RIDING BEFORE THE RAIN ARRIVES

Today looked to be and was forecast to be the last day before the rains arrived in Western North Carolina. We are facing increasing cloudiness as the day goes on with a 30% chance of rain appearing late this afternoon. One of the aspects of blogging and reading other blogs that I enjoy is seeing how the weather moves mostly from northwest to southeast this time of the year and, more importantly how it affects riding across the country.

The weather that we are getting this afternoon and tomorrow is the system that Tracy, The Springfield Cyclist, was writing about yesterday in his November 16th post. The weather that we’re beginning to get will probably make its way overnight to Fayetteville, NC, which is the home of Jim Artis and his blog Cycling Experiences. So, Tracy’s rain in Missouri yesterday is likely to be my rain today in the mountains of Western North Carolina and we’ll send the whole system on down to Jim in Fayetteville for his Wednesday and Thursday adventures.

As good riding days are beginning to get numbered now, I made sure to take advantage of getting out for a lunch ride today. The ride started under partly cloudy skies and temps in the low 60’s. It was quite pleasant although a fairly significant headwind made itself known at different times today. I’m sure the wind is pulling in the moisture.

As I was riding solo today, I decided for a mix of rural roads with some decent moderate to more significant climbs. My initial route took me across Howell Mill Road out to Business 19 and then back to Francis Farm Road. FFR is a very pretty rural two lane road that runs by the Francis family properties. The Francis family is one of the oldest families in the county and have been influential in the development of Haywood County.

(Looking west across Francis Farm Road)

There is one mild to moderate climb on FFR followed by a short descent to Ratcliffe Cove Road. Today, I chose to head back toward town proper so I turned right and took another mild climb before dropping down to the intersection of Raccoon Road. Traffic was very light today and I had large segments of the road to myself to enjoy.

After traversing Raccoon and making a quick turn onto US 276 and then back left onto Crymes Cove Road, I started the most significant climb of the day. Crymes Cove has a 12% to 13% grade for about .75 mile. Climbing this little hill will definitely get your heart rate and respiration rates up! Crymes Cove Rd. terminates in Country Club Drive and yet another climb. Unfortunately, this was my nemesis for the day. I made it just short of the gap before my legs turned to noodles. I dropped into a residential driveway to rest my weary legs and let my heart rate return to something approximating normal. I must have looked worse than I felt because the nice owner came out to see if I was having a heart attack! I assured her I was fine (in between gulps of air) and just needed to catch my breath. I told her I didn’t feel like wobbling over in front of a car or truck in the oncoming lane. After a moment or two, well maybe three, I clipped back in and crossed over the remaining part of the hill.

Shortly thereafter, I had travelled past Waynesville Commons, home of the Wal-Mart Super Store, and was spinning up Hyatt Creek toward the last climb of the day. Hyatt Creek is another one of those 2 lane rural roads that climb up a watershed and through a gap dropping down into another valley. I had not ridden this road in years. What had been mostly small family farms seems to have been taken over by small independent businesses interspersed with the remaining small farms. The gap itself remains free of development.

 

(Looking south toward the Balsams through Hyatt Creek Gap)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Back where I came from – looking northeast through the gap…)

After passing through the gap, I crossed over the Great Smoky Mountain Expressway and connected with Old Balsam Road. Turning east takes you back to town and onto South Main St. Traffic was definitely busier around the Waynesville Commons area. I then followed Brown Avenue back to Boyd Avenue and then to Main Street before returning to my office for the rest of the work day.

Before getting to Main Street, I had one of those “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” moments. I was sitting at an intersection keeping an eye on fairly heavy traffic moving from left to right plus several cars waiting to pull across my lane of traffic as well. The lead car dead across from me kept sitting there and I’m thinking they were afraid to try and get out into the main stream of traffic. The glare on the windshield prevented me from seeing what the driver’s intent was so I simply sat there rather than making a move that might end up getting me crunched. I wasn’t fully up to the intersection so I expected the traffic would go ahead, make their turns, and clear out. Finally, the car across from me blows there horn and I could detect a motion of both arms of the driver being held up in frustration (apparently with me!) . The driver had been waiting to see what I was going to do! Oh well, better safe than sorry I suppose. I wonder if I’ll get branded as one of those rogue cyclists that never follow traffic rules!

On a more pleasant note!

In my most recent post, I wrote of the 18th Annual Haywood County Motorcycle Parade and Toy Run, which was held this past Saturday. My friend Jim Artis, graciously picked up the story and carried it forth on his blog. Please check out Jim’s account of the events by visiting Cycling Experiences.

I was also pleased to see that EcoVelo selected my image of “Big Ben and the Tobacco Barn” for display in their currently running photo contest. I doubt I’ll win anything but it is nice to see Ben’s smiling face on-line. Visit EcoVelo to see some incredible photography from some real pros and accomplished amateurs. (I don’t qualify as either..) Scroll down to the November 16th images to see “Da Man” in all his Southern Appalachian glory!

Until later and after the coming rain!

- Zeke

2 WHEELED WEEKEND OF A DIFFERENT SORT

So the weather is supposed to be incredibly gorgeous for mid-November and 2000 of your closest friends are coming to town. What’s a guy to do….? Well, you could have a 2 wheeled cycle rally. Yep, that’s what’ll happen! Except this 2 wheeled weekend of a different sort has been in the planning stages for 11 months and 29 days.

My BIcycling time took a definite hit this past weekend but my MOTORcycling time got a big boost. Well, actually MY motorcycling time didn’t increase because I was rushing back and forth carting tables, toys, and other goodies during our 18th Annual Haywood County Motorcycle Parade and Toy Run. As two of the event coordinators for all 18 of the parade’s years, my wife, Kathy, and I got to spend Friday and Saturday with 2000 of our “closest” friends enjoying another successful fund raiser for the children of Haywood and Buncombe Counties.

18th Annual Haywood County Motorcycle Parade and Toy Run

The weather truly could not have been better. It was a phenomenal day in the mountains of Western North Carolina in November. Heck, this was a phenomenal weather day if it had been September! We had gorgeous blue skies and temperatures in the mid-70’s. It actually got quite warm and riders started shedding layers of leather and cordura. (It was a family event so not TOO many layers of clothing got shed.)

In all 1016 bikes and 2000 folks enjoyed the law enforcement escorted parade through all 4 towns of Haywood County before ending up at the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley. The Museum is an incredible gathering of two wheeled machines that draws thousands of visitors to the small mountain town of Maggie Valley each year. Curator, Dale Walksler, spent lots of time giving rides on his 1918 Harley Davidson and side car to kids and probably a few adults as well.

We served up 450 lbs of barbecue and over 40 cases of cold drinks. Participants got to enjoy the music of the Rafe Hollister Band as they performed pro bono for the charity event. When final totals are in, we expect to have raised another $14,000.00 in cash and another full Salvation Army Truck load of toys bringing the 18 year old event over the $100,000.00 mark for distribution to local charities serving children.

Lest I forget this is a BIcycling blog, I’ll be happy to point out the presence of a bicycle at the event. They say a picture is worth a thousand words…

Now, I get to return my attention to the self-powered 2 wheel vehicle of my dreams… Here’s hoping for one more day of good weather before the rains return!

Until later,

- Zeke

IVEY PUBLISHES FIRST NOVEL

Haywood County, NC resident George Ivey has recently had his first novel published. The literary effort focuses on the main character Peter Bailey, a Charleston, SC native, who moves to the Southern Appalachian Mountains to save a river. The plot includes twists and turns as things don’t quite go the way Bailey first envisioned. Cycling has a prominent role in the book as Bailey often turns to his bike for stress relief and strength in times of disquiet. Of course, his appearance in cycling kit in the local mountain convenience store is a topic of some discussion as well.

Ivey, who himself is a cyclist and recently finished a 8 day ride from north to south on the Natchez Trace, captures the mood and issues involved with being an “outsider” moving into what is typically a closed culture. Ivey is the former Director of the “Friends of the Smokies” and is now a private consultant to non-profit agencies both locally and internationally. He is a member of the BICYCLEHAYWOODNC advisory council and a Waynesville Rotarian.

 

 

For more information on Up River, visit www.georgeivey.com/upriver.

The book may be purchased locally in Waynesville, NC at Blue Ridge Books or Osondu’s Book Store, both located in downtown Waynesville, NC.

 

 

 

Until later,

- Zeke

NATIONAL GREAT DAY OF RIDING

It seems by Bro Dave had as great a day riding on Sunday as I had. The weather sounded equally great in the Los Angeles area. Bro Dave was impressed with one of the riders in his small group – 8 year old Desmond. He reported that Desmond kept up with him and Desmond’s Dad, Rob, throughout their single track adventure.

This morning Rob was kind enough to send along an image of Desmond with Bro Dave on his crank forward.

(Hmm, whose keeping up with whom?)

Here’s to some great fall riding on both coasts and all points in between!

Until later,

 

- Zeke

LIVING IN A DREAM WORLD…

It is Sunday evening and I’m sitting before the computer wrapping up the week of riding, writin’, and rememberin’… This week has been incredible here in the mountains of Western North Carolina. We’ve been blessed with clear blue skies, excellent riding temperatures, and some outstanding views from the seat of the bike. Heck, we’ve had outstanding views pretty much from every seat I’ve been in this week! I must be living in a dream world. Five days without rain this summer and fall is practically unheard of this year.

Today’s ride was another one of those peak experiences. The “Wood-man” and I headed out mid-day for what he titled “an easy spin and ride.” When all was said and done, we’d climbed 2160’ in elevation over the course of 10.5 miles out of our 23.24 little spin. We’d averaged a 4% gradient increase over the course of the ride with a maximum of 12% grade as we summitted the backside of “Madam Rush Fork.” (I’ve previously expounded upon my travails and successes of climbing the sunny side of “Madam Rush Fork”. You can see those entries by clicking on the links below:

• Making Peace with Madam Rush Fork
• Da Girlz! Da Girlz!

Yep, today was a easy spin and cycle day in the Wood-man’s world! We started off at the Haywood Cafe at the intersection of I-40 and NC 209. The Cafe was cooking (pun intended) with the post-Church families beginning to polish off their meals. Given that I-40 is shut down, it was good to see the local business still supporting the Cafe. We then followed Iron Duff Road west through some pretty agricultural areas. This section of the ride is mostly a descent to the Pigeon River as it makes its way to Tennessee through the gorge.

(Iron Duff Road dropping down to the Pigeon River)

We crossed over the river and turned southwest on Panther Creek. This is dairy country! The road runs through numerous dairy farms with all of their attendant images and olfactory experiences! It also runs along a beautiful piece of the river that is below I-40.

(Panther Creek Road on a beautiful sunny fall day!)

One nice side benefit of I-40 being closed is the quiet. Normally, you would hear traffic sounds from above as you traverse this section of road. Today, you could hear the sounds of nature. This truly was an easy spin section and the “Wood-man” and I enjoyed pedaling along the river on a gentle descent. You really just needed to spin the crank enough to stay upright!

Panther Creek ends with a very short climb up to the intersection of Fines Creek Road and the Fines Creek exit off of I-40. Given the silence of the trucks, I wanted a picture on I-40. After all, how many times do you really get to stand in the middle of a major interstate highway on your bike and not get killed?

(Zeke ponders the question “Where did all the traffic go?”)

(Warning! non-Professional stunt man shown here. Do not try this at home.) 

(I-40 west bound… Yep, it really, really is closed!)

After returning to Fines Creek Road, we made our way back northeast toward the intersection of Fines Creek Road and NC 209. Along this segment, you pass by the oldest church in Haywood County, the former Fines Creek School, and more dairy farms. The former Fines Creek School is now home to multiple community events including the very popular Fines Creek Bluegrass Festival held in August of each year.

We passed several vehicles, with out of state license plates, today and the drivers had puzzled looks on their faces. A couple were pulled over looking at maps. We guessed that they had missed an important turn on the trip to Tennessee and points west. In their current direction of travel, they were just going to run into barricades at the I-40 on-ramp.

The “highlight” of the day for me began at the intersection of Fines Creek Road and NC 209. This is the beginning of the climb up “Madam Rush Fork” on the north side. “Wood-man” and I had already had one serious climb along the Panther Creek Road so I was eager to see what strength my legs had left. I positioned myself on “Wood-man’s” rear wheel and kept my head down. I’ve ridden this road many times on my Harley but this was to be my first ‘person powered” 2 wheeled climb. “Wood-man” had been telling me that the north side ascent was easier than the southern ascent. I had trouble settling my mind on this fact as I recall the uphill runs on the Harley. Nevertheless, this was one more self-imposed challenge I was eager to experience.

I discovered or, at least fooled myself into believing, that if I kept my head down and focused only on the distance between his rear wheel and my front wheel, I was really riding on level ground. Never find the contradictory messages being sent from my legs to my brain. Hey, this is easy! Well, O.K., I believed that briefly anyway. Again, I was living in a dream world…

(The summit is in sight!)

Truth be told though, the northern ascent was easier and we did make it. I stayed on my middle ring and held on to the “Wood-man’s” rear wheel and sure enough we popped through that gap at the top of “Madam Rush Fork” at a heart beat escalating 10 mph. The long rapid descent that followed was merely icing on the cake.

Final thoughts…

Today was simply one of those great days. Maybe I was delusional or maybe the endorphins were really kicking in. It doesn’t really matter. It was a great day to be out on 2 wheels in the company of a good friend and a cyclist, whom I admire greatly. If it gets any better than this, my brain may explode…

Until later,

- Zeke

FALL RIDING AT IT’S BEST!

This week has been an outstanding week for getting some rides in at lunch. The skies have been clear, some color from the fall season remains, and the temperatures have been just cool enough to energize you initially and just warm enough to break a good sweat during the ride.

 

(Upper Crabtree Road – Thursday lunch ride.)

I was joined on my Thursday ride by Big Ben, who is in the process of building a new home and changing work schedules. His riding time has been cut short lately so he was eager to take advantage of this new riding schedule to get some miles under his saddle. I could tell he was eager to ride as he set a pretty good warm-up pace as we left the busier town streets behind us. He was also wearing his snazzy new bibbed cycling tights. (How much that added to his eagerness to ride is unknown to me although he did say he “really, really liked them!”)

We headed out our favorite north Haywood County road NC 209 and turned into the Upper Crabtree section. This departure from NC 209 comes at about the 11 mile marker from my office. The road is a gentle 2 lane route through some beautiful agricultural land. Traffic is typically fairly light and the drivers in the area have always been courteous to me as we ride along. The road travels 5 miles up the cove before the pavement terminates. It is mostly river grade with a slight incline until about the 4th mile and then you get some mild to moderate increase in the grade.

We were enjoying the “spin and chat time” as we headed up the road past barns, churches, and livestock. I spotted our favorite Australian Blue Heeler as we went up the road and warned Big Ben to be on the look-out as we descended. I know well that this 4 legged “pal” likes to try and herd us as we go by. Sure enough, we rounded the curve on our way out of the cove and here he came! Knowing he was headed our way made it easy to avoid him and we were by him in a jiffy.

(Zeke on the way up the cove)

Mother Nature had “treated” us to a 10 to 15 mph headwind on the way out of town making the ride out a pretty good workout. Once in the cove, the winds had abated somewhat. We were hoping that “Mom” would keep her winds blowing in the same direction when we made our way back to the office.

On the way out, I noticed the early afternoon sun was shining upon an old tobacco barn just right and asked Big Ben for a proper pose to go with it. I mean after all, he had on those snazzy new riding tights!

(Big Ben and the new riding tights!)

As you can see, he granted my request and helped me grab this little shot of Southern Appalachia culture. I liked this photo and have submitted it to EcoVelo’s current photo contest. We’ll see if it gets selected for a submission.

Our ride back to town continued in a very pleasant manner and the tailwind we were hoping for granted us some speedy times back. Lots of folks were out enjoying the fall weather at Lake Junaluska as we traversed South Lakeshore Drive. Big Ben and I parted ways near town as he headed to meet his contractor and I headed back to my desk. Another day and another great 28 miler was complete.

Check it out…

My friend and fellow blogger, Jim Artis, is working on quite the little project. Jim is known for his attention to detail in all of his projects. Check out his latest at CYCLING EXPERIENCES.

Here’s hoping that your riding conditions are great this coming weekend and beyond!

Until later,

- Zeke

UNCOVERING FALL’S SURPRISES!

Yesterday’s new ride schedule, resulting from the end of Daylight Savings Time (DST), provided me the opportunity to get out around mid-day and enjoy the bright sunshine and cooler temps of the season. The fall season gave me the opportunity to contemplate the differences between “crisp” and “brisk”. The day also gave me the opportunity to become more aware of roadside bounties.

My first ride on the new schedule turned out to be solo, which simply continues a recent pattern. I left my office sharply on time at High Noon with the hopes of getting in at least 20 miles before needing to return to work. With the end of DST, High Noon is truly High Noon now and not really 11:00 a.m. The weather was beautiful with crystal clear blue skies and a temperature in the low 60’s. Traffic was moderately heavy as folks tried to get out and about on their lunch breaks. 

Not only did I depart sharply at High Noon but, I must say, I was sharply dressed in my fall riding outfit. About the only articles NOT Pearl Izumi were my helmet and my heart monitor. Otherwise, I could have been the “Pearl Izumi Man” – not to be confused with the Marlboro Man. I was a walking billboard in my Pearl Izumi shirt, my Pearl Izumi bibbed knickers, and my Pearl Izumi socks and gloves. Oh yeah, one other non-Pearl Izumi item was my Specialized shoes. (Full disclosure: I am not now nor have I ever been paid as a shill for Pearl Izumi.)

This brings me, in a round-about, manner to the contemplation of “crisp” vs. “brisk.” I had calculated that my aforementioned outfit sans jacket would suffice to keep me warm in the low 60’s yesterday. After all, I had on longer shorts and full length sleeves made with a warmer material. Well, as I started out from my office I discovered that I was riding along in “crisp” air.  In fact, I was downright cool! I began to question the wisdom of my calculations. Fortunately, after 5 to 8 minutes of easy spinning, my body temp went up and I found myself to be quite comfortable. A few miles later as I was climbing Poison Cove Gap in the noon day sun, I was breaking a sweat and downright hot.

Once I topped the Gap and headed downhill on the non-sun side of the mountain, my sweat and the cool air at 35 mph served to bring my temperature down quite a bit over the next mile descent. Still, I quickly hit flat ground and warmed right back up and remained that way as I pedaled along the Pigeon River to my next climb on Hyder Mountain. This was my second climb over this gap that, according to my VDO Z1 bike computer has a 12% grade at the top, and is still a breath robbing experience for me. Again, I was well above “crisp” as I topped out at Fincher’s Chapel and headed downhill again.

A short time later having returned to Lake Junaluska via NC 209, I was reminded of just how “brisk” the weather can get on South Lakeshore Dr. A wind had kicked up and the waves in the lake were just short of white capping. Lots of citizens were out walking and exercising their dogs on the walking path. South Lakeshore drive is obviously on the south side of the lake. Hmm – south you say – must be warm! Not so fast! South Lakeshore Dr. lies in the shadow of a mountain and, for the most part, doesn’t see the sun this time of year and will not see it again until next spring when ‘Ol Sol returns to a higher arc in the sky. Yesterday, with the wind blowing and being in the shade, I moved from riding in the “crisp” fall air to riding in the “brisk” fall air. So, I deduced that the difference in “crisp” and “brisk” is about 8 degrees and a 5 to 10 mile an hour wind in the shade! Tomorrow’s ride, with temps forecast only to reach 55 degrees may add to my new definition of “brisk”! I have a feeling that I’ll be more warmly dressed tomorrow in yet another set of fine, fine Pearl Izumi clothing!

Speaking of ROADSIDE BOUNTIES…

The final leg of my ride covers a portion of Howell Mill Road, which is a two lane road connecting Business 23on the east side of town and Russ Avenue on the north side of town. With the leaves vacating their places on the tree limbs and vegetation, in general, beginning to take on brown hues, I noted quite a bit of new color in the form of roadside detritus that I’ve been overlooking.

It seems that the good folk using this road, as well as most roads, prefer the “dump as you go” method of recycling. For some reason, I was struck yesterday with how much trash was in this one short section of road.

 

Howell Mill is actually a rather picturesque little back road. It is on the short list to be widened and expanded in the near future. We’re all hopeful that bike lanes will be part of that process!

    (Howell Mill Road going east)

(Howell Mill Road going west) 

I know every community has its share of litter. I keep wondering when we’re all going to “get it” and quit spoiling the views for others and creating roadside dump sites. I keep hoping that, as a people, we’re smarter than this…

Until later,

- Zeke

THE WEIGHT OF THE MATTER

I thought today I might discuss some weighty matters – those things of significant gravity that affect us as cyclists. I could address the trial of Dr. Christopher Thompson in Los Angeles as the case has now gone to the jury. I could review a recent film by StreetFilms in New York as they present the varied options for bike paths and sharing the road.

Instead, I’m choosing to report on a true matter of weight or at least how to measure it. In recent days, my friend Jim at Cycling Experiences got me to thinking along the lines of improving my ability to monitor my ongoing physical condition. In corresponding with Jim on the topic, I reported the dissatisfaction I have with the current weight scales in the Zekester’s home. You can step on the scales 3 times under the same exact conditions and get 3 different measurements.

In response to my whining, Jim made an offer to transfer his Tanita BC 554 from the flatlands of North Carolina to the mountains of Western North Carolina. After all, Jim had just ordered the Tanita BC 1000! (Dang, aren’t these weighty discussions stimulating!) So, feeling that I must “put up or shut up” as he had offered me a fine solution to my unimportant crisis of weight management, I eagerly agreed to the transfer at a very reasonable expense. His efforts at making the transfer are well documented on his site (see link above).

I felt it important to close the loop and report the very timely arrival of the Tanita BC 554 at its new home. I received a phone call from my office late on Friday saying “Santa”, otherwise known in the Yount household as the UPS Dude had arrived in his brown sleigh and dropped off a package for me. I jumped, well, slowly dismounted my John Deere Yard tractor and moseyed on over (literary phrase intended to impart the image of a man in no particular hurry) to my office and grabbed my package.

I let it sit overnight, resting in it’s box, knowing that the optimal time to open it would be with my better half whilst having that first cup of coffee in the morning. The moment arrived. My spouse looked at me like “what have you spent our money on now?” but I pushed through knowing that she too would soon be immersed in the joy of knowing her BMR. In retrospect, I may have over-thought that one…

At any rate, the Tanita BC 554 is now fully functional and programmed. It awaits only tomorrow’s weigh-in. I eagerly look forward to more data to track. In fact, Saturday may be spent incorporating new data analysis computations into my spreadsheet. I won’t ride today – you see IT IS RAINING AGAIN!

I’m excited, my “best half” is excited, heck – the cats are excited! In fact, I’m so excited (note reference to Pointer Sisters’ song…), I had some pictures taken with my new Tanita BC 554!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Interested reader ALERT!---- There will be no public reporting of any data measured tomorrow per household order of Zeke’s ‘best half!”)

Until later,

- Zeke

A SUNNY SUNDAY RIDE AMIDST MOUNTAIN FALL COLORS!

Before I get to the recap of Sunday’s exquisite ride, Gr8SmokiesZeke was very pleasantly surprised and appreciative of the wonderful reference and support received from my friend Jim Artis on his most excellent site “Cycling Experiences.” His October 26th entry resulted in the single largest day of visits to this site since its inception in January 2009. Be sure to stop by Cycling Experiences and visit with Jim, Faye, Silk and their stablemates! Thanks again, Jim!

Sunday’s ride…

My “best half” and her sister decided over supper on Saturday night that Sunday presented an excellent opportunity for some shopping in nearby Asheville, NC. Being fairly bright individuals, the “Wood-man” and I deduced that it would be an excellent opportunity for us to ride to Asheville, have a nice meal, and catch a ride home with the girls. Plans were laid…

Sunday dawned as one of those incredibly beautiful mountain days when the air is crisp and there is still lots of fall color left. This year those days have been limited due to the frequent days of rain our region has experienced. Unknown to us, the recent heavy rains paired with some early freezes and snowfalls in the northern end of our county had resulted overnight in a major rockslide closing I-40 east and west bound 3 miles inside the Tennessee border with North Carolina. Predictions from the DOT engineers indicate that I-40 may be closed for several months in order to complete clean-up. (More on this later…)

 

 

Our Sunday ride began on Ratcliffe Cove Road just outside of Waynesville and took us through Poison Cove Gap to the east.

 

 

 

 

Climbing the southwest side of Poison Cove Gap.

 

 

 

This was a good warm-up and served to reinforce my decision to dress relatively lightly for the day’s ride. We started with temps in the mid-60’s and calm winds. After descending to Stamey Cove Road, we headed into downtown Clyde and connected with Business 19/23 east to Canton. Traffic had been light to this point and we were making good time.

We rode up the slight but long grade of Radio Hill going into Canton, NC in the shadows of the mountain with notably cooler temperatures. Due to the steep slope of the mountain, this section of the road is almost always without sun this time of the year and is one of the first places to freeze with black ice in the winter. The grade is deceptive in that it doesn’t look steep but has just enough inclination to be the site of many an accident in bad winter weather. This day though we were cruising in the upper 50’s so it was just about right to cool down some from the 3 miles or so ride from Clyde.

As is almost always the case, what goes up must come down and we were certainly no exception as we dropped off of Radio Hill into Canton proper. The fast food restaurants and gas stations were busy with Sunday travelers. On the east end of town, we made the final short climb out of town before enjoying a long glide down to river grade riding. This section has numerous manhole covers sitting 2/3rds of the way out into the road so you have to be careful not to crunch a wheel or get a pinch flat.

Once we bottomed out, Mother Nature greeted us with an approximate 10 – 12 mph headwind as we traversed several miles of the old Asheville Highway, a fairly straight road heading east to western Buncombe County.

The “Wood-man’s” shadow takes first wheel…

Just after crossing into Buncombe County, we bore right onto the old US 23. At this point, we’re riding along about the 3rd set of parallel roads that have been built through the years to move traffic east and west. This section of road goes for several miles and is almost all rural/residential with the occasional home business on the side. Traffic is typically very light on this section and offers some pleasant cycling. We did have the pleasure of being “announced” by two small dogs as they joined us in the road for a few moments. The biggest danger they represented was running under our wheels. We apparently moved through their zone of watchfulness to their satisfaction as they returned to their guard stations at their residence. I hate to think what may become of them if they greet a 4 wheeled vehicle with similar bravado.

We eventually head east southeast on the Candler School Road and drop down yet again in elevation to South Hominy. This short section of road included trees draping their beautiful yellow colors across the road and brightened up the entire area.

Our route eventually tied us back in to Sand Hill Road behind the Enka Manufacturing plant, another major mountain industrial plant lost to the ever changing global economy. At its peak, Enka employed hundreds of WNC people from multiple counties. The company was busing employees to work back before busing became a negative term. This section of road is being re-worked and appears to have the makings of a nice bike lane. Time will tell if that is the case. We followed Sand Hill Road to its merger with State Road 3412, which brought us into West Asheville’s residential areas. This section of the ride is characterized by short but steep climbs and ultimately brought us to an intersection with Haywood Road in West Asheville.

“Wood-man” leads through West Asheville”

Haywood Road then drops down to the French Broad River where we crossed over and began the final climb of the ride up Clingman Avenue by the Grey Eagle, a local hot spot for music, to Hillard Avenue and then cross town to the Block. The Block is recognized as the center of Asheville’s African-American community with numerous restaurants and businesses finding some recent resurgence. From the Block, it is a short climb up to Pack Square and then to Tripps Restaurant to meet the lovely shopping duo of Kathy and Sherry.

Zeke (l) and “Wood-man” (r) completing another ride!

Skipping our usual post-ride cold libation, the four of us headed out to Biltmore Park Town Square to try out a new restaurant – 131 Main. The restaurant is located in the recently developed Biltmore Park section off of I-26 near Skyland. We’ve watched the restaurant under construction for some time and were eager to give it a try. We were not disappointed! All of our meals were outstanding and we had excellent service from several of the wait staff, especially Tabitha. My dish was the chef’s version of Shrimp ‘N Grits, a low country dish becoming increasingly popular with local restaurants as they expand their culinary arts into our mountain culture. The grits were creamy and spicy and perfectly complimented by the shrimp. This dish rates highly beside Charleston, SC’s Magnolia’s restaurant, which I’ve always considered the “gold standard” of Shrimp ‘N Grits!

Darn, now I’m hungry…. Gotta go!

Until later,

- Zeke

P.S. To follow this ride on MapMyRide, CLICK HERE!

A TREND, A PATTERN, A THUMP

The American Heritage Dictionary defines trend as “a general tendency or course; a direction or movement; flow.” Wikipedia defines pattern as “A pattern, from the French patron, is a type of theme of recurring events of or objects, sometimes referred to as elements of a set. These elements repeat in a predictable manner.” Both of these words are resonating with me today as we enter another weekend with wet weather moving into the area. We certainly have had a trend or pattern develop over what subjectively seems like the entire summer but, in reality, is probably something less enduring. For several weeks now, we seem to have been trending toward clearing skies on Sunday afternoons followed by pleasant Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. On Thursdays, precipitation begins forming and by Friday and Saturday, we are under high percentages of rain forecast. In fact, the weather prognosticators have gotten it pretty much right the last 3 weekends in a row. Rain, followed by rain, leading to more rain… This weekend appears to be no exception to the rule.

In anticipation of this pattern of wet weather, I swapped my typical riding schedule around and hit the road on Wednesday this week instead of the usual Thursday. Both Tuesday and Wednesday were gorgeous days here in the mountains of Western North Carolina. We’ve had a bit of a warming spell as we head to Indian Summer. (Wikipedia lists I.S. as “Indian summer is a name given to a period of sunny, warm weather in autumn, not long before winter. Usually occurring after the first frost, Indian summer can be in September, October, or November in the northern hemisphere, and March, April, or early May in the Southern hemisphere..”) In fact, we had a couple of heavy frosts early in the week and even had the first snowfall of the season last weekend.

Wednesday’s ride was another solo event. The “Wood-man” and I had a sort of “well, I’m riding then – may see you on the road” understanding. In this case, “two needles didn’t find the same haystack”. In post ride discussion, I determined that “Wood-man” was coming around the bend below my office about the same time I was accelerating into traffic on the other side of the building with the result being my solo excursion for the day.

As I’ve written before, I’ve moved my starting time up slightly to avoid failing light as the sun sets earlier. One advantage to this has been that I manage to avoid a lot of the traffic associated with end of work day travel. I’m usually off the main drags now by 5:00 p.m. As I started my ride on Wednesday, the skies were a beautiful blue with the fall colors now peaking at the lower elevations. Temperatures were a very pleasant upper 70’s.

My route this date was along Howell Mill Road out to Business 19 and then connecting to NC 209 for a journey down into northern Haywood County. Howell Mill is a two lane surface road that is narrow and carries a moderate amount of traffic from the east end of town to the busy neon-sign sector of Waynesville  on the north side of town. There is one short descent to a railroad crossing over the Richland Creek. On this day, I found a bad point to cross over the RR track and immediately began to experience a THUMP, THUMP, THUMP. I feared that I had flatted but that turned out not to be the case so I kept riding. Clearly though, the THUMP, THUMP, THUMP was going to join me for awhile. I kept surveying my wheels and couldn’t see an overt problem and I did so want to ride… Shortly, it seemed my THUMP, THUMP, THUMP had become a thump, thump, thump and my anxiety levels about having a mechanical issue eased to the point I became involved in the ride again.

I broke off of NC 209 at the intersection with Iron Duff Road and headed for the “triangle” where Iron Duff goes right and Coleman Mountain Road goes left. I wanted to climb so I headed left just past Frog Holler.

I rounded a couple of curves before starting the ascent and had the chance to “holler out” at my friend Bo, who was on his tractor fluffing his hay. He too was trying to beat the trend of weather and get his 3rd cutting of hay in the barn before the end of week rains returned. Bo has managed to put up 300+ bales of hay during this wet summer!

We exchanged the usual social niceties: he from his John Deere saddle and me from my Fuji CCR3 saddle. Both are made of leather and both suit their function well. Form is a whole different matter though!

My ascent of Coleman was beginning in earnest at this point so my attention was turned to riding smart, trying to relax and rest while climbing as the “Wood-man” has coached me to do. In short order, I topped the mountain and began a nice long descent to the intersection of US 276. It was at this point that I had a decision to make.

My earlier plans had included the possibility of turning north on US 276 to Rabbit Skin Road and climbing the mountain two lane road before dropping back to Iron Duff and a return to NC 209. I haven’t ridden this stretch of road before other than on my Harley, which is not turning out to be the best scouting vehicle for my bicycle rides. It seems that having 1500 ccs of engine under me on the Harley somehow misrepresents the energy required of my legs to get over 10%+ grades.

Being unfamiliar with that road and still being aware of a thump, thump, thump co-rider paired with a clearly setting sun, led me to decide heading home on US 276 south might be the wiser move on this date. I determined that I would be more easily found on a major highway than a narrow 2 lane mountain road should my thump, thump, thump return to THUMP, THUMP, THUMP  status.

So, some 12 miles later after enjoying the muscle building advantages of a headwind, I  and my thump, thump, thump returned to my office as the sun was setting behind Eagles Nest Mountain. My ride was complete and I had successfully beat the trend.

Thursday turned out to be equally beautiful but riding was out of the question as the “Wood-man” stopped by my office and agreed that I still had a thump, thump,thump to resolve. He relieved me of my front wheel after a short test ride and is now exorcising my thump, thump, thump.

Oh yeah, it’s raining…

Until later,

- Zeke

(Note: you may view this route on MayMyRide by CLICKING HERE!)