Ankle & foot pain didn’t let me sleep well, partially from pain and apprehension.

Plan for today is seek medical attention to fix the source of pain. Brevard lacked an Urgent Care but S of Asheville has 1. Drove up, short wait time. Interacted w/ dr. Said it is not a blood clot as it lacks the redness, swelling, & hardness. Even if it was a clot it was in the foot and would be considered superficial. He was surprised that the Mansfield doc prescribed the Lovelux as normal treatment would be elevation & warmth. I am on killer vitamin I regimen like 400 mg 3X for a week. And an antacid kicker.

Stopped at a sports medicine clinic to see if a bike fit could be performed. A PT there is an avid biker. Made appointment for tomorrow, now I am wrestling w/ a prescription for the pt.

Shopped new REI in Asheville seeking warmer gloves and a warm feet solution. New store in mega shopping district, no old building make over. Bought warmer gloves &  waterproof socks and handwarmers for my sore foot. Learned some ride ideas back @ Dupont Forest that I might try.

Learned that Asheville is 17 inches of rain behind for the year and this is their 3rd year of drought. I made mention about not being able to ride because of the rain and then I learned of their situation. I want the world and I want it now as Morrison sang in a Doors song. I want sunny skies & dry trails when I am in your home town.

Moonshine I bought is flavored w/ natural & artifical flavors sort of like a liquor: sweet & sticky. Come join me and I will pour you all the shots the bottle has in it.

Wide Stance Larry Craig’s appeal was denied. OJ drew 9 years for his robbery act. GM wants more money from next administration. Merril Lyynch CEO wants 10 mil bonus because company only lost 11.6 bil.  Put these in your time capsule.

Last night I caught a shower @ USFS XG & returned to same camping spot. Late unsatisfying meal of toasted cheese sandwhich & canned clam chowder. that’s what i get facing dinner @ 6:00.

Not so cold last night. Today i will ride Dupont SF an IMBA epic.

Dupont: horse trails & old roads. Plus h2o falls mixed in. Maybe if I rode with a local that has put together what little ST there is, this was a bust. I will map out the  IMBA epic route and maybe try again.

Trail tread is firm & probably drains well after rain that is forecast for Tues & Wed.

Picked up mail in Brevard. Fast shipment from Seattle.

Shower @ laundromat again.

GU is ranked 4th!!!!. Wooohooo.

Bought some NC moonshine to taste later this eve.

Left leg is of concern: pain in ankle and now down into foot. Icing it now. Blood clots in smaller veins?

Slept well; not awakened by rigs driving by my bedroom. Learned that no hunting on Sunday. That means I don’t have to rewear my sweaty orange jersey from yesterday.

Cold night. Again drag my feet awaiting the warmer temps later in the AM.

Drove to Fish Hatchery for next ride.  While getting ready a group of teenagers came stragling out of woods back from an overnight. they must not have been far from the parking lot because of how early they walked in.

Again my problem was getting found on the trail. maybe if I wore my glasses the maps would make more sense. Or wait until a knowledgeable rider (s) shows up and make some excuse when attempting to glob on with their ride. A camper van pulled in w/ 2 bikes on it. richard walks up to my van and we chat. I ask obout ride and he says talk to Scott in the van because he rides this all the time. Worked for me. I waited until he emerged from his van and stated my desire to ride w/ them. He said yes. I learned they are from Indianapolis, IN and Scott drives down almost every weekend during the slow bike season as he owns Indy Cycle Specialist. They are going to ride the ride I was planning on. So, there RV, not always am I IRA.

Better ride today, more even up & down with some logging roads thrown in for some of the climbs. I huffed & puffed up the hills but did better than Scot & Richard but they out did me on the technical downhills. Trail in places was out West rough. Following another rider gave me confidence to ride down things that I walked before. Compliments to PUSH fork tune as the fork performed well in it’s toughest test so far: no bottoming out.

Riding thru rhody thickets. Only the rhodys have leaves still on. Ice in spots on downhill, some places it was ice crystals. Beautiful day: blue sky, no clouds & chrystal clear. Low 40s in sun & close to freezing in shadows. Lots of people out. I rode last on the downhills. 2 other guys joined on downhill and the boys hair got up & they statred riding a bit faster. I hung back having learned my lessons long ago about that tomfoolery. Scot crashed on a corner. The other 2 guys recounted how many times they had fallen at the same place.

Long day beautiful day. Scot said he will be back next weekend. i might remain here to ride w/ him and his gang next week.

Richard has done a lot of same rides I have done over time. We played have you ridden there.

Drove back into town to laundromat for shower, damn, closed on Sunday. Scott told me XG on river road has a shower for $3.00 also.

Hanging on outskirts of town for internet access.

Going to ride Dupont Forest just down road from here. Forecast for Tuesday on is for rain  but temps in 50s.

16.73 miles 2611′ today.