I just walked in from an interesting day in the woods. Mike B., Sophiedog, and I met Bill F., Rich D., and Eli D at the Fish Hatchery at 11 AM. On the way down 280 Mike was the first to comment on how much more snow was out there in the Mills River area than in Asheville. By the time we were on 276 and looking into the woods close to our destination the realization set in that we may not be riding in Pisgah today. Our 'ride' started on the pavement from the Fish Hatchery heading to Davidson River trail. Once on Davidson we were almost immediately off our bikes because of the snow.


We all walked the entire trail except for maybe 100 yards. Out to the road and up the road to Cove Creek was next.... which we walked the entire length of to the camps. So we took a break there to talk about our options. That route had taken 45 minutes already.

We then decided to walk up the connector (we knew we would be walking at least) to see if the gravel road to Daniel was clear at all. It was not....

photo cred Bill F.:
photo cred: Bill F.
so we tried to ride as much as we could down to the bridge. Riding in 6" deep snow is far more difficult than I had imagined. Despite the conditions, morale was high the entire time out there.

We then took the pavement back to the vehicles. 2ish hours out, 4ish miles covered.

What to do what to do what to do? How 'bout head back to Asheville and ride around and around in circles at Richmond Hill? Perfect. We were on the highway (sans Eli, we ate him.) and at the next trailhead in a little over 30 minutes.

We salvaged the riding day by..... going around and around and around in circles at Richmond Hill! Over 5 miles worth in the end.

Rich was even able to get a little 'product testing' in:
The riding at Richmond Hill was fun, fast, slick, steep,
photo cred Bill F.:


and exactly what I needed for the day: A good warm-up, a few good descents and tech moves, conversation with great people, and enough exercise to make me feel like I did a little something today. Thanks for coming out everybody!

Squirrel Gap is in fine shape right now....

It's wet, slick, technical, treacherous, challenging, and oh so much fun, too. DjD, Sophiedog, and I got out there today for an out-and-back on Squirrel to/from Cantrell.


Temps were in the high 30's and we were riding in a cloud the entire day.

The ride really started while still in the Jeep headed to Turkey Pen trail. The road is in very bad shape right now. I was surprised that thee were even non-4x4 vehicles in the parking lot at all. We took the singletrack down and I just about busted my ass right out of the box. Even right there the trail was slicker than snot. The only real snow left over after the warmish days was at the bridge over S.Mills. Up Mullinax to Squirrel was a great warm-up and Squirrel was as technical as ever.


The wetness was unforgiving. Roots were slicker than usual. Rocks had a slime that would send you down in a heartbeat. Needless to say it was slow going all the way to Cantrell. The only breaks we took were at the gap and at Cantrell.


Oh, and I had a nice high-side-digger on the way to our turn around point. By the end of the day DjD went down a couple of times, too. On our way back we ran into a pair of hikers then my old friend Dennis H. and his crew...

on what was presumably a much much much faster ride than the one we were on. No rest at the gap, just ass hauling down to Pounding Mill, then down to Laurel Creek, Mullinax, and S.Mills, back to the bridge in record time since DjD had to get back to Asheville. Great ride Dennis. Thanks for coming out.

run club.

Same as yesterday but reverse route and with Sophiedog
3 mi 250'
39* with a steady rain

run club

3 miles, 250' climbing. Hanover->State->Wellington->Haywood->State->Hanover

run club.

West Asheville is perfect for running. Back on my feet again for the first time in about a year.
2 miles 160' climbing.
gotta start somewhere.

First (bike) ride of 2010!

Mike B. and I got out for an excellent winter ride today: Wash Creek->Trace Ridge->Spencer Branch->NER->Fletcher Creek->Reservoir Rd.




Mike, Here are the links I promised: Charlie the Unicorn , Syd Barrett's Accountant , and Videogioco.

Zoe Roselee Wever

Hey there everybody! I've been off the bike for almost a month now. Why? Well, I made a deal with Erinna that I would stay close by for the last number of weeks (i.e. not out in the woods) because the birth of our first baby was imminent. Now, riding can slowly come back onto the radar over the next couple of weeks because I present to the world our baby Zoe:

Born January 7, 2010 at 10:22pm. 7.2 lbs, 20 inches.
So tell me again, how tall do you need to be to ride a 29er? 2'?