deCycles Southeast America 2014
Journal Entry
Day 15 ... Friday, July 5

Start: Spartanburg, SC

End: Asheville, NC

Distance: 69-miles

Terrain: Rolling hills.  Climbed well over 6000-vertical feet today.  Elevation is 2150-ft

Climate: High 77-degrees  Sunny.   Headwinds all day.

The final day of a tough week and with headwinds the past 3-days.  69-miles can seem easy now, but just 3-months ago, that would have been a like a ton of miles.  We will have pedaled over 600-miles the past 6-days.  We are looking forward to the weekend.  Things are cooling off with the high temp of just 77-degrees.  This is the first day in the 70s.  Yesterday was the first day in the 80s.  Every other day has been sweltering hot in the mid to upper 90s.

We encountered our first big climb of 1500-ft in 4-miles today.  At the top of the climb was a charming little town called Saluda, NC.  We were going to have lunch at the top.  Upon arrival, we were caught in the middle of a big parade through town.  It was the Coon Dog Days Festival and we joined right in on the parade.  I think the deCycles was the main attraction to the crowd of 10,000 people.   The riders walked and pedaled their bikes squeezed between the beauty queen and some hot rod automobiles.  The deCycles enjoyed the attention and showed off their stuff.  So out here in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains is a parade of people, motorcycles, fire trucks, and the deCycles.  What fun!  It's also the first time we've ever set up lunch in the middle of the street.  

After this chance encounter, we pedaled about 25-miles to Hendersonville, NC, another festival town.  The downtown was completely remodeled and was gorgeous.  It's amazing what some communities do to improve their overall appearance.  From there there were a lot of whoop-de-do hills and more climbing.  We finally reached the famous Biltmore Estate near Asheville.  More than half the riders visited America's largest mansion and pedaled through the estate grounds.  The other half went on to the overnight church location at Morningside Baptist Church.  The minister and congregation prepared a BBQ supper for the riders.  How nice after a long day and long week on the road.  They are welcoming us with open arms.  Such precious people.  

Tomorrow is a day off.  We will go whitewater rafting on the French Broad River that flows through Asheville.  We'll also top it off with a zipline trip over the Appalachian forest.  This weekend is offering different experiences than just riding a bicycle all day.   We are looking forward to a change.  We also need a rest off the bikes after pedaling nearly 1100-miles in the past 2-weeks.

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