Sometimes, I’m just lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to see or experience something wonderful. As I was greeting our Labrador Retrievers Zeke and Orla this morning, I was lucky enough to glance up just in time to catch a beautiful sunrise over Mt. Pisgah and Cold Mountain…
(Mt. Pisgah just as the sun makes it appearance for the day…)
My work day is done and I sit at my table putting finger to keyboard as the mercury continues its way down the incrementally marked tube indicating that another night of freezing temperatures await us. I find myself wrapped up in my blanket hoping that someday in the future I will again enjoy the pleasures of wood stove heat or the ecstasy of backing up to an open hearth fire to warm my very core. In the dimming light of the day, I watch out the window as the grey flat clouds skitter across the top of Cold Mountain in the flat profile that so often portends a snowfall.
Through my window to the north, my neighbor tends two large bonfires he has going on his property. I’m hoping he doesn’t set the mountain on fire for the 4th or is it now the 5th time since moving here. Fighting brush fires in freezing weather just can’t be any fun! But, hey, I opened this with the thought that it was time for the GOOD NEWS! …and so it shall be….
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.
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.
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…
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
Well, it took awhile but my new Continental Grand Prix 4 Season tires finally became acquainted with the roads of Haywood County. I certainly wouldn’t go so far as to say that “spring has sprung” here in beautiful Western North Carolina but I can quite positively proclaim that Friday, February 26th, 2010 was a day fit for a ride. The skies were mostly blue with just traces of high fluffy clouds adding contrast to the scene. Mt. Pisgah remains snow capped as does Cold Mountain. I knew by lunch time that I had to get on the road today.
After taking care of a number of tasks mid-day, I was home and getting dressed by 3:00 p.m. I wasn’t in a big hurry because I knew I was going to be riding around the Pigeon Valley and I usually start out at the local middle school parking lot on this loop. I didn’t want to be part of the Friday after school madness so I took my time and let school traffic clear the roads.
I was starting out at a “balmy” 39 degrees as I left the parking lot. I was close to being dressed properly for the cold biting wind that decided to make a brief appearance. I gambled on my feet staying warm without my Pearl Izumi booties. It is a good thing I didn’t have money on the bet – I would have lost. I could tell that I was going to miss those booties within the first mile.
The initial 4.5 miles of this loop is along the Pigeon River on the “dark side”, which means it is heavily shaded by trees and embankments. Along with the naturally moving air along the river, this can be a cool ride even closer to summer. I was pleasantly impressed with the courtesy shown to me by passing traffic. No one blew a horn at me, screamed at me, or threw anything at me. In fact, you’d think N.C. has a 3’ passing lane. I tried to reciprocate the courtesy by waving cars around as soon as it was safe and throwing up a hand in acknowledgement as they went by me. One car contained a young man that appeared to be around 5 or 6 years old. He had a big smile on his face and an energetic wave as his car accelerated by me. Even the work trucks were providing lots of room today.
A couple of observations that I made on the leg “down river” included spotting what appeared to be two terns in a field. While it isn’t unheard of to see seashore birds in the area, it does seem a little early for them to be vacationing in what has become snow country this winter. I also took odiferous note of two star crossed skunks that didn’t negotiate the crossing of the highway successfully.
A sure sign that spring isn’t far away was the Pisgah High boys baseball and girl’s softball teams practicing as I rode by their respective fields. My niece is a junior on the Pisgah softball team so I imagine I’ll be seeing them in action as their games get underway. Last year, I would leave my office in Waynesville and ride my bike to their home games in Canton and then on home after the game. It was a good way to get in a commute and some exercise and still get to see my niece play.
(Pigeon Valley field awaiting the spring plowing.)
The run “up river” on NC 110 was mostly in the sun and I actually broke a sweat. This loop is almost entirely river grade so I was able to work on my rusty spinning muscles both down and up river. The gutters of NC 110 are still full of grit and gravel from the many layers of stone put down on ice this year. It is still early for DOT to be thinking about sweeping up the winter debris. Consequently, I had to ride a little closer to the lane of traffic or actually in the lane of traffic than I normally do on this stretch.
Upon arriving at the intersection of NC 110 and US 276, I still had plenty of sunlight left and, happily, apparently plenty of leg left as well. I intended to cross over to Love Joy Road and get in a couple of small hill climbs and then loop back to my truck at Bethel Middle School. Traffic at the intersection tended to guide me onto US 276 instead so I made a 1 mile run to Bethel Grocery and then south on NC 215 toward Lake Logan.
My first thought was to just ride up a couple of miles and then return on the same route. When I got to my turn around point, however, I was at the intersection of NC 215 and Edwards Cove Road. This road has two decent climbs that I thought might challenge me today as I’ve not been on the bike in close to a month. The longest climb is about .5 mile and averages 9% grade. The second climb is shorter and but has a 11% gradient. Having not ridden this section of road before, I wasn’t sure what to expect other than that I’d learn something about myself today. The short jaunt back over to US 276 was very pleasant and one I’ll definitely look forward to in the future.
Upon returning to US 276, I had to wait out several fast moving groups of workers heading home on Friday afternoon. I had a right hand turn onto a short hill that drops quickly on the backside and can provide a dangerous spot for a cyclist if someone tops the hill too fast. I wanted plenty of room and time to make that short climb. Once over the top, I picked up speed quickly and could pretty much hold my own with the traffic behind me until I turned onto Sonoma Road and the final .2 mile to my truck. On this leg, I was treated to a beautiful almost full moon rising just to the east of Mt. Pisgah. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get an image of it. Well, actually I have an image – I just can’t share it except in words.
It was a good ride and one I’ve been longing for during these snowy days over the past month. Even ending the ride in 32 degree weather was pleasant! My new tires held up well and didn’t flat or come off the rim or show any negative signs of my having mounted them. It is too early to tell how they will compare to my old ones. I did feel more secure hitting the grit and gravel than I did on my old tires but that could just be me getting influenced by the advertising. Time will tell.
Here’s hoping for some more weather like today.
Until later,
- Zeke
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