To Asheville...

Ok, so I last left off at the day we rode up 181 and then down to Linville Falls/Alcott/Newland. After a wonderful dinner of lasagna (vegetarian and otherwise) we had a good sleep and started out the next day for ashville. We knew that this again would be a mountainous ride wouldn't be as bad as the ride up 181. It was agains a long day of climbing but this time there were more downhills along the way up which gives you some much needed rest from climbing and pumps some adrenaline in to the old bloodstream to keep you going. I spent the day riding mainly with Molly North, Andy McDonald, and Risa Griffin. We had a great time and at the end of the day were treated with a 13 to 15 mile downhill ride. Average speed downhill was about 35 mph. Man was that a rush! When we got in were staying at YMCA, complete with whirlpool/jacuzzi, sauna, and steam room! It was awesome.

(the above picture is of Molly (M.A.N.) North on the tric of a guy we met while climbing the moutain)

Kim Webber and Eric Immel were the sweeps for the day and the new 6pm Arrival Time Van Rule was stressing them out a bit while on the road. Andy, Molly, Risa and I arrived with the middle group at around 5 or 5:30pm and the sweeps were a way back. They eventually made it in at 7:45 after about 12 hours on the saddle. The trip leaders aloud them to stay on the road which I think was a great decision since the day was really just a long ride and there was no doubt they'd be able to finish it.

That night Andy's brother, who live's in Ashville, took some of us out for a delicious Italian dinner. He was a real nice guy. I felt bad because we were all so exhausted I'm afraid we weren't the best conversationalists. After dinner we got back to the Y and hit the sack.

The next day was to be the hardest ride yet, Ashville to Gatlinburg. A number of people had told us they didn't think we'd be able to do it in one day and that we should stop in the middle. Needless to say we were all conserned but focused on getting to the Tennessee/North Carolina State Line to stay motivated.

The day started out with pretty flat ground. At the water stop we found out that the road we were on turned into an expressway for a few miles and we had to get shuttled in the Van about 6 miles down the road. After that we had a steep but short (in comparison to the previous day) climb and then a fun downhill to the lunch stop... Library is closing. Hopefully I'll get the post more soon, with some pictures. Thanks for reading!