Pisgah.

Life doesn't get any better...

I got to spend a beautiful spring weekend riding my bike at one of my favorite places with good friends. Life doesn't get any better.

Helen is all smiles as she climbs the mountain.

This past weekend we decided for Helen's spring break we were going to find her "balls" on the mountain bike. A camping weekend in Pisgah National Forest was just the ticket. In the spirit of a girls weekend in the dirt, we invited all the mountain bike chicks we knew and decided to make it a "girls get skills" weekend. Two of my athletes (and good friends) Kim and Karen joined us. We decided to not go completely "man free" and let Mark come along as our "dutch oven chef" and Dave came along as our "token boy toy". (It helps their egos if we give them titles like that...)

Reily and the ladies.

Helen and I were so excited to get there that we decided to leave Thursday night right after work and do most of the drive that night. We went to Greenville and slept on Dave's couch (free is good). Friday morning we loaded up and it was off to Pisgah. We quickly set up camp and then it was off to ride. It was sunny and warm and the trails were in AWESOME shape. We rode for about 2.5 hours; it was hard to head back to camp but dinner finally convinced us. Dave rode his bike up from Greenville and apparently had his own little "adventure" that included dirt roads and steep climbs. Everyone else rolled in about 8pm and it was off to the giant buffet and then good conversation around the campfire.


Our Master Chef enjoys the mountains.

Saturday was the big ride day and although it started cold, it quickly warmed into a perfect day for riding. We started our day with Mark's famous Mountain Man Breakfast. We all pigged out and were armed and ready for what the day was going to throw at us. The ride began with a 1.5 hour climb up the mountains. Everyone hung in there and did great. The next 2.5 hours were a mixture of technical climbs, gnarly descents, and sweet fast single track; all with a phenomenal view. We spent a good deal of time working on bike handling skills and all three girls were masters of the steep technical descent by the end of the day. The only notable crash was Mark doing a dance with his bike, a root and a tree. He was not leading. Dave did a long road ride up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and apparently found a great descent that went along with it. The highlight of the day was Kim talking to herself while she rode anything that scared her. It went like this: "Don't stop pedaling. Don't stop pealing....etc." It worked. She pedaled right through everything!!!

The ladies...

Saturday night was my turn to cook and after all day riding it was time for Jambalaya; in the dutch oven, of course. We all ate until we were ready to burst and then it was a relaxing evening around the campfire re-hashing the day's ride. Everyone dreamed of more sweet single track to come....

Karen climbs through the woods.

Sunday morning started (cold and sunny) with Mark again cooking breakfast for us; this time it was pancakes and scrambled eggs. By the time we were fat and happy the sun had warmed things up and it was another phenomenal day for a ride. Today was ladies only (plus one furry little black man...Reily the dog accompanied us for the first hour of our ride); the boys went for another road ride. It was one of the best rides I've done in a long time. Not only was the trail perfect, the three ladies that were so timid on Saturday were BOMBING down the trail and were invincible. It was so much fun. Helen was deemed "Princess Soggy Foot" and everyone spent some time laughing and rolling in the dirt. We decided that we'd pay the extra day campground fee so we could stay and ride longer. We didn't want to be packed up and on our way home at 2pm. The boys also had a great time and the weekend was over too soon.

Princess Soggy Foot!!!

Dinner was a restaurant in Brevard and then it was time for the long drive home. We stayed too long and it was a LATE night; arriving home at 12:30am. It was worth it.

Little English Chapel in the woods.

Next weekend it is back to racing. FUN.


Karen sums up how everyone felt by the end of the weekend. Happy and exhausted...

Thanks for reading...