Ride Director: Tom Leever
Ride Co-Director: Julie Leever
Report by: Anne Cowan
Looking for a superbly run and organized ride in the heart of Western NC and East TN? This is it. The Leevers have a well-deserved reputation having led multiple rides state-side and abroad, and the polish that experience and familiarity brings was evident every day.
It was accurately rated as a 4B but an optional ride up Roan Mountain made it 4D for those who so chose. Accommodations included hotels, inns, and a B&B, all clean and well run with hearty breakfasts, but the jewel was in Hot Springs, NC, a 5-star B&B with a 6-star breakfast. Climbing those hills requires real food!!!
Day-1 out of Asheville was a quick transition from suburban traffic to country lanes where the hi-rise downtown became single-wides on hillsides. A three mile climb was the preamble to a 5-mile descent to Hot Springs with dinner at the Iron Horse Cafe. Day-2 to Erwin, TN began with a warm-up across the bridge on the French Broad, then a 3-mile climb with multiple crossings of the Appalachian Trail and several in our group took a hike. The descent into Erwin was fast but lunch at the Dari-Ace with new friends was filling and fun. Riding was quiet rural with occasional motorcycles on tour and a few cars. Day-3 from Erwin to Banner Elk began by climbing up Limestone Cove, then a short stint on busy 19E (with shoulders) before riding the old Tweetsie RR bed into Roan Mountain. A 26 mile round trip up Roan Mountain (7-9% grade on the final 7 miles) added about 2½ hours to the day with an exhilarating descent. Roan to Banner Elk was busy but traffic was polite. The Vietnamese restaurant across from the Best Western was superb. Banner Elk’s gated subdivisions gave way to remote coves where burley tobacco, sorghum, and Christmas trees accompanied hayfields and cows until West Jefferson, which was a jumping little town on Saturday afternoon with breweries, cheese, and curio shops, and even a wedding. We had a layover day there but rode a 36 mile, gorgeous Sunday ride with 3300’ climbing and had Sunday traffic—20 cars rushing to church at 10:50 and at 12:05, rushing to the famous Shatley Springs for lunch. Jesse ate there “with the locals” at “their” table and said it was great! About a mile of coarse gravel made for one flat tire but otherwise pavement was gloriously smooth.
W. Jefferson to Blowing Rock included 34 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP), slow or non-existent traffic, and dinner at the New Public House on our own. We had another “rest” day in W. Jefferson, so we rode the optional route to Boone, but the paper cue sheets were dated. The .tcx files downloaded the night before with a revised route took us down Shulls Mill to NC 105 where we found heavy traffic (and a shoulder after the first mile) into Boone. This was a bustling college town with eclectic places to eat lunch. The return ride included our second bit of gravel on the trip, but hard packed and much easier than the other day. Dinner was on our own at the Blowing Rock Brewery. BR to Little Switzerland included 43 miles on the BRP, with multiple climbs and descents as we passed Linn Cove Viaduct (be sure to stop at their excellent visitor’s center) and Grandfather Mt, and then we took in the NC Mineral Museum at MP-331, 100 yards off route.
The last day of riding was another cool start, with 3600’ of climbing by 21 miles. We and several others made the climb to Mt. Mitchell on this perfect day! The ride into Asheville was a 10-mile descent before we turned off for the final miles back to the hotel. Julie organized another on-your-own meal at a local Indian restaurant, Mela, for those staying the night.
We were immersed in beautiful rural scenery while we climbed, the descents were far from white-knuckle, and we all enjoyed this journey in the awesome Blue Ridge. Read our journal for more details and photos. www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/2017BlueRidgeRamble
Bicycle Adventure Club
PO BOX 23998 San Diego, CA 92193
Telephone (858) 715-9510 office@bicycleadventureclub.org