Spring Training - Day 10 - DuPont State Forest

We wanted to get to DuPont State Forest, the gravel trails had been recommended, so we saved it for today, the best for last we hoped. 

It was a lovely drive, almost to South Carolina, along winding mountain roads with beautiful farms and blossoms. Very English. 

We drove through Little River. Which set me up for a day of singing Little River Band songs! 

"It's time for, a cool change..."

We parked at Fawn Lake Access Area, and headed into the woods on gravel trails. The park has many little lakes and streams and waterfalls. Fawn Lake:

And then we found ourselves on a runway. Seriously. Who knew!?

The Park was busy today with lots of cyclists and hikers. So we had the chance to get our photo taken, a non selfie for a change! 

And then some serious gravel began. Some climbing but lots of descending as well, which is of course slow going both ways. 

Lake Julia had a beautiful structure (cottage?) and dock, and then we crossed the rapids or "spill" and rested on the bridge. 

The park did not disappoint, with horses (don't show Bandit!) and covered bridges, along wide and well maintained gravel roads. 

And then we moved onto some double track, with a few obstacles. 

And then some seriously SINGLE track. But no boulders, and no mechanicals! 

We had about 25 percent pavement on this ride, we left the park and enjoyed some pavement for some serious downhill and speed (which is the only thing that helped our average speed today). And then enjoyed some lunch in the valley of Little River.

You know how there is always a climb after lunch? Yes well that was the case today for sure. And not just a climb, a gravel climb. Thankfully the weather was perfect (about 15) and the scenery was lovely. Our first climb was around Cascade Lake. Why "cascade"? Well, there is a big CASCADE at one end of the Lake. Caution boaters. 

Onto High Falls, with a lovely steam alongside the trail, and some marsh. 

And finally, our final climb. 

We did it. 

Strava totals for today. 

Spring Training totals 

418 km cycled 

5,585 meters climbed 

Thank you North Carolina, and Whits Frozen Custard for a great (and yummy) trip. 

Spring Training Day 9 - Hendersonville Apples

Today all the trees seemed to pop into bloom. Just at the beginning of their blooming, but enough to have a blush of colour. 

We found a loop called Apple Pancake on the Lamb. I have to admit I was hoping for some pancakes, but I think that was just a fun name for a loop up Lamb Mountain, and a lot of apple orchards. 

Cute little town names like Dana and Edneyville, and funny road names "Moot Point Lane" and "Good Lookin' Lane". 🥰

AccuWeather told us it would be a high of 12 and mostly cloud cover...

And yet it was pure blue sky and quite a bit warmer, with some serious wind gusts (sometimes I wonder what the "accu" actually stands for?).

We see many churches on our rides, and many cemeteries too, but today we saw a special cemetery... For farm vehicles 

We do find it disconcerting to see so much trash as we ride. Particularly the fact that so much of the thrown garbage is beer containers 😳   There is an opportunity for the government to cover their shortfall / deficit if they indeed put this fine into action (fine = $1,000). 

The ride started and ended in Jackson Park, Hendersonville. The park is a very well kept park of paths and trails, baseball diamonds and clean bathrooms. In honour of our nephew Jackson who is currently leading our March Madness Pool. 

The end of the ride was celebrated at a local Taco Truck - Tacos Chinelo. (Sorry Gus!)

Stava stats for the day

Spring Training Day 8 Climbing

We climbed over 900 meters in a 55 km ride.  I think perhaps my husband has an opinion about my average speed, but he was just too polite to come out and say it 😂

After a rest day, we found a route from the BRBC (Blue Ridge Bike Club), that promised pavement, climbs and a look out. It did not disappoint. It was quite cool this morning but we started with a 5k climb to warm up. A winding mountain road with lots of twists and turns, and we eventually got high enough to be in the clouds. 

The Eastern Continental Divide - who knew?

And then we increased our average speed and went sailing down down down, farther than we climbed, and enjoyed some lovely valley farms, quiet roads, beautiful views and such smooth roads. 

We stopped for lunch at about 30k, and had the place to ourselves! (Great covered picnic area behind one of the many churches.) 

We ate well as we prepared for the climb. We knew we had 9 kms of climbing ... (Green arrow) 

What we didn't know, and we were so happy to find out.. these climbing kilometers were all on a paved road through the Pisgah National Forest, but no cars allowed. Perfect cycling conditions. The sun came out, the grade was manageable and the scenery was spectacular. 

We stopped at the look out, to look out, and down!

There was even a railway cutting through some of the mountain below us. 

We thoroughly enjoyed this ride. Thank you BRBC and Ride with GPS (and Strava, of course) 

Post ride drinks were enjoyed in the (very trendy) River Arts District. Great use of old buildings by the river. They are all painted with graffiti - like designs, with a brew pub, coffee shop, BBQ smoke shop, and shops. There is also a safe and separate bike lane here, and lots of dog walkers and runners. They have done a very nice job with this little neighborhood. 

Note to self, Americans don't use the term "washroom". I had a funny exchange at a gas station when I asked if there was a washroom I could use. I got a puzzled look and a head nod (no), until I saw the Restroom sign and explained that is what I was looking for. I explained I am from Canada. That made her laugh and do a little eye roll 😂🇨🇦