Greetings from Asheville

Tom Will and Marco climbing the Parkway en route to Mt. Mitchell

Mark & Mel - our tour directors for the week

The boys on Mount Mitchell

This week I had the opportunity to participate in Mark & Mel’s annual trek to Asheville NC. This is the 3rd trip I have made with them and I love taking in some of the very best cycling to be found in these here 50 states.

I got in to town about 11:30 Sunday evening and, after enjoying a late night slice of Mellow Mushroom pizza, I was off to bed. The next morning, after watching the day’s stage of the Tour de France, Mark, Mel and I set off from our rental house for a ride through Asheville and onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. We climbed up 5000 feet to the Mount Pisgah Inn where we re-fueled on Cokes and oatmeal crème cookies at the Inn’s general store. After a few minutes rest we pulled on our arm warmers and bombed back down the mountain and rolled back home. The weather was great and the roads were smooth.

The next day we took a break to visit some bike shops and relax around the house in preparation of the arrival of Tom and Andy Will who would join us after taking a few days to do some mountain biking.

Marco and Andy on their way up the mountain

This morning our group of 5 drove on the Parkway to the Craggy Gardens visitor center where we set off on our bikes for the climb up to Mount Mitchell. At 6700 feet Mount Mitchell is the highest point east of the Mississippi. The weather was cool and overcast which made for a comfortable ride up the mountain.

The fog was thick as pea soup at the summit of Mt. Mitchell.

As we neared the top of Mt. Mitchell fog appeared and it grew more thick as we approached the summit. At the top, visibility was limited which made for an interesting and at times, dicey descent back down the mountain. Once we reached the Parkway the fog cleared and we had a nice ride back to Craggy Garden.

Riding home in style - just me and the bikes!

Tonight we are watching the day’s recap of the Tour De France and looking forward to tomorrow which should offer another great day on the bikes.

Mel shows the boys how she is gonna drop us like a bad habit on the descent back down the mountain!