I was told yesterday by a friend that this is an almost annoyingly pure blog. he meant this well, in the sense that i'm just talking about what's happening in a somewhat dry way. no major philosophizing, politicizing... like a chronicle. or an annal.
guess i'll keep doing the same thing. if only to remember this trip better than my memory allows. it's hard enough to remember three days ago. which is what i'm attempting to do right now.
ok, i left asheville. the mountains were great. fog at the top, sun throughout, impossible views around every corner. I stopped at pretty much every overlook.
oh, and i took a nap on a bench near a cliff. not that near. but near enough where the wind came up over it.
near the end of the day, I was climbing a hill and this older guy (early 60s) starts passing me. I could have done two things. i could have pushed myself to try to get up the hill and not be shown up by this obviously more capable guy. or i could start conversation. call me lazy; i chose the latter.
his name is mike. his wife's name is ann. they're great.
mike's been riding the blue ridge for 25 years straight. he bikes an average of 250 miles a week and is about to go on a tour of the last 10 stages of the tour de france. turns out, the official race goes in the afternoon. so, they're ride the same course in the morning. that's awesome.
eventually, 15 miles into our conversation (and with my legs nearly dead from trying to keep up), he says "well, you about ready to call it a day? cause we have dinner, a hot shower, and a bed for you tonight back at the house if you'd like. i don't really do this, but you seem like a nice enough guy." i said yes immediately, of course.
so, we rode 8 more miles, got to his truck, drove to his house. along the way we almost hit one of his cycling friends. that would have been pretty bad. there are these great winding downhills around his house, and it's important to stay in your lane. don't go so fast that you have to go to the other lane and get hit. lesson # 53.
ok, mike and ann's house is wonderful. it's at the top of a hill in the middle of the mountains. they have miniature horses, fainting goats, chickens, dogs, a garden, and a cut-your-own tree farm. here's the view from the top of their hill: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=874eYeOmQI4
anyway, i went and had a shower, then they fed me dinner and beers, washed my clothes, and i went to bed. incredibly hospitable. and great conversation.
in the morning i woke up to the smell of fried potatoes and farm fresh eggs. mike and i got on the road around 8:30. We rode together for 15 miles or so and then he went his own way. i really liked him.
then i kept riding.
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