Beautiful day, warmed up but chilled off as afternoon wore on.

Bought propane from building supply co, 5.1 gals in a 5.7 gal tank. I turned the heat off last night not knowing my contents. Fortunately for that I had a hot Bfast.

We rode from Yellow Gap out to Squirrel gap to S Mills River and then dirt road ride back to Yellow Gap. Ran out of h2o again. The ice falls that formed 2 days earlier are melting away. the ground in some shady places was still frozen.

Beat wheels back into Brevard for shower @ laundromat & then to woods for camp which was open.

Adventure race going on nearby, the Most Horrible Thing Ever race. Scott spent night near race headquarters & got the skinny on the event.

Chilly night but way warmer than last 2.

Part way thru bfast i looked out the window and saw Scott’s camper at spot #1. Kept looking for van movement indicating he was up. About 9:00 he emerged.

We rode out of parking about 11:30 for a route around the basin we are in. Getting warmer. All snow from Monday is dried up.  We rode up short section of Avery Creek & then picked up Buckhorn trail. Shorter way to buckhorn gap but some hike a bike & technical.

Fun riding. Did better. Trail is way more technical, most since I left here back in Jan.

Good exposure to pisgah:

At Gap front tire flatted. Appears tube seam split. Very warm, by now I doffed my booties, big gloves, & wool long underwear top. Snow in few isolated spots. Down to Club Gap, uphill & down hill to Bennett gap and climb out before final descent to Avery Creek where we are camped.

A stick jammed thru my rear spokes and broke a nipple right off rim. Scott zip tied it out of way. Rode a bit more cautiously. Some tread is in freeze thaw slippery mud. Going downhill the front wheel went a different line than rear. Just let front slide and crab w/ rear wheel to keep line straight. Scott saves his energy for the downhills  which makes the uphills almost leisurely for me.

Parts of lower Bennett’s were still frozen because of shade & a creek bottom. Slippery mud then frozen then covered w/ leaves and maybe some roots and rocks thrown in made downhill exciting.

Back @ van i hustle into town to The Hub to repair the rear wheel. Arrive just b4 5 and Alex turns to. Wheel remained true making a simple fix.

Dinner @ Dolly’s. Saw noticeable number of rigs w/ bikes on. Forecast is for sunny 60’s temp.

Scott has a long ride planned for tomorrow his long ride day. Might entail riding thru closed area @ Pink Beds.

Heat was off all day. It’s 8:45PM and I am a bit cold but trying to delay turning on propane. I think I can make it to Monday but I would feel warmer if I finished the ride today in time to hit the fuel store.

Creeks are deicing.

Wednesday AM the temp inside was 44 degrees, outside I learned it was 9 degrees. There was just a few inches of ice free windshield. PT appointment @ 12:00 and no riding after sesion. Too cold to ride. Fun stuff @ Dupont would have been frozen water ice. Visitor Center was closed but restrooms were unlocked. Hung out @ The Hub before PT appointment. Sam said i could service my rear wheel in his warm shop.

Kim worked on my knee @ PT. She said that the condition of my body indicates that the injury issues are old and will take time to restore. Perhaps. I left my pen in her office. Called her and she had discovered that she gained an extra pen and will put it out for me on Friday. I have another appointment on Monday.

Back @ Hub. Regreased rear hub and readjusted rear brake caliper. Made offer to Sam, owner of The Hub, of a picture show for their store & clients should they want to pull something together. Sam told me on Thurs AM he was meeting w/ Ed Sutton from Trail Dynamics to appraise a, in construction trail from Club Gap. I asked to go along.

Scott from Indianpolis saw me in Pisgah Sunday and is in contact w/ me for a weekend ride. Bruce from Asheville is going to Ellijay, GA this weekend before my trip plan.

Wed eve I decided to head to camp spot to fix dinner and work on some offline stuff instead of hanging @ Dolly’s which is why there was no post Wed.

Another cold night and I did not sleep warm even w/ doubled down blanket & heat on high. Again the temp was single digit. Put on wool long underwear for 9:00AM woods hike looking @ trail work. Bright sunny skies but still just cold.

Falls along road:

Ed knows Bill. Bill, I set Ed up with the California rider for you to finish.

On a previous trip in my van a young man struck up a conversation about my van. I learned that he had spent 5 winters @ Alpental @ Snoqualmie living in his trade van. He said an issue for him was moisture. I said I had the problem in hand w/ a roof vent fan. Today I reached into my “clothes closet” which is a bracket to hang  clothes hangers on that is aft of my frige & forward of the rear door. I noticed that shirt sleeves are damp because moisture is condensing there. I need several days of hot temps to dry things out.

Fred is back @ Visitor Center which is opened. Going back to visit after shower.

Still having problems w PICASA for pictures.

Knee pain today is about the same.