The One Picture I Did Get...

Saturday, October 1, I met up with Martin at the gas station in Cleveland, SC, a few miles before the 276 turnoff for Caesar's Head. He's a co-worker who's also a former MSF Rider Coach, and is currently loving his 2011 Versys. There was a cold front that started through the night before, so when we met at 9:30, it was only 52 degrees outside. I'd brought about every layer I could think of, and proceeded to put on the last ones before we headed out.

The ride route was my idea, but the first leg of it is one Martin knows very well, so I asked him to lead, figuring I'd have a good bunny to chase, and I wouldn't be slowing him up on roads he was more familiar with. We headed up the 2,000 foot climb to the summit of Caesar's Head, and I'm thankful that whoever designed the road put passing zones in the uphill portion. The Camry and the Jeep were at least smart enough to stay in the slow lane when we went past them.

Past the summit, is a curvy ridgeline that gradually descends toward Brevard, but before that, we turned left onto East Fork, which is a delightfully curvy road that I just discovered this summer. Hairpins, blind curves, hills, sweepers...they're all there. On one particular decreasing radius downhill curve, I was following at probably close to Martin's pace when suddenly the road seemed a lot tighter than I expected. I usually have one of those ultra split second voiceovers in my head of, "and that was when she made her mistake..." fighting the urge to target fixate on the opposing lane's ditch.

One bit of advice Mike had passed on at my trip to the OBX was to, "trust your tires. They're better than you are." In that hairy split second, it came back, I shifted over a little bit and pushed that inside grip even more to carve into the curve. Inside my helmet, I said out loud, "Push! The tires are better than you are!" And then, "Woo hoo!" once I'd negotiated it through.

At our next designated stop in Rosman, NC, we got off to stretch, and I had a bathroom break while Martin put on another layer. Now it was my turn to lead, and I outlined our next three roads, saying our next stop would be a lookout on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The cold air (it was now sitting at 48 degrees) had chased every bit of haze out of the atmosphere, and it was a crystal clear day.

Back on the road, we routed around a fall festival of sorts in Rosman, and then a quick hop on Highway 64 to head north on 215. That's a nice stretch of road, with lots of 25 mph advisories on curves, and some really grippy pavement. We swooped through a few miles of curves up to Balsam Grove, and then turned left at the fire department, going up Tanasee Gap Road.

I'd tried this road out in July, and found it interesting, but full of potholes. This time, the majority of the potholes had been patched, so it didn't seem nearly so sketchy. Of course, I didn't head up the gravel road I found last time, either, so that probably enhanced the non-sketch factor. It's definitely a country road, but has some nice views closer to the top of the mountain. At the stop sign where it ends, hang a left, and in less than a mile we were at the beginning of the prime riding on 281.

This is a road I know fairly well, and if I'm ever a hooligan, it's on the next stretch. The pitch, camber, angle and curves are all perfect to just lay the bike side to side as you sail through the unending s-curves. It's exhilarating, and even Martin commented at lunch about how pristine that section of road was.

After a few miles of this Turnish Delight, we turned right onto Explorer Road, following the path I'd done on my gravel off roading trip. Again, this time the road didn't seem as edgy, although there was one pretty sharp turn that almost caught me napping. Parts of it are just ok, but other parts are beautiful, and it's a stretch of 10 miles, so it lasts a good bit.

Toward the end, the quality of the road again deteriorates, getting a few potholes and uneven surfaces. The stop sign at its terminus ends back on Highway 215, where we turned left to continue heading back north to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The surface of 215 was so refreshingly solid and well groomed after that bit of Explorer Road, it's a breath of fresh air.

Carve a few more curves, and we make the turn to enter the BRP. The air is clean and cold. There is a wind blowing that I didn't feel so much on the bike, but Martin said it was blowing him around some. We only had one tunnel to go through, but when I looked at the thermometer once we were back in the sunshine, it showed 37 degrees. I was loving my heated grips and electric vest (and long underwear, quilted liners, neck guard, winter gloves, long socks....)

There was one overlook I especially wanted to stop at, and we passed a half dozen before we got to it. Once there, Martin again put on another layer, while I got the beauty shot of the bike. I'd forgotten that my memory card for the camera was laying on a shelf at home where I'd put it after loading some pictures onto my computer, so I only got one shot.

From there, we headed back onto the BRP and then shortly turned off at 276, heading south to Brevard, where Martin and I had lunch at a Zaxby's. As we were walking in to the restaurant, it felt positively balmy out there, with it being 53 degrees. At lunch, Martin mentioned that curve where he went in kind of hot, asking if I remembered the one...? Yeah. I remembered it :)

After lunch, Martin headed back down 276 the way we'd come up, over Caesar's Head, but I got out onto I-26 and headed toward Hendersonville, where I stopped by a roadside stand to buy some NC apples. I had a backpack with me, and was able to get all of a half bushel of apples into it and strapped onto my back before heading home. Twenty. Five. Pounds. of apples. Much of it will go into applesauce for my dog's medicine. But not all. (They're no SweeTangoes, though, I'll tell you that much...)

And here it is...the one picture I did get.