We awoke at 5 am this morning. We knew there was a long ride ahead of us and the terrain mountainous. We got our directions and 65 miles was how far but with the hills it would be a challenge. We went off in the foggy morning. We encountered many hills and some were quite challenging. After about 25 miles or so we began our decent into Lake Lure.
The lake was spectacular. Very beautiful with these looming mountain ranges all around it. We went through the town and stopped at a few tourist spots. The river was wildly flowing and there was a nice waterfall coming down the mountain. It is definitely an area that I want to come back to and hike. We stopped for lunch near the river to refuel. It was there that we started out long climb
9 miles straight up. It was quite an ordeal. I stopped many times along the way and met some nice ladies who said they were proud of me going up this mountain. After much pain and suffering I finally made it to the top. 2882 (or something like that) was our height and a sign said we were at the eastern continental divide. After that climb we had a 2 mile ride down hill and then just another 20 miles to our sleep site at UNC Asheville.
Although the climb was hard and slow, this day was by far the best day of the trip for me so far. The ride was successful, the sights were beautiful, and the personal accomplishment of making it to the top was like no other. We shall see if all of these up coming mountains treat me as good.
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yaaaay! see, the mountains aren't that bad. you can do this! i like this new pic on the blog altho it is rather HUGE.
ReplyDeleteAndrew,
ReplyDeleteI like the new picture and was glad to hear more details of the trip - including the build days. Remember your vitamin I and get off those feet when you can! Keep on journaling. I did 30 on the Blue Ridge Parkway this past weekend in prep for my two 75-mile days next weekend in NC.