Long, Slow, Lap around Linville Gorge...

So I'd hoped to go mountain biking with friends on my day off this week, but with unsure weather and people's busy lives I ended up riding alone. "I guess I'll just ride alone."

Studying various weather websites I realized I should head southeast - so I decided to ride the Linville Gorge Loop listed in one of the books we sell at work. Problem is, I'm still running 36/46 x 11/26 gearing from CX racing. Oh well, a 34/50 x 11/28 would have made more sense...

An eerie old, moldy sign greeted me as I rolled out:



My route for the day:





It took a little over 4 hours of riding to cover the 52 miles, and nearly 5 hours start to finish including 10+ stops to check the map. I left my handwritten cue sheet at the car. Oops. It was a fun day, and I'd like to go back and try riding up Tablerock Mtn Rd sometime instead of 'Simpson Creek Rd' or whatever it turns into. As usual, thanks for reading. JG