The Asheville Fall Classic had been on our radar all summer.
In a route created by Ed Moreadith and Robert Kranz, it promised amazing roads through WNC and breathtaking vistas. Most importantly, it guaranteed 85 miles with good friends.
On the drive up, Shey and I stopped in Hartwell to ride the single speed course. It was just as fast and flowy and we remembered and we got to visit with Carey and Zeke.
Ed offered us his garage apartment for Friday and Saturday nights. Greg and Patrick were staying in Ed's house and Pete was couch surfing just up the road. We visited a bit on Friday night, then hit the hay.
Saturday morning, Ed made eggs, oatmeal, toast, etc for breakfast. Greg approved the oatmeal and five happy riders filled up fast.
We met Bella and she was part of the group all weekend.
The ride starts behind the Wedge brewery, located in the River Arts District of Asheville, NC. We rode down to the start and met up with the rest of the group. 10 riders total.
The forecast was rain, so I think several people bailed, but the guys had a good core group. I was craving a good run, so decide I would do a portion of the route on my own, then find a good place for a run. In retrospect I should have done the complete route since it was so much fun, but I had running on the brain for some reason.
It was drizzling when we started.
At the start of the ride, Ed gave me directions to skip the lollipop section of the route and that would leave me with a 40 mile route. I wanted a little more than that, so I hit every road that looked cool (and they were ALL cool) then would backtrack to the route.
I eventually made a friend.
They guys had a great ride. It was no man left behind and even with several flats due to a rim issue, the guys got in 85 miles and made it back to town by 4:00 or so. I had run circles around the Arts District, then outside of town, then back up to the apartment. 15 miles total run and had time for a hot shower and a little reading, too. What a perfect day!!!!!!!!!!
THEN, as the icing on the cake, Meredith had made chili and cornbread. I was so freakin' excited!! I ate at least two bowls and thanked her a million times. The whole house smelled amazing and we were all starving. A hot bowl of chili hit the spot.
We sat and visited for hours and more friends came over with more food, and more beer. I was exhausted and knew it was super late and I was ready for bed. I peeked at my watch and it was 9:00pm. Getting old!
We slept well and got up in the morning to head home. Ed was up with Bella and we thanked him for a great weekend and for putting together a perfect route.
Shey wasn't sure if he was going to race the SS Championship race or not. We had breakfast and still had time to get to the race without rushing, so we pulled off the highway and he jumped on his fixie and lined up at the back of the pack. Tired legs from a hard week of intensity and climbing.
He won the fixie category and got some really cool swag.
Really looking forward to the Asheville Fall Classic 2014!!
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