Yesterday was a long one and exactly what I was expecting out of North Carolina. I slept really hard the night before and woke up feeling rested but still felt sluggish and stiff. Racing in the heat and pushing as hard as I did on Sunday definitely took its toll on me.
Once we had some breakfast Trevor, Brian, and I hit the road. Cody opted to hang at the crib and an urban assault of downtown Asheville. The plan was to head out to Tsali Recreation Area some where in the backwoods of western North Carolina. After a lot of driving through some of the smallest, weirdest mountain towns I have ever seen and getting lost a couple of times we finally found the park... and it was killer.
This place is a mountain bikers/triathletes dream come true. We were greeted with an awesome lake, trails, and they even had a bike washing station. We hit up the lake first. I just cruised around in the water for about 20 minutes and it was totally rejuvenating and I really felt my body coming back around after were out of the water.
Finding the lake. Stoked.
It was then a quick change as we were out riding. The trails were epic... yes I am going to use the word epic. I probably had the most fun I have ever had on my mountain bike. 15+ miles of super smooth, flowing, tree-covered single track. I have to get back there some day.
map of our ride. pretty incredible.
mile and miles of this.
another killer view from the trail.
After getting our fill of Tsali we headed back to Asheville for some BBQ and beers.
On the way back we some pretty sweet stuff.
cruising around downtown Asheville.
The place we went was really good and even had cans of PBR for $1. I really can't think of a better way to spend the day.... good friends, epic riding, good food, and cheap beers!
Trevor's massive plate of food... He ate a lot of it but barely made a dent. It's no wonder people aren't to slender around these parts. (see motorcycle photo above).
We are now on our way to Richmond... I am actually blogging it up from the passenger seat of the Uhaul! We'll be riding the course in Richmond later today and then a couple of more times before Sunday's race.
Pose down.
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10 comments:
Aw, you should have juxtaposed those two bike pix next to each other. Tale of two bikers.
OMG - that motorcyle picture is PRICELESS!!!!!
I am so jealous...
of you finding a 1 dollar beer! Holy effing shat!
You are a total BEAST! You are kicking ass and taking names, GREAT JOB this past weekend. Looks like you and your boys are, quite literally, living the dream right now. Keep up the hard work!
your posts are "epic"..wish i was with all you bros on your trip...sounds fun. good race! slap cody on the butt for me...tell him if he ever wears recovery tights to a restaurant with me i won't sit with him. take care!
Motorcycle chicks are hot. But if your bike need a third wheel.......
Geez..... Beans and rice, Fries, AND Toast. Carbs + Carbs + More Carbs. The ribs look good. We know how to feed a growing boy.
Hey James, you were less than 30 miles from my home yesterday! Had I known, I could have given you some great tips on Tsali, Fontana Lake, Nantahala (Cherokee Indian for "land of the noon day sun", because the gorge is so deep, that the river only sees sunlight at high noon"), Bryson City, et. al).
Way to crush it last weekend! Best this coming!
Chuck
I have 2 kids (2 and 4 yrs), get out maybe 20 miles/week running if I'm lucky, and mountain bike to work a few times a week. Fortunately, I can live vicariously through your posts - which have to be some of the best training/fitness related on the web. And some of the pictures are incredible. Keep it up.
That pic of the motorcycle almost made me choke on my cereal. Hilarious.
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