Our Thanksgiving week tour did not go as planned, as most trips simply won't. We managed to fit in a breakfast at the famous Dillard House on our way up. We arrived at Skyline Village Inn on Sunday, after driving straight through following Kelley's sister's wedding the night before. It took about eleven hours to make the drive. The view of Hwy. 226 from the lookout across from the Inn is inspiring. We woke to freezing temps and spitting snow, Monday morning. The start of a wonderful, though challenging tandem-touring memory.
We stopped at many of the overlooks, some only momentary, trying to soak in the views, but mindful of the 35 miles we had to travel. We were overloaded, even jettisoning a good 7 pounds at the start, the first that we'd added the panniers, trailer and camping gear all at once. Our knees became insistent that we stop on occasion and recover from too much weight, not enough gearing, and hills taller than we knew. Surprisingly, we could not find good information on the profile of our trip. Something that seems possible to map easily with a GPS system. Maybe we'll do that in the future.
The lightest item we carried became a constant companion, our Snowpeak titanium burner. We hauled mostly Mary Jane's Organics for meals, which only require boiling water for preparation... poured right into the bag, simmered, and eaten with our lightest ever serving ware - our Snorks (combo spoon, fork, knife). The food was good, and with snow and ice everywhere we rode the first day, it was a warming experience as well. Four sections on the downhill portion of the Viaduct were completely covered with ice and snow. We estimate we were hauling 140 pounds with panniers, 7 bottles, BOB Ibex trailer, and gear. With the bike, that's more like 190 pounds with racks, fender, lights, etc. Ouch, my knees...
We started at the 331 Milepost, which is an immediate and steep uphill from the Inn, going north. We both went into oxygen debt and were burning at the top of that first climb. We reached Julian Price Park, which is at the 297 milepost. We found a nice nook surrounded by Rhododendrons, which faced the amphitheater there. Tuesday morning, we woke to 18 degrees, a light wind, and a layer of frozen breathe on the inside of our rain fly. It was almost like having a turtle's shell above us. We purchased a Mountain Hardware PCT2 for this trip. We like it bunches. Very roomy & perfect for our two 15-degree mummy bags. Just wish my self-inflating ground mat hadn't leaked... not a likeable situation when the ground's below freezing. We made it though, with the assistance of warmers and a small catalytic heater we brought along.
Tuesday at milepost 282 we sat on a ridge watching the weather form on the horizon. Winds had kicked up to 30+ at ground level - going east over the ridge. Winds higher up were moving slower, but were going west. This spelled weather to me, and based on the way our knees were feeling and the fact that we were behind schedule due to all the unthawing of our tent that morning, we decided to miss the coming front and head back to somehow retrieve our car. Our Forester was parked at Skyline, which was over forty miles back. We traced a path through Blowing Rock, had a nice meal at a lunch stop, and then did the twisties back 221 all the way to Linville. We were going to park at Linville Falls and camp there for the night, but I made an acquaintance with an arbor named Charlie. He was the kind of person we admire from these parts... he lifted me fifteen miles down the parkway to my car. That night we spent in Linville at the Pixie Inn (coldest bathroom I've ever seen in a paid room). That night and next morning 6 inches of cold rain fell... temps in the low 30's. It was bone-chilling wet, and we were happy we'd turned back or we'd been waking in cold wetness and riding in it all day.
On the drive up to our cabin at Glade Valley, we encountered a girl that I recall was from Virginia somewhere. She was riding alone on a LeMond bike, outfitted in a nice blue Burley rain coat. She was chipper, but cold, and headed down to an outpost where warmth and a room awaited her. I felt like sharing our cabin with her. Kind of like looking at a wet, homeless animal. But she asked for nothing and shared a moment with us. We hope she had a wonderful ride beyond that Wednesday. The weather after the rain was perfect and sunny. I only wish we'd gotten her email to share stories later.
Wednesday, upon approach to our destined cabin at the Glade Valley B&B, we visited Sparta and picked up our Thanksgiving staples, which included Pepperidge Farms Turkey Pot Pies, frozen peas, salad fixins, and a frozen pumpkin pie (that we never ate). Our hosts at Glade Valley, Bill & Margaret Connor, turned out to be two of the most hospitable people we've ever encountered. And their mansion of a B&B is one of the cleanest, nicest places we've ever stayed. If you're headed north on the Blue Ridge near Sparta, NC - be sure to tell them we said hi and recommended them. Bill had warmed the cabin for our arrival, and we were promptly offered a homemade loaf of bread for our dinner and next day. In fact, the pie was never eaten because of the wonderfully tasty pumpkin cake she'd saved for us from her own Thanksgiving activities.
We went hiking at Stone Mountain, NC and did the approximate 4.7 mile loop over and around the mountain. We strayed up and down from the trail quite a bit, and managed to turn it into a strenuous and lengthy activity. In fact, we ended up taking over three hours of our day. The drive into the park was pretty nice, and would have been uniquely challenging with our loaded tandem.
The next day, we left our car at Glade Valley B&B and headed north again on the parkway. This time we had just our camping and cooking gear, a few clothes, and enough meals for two days. We were able to fit all this into and across our rear panniers, which allowed us to drop, easily, 90 pound of load. You could feel a big difference and the 30/34 f/r chainring combination was suddenly more doable on the hills. We made it to milepost 206, played hackey sack, and rode back to 215.5 where we stayed at the Appalachian hostel. We met the owners on the ride up, secured permission to bed down off their lane, and even left our tent and bedrolls there to make our up and back ride more amenable. We ate at sunset on their lane, watching the stars appear on a night that would never be forgotten.
About an hour after we bedded down in the chilling night air, we began hearing these loud snort/shrieks from all around us. They were intermittent, and at varying distances from our site. It was disconcerting and brought images of the Blair Witch project to mind. They were deer, but I'd never heard them be so loud, nor felt their presence so close before. One or two felt as though they were only feet from our tent. The sound was intimidating, like they wanted to storm our tent. We managed to sleep a bit more that night, but not nearly enough. We woke and rode into Galax, VA for some prepared breakfast. We'd been far better off eating our instant oatmeal/trail mix stir than the crap we ate at Bea's Restaurant. We did have a wonderful, welcome cup of java at a coffee/gift shop downtown. They actually had organic blends and offered vegan cookies and bagels. We only wish we'd stopped there before riding all the way out to Bea's... diner beware !!!
We made it back to Glade Valley and loaded up by 2:30 on Saturday afternoon. We said our goodbyes and met the latest visitors to their great little escape. We then stopped by Frazier's Christmas Tree farm where we picked out a live tree that now sits in a corner of our living room. I felt guilty of consumption as I watched it fall, but enjoyed seeing how Mr. Frazier had taken such good care of his property, and was surrounded by generations of other Fraziers' making their living, with rosy cheeks and bustling smiles. We drove straight through to Tampa from there, making one rest stop along the way, and stopping by Sweetwater Organic Farm, our membership CSA we belong to. It was for our weekly pickup of fresh veggies, that were sweetly welcomed back into our diet. When we arrived home we were surprised how much our container tomatoes had set fruit, and how our hydroponic wall system was overflowing with lettuces, despite our neighbor having access to as much as she wanted in exchange for watering while we were away.
All told, we rode around 140 miles, some overloaded, some lightly loaded. We had no flats or mechanicals to speak of, just a little brake rub on some of the steeper parts when I was throwing the bike around to stay straight. The bike did well, but wasn't built to handle the weight we'd attached (nor were we). We're pretty certain we'll take a lot less, which is almost always the case when you do something the first time... did I mention, this was our first touring ride together ? And my wife was a true trooper, never complaining beyond what hurt, and completely willing to accept a turnabout when I chanced that we'd be in for no fun if we continued. We're sure to do much more of this sort of thing in the future, and already looking forward to an overnight tandem ride during the New Year's weekend that's fast approaching. Watch for more pictures then too... and feel free to post your comments of any tandem adventures you've shared with that someone special. We welcome your posts & links.
No, this isn't from our tandem trip. I just came across it and thought about how nice a fire might have been while we were camping. We could have the night we spent at Julian Price Park, but thought better of it since it was closed and we had no other choices in the area. You can bet I wouldn't carry a lodge pot or cast iron tripod on my bike either... unless it was my Xtracycle with electric drive, downhill both ways, tail winds, solar recharged, helium filled tires... you catch my drift.
