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.

Slept well knowing again that I would ride from camp, except I started counting rigs going by about 6:00AM getting into hunting position. During ride yesterday I did not see 1 deer. Lot of empty tags about.

After washing mud off bike yesterday I spun the cranks backwards and noticed a less than effortless spin. Damn, fried another bottom bracket. I convinced myself that it spun freely enough for a ride with the promise at ride’s end I would seek professional help.

Several cars were parked @ horse stable where ride starts. Didn’t catch up to them. I am now just a rabbit for other riders, I don’t reel in riders ahead of me.

Passed father / son deer hunters dressed in full camo with a fire going right on the road track. Learned that it is rifle season for deer. I suspected such. Oh well, I have a right to be outside also. I never heard a shot during the ride.

Rode up same as yesterday and joined the Black Mtn trail and turned South instead. Old hiking trail: log h2o bars & steep fall line climbs and decents. A bit of serious hike a bike sections: hiking itself was interesting but toting along a bike was even more exciting. Several vista outlooks, rough mountains albeit short. Rhody thickets with trail cut thru them. Finally crested last of Black Mtn massive & headed down. Some switchbacks and traverse trail but mostly hard squeeze on hydraulic brake levers. I ride Formula K24 brakes with an 8″ rotor front and a 6″ on back. With 1 finger I have good modulation but not enough power to lock up wheels. 2 fingers has modulation but the ability to lock up wheels which I need sometimes. Front brake announces my presences w/ squeal.

Solitary ride again.

Cold today. Gloves are essentially long fingered summer gloves, not very warm. Wear PI booties that ride up over my toes, these are not made for hike a bike but keep my feet from freezing. Temp is below freezing each night which is unusual here or maybe at this time of year.

Back into town. Tried Sycamore bikes for bottom bracket, no dice . Went across street to The Hub to do business. No Shimano but a Race Face that has not treated me well in past, but a spinning crank is more important than me being pissed @ Race Face. Got a discount on BB as it was installed & deinstalled from a bike but never ridden on. Pretty gold color clashed with Sangria color of Turner. But hey, the crank spins freely.

Groceries at IGLES a big well stocked chain store. Shower @ laundromat again. Parked in town for inyernet access. time to head to woods for dinner.

Riding here again tomorrow on a suggested route.

Off again.

Check Ride data page for ride graphic.

Zags won again, ranked number 5.