Eric’s Ride Log

Dennis D. and I have worked together since October 2000. Today we went riding for the first time. Over the last couple of years Dennis has lost a huge amount of weight by simply changing his diet a bit and exercising regularly. It was running that got his cardio back to where it was in his Army days (or even better) but it seems that he’s found his true exercise calling in mountainbiking. It was a smile-filled day. Wet after yesterday’s rain which was perfect because it kept me in check on the downhills…. it was, afterall, only my second ride on the Smoke. We knocked out a pretty long route at Bent Creek despite the wet conditions, my new rig, and the fact that Dennis has only been riding for a few months: Starting at Hardtimes->Gravel up to Ingles Field Connector->Ingles Field->N.Boundary->Green’s Lick->Sidehill->Hickory Top->Ingels Field->gravel->down to Hardtimes Connector->Homestead->Deerfield->Pinetree->Campground connector.
Thanks for coming out Dennis!

 Big D.(not so big anymore) at Five Points:

and climbing Sidehill. This man wouldn’t give up while climbing today. Great job Dennis!!!

one more shot…. me with the new bike at the top of Green Slick (full write-up on the bike coming soon):

Bent Creek in the rain. Air temp 46*. More later.

Last weekend was the Double Dare, the Fall race Erinna and I host. The turnout was great, 100% higher than last year. As a result I’ve been busy busy busy. I was able to get in a fun ride in on Saturday. It was the first time I’ve ever gone on a ride during a Pisgah Productions race and I had a great time.
The route w/ Sophie: starting at the Turkey Pen parking lot->singletrack->across the bridge->got water at the river->S.Mills->Mullinax->Laurel Creek to the mandatory CP. About 30 minutes after hanging out at the CP I reversed my tracks back up to the van. I got to the CP just before the first racers arrived. That was cool, to see the first three teams in. I doubt they expected the promoter to be there. Thanks to MapJack and CarlostheRed for manning the CP! On my way out I ran into three teams: Bruce and Justin and Gabe and Thad were just a few hundred yards up Laurel (Bruce made me feel great for being out there) then Dave and Alex were on Mullinax. The ride was easy and slow paced, but memorable none-the-less.

Sophie at Mullinax/Squirrel:

Plume and BRob! Woooo!

Photo by Bruce S. (note the janitor-chain holding the camera to my camelbak)

Smoke Bikes Thad

and third placers Alex and Dave:

Erinna and I got in a little while ago from a great couple of days in the woods. We parked the loaded-to-the-max Jeep at the Black Balsam parking lot then ->Ivestor Gap->Flat Laurel Creek->215->Summey Cove->Kissee Creek->140A->Farlow Gap->Daniel Ridge(clockwise)->475->140A->(HIKE)Art Loeb(HIKE)->BRP->Black Balsam Rd back o the Jeep. Then with Erinna as my spotter I drove the Jeep in Ivestor Gap trail to where the Art Loeb crosses. We camped Sunday night and Jeeped back out this morning.

The profile of the ride:

Ivestor Gap trail in the morning. We did an out-and-back to check for a place to camp/see if I was OK with driving in:

Erinna on Ivestor:

The Fall colors are at their peak right now in the high-country. Me on Flat Laurel:

Erinna at the concrete bridge on Flat Laurel:

Erinna on 215:

and enjoying a snack break at Kissee:

Jeepin’ on Ivestor:

Camp at just below 6000′. We were setup just before sundown:

Sunset:

We even found enough wood for a perfect sized fire:

Here’s a shot of camp in the AM, just before tear-down:

and finally, near Graveyard Fields on the way home. The colors were out of this world up there.:

wait! here’s the map from the GPS unit on my handlebar:

I just got in from a fast ride with Ben P., Wes M., Kris K., and Mike B. a bunch of fast guys… The route: starting at the horse stables->477->Avery->Buckhorn Gap trail->Clawhammer->Black Mountain->Club Gap->276->475B->dead end wrong road->475B->dead end correct road (wrecked by logging)->475B->225->Daniel connector->(rt on)Daniel Ridge->475->Davidson River->475->276->477.