Ramble On, Gotta Find the Queen of All My Dreams

I would just like to start this post by saying that in no way can words describe the emotions and feelings that have come along in the past week or so in traversing the rest of the way through North Carolina and into Tennessee. I will try, but I hope that some of the pictures will tell the story...

I am currently in Maryville, TN, a smaller town located about 20 miles south of Knoxville. We pulled into town yesterday afternoon after a (short) 40-mile ride from Gatlinburg. The first half of the ride yesterday was one of my favorite so far. I was riding with Dan for the majority of the day, taking turns pulling each other along about 20 miles of road along a river. It was perhaps the most soothing ride that I have ever completed, and seeing the people tubing and swimming as we rode by was awesome. We stopped to talk to some of the locals every now and then, but once we were back on the bikes we were cruising along the flats at about 20mph.

By I will try to catch up on all of the events since I was last able to update. Being in Chapel Hill was amazing as usual. It was so nice to be back "home" and be able to play the tour guide for the rest of my group. Taking a big group to the Pit, the belltower and Kenan Stadium was a lot of fun and it's nice to hear people talk about how beautiful the campus is where I spend 10 months of my life every year. Being able to lead everyone around the Chapel Hill nightlife was also a lot of fun, and from what i can tell, everyone had a great time, myself included.

Going into Winston-Salem was also a pretty special moment in this trip for me. It was nice to take a few of the guys to Old Salem for some sugar cake before pulling into our host church and seeing my parents waiting on me. It is strange how everything looks so different from the seat of a bike. I have been around Winston-Salem all of my life, but everything looked so much different without a car window between you and nature/the city. It was also nice to get my camera from the parents so I can document the rest of the summer in pictures.

After leaving Winston-Salem we headed toward our first real test of the ride, the Appalachians. We headed to Taylorsville the next days and after a few hills made it without much of a hitch. The wind started to become a real issue, but most people were so motivated by the notion of a swimming pool waiting for us that is was a short day. Needless to say the pool was a hit, but the chicken "sandwich" I got from the people beside the church was not. I don't think I have even gotten a chicken sandwich where the chicken still had the bone in it. I guess that's how they do it in Taylorsville.

The next day to Newland/Altamont gave us our first real hills and our first real views of what we have been climbing. After leaving Newland we started climbing toward Lenior and then Blowing Rock. After crossing the continental divide and hearing about this awesome BBQ place, Dan and I had to stop. Woodland's BBQ in Blowing Rock had some amazing BBQ, but it was probably not the best idea before starting up the Blue Ridge Parkway. Although we suffered quite a bit after our meal, the BBQ was definitely worth it. At the end of our climb on the Parkway we finally got our first descent, which is unlike any other feeling in the world. Flying down a hill at 35mph (having to slow down because of a car in front of you) in exhilarating.

The trip from Altamont to Asheville put us on the Blue Ridge Parkway for about 70 of the 80 miles for the day. I went out pretty fast that morning, feeling good about being on the Parkway instead of highways. I got to enjoy the first descent that day without any distractions and hit 40mph pretty frequently. I spent the rest of the day with a lot of the guys as we climbed our biggest hill to date (over 5000 ft) that led up to an view of Mt. Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi. That day also tested to nerves of almost everyone of the trip. We usually have a lunch stop about halfway through our days, but on this day we have to traverse through a closed part of the BR Parkway (yay for trespassing on federal land for 25 miles). Lunch was 53 miles away and many people were struggling, but everyone made it through. The descent into Asheville was also a lot of fun.

We spent the next day building in Asheville. Part of our group went to help the Mountain Housing Organization build an accessibility ramp at a house and was featured on the news that night. The rest of us went to help the Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity where we stuccoed the foundation of a house and stained the interior trim for another house. We were also treated to an amazing (BBQ!) dinner in Asheville by Volvo Constuction Materials (no, they don't just make cars). A contact with Cane Creek also got us hooked up with free shock-absorbing seat posts and arm warmers. Thanks Cane Creek!

The next day presented one of the biggest challenges of the summer. The ride from Asheville would provide the group with 17,500 ft of climbing, more than 5,000 ft more than any day before. After a short and easy ride into Maggie Valley, the group decided to get back together before starting up the first hill. The wind made the first hill nearly impossible, but after pushing past all the shops in Maggie Valley, we finally hit the BR Parkway again, lessening the wind effect. The ride of the Parkway seemed pretty easy after my legs got warmed up and the descent into Cherokee was quick. After a lunch at the Great Smokey Mountains Visitor Center we started off on our climb to Newfound Gap, the peak of our hill and the state line between NC and TN.

Biking across North Carolina has been a personal goal of mine for the past two years and being so close gave me so much motivation to push to the top. The way up the mountain was 16 miles, meaning that it took around an hour and a half of intense climbing to reach the summit. My legs felt good and I was able to catch and pass some of the group leaders near the top. After spending some time at the top we descended into Gatlinburg (aka the biggest tourist trap in the world) and had a nice Mexican dinner in town.

Since being in Maryville we have started building with the Blount County chapter of Habitat for Humanity and we started work today to lay down the flooring trusses of two houses in town. We got so much done today that tomorrow may be a short day due to the lack of materials.

Sorry for such a long post, but I hope this gets everyone up to date on what's happening on this trip across the continent.

And oh yeah, it's hot..