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.

THE QUESTION OF THE DAY…

 

Zeke meets Andy!

So, here is today’s question. What happens when two motorcyclists meet by a garbage dumpster? (No, this isn’t a slam on motorcyclists – I’m one myself!) The story behind the answer goes like this…

FADING COLORS HINT AT THINGS TO COME

October has been an interesting riding month this year. It started with a week of riding in the Low Country of S.C. where the temps were still quite warm and late summer seemed to this Mountaineer to still be in the air. As we wind down October here in the mountains of Western North Carolina, the fading colors of fall are more the norm with quite cool seasonal temps near freezing occurring.

(Last week’s bright colors have darkened quickly…)

I finally managed to get myself back on two wheels yesterday for a brief spin around the Pigeon Valley Loop. Having ridden my Salsa Fargo each and every ride since purchasing it, I opted for a return to…

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…

BIKE WEEK PLANNING AND NEW COLUMN IN PRINT

The preparation for Bike Week is continuing on my end. Running down the loose ends and “nuts and bolts” stuff for the Ride to Work Day ride has been fairly time consuming. I’m pleased that we have secured sponsorship for the ride…

LIONS’ BREATH ROARS INTO THE MOUNTAINS

 

(Winds were keeping this flag in full display!)

Spring-like weather has continued to be our norm this week as we negotiate from February into March. With unseasonably warm temps, the riding has been quite nice. I’ve been able to get out and about on my Fuji CCR3 and continue trying to work off some of the winter insulating layer of fat that somehow accumulated since late November. On Thursday, I had a unique and startling experience…

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…

HOW COULD I NOT? RIDE THAT IS!

January 2011 is sure going out on a lot milder note than when the calendar turned another page on another year 30 days ago. Today’s (January 30th) blue skies and mid-60’s temperatures were not meant to be enjoyed from inside a house or other abode. No excuses, no reasoning could justify not riding today…

(Fields along NC 110 are still enjoying  a winter’s slumber)

Of course, my first ride of the year had a small “burp” that could have led to chucking the whole idea of riding….

A LEG LOOSENING THURSDAY

Not to be confused with “Thirsty Thursday” wherein local baseball fans flock to our local minor league baseball team (the Asheville Tourists) games and consume massive amounts of beer, I enjoyed a leg loosening Thursday ride of ….

THAT THING ABOUT THE LAW OF AVERAGES…

After several days of coolish weather that in 3 months we’ll be calling a heat wave, yesterday turned out to be an immaculate day. My juices for riding were flowing. My work duties were sufficiently under control for a change allowing me to beat the end-of-work traffic to the roads. I made arrangements with the Navigator to pick up my clothing and laptop at my office and I hit the road.

An omen was about to present itself for my consideration…

A RETURN FROM COMPUTER HELL!

Well, it has been awhile. I won’t mark it in calendar time, clock time, or even dog time. I’ll mark it in “computer hell” time! That should be much more accurate in terms of my downtime. Let’s see where to start… In “computer hell”, NEXT DAY ON-SITE SERVICE doesn’t really mean next day on-site service. It really means “well, o.k. that’s next business day but that really means on whichever business day the tech support gets around to putting in the order. In calendar days, this particular time equivalent was 3 days to first contact. Let’s see, what’s next: so this used to work but now doesn’t and now two hours later, nothing has changed, so I (tech support) can pretty much go out on a limb and say, “This isn’t working. I’m going to kick it up to the next tier of tech support.” Too make a looooong story short, 2 hard drive wipes, 2 full reinstallations of all programs, a new motherboard, and a new WAAN card, and I’m back to having an almost fully functional computer again. Don’t let ANYONE tell you that upgrading from Vista to Windows 7 isn’t one big ball of fun!

At least the riding has continued…

On Tuesday evening, I enjoyed a solo commute home by way of Poison Cove and Stamey Cove. I wanted to revisit my recent ride over Stamey Cove and I wanted to avoid end of day work traffic. So, it was an easy decision to get out of town via Sunnyside, site of my recent flat, and take Raccoon Road and Ratcliffe Cove Road through Poison Cove Gap. The ascent to Poison Cove gap is moderate and about 2 miles in length. It is typically warm to hot at the end of the day as this part of the road is open to the western sky. Once passing through the gap, you are presented with some picturesque views to the east.

(Imagine it without the power line poles!) 

A long descent with serpentine curves leads to a long straightaway that lets you just ease on out before intersecting with Stamey Cove Road. A Clif Bar Shot Block was in order before turning my attention to the first climb that precedes the long climb of Stamey Cove. There was more traffic than I expected as folks were heading home from work but everyone was courteous and passed me with sufficient space. I came to the hairpin turn where a participant in the recent Blue Ridge Breakaway crashed out and suffered significant injuries including brain trauma. I stopped to peruse the site again and try to imagine what must have happened to him.

(One view of crash site)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Slightly different take on same curve)

You can’t see the curve that precedes this one in these images. I imagine that the cyclist had made the long downhill descent from the gap, swept through the left hand turn just preceding this hairpin, got into the hairpin “too hot” and grabbed a bunch of front brake throwing himself over the handlebars and resulting in a “face plant”. We know that his injuries included broken pelvis, broken ribs, collapsed lung, broken nose, and broken eye socket – all on his left side while his bike had some minimal scuffing on the right side. The bike, I understand, was essentially unharmed. By all reports, this was an experienced cyclist. Only he knows what happened. I hope he recovers sufficiently to let us know. Of course, in serious trauma like this, memories of the event are often lost. (Note: the cyclist was brought out of his coma this week and taken off the ventilator. His family was in hopes of getting him transferred this weekend to a Charlotte, NC hospital closer to his home in Belmont, NC.)

After resuming my ride and topping the crest of Stamey Cove, I followed the route of the Blue Ridge Breakaway to Lake Logan. I discovered that taking the Stamey Cove route had significantly shortened my ride home and I wasn’t ready to stop. My effort at getting to Lake Logan was rewarded with some most excellent views of the lake and surrounding area. I arrived just as the sun was beginning to drop behind the mountain leaving part of the lake in shadow.

(A touch of fall in the air and crystal clear skies made for a nice presentation!) 

It was hard to even start back on the bike but I knew I had to head on home to meet the Navigator after she completed her water aerobics class. I had an enjoyable ride back to Bethel Grocery as I tried to push myself by keeping my pace above 22 mph. I passed one cyclist and saw another off on a side road on my way home.

Thursday’s group ride…

We planned to move our BicycleHaywoodNC sponsored “new and newly returning” riders group ride to Canton, NC this Thursday. In order to add some mileage, I left my office and made my way to the Canton Recreation area by 5:20 p.m. Canton was preparing for their annual Labor Day Celebration with rides and vendors setting up in the fields of the recreation area. Additionally, Pisgah High JV’s had a home football game so the area was full of people. I had a very enjoyable conversation with a grandmother while waiting on the rest of my group and waiting on her granddaughter to get tired swinging. My group arrived – her granddaughter never did get tired!

We had a nice group of 6 riders which included one new member to our group. He is an experienced rider and fit in nicely with the group. We made our way up NC 110 riding “in the gutter” and staying single file. On the way up NC 110, we passed some ornamental grasses that had their plumes in full bloom. The late afternoon sun was touching their tops and turning them into this beautiful bronze and gold finery. I wish I could have stopped for a picture but couldn’t.

At the intersection of US 276 and Love Joy Road, we jumped over US 276 and made our way over a moderate climb before dropping back along the eastern edge of the valley. As on Tuesday, we were greeted with some great views of the valley as the sun began to slip behind the mountain.

After coming to the end of Love Joy, we turned back north on Lake Logan Road and took a moment to grab a group photo at the Riverside Baptist Church. We enjoyed the saying on the church’s sign…

(The Thursday group takes a break…) 

While at the church, the Navigator reached me via cell phone and inquired how much longer I would be on the ride. She needed to stop work and connect with me before going up the mountain to the house. I assessed the situation and calmly reported 30 minutes or so. We made plans to meet back at Bethel Grocery.

The group saddled back up and we headed back to Canton via Lake Logan Road and NC 215 going down what is often referred to as the “front side” of the river. We made our way safely to the park and said our good-byes. Kathy (left in image above) and I struck out and headed back up NC 110 as we both live in that direction. Just before we arrived at Max Thompson Road where Kathy was to leave me and head to her home, I saw the Navigator coming toward us on NC 110. Seems my estimate of 30 minutes or so was a little off… It had been an hour and 10 minutes since we had spoken on the phone. When you hear the old saying “time flies when you’re having fun”, know that is truth!

Tomorrow (Saturday, 09/04) brings the opportunity for a small group ride of the Cold Mountain Loop as it is known to local cyclists. We’ll be starting at the Bethel Middle School and climbing 20 miles to the Blue Ridge Parkway where we will turn north and ride to the intersection of US 276 and the BRP. We’ll return to the BMS and will have covered about 44.5 miles. I’ve not ridden this loop before and riding from Bethel to the BRP is one of my goals for this riding season. Who knows, maybe by tomorrow, I’ll have checked off another goal for 2010. I bet you’ll read about it here…

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

DAY 3 OF “LEG SHARPENING” IS HISTORY

Our weekend riding schedule with Cycling Experiences Jim Artis is now in the bag. The final planned ride is over although the planned ride didn’t occur. We were treated to some much needed moisture overnight and when we arose this morning, the skies were still heavy with clouds. There were enough times where the sun broke through to bolster our spirits and we met as planned at the Bethel Middle School at 10:30 a.m. …And that’s when the plan changed.

(David and Marcia Tate meet Jim Artis) 

One look up the Pigeon River Valley revealed ominous looking skies and falling rain. With all of our riders gathered, we brilliantly put our brains together with the amassed years of wisdom (somewhere north of 250 total years) and said, “hey, let’s not ride into that!”

(Storm coming down the Pigeon River Valley) 

After a short discussion, we determined to ride away from the storm with the hopes that we wouldn’t simply be riding back into it later. Down NC 215 we went to the intersection of Stamey Cove Road. At this point, we were riding part of the old Bele Cher race route that used to be held in Haywood County. The road begins at river elevation and has a steady but relatively gentle ascent until about .5 mile before the gap. The grade jumps up significantly at that point.

(Artis and David Tate in the gap!)

(Champion cyclist George Ivey tops the gap in fine form)

 

 (Zeke and Jim in the gap!)

After descending Stamey Cove through a series of “S” curves, we “enjoyed” one more climb before dropping down into the town of Clyde. This final climb was the first of many “uh, yeah, Jim – there’s only one more hill climb left.” (As became quite apparent to our riding partners, I was “woody-izing” Jim.

(Jim and Marcia reaching that “next to the last” mountain gap) 

We crossed over Broad Street in Clyde and headed east on Thickety Road toward Canton. It was along this stretch of the ride that we were treated to a visit by “Slipstream Sallie”. Sallie caressed us with her gentle touch and moved us right along the road with seemingly no energy expenditure. This beautiful 2 lane road runs alongside the Pigeon River and is pleasantly shaded for the most part. It was an excellent chance to recover from the earlier climbs – just in time for one “final climb” (yeah, sure….).

(Artis summiting “just one more hill” on Thickety Road)

The Turnback Begins…

After a couple more short climbs by area churches, we arrived at the intersection of Thickety Road and Champion Drive in Canton. This was our turning point to begin the 9 mile run back up the river to our starting destination.

(l-r, Jim, Marcia, David, and George taking a short break at intersection)

“Headwind Harry”, in an apparent jealous fit of the attention we received from “Slipstream Sallie”, decided to make himself known. As we attempted to descend into Canton along Champion Drive, “Harry” blew full force into our faces whipping up dirt and debris filling my eyes to the point it was difficult to avoid the manhole covers along the way. I’m sure “Harry’s” nefarious planning to disrupt our flow took into account the morale damaging effects of riding full steam downhill and seemingly making no progress. As we turned onto the bridge at Fiberville to cross the Pigeon, “Harry” threw up another massive gust but came at us from the side this time. I swear my bike jumped 6” to the right!

After crossing the bridge, we had to climb a short knoll. At this point, “Harry” was back full in our face. I was running 4.5 mph and trying to stay upright while mashing hard on my gears. It was one of the hardest trips over that little knoll I’ve ever had.

(Artis heading up the knoll by Evergreen Paper Plant in Canton)

After a brief break to suck down some energy and fluids, we said our goodbyes to George, who needed to head home to visiting family. The Tates, Artis, and myself covered the final 6 miles along NC 215 to our starting point and successfully ended our 3 days of training. For more details on this ride, visit Cycling Experiences to see the metrics.

(Author’s note: “Woody-izing” is a training technique used many times on Zeke by his friend and cycling mentor the “Wood-man.” The specifics of the technique and proper applications are proprietary, however, I can sum it by stating that you essentially “encourage” the trainee to continue on by lying to them about what is upcoming. It has proven to be a very effective technique to be used on Zeke. Time will tell if it had any merit for the application to Artis…)

In Days to Come…

As this weekend comes to a close and we go back to our normal routines of work and as my “best half” and I prep for our upcoming trip to California to visit Bro Dave and apparently mow his lawn, I’m very aware that some time in reflection on our past 3 days will find its way to these pages. Today, I’m very clear that I owe appreciation to Jim Artis for making his trip to my beloved mountains, to Kathy, my “best half”, for all of her support in making this weekend happen and happen smoothly, and to my fellow cycling and non-cycling friends, who made Jim welcome in our community! I close with a heart heavy with happiness!

Until later,

- Zeke

JUST THE THREE OF US…

Sunday, April 18th, was my first ride to Asheville of the year. Along with the Wood-Man, I enjoyed a fine afternoon in the saddle as we covered the 38 miles from our starting point to Tripps Restaurant in Asheville. It is Dogwood Winter here in the mountains of Western North Carolina, which means that the Dogwoods are in full bloom and the temps have dropped to cooler ranges. We’ve had frost warnings for the last couple of nights and even a freeze warning one time. Fortunately, the days warm up nicely and that was the case yesterday as we climbed and descended our way into the “big” city.

We took a route along Old Clyde Highway from Lake Junaluska to Canton. If you can picture 3 roads running pretty much parallel, Old Clyde Highway would be the middle road. Part of the time, you’re running along the Pigeon River and the rest of the route is agricultural-to-residential in nature.

After passing around and through Canton, we headed up Newfound Road. Newfound is the longest and steepest of the climbs on this route topping out at 9% grade. I was really feeling my Saturday “work day” of cutting firewood and mowing grass. My legs and lower back felt tight as rubber bands stretched to their limit and I struggled to maintain contact with the Wood-Mans’s rear wheel. I lost about an 1/8th of a mile to him as we crested Newfound Gap and dropped into Buncombe County.

As always, what goes up must come down and I caught back up with him on the descent side of the mountain. From there it was a run across the valley floor where we were occasionally accompanied by the dastardly Headwind Harry, who I suspect was hiding in amongst the pretty white clouds. He seemed to make his presence known mostly on climbs, which of course is his standard mode of operation.

At the 2 hour mark, we took a brief break at the intersection of Newfound Road and Leicester Highway (pronounced Lester Highway by us locals). The short break did my back good but my quads tightened up. We called our “better halves” and gave them the meeting time at Tripps. They were heavily involved in their favorite form of exercise – aerobic shopping!

(Suttles Quick Mart – site of much needed rest)

After a very short run on the dual lane Leicester Highway, we were running along a ridge that provided a wonderful panoramic view of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the north of Asheville. After dropping down into the Erwin Hills Community, we had a series of climbs that just about drained the rest of my leg power. Mercifully, the climbs ended and we crossed the French Broad River north of Asheville. From here, it was a 6 mile run along the river using some of Asheville’s bike lanes. Normally, I can hang on Wood-Man’s wheel here but that was not the case on Sunday. I struggled to keep him in sight as I started bonking. At this point, I had serious doubts that I would be able to make the final climb up from the river to Pack Square. I did persevere and make it.This brought us to Tripps where I re-discovered the term “rubber legs.”

I was very pleased that the ride was not an “out and back” exercise! I would have given my kingdom, if I had a kingdom, for a hot tub last night!

 

A point of interest:

I’ve written often about riding the Pigeon River Valley above Canton. Last week, our local paper featured an article about one of the most famous “residents” of the PRV – The Osborne Family Oak. I have a deep appreciation for this tree and the history of our county that time has seen fit to pass under its spreading limbs. I share this story as a further point of interest for those readers, who have noted my writing of the area.

 

Osborne Boundary Oak to be evaluated for restorative care        Written by The Mountaineer     Thursday, 15 April 2010 19:34  The Osborne Boundary Oak, a historic tree on the Department of Transportation right of way, will be evaluated for immediate restorative care and recommendations for continued care by Lloyd Anderson, an experienced knowledgeable tree specialist, Southern Tree Care, at 1:30 p.m. Monday, April 19, at the site of the tree on NC 110 at the junction of Wells (1869) and Jeffrey Lane with Pisgah (NC 110).  Observers are welcome. “The Osborne Boundary Oak was in existence in the days before white man settled Bethel Community,” said Doris Hammett. According to documentation, an Indian council existed near this tree. When General Griffith Rutherford and his men pressed against the Native American villages in Western North Carolina in 1776, they marched by the tree and forded the Pigeon River. Read More…

 

Positive Response from NC DOT:

(Fairly wide, relatively clean gutter -  pre-cleaning.) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Example of gutters closing down – sweeper machine just passes over it.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Gutter almost completely gone!)

A couple of week’s ago, I wrote an email to the local NC DOT Engineer regarding the condition of the shoulders/gutters along NC 110 and NC 209. I explained that I wanted to be proactive this spring and highlight a couple of areas that might need some additional attention as they did their routine “spring cleaning”. Today, I received back a very nice reply indicating that the local DOT Maintenance Engineer had been to the sites and made a preliminary review of the work needed. I was informed that the work is scheduled to start in 3 weeks. I very much appreciated the kind response that I received and look forward to the widened gutters as I ride these roads! THANKS DOT!

Until later,

- Zeke

MayMyRide Details:

A NEW CHARACTER JOINS THE CYCLING CAST!

The summer-like weather continues here in Western North Carolina offering up some fine, fine riding opportunities. Tuesday was another of those warm, bordering on hot, days with nary a cloud in the sky. For my commute home, I’m not sure the weather could have been much better.

(Love Joy Road in the Pigeon Valley) 

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t…

I’m beginning to think that a whole new character must reside along the beginning portions of my evening commute along Business 23/NC 209. This area seems to be where I am most likely to get screamed at, insulted, gestured at, etc. this year. The new character, A$$hole Appleton, must hang with Headwind Harry and Congestion Charlie and have the ability to occupy the brains of random people, who may be nice at other times.

Tuesday’s encounter with A$$hole Appleton occurred at the traffic light on NC 209 and Old Clyde Road. I had passed through the two previous lights on the downhill run past the Lowe’s store and the nasty intersection of Hospital Drive and NC 209. I was actually maintaining the speed limit with zero vehicles behind me. I was cruising until I crossed under the railroad trestle and came upon the traffic light. Of course, it was red in my direction of travel so I had to stop.

As I was duly stopped behaving myself like a good law abiding cyclist should, obeying my responsibilities on the road as a legal form of transportation, a horn starts blowing right on my rear wheel. It seems a red small pickup truck driven by a white haired older man took offense that a) I was stopped at the traffic light or b) I was somehow impeding his ability to not go through the red light. I looked at him and he was doing some pretty good gesturing at me with an angry look on his face. I just raised my arms, somewhat pointing at the red light, but mostly out of frustration at this latest interaction. (No one fingered salute here as I stuck to my goal of not being nasty…)

The light changed and I moved on to the gutter and let the jerk go by. He didn’t bother with eye contact as he went by and he had his window rolled up so a blistering commentary from me wasn’t in the offing. Fortunately, the vast majority of vehicles passing me are driven by folks who either benignly ignore me or are out and out friendly.

Upon reaching Richland Creek Road and making my eastern turn so I could ride along the river, I was pleasantly greeted by at least two drivers as they passed me on the two lane road. This is the road where I recently found a knife and replaced it on the bridge railing. I was eager to see if it was still present. It was…

The remaining portions of the ride were pleasant as I made my way down to Clyde, over to US 23 north to Canton, and then up NC 110 to Bethel. I was still feeling pretty good and most of the negative energy from my earlier interlude was gone. What little negative energy remained was soon exorcised as I enjoyed the lovely evening ride along Love Joy Road.

(A closer shot of the trees above along Love Joy Rd.)

I can only recall 3 vehicles passing me on this 5 mile stretch as I made my way home. I noted an increase in campers at a small commercial campground on Love Joy. There were a few fishermen plying the waters of the West Fork and I even threw my hand up in greeting to two cyclists as I was beginning my run along Love Joy.

After rejoining NC 215 and heading north, I decided one more climb was in order for the day and I split off on Edwards Cove Road. I determined that a good set of burning quads would finish off the day just right. Edwards Cove has two climbs to overcome and then returns to NC 276 very near the entrance to my home. All in all, a fine day commuting home. I think I even detected Slipstream Sallie accompanying me on Love Joy!

Until later,

Zeke

MapMyRide details:

MEMORIES OF THE BABE!

 

This past Tuesday, March 30th, was a magnificent day in the mountains of Western North Carolina. It was truly a great spring day. Temperatures started off cool in the morning but quickly warmed. By time for my daily walk from my office to the Smoky Mountain Cafe for lunch, a jacket was not needed and sunglasses were highly recommended. I think that I recall that the cafe had their door propped open for the first time this season.

By the end of the workday, we were pushing the mid-70’s and it was a day calling out for a ride. Upon arriving home, I quickly ditched computers and clothes and dressed for a late day ride. It seems that I stay pretty close to home this time of year and tend to ride a loop through the Pigeon River Valley. Tuesday was no different.

I start my loop at the Bethel Middle School and head down river toward Canton, NC. I noted pretty quickly that there were lots of people out and about walking the track at the school. There also seemed to be lots of traffic as some sort of event was just ending at the school. Throw in the end of workday traffic and good old NC 215 was busier than usual. The good news was that, without exception, all of the drivers were courteous and gave me plenty of room as they passed. I tried to be a helpful “traffic director” and would let them know what lay around the curves and whether they could safely proceed around me. It may have been my imagination but there seemed to be more pleasant hand waving as they passed me on this particular day.

The 5 mile run down to Canton was simply pleasant. As I approached Canton, I passed the local baseball field for Pisgah High School. The parking lots were full as a game was in progress. Rounding the next curve and crossing over the Pigeon River brings you into Canton’s Recreation Park area and it too was teeming with lots of activities. Many people of all ages were out and walking the trail, playing basketball, swinging, and just apparently hanging out.

A right hand turn took me by Pisgah’s softball field and yet another group of parents and friends watching the girls’ game in progress. In Memorial Stadium, there was yet another event of some sort. I imagine it was a soccer match. I mention this because seeing all of these young and old people alike out exercising and being involved in physical activities turned out to be an interesting contrast to a conversation that I would have on Thursday evening. (See “Of Note:” below)

My ride continued on my usual route up NC 110 to the intersection of US 276. The 5 mile run back up the river was typical of this section of road. There is usually more traffic here but the gutters are wide enough so you can ride pretty comfortably out of the flow of traffic. Winter debris is still abundant on the sides of the road resulting in times of quick dodges back into the main roadway but, still, a pleasant safe ride is the norm.

I wanted to extend my riding time so rather than turning northwest on US 276 and toward my home, I crossed over US 276 and began climbing Love Joy Road. The initial section of this road includes a relatively gentle climb above the river. At the top of the climb is a pull-off nice enough to unclip and grab a quick bite of power bar and some fluids. I also took the opportunity to grab some images.

(My Fuji CCR3. The grass still has its winter colors.)

 

(Looking south on Love Joy Road.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Look closely and you can catch a glimpse of the Pigeon River running through farmland just below Love Joy Road)

Love Joy runs about 3 miles in length and is a quiet 2 lane road traversed largely by local home owners and farmers. The Pigeon River Valley is a very productive agricultural area and is the focus of local conservation efforts to maintain it as small family farms rather than turning it over to yet more housing developments and mobile home parks.

(Looking northwest across the Pigeon River Valley)

Ratcliffe Mountain can be seen in the distance of this image and, if you can note the shaded cove in the middle of the image, you can see the “holler” where my “best half” and I live. The sun “sets” at our house around 4:00 p.m. this time of year. I’m often fooled into thinking it is later in the day than it really is because of shade and shadows involved in living on the north slope. Fortunately, it also helps us stay cooler in the summer!

I reached the southern end of Love Joy Road where it intersects with NC 215. Normally, I would turn back north and return to my starting point. On Tuesday, I felt pretty good and had ridden the only semi-serious climb on Love Joy without problem. I decided that, given continuing daylight, I would turn south on NC 215 and ride toward Lake Logan. The road here has no shoulders and you are running along the west fork of the Pigeon with some 10’ to 15’ drops into the river if you don’t pay attention or, God forbid, you get pushed off the road by a passing motorist. As I began the initial mile of this section, the sun was no longer to be seen as the mountain range was blocking it and I began to have thoughts of turning back. Fortunately, my indecision simply led to a return to sunlight just a couple of curves further south. In short order, I passed the Lake Logan Volunteer Fire Department and received a warm greeting from the local volunteers and then quickly passed by the turn off to the Daniel Boone Boy Scout camp, site of many wonderful memories from my days as a youth in scouting.

I intended to turn around here and head home but I was still feeling good and enjoying the day. Just past the Daniel Boone turnoff begins a climb of some more significant length and grade. While my ride this day would average a 2% grade, the climb to the peak above Lake Logan is a grade of 10% and has certainly increased my heart rate in the past. Having not done many climbs this season, I was curious to see if I would make it to the top so onward I went. I was somewhat pleasantly surprised to get to the top without having to find my “Lance Spot”.

By this point, the sun had dropped in the sky and I knew I needed to boogey on back home as I really didn’t want to be on this 2 lane stretch of highway in the dark. Just prior to beginning the descent, I noted a solitary hawk framed by the deep blue sky as it rode the day ending thermals high above me. It was then that I noticed the peace and quiet that surrounded me and became more aware of the emerging beauty of spring.

(Oliver “Babe” Yount) 

Memories of my Dad came back to me as I negotiated the run down the mountain and toward home. I realized that it was 15 years ago to the day that he had died following a year’s battle with metastatic colorectal cancer. Some days, it seems like only yesterday that he was helping me build fence around our home and other days it seems like an eternity since I’ve heard his voice or saw his big smile after telling a good joke.

Oliver “Babe” Yount, along with our mother, was as strong a supporter of children as anyone who has ever lived. His dedication to the 3 of us (Bro Dave, me, and our sister Cindy) knew no bounds. If he wasn’t our actual coach in Little League, he was in the stands offering encouragement and support. It didn’t matter whether it was youth sports, our time in high school athletics or my brother’s years at Appalachian State University as a football player. The Babe was there. His support extended to our friends as well. I have great memories of Babe coaching us and even of watching him in the stands enjoying my brother’s many exploits on the field, court, and diamond.

On this day, as on many days, my heart was filled with gratitude for the lessons our parents taught us about being active and athletic and enjoying the pursuit of physical activities. I know beyond any doubt whatsoever, that even though I’m on the downhill side of my own time on this planet, Babe would still be there interested in my riding and supporting me all the way…

Of note: Last night I had the opportunity to dine with Claudia Nix, our local N.C.Transportation Committee member and co-owner of Liberty Bicycles in Asheville, NC. Claudia is just back from the Bike Summit in D.C. and shared some of her experiences at that event. She clearly is enthused with the energy and directions the Secretary of Transportation laid out. She also talked about how this current generation of children is forecast to live shorter lives than my generation due to inactivity, too much TV/video games, lack of training in how to be physical, and the onslaught of diseases in children previously reserved for adults. Hypertension and Type II  Diabetes are becoming common place in children!

We were joined by Heather Strassberger, a regional planner, for the Land-of-Sky Regional Council. Heather works with the French Broad Metropolitan Planning Organization and has great interest in bike/ped improvements. She had an interesting point of view when she informed us that she didn’t like referring to bicycles as alternative methods of transportation. She said that walking is the ONLY natural form of transportation and that every other method of movement including cars and truck is really alternative modes of transportation. We had an interesting conversation about Complete Streets and N.C.’s alleged movements in this direction. It was a pleasant evening and I will hopefully be able to bring some of their energy back to our local bicycle awareness council, BicycleHaywoodNC.

The sun has crept over the mountain now and our home is flooded with sunlight as this Good Friday starts. The day is young and full of hope. May your weekend be filled with love and joy!

Until later,

- Zeke

SPRING RIDES INTERSPERSED WITH RAINY DAYS

Now into our second straight day of cool, rainy, cloudy weather, I’m really looking forward to the predicted warm up and clearing up of Western North Carolina temps and skies beginning on Tuesday. Right now, it looks like we’ll be back in the low 60’s and mid 70’s for the rest of the week, which should provide some excellent spring riding opportunities here in the Great Smokies.

Sunday turned out to be a really, really good day to do some resistance training. I got in a couple of hours during some lulls in the, at times, heavy rain. My program consisted of placing 40 lb bags of a grainy material into a hopper on wheels that had a rotary cylinder in the bottom allowing the grainy material to slowly be ejected. I did several sets of these on increasing and decreasing gradients while going from heavier weights to lighter weights. Had you been secretly watching me, you probably would have sworn that I was putting out fertilizer on our yard rather than honing my skills as an “accomplished cyclist to-be”. Given that we live on a mountain, there was ample opportunity for changing the degree of incline that I was forced to push these objects upon. It didn’t do a lot for my cardio function barely getting me into “fat burning” territory. It did however, put some decent workload on my calves, quads, lower back, and forearms.

I did have the opportunity to get in a nice 20 mile commute home at the end of the work week. I chose one of my usual routes down NC 209, along the Pigeon River to Clyde, NC and then up NC 110 as I pedaled through the Pigeon Valley. The late afternoon temps were in the mid-70’s and very pleasurable feeling. I was somewhat surprised at the lack of signs of spring.

While running along the river, I noted that the bulbs are not popping up out of the ground yet nor are the yellow bells showing signs of breaking into bloom.   I imagine that will change drastically over the next couple of weeks. A few garden spots have been plowed and the soil readied for planting. I spotted only two other cyclists on the road that day.  I didn’t recognize either one. One fellow has a nice steady cadence coming up NC 209 as I went north on it. The second cyclist was moving at a race pace and down on his aero bars as I ran along the Pigeon toward Clyde. I was going up river and he was travelling down river.

The local group rides are beginning to reform for the year. A Wednesday afternoon ride beginning at 3:30 p.m. seems to be in the offing as does the usual Tuesday and Thursday evening rides beginning around 5:30 p.m. I will probably be riding solo on Tuesdays as I commute home but am hoping to join the Thursday evening group this year. These guys are all more seasoned cyclists than myself and ride at a higher pace. I’m looking forward to determining if I can hang onto their back wheels! Also, on the horizon, the Wood-man and I are planning some longer rides this year with our first one targeted to be about 70 miles in length. It will probably be a loop to nearby Asheville and back one sunny Sunday afternoon.

I’m thankful that Congestion Charley has moved on. It is good to be able to breathe freely again. I’m hoping that he or one of his cousins doesn’t make a visit to my “best half” in the next few days!

OTHER NEWS: Take a moment and jump on over to Cycling Experiences to review racer profiles for this year’s upcoming Race Across America. Jim has done a top notch job, as always, at presenting some rider bios and a very good promotional video on RAAM.

Until later,

-Zeke

A SUNNY SUNDAY SPIN

A hint of spring weather to come provided an opportunity this weekend for local cyclists to finally get out on roads that are no longer ice and snow covered although some significant amounts of salt brine still remain in a few areas. I managed to get out for a nice Sunday ride today and had the help of my “best half” in documenting it.

This ride actually had its beginnings last Thursday night when I dropped my bike off at my local LBS to get my new Shimano Ultegra 12-27 Cassette installed. John, owner of Rolls Rite Bicycle Shop, told me he would have it ready by Saturday and would give it a good “once over” to make sure brake pads, etc. were in good shape. As it turns out, we headed out of town early Saturday morning to see our niece play in a softball tournament in Spartanburg so the “Wood-man” graciously agreed to pick up the bike for me and even deliver it to our house so I could ride today. My first order of business today was to document the arrival of the new cassette.

 

(New Cassette mounted and ready to ride! It won’t stay this shiny very long…) 

Let the ride begin…

I coordinated today’s ride with my wife’s schedule so that she could grab some images for me. We started at the usual place of Bethel Middle School smack dab in the middle of the Pigeon Valley. I headed north on NC 215 toward Canton per my usual route. Kathy would “leap frog” me and get setup for a picture as I made my way alongside the Pigeon River. Traffic was moderately heavy today as lots of folks were out enjoying the mild weather. I started the ride at 57 degree.

(Brief stop at intersection of Stamey Cove & NC 215)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Running along NC 215 near the new Bethel Elementary School)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Arriving in Canton at the Recreation Park)

The section from Bethel to Canton is all river grade and unless you catch a headwind, it is normally a pleasant warm-up for a longer ride. Knowing that part of Bridge St. is impassable due to road work, I headed south on Business 23 to skirt around the Evergreen Paper Plant, which is Canton and Haywood County’s largest employer. This ride can be odiferous at times depending upon the current weather system. The byproduct smells of making paper are not always the most pleasant. Locals refer to it as the “smell of money” -  a reference to the importance of the plant to the local economy. In my youth, I can recall the skies being green due to air pollution coming from the stacks and you didn’t dare want to get in the river below the plant. Fortunately, years of work by the plant ownership and employees have resulted in vastly improved air quality and the river is coming back to life.

After circling the plant and getting back to my planned route, I enjoyed the first of my climbs for the day. After all, I’ve got to try out the new cassette with the extra climbing gear! North Main St. climbs for about a mile with an average grade of 3.6% until it intersects with Newfound Road. The last 75 yards of the climb is closer to 7% or 8% grade.

Newfound Road continues north and crosses over I-40 at exit 33. There is a nice prolonged descent from Newfound past Plains United Methodist Church. From that point on, you are climbing again. My goal was to check out my “winter climbing legs” and see if I could still make it to the top of Newfound Gap where Haywood County meets Buncombe County.

Just past Plains United Methodist Church and the neighboring cemetery, the climb to the gap begins and covers roughly 1.76 miles to the county line and an elevation of 3039’. The average grade for the full distance is only 4% but the final approach to the gap has a 11% grade for the last .8 mile. By the time I had the gap in view, I was on my smallest ring and crawling in my new lowest gear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(The gap is in sight!)

(Is there a gear left?) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(YES! – 3090’ accomplished!)

O.K., so now you’re halfway – what now?

As we all know, what goes up, must come down! I sucked down some fluid, put my wind proof jacket and my heavier gloves back on and headed home. On my way up the mountain, I passed a friend’s home, who was entertaining on her deck. I waved but received only a small acknowledgment in return. On the way back, though, it was a rousing round of waves as the folks were showing their best southern manners. I also passed another cyclist on my swift descent. He had about a half mile to go to the top. I didn’t recognize him but I also didn’t have much time to study him in detail either.

My “best half” passed me on her way to check on her dad’s home and I was passed by a big pickup truck pulling horses. The ride back into Canton was pretty uneventful and I was, quite frankly, beginning to feel the “winter rust” in my legs.

They start them young…

My ride home was punctuated with an interesting encounter with what appeared to be a 7 or 8 year old boy straggling behind two people, who I assumed to be his mother and older sister. I was crossing the bridge on the aptly named Bridge St. when this little person sporting some kind of cross between a Mohawk, mullet, and pony tail literally screamed at me “GET OFF THE ROAD!” Now, I’ve been making some significant effort to not respond when yelled at but this was just too much for me to pass by. I braked and they came alongside me. I looked at the young boy and said to him, “What did you say?” I didn’t say it meanly or with any untoward emotion but I think he wasn’t expecting a response from me.  What had been a grin/smirk on his face changed pretty quickly to a wide-eyed apprehensive look as he took shelter behind his mother. I don’t think she was aware of his behavior because as I rode off, I heard her say “WHAT DID YOU SAY TO THAT MAN?”

The final leg…

From that point, it was mostly a matter of turning over the pedals for the last 6 miles back to Bethel Middle School and my ride home. As I started up NC 110 to the intersection with US 276, I became really aware of how tired my legs were and took particular note of aches beginning in my left knee and ankle. Fortunately, this is still pretty much river grade riding without any climbs. I knew that if my wife stopped, as she caught up to me for the final time this day, I’d be sorely tempted to call it a day and climb into the truck. She did pass me and kept right on going! She saved me the decision of quitting or finishing. So, finish it was and I did.

Final thoughts on the day…

I’ve got to admit to being pretty pleased with this ride. I was concerned that my condition has dropped off so much over the winter, that I’d be dropping way back in managing climbs. Today showed me I’ve “wintered over” fairly well. I really, really like my new cassette paired with my new tires. My Fuji CCR3 is treating me well. I took some motivation today from a great video clip, Commuter Dreams, Best Commute Video Ever featured by Kent Peterson in his Sunday, March 7th post. I encourage you to check it out. Today’s ride was also fun for me because my “best half” shared it with me by making time to take the images you’ve seen in this post. We’ve been watching the Oscars tonight so I’ll close with an Oscar inspired sentiment – “She still sees me in better light than I deserve.”

 

Until later,

- Zeke