Southeast - my NC trip report

Dec 25

Flew out of SoCal headed to NC, with Vivian (my bike) in one piece of checked luggage, clothes and bike stuff in another piece, and a laptop and camera. After a short layover in Las Vegas, slept on an all too short flight into Charlotte.

Dec 26

Drove out to the western NC mountains, to where BikeWNC (BWNC) lived. BWNC graciously offered to host me and plan my trip out to the mountains. We put my bike back together, then he showed me around the area a bit. Unfortunately, wolfpack (WP) was held up a bit, so we went for a short ride before she showed up.

We took a nice quiet back road toward the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP). At first, I simply followed BWNC around since he knew the way, but it quickly became apparent to me that either I was really out of shape or we were going a lot harder than I thought. BWNC told me he was doing 240 watts at the time, and thus I concluded that we were going a lot harder than I thought. So I backed off a bit, but nonetheless I did my best to try to keep up so that BWNC wouldn't have to wait up too much. Lots of dogs came out to greet us. BWNC said it's the most dogs he ever sees when he's out riding, and that usually this only happened when he wore red. Must be Vivian's red paint that caused this.

After some initial false flats and rollers generally heading upward in elevation, we settled into a nice steady climb. Eventually, we came up on what BWNC said would be a short but steep section, the percentage grade getting into the mid-teens. Knowing that I couldn't keep up with BWNC, I let him go and slowly climbed that section at a comfortable pace. The road leveled off a bit and became more a mix of rollers than steady climbing, but generally heading upward. We reached the BRP and took some pictures, at which point BWNC said we could proceed for a few miles of steady climbing or turn around.

Well, in trying to keep pace with BWNC after the steep section, I had developed some mild cramping. By the time we were at the BRP, I had worked through the cramps, but I decided that since I'd still have quite a bit of riding out there, I wouldn't push my luck with more miles of sustained climbing. But since the way back to the car was mostly downhill, with just a few rollers, I would go ahead and hammer up some of those rollers just to get my out of the saddle climbing in a bit better shape for the upcoming days. On the descents, we had to be careful to not run into the dogs that came out to play. I think BWNC's heartrate probably temporarily spiked when one dog got right in his path.

Shortly after getting back, WP showed up, so we had a veritable Foo party on our hands. We were enjoying ourselves just looking out at the scenery and making plans for what promised to be a gorgeous day the next day. That night, BWNC made a nice pasta dinner for us, then we watched some football (some crazy high scoring game... I don't think any of us stayed up long enough to watch its conclusion since both teams just kept scoring) before heading off to get a good night's sleep in anticipation of riding the BRP the next day.

BWNC's photos: linky (http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=5871777&postcount=559)

Dec 27

After some breakfast, it was off to the BRP. What a gorgeous road! It was closed to cars, so it was just the three of us (BWNC, WP, and me) climbing along a steady grade with lots of trees along either side of us. This place must be gorgeous in the summer and fall. Every once in a while, we'd come across an overlook point and admire the surrounding scenery. Besides, it gave BWNC something to look at while waiting for WP and me to catch up to him. It was a bit chilly in the shadows, but a really nice day when out in the sun. The sides of the roads had a tiny bit of snow, and the damp roads were a bit icy in spots, so we were careful, but on the way up, this really didn't cause much concern.

After passing through a tunnel, we rounded a bend and suddenly, the wind started howling. Not anything unmanagable, but it certainly made progress a bit tougher. We plodded along to the next overlook, at which point BWNC returned a call from CycleMagic (CM). I got a chance to talk to CM a bit, but unfortunately, it was hard to tell what she was saying, and according to CM, it sounded like I was in a tornado. So that conversation didn't last for long. We continued onward to a few more scenic overlooks, sometimes out in the wind, sometimes with the trees sheltering us from the wind. It was a bit chilly when it was windy and we were in the shade, but the scenic vistas were worth it. About an hour after the start of the climb, though, at a bit over 5000 feet above sea level, we decided it probably was best to turn around seeing as it wasn't going to get any warmer or less windy if we kept going. It was a gorgeous day, but nonetheless, it was late December, and mountains get cold in the winter. So we turned around to head back to the cars, get some lunch, and then go riding a bit more in the valley.

I had heard that WP is a fast descender, but I didn't realize how fast she is until the descent back to the car. I cautiously led the way through some damp and potentially icy patches, including one section of wet leaves (and possibly some ice). But when the roads were dry, I went ahead and let myself pedal a nice high cadence to get down the mountain relatively quickly in order to keep warm. (I figured the pedaling effort was going toward fighting wind resistance, but not all that resistance was due to my body, so the harder I pedaled, the warmer I'd stay.) WP was always right behind me, and she even hit a top speed that was about 5 MPH faster than my top speed on the way down. It was actually pretty warm once back at the cars. We grabbed a quick lunch, and then it was off to a pleasant modestly hilly "flat" loop in the valley.

Modest length short hills made up much of the afternoon ride loop. It was a gorgeous day, especially considering that it was late December, and the surrounding hills were really pretty when the partly cloudy sky resulted in different hills being lit up differently. Riding in a modestly populated area, we saw some sheep and cows, and we also came across some more dogs out to greet us. It must be the red bike. BWNC told me he normally doesn't see so many cars, but to me, it was great to be on such quiet roads. And the pavement out there is oh so smooth. Some parts were rougher, but even those parts were generally decent by my standards. I really enjoyed this loop, with its varied terrain and varied scenery. It would have been nice to have been able to ride more of the BRP (gotta go back some other time, I guess) but this was an acceptable substitute. Besides, we had to save our legs for an upcoming ride still.

That night, we had some pizza for dinner. While waiting for a table, we had a chance to check out some of the shops in the downtown area. BWNC, WP, and I each ate a side salad, then the three of us proceeded to devour two medium pizzas. We got back to BWNC's place, watched a turnover-laden college football game, and talking on the phone with Sixty Fiver. We then went to sleep knowing that the forecast for the next day called for rain of varying intensity and that there was a good chance our ride plans would have to be scrapped. On the bright side, the following day promised to be an equally beautiful day.

I didn't manage to shove a camera into my jersey pockets along with all my cold weather clothing, but fortunately, BWNC and WP did. WP also had the presence of mind to get a shot of all the bikes together.

BWNC's pics: linky (http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=5876945&postcount=565)
WP's pics: linky (http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=5877207&postcount=567)

Dec 28

Though we held out hope that we might catch a break in the weather and get a short ride in, we ended up not riding on this day. BWNC showed us his wife's polished titanium Litespeed. Boy that thing is shiny! roadrider (RR) joined us for lunch, but the weather really wasn't conducive to enjoyable riding. BWNC, WP, and I amused ourselves by watching High School Musical 2, then all of us went to dinner at a nice restaurant downtown. Right across from the pizza place, actually. Since merider1 had told me that I had to try grits, I had shrimp and grits for dinner. With some okra. I enjoyed the meal a lot, and there was a bunch of great company present. (There were, besides the four of us, BWNC's spouse and two of her coworkers at the table.) Then we made plans for the next day which called for an extremely hilly route. So it was off to bed a bit earlier, aiming to get a really good night's sleep before my last day's riding in the mountains.

Dec 29

We (BWNC, WP, RR, and I) started a bit earlier since the day's climbing would be long and challenging. The others have posted their accounts, so I will focus on my experience on this ride. The first climb unfolded exactly as BWNC said it would. We rolled along in the valley until the valley walls closed in on us, and suddenly, there was a steep grade in front of us. And as we peered around the bend, it got steeper. Then a right hand switchback, and the really steep parts began in earnest. They weren't kidding when people warned me that though the eastern mountains aren't as steep, the roads are every bit as steep. The climbing was pretty unrelenting for the first three miles. It promised to be a pretty long day, so we each settled into our own comfortable climbing rhythm and worked our way up the mountain. BWNC asked me whether the bottom of this climb was comparable to the climb to the Mt Baldy ski lift in SoCal, and I assured him that there were many similarities between the two. Generally steep grades, with the only way to rest being the slightly "shallower" high single digit grade sections or getting off the bike. As we rode our way up the mountain, two dogs evidently decided to join WP for a while on her climb up the mountain. After those first three miles, the grade slackened a bit, but nonetheless, there were occasional stretches of really steep climbing.

Once at the top, we enjoyed a short descent into a rolling valley between peaks, where I had a chance to see what Christmas tree farms look like. A moderately long hill up to the next peak led to an informal regroup point, where we came across some bear hunters. By this point, the weather was shaping up to be really beautiful. Knowing that we may have bit off a bit more than we cared to swallow that day, and that we were likely to be cutting the route down a bit, I decided to ride hard downhill, being careful around blind corners but pedaling pretty hard on straighter sections. After an initial section of switchbacks, a long straight section saw me coasting at 47 MPH, so I tucked into an aerodynamic position and saw a bit over 50 MPH before backing off for the upcoming corner. It was a really fast and enjoyable descent, and WP was right with me the entire way. We then rode to a gas station, during which time I pulled us along at a decent clip, but that effort was actually less than the effort I put in trying to stay ahead of WP on the straight fast sections of the descent.

After an enjoyable break, it was back on the bike and toward some nice rolling terrain through the countryside before a final big climb separated us from the cars. The rolling terrain was a nice break from the climbing and a chance to socialize a bit more readily. All too soon, though, we were once again facing a steep stretch of road. This climb was a bit more gentle, alternating between pretty steep sections and relatively gentle climbing between the steep sections. Nonetheless, the difficulty of the climb is far greater than the average grade and length would suggest since the steep sections really took a lot out of us. (Well, maybe not BWNC. He seemed to have no trouble at all.) A dog joined BWNC and me for part of the way, jogging alongside us and occasionally slipping back a bit and drafting behind BWNC. With this being my final big climb of this trip, I used the steep sections as a chance to practice my out of the saddle climbing (resting up in between on the shallower sections) until finally, near the top, I really had used up my allotment of sustained out of the saddle climbing ability for the day and mostly spun my way up the final short steep sections. On the way down to the cars, three of us exceeded 50 MPH on one stretch. It didn't look that steep, but I guess it was steeper than I realized. It definitely was a fast and fun descent. There were some nearly flat sections and also one short incline along the way, but my speed never dropped below 22 MPH the entire way down.

This was a great ride, and we couldn't have asked for better weather. I honestly believe it's the hardest 40 mile ride I've ever done. There's lots of climbing, but the elevation totals don't convey how much those steep sections really make the ride a lot harder than the statistics would suggest. And the scenery was pretty nice, too. Kudos to WP and RR for making it through what was one of the harder rides they had ever ridden. They did a great job.

I again didn't have room for a camera, but happily, the others brought along their cameras. They also are much better photographers.

Pics and ride reports 1: linky (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=5888673#post5888673) (see posts 82-86)
Pics and ride reports 2: linky (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=5888840#post5888840) (see posts 573, 574, 576)

We said goodbye to RR, and then I ate a late lunch at BWNC's place. Linguine and clam sauce. Yum. After showering off and packing my stuff, it was time to head to Charlotte to meet another group of BikeForums members.

I started feeling really hungry half an hour into my trip to Charlotte (CLT). Since there promised to be a fun meal with VV, polara426sh (P), and Eboo (E), I decided to not stop for anything, but instead, to just keep going so that I could get there promptly. In the meantime, WP had warned the Charlotte folks that I likely would show up hungry, and they evidently decided to make sure I ate really well while in CLT. Once at VV's place, where I would stay while in CLT, we hurried off to the dinner P and E had invited us to without even unpacking any of my stuff first.

P and E look adorable together. And they make a really tasty lime chicken fajita together. Eboo's salsa and cream cheese was a great appetizer, too. While the fajitas were being prepared, VV gave blonduathlongrl (BDG) a call and we all talked with BDG for a while. BDG told me that my voice was a lot lower pitched than she imagined. Oddly, VV had told me the same thing an hour earlier. Everybody seemed pretty hungry, so the food beckoned, and what looked like a lot of food and drink quickly became very little food. Then we played with a pirate ship pinata that VV had brought for the occasion. Arrrrr... we be pirates tonight! We took turns wearing a pirate mask and whacking the pinata, but it's all fun and games until the pinata won't break. We tried using a hammer. Then using a hammer against it with it lying on top of a hard surface. Then some other implements, but we decided the hammer was most effective. Several hard whacks with the hammer later, we finally managed to get at the party favors within.

E's pics and report from the night: linky (http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=5910555&postcount=1)
VV's take: linky (http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=5910742&postcount=10)

Dec 30

It rained off and on the entire day, so VV entertained me the entire day off the bike. We talked a bunch. We explored alternative means of providing computer inputs, where I learned, among other things, how to play pong using a device that read some brain waves. I became okay at managing single-axis control of a mouse (as in playing pong) and was starting to get a grip on dual-axis control (as in trying to move a cursor to a particular spot on a screen). There's 11 independent axes on the controls, and oddly, one can quickly learn to activate and deactivate most of them in an on/off fashion even without having any clue what those axes are measuring. But controlling them independently and holding them at prescribed values (rather than just switching between extreme high and extreme low) was a lot harder. For mouse control, extreme high was velocity in one direction and extreme low was velocity in the other direction, so to get a cursor to slow down anywhere not on the edge of the screen, one had to hold two axes near middle values. It was an enlightening exercise, showing me what the mind can be trained to do. With so many independent axes, it may well be the ultimate means of controlling a device if one learned to control all those axes.

Well, my Jedi training worked up quite an appetite, so lunch beckoned. After lunch, we wandered by car around downtown Charlotte a bit, then visited a cool bike shop, Inside-Out Sports. We drooled over some fine Cervelo, Felt, and Scott TT bikes and a small assortment of Cervelo road bikes. Unfortunately, they were in the middle of clearing 2007 inventory and still waiting for their stock of 2008 bikes, so there wasn't as much variety to drool over as usual. We then went over to South Carolina for a bit, dropped by a lakeshore there, and then went back to touring downtown CLT. Then it was back to VV's place to snack a bit. Then we had dinner, where VV and I both ended up feeling very stuffed. By the time VV ordered dessert, I had learned that VV will eat more than me all the time. (Where does she put all that food?) After dinner, we talked some more and played show and tell with digital photographs until at 1 AM, VV suggested we eat some ice cream. Seven scoops later, I declined more ice cream. And at 3 AM, we decided we had better get to bed since there was a group ride planned for the next day.

"Well, then along came Jones, tall thin Jones, slow-walkin' Jones, slow-talkin' Jones, along came long, lean, lanky Jones...."

Hey, baybuh. Then what happened? <waitin' with baited Vega breath>

Heh. Don't take me seriously, Jason. I'm a-waitin'. Jes' havin' some fun. :D

Dec 31

It was a beautiful day, and time for another ride. The plan was for a nice social ride to wind down 2007, and to make the occasion a bit more memorable, it would also be E's maiden voyage on her roadie. As we prepared for the ride, it was shocking how VV looked exactly as she did in the first picture I remember seeing of her. That was on Mar 30, 2007, over nine months ago, but the precise likeness was nonetheless quite evident. Anyway, P and E soon joined us, and it was time to go riding.

The weather was gorgeous. I probably could have just worn summer cycling gear, though I opted to go ahead and wear leg warmers. E got a quick crash course in gearing and pacing, and after that, she did great. She's a natural on a roadie, and as the ride progressed, we kept raising the pace a bit for her. I alternated between some social riding and some hard efforts, enjoying the wonderful company and the perfect afternoon weather. When VV and I got back to her place, she suggested we spin out our legs riding through the UNCC campus. Sounded good to me, so off we went on some leisurely riding. VV showed me around the campus, and we just rode a nice easy pace.

E's ride report and pics: linky (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=5910557#post5910557) (posts 2-3)

Once back, it was time to pack up Vivian. That night, E prepared a delicious pulled pork EbooCue for us. There was an absurd abundance of food, but we ate a surprisingly large amount of it. And drank some carbs to go with all that protein. E sure can cook, and though I was starting to have trouble fitting into my pants, I ate a huge amount because it tasted so good. We were all feeling a bit tired, probably because of the huge amount of food we consumed, so we decided a short nap was in order. Evidently, I snore in a pleasant, melodic manner. So VV told me. After a 45 minute nap, we hung out counting down the new year, and we rang in the new year with some Veuve Clicquot Brut champagne that VV provided.

VV's take on the evening: linky (http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=5910934&postcount=14) (spills over into Jan 1)

attached pics
E trying out her new roadie
VV warming up
VV cresting an incline
E and P cresting E's first incline on a roadie
E, P, and VV in a group photo
P and E cruising side by side
Vivian packed away
EbooCue and liquid carbs
E and P at the table
P and VV at the table

Jan 1

VV and I got back to her house at about 1:30. As mutually agreed earlier, it was time for VV to teach me to ride rollers. I was a bit concerned about the remote possibility of damaging my carbon frame, so VV offered her Scott. That wasn't any better in that regard, so she offered her older steel bike. We set it up with my pedals and adjusted the saddle height, and once we rigged up a raised platform for me to stand on to be able to mount the bike when on the rollers, it was time to learn. VV told me to get my speed up. Faster. Then to let go and once my hand was off the door frame, to commit. If things went wrong, it would be easier on me to lean my shoulder against the door frame than to try to reach for it with my hand. And to simply try to pedal smoothly. Well, once I let go of the door frame, I started oscillating a bit, and the oscillations got worse and worse as I looked down at my front tire and tried to correct it. Next thing I knew, I rode off the rollers and came to a halt.

VV suggested that I look further ahead rather than look down where the wheel was, as I would do on the road. And she picked out a point for me about 8 feet ahead. If further is better, then even further is even better, right? So I picked out a point on the far wall instead. And lo and behold, I was smoothly riding rollers. VV sure is a good instructor. She took two pictures of me on the rollers from in front of me, momentarily blocking my visual focal point while taking the second picture. Happily, I was able to maintain focus by picking out another visual focal point, so she didn't have to watch her student ride off the rollers again. Then she took a picture from behind me. I kept at it for a while, but I was getting kind of tired, no doubt in part because the resistance unit on the rollers demanded that I work reasonably hard and in part because I started out a bit dehydrated from all the liquid carbs and yet I was soaked in sweat. Well, that was an informative and fun exercise, but I decided that was enough of riding for the night. We had another beer and chatted some more before realizing at 4 AM that perhaps we should get some sleep.

VV loves steak, and she had been hoping to have steak together sometime. Lunch represented our last chance for steak, so we went for some pretty tasty steak. Then it was off to the airport, where we said our farewell. The rest of the trip wouldn't be worth noting, except while waiting in the Phoenix airport for my connecting flight, I saw two people riding up to my gate on mountain bikes. A closer look revealed that they were fire department personnel riding Raleigh M600 mountain bikes. Two others followed closely behind. I never figured out what they were doing there.

attached pics
rollers (from front)
rollers (from front)
rollers (from back)
with VV at airport
MTB'ing in the airport?

"Well, then along came Jones, tall thin Jones, slow-walkin' Jones, slow-talkin' Jones, along came long, lean, lanky Jones...."

Hey, baybuh. Then what happened? <waitin' with baited Vega breath>

Heh. Don't take me seriously, Jason. I'm a-waitin'. Jes' havin' some fun. :D

:roflmao:

It's coming... I finished the WNC portion of the write-up now. The CLT portion will come later. Besides, you already know what happened out there. :p

Glad you had fun Jason. I don't know why all those dogs came out to greet us. Most days I don't see any. They must have smelled fresh blood! :p Fortunately, they were all of the friendly variety, even that clumsy one that made me skid my rear wheel.

The Ring of Fire route we did on Sat. is one of the great rides around here. As we discussed, there are additional options to add both miles and climbing. Next time we'll get in more, but length of day really is a problem in Dec. especially when waiting for it to warm up in the morning.

I was happy we got the chance to ride a small portion of the BRP. I believe it is one of the best cycling roads in this Country and I am lucky to be able to ride up the back roads from town to access it. If you can make it in May (prime wildflower season) it is a remarkable ride.

Great ride report for WNC Jason! You are a great descender and I really enjoyed following you and trying to keep on your wheel:). Hope you can make out in May for the ride - should be great fun!

Jschen,
Sounds like you had a blast. I may consider coming out for the May ride, but not sure yet. It's too early to tell yet. It may be conflicting with the Davis Double, so we'll have to wait and see. I may go, only if I can convince one of my other NorCal buddies to come along too.

Well, if he climbs and descends as good as he pens, then indeed he is talented rider. Excellent ride report and, it makes me doubly sorry that I had to miss it. I am glad you'll had mostly excellent weather. On the flatlands of Raleigh, it is not too difficult to step on the gas and outrun a charging boisterous dog but, I am not sure of the best thing to do while climbing, when it's kinda hard to get away.

Well, if he climbs and descends as good as he pens, then indeed he is talented rider. Excellent ride report and, it makes me doubly sorry that I had to miss it. I am glad you'll had mostly excellent weather. On the flatlands of Raleigh, it is not too difficult to step on the gas and outrun a charging boisterous dog but, I am not sure of the best thing to do while climbing, when it's kinda hard to get away.

Just climb faster than the slowest climber? :p

I checked out the pics you posted and the one thing that struck me is that VV now has both arm and leg warmers and therefore no excuse not to ride in the mountains. Thanks for scoping that out. ;)

edit. I meant no legitimate excuse.

I checked out the pics you posted and the one thing that struck me is that VV now has both arm and leg warmers and therefore no excuse not to ride in the mountains. Thanks for scoping that out. ;)

edit. I meant no legitimate excuse.

Are you kiddin' me? For this stick figure to ride comfortably in the mountains, I need to special-order some of that R-dad winter gear! :p

I can attest to that. VV complained of cold under conditions where I was wearing no arm warmers or gloves.

Nice report, jschen. Too bad I was away that weekend, as it looked like you got several enjoyable rides in.

Sorry you couldn't join us, Velo Vol. Maybe next time I'm out there I'll get to meet you.

Great visit report! Sorry I missed your visit.