Martin's Ride: Day 4
Day / Date: Friday, July 2nd
Miles Ridden: 20 Miles in the mountains
From: Blue Ridge Parkway outside Asheville
Riders: Martin, Jeremy and Brian
Day 4: Riding The Blue Ridge Parkway in the North Carolina Mountains
Enter the Appalachian Mountains. Thousands of miles, hundreds of gaps and seven layers of blue ridges colored by the sun’s refracted light makes for a beautiful bicycle ride. Log cabins dot the road, a stark contrast to the million dollar mountain homes we would see later on our drive into Asheville, North Carolina. Day Four began from the Daniel Boone Campground elevation 1,120 feet, our highest campground to date. The ascent from the park itself proved to be a treacherous half-mile climb that became one of the hardest and steepest inclines of the day. After a brief stint on the highway, we entered Pisgah National Forrest.
The gentle slopes started innocently. After ten miles of consistent mountain slope Martin and I were struggling to push through sharp rising curves of the blue ridge. Climbs were worth our effort. Each descent topped the next in speed and angle. Jeremy joined for our steepest drop along three miles of silent spiraling highway. My windbreaker swished loudly. It inflated like a parachute as air sped past our cycles at forty-five miles-per-hour. We passed five signs with an arrow nearly circling indicating a 360 turn. One sign even pictured a biker swerving off the road!
I felt bad for Jeremy who had to bike ride back up the entire incline to fetch the RV. He’s a pretty fast rider though and overtook me in an hour. The best thing about driving in the mountains is dozens of aptly named scenic overlooks to rest or snap a picture. At one stop we met a woman who had leukemia. She was inspired by Martin’s Ride and wished us well.
The two-hundred foot long Devil’s Court tunnel provided a nice reprieve from the sun. All the hills started to look the same after a while, even the tallest peak, Mount Mitchell at an elevation of 6,053 did not stand out very much. Peddling in the mountains requires some serious leg muscles and we were all pretty spent when we called it quits for the day.
We drove straight into Asheville and had lunch at the Mellow Mushroom, a hippie style pizza joint filled with 60’s memorabilia. One poster depicted Bob Hope schilling cigarettes. Another poster of Rock Hudson urged people to try a camel for their smooth mild delicious taste. Asheville, an up and coming North Carolina city, has a nice greenway near Main Street with pavilions, sculptures and art museums among with about a million different shops and restaurants. Dinner at the local grille was pleasant as the temperature had gone down to a cool seventy degrees. Asheville is alright in my book.