Here's a ride I took Saturday morning with some biker dudes....the kind that have pedals on their bikes. I got to play chase vehicle and support crew for a team of pedalers on a ride from Asheville, NC to the top of Mt.Mitchell, highest point east of the Mississippi. For those of you who have ridden road bikes here are some stats:
distance traveled - 40+ miles
total elevation climbed - approx. 9,000 ft
total elevation gain, start to finish - approx. 4,500 ft
time to complete - approx. 5 hrs

Weather was low 70's and deep blue skies, perfect weather. I joined the team on the Blueridge Parkway and followed all the way to the top of Mt. Mitchell.

This was my first chance to get the KLX on some smooth twisty pavement. I had my helmet cam and a handlebar video cam mounted. Vid's turned out so-so. I'll try to post those later.

Here are 2 links to my photobucket account with all the pics, but I've included some "teaser pics" in this post.

KLX250 pics and scenery:
http://s463.photobucket.com/albums/q...0-%20Part%202/

Biker dudes:
http://s463.photobucket.com/albums/q...Mt%20Mitchell/


....loading up the night before. The wife and I had a 4 1/2 hr ride to meet the guys at 9:00 on the Parkway
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...there's my "new" slightly used First Gear Jacket - $25 at a yard sale!!!
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1st rest stop on the Parkway for the "bikers"
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The competition...
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....some local scenery
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...tunnel vision
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...almost at the top of Mt. Mitchell (highest point you can ride to)
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View from top of the world (at least on the East Coast side)!
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...a few pics of the competition in action..
Taking a rest and loading up on some calories
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...climbing up the Parkway
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...another hard earned rest stop
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...at speed on the only down hill section !!!!
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...agony on the last 2 miles up Mt Mitchell
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VICTORY...!!!!
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Awesome man, I love the last picture with the guy holding his bike over his head in triumph. So did you ride ahead of them and take a nap?

 

Thanks deej....actually I was a busy little bee. I'd ride beside and check on the guys then blast ahead to find a place to stop and take pics. Then I'd turn around and head back towards them to get some head on vid's. Turn around and go back by to check on them. If we had problems I'd blast ahead and get the "support vehicle" to come back.
(plus it was just too much fun riding the twisties to not keep riding all I could.)

I hope you enjoyed the eastern mountains...different kind of beauty from the Pacific Northwest !!!

 

Is that 40 miles round trip from asheville to the top and then back? Looks like an awesome ride (pedaling that is)

~Steve
(Road cyclist in disguise)

 

6600 is the highest peak east of the mississippi? weak, telescope peak in death valley is 14000, so it white mountain in bishop. hell, even palomar moutain and santiago peak are that high and less than and hour away from me. cool ride though, i love riding at elevation.

 

The "bike ride" was 41 miles one way to the top of Mt Mitchell. Only a couple of miles where they got to coast....the rest was all uphill. The guys figured they would be too physically spent to focus enough for a fast downhill ride plus the pavement on the Parkway heading back down was full of potholes and rough spots from rockslides, winter weather, and old age.

And yeah, these hills aren't as tall as the ones out west but they're all we got, we love 'em, and they are a whole lot older than the Sierras and Rockies!