Thursday, April 18, 2013

Big Rides and Little Bears



Lots going on these days.  The Bicycle Thrift Shop is hopping which is great.  I need to figure out a way to have a bike drive like the one Sycamore Cycles did back in December.  Lots of people are coming in and walking out with bikes for themselves or their kids.
 I decided to use my Spot Tracker to gather GPS waypoints of The Pisgah Traverse.  I went out and rode the first 35 ish miles: Kitsuma, Point Lookout trail, Rainbow Rd, Old Toll, Heartbreak and then back up Mill Creek Rd to the truck.  When I got home, I was bummed because the tracker only registered 6 random waypoint.

The ride was great, and reminded me that I need to stay consistent with riding, or I'm going to suffer like a dog during the P111K.  I'm going to finish this year.

 I also got a good ride up to Craggy on the Ratchet after the storms had passed.  Lots of cool cloud formations.  Not too hot, not too cold. 

 

Yesterday, I didn't have a lot of time so I headed up Elk Mtn.  Such a cool climb to have so close to home.  I drafted some pros from the UHC squad,  oddly, they did not acknowledge my presence.  I root for those guys when I'm at the races, (and on FB) but might have to find a friendly team to root for.  They turned off and I started the climb.


 I was greeted with fog at the top.  Lots of turkeys are out,  saw one tom out there strutting his stuff.  I have been wondering when the bears were going to start waking up.

 As I was cruising down the steep hill just north of the Folk Art Center, I got my answer.  A little 1-2 yr old black bear, standing on a log, looking around.  I was able to get a decent photo too!!  I was pretty excited about that the rest of the day.... still am in fact!


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