Family Visit and Riding

Heather's parents came up to see our new house this weekend, so Friday and Saturday we hung out with them. Before we met up with them on Saturday morning, though, we walked down the street and watched the roadies from the Assault on the Carolinas zip by.



I believe there were 700-800 riders this year, and it was more of a festival atmosphere than in years past. They had a band playing, vendor booths, and food and drink booths. Hopefully a precursor to a mountain bike festival in the near future? If you rode in the race, I might have a pic of you if you go to my Flickr page.

Sunday, we met the pseudo in-laws for breakfast before they headed home, and then I went to Pisgah for a longer ride. I started off climbing up Clawhammer, and immediately regretted eating french toast right before the ride. I felt better by the time I hit the top though, and continued down Buckhorn Gap to South Mills River. That was my first time down that way, and I really enjoyed it.



From S. Mills, I took Pink Beds. I really wanted to do Squirrel, but I had no way to get more water, having left my filter at home. Once I got up to the Pink Beds lot, I refilled my water and headed down 276 to 477, and up Club Gap. Club Gap is rough and straight up, but thankfully short. I then sat down in whatever shade I could find for a quick break at the intersection.



I was thinking about going down Avery, but felt like I had a little more in the tank, so I headed up Black instead. On a downhill section, I came around a corner a little too hot, and my front wheel slid out. Everything went in slow motion for a second, and down I went. I landed hard on my left side and just stayed still for a minute. Once I realized that nothing was broken (bike or body), I got up and noticed the major knot in the side of my calf. I tried to work it out, but it wasn't helping, so on I went.





Once I got down to Buckhorn Gap, I was really wishing I had just gone down Avery, and in fact, I still wanted to go down Avery, but how should I get over there? Well I decided I wasn't beat up enough, so I thought some exploring would be in order. I had noticed an unimproved road on the map that connected Clawhammer to Avery (5057), and wanted to check it out. I headed down the somewhat overgrown path, and all was well for a bit, but then I ran into sections that were totally overgrown with thorn bushes. I was glad I had just filled my tires with some fresh Stan's, but wished I had worn long pants and long sleeves.

I eventually made it over to Avery, and the trip down was a blast, and uneventful. It was a great, and long day in Pisgah. This place is like nothing else. I only rode 25-30 miles, but I was in the forest for 5+ hours. The miles here are tough and slow-going.

New Digs

I've been MIA for a bit, but it's been for a good reason. Heather and I bought and moved into our new house. It's been a crazy couple of weeks, and we are both totally exhausted, but we absolutely love our new place. We're still in Brevard, but tucked away in a quiet little corner, just outside of the city limits. Without going into too much detail, it has way more space than we need, is in great shape, and we got it for a killer price.

Now, onto the features of interest to mountain bikers. For the first time ever, I have a dedicated bike space. We have a full basement, and one section in particular just seemed perfect for it. I can keep all of our bikes, parts, tools, and accessories in one place, and still have plenty of room to work on the bikes.

Here's the space with the Lazer Cat in the stand, getting some TLC.


It's not all put together yet, but I'm very excited to have it.

The next feature of interest is the setting. We are tucked away on a hill, with trees all around us. There's another house on one side, but the other side is an empty, wooded lot. Behind us is a gravel road, and then just mountains beyond that. It's so incredibly quiet and peaceful, especially compared to the townhome, which was on a very busy road, and had very thin walls separating us from our fat neighbors. The difference is remarkable, and our stress levels have just plummeted.

Back and Side Yards:




Now, the real kicker. If you look closely in that last pic, you can see the gravel road. About a hundred yards beyond the section you can see, the road dead ends right into a conservation easement that the city owns. If you go up there and look around, you'll see colored tape around trees. That's because the city is planning on building trails through the property, and have already started the layout phase, with construction probably starting this summer. So yes, we will have trails to ride and hike right out of our back yard.

But wait, it gets better. On the other side of that conservation easement is Pisgah. The ultimate plan is to work with the Forest Service and connect the city trails into the Pisgah trails. My guess would be that it would connect to 475C, which would mean I could ride from my house, into the fish hatchery area.

Needless to say, we are so happy and excited to be here for many reasons.

Family Weekend and DuPont Ride

My dad and stepmother came into town from Ohio on Friday, and we got to hang out for a couple of days. I haven't been able to see my family since we moved down here last September, so it was really nice to have them down. We did all the usual touristy stuff, including Looking Glass Falls, a pottery shop, the shops downtown, and some nice restaurants. We were also able to show them the house we are in the process of buying. It was a very nice visit. And for any of you that are looking into visiting Brevard, I would highly recommend staying at the Red House Inn. The place is newly renovated, and the owners are great. One of the owners is also an avid mountain biker, and can suggest some routes for you.

After my family left on Sunday, I headed over to DuPont for a quick ride. I did the usual to Briery and Back route, with a stop on the slickrock on Joanna Rd. It was a good ride, but the roads connecting the trails were a little sloppy. The trails themselves were in good shape, except for the bottom of Jim Branch, which was recently re-worked. The weather was cool and damp, which kept some people off of the trails. It looked like there had been a burn recently along Twin Oaks trail by Briery Fork trail. Couldn't have been too long ago, because it smelled great.

Black Mountain Trail

So what do you do when you live 10 minutes from the gate to the most beautiful place on Earth and it's 65 and sunny? You grab your bike and drive through that gate of course. I parked at the Ranger Station and headed up 477>Clawhammer. Once I got to the top, I decided that I was going to go right on Black Mtn., since I had not been on that section yet. I knew there would be some hike-a-bike, and boy was there. It's basically one long hike-a-bike with intermittent sections of riding until you get close to the intersection with Turkey Pen. Then it is literally all down hill from there to Pressley Gap. I'm not sure how often I'll actually do this section of Black, but I'm glad I did today, because the views were outstanding.

While up near the top of Black Mtn., I actually had 3G service and heard my phone vibrate. It was a voicemail from Heather asking if I wanted a burrito from Pescado's. What fantastic timing to get reception! My reply was a resounding "Hell yeah!!" Once I got to Pressley Gap that burrito was all I could think about, so I hung a right on Maxwell and flew down it and Clawhammer. The burrito and beer waiting for me at home really hit the spot. Not a bad little Sunday.

Turrible Weekend....Just Turrible

The title is my best Charles Barkley impression.  It's pretty awesome in my head, and hopefully in yours, too.  Anyway, the weekend was actually the total opposite of turrible.  It was pretty perfect to be honest.  After soliciting for ideas on Facebook, I decided that Saturday was going to be a riding day, and that it would be a ride from my house, into and around Pisgah, and then back to my house.  I got ready, hopped on the Lazer Cat, and started pedaling into town on a sunny, 65 degree day.  I hit the bike path, took the new Estatoe Trail into the Forest, and then 477 to the horse stables.  I stopped there to stretch and looked at my Garmin, and to my surprise, it was just over 9 miles to that point.  Not a bad warmup. 

After doing my calisthenics, I removed my sweat bands and leotard, and started the long grunt up Clawhammer.  This was actually the first time I rode Clawhammer past the Maxwell Cove turnoff, and I was delightfully surprised to see that the rest of the climb is not quite so steep.  On my way up, I ran into three downhillers and finished the climb with them.  It was a nice change of pace to have some folks to pace with for a bit, making the climb less of an internal mental struggle.  At the top, they told me they were going to take Black, to Buckwheat Knob, and then come down Bennett.  I didn't really have a plan, but I had just ridden Bennett a few days prior, so I decided to follow them on Black to Club Gap, and then part ways with them and head down Avery Creek instead.  We pushed and pedaled our way up Black, and they bombed the downhill sections while I followed, doing my best impression of bombing, which wasn't nearly as good as my Charles Barkley impression.  They were a great group to ride with, having that mountain biker mentality that was one of the reasons I got into the sport in the first place.

This was my first time on Avery, and it was fun.  Pretty much all downhill, and all rideable.  I only wiped out once in a washout that was filled with at least a foot of leaves.  It was a soft landing, and there was no damage to me or the Lazer Cat.  After getting all of the leaves out of my shorts, I continued down off the mountain and back to the bike path.  The ride back home was pretty turrible for real, though.  A strong headwind and tired legs made every pedal stroke a struggle, but I eventually made it back to my front door to complete a great day on the bike. 

I only got one pic on the ride, and it's at the bottom of Avery Creek:


Heather needed some forest time, too, so on Sunday we crossed the border for some hiking at Caesar's Head State Park. We hiked a loop that we thought would be less crowded than the popular Raven Cliff Falls trail, and thankfully, we were right. It was a nice loop with a 10-foot waterfall, and plenty of elevation change and creek crossings. We took Kenda, and she did awesome. She was a little scared of the creek crossings at first, but by the end, she was boulder hopping across rushing water with us.











The Aftermath:

Short After-Work Ride - Bennett Gap

It wasn't long ago that my after-work/school rides were at Tower Park in Ft. Thomas, KY, or East Fork State Park in Batavia, OH. While I still felt pretty lucky to have decent places to ride within a short drive, now I can be in Pisgah in 10 minutes. It's still a little surreal to be honest. I got out of court a little early today, so I headed to the Forest and parked at the Ranger Station on 276. From there, I rode up 477 to the top of Bennett Gap, and bombed my way back down to 477 and back to the car. The weather was perfect and the trails were empty. I actually felt really good today, too, and now I'm drinking a Highlands Black Mocha Stout. Life is good.

15 Perfect Miles in DuPont

It was sunny, 60'ish, and dry.  I had had a stressful week due to house purchasing drama and a disappointing hearing on Friday, so I definitely needed some forest time.  I headed to the Fawn Lake parking area and figured I'd put together a loop from there.  The trails were absolutely perfect, and it wasn't quite as crowded as I thought it would be, but there were quite a few folks there nonetheless.  I started down Reasonover and, after the climb, decided to head down Turkey Knob Rd. and Poplar Hill Loop for the first time.  That was a good call.  I went out and back on those and then continued on Reasonover.  This is easily one of my favorite trails in the area.  I wish it was about 10 miles longer, though.  From Reasonover, I did the Lake View Loop real quick just to see what it was, then on to Lake Julia Gulia Rd.>Camp Summit>Airstrip>Airstrip Tr.> Shelter Rock>Barn Tr (Where I saw two older ladies riding llamas.  Not joking.)>Bridal Veil Falls>Corn Mill Shoals>Shoals>Laurel Ridge>Mine Mtn.  It was an excellent day on the bike.

Turkey Knob Rd.

Old Wagon on Poplar Hill

I bet this was sweet when it was new

Perfect Day

I love the Salsa bottle cages

Boathouse on Lake Julia Gulia

View from Airstrip

Bridal Veil