The Challenge for 2011

This will make a good day trip for 2011, pack a lunch.

Way Up North

This would almost make it worth while going to Alaska.. http://contour.com/stories/112857

In the area of Pineola, Newland, Banner Elk, NC

Lees-McRae College Trail Amenities:

At an elevation of 4,000 feet, our riders train and study in some of the best terrain in the country.  We are minutes away from thousands of acres of national forest yielding over 500 miles of trails, as well as the Blue Ridge Parkway, which lines our mountain tops with over 700 miles of paved roads.  This area is truly a mountain and road cyclist’s dream with epic climbs and great descents.

Our campus sits in the shadow of Beech Mountain where Lance Armstrong renewed his passion for cycling only to win the Tour de France the very next summer.

We are also circled by three mountain resorts, all of which have downhill runs and two of which hold summer through early fall downhill races just eight miles from campus.

Lees-McRae College has two different cross country single track trail systems and a dual slalom course.
The dual slalom course and some of the single track trail systems were used for the 2007 and 2008 NCCA Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships.

The dual slalom course and pirate trails are located by the lower practice fields along the Elk River greenway.

The Nationals cross country trail system can be accessed via the Hemlock Trail off of Mill Pond Road.

There are also an extensive amount of trails in the Wilson Creek Ranger District of the Pisgah National forest.

The Boone Area Cyclists will soon be making more accurate GPS maps of the area, but for the time being much local knowledge and a map can be obtained from either of the Boone bike shops, Magic or Boone Bike & Touring.

Lees-McRae and Surrounding Area Road Amenities:

The North Carolina High Country has a plethora of rural roads with great views and epic climbs.

The Lees-McRae College Williams Gymnasium parking lot is a great place to park, begin rides, and to take advantage of restrooms and drinking water.

Virginia Creeper Trail

We, that be 8 of us are going to Damascus, VA this morning and ride the trail 18 miles all down hill .

Favorite Loop

As of now my favorite loop leaving from the campground for my daily or almost daily ride or frequent ride.
It has a variety of terrain, hills up/down, some gravel, a bit of the Blue Ridge Parkway, dogs, low traffic volume.

The Asphalt Plant Hill

Today it looked like it was going to rain, so knew I wasn't going far.   I decided to see if I could ride all the way up the hill in the asphalt plant, which has a couple of sections of 20% grade.  I usually only ride part of the way and end up walking the rest.   Well I made it all the way to the top and I thought I might die, I probable won't ride it all the way to the top again anytime soon.

Ultralight Bicycle Travel

 The ultimate way to travel

http://adventurecycling.org/features/ultralight.cfm

Gravel Grinding

Chris and I went for our Saturday ride, when we got to the fork in the road we went to the left, which is a forest road that leads to Edgemont.  One of my goals for 2010 was to ride down to Edgemont and return, I don't think it was one of Chris's though.

DBR 13+ Loop

This makes a nice loop with a variety of ups, downs and nice vistas, quality not quantity.
Check out the elevation profile http://beta.mapmyride.com/route/detail/19038232/

Pisgah Forest Area

I have noticed that a lot of the trails in the forest area that would be suitable for riding my MTB have a lot of tree limbs and debris from all the ice storms this past winter.

DBR Loop

Chris and I went for a Saturday morning ride, from the campground.

Chris coming over the rise at Pittman Gap

Watauga River Road

This was a very nice ride we parked at the beginning of the road by the bridge, good surface, and no rain, seven miles one way.

Todd to Fleetwood, NC

From Drop Box

This morning we (that be Chris & I) went to Todd, NC a little north of Boone, NC to ride. The Railroad Grade Road follows the New River for 10 miles between Todd and Fleetwood, it is perfectly flat, good surface, out and back 20 miles, nice scenic ride.
Tuesday May 18 Rode this again, little quicker, in the rain. 

Nature Coast Bike Trail

Nature Coast Bike Trail

Staying at Suwannee River Hideaway for a few days and riding the Nature Coast Bike Trail, it is flat.
The trail runs in 3 different directions Fanning Springs in the center and Cross City and Old Town, Trenton, and Chiefland as spokes.
Friday, April 16  We rode the bike trail today leaving form Old Town towards Trenton, on the way back we kept pace with a cloud, that happened to be going our way, for the shade.

Ride the Divide

Ride The Divide Movie Trailer from Ride The Divide on Vimeo.

Nicest Day

Today was one of the prettiest days so far, for almost Spring.  The sun was shining and it was 74 degrees.
Sue & I rode the bicycles around Annutteliga Hammock, mostly on the lime rock roads.   
The Redbud and pear trees are starting to bloom and looks like a couple of more weeks until the citrus trees start.
The Robins have returned from where ever they have been this Winter on their way North.

Boone/Todd/Railroad Grade Road

Sub-24 Hour Overnight (S24O) trips

A S24O (pronounced “Es-Two-Four-Oh”) was coined by Grant Peterson of Rivendell. It is a sub-24 hour overnight bike camping trip. The beauty is that it takes little time commitment (less than 24 hours) and if you forget something in your packing, it’s not the end of the world.

I think this is a great idea, I remember reading this sometime ago, so I will save it this time.
https://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/Petersen_S240s.pdf

Annutteliga Hammock

This entry is from Bicycling website, there mapping & activity log is easy to use and displays well.

Garmin Connect

I found a new activity tracking software to keep track of our walks & bicycle rides, it seems to work well, Garmin Connect.  I can enter information manually or from the GPS.

Tallahassee - St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail

In November I went to Newport, Fl for 4 days with my neighbor while he went hunting I rode my bicycle. The bike trail was an easy ride from the campground. My route for the day.
Another good ride from the campground is to the St Mark's Lighthouse, great road, light traffic, 20 miles round trip.

Down By The River to Edgemont

One of my goals for the Summer of 2010 is try to ride both ways up and down the hill, well at least down.

My Rides

Trek 4500 is my latest ride.

Trek 7500 nice smooth ride on the paved bike trails