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4/22/2007 - ASHEVILLE: Climb to Elk Pasture Gap

Clear and sunny skies burst into the van when Ryan swung open the side door this morning. We had a morning routine established by this point: wake up, take down the blanket that hung across the van behind the front seats, pack up our sleeping bags, open the back door of the van, remove the cardboard that blocked each back window, pull out the stove and food containers, set up the camp chairs, and cook breakfast. This morning we made eggs and bacon with grits.

There was no need to rush, we had a whole day ahead of us. After breakfast I fired up my mapping software on the laptop and took a look at our intended route for the day. From our campground to the Blue Ridge Parkway was just 2.5 miles and from that point it was about 12 miles of climbing to reach Elk Pasture Gap, near the top of Mt. Pisgah. I wanted to have a few miles in my legs before we started climbing. So, instead of jumping on the parkway and heading west on the climb, I found that if we went east on the parkway to Dingle Creek, I'm not making that one up, then turned around and continued west we would have a ten mile warmup.

Sometime before 11am we rolled through the campground on our bikes and headed towards the parkway. After crossing the Dingle Creek bridge we turned around and followed our shadows west. The Blue Ridge Parkway was different than I had expected. For some reason I had pictured a road with a yellow stripe down the center, a white stripe on both edges and then a healthy berm before the pavement turned to grass. In reality there is a yellow stripe down the center, and the road is not any wider than what is necessary for two passenger vehicles to pass in opposing directions. So that means vehicles have to swerve out and around cyclists. Of course the speed limit is only 45mph and the traffic is not super heavy but most people on the road are rubber necking for the mountain scenary.

Ryan and I were amused at how a less steep uphill section can feel like it is downhill after climbing for thirty minutes. The grade is not steep on the parkway, Ryan read that it never exceeds 8%. It was continuous for nearly the entire 12 miles. On the way to Elk Pasture Gap we passed through six tunnels. As we entered the first tunnel, which turned out to be one of the longer ones, it became darker and darker. In the middle of the tunnel you could not see either end, probably due to a curve in the middle. Suddenly I was riding blind, I could not even see the stripe in the road. Riding in front, I yelled out "I can't see anything, I have no idea where I'm going!" Then, in one of those slap yourself in the forehead moments I realized that I still had my dark tinted sunglasses in front of my eyes. "Hey! I took off my sunglasses and now I can see!"

At this point we made our descent on SR 151 instead of simply backtracking on the parkway. As we turned right onto the state route there were "Caution - Dangerous Curves" and "Steep Grade" signs. It was an exciting 4 miles of descending the same elevation that had taken us 12 miles to climb. The switchbacks were frequent and the brakes were getting a workout setting up for the corners.

From riding a motorcycle I am familiar with "look to the exit of the corner" in order to navigate a turn smoothly, and I had this in mind as we were carving down hill corners. This technique did not apply in some of the corners, as I would have been looking about 120 degrees to my left to see the exit point!

Looking at the map for this section of road, I counted over 25 corners in 4 miles, all the while going 30 to 40 mph with minimal pedaling. About halfway down we came upon a minivan and jumped out of the saddle to power past it just before slingshotting through a corner. When the curves were done I said to Ryan "that may have been the most fun I have ever had on a bike!"

Continuing north we enjoyed the scenery and quiet roads. There were good hills around every corner with hardly any flat sections. At some point during the ride I realized there were no potholes or chunked up roads like we have back home, thanks to the mild winters in this area. It was nice to be able to look around a little bit without being concerned about your front wheel dropping into a pumpkin sized crater or amish buggy rut. The consistent condition of the roads makes the downhills more enjoyable too.

About 33 miles into the ride we arrived in Enka after passing by Enka Lake. The sour part of the ride was from here back to the campground as the roads were busy. Drivers were used to cyclists, however, and they gave us room when passing. Just before the turnoff to the campground there was a nice hill to test the legs. The road back to the campground seemed to have more hills on the way back than it did on the way out, strange how that happens.

Back at our campsite we chowed down and lounged. After a shower we lounged some more, enjoying being outside and on vacation. We loaded the bikes back into the van and headed back to Liberty Bikes to ask for a recommendation on where to eat southern BBQ for dinner. The same guy was there as we had talked to the day before. After hearing about our ride he directed us to Luealla's BBQ.

Beef brisket, pulled chicken, pulled pork, hush puppies, collard greens, sweet potato fries and a glass of iced tea for less than ten bucks. It was delicious and I was stuffed after eating all this. With fear of retribution for eating BBQ without her, I bought some pulled pork and sauces to transport home to Katie. The bike shop did us well for camping, riding, and eating suggestions.

At the campground we had our second movie-in-a-van night. We watched the Hell on Wheels documentary that follows T-Mobile's 2003 Tour de France. Tomorrow's agenda was similar to today's: ride and relax. While at the bike shop we had asked about the Cane Creek facility located in Fletcher and were told they are friendly to visiting cyclists. A few months ago when I talked to a friend at work about our trip to the Fletcher/Asheville area, he had informed me that Cane Creek's US headquarters is in Fletcher.

Tomorrow's plan is to drive down to Fletcher, check out Cane Creek and do a ride from their parking lot that will take us over the eastern continental divide.