Eric’s Ride Log

Bill F. and I got out this morning for a great ride. We met at the bridge at NMRC then carpooled up to Yellow Gap since it was raining and climbing 1206 in the rain is not a fun way to start the day.

Right at 10am we were on Laurel Mountain. The ultimate route for the day: Laurel->Pilot->NoName->Slate Rock/Pilot Cove loop clockwise->1206 back to the Jeep. The day started with Bill taking off in front of me like a bat out of hell and I didn’t see him again for 20 minutes.

 I was feeling the effects of antihistamines because of a nasty allergy attack and didn’t have the power to put in a good chase. That, and rain rain rain, were more or less the themes of the day.

Luckily Bill can have fun despite even much worse conditions and I can get along just fine in situations like those myself. We regrouped and took a break at the meeting log. The rain had soaked Laurel, there were standing puddles all the way to the first gap. That, plus all the slick rocks and roots, made for treacherous forward movement. I never really felt like I was on my ‘A Game’ today but the gaps clicked by quickly and we made it to Turkey Spring Gap in 1:20. Not bad. Next was the descent down Pilot Rock.

Bill took the lead and I had a blast following his line. He was rocking the full rigid singlespeed, BTW. I burned through the very last bit of my rear brake pads on that descent so I had to pull it in a little and Bill took off out of sight. We regrouped at NoName and then took a left at the hike-a-bike up Slate/Pilot. Forward and down the long way wrapped up the day. Our last trail of the day was great fun with highspeed straight aways, slimy roots with death to the left, small waterfalls, and stair steps that you can NOT mess up on or you’ll be on your head.

On the way up 1206 I realized Bill still had a lot more in him than I did and I suggested he ride 1206 down the three miles back to his vehicle which he gladly did.

We regrouped at NMRC, washed of in NMR, and bid adieu until the next time. Thanks for coming up from Charlotte, Bill. With the weather and me not feeling 100% I wouldn’t have made it out without your invite. Thanks.

Sometimes things just conspire against me and I cannot get out on the bike. Work, producing mountainbike races, rain, house stuff, personal stuff….. Sometimes I just need a break and *gasp* don’t really want to go riding. Well, May 2009 has been full of all that. Work at my ‘real’ job has been busy as hell, PMBAR was a few weekends ago, I’ve built raised gardens in the back yard, Erinna and I have huge news for those that care, and you know, the bike has been off the radar for the past few weeks. Anyway, I finally got out there yesterday for a solid two hours of riding at Bent Creek with Dennis just Dennis and Sophiedog. We took the gravel up from the new parkinglot->Ingles Field Connector->Ingles Field->Tony Michaels->Greenslick->Sidehill->Hickory Top->Ingles Field->?->Wolf Branch->Hartimes Connector->back to the pavement and back to the vehicles. No camera today. Erinna was off camping at Grave Yard Fields with a school friend and she had the camera.
The warm-up up the gravel has tough, the cobwebs in my legs were pretty thick. Once we hit the singletrack I was feeling great and climbed all the way to 5 points without a dab. Up Tony Michaels to Greenslick also went by very quickly. The poisen ivy is starting to encroach upon the trail but as long as you don’t bail off the side it’s fine. Greenslick was in excellent shape and felt as fast as ever. The berms near the top have finally been really broken in and you can swoop through them without touching the brakes now. I about ate it gapping through the ‘filter’ and my fork started acting funny after that. I kept two wheels on the ground through the superfast jump section near the bottom but Dennis was catching a bit of airtime behind me. Up Sidehill was next and was easier than I had anticipated. The climb back to 5 points was over quickly and on the way down Ingles Field we both almost ran into a poor girl climbing up. Oops! Just past the connector (we were headed towards Rice Pinnacle) we came across Clint S. and as we were talking with him Mike B, Kassi D, and Eli D arrived on their own ride. Social hour on the trail! After a round of ‘hello’s’ and ‘whatcha been up to’s’ we were flying down the hill again. right left right left right left and we were headed towards Hartimes with the plan to head over to Lower Sidehill for the third bad ass descent of the day. Well, Sophiedog was done an group rides are veto situations, not true democracys so, back to the car it was. Thanks for getting out there with me Dennis! I wouldn’t have gone that hard (or maybe at all) without company.

I got out today with a great group of guys and one gal for a Tour de Turkey Pen. Rich wanted to learn his way around that area so I came up with a big ‘ole loop that hit just about every important intersection (plus a couple unimportant ones): Vineyard Gap->wrong way->66 jumps->Vineyard Gap->Riverside->Bradley->Squirrel->Cantrell->S.Mills->Mullinax->Laurel Creek->Bradley->66 jumps. The rollcall for the group went like this: Blair, Rob C, Tim K, Sam, Leanne, John, Bill F, Rich D, Dennis just Dennis, and myself. 22 miles, 3800′ of climbing.

The GPS malfunctioned between Laurel Gap and Cantrell Creek…. and the battery in my camera died…. Oh well…. I did get a couple of photos….

The ride started with notVineyard to 66 jumps to Vineyard. My bad…. Anyway, here’s a shot of Bill and the train of riders on the hike-a-bike up Vineyard the second time:

Vineyard was a blast. It’s been several years since I’ve been back there and I had forgotten about all the rollercoaster hills inbetween the big up and the big down that I did remember. The big down was longer than I remembered, too. There were logs across the trail at the most inopportune places, perfect for pulling sideways around the turn bunny hops…. which were probably the cause of the pinch flat I got just before the bottom. Rob C was just seconds behind.

Next was Riverside, another trail that I hadn’t been on in ages. The crossings were deep and there were many of them. I thought for sure someone was going to take the dunk today (it didn’t happen).

Riverside wanders back and forth across the river but doesn’t really gain or loose any real elevation. Left onto Bradley Creek right where it DOES start to climb then Right onto Squirrel to Pea Gap. That climb went by much quicker than I expected… but I was chasing Rich and Bill…. so…. I guess I should have expected it to go by fast. Our group of ten crossed paths with a group of three twice today. Here’s Bill at our first meeting with them:

about ten minutes after this photo I was again chasing Rich and Bill, this time up Squirrel towards Cantrell. We came across the other group and the girl in orange had dislocated her finger but the chivalrous man along with them put it back in place for her. We ran into them near the end of the day and she was still in high spirits. Sweet. The climb to the gap was fast fast fast and after a quick breather and a bite to eat we were back on the bikes and made fast work of the section to Cantrell. I was feeling on FIRE and made it to Cantrell about a minute before Rich:

Then my camera died…. and I’m hungry…. so I’ll finish this up later.

photos by Rob C.:
My first real attempt at crossing the log bridge on Cantrell.:

and Leanne:

Today I got out for an extremely challenging Pisgah ride. Mike B., Kris K., and I left Asheville around 9AM and arrived at Black Mountain trailhead (the PMBAR start/finish) and were on the bikes quickly with a huge day of riding ahead of us. Along the way Kris had a locust stick sling up into his rear wheel, taking out 1/2 of the spokes. His day was done long before Mike and I. My crackberry worked way out there on S. Mills River trail and we arranged for a ride out of the woods for him. Anyway, Mike and I rode: Black Mountain->Buckhorn Gap->S.Mills->Squirrel->Cantrell->S. Mills->Bradley Creek->1206->Slate Rock/Pilot Cove->lower Pilot connector->lower Pilot->1206->276->Discovery Center->477->276 back to the Mike’s vehicle.

42.5miles 5725′ climbing

Erinna, Dennis D., Sophiedog, and I got out on this beautiful Spring day and knocked out Heartbreaker via Rattlesnake->Old Toll.

Rattlesnake:

Old Toll:

The view of Heartbreak Ridge from Old Toll

Pinnacle:

More Old Toll (not a) Road

Our Waltworks bikes

Glider Bench @ the hunter’s trailers detail:

Dennis on upper Heartbreaker:

The Graphite Burn:

Dead pines, victims of the burn.

Tell it Preacher! Tell it!

The trail from Mill Creek Road

Dennis and Erinna on Mill Creek Road:

Well, first and foremost I have to compliment Dennis D. on his ever improving riding skills.

He’s only been at this whole mountain biking thing for what? 6 months? and today we knocked out an advanced Pisgah ride: S.Mills->Mullinax->Squirrel->S.Mills->Buckhorn Gap->Black Mountain->Turkey Pen Gap in just over 5 hours.

20.5 miles, 4050′ climbing

That’s not slouchin’ one bit. We (including Sophiedog) arrived at Turkey Pen parking lot a little after 9AM with plans to do Laurel->Squirrel. I wasn’t feelin’ getting my feet wet once we got there though so I suggested another route altogether. The climb up Mullinax was as hard as ever and we took our first breather at Pea Gap. Squirrel was next and we kept a pretty good pace along the whole way.

We found the latest SORBA trail work (GREAT JOB GUYS) and crossed paths with Ben P. and Matt R.

After a round of hellos and introductions we were on our way again heading towards Horse Cove.

The trail gets insanely tech through there. Anyway, soon after Horse we ran into another group of riders, this time Patrick ?, Eric B., and Nick ?. Nick was having a rough moment, his crankarm was detached from his machine….. On to S.Mills was next and we got there in great time. I filled my camlebak from the river and we continued up S.Mills to Buckhorn Gap trail.

That climb went by quickly, I was feeling great, and we stopped again once we hit Black Mountain trail at Clawhammer road.

The hike a bike up Black got me though, I was feeling fatigue setting in pretty quickly. We took another quick rest at the overlook

and pressed on to Turkey Pen Gap trail. Up the unbelievably steep switchbacks, over Clawhammer and Black Mountains, then we stopped again and ate just about all the food left between us. 

Dennis had a 4:30 date so we had to keep moving to get back to the Jeep by 3:00. I was hauling ass down Turkey Pen, hopped a pretty big log, overshot a corner, hit the underbrush, and was tossed head first into a tangle of limbs and downed logs. Whew! no damage to me or my bike. I did, however, almost cramp trying to get the bike off of me. That made the last few climbs of the day even harder than they should have been but right as we hit the last SUPER steep climb we ran into another group, this time Mert D. and Tim ?. Tim was miserable but thankful to know the ride was almost done. We had been following these two all day, we just didn’t know it. A couple more quick downhills later

and we were back at the parking lot. 5:15 total ride time. Not bad. Not bad at all….

Title quote from Dennis D.
Dennis D, Sophiedog, and I got out yesterday for an excellent ride: starting at the Fish Hatchery->Cat->Butter->Long Branch->475->140A->5003->Farlow Gap->Daniel Ridge->Davidson River trail->475

21.2 miles with 4120′ climbing….. Dennis’ longest mountain bike ride to date.

Wow! What a perfect weekend of riding. Long Branch->Butter with Wode yesterday and Mike B., Kassi D., Maximum Capacity the dog, and I went on an excellent ride today. From the horse stables->
477->Avery->Buckhorn->Clawhammer->Black->Buckwheat->Bennett.

Here’s Mike at the first breather, checking out the base of a 150′ Hemlock growing out of a huge rock:

and climbing out of a creek…. that he fell 3+ feet into….. off the bridge to the left…. in spectacular fashion….

We had a great time today. The ride was super-chill since Mike was heading on, after Kassi and I finished, for another 3 or 4 hours of riding. Once we got to Clawhammer we checked out a field where I was told here is an old settlers graveyard. We didn’t find it….

Here’s a shot of Mr. and Mrs. B. heading back to the bikes:

Again today the weather was beautiful. Warmer than yesterday by 10*, bright blue skies, a slight breeze…. spring has sprung….

thanks for the photos Kassi!!!
Oh, but the gnats were out in FULL-FORCE. It was the first ride of the year that we had to employ the ‘pisgah salute’, one hand over your head whenever stopped. The gnats go to the highest point… to your hand and out of your face.

I should have shot made an image of the salute.

Anyway, I felt great all day. The singlespeed wasn’t as intimidating as yesterday.

The climbs were fast and, as is expected when riding with Mike B., the descents were right on the edge of not safe and downright dangerous.

I just got in from a great ride with Wode. We met up at Mr. Pete’s at 1:30 and were on the bikes sometime after 2pm at the Fish Hatchery. Our route for the day: Cat->Butter->Long Branch->475->471->471D->Butter->Cat back to the Jeep.
The weather was beautiful, on this, the first day of Spring. Temps in the high 50’s, bright blue sunny skies, with next to zero humidity or wind.
This was my first ride on the Single Speed in months and months. I started out rather intimidated by the fact that I hadn’t been SS’n in months but the first climb went by quickly and I was amazed by the speed I was carrying up the hill.

Here’s a shot of Wode right after he endo’d into a creek crossing 68 seconds into the ride:

and the bikes at rest at Butter/Long Branch:

We passed a huge camp in Piklesimer Fields and continued straight up Long Branch, past the gravel, and up to 475. Next was the climb to Gloucester Gap and up Cathy’s Creek Road. I really let loose on the gravel descent to 471D, trying my best to not use my brakes at all. Left turn then up to Butter Gap. That climb gets the heartrate back up quickly but shouldn’t have hurt as bad as it did. We stopped for an extended breather at the Gap then took off like bats outa hell down butter. I had a great run of the first drop. Wode actually asked if I had a rocket strapped under my ass! There were a ton of folks out on Butter enjoying the beautiful day.

Yeah! Spring is here! There were soooo many signs of such. A little plantlife springing from the fall leaves:

We passed multiple groups of hikers and a few bikes on our way down Butter. Next was the right to close the loop and the descent to the parking lot. I had a great time launching everything I could find (while keeping an eye out for pedestrians) and tried to coax Wode into riding the rock drop at the end, but he wasn’t feeling it. We helped a boyscout troop leader with his map (the scounts came tromping down from exactly where he had hoped to see them coming from) and then we were back at the Jeep in a little over two hours. Thanks for coming up from the Upstate Wode!

I just got in from a memorable ride for sure. Ian B., Mike B., Wes M., and Cory W. rallied at my house at 9:30AM new time and we met up with Matt F. and ? at Mr. Pete’s at 10. The plan for the day was to start at Black Mountain trailhead->276->475->Davidson River->475->??? gravel->Long Branch->475->5003->140A->Farlow->Daniel->225->475B->276->477->Club->Black all the way back to the car. Well, things got a little turned around before all that transpired. The five miles of pavement went by quickly to start. We were at the gravel headed to Long Branch when we took our first break and I realized his was the perfect group to be out with. The mood was light, no-one was unhappy with taking a nice long breather this early in. We turned on LB and took anouther breather at 475. Up upupupupup 5003 was next and Matt, Cory, and I took the last few spots in line and were greatly enjoying the day. I have to admit I was suffering a little but I wasn’t the last in line so I felt OK about my performance. Right onto 140A and the real climbing began. The group checked up a few times and we took a breather about every 45 minutes. Then, as I was crossing a tributary type creek, I wheely dropped into the bottom and my bike made a sound like my fork bottomed out…. I immediately knew it wasn’t good…. it was the broken spirit of the Smoke bike being released:

After about 20 minutes of walking I reached the waiting crew and after a few rounds of ‘aw man, that sucks’ I had splinted the break with a pump, a bunch of zip ties, and about a yard of duct tape.

We then made plans. They went that way, I went the other way. if they got there first they’d come get me. If I got there first I’d put a stick under the wiper and continue to the bike transport vehicle. When I got to the bike transport vehicle the human transport vehicle got there at the same exact moment. Couldn’t have aasked for a better end to the problem.

Oh, I’ve realized when the break happened. It wasn’t today. Yesterday when Erinna and I were riding I was flying down Butter/Cat. I hopped a couple of the water bar gaps with great success…. and I cased the last one H A R D. the bike/fork made the same noise I heard today during the creek crossing. A bottom out/cry for mercy/frame breaking noise…. I’m sooooooo thankful I didn’y get hurt……