Westward
Asheville this week couldn't have been better. From seeing my good friends Brent, Adam, Jason, Jody, Jamie, Dan, Chris, Cleve, Kate, Andy, John, Ally, and the entire town of Asheville which was tremendously hospitable and welcoming, I leave humbled. PLUS there was a bike race!Driving from New Hampshire to Virginia provided the #TKAtoZ Tour with first of the year rides and 75 excited folks at the Haymarket Sunday morning ride, 1000+ miles of driving... in fact let's do a by the numbers to get up to speed on this coast to coast tour.1, number of fork legs on my current favorite bike, the Cannondale Slate. (Lordy this bike is dreamy.)
2 bags of coffee as gifts received (thank you, thank you!)3 Zap sightings5 donuts consumed on the pop-up Do(ugh)nut Rides this week in Asheville
6 & 12, as in Fly6 and Fly12, the two types of Cycliq products I use7 group rides13 years old, the age of our youngest #TKAtoZ participant21 hours, estimated driving time from North Carolina to Colorado, my next leg west
44, 42-10 gearing on my Slate which allows me to mash a gear up to 40mph and still out spin you on climbs153 people on the rides this tour (18 + 75 + 5 + 12 + 3 (although it was raining and 14 more were at the start and didn't bother to ride) + 27 + 13)250 pieces of UnTapped swag, packets, and waffles handed out416 miles ridden1086 miles driven so far...that'll do for now. The last ride today in Asheville was pretty much as good as it gets. Being that today is the final day of the national championships week, it was the day for the big boys and girls to play. Junior, u-23, women, and men's titles were all up for grabs and the day did not disappoint one bit. With nail-biting action were it not so freezing that we needed gloves throughout the day, I didn't know how many would show for the final morning venture from Vortex. Additionally the weather throughout the weekend beginning late Friday was always supposed to be damp, so every time the weather showed a sliver of improvement I think more people jumped on the donut truck bandwagon. Plus my theory was put to the test and proved correct this week -- if there's a bike ride and enough forewarning I've discovered peiple'll come out to ride.So blow by blow, first things first, the ride was excellent. We had an intrepid crew so the prospect of riding loose wet gravel was well received, whereupon we ripped off Town Mountain which was a fantastic start to the day.
Next the temperatures plummeted throughout the afternoon as did the snow flurries fly. The wind picked up and collectively we had what I would call optimal cyclocross weather. Non cyclists would call it bitter.Race after race was better and better so much so that by the start of the final race, the men's elite championship, Richard Fries was raising the roof.
As if that weren't enough I saw not one but two other people with UnTapped winter beanies on.
What's that all add up to? One great start to a road trip. Congrats to all the racers this weekend. Win lose or draw, it was a pleasure to watch.Next stop: Boulder, CO. Let's ride from Yellowbelly Chicken. Meet at 9:30am, ride at 10. Fun, social ride with coffee and maple to start and chicken to lure us home and warm us up. Sound good? See you there.