Over the mountains

So, it's been quite a while since my last update, mostly due to lack of internet access, but I will try to summarize everything that has happened since Chapel Hill. We headed out of Chapel Hill for Winston Salem, where we stayed at the church of Bike and Builder Scott Wilkins and from there we headed on to Taylorsville. That was probably the hardest ride of the whole trip for me, mostly because I wasn't drinking gatorade and therefore felt like dying for the first 35 miles. Of course, we all know what comes after Taylorsville: the mountains.

I had been hearing since I signed up for the trip that the Appalachians were the hardest climbs of the entire route, so I figured it would be pretty hard. Going up to 321 was definitely the hardest climb for me, but arriving in Blowing Rock was a great feeling. We also got to talk to some locals in the town, which is always fun. After Blowing Rock, it was on to the Blue Ridge Parkway, our road for the next three days of riding. While it was definitely much harder to ride the Parkway on a bike, the views were so much more enjoyable. Getting to the top of a climb and looking out, knowing that you made it there under your own power, was an incredible experience. Plus, descending on mountain roads is a blast, and you don't have to pedal for miles. We rode across the Viaduct and then headed down into Linville Falls for the evening. There wasn't a whole lot going on at Altamont United Methodist Church at the time, and our only friends were the cows in the pasture in which the Fellowship Hall was located.

From Linville Falls, we headed out for Asheville, an 80-plus mile day, with 70 miles on the Parkway. I managed to ruin my tire while walking my bike through the parking lot of Altamont Church, which was incredibly amusing considering I wasn't even riding my bike when it happened. After that I set out for 50 miles of mostly climbing, which was fine until about mile 35, when my friend Claire and I just got burned out and decided that mountains weren't all that great. The next 15 miles consisted of frequent stops for Clif Bars, photos, and restroom breaks, but we finally made it. After that it was almost all downhill into Asheville, where we stayed at a YMCA. B&Bers Samuel and Maggie Kovach invited us over to their home for dinner, where we had the most incredible meal prepared by their mom, overflowing with salad, green beans, fresh fruits, vegetable lasagna, and other fresh foods that we had missed dearly. After dinner, a few people went contra dancing, but I just headed to bed.

The next morning, we had had a build day in Asheville, which was quite a relaxed place to work. We had a morning break for doughnuts and coffee, a pizza lunch break, and an afternoon water break. Samuel and I also got to drive an F-350, which was an exciting experience, even if it was only for about 50 yards. That night, we were invited to the Volvo Factory in Asheville (Volvo no longer owns their car division, but they do make construction equipment, tour buses, Mack trucks, and airline engines), where we were treated to a delicious barbecue dinner and plenty of banana pudding. After that, Cane Creek, a local bike company, presented us with sweet shock absorbing seatposts for our bikes. The unbelievable hospitality on this trip just never stops.

From Asheville, we headed out for our hardest day of the entire trip, with 17,500 feet of climbing over two mountains on our way to Gatlinburg. We passed through Maggie Valley and then hopped back on the parkway, where we descended into the Smokies. That first climb was hard simply because we hit horrible headwind the entire way up the mountain. We broke for lunch at the entrance to the Smokies National Park, where the forest ranger told us that she had seen us on the news (hooray!) and that we had to climb 3,000 feet in the next 15 miles (hooray?). So, we started out on climb number two, with the state line and then end of NC as the destination. I decided not to stop until I reached the top because I knew I wouldn't get back on the bike, and I made it to the top after riding at 5 miles per hour for 10 miles. It was such a great feeling to finish North Carolina, but the victorious sentiments quickly disappeared when a motorcyclist told us that one of our riders had crashed on the descent. Fortunately, he was okay, although his rear tire was ruined. After waiting for the van, we headed down into Gatlinburg. This town was quite possibly one of the ugliest places I have ever been. It was essentially Myrtle Beach in the mountains, which was not fun to see.

Throughout all of these rides, we all ate like hobbits. We would wake up and eat breakfast and then have a second breakfast at mile 25. About ten miles down the road, we would stop for a clif bar as a mid-morning snack. At mile 50, we would break for lunch and then ride the rest of the way to the destination, where we were greeted with more snacks and gatorade, followed a couple hours later by dinner. Food is good.

From Gatlinburg, it was a short ride over to Maryville, where I am currently staying. We were greeted by Cycology Bike Shop and the local Habitat for Humanity chapter, who provided us with dinner. After that we headed to Maryville College, our home for the three days we were here. It was definitely nice to sleep in a bed again. We had two days of Habitat building in the 95 degree heat, but we managed to have a good time building floors and placing stucco despite the blazing sun. We were provided with dinner one night by the Tomato Head, and awesome local restaurant with pizza and sandwiches, and the other night by Aubrey's, a sitdown restaurant where we got some awesome pasta and BBQ. I still am blown away by all of the kindness that we receive on a regular basis. Tomorrow we head to Sweetwater, TN.