Monday Ride

A couple of weeks ago my friend Mike Keeley called and said that he had signed up for the Assaut on Mt Mitchell, a 102 mile road ride that starts in Spartanburg, SC and ends on top of Mt Mitchell. I told him that I would try to get a day off, since the ride is on Monday to avoid user conflict, and ride part of it with him.

Monday morning rolled around bright and early..and chilly. It was a perfect day for a ride. 46 degrees, sunny and blue skies. My day started with some Kinetic Koffee, meal replacement shake and then hit the road.

I immediately knew that I should be back in bed. After laying the wood floor all weekend, my legs were heavy, my body tired and my sinuses were feeling a little congested. I was on the way to getting a cold. I was not going to turn back at this point though. I wanted to see Mike and ride with him.

Out hwy 70 through Black Mtn, past Ridgecrest, down the Point Lookout Greenway trail. A quick/ awkward stop at a little diner in Old Fort to get a water bottle refill. The smoking customers were expressionless.....

I stayed on hwy 70 to the intersection of hwy 80 and waited for Mike there.

I also called Rhonda, my queen of SAG ( supply and gear ) to change plans. Originally I was going to ride with Mike all the way up hwy 80, south on the parkway to the entrance of Mt Mitchell State Park, the follow the Parkway back to Asheville. And Rhonda was to drive north on the parkway from Asheville until she saw me. But, considering my condition, and that I have a 24 hr race coming up at the end of this week, I decided to just ride up 80 to the parkway, then turn around and come back down. I called Rhonda and she was cool with that plan.

Mike and his friend Mike showed up. Mikes friend Mike had to drop out at this point. 75 miles into the ride, but my friend Mike was ready to roll. We rode through the 3 mile flat and then started to climb. Conversation drifted here and there, and the road wound upwards. Stop halfway to fill water bottles and continue up. I love that climb!!!

At the Parkway we part ways, he goes up and I go down. When I get back to the intersection, Rhonda and Jubal are there waiting. We ate the lunch that Rhonda had made and then went for a little hike at Curtis Creek.

We wandered up the little path to a small beach area that had a large amount of flat stones, perfect for skipping. So, that is just what we did. Jubal had not learned to skip stones yet and today was the day. The joy and excitement on that kid's face when he skipped his first stone was amazing. We, as adults need to slow down and enjoy life for the first time!!!

Later, when we were settled in and relaxing, the phone rang. It was Mike. He made it in 7hrs22 mins. Great job. He told me to guess where they were, and I couldn't. He said that they were leaving Marion. It had taken 4 hrs for his bike to show up...........

Have a great day.