ascent featuring hairpin turns. This is part of the old Bele Cher race route from years ago although that route went in the opposite direction. From the peak, riders drop down to the Pigeon River again just above the town of Canton and make their way along NC 209 to Wells Road, which connects NC 209 and NC 110.

The second water stop of the day is planned for near this location. Riders will continue on south on NC 110 to the intersection of US 276/NC 110. The route crosses over to one of my favorite rides in the area and one I’ve written about many times – Love Joy Road. At the intersection of Love Joy and Lake Logan Road riders will make their way south toward Lake Logan and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Another moderate climb will greet the riders as they spin their way to the top of the ridge above the lake. At the bridge crossing the upper end of Lake Logan, a 3rd water stop is planned.

At this juncture, the century riders will continue on NC 215 (Lake Logan Rd) to the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is a long climb of another 10 miles or so. The grade picks up above Sunburst Campground and remains around 5% or so to about 2 miles below the BRP. The grade really jumps up the final mile before reaching the BRP at 5340’ elevation.

Century riders will turn south on the BRP and then climb to the highest point of the Blue Ridge Parkway at Balsam-Richland (6052’ elevation) before dropping down to Balsam Gap (3340’ elevation) and then climbing another 7 miles to the top of Water Rock Knob (5722’ elevation). Following a descent to Soco Gap (4340’ elevation), riders will turn east on US 19 and return to Lake Junaluska Assembly.

Metric century riders will use the Lake Logan water stop as their turn around point and will retrace their way to Clyde including another climb over Stamey Cove before dropping back into Clyde. A slight change in route will include a return to Lake Junaluska and the assembly grounds via Old Clyde Road and then along South Lake Shore Drive before a very short segment along US 19. All riders return to the open air gym for the finish.

I was tired just thinking about these courses. It should be a great day of riding in beautiful Haywood County. Come for a visit and join us as we thrill in the climbs and descents of our very old, very beautiful mountains! To register and get more details, visit Blue Ridge Breakaway.

LOCAL WEATHER IS TEMPETUOUS…

… and irritatingly timed! Our area has been visited by strong thunderstorms and heavy rains the last week. Unfortunately, they fire up just about “riding time”, which is the end of the work day for many of us. Last week’s BicycleHaywoodNC new riders group had to be cancelled due to inclement weather and my own ride yesterday was stopped due to thunderstorms. Today’s forecast looks worse than yesterdays. I need some miles under me so I can survive the Blue Ridge Breakaway. Maybe today – but probably not…

Until later,

- Zeke

A RIDE OF DISCOVERY

Tuesday, July 20th, was a day like so many other days here in Western North Carolina this time of the year. It was hot and muggy – hotter than normal for this time of year, which seems to be our trend for the summer. A nice late afternoon shower rumbled through close enough to end of work time to make me question if I’d get to commute home as planned. The Navigator was scheduled for her water aerobics class and missing my planned ride would mean hanging out in my office another 90 minutes or staying around town wandering aimlessly – well, I could have gone to Wal-Mart and wandered aimlessly there…

The shower was heavy while here but fortunately short-lived. The sun was quick to return and heat up matters again but, I clearly was going to be able to ride home. I had not ridden since the Wood-man’s and my jaunt around 25 miles of island this past Friday. I was ready to go.

I headed out on my typical ride home opting for the Lee Road route and across Old Clyde Highway to Canton. It was a pleasant ride without incident and I came into Canton feeling good about the ride. My first new discovery of the day was about to glide by me on 2 wheels.

As I came around the bend at the Canton Rec Department, I was met by a cyclist clearly loaded for touring. We spoke as we passed and I thought to myself “I’ll bet this guy has a story!” Knowing that the Navigator was still a good 40 minutes from heading home, I circled around and rode beside this gentleman and struck up a conversation. He let me know he was on day 19 of a tour coming up from Florida and on his way to Asheville, NC to get some brake pads. He had climbed Soco Mountain out of the Cherokee Indian Boundary in 3 hours and then descended it in 12 minutes.

As we chatted, he asked what my line of work entailed and I provided him with that information. To which he says, do you know “so-and-so”? To which I replied, “yes, he is a co-worker of mine!” So, Discovery #1, it really is a small, small world. What are the odds that this gentleman and I would intersect in time and space in that location and that time and then discover we had someone in common? I promised to let old “so-and-so” know that we had met and give him my companions best wishes. Turns out he had stayed with my co-worker this past Monday night. We rode on a moment and I assured him he was headed in the right direction. I said my good-byes and wished him well as I turned back to my route home. Having such a nice encounter buoyed my spirits and made a pleasant ride more pleasant.

As I was passing Rogers’ Express Lube, I noted the owner’s sign. He typically has some kind of inspirational or other saying posted. I liked today’s so stopped and grabbed a picture of it.

(Truer words were never posted!) 

I was reminded that what we put out there to the public whether words, dots on a screen, or our actions cannot be taken back. The sign also made me think about wasting too much time being in the “poor, poor pitiful me” place I sometimes go to in my head. Again, time lost that will never come back…

I spun my way on up to Love Joy Road and hopped across the intersection of US 276 to extend my trip home a few miles. Doing so led me to what I still consider one of the prettiest, most pleasant roads to ride in Haywood County. Love Joy is simply a joy! The fertile valley is over running with abundant crops growing, the West Fork of the Pigeon River makes its way along parts of this road, the family gardens are well kept as are the homes, and the folks sharing the road have always been pleasant.

On the upper end of Love Joy, the trees arch out over the road and create this wonderful enclosed space. Following yesterday’s showers, the wonderful scent of the soil, grasses, and leaves were fully in “bloom” and my olfactory senses relished in the experience.

(An example of the family garden along Love Joy Road) 

(Love Joy Road in the quiet of the evening)

As I finished up the Love Joy portion of my extended loop, I caught the sun illuminating Riverside Baptist Church. This pretty church sits alongside the West Fork and is one of many of the community churches that I ride by on a daily basis. You can’t ride far in Haywood without passing a church of some denomination.

(The sun sets on Riverside Baptist Church alongside the West Fork) 

So Discovery #2 for the day or, more properly, Rediscovery #1 is a reminder of what an incredible portion of this earth I am able to reside in and enjoy. The contrast from yesterday’s ride and my recent weekend in the hot stickiness of the Low Country couldn’t be more well defined than by what I enjoyed Tuesday.

O.K., so what was Discovery #2? Well, it goes back to my encounter with the touring cyclist. I contacted my co-worker and found out the name of the touring cyclist (Charles Pahl) and many other things. This was not Discovery #2 – The real Discovery #2 was that my co-worker is a cyclist and blogger! Jack’s blog “Velohobo” is very interesting and well done. I’ll be adding it to my list of recommended readings shortly.

If I were riding home in my car with the windows rolled up trying to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible, I would never have found out any of this information. Only because of cycling and commuting did I get to enrich my life on Tuesday, July 20th. Thanks to the “powers that be” that brought all of this to me yesterday!

 

Until later,

- Zeke

SOMETHING NEW OUT OF SOMETHING OLD

I had a last minute appointment cancellation and, thanks to brilliant pre-planning on my part (some would say luck!), I managed to get in a commute home yesterday. Somewhere shortly after starting, I realized I didn’t want to ride the same route home as usual. Then it hit me, I can go home the same way differently!

Soooo, rather than my typical run down NC 209, I headed southeast out of town on some city surface streets, took a little jaunt across Sunnyside to Raccoon Creek Rd. and proceeded up Ratcliffe Cove Rd. crossing through Poison Cove Gap and the Clyde side of the mountain.

From there, it was the old/now new run into Clyde proper, or as proper as Clyde gets anyway, a crossing of Broad St. and the Pigeon River before heading east to Canton on Thickety Road. I was now back on my usual run to the house but had added a moderate level of climb through Poison Cove Gap plus the fun descent down to Stamey Cove Road.

The ride was pretty much the usual although today I was hoping to get an inkling of what happened to the dog that chased me into traffic four weeks ago and was run over. This was my first ride back by that house. When I reached the intersection, I stopped and surveyed the house and area looking for the dog but did not see any evidence of it. Of course, I had only seen it that one time anyway so I didn’t want to draw negative conclusions about not seeing it yesterday. My next leg of the trip took me over I-40 and to the intersection of Thickety Rd. and Champion Drive in Canton.

(Hmm, Ingles has some good old chicken breasts on sale!)

 

(Welcoming sign at Thickety Rd/Champion Dr. intersection)

This is a busy intersection and the main entrance off of I-40 to Canton and the Evergreen Packaging mill. Lots of traffic accompanied me through town. I circumnavigated the mill and headed south on NC 110 on a very pleasant evening. Upon reaching the intersection of NC 110 and US 276, I knew I wanted more mileage plus I was just enjoying the ride. I knew the Navigator wasn’t home yet so I continued my ride by adding the Love Joy Road loop.

As I turned back north on NC 215 at the end of Love Joy, I passed a small Baptist Church along the river, whose parking lot was packed with the cars of worshipers. It was then that I remembered it was Wednesday night, which is a “go to church night” throughout our community. Something clicked for me as I was riding peacefully by the church. It was a connection to the words of Kent “Mountain Turtle” Peterson in his June 30th post “What Do You Win?” 

In the post, Kent speaks of his "practiced answer” to this question on his recent Great Divide Ride and Prologue” and the truer, some would say deeper, aspects of what he “won.” As I say, his words resonated with me this date and, as I was riding by this small country Baptist Church along the rippling waters of the West Fork of the Pigeon, I recall acknowledging that the many worshippers in the sanctuary were being with God in their way and that I too, at that moment, was also in God’s sanctuary – I was on 2 wheels quietly  gliding by and being overwhelmed with God’s handiwork all around me.

May Peace Be With You and Yours…

- Zeke

RIDE/TOUR WRAP UPS – WATER MANAGEMENT

 

Tours/Races that I am following:

The Tour Divide My cycling experiences on tour, with Fargo. The Tour of Discovery: Ride for the Republic

 

The Tour Divide While a number of riders remain on the course, Matthew Lee has finished the race in a time of 17 days, 15 hours and 13 minutes in which he covered 2745 miles. He is the winner of the 2010 Tour Divide. Our “Mountain Turtle” is safely home again after experiencing equipment failure such that the wisest decision was to pack it in and head back to Issaquah. He is posting numerous images of his experience on his blog at KentsBikeBlog.

(Photo credit: Kent “Mountain Turtle” Peterson

Click the image to see the story!)

My cycling experiences on tour, with Fargo.

Also coming to a close is Jim Artis’s field testing, as it turns out, of Fargo. After several days in Ashford, CT and consultation with Fargo builder Ashley, it was agreed that there was nothing else to be gained from further field testing. Information has been gathered for the necessary modifications to enhance Fargo as a touring HPV supreme. Jim has procured a rental truck this morning and is awaiting delivery of a couple of packages at his “home away from home”, the Ashford Motel, on Ashford Motel Rd., in Ashford, CT. I’ll bet UPS won’t have any trouble finding him.

Jim has an approximate 12 hour drive to get home. We’ll be looking forward to his many stories of his adventure in the northeast as he has settles back in at home. He will be shipping out parts of Fargo back to Utah Trikes for in-house review and modification. We’ll look forward to more Fargo adventures down the road!

Some thoughts on local matters…

Over the course of this blog, I’ve written numerous times about the Pigeon River Valley and my rides around it. I’ve posted images of the fields ready for planting, planted, and harvested. To a large degree, my stories have been based upon sitting above the fields on either NC 110 or NC 215 as I looked down on the field. The two roads are the boundaries of an incredibly fertile valley.

Last night, I had the opportunity to get more in-depth knowledge about local efforts to protect the water tables and the land from pollution in this area. I visited 3 spots: Bethel Middle School, Bethel Elementary School, and Cold Mountain Nursery. Each of these are doing some outstanding work at handling run-off water from storms in ways that recycle the water reducing demand upon the areas water table, actually treating the run-off before it enters the streams, and reusing the water in irrigation efforts to reduce overall water use in the nursery business.

By now you may be saying, “Hey, this is a cycling blog. What’s up with water talk?” For me, cycling and reducing our carbon footprint goes hand-in-hand with treating the land better and being better stewards of our natural resources. It was very impressive to me when I saw the work done by David Curtis at Bethel Elementary in developing a rain barrel system with his students. He spoke of how this had brought science and math together to solve common issues in environmental issues. Or to have seen the massive work done at the new elementary school were water gardens and a massive water catch basin have been installed to collect storm runoff and actually TREAT THE WATER before it ever leaves the property making it’s way to the nearby Pigeon River. Finally, to see the integrated network of ditches and ponds used by Cold Mountain Nursery to reuse their non-heribicdal infused water, was outstanding.

Oh yeah, at least two of the guys presenting and responsible for lots of this work are cyclists…

Until later,

- Zeke

A RIDE WITH A GATOR…

Rides/Tours I am following:

The Tour Divide My cycling experiences on tour, with Fargo. The Tour of Discovery: Ride for the Republic

 

Riding with a Gator…

I’ve never ridden with a Gator before today. It was a very pleasurable experience! This particular Gator is coming off of a significant bike injury that required surgery, which was then followed up with a blood clot. No fun! Everyone knows Gator skin is tough and this particular Gator is no exception!

(Gator John Bryan following our spin up to Sunburst!)

Yep, John is a University of Florida Gator and has sent two of his children to that esteemed institution of higher learning. John and his spouse are here enjoying a couple of weeks at their home in the Bethel Community. We’ve corresponded via email from time to time through this blog and have agreed in the past to get together for a ride when John was in the area. Unfortunately, his bike accident resulting in injury requiring surgery slowed that ride opportunity down. John has jumped back on his back after getting physician clearance and has been putting on some miles at home.

Today was our day to connect. We met at Bethel Middle School and spun our way up to Sunburst, which is a NC Forest campground/picnic area about 8 or 9 miles up the Pigeon River from Bethel Grocery Store.  After some initial greetings and getting acquainted, we started up the mostly river grade road running along the West Fork of the Pigeon. Road traffic was heavier than usual today but everyone had apparently taken a “nice pill” as folks waiting patiently behind us until safe to pass and then waved as they went by us. We crossed the West Fork twice before getting to the bottom of the only real climb we would face today.

Just past the Lake Logan Volunteer Fired Department, the road takes a significant increase in grade as you climb above Lake Logan. The climb can be deceiving because just as you think you’re through, you come upon a little reprieve in grade only to find that the grade increases again to the top of the climb. John’s Garmin was reporting a 13% grade and my VDO-Z1 showed 11%. Somewhere between the two is actual grade we were climbing.

Following a very pleasant, cool descent under heavy pine canopy, we come out of a right hand turn and cross over the bridge at the upper end of Lake Logan. A big peal of thunder occurred just as we hit this straight stretch and you could see the day’s late afternoon thunderstorm beginning to roll in over the mountain. It didn’t look like imminent rain though so we kept the cranks moving.

We passed a number of folks enjoying some swimming in the watering holes of the Pigeon and went by an open house for today’s Family Farm Tour sponsored by the Bethel Community Action Group. I recognized George Ivey, a friend, fellow Rotarian, and serious cyclist, sitting on the porch. George is also a published author in addition to his other many talents.

We made our way to Sunburst and pulled into the picnic area just as the first rain drops began to fall. We didn’t tarry long as neither of us wanted to get caught in a thunderstorm without jackets. The rain turned out to be just enough to be cool and pleasant. We had run out of it by the time we reached Lake Logan on the return loop.

From there, we had one more climb and then pleasant pedaling back to Bethel Middle School and sunshine. This was a very pleasant interlude in a hot day and I’ll look forward to riding with this Gator again!

The Tour Divide

Kent “Mountain Turtle” Peterson had a mechanical that has brought his participation in the 2010 edition of the Great Divide Ride to a halt. The freehub on his Monocog bit the dirt and being in the Great Basin moving at bike/hiking speed isn’t a good plan. Kent had supplies to last at biking pace but not walking pace so he has made the correct decision and withdrawn. I would imagine he is hastening somewhat more swiftly back to the arms of the lovely Christine! It was an outstanding effort that included one heck of a prologue just to get to the start. Thanks Kent for supplying us all with some great inspiration! I know that there will be stories to come with lots of images! Enjoy your embrace with Christine, recharge the batteries, and then give us some great stories that we all know you absorbed on the trail! Well done, my friend!

My cycling experiences on tour, with Fargo.

Gearing issues seem to be the tale of the day as Jim Artis finds himself in a “no go” condition in Ashford, CT. He has written recently of difficulties with getting over climbs due to slippage and the reason has become much clearer in the last 36 hours. He has posted clear images of the problem gearing on his blog.  It currently appears that Jim and Fargo will be at the Ashford Motel in Ashford CT until at least Tuesday morning as he consults with Ashley on repairs and receives a needed replacement part. The Lithium Ion batteries required to power his SPOT died yesterday and there was no where on his route to find any replacements. I am in the process of shipping some to him by Tuesday morning in the hopes that he will be on the road again. We’ll see how Staples and UPS keep their promises of overnight delivery. I’ve been assured that the batteries will make it to Ashford by the Tuesday 8:00 or 10:00 a.m. delivery. Jim told me this morning that the only place to get food is by delivery from a Sports Bar!

Jim had another interesting encounter with local Law Enforcement, who once again took his safety to heart and assisted him in getting to his lodging. Jim remains in good spirits and is doing well. As he so clearly points out himself, he enjoys the design and evaluation phases of building new cycles. This is certainly one heck of a shake down cruise! Check it all out by visiting Cycling Experiences! 

Until later… I gotta go put another shrimp on the barbie…

- Zeke

THE JOYS OF NOT WEED-EATING!

 

Races/Tours that I am following:

The Race Across America (RAAM) The Tour Divide The Tour of Switzerland My cycling experiences on tour, with Fargo. The Tour of Discovery: Ride for the Republic

 

It has been a long work week with lots of end of fiscal year stuff going on and planning for a new work site for our company. Our hot temperatures over the last several days with late afternoon thunderstorms have been followed by a nice cooling spell with much clearer skies so the decision yesterday was “to weed-eat or to ride?”

Given the growth from the warm temps and heavy rains, our backyard grass, particularly the area where our dogs are confined, is now butt-high on the Labs Zeke and Orla and their Golden Retriever “cousin” Mattie Ann. It really needs weed-eating, chopping down, lowering in some manner. They hesitate to go out at night to do their “bizness”. I should stay home and do some weed-eating…

But…

Yesterday was a gorgeous late afternoon and my plans to ride from Bethel Middle School as far up the mountain to the Blue Ridge Parkway as possible got changed last weekend. I needed to test myself. One of my summer 2010 goals is to continue improving my climbing skills. Hmm, weed-eat or ride?

Well, sorry dogs but riding won out! It is 18 miles from Bethel Grocery Store on NC 215 to the intersection of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I’ve ridden only part of it before even though it is in my backyard. I knew that I was getting a late start (5:30 p.m. EDT) but wanted to see how far up the mountain I could go.

The climb up to the BRP starts at 2862’ elevation and peaks at 5327’ where NC 215 and the BRP intersect. My planned ride for the day would not go that far. I wanted to make it at least as far as a beautiful waterfall where the West Fork of the Pigeon crosses under NC 215. This should be around the 16 mile point at an elevation of around 4448’ feet above sea level.

The initial several miles up NC 215 is at very slight grade until you get just below Lake Logan dam. Then there is a moderate to hard climb above the lake and followed by a descent back to lake level. The late afternoon sun and skies with pretty white clouds made for some very attractive scenery on this section of the ride.

(West Fork of the Pigeon River feeding Lake Logan) 

(Looking north toward dam of Lake Logan)

From Lake Logan, a water impoundment built by Champion Papers to maintain sufficient water flow for making paper, I continued with a nice easy spin up to Sunburst Campground, which is a small campground at a former logging community. There is a decent swimming hole in the Pigeon here and it is always busy. Even late in the day yesterday, there was plenty of splashing and swimming going on. There was also numerous fly fisherman around although I don’t see how they could possibly catch any trout with all the ruckus from the swimmers.

The more serious climb starts at this point of the ride  I was on the eastern side of the mountain with forests of rhododendron and mountain laurel above me. The sun had long since gone behind the mountain. Traffic was almost non-existent from this point on. Only one or two vehicles passed me as they were coming down the mountain.

Along the way, I noticed the dead bodies of several small rodents that must have tried to cross at busier times. There were also more than a couple of snakes that had been run over. Unfortunately, I did not see any live animals at all on this ride. I kept a steady pace and was approaching one hour of having been climbing. I still had not reached my goal of climbing to the waterfall. I extended my self-imposed one hour deadline to get there because I was sure it was just around the next curve, then the next curve, and well, yeah this next upcoming curve…

Finally, at the 1:15 minute mark, I came around a curve and spotted a vehicle on the side of the road at a turnout and I saw guard rails. I also knew that the creek was very close to me as I was climbing along. I had passed numerous small creeks feeding off the mountain into the Pigeon. One good consequence of our rainy season has been lots of running water!

I had arrived at my destination and met a father and son, who were enjoying the serenity of the rushing water as it crossed under the road. It turned out the gentleman worked at the local Hardees as a shift supervisor. He and his son were out enjoying the outdoors. I asked him to take a picture of me and his son with the waterfall in the background. He did so graciously but, unfortunately, didn’t get the images in focus so I can’t show you how much Jeremy (his son) and I were enjoying the moment. In reality, I think I enjoyed it more than his young teen son. I don’t think he knew what to do with this old bald headed man riding a bicycle up the mountain!

I snapped a few images of the scene after they departed for home. By the way, Jeremy’s dad highly recommends the Red Burrito now being served at Hardees! I’ll have to get by there this weekend and give it a shot…

 

 

 

(Water pooling below waterfall on West Fork of Pigeon River off NC 215)

 

 

 

 

 

(Water cascade along NC 215 near Blue Ridge Parkway)

 

 

 

 

(Close-up of small waterfall)

Time was short and the sunlight was even shorter. I had managed to stay hydrated and fueled on PowerBars on my ride up. My climb of 1586’ in elevation had worn my legs out and I stayed too long at the falls. My legs and back stiffened up as I started the descent back to my starting point. I failed to have a light jacket with me and paid for that mistake as I tried to loosen back up.

All in all, I came away quiet pleased with the ride on this gorgeous day. I answered one of my own questions as to whether I could reach the BRP or not. I’m confident that I could have made the summit had there been more time and daylight. I’ll save the final climb for another day when I can start earlier.

Race/Tour updates below:

The Tour Divide

Kent “Mountain Turtle” Peterson has been dealing with brake pads sullied by the muddy conditions and colder than normal temperatures. He reports falling asleep to the sound of rain hitting the tarp at the Old Empire mine site where he spent the night. According to his latest SPOT track at 4:55 p.m. EDT, he is in Butte-Silver Bow County in Montana. His most recent tweat indicated he was enjoying a pork chop sandwich at Johns in Butte after having loaded up on groceries at the local Safeway.

My cycling experiences on tour, with Fargo.

Jim Artis of Cycling Experiences has continued to resolve mechanical issues on Fargo. Today has been declared a rest and maintenance day and he hopes to hit the road tomorrow morning. Check out his most recent post at Cycling Experiences.

The Tour of Discovery: Ride for the Republic

Raphael Giraldo has made progress getting on down the road today. He has been riding a little over 7 hours now and appears to be in Kennebunk, ME. If I recall the schedule correctly, he has a TV appearance planned for tomorrow a.m. Raphael’s postings of day-to-day experiences are available at the TOD: Ride for the Republic site.

The Tour of Switzerland

BMC rider Marcus Burghardt, winner of stage 5 of the Tour de Swisse, took today’s stage 7 as he crossed the finish line 55 seconds in front of the nearest group of riders. Robert Gesink (Rabobank) held the overall GC leader spot. Team Radio Shack rider Lance Armstrong is currently in 7th place overall at 55 seconds back.

The Race Across America (RAAM)

Team Bent Up Cycles was in West Virginia and tweating about the beauty of the roads. Having just been there, I can whole heartedly agree with their sentiments. I hope they are finding less rain than we just experienced near Greenbrier. The team is still in 3rd place behind Doc2doc. The teams should have already checked in at TS # 49 in Hancock, MD where they will have only 179.94 miles to race to the finish. Male, under 50 solo leader Jure Robic is closing in on the finish line. He has passed TS #52 and appears to be less than 50 miles from the finish. His next closest competitor has not reached TS #50 as yet. Robic would appear to be the winner of this category barring any unforeseen accidents in the last few miles to Annapolis.

That’s it for today’s wrap up and ride reports! Thanks to all those who have been following along this week! Please keep coming back for more! Stay safe and “keep the rubber side down!”

Until later,

- Zeke

CONTEMPLATING SOLO VS. GROUP RIDING

I thoroughly enjoyed riding as part of a group last weekend during my time with Jim Artis. Jim’s visit to the mountains of Western North Carolina was occasion to bring a number of cyclists together and ride as a group around our local area. Some of the folks were prior riding partners and others were brand new to me.

Given that I primarily ride solo, the experience of 3 days of group riding whetted my appetite for more of the experience. I’ve looked forward to riding with a Thursday evening established group of more experienced and stronger cyclists than me. I hoped to connect with them on Thursday but it was not to be.

So, I headed out for home as a commuter and a one man pace-line. A funny thing about a one-man pace-line: You never really get the benefit of the drag when taking over for yourself. I rode my typical route down NC 209, along the Pigeon River to Clyde. In Clyde, I get to choose one of three approaches to Canton for the final 5 or so miles.

I can just up on Business 19/23, which is a dual split lane highway carrying lots of traffic at 50+ mph. This choice presents a longer ascent into Canton over a lesser average gradient than the other two choices. The middle prong is the Old Clyde Road and runs through residential and agricultural areas and has two ascents into Canton with shorter but steeper grades. The final choice, my favorite one, is Thickety Road.

This choice runs along the Pigeon River and through some nicely shaded areas. It also goes by one of my favorite scenes in Haywood County.

December 26, 2009

May 6, 2010

As you can see, I’m blessed to live in a 4 season locale! On Thursday, I recalled the image on the left that I took during one of this past winter’s snowfalls so I stopped and took a recent photo of the same field. The image on the left was taken with our Canon PowerShot SD880 IS.The image on the right was taken with my Blackberry Storm II smart phone. It appears to do well as a “pinch hitter” for the Canon.

This third option on my commute home has the steepest ascents into Canton after running along the Pigeon River for several miles. I frequently see fishermen out casting on the once again living Pigeon River. This ride also crosses both under and over I-40, which is now back to carrying lots of east/west bound traffic with the reopening of the highway some two weeks ago.

Riding solo vs. group riding lends itself to more opportunities for introspection and I often find myself using this time to puzzle out issues in my day-to-day existence. This isn’t always a good thing as it takes my mind off of riding and my immediate environment. Sometimes though, I have that “Ah Ha!” experience and the missing piece of a puzzle drops into place for me. Riding with the group last weekend reminded me of the fun of being part of a “team”, as well as, keeps me more motivated to become a stronger cyclist. Given my competitive spirit, I find it harder to let up on that strenuous climb or to choose to take the easy way around when I’m with a group.

As in all things of life, finding the proper balance is important. I enjoy, at times, the solitude of riding solo, of feeling good about going “car lite”, and of improving my health. Riding as part of a group broadens my experiences as a cyclist and adds that sense of camaraderie that you miss when riding solo.

The upcoming week will likely be short on riding as we are preparing for a long anticipated vacation. For the first time in more than 8 years, my “best half” and I have the chance to be gone from our respective work and home duties for more than 4 or 5 days. At the moment, we’re considering a trip to Watoga State Park in West Virginia and the opportunity to ride the Greenbrier Rails-to-Trail path. We may also meander over to the Ozarks as part of our trip.

This week will be packed with getting the camper de-winterized and prepped, final mowing of the yards, animals cared for, and packing. One of my “chores” today is to get to my local REI store and purchase a SPOT II for our trip.

Hopefully, one or two evenings this week will hold some time for some short rides.

Until later,

- Zeke