Thursday, June 16, 2011

Day 1 - Cashiers, NC

It's pronounced Cash-urs. If you pronounce it like it's spelled, you'll be subtly corrected by the locals. It would go something like this:

Local: Where ya'll headed?
Me: Cash-ears
Local: Ah, Cash-urs

My first day on the Blue Ridge tour took me from Myke's house to Cash-urs. I was to link up with the group who took a train to Greenville, SC (pronounced Green-vul) but their train was 6 hours late so I'd be riding the 62 mile (58 for them) route solo. This isn't a bad thing. It gave me a chance to navigate solo in a completely unfamiliar area, something I've been wanting to do since I got my gps a couple of years ago. I really don't pay much attention to the profiles Wally includes with his cuesheets. Yeah, I knew there would be a climb at the end so I had John put the compact gearing on my touring bike so I'd have a 34x29 as a low gear if I'd need it.

But what I didn't pay attention to was that it was almost a 20 mile climb with sections of 18-20% grade. And what the hell was I thinking when I thought I could ride 62 miles of mountains on a couple of granola bars. Works fine for Delaware...but not in the mountains. Somewhere around mile 45, I started to get some twinges in the arch of my feet that very quickly developed into cramps. If you've ever gotten a cramp in the arch of your foot in the middle of the night where your foot tries to curl up into a little ball, yeah, just like that. Then my calves ceased up. So, here I am with loaded packs, cramping on a climb - I've never had cramps before - on a road with no shoulder that was also used by tractor-trailers. I carefully dismount, hoping I don't crumple to the ground, and begin the first of many sections of walking, and not just the steep parts. Then I hear the rumble of thunder...great, just what I need. I continue with my pedal-walk ordeal, praying to God not to rain on my parade. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally roll into Cash-urs, hungry, but dry. I limp into a coffee shop for some food and sit by the window and watch the rain that just rolled in. Life is good!

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