Saturday morning I drove to North Carolina to ride with a couple other Bike Forums members. Here’s the ride report I posted on the site (plus photos below):
The Southeast region Bike Forums ride began bright and early at 10 a.m. Saturday from the Pisgah Inn (near Asheville, NC). Well, it was supposed to begin then, but I arrived promptly at 10:40 a.m. Thankfully, BikeWNC and rm -rf were gracious enough to wait for me.
I went to the bathroom to change. It was a crisp, cold May morning at 5,000 feet–temperatures were in the 40s. So I reverted to winter wear: arm warmers, knee warmers, and full-finger gloves.
A few minutes making final preparations, and then we were off on the ride–a group of three riders spanning the cycling spectrum: BikeWNC, a local mountain goat; rm -rf, a flatlander from Northern Kentucky; and me, a nondescript rider from the hills of Tennessee.
After a few minutes coasting downhill on the Blue Ridge Parkway, we headed down the mountain on NC 276.
“The road is kind of rough at the top, but it gets better” BikeWNC warned. “Whatever you do, don’t cross the yellow line.” That’s always good advice.
The first three miles were a steep, curvy descent through the woods. I looked for the best line through the road bumps and tried to keep up.
Gradually, the slope eased up as we entered habited territory. Two large dogs welcomed us to civilization. BikeWNC and rm -rf responded to the barking with “howls” of their own; having met their match, the canines backed off.
The next ten miles were smooth sailing as we gradually lost elevation. We hit smoother pavement and BikeWNC and rm -rf took off, cruising at 20+ mph despite the headwind. I dialed up my wattage to keep pace. We rode through a mixed area–a nice golf course, some nice houses, some not-so-nice houses, and a healthy serving of junkyards.
We stopped at a gas station for a break. The temperature had warmed up several degrees, so we started shedding clothes. I stripped off my gloves and knee warmers.
Shortly after resuming the ride, we bid adieu to the high-speed traffic on NC 215 and turned onto the much quieter Lake Logan Road. We reached the low elevation point and slowly began climbing–first in a stretch of open countryside, then in the woods. BikeWNC told about his bid to become an Olympic kayaker.
To my surprise, we happened upon a body of water: Lake Logan. We stopped for pictures. BikeWNC told of the recreational center there.
Around mile 28 the climbing picked up. It held constant at 4-5% for a while. The road parallels a stream, though it we didn’t see it much due to the trees.
We barely encountered any traffic climbing Lake Logan Road. It was very quiet in the woods–with one notable exception. When we were about a third of the way up a high-ride pickup truck, complete with kids in the back, came roaring up the road. About 30 seconds later, it turned around and came roaring back for an encore performance. I wondered if this might turn into a developing situation, but fortunately that was the extent of the day’s redneck event.
We stopped were the road crosses the stream. It’s a very pretty spot: on the uphill side, the water cascades over a steep rock formation. On the other side, there’s a natural pool about 30 feet below. I declined the opportunity to go skinny dipping in 40 degree water. However, I did fill my water bottles with the cold water, courtesy of the nearby spring.
After the spring, we hit the first of two tougher climbing grades: a 7-8% mile-long stretch. Despite never previously having done that much climbing, rm -rf was undaunted by the mountains. He settled within his heart range and motored away. Although the elevation bothered him a bit, he never needed to stop and rest for long.
As we neared the top, the view opened up. At 5,000 feet, the leaves on the trees were still coming out. I was struck by the number of mountain balds in the area. We stopped to take pictures of a waterfall on the mountain side.
After a second short pitch we reached the Blue Ridge Parkway. We took a break at the overlook, enjoying the view. Visibility was over 50 miles. Before the ride, both rm -rf and BikeWNC had hidden provisions near the overlook. rm -rf discovered that a critter (or something) had taken his food, leaving only the water. Fortunately, wilderness-savvy BikeWNC had plenty of extra food in his non-bearproof container. We dined on fig newtons, bananas, and chocolate.
The views from the parkway were spectacular. We stopped at several more overlooks and BikeWNC pointed out highlights. Then we hit a multi-mile downhill run. I did my best to keep up. rm -rf noted that it was the longest downhill stretch he had ever done. He appeared to enjoy it.
We passed through a few tunnels. rm -rf was the only one equipped with a blinky light. Luckily, only one car approached us while we were in the darkness, and its driver saw us. So no one got run over. While we were in the second tunnel I observed that it was the longest tunnel I had ever ridden in. Fifteen seconds later, I commemorated the event by accidentally running off the road (no damage done).
The last few miles of the ride featured several short up and down stretches. Traffic was a bit heavier than before, but still not bad for a beautiful weekend day.
We got back to the inn after 4 p.m.
Ride length: 51.5 miles
Riding time: 3:41
After changing, we met again inside. The restaurant wasn’t serving, so BikeWNC and rm -rf got take-out meals. We sat on rocking chairs on the back porch talking cycling and enjoying the mountain panorama. A good time was had by all.