Asheville NC

Is it worth driving 10 hours to ride some sweet trails in the Appalacian mountains for just a few hours? Yes, it is, and that is what I did this past weekend.

Derrick, Eli and I went drove out to Asheville for a weekend of riding and partying. I was also able to fit in a cross race into the busy schedule.

On the drive there we stopped in Oak Ridge TN to ride at Haw Ridge Park.The trails were pretty good, but I didn't fully enjoy it because my brakes were not working. It felt good to break up the long drive and get the legs moving though. The trails were not too far out of the way located only about 10 miles off the interstate. We rode until sunset and continued on to Asheville.

When we got to Asheville we were hungry so we went to Limones, an upscale Mexican restaurant. Derrick's freind Amy owns the restauraunt and her husband Hugo is a really good cook. I had a lobster, crab and shrip quesadilla and it was awesome.

After that we explored the local bar scene looking for beer and women. What happens in Asheville stays in Asheville, but i can say that Eli made me an honorary member of Blue Racing for my exceptional wing man abilities.

The next morning I did a cat 2/3 cross race called the North Carolina Grand Prix. It was a really challenging course with lots of elevation changes, a steep hill called the wall and a sand pit. I had a last row call up so I spent the entire race trying to pick off the next person ahead of me.

My finish was middle of the pack, but I was happy with how I finished the race. With one and a half laps to go I caught three other riders. We rode together until I pushed it on barriers and the steep wall. After that it was just me and one other guy. We rode together until I attacked in the sand pit with about 1/4 mile to go. I got a gap, but when I tried to shift from my small ring to my big ring it kept misshifting and the gap I had was closed down.

The race finishes with 3/4 of a lap around a track. He was on my wheel and I couldn't shake him. Coming around the last turn he jumps with 50 meters to go. He moved ahead but I refused to give up. We came across the line in a photo finish and the officials gave it to me. The sprint was only for 24th place, but this finish means a lot to me because in most races this year when I'm in a group at the end of a race, I usually find some way to lose. It was a big race and the competition was tough so I think this was my best 24th place finish ever.

After the race Derrick was feeling sick and didn't want to ride so Eli and I went out for a 45 minute trail run along the Blueridge Parkway. I think running the undulating mountain terrain is going to help me next week at Jingle Cross when I'm running up Mount Krumpet.

The next day we went to DuPont state forest to ride the trails out there. These trails are nice. There are some long climbs but they are not too long. Once you get to the top the trails flows nicely and you bareley have to pedal to get back down the hill. Each trail connected to one or two other trails yet were connected to fireroads so you could ride all day and yet not get too far from where you parked. I've ridden a lot of nice trails in the western North Carolina area, but these are some of the best.

The next day I woke up early and did hill run repeats while carrying my bike. After that everyone else woke up and we drove home. It was a lot of fun and a great place to train.