Eric's Ride Log

Jan 27th with Mike Brown

276->475->5003->CFR->Kissee Creek->140A->Farlow Gap->Daniel Ridge->475->276

33 miles 6589' climbing

Click on the map or topo for a larger version.

Mike Brown and I went on a fun ride yesterday. We had every intention to pull out all the stops and ride a 45+ mile loop but alas, it did not work out that way. Between me going through the weirdest bonk in a while and Mike having mechanical issues, our pace was too slow to add in the extra 12-15 grueling miles AND make it home by the time we told our ladies we would.

We started at the Black Mountain trailhead and jumped onto the pavement to the Fish Hatchery. The air was cold but not freezing and by the time we took the turn onto 475 I had broken a sweat. We decided there to ride our loop clockwise so next was the climb up to Gloucester Gap. We made quick work of that climb and we took our first rest at 5003. I was working hard to keep Mike's wheel on the climb up 475 so I let him l lead out on 5003. Again, we were working hard but the views were so incredible I slowed and let Mike climb away a couple times, just so I could enjoy the sights. One view in particular sticks out in my mind, there was no way to capture the scene with my camera, the panorama went 270 degrees around with Looking Glass Rock taking up the center of the view. Outstanding! We continued past the intersection of 140A and decended to Couthouse Falls Road. I took the lead for the first ttime of the day and HAULED ASS down to CFR. I nearly ran headlong into the mounds at the bottom but was able to bring my bike to a stop right as my front wheel broke through the ice of the puddle before the first mound. We climbed CFR and I realized my legs were starting to feel weak. Next was the turn onto Kissee Creek Road. Kissee is fun, the climb isn't too intense and we found a very very cool spot. We found what has to be the largest boulder in the forest. This thing didn't come out of the earth where it sits, it fell from far above. The thing is, it must be 50 feet tall. There are two nice little camps there, too. Nice, very nice, I'll need to keep that place in mind for the next time Erinna and I go bike-camping.

Here's Mike at the base of the really, really big rock:

We spent a little while there before continuing up Kissee. Next was the intersection at the other end of 140A where we hung a left and went on up to Farlow Gap. Once we were on 140A my legs were not cooperating in the least. My head was i n the game, my legs didn't feel like they were ready to cramp, I just felt like I had ZERO power output. I would get on the bike and pedal pedal pedal but as soon as the trail got tech, I would get bounced off line and couldn't recover. I ended up walking... most of 140A up to Farlow.

If you've never been on Farlow Gap trail then there is no real use in trying to describe the conditions. There are many rocky, rooty, and super steep trails in Pisgah but Farlow takes the cake. It's the rockiest, rootiest, steepest trail (that actually has a trail sign and is approved by the USFS) in all of Pisgah. Mike was riding the perfect bike for the conditions, a 6inch travel front  and rear suspension rig and  he used everything his machine had to offer. Mike's downhilling skills have improved expodentially in the last year or so. Mike cleaned some of the hardest moves on Farlow and I was lucky enough to witness them. Mike was on fire! He cleaned the first rock garden, the pseudo-skateboard drop, the steps, the steeps, the switchbacks, just about everything!  Farlow has a good little climb in the middle and that's when I realized I didn't want to try the second half of our route. I was hungry, tired, and without power output.

Here's Mike crossing one of the creeks after the super steeps on Farlow:

 At about the same time we were dealing with Mike's front brake, it seemed to have too much hydrolic fluid in it and was pumping up and causing the wheel to hardly roll. We got it working again before Daniel Ridge and continued our high speed descent. Mike pulled away in the tech, 12 inch wide benchcut, death to the right section and was waiting for me at the bridge ruins with a look like he had just seen a ghost. He told me he forgot exactly where he was, boosted off a root-pile, and had to force his bike through the rocks and turns that were ahead. Sweet move Mike! Next was the bottom of Daniel, through the gravel, across the bridge that was destroyed by the hurricanes of 04, and back to 475. We got out to 276 and kept a very heavy pace back to the car, well, it was heavy for me as I spun spun spun my SS while chasing Mike in his big-ring.   We made it back to the Jeep in just over 5 hours. Not a super fast pace, but not too slow either.