7th and Final Day on the Blue Ridge Parkway

No mixed emotions on our final day of this magnificent vacation. I was sad it was ending! We did finally have some truly crappy weather. Today everyone told Trevor that we were having the kind of weather he was accustomed to in England, but he disagreed saying it was "not this shitty" there!

We were cold, clammy, wet and icky all day. Another sad bit was that Jett still could not ride. At least she was able to hang out in über-cool Asheville for the day and indulge in her favorite retail shopping therapy, nice and dry and warm.

Today we were joined by a group of 4 cyclists from an REI tour coordinated by Black Bear Adventures. We met Tyler, Paul's tour guide who spent the prior day with these four. Suddenly our little group of 8 turned into a group of 12, even with Jett sidelined by injury. They were all nice people, but it certainly made me realize how fortunate we were to be with such a small group these past 9 days. We all bonded so quickly and got a wonderful amount of customer service from Paul and Rod (although I suspect they provide the same great service to everyone).

Here are the photos from the day.



Here's Thurman and Trevor, getting ready for the shuttle ride to our starting point on the BRP.


Me and Janie, bikes ready and RTG (ready to go). Yes, it is clear I've been eating week on this fabulous vacation!


Here's the new crew boy, Tyler. Cute. Young. Fit.


Janie is a fan of the BRP. As we all are now. We all fell in love with this special place.


Here's Janie on this long and winding road.


Cool bare rock formation in the distance.


A view of the rolling hills and valleys in the distance. This sight would be fantastic on a clear day!


Huge waterfall in the distance. I wish we had time to explore all the gorgeous nooks and valleys out here.


More fall color.


Heading for some nasty weather. Brrrr!


Another dreaded tunnel.


And there's Janie in a near white-out.


Yes, we climbed straight up into the mist. Yucky stuff. The climbing kept me warm, but nothing keeps out the wet, clammy feeling. We were all at risk of nappy rash today! (Trevor's reference to our diaper rash issues.)


And here we find our group at the first rest stop.


Poor Rod is sporting shorts and a shiver.


Instead of heading down into a 10-mile descent, I opted to hop in the van for that miserable downhill action.


Horrid. Why didn't I stay in Asheville with Jett?



I tried to reach Jett by cell phone to have her pick me up so we could convert from cyclist-mode to tourist-mode and visit the Biltmore Estate, but no cell coverage up there. Drat!





Here's one of the boys on the downhill. The weather improved as the elevation decreased.


And Janie is descending like a speeding rocket!


Ahhhhh, much nicer weather down here.


More fall color. After the chilly descent, we had another 7-mile climb. I got out of the van and Janie got in.


Here's the frozen group I encountered at lunch stop at the top of the climb.


Pea soup up there. And cold, needless to say.


I ate quickly and we all skedaddled down the hill. Only 20 miles to the southern terminus of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the end of our wonderful vacation. Of the 20 miles, 17 of them are downhill. Finally we catch some easy riding!


Goodbye mountains...


Here's our group at the very end. Yes, I cried from happiness... Me, Thurman, Trevor, Paul, Janie, and Pat. Wish Jett could have been there!


Here's cutie pie Paul ready for dinner in hippy Asheville. Paul is sporting his hippy finery.


A combo-butt shot of our boys, Thurman, Paul, and Trevor. Yes, we talked about their butts this week. I'm sure they talked about ours!


A sot of Jett's nifty "earth shoes" she bought in Asheville. She's my favorite fashionista. A Hare Krishna person told her earlier in the day that he liked her "lesbian look.". Yes, we loved alternative minded Asheville!


A shot of the gorgeous bar in the tapas restaurant. Paul and Jett pre-ordered the mounds of food they brought in. Of all the amazing restaurants and high quality food we had, we all agreed this was the best meal of the trip. No photos of the food, unfortunately. I was too busy gorging myself. Delicious.


And because Paul has a true appreciation for desserts, he took us to a rocking chocolate hot spot, the French Broad Chocolate Lounge. This is the place to see and be seen. And amazing desserts.


After dessert, we walked back to the hotel. Paul gave each of the guests a souvenir from the Blue Ridge Parkway. We received a framed print that all the guest and crew signed. What wonderful memories we will always have and always cherish.

I wish Black Bear Adventures provided tours all over the country. (A cross-country tour would be epic beyond words.) So far we know we want to do the Natchez Trace, which goes from the Mississippi River in Natchez through Alabama to Nashville. Sounds so awesome (and is supposed to be much easier than BRP!)!

Well, I am finishing this up from home now. We literally spent all day in planes and airports. Ick. Much more exhausting than being on a bike all day. I am recovering nicely. The leg muscles feel great (and strong!). My nappy rash issues are all but resolved - thank the heavens. I wish I could say the same for Jett. We are concerned she has developed a potentially dangerous infection. We are trying to schedule a doctor's appointment today. Sigh.... I know she will be fine, but it is hard to see her worried and in pain.

And on a final note, I did indeed gain 5 pounds on this epic vacation. I shall call them Paul-pounds since it is due to all the fantastic meals our wonderful host/guide/friend Paul Wood provided on this amazing vacation.

Day 6 on the Blue Ridge Parkway - Little Switzerland to Asheville

I am writing this on Sunday, Sept. 30th, at the Asheville Airport, waiting for our flight home to Sacramento. This post is the best I can do in recollecting our ride on Friday. It's been a hectic couple of days!

Here I am, setting out to ride. Part of our vacation package includes this nifty Black Bear Adventures jersey. I cannot say enough about Paul Wood and his Black Bear Adventures experience. Top notch all the way. Not one thing to possibly complain about and many many unexpected delights throughout our 10 days with Paul and crew.

Jett did not ride on Day 6, nor Day 7. She unfortunately developed a severe case of undercarriage issues. She was in considerable pain and in no way could tolerate a saddle. On Day 6 she rode in the support van with her new BFF, Rod.


Again, one of my favorite sights - seeing my support crew ready and waiting for me!


Our weather started getting a little less beautiful on Day 6. We had been so fortunate, having 5 riding days of blue sunny skies!


I have learned that I have a significant tunnel phobia. Luckily I did not have to ride through any super long, dark tunnels. (Janie did!) On a bike, I felt so vulnerable to cars and road debris (which I never encountered - these roads are the cleanest you could ask for - but since you cannot see in the tunnels, the fear of running into/over something was always there for me). Every time I went through a tunnel, I just tried to get through ASAP. I tilted my sunglasses down to see better, and still kept one eye glued to my rear-view mirror, watching for a speeding car to come up and run me down from behind. Luckily, I never had to share a tunnel with another vehicle. (Janie did!)


Here's a tunnel warning sign. Gave me shivers every time.


Behind me and Jett is Mount Mitchell, the out-and-back option destination on Day 6. It's 5-mile climb. Long, but not bad. I am feeling better and climbing better every day. All quad issues resolved, thank heavens.


Here I am feeling a little feisty and ready to climb!


I found a little caterpillar dude at our rest stop. I gave it to Thurman for a pet.


Here is the whole crew ready to tackle Mount Mitchell. Jett did not ride, and Janie (who was nursing a knee sore from climbing) also did not climb the mountain.


All throughout the climb, you could see Mount Mitchell out there, waiting for you. And also some questionable weather at the top. Mount Mitchell is the highest mountain peak east of the Rockies. Who knew?


Understatement here.


Creeping up on the mountain. We are seeing a little more fall color each day.


Climbing up into a cloud.


And I have reached the top! Happy, clammy, and cold! Mostly happy!


Trevor, Paul, me, and the Thurmanator.



These friendly Harley dudes could not believe we climbed up here on our bicycles. They took our pictures and we did the same. We offered to move my bike out of the way, but they wanted to keep it in the shot.


And Pat came in last. I was finally keeping up with at least on boy a little better!


Back at the base of the mountain (very chilly descent), I hooked up with Janie for the rest of the ride. Here are some nice fall colors.


I tried to get a shot of the fall leaves flying through the air. So pretty. There is Janie up ahead.


I tried some of this wicked stuff on my sore neck/shoulders today. I nearly burned myself to a crisp. I had to have Jett remove as much as possible - it still burned! The burning sensation did keep me distracted on that long climb up the mountain.


We had dinner at an authentic Indian restaurant tonight.


I had a "mild" chicken dish. So spicy!!!