Blue Ridge & Bent - Day 4, NC 2011

Last Friday we took a rest day after five rides in four days - nothing to report, nothing to show. I guess I could have taken photos of laying around the sleazy motel room watching TV on a vibrating bed and cleaning bikes. So instead I'll skip to last Thursday, day four of NC 2011.

Last year you might remember that Curvy and I were able to get a tour of the Industry 9 factory, thanks to Dicky hooking us up.  Over the past couple of years we've been slowly discovering how influential to the cycling industry/world that North Carolina, particularly Asheville, is.  It was going to be a difficult task topping I9, so when asked to hook us up again Dicky did not let us down.  So many instrumental companies, riders and developers have come from or worked from this area of the country and it was our good fortune that we got to tour another big player in the cycling world - Cane Creek.  

So last Thursday morning we rose out of bed, grabbed a coffee and headed out into the rolling, green countryside just outside of Asheville to meet up with Eric Smith who would lead us through the world of Cane Creek.   Curvy is much better with putting together technical, wordy, descriptive blog posts - so once he has completed it and posted it here, I'll poach and post it on the OBR blog.  Stay tuned because it was a very cool three hour tour that we were on getting to know Cane Creek, it's products and kindly folk who work there.

Climb and climb and climb . . . it's the Blue Ridge.

 After our wickedly awesome tour we grabbed a bite of food, headed back to the squeazy, sleazy hotel, got our road bikes and headed out for a ride west bound on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Eric and Jim at Cane Creek were nice enough to invite us out to their regular Thursday night group ride at Bent Creek which we were very stoked to go on.  So, we thought a short ride to loosen the legs would be in order in the warm 27+ degree early afternoon.

Tunnels

It probably would have made sense to ride something flat'ish considering we would be out hammering with the Cane Creek crowd later that evening.  However, you'd have more luck finding a hair on Peter's head than finding a flat route around Asheville.  Meh.  We only rode for about an hour and a half before we had to head back to the hotel to get the mtn bikes ready for the evening group ride.

Beauty views, rolling hills, and smoother than a babies bottom road surfaces.  I want to move to Asheville.  Unbelievable riding there.

Later that day we hooked up with the crowd from Cane Creek and rode for about two hours in Bent Creek.  They took us on an ubber fun, super fast route that had these two out of shape, pasty white Canucks working hard to stay on their wheels.  Afterward we headed to Papas and Beers for Mexican and drinks.  Eric, Kelly, Jim, Josh, Chad, their significant others and those who I can't remember were super friendly, made us feel like home and were a hoot to ride and hang out with.  Can't wait to hook up with them next year. 

*Note to self: when going to a Mexican restaurant, don't sit next to skinny cyclists who only order only one soft shelled taco and go on about how big they are.  "Oh, they're huge?!?  Wicked. I'll have one as well."  "Big" to a skinny assed fast cyclist and "BIG" to a heavy set, big boned, bone head are two very different things.  Always go with the LARGER option.

Blinky lights needed.