Vinyard->Riverside->Bradley Creek->Laurel Creek->Mullinax.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Spiders, Horseflies, and a Huge Blue Heron
plus a wide assortment of mushrooms, some large unidentified creature crashing through the woods, grouse, more birds....
Vinyard->Riverside->Bradley Creek->Laurel Creek->Mullinax.
Vinyard->Riverside->Bradley Creek->Laurel Creek->Mullinax.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Long Farlow
Davidson River->475->5095->Long Branch->475->5003->140A->Farlow Gap->Daniel Ridge->475->Davidson River
Ian 'The Pony' L., Mike B., Matt F., Dennis 'DjD' D., Ian B., and Kris K.:
Let's see, it's now the next morning and after a great night of sleep maybe I can scribble (peck?) out a quick summary of yesterday's ride. The whole crew rallied at my house just after 7AM and after a cup of coffee and loading 6 people, bikes, and gear into two vehicles we were headed to the Fish Hatchery. Matt F met us there upping our roster to 7.
We were on the bikes by about 8:30 and the weather was cooperating perfectly. The temps eventually topped out in the mid 80's for the day with humidity just shy of turning the ride into a swim through the air. The gravel and doubletrack climbs to Long Branch went by quickly with no stragglers. Up Long Branch necessitated the use of the granny gear for the first time of the day and Ian 'The Pony' L. and I took up the last two positions for the climb.
During the downhill in the middle Mike B had a flat, then his spare was flat, so it took us a while to get up to Gloucester Gap. He had waved me everyone on as they flew by so it took a bit for the word to get forward that he needed another tube. Up 140A followed with Mike, Ian L., and I off the back of the pack. That was absolutely fine with me as Ian and I stopped and took in the sights and tastes the forest has to offer in mid-July. Flowers abounded as did ripe blackberries.
Riding up 5003 is much more tough than 140A and that's the reason I had left some reserve fuel in the tanks. The climb to Farlow Gap gets much steeper and technical after the turn. Ian was a bit off the back but Mike and I would take our turns hammering forward then waiting to make sure he was doing fine. DjD was soon spit off the back of the 'A' group and joined in for the fun of cruising to the gap with the 'B' group. We arrived at the gap just as the 'A' group was breaking out the lunch boxes. A long breather/lunch break/glove change preceded the reason for climbing for THREE HOURS: Farlow Gap.
Mike took the lead for the rock garden descent and cleaned it. I was tailgating a little too much and had to come off the bike as he picked his way through the gnar. I decided to take a few photos of the rest of the crew descending then realized that Yes, indeed, I do need a new camera. Not a single photo came out OK. Anyway, We took the time to go to the bottom of the first waterfall for a quick dip
Then railed the rest of Farlow. We all were on our A game at that point and had a blast in the tech sections. I saw Ian B pull some impossibly tight bike handling moves and after watching Mike hit the BIG set of steps with ease, had to go back and try them myself. With DjD acting as a center, or maybe linebacker ready to block me back into the trail I lost my inhibitions and went for it. One of the hardest moves I'm comfortable trying that deep in the forest.
Everyone was just about out of water by the time we were at Daniel Ridge and Matt must have been the most thirsty since he took the lead for the final part of the descent. When we hit the open road I had to look at him wide-eyed and say :'Matt, I knew you were fast but damn! I could hardly hold on!' It was one of the fastest feeling descents of Daniel that I can recall.
We finished with the cruise down Davidson and were back at the vehicles in 4:45 hours out.
Great ride everybody!!!!!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
After work with ride with The Pony
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Aaahhh... Summertime in the mountains.
If you're looking for something a little different than Pisgah that's still in Pisgah, check out Wilson's Creek. This morning DjD met the 6:30 rally time and we were at The Pony's house just before 7. Fast forward an hour and 15 minutes and we were pulling in at the bottom of Sinkhole in Wilson's Creek to meet Dicky, Big Worm, and two guys without nicknames, David and Aaron.
The route started with the gravel up to 181 then 181 to Greentown. Our route for the day: 181->Greentown->Raider's Camp->Sinkhole.
It had two weeks since I had been on my bike but it had been a whole two MONTHS for The Pony so I hung back with him. I got a little ahead towards the top but he was at the top moments after me. I had been fighting coffee-stomach for the climb so a less intense than normal pace was perfect. I was put out front for the first descent of the day and I called Ian to follow. When we got to the first rest I was surprised (considering the pace) that the fully-rigid-equipped Bill was right on our tails. A theme was already developing for the day: Bill was shredding the downhills. Another theme: Ian and I off the back for the climbs, Bill, Ian, and I out front for the descents.
We crossed the river at the bottom of Greentown then wrapped up the 'old-toll-like' climb in what felt like just minutes. The group got ahead of Ian and I again but we were hanging back and talking the entire way. The group was waiting just before the rest of the climb to Raider's. The top part of the Raider's descent went by very quickly as we all railed the berms and took the fastest lines available. We checked one spur trail to see if it was the way down to the waterfall overlook but it didn't feel right to me and I recalled the long descent down to where the trail just.. sorta... runs.... out..... that we had taken years before and the call was made, the right hand turn was NOT where it was supposed to be, and we made our way back to Raider's. Well sure enough the next turn off we saw was obviously the bottom of the overlook spur and we had missed the turn. Was it where I said it wasn't? Maybe so, maybe not.
Raider's turns into a rutted out, swoopy, and super tech mess after the spur and we made the very best of it. Whoops and hollers rang through the woods as we were all having great fun. We decided against the steep rocky drop in and were at the parking lot and headed up the gravel with zero incidents. No crashes, No mechanicals, and No bonks. The 'no bonks' part was about to change though. We stopped at the water fountain that's just before the store and I realized my stomach had again taken a turn for the worse. I think it was the electrolyte stuff I was trying in my camelbak for the first time but I can't be sure. Anyway, Ian was again off the back for the climb and I was MORE than happy to be his carrot and ride my own slow-ass pace, that was just fast enough that I couldn't always see him when I looked behind. Aaron was starting to feel it, too and was a perfect carrot for me (but I could hardly catch him even when he was walking, uuugh). By the time Ian, Aaron, and I arrived at Sinkhole Saddle we were all starting to look like death-warmed-over with me feeling the worst. The four others took off up to Sinkhole trail and were out of sight in moments, Ian fell off the back, and Aaron and I took it easy and talked about the things that people talk about when they've just met and they're now four and a half hours into a ride. Whatever that was :)
Sinkhole was our final trail of the day and I was content to let everyone go ahead buuuutttttt.... I was the only one willing to go back and try the steep chute to log drop move a second time sooooooooo..... I nailed it (photo of after the chute/setup before the drop by Bill F.)
and stayed out front for the rest of the descent. Oh, we stopped at the sinkhole, just about everyone cleaned the BIG sinkhole chute, we all attempted and completed some serious tech moves on the goat section, and once at the Jeep and the Dirty Toaster took refreshing dips in the creek. We sat in the creek and I was reminded of a day long ago when many of the same people were sitting in a creek after a long ride in North Georgia. It's amazing how time flies. It's amazing that I still know these guys. It's amazing that we are all still healthy enough to ride 25 miles IN the mountains. Excellent ride everyone, old friends and new.
Unrelated to the ride, here's a shot I like of Sophiedog on a walk the other evening:
It's The Pony!
The route started with the gravel up to 181 then 181 to Greentown. Our route for the day: 181->Greentown->Raider's Camp->Sinkhole.
It had two weeks since I had been on my bike but it had been a whole two MONTHS for The Pony so I hung back with him. I got a little ahead towards the top but he was at the top moments after me. I had been fighting coffee-stomach for the climb so a less intense than normal pace was perfect. I was put out front for the first descent of the day and I called Ian to follow. When we got to the first rest I was surprised (considering the pace) that the fully-rigid-equipped Bill was right on our tails. A theme was already developing for the day: Bill was shredding the downhills. Another theme: Ian and I off the back for the climbs, Bill, Ian, and I out front for the descents.
We crossed the river at the bottom of Greentown then wrapped up the 'old-toll-like' climb in what felt like just minutes. The group got ahead of Ian and I again but we were hanging back and talking the entire way. The group was waiting just before the rest of the climb to Raider's. The top part of the Raider's descent went by very quickly as we all railed the berms and took the fastest lines available. We checked one spur trail to see if it was the way down to the waterfall overlook but it didn't feel right to me and I recalled the long descent down to where the trail just.. sorta... runs.... out..... that we had taken years before and the call was made, the right hand turn was NOT where it was supposed to be, and we made our way back to Raider's. Well sure enough the next turn off we saw was obviously the bottom of the overlook spur and we had missed the turn. Was it where I said it wasn't? Maybe so, maybe not.
Raider's turns into a rutted out, swoopy, and super tech mess after the spur and we made the very best of it. Whoops and hollers rang through the woods as we were all having great fun. We decided against the steep rocky drop in and were at the parking lot and headed up the gravel with zero incidents. No crashes, No mechanicals, and No bonks. The 'no bonks' part was about to change though. We stopped at the water fountain that's just before the store and I realized my stomach had again taken a turn for the worse. I think it was the electrolyte stuff I was trying in my camelbak for the first time but I can't be sure. Anyway, Ian was again off the back for the climb and I was MORE than happy to be his carrot and ride my own slow-ass pace, that was just fast enough that I couldn't always see him when I looked behind. Aaron was starting to feel it, too and was a perfect carrot for me (but I could hardly catch him even when he was walking, uuugh). By the time Ian, Aaron, and I arrived at Sinkhole Saddle we were all starting to look like death-warmed-over with me feeling the worst. The four others took off up to Sinkhole trail and were out of sight in moments, Ian fell off the back, and Aaron and I took it easy and talked about the things that people talk about when they've just met and they're now four and a half hours into a ride. Whatever that was :)
Sinkhole was our final trail of the day and I was content to let everyone go ahead buuuutttttt.... I was the only one willing to go back and try the steep chute to log drop move a second time sooooooooo..... I nailed it (photo of after the chute/setup before the drop by Bill F.)
and stayed out front for the rest of the descent. Oh, we stopped at the sinkhole, just about everyone cleaned the BIG sinkhole chute, we all attempted and completed some serious tech moves on the goat section, and once at the Jeep and the Dirty Toaster took refreshing dips in the creek. We sat in the creek and I was reminded of a day long ago when many of the same people were sitting in a creek after a long ride in North Georgia. It's amazing how time flies. It's amazing that I still know these guys. It's amazing that we are all still healthy enough to ride 25 miles IN the mountains. Excellent ride everyone, old friends and new.
Unrelated to the ride, here's a shot I like of Sophiedog on a walk the other evening:
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Like being underwater on another planet
I just walked in from yet another excellent day of riding my bike in the Pisgah National Forest. Mike B. and Jody F. rallied at my house at 7ish and we were on the bikes at North Mills River campground at 8:24 headed for 1206->Laurel Mountain->Pilot Connector->Pilot->*walk*M2C->BRP->Big Creek->Reservoir Rd->Lower Trace->Fisherman's. One of the classics.
The pace up 1206 was a bit over my head and I needed a significant cooldown/breather/snack at Yellow Gap but once the dude on the motorcycle showed up and started talking our ears off it was time to hit the singletrack. Mike and Jody's pace slowed just enough once we hit the dirt that I kept them in sight for the entire trip to the meeting log. Jody had a spectacular unscheduled dismount while attempting one of the lower tech moves but he walked away unscathed.
His bike, on the other hand, did receive a few brand new badges of courage. Have I mentioned before how much I enjoy Laurel Mountain trail? Yes? Well then let's just say today's climb was much like the others.
I was singing along with the music in one ear and laughing not only at Devenda Banhart's ridiculous lyrics but at how rediculously fun Laurel is.
There was even more wind damage up at the top from this past week's thunderstorms and the open woods is providing ample opportunity for all sorts of thorns and the like to take over the trail. It's getting pretty overgrown right now. Oh, we stopped and used Mike's superduper badass GPS and identified the gaps along the way. Meeting Log=Rich Gap. Cairns=Sassafrass. Sassafrass=Good Enough.
This was the first true Summer ride of the year and it felt like it. Highs in the low 90's with 80% humidity were what we dealt with but luckily the sun stayed hidden for most of the day. At Turkey Spring Gap I was dripping with sweat while we took another long cooldown/breather/snack and Jody commented on the scene: 'I.... I feel like I'm underwater.... or on another planet.'
Up Pilot was next and I took the lead for the first time of the day.
We pushed up and over while soaking in the views and stopped at the Pisgah Inn spigots for water refills and head soakings. Down the steps to the parkway and down to the Little Pisgah Ridge tunnel followed
and I took the lead hiking in the Big Creek trail. The access trail to Big Creek is so overgrown right now that it's hardly followable. I've never seen it like that. Every step forward put my foot out of sight. I started to think about Clay's blog and how he has been seeing snakes just about every time he goes out and I just about freaked the funk out. I would push my bike into the underbrush, listen for sudden movements of that spine tingling thickathickathicka of a rattler, then move forward. By the time we made it to where we could ride again my nerves were frazzled. I took the lead for the descent though and made the best of it. There were trees down around every third turn and the trees and underbrush were so full and lush that it made for the toughest descent of Big Creek that I can remember. As Mike noted, there was no way to anticipate what was around the next corner, it was a ride of reaction, every move a reaction to what was in front of you RIGHT NOW.
Excellent. It was also like riding Big Creek for the first time again. I kept Mike off my tail far enough that I feel great about that descent. We were fairly ahead of Jody, which is a feat in itself, but he was admittedly 'unable to get his mind on the trail'. At a pace like that it's no surprise we were off the ridge and headed down the creek in no time. I kinda lost my mojo down on the creek and let the guys get pretty far ahead of me at one point but that was just fine with me, we were still making good time. Big Creek is just about the most beautiful trail one can be on at this time of year, too.
The water felt excellent at every crossing. Next was the climb out from the reservoir, which went by very quickly once we passed the couple with the polar bear.... (actually she had a pair of St.Bernard's). We were running from thunderstorms as we hit the Trace parking lot so we didn't stop there. Lower Trace is in rough shape right now and I had to hop off the back once to avoid going over the bars. Across the river to Fisherman's then a well deserved dip in North Mills River finished the day. Well, what really finished the day was the local color at the bridge as we left (we saw The Queen Bee)... but anyway... we were back at the notminivan in great time and able to meet everyone's curfews.
Thanks for coming out guys for a great day of classic Pisgah Rangin'.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
sweatstorm
'What the hell was that?'We hopped into his notminivan and were immediately in stop and go traffic on the interstate. The decision was quickly made to change all the plans and to head over to Trace via Bent Creek and get out of the traffic right away. ...->BCGR->5000->Spencer->Trace->Wash Creek->5000->BCGR->...
Just over 15 miles, 3400' of climbing, Just under 3 hours out.
We then climbed back up past the notminivan and all the way to the parkway. When we finally got to the tunnel I saw a familiar face, none other than Eric S. of Cane Creek/Hawley/Bicycles East(?) fame waiting for Hoffencharders to arrive for their presidential fitness test. I know, that doesn't make a lot of since to most of the people that read this but, it makes complete since to a few people, and that's all I'll say about that.
Did I mention it was HOT and HUMID? No? Well it was hot and humid by Asheville standards. I was having excessive sweats and chills at the same time during the climb. The descent to Spencer was a welcome cooldown.Up 5000b to Spencer was next and Jody put the hammer down. Once we passed through the steep field (where I was able to stay on) it took everything I had to hold Jody in sight. Erinna and I had gone out the night before with Zoe to the Downtown after Five live band/party... was I feeling that? No.... why is my breath feeling soooo hot? uuuugh... It was hot.... and I was parched. I hope that was it because man, Jody just pulled away on that climb. We regrouped at the gap, regrouped at the top of the littlehellclimb, and I took the lead for the first descent. Trace Ridge is in phenomenal shape right now and we traded places, back and forth, all the way down to the parking lot. That was one of the quickest descents of Trace I've done in quite a while. While I was leading I got into a full two wheel drift! Thanks Jody! I could hear your bike's chain slappin' behind me and I knew I had to keep it pegged. I took the lead again for lower trace->wash creek and made it to 5000 feeling like I wasn't looking forward to the monster of a climb ahead. Jody hung back with me, pushing me the entire. way. just. hard. enough. that we made it back to the gap in great time. The high speed descent down BCGR to the notminivan was next and after a quick breather we decided One more climb finished the day, back up almost all the way to the parkway.
Thanks for coming out Jody!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Birthday Ride!
Today I got out for an excellent solo ride:
From Kuykendall campground->471->471D->Butter Gap->Long Branch->5095->475->5048->Red Blaze connector->Cove Creek->225->475b->276->477->Club Gap->Black Mountain->Buckhorn Gap->S.Mills->476->1206->Pilot->Laurel->1206 to North Mills River Campground where Erinna and Zoe were waiting for me.
From Kuykendall campground->471->471D->Butter Gap->Long Branch->5095->475->5048->Red Blaze connector->Cove Creek->225->475b->276->477->Club Gap->Black Mountain->Buckhorn Gap->S.Mills->476->1206->Pilot->Laurel->1206 to North Mills River Campground where Erinna and Zoe were waiting for me.
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