if the thunder don't get you the lightning will

Friday I headed to Pisgah for a little mini ride. I started from the Mills River Campground and headed up 5050 and then down Yellow Gap to the river. When I got down to the river it started raining and then the rain gave way to thunder and lightning so after walking my bike across the river 9 times I did the only thing I seem to know how to these days and bailed.



Saturday I met Zach and Dennis for a ride and the craziest thing happened: Zach proposed a route and we actually finished it. After 35 miles in 5 hours we were standing at Buckhorn Gap for the second time of the day and while Dennis had to head straight down the road due to a prior engagement Zach and I turned left and pushed over Clawhammer and Black Mountains and finished the ride in style.

Our route was:

276 > 477 > Club Gap > Avery Creek > Buckhorn Gap > Clawhammer > Buckhorn Gap > South Mills River > 479 > 5017 > Horse Cove Gap > Squirrel Gap > South Mills River > Buckhorn Gap > Black Mtn. > Thrift Cove > Sycamore Cove

Good for 40 miles and 10,000' climbing. With the Double Dare back and Dennis and Toby both unable to race it looks like the wndc will be bringing a new team to the podium. That's right, I'll be racing with the one and only Broussard. This ride served as a little warm up for what is bound to be a good early fall of big riding in these mountains.

I found another one of the mysterious blue notes. This time they gave me a little more info, I now know who they are but still not where, why or how. And I'm worried about Matt.



Obligatory:







When we got back to the parking lot, right on schedule, there was a nice cold surprise waiting for each of us in the bed of my truck. Thanks Dennis!



Sunday I had to go to Pisgah Forest for work and just happened to take the dog and running shoes with me so I headed into Pisgah to do my little Art Loeb > Connector > North Slope loop but when I got to the turn it had only been 45 minutes and I wasn't ready to stop climbing yet so we kept on running. At first I was just going to go as far as Horse Cove Rd. but that came too easy and fast so I ran across and kept going up the Art Loeb. There are less than five miles of trail in Pisgah I am yet to do and the Art Loeb from Horse Cove Rd. to Cat Gap is one of them so we were running on virgin ground. I wasn't planning going that far so I didn't bother to glance at a map before I left the house and I couldn't quite remember how far it was and more importantly where we could get water but we kept going up anyway. After a full hour and a quarter of running uphill the trail just kept getting steeper and steeper and I was reduced to walking with the top of Chestnut Knob in sight. We were so close but I just didn't have it in me. It was 2pm and we had been running on an exposed ridge line in 90 degree heat and needed to find water fast. Without a map to locate water pushing on to Cat Gap seemed like a risk so we turned around and high pawed it back down to the North Slope Connector where I knew there would be water. I now see that we could have gotten water just down Horse Cove Rd. a little ways or at King Creek near Cat Gap. Water, so basic yet so vital. The life blood of the forest.



Less than 10 miles but more than 3200' climbing! Duma is starting to be an impressive running dog. This was a hard run with a big climb to start and he didn't start to slow until I did. He cracked on the downhill but was able to recover and run through it just as soon as the trail leveled out a little. That's my boy!