Velo Girl-Cycle to Farm Ride Black Mountain NC

Cycle Eat Repeat.  That is a winning formula for fun, health and adventure.  Cycling 63 miles with 5,300′ of elevation gains is my kind of fun. Being an Asheville North Carolina native, now living in Florida I really miss my mountains!  Needing a fix, I signed up for the Black Mountain cycle to farm ride July 19th.  The website for the event is here.  The site is well organized with all the information you need in an easy to read format.  The start and finish is at the recreation park in Black Mountain, gravel parking areas kept the mud to a minimum.

Mud?  Oh yes, there was rain before during and after the ride.  This did not deter from the event and to  me only added to the adventure.  After all, I just drove 9 hours from Florida to ride the NC mountains and no one is going to spoil my party!  Hot coffee and a big tent made waiting for the start a chance to meet other riders.  Immediately after riding out of the start area we began about a 5 mile climb to get the blood flowing to the legs.  Follow this with another long climb and I’m really starting to get into these mountain climbs.  I’m loving the moment in spite of the rain as I’m now on a familiar road, Hwy 74A west.  I’m anticipating the switch backs and hairpin curves and then all of a sudden STOP-Road Closed sign with law enforcement directing us to stop half way up the mountain.  A brief discussion informs us there is a tree and power lines down across the road ahead and all traffic must wait until they clear the road.  After 30-45 minutes of standing in the rain, we get the all clear.  Now with cold muscles we start climbing all over again.  No worries, this gives me a chance to be the king of the mountain as I started climbing fast to break away from the peloton.  Attack on the way!  I look back and the main group is way behind me, I want the polka dot jersey!  I imagine I’m in the Tour de France and just before I reach the top of the mountain a group of 5 riders passed me.  No polka dot jersey for me today as just after the top its time to stop at the 2nd SAG stop at Hickory Nut Gap Farm.  For a list of all the farms on the ride go to the Cycle to Farm website here. The remainder of the ride was just a beautiful, big mountains, long flowing valleys, challenging ascents, hairpin curves and lots of smiles from everyone I met.  I especially want to thank the volunteers for this event.  All the major intersections were attended by smiling people to guide us on the route, they did a great job and in spite of the rain everyone was cheerful and happy.  One of the highlights for me was a group of horses that saw me riding by and started running along their fence line with me.  It was if we were all in sync feeling the moment.  Here is a photo of Highlander Farm, best Lamb balls I ever ate!  (Not lambs balls but lamb balls)  Organic too!

The end of ride party had the best pizza I ever ate, and that is really making a statement.  The Wood Fired Pizza was hand made and oven fresh on site.  Fantastic!

I normally stop to take lots of photos and short videos, but due to the weather my artistic side took a back seat to my, “Lets get out of the rain” side.  Huge kudos to the Velo Girl, Cycle to Farm organizers.  You put on a great event and I can’t wait til next year to do it again.

Riding to the finish line to the cheers of the crowd!

 

USNWC Adventure Whitewater Rafting

The US National Whitewater Center near Charlotte NC is home to the US Olympic Whitewater Team.  The water activities available are Adventure Rafting, Family Rafting, Whitewater Kayaking, Whitewater Stand Up Paddleboarding, and Rodeo Rafting.  The All sport Pass will get you entry to each of these activities, however whitewater kayaking requires you must prove your ability to handle the class III and IV rapids.  USNWC provides whitewater kayaking classes to improve your skills if needed.  You can find information, videos and ticket information on their website here.  There are two separate courses that both feed into a single flatwater section where you paddle to an elevator system that lifts your raft back up to the starting area.  Kayaking, rafting share the same whitewater runs as you can see in this video.  

 

I used my GoPro video camera during my runs on the Adventure Rafting course.  If you want a fun filled hour of big splashes, big smiles, lots of water pouring over the raft and the possibility of being thrown out of the raft or turning over the raft dumping everyone into the water, this is the one for you.  I was thrown out of the raft, and the raft in front of us turned upside down sending 6 swimmers floating down the rapids.  Everyone attends a class before you get on the raft and everyone wears a personal flotation device.  There are safety attendants along the runs to assist if needed so the entire site is very safe.

I had a great day of adventure at the USNWC and highly recommend this for families, kids, and anyone looking for a great day of water sports.

 

 

 

USNWC Canopy Tour, Mega Zip and Rock Wall Climbing

Click the photo to see the movie

The US National Whitewater Center near Charlotte NC is an adventurer’s playground for land and water activities.  I had reservations for the Canopy Tour at 10am thinking this is a great way to spend 3 hours up in the trees of my beautiful home state of North Carolina.

10am is also the time the weather siren sounded closing the park due to lightning and hard rain.  By 1pm the weather cleared up and the park reopened.  After reporting to the start point and putting on the required gear, it was time to hit the first zip line.  A short line from platform to platform designed to get acquainted with the process for the novice adventurer.  From there we continued on through a series of zip lines, rope climbs, swinging bridge, ladder, plank bridge, and Burma bridge.

The course runs along the Catawba River and through the forest with beautiful views you can only see from up in the canopy of the trees.  Our guides for the tour was Jason and Fay.  They did a great job keeping us safe and informing us on the best way to navigate each obstacle.  We had a great time and completely enjoyed our time up in the trees!  I rate the fun factor for the Canopy Tour a 9 out of 10.  I recommend this tour for families, groups of teens and anyone looking for a few hours of fun navigating the challenges.  If you are an experienced adventurer looking for a screaming wild Tarzan trip through the woods you will be disappointed.  Ask for Jason and Fay, and tell them Spot White Adventures sent you.  They are the best guides in the trees!

Fay and Jason, Canopy Tour Guides Extraordinaire!

After lunch at the park restaurant it was time for more land activities-Mega Zip!  The park restaurant is on site and the food is pretty good considering that there may be big waves of people coming and going at different times of the day.  Imagine a group of 30 hungry camp kids all arriving at the same time overwhelming the staff.

 I have never tried to climb a rock wall before, how hard can it be?  The kids made it look easy so I started off on the number 1 (easy) wall to get the hang of it.  I made it to the top without too much drama so I tried the number 5 (difficult) wall.  Made it half way up and ran out of places to put my feet or my hands!  What the heck, I better Spider Man could not even climb this wall.

 Some of the kids were running up and down the wall like little spiders-Show offs!

If you plan to go to the USNWC I recommend planning a two day adventure with land based activities on one day and water activities another day.  There are lots of things to do such as trail running, mountain biking, obstacle courses, zip lines, kayaking, stand up paddleboarding, family rafting, whitewater adventure rafting and rodeo rafting.  You can find out all about the center on their website here.  The park is family and kid friendly with lots of adventures for people of all ages.  I will definitely be back!

One Arm Dan Cycles Across America

This is a true story of Dan Leonard’s trek across America on a bicycle.  I was in the TV room of the Point Loma Hostel in San Diego California watching Monday night football.  I had just arrived after cycling the North Pacific Coast from Vancouver BC to San Francisco.  I was in town to meet up with a small group of other cyclist from the Adventure Cycling Association to cycle across America from San Diego to St. Augustine Florida.  This is Southern Tier Bicycle Route, a 3,300 mile 65 day trip.  Dan and I began conversing about my recent ride and he said, “Man I would love to do something like that myself”  I said, “Yeah, I just turned 60 and thought I better get out and do these adventures while I still can.”  Dan told me he turns 60 next month and as we talked I could see the spark in his eyes and hear the enthusiasm in his voice.  At the moment I felt a little sorry for him because I could see his passion for adventure, but with only his right arm there was simply no way he could make it riding self contained.  Pedaling a fully loaded bicycle up the mountains, camping every night, putting up the tent, loading and unloading the bike every day was simply too much for a guy with only one arm.  Heck, it’s a big deal for anyone in good condition much less a guy with a handicap.  Over the next few days we would get to know each other better and talk about my upcoming ride.  Dan was looking for an apartment to share with someone and had to be out of the hostel by Friday.   If he could not find a place to live he would be homeless in 3 days.  Friday comes around and a couple of the other ACA riders were starting to arrive at the hostel.  Later that afternoon I saw Dan in the courtyard and he announced, “Well, I did it”, I said “You did what”,  Dan says “I joined Adventure Cycling Association and signed up for the ride across America.”  My immediate response was “Seriously, are you crazy!  You don’t even have a bicycle, no gear, no nothing, and how are you going to pedal 3,300 miles with one arm”  Dan was a little taken back by my rant.  I could also tell he really wasn’t fazed by my lack of faith.  So now it’s 5:oopm on Friday night, Dan says “Well I guess I need you to help me go get all the stuff I’ll need for the trip.”  I said, “What do you have”, Dan says, “I’ll need everything, tent, sleeping bag and whatever else you can think of.”  We both get in his old Isuzu trooper and head off to the local sporting goods store, grocery carts in tow.  I grab a sleeping bag, tent, camping gear, then off to the bicycle shop next door for shoes, shirts, pants, and cycling gear.  The back of the Isuzu is loaded and off we go to the bicycle shop to pick up his used touring bike.  The shop sold him an old beater Fuji bicycle with dents, dings and rust, mismatched wheels, and well worn components.  The shop installed dual brakes on the right side so it applied both front and rear brakes and installed the shifters on the right side.  Bike racks and panniers installed and Dan now is the proud owner of a touring bike.  Saturday morning comes and the other riders from the ACA group are arriving, Dan and I are unpacking all the boxes and bags from our shopping trip last night.  I’m busy loading my panniers and going over my bike and gear to make sure I’m ready for the shakedown ride on Sunday morning.  Dan and I look at each other and Dan says, “Can you show me how all this crap works.”  I give him a hand, literally, and set up the tent and sleeping bag for him.  He stops me as soon as I’m done.  Dan says, “OK I got it” and takes it all apart and starts putting it all back together again by himself.  I’m impressed, heck, I can’t even tie my shoe with one hand much less put up a tent.  Within the hour Dan is folding and rolling everything up, packing his panniers, bungee cording everything on the back of his bike.  Well I’ll be, he did it! Dan actually put all that gear on his bike by himself!  Sunday morning comes and our 11 person group cycles out of the  hostel for a short shakedown ride to see if everyones rig will hold up.  The route goes up some very steep climbs, I see immediately that Dan is having problems on the first hill but eventually makes the climb and gets back to the hostel.

Day zero and Dan is excited as a grasshopper in a chicken coup, he’s ready to roll!

 The first 4 days of the trip is very difficult.  Just 20 miles east of San Diego you lose the nice cool ocean breeze off the pacific and the desert heat starts to bake you like a pie in the oven.  Throw in the long steep climbs and camping in the 110 degree desert and this is difficult cycling for everyone.  The group rides independently each day, we have a map meeting each night to discuss the next day and then head out whenever you want in the morning to meet up at the campground at the end of the day.  I see some of the riders each day along the route and occasionally run across Dan and then catch up on the days ride at the campground each night.  Day one and Dan’s bike has a broken spoke in the rear.  I remove the broken spoke true up the wheel as best as possible.  Two days later and another broken spoke, the next day we are going through El Centro California so Dan and I take a detour to the bike shop in town to get some repairs on his bike.  A few hours later and we catch up to the rest of the group at the campground.  Day 4 and Dan has the whole camping thing sorted out, most mornings he is actually the first to have his gear packed and ready to go.  Lots of very steep climbs the first 10 days, very difficult cycling conditions and long days in the saddle baking in the heat.  Dan is now one of the strongest riders in the group.  He beats me and almost everyone else to the top of the mountains and is usually the first in the campground every night.  I gave him the name, “Dan da Man” and it stuck for the rest of the ride.  Dan and I became good friends on the ride, we rode together many days and I found it hard to keep up with him especially on the climbs.

 Dan da Man at a rest stop

Falling off the mountain!

View from the top of the mountain

 As the ride continued through the desert and into Texas, Dan was now a seasoned cyclist.  I never heard him complain about anything, every day he got up and rode and performed all his group duties as well or better than anyone else.

Dan is missing his left arm but do not call this guy handicapped!  

Dan carrying the group cooking pot

Dan and Louise putting in the miles

Dan Leonard is a guy who can do anything he sets his mind to, cycling across America is difficult but somehow Dan makes you forget his disability.  By the time we got into Louisiana I think I heard every one arm joke imaginable!  Dan must have a thousand one arm jokes and never missed an opportunity to let them fly every time we met new people along the route.

Dan at Gila National Park in New Mexico

The Gila Cliff Dwellings Park was closed the day we arrived due to the Government shut down in Washington DC.  Apparently the government ran out of money the day we arrived.  Dan decided to at least climb over the gate and get a photo.  I should have sent this pic to the White House.

The highest mountain elevation on the Southern Tier in Emory Pass in New Mexico at almost 8,300′.

Here is the video I took of Dan celebrating on the top of the mountain.

 

Dan arrives at the beach in St. Augustine Florida!

Atlantic ocean

Dan Leonard is a heck of a man and I’m happy to call him my friend.  Dan is back in San Diego now, if you see him on the road, tell him Bill White says hey.

4th of July 5K Watermelon Race—-I Beat Carrot Top!

Winter Park Florida and Track Shack have a great 5K watermelon race each year, it is family friendly and since there is no chip timing it’s more of a fun run than a competition race.  I need about two hours to get my head and my body in tune with the idea that I have to propel myself for three miles down the road at 7:00am.  This means I’m preparing coffee, orange juice, and walking aimlessly around the house trying to get my act together before 5 o’clock in the morning.

Here are my supplies for the days adventure- 

 

Running makes no sense to me, I pay $35.00 to register for an event, get up before 5:00am, drive 30 minutes, find parking, work my way through the sea of people trying to find my friends so we can all go run through the brick streets of Winter Park Florida, sweating profusely in the 85 degree heat with 90% humidity, and for some reason we are all smiling!  I’m running my usual slow pace with the goal of just coming in under 30 minutes with a 10 minute mile pace.  I’m hanging in there in the mass of other runners then on my right, I see Carrot Top passing me, (Carrot Top the entertainer and Las Vegas comedian is a Winter Park resident) I’m thinking there is no way this curly redheaded dude is gonna beat me! I kick up the pace and for most of the last mile it’s Carrot Top and me side by side coming around the corner to the finish line, as we get within 100 yards I see my chance and sprint to the finish line seconds in front of Carrot Top!  Heck yeah, I beat Carrot Top!

Who cares about my time, I just wanted to beat the famous rich guy!  I finished with a 9:14 min pace and time of 28:43.

Track Shack and Winter Park does a great job of organizing the event.  The race starts on Park Avenue, the streets are blocked off, law enforcement keeps the runners safe.  Vendors are set up in the grassy areas and there are lots of free water bottles for everyone.  The Briarpatch restaurant has a great breakfast and burning a few hundred calories gives me an excuse to go eat a thousand calories!

 

Here is the before and after photo of strawberry french toast that was passed around the table.

Running or cycling in the Florida heat of summer takes some getting use to.  Yeah it’s hot, yeah you sweat, so what!—Get outside and embrace the outdoors and enjoy the adventure!

I really enjoyed the 4th of July this year.  I started off the weekend on Thursday evening the 3rd with a special 90 minute spin class at the Zoo Health Club in Winter Springs, got up at 4:30am on the 4th to run the Watermelon 5K then finished off the night with Fireworks at the park in Winter Springs.

Great day in the outdoors with friends, I think I’ll do it again next year!

 

 

 

 

Logistics of Self Contained Bicycle Touring the Southern Tier

What gear do I bring, how to pack, what kind of bicycle is best, what kind of terrain and what about the weather, where to camp and on and on.  The Southern Tier is a popular bicycle route that goes from San Diego CA to St. Augustine FL.  At only 3,200 miles, and 65 days or less, this is also the shortest coast to coast route for cycling.  I completed this ride in 2013 with a group of ten others cyclist from the Adventure Cycling Association.  Their website is here if you want more information.  This article is about my personal experiences riding the Southern Tier, (ST) and not an article on touring with the Adventure Cycling Association.

Here is my packing list of items-3 pair cycling shorts, 3 dry fit shirts (not zip up cycling jerseys), 3 pair socks, 1 pair sandals, 1 pair long dry fit or nylon pants, 4 spare inner tubes, 1 spare fold up tire, 1 can of 4oz Fox Labs pepper spray, 1 sun hat with brim and drape to cover my neck, 1 Showers Pass rain jacket, rain pants, rain shoe covers, rain cover for my helmet, cycling gloves long finger, rain gloves, LED light with headband, 1 pair cycling shoes SPD cleats, 1 REI pack towel, 1 pair running shorts, 1 insulated shirt, 2 man tent from (Link- Big Agnes) , Big Agnes sleeping bag (Link–Big Agnes) tent ground cover, camp pillow, inflatable pad for sleeping bag, US Army poncho liner, plate, cup, knife, fork, spoon kit, insect repellent, sunscreen, and toiletries, and toilet paper.  In addition, I carry as many as six each .75 liter water bottles and wear a 3 liter backpack from Osprey (Link-Manta 28).  The backpack is handy for carrying wallet, cell phone, pepper spray and items you want to keep with you when you are off your bike.  The tendency is to carry way too much gear, most riders wind up shipping items back home and purchasing other items as you go along.  My average gear weighs about 65-75 pounds and add in the weight of the bike, racks and panniers of about 35 pounds I total 100 plus pounds.  For crossing the desert with all water bottles and 3 liter backpack full I am easily over 120 pounds.  This is about the average weight for this tour due to the desert conditions and remote areas.  You may go for over 50 miles with no services, no food, and no water so you must bring it with you.

Here is my loaded rig in the desert:

Camping on the Southern Tier- Campgrounds in the western part of the route are mostly fair to acceptable with showers, flat ground for camping, and a few actually have grass and trees.  Others are hard packed baked dirt to sand with sand spurs and goat heads that stick to your shoes and tires.  Goat head spurs are dangerous as they can puncture bicycle tires and will easily injure you if you step on them with bare feet.  There were only about 3 camping areas where there were no showers but these did have running water available.  Washing clothes and hygiene are very important on any tour.  By the end of the day I’m sweaty, tired and dirty and cleaning up was the highlight of the day, even if it was just sticking my head under a water faucet.  I washed clothes daily by stripping off my socks, shorts and shirt and laying them on the floor of the shower and walking on them as I showered.  I bring a pair of running shorts and sandals to wear from the shower and walking around the camp.  Clothes dry quickly in the southwest by hanging them on a fence, or a tree limb.  15 minutes and everything is nice and dry.  Some campgrounds have electricity for charging electronics, air conditioned common areas, soda machines, BBQ grills and a few even have wifi if they are close to a city.  On the other end of the scale is remote camping areas with no electricity, no cell service, no wifi and only an outdoor water faucet.  McDonalds restaurants are a welcome site along the route as they have cold filtered water to fill water bottles and wifi.  I stopped at almost every McDonalds just to check email and refill water bottles.  I put my panniers in my tent most nights.  For me a 2 man tent is required as I like to have my panniers on one side and I sleep on the other.  I lay out the next days socks, pants, and shirt in one corner of the tent, my iPhone serves as my alarm clock, and keep my small led light with headband close by in case I have to get up in the night.  My Casio watch also has an alarm feature and a light that comes in handy.  I do not carry insect spray to kill mosquitos, but I do use insect repellent in small pump spray bottle with 100% DEET.  Search for Repel 100, it is light weight plastic bottle and not an aerosol can.  Works great.  I have also used it to spray around the outside of my tent where there are ants and also works to keep other crawling bugs out of your tent.  Here is a photo of the route and a thermometer in the shade at our day 1 campground at around 6PM at night it is 110 degrees in the shade in the desert east of San Diego CA.

 Touring Bicycles- Almost any bicycle can be used to cross the Southern Tier.  However just like there are cars such as SUV’s that are better suited for carrying lots of gear, there are bicycles that are designed to tour with full loads of gear.  The single biggest problem I see on the road touring is with tires and wheels.  Riders with a hybrid bike made for commuting around town with light loads such as rider and backpacks are comfortable for a few hours and hold up well for their designed purpose.  Hybrids do not make good self contained touring bikes, they are simply not designed for this.  Touring bikes are designed from the frame up to withstand the rigors of carrying heavy loads over long distances with brakes, shifters, and gear train to handle the stress.  Touring bikes have longer chain stays so your heels don’t hit your rear panniers, beefier forks, a more upright riding position, a frame made of steel and heavy duty wheels with 36 spokes.  Steel frames provide a sturdy framework that can flex slightly for comfort, 36 spoke wheels can handle the stress of carrying heavy loads without breaking spokes.  A triple crankset with 26-36-48 gears and a 9 speed rear cassette of 11-32 will get you over any of the mountains.  If you run out of gears or run out of the energy to climb over the mountain simply stop and take a break or push the bike over the climb.  That’s right folks, I said it is OK to push your bike over a steep hill.  Touring for me is not a race, it’s an adventure.  There is a lot of information on touring bikes, one of the most popular touring bikes on the road is the Surly Long Haul Trucker.  You can read more about this bike on my blog.  Complete specs on this bike is here, Surly Long Haul Trucker

Surly Long Haul Trucker

Road hazards- This route is over 3,200 miles and for the most part is safe for cyclist.  Just like any other route there are road hazards, extreme temperatures, dogs, traffic, not so nice drivers, tunnels, bad roads and even Interstate highways to traverse.  Add all these together, and they are simply just part of the adventure.  What kind of tires for the ST?  I only use Schwalbe touring tires as do most of the other experienced touring cyclist.  I use the Marathon Supreme HS382 foldable tire.  You can see the full line of Schwalbe tires here.  I carry one spare tire in my pannier in case I damage a tire on the tour.  I changed out the rear tire at about 3,000 miles and it would probably go another 1,000 miles if needed.  I experienced about 5 flats on the rear tire in that 3,000 miles.  Most of the flats were due to ghost wires.  Ghost wires are the small wires used to manufacture the steel bands in big truck tires.  When the truck tire gets low on pressure it heats up and at highway speeds the tire will eventually disintegrate and tear the wire bands apart, spewing small pieces of the wire all over the road where they end up on the shoulder like a minefield for cyclist.  The Schwalbe front tire still looked good after 4,000 miles.  I carry 4 inner tubes and a patch kit with me on all my tours.  Dogs? I find that 90% of dogs that chase after me do not want to attack or bite me.  They bark, chase, run along side for the length of their property and go back to their yard.  Usually I can yell STOP at them and this works, others I can point my can of pepper spray at them and this works, some dogs seem to recognize the spray can and immediately stop.  However there are dogs that do not respond to commands and appear very aggressive.  No matter what your feelings are toward aggressive animals, Pepper spray works.  You generally do not have to spray the dog in the face, just the smell of the mist from the air will immediately stop the aggressive dog.  I always carry a can of Fox Labs 4oz aerosol spray while on tour.  Lights and mirrors  I use a rear red flashing light on the back of my gear and I use a handlebar mirror to watch traffic coming up behind me.  I would not tour with these two safety items.  I also have a helmet light set that has a bright LED front light and a red LED for the rear.  I only use this for tunnels or fog or rain.  Here is a photo of the rear of my Surly showing the lights and mirror.

Recommendation- I highly recommend anyone wanting to tour the (ST), Southern Tier, to first sign up for a shorter tour with the Adventure Cycling Association.  You can learn the ABC’s of self contained touring and this provides you some real world experience before you set out on an epic 2 month long adventure.  I do not recommend touring the ST alone.  This is not a beginners tour to tackle by yourself due to the extreme conditions of the desert, long steep climbs over 8,000′ mountains and remote areas where no one should be on the road by himself.

 

Movie of Emory Pass New Mexico 8,295′ highest elevation but not the most difficult climb on the ST.