Week-end at the Bicycle Inn  ~  Bakersville, NC

with TailWind Tandem Club, Charlotte, NC

July 18 – 20, 2003

One of our mentor always told us “if it does not kill you, it makes you stronger”.  While there are a few easy flat routes along the rivers near the Bicycle Inn, in Bakersville, NC (not too far from Little Switzerland and the Blue Ridge Parkway), you will find plenty of hills to give you time for meditation…that is if you still have enough energy to think.

The Inn is a beautiful house, completely renovated by the owners, Michael and Paulette Davis.  Each room is named after a famous cyclist, with its own theme and cycling related decorations.  It is nested at the foothills of the western mountains of North Carolina, not too far from the Tennessee border.

Smith and I decided to spend the weekend with the Charlotte tandem club (the TailWind Tandem Club, lead by the enthusiastic Susanna Sisk), with our friends the McCabe’s from Wilmington.  In the meantime, Laura McCabe had been sent to Taiwan for two months, but we had gotten so excited about the trip that we decided to go anyway, and were fortunate enough to find a stoker for Duncan: Tracy Botruff.

We took the Friday off so we could enjoy three days of cycling, since it is a long drive from Raleigh (about 4 hours one way).  We arrived at the Inn around lunchtime, ate our sandwiches on the porch, while reading queue sheets. The Inn specializes in hosting cyclists and really caters to us.  Michael has prepared many very detailed queue sheets to help you discover the area.  We elected for the Frankie and Charlie loop (26 miles), which took us on a scenic rolly ride around Bakersville, all the way to Kona where we were treated to a beautiful view of the mighty Mt Mitchell.  Shortly after, we were confronted with the “attack of the frantic pigmy goats”.  While we were enjoying the scenery, mama goat decided to cross the road.  Baby goats realized they had lost her as we were heading down the hill.  They were just as frantic as squirrels, only bigger!  The loop finishes with a great 2 mile downhill to Bakersville, where you can sustain 35 to 40 miles per hour for a while.  The car driver following us took a serious look at us when he passed, probably thinking it was Lance Armstrong driving that tandem!

Finally around 4 pm, most of the Charlotte group had arrived and was ready for a short ride.  They elected to go along the river, which was great for us.  Great: easy terrain, new scenery.  The route takes you along the river, with great views to the valley, and through a little town called “Loafers’ Glory” (I am not making it up!).

Michael and Paulette are vegetarians and treated us with a fantastic dinner that included a great variety of veggies, pie and casseroles.

On Saturday morning, after much arm twisting it was decided that the group would ride the Roan and Moan the rest of the 66 mile ride.  Do not let the relative short distance fool you.  This ride includes about 7,100 feet of climbing, featuring Iron Mountain and Roan Mountain climbs. Michael decided to be our tour guide that day, taking “action pictures” (he rides so fast, the one we took of him is blurry!), advising on sharp turns and scenic short cuts. We all decided to regroup at the top of Iron Mountain, right at the Tennessee state line.  The downhill is a beautiful, wide, and windy road.  Just pure fun for a tandem.  Since we did not leave first, we had to wait a couple of switch backs before we could pass some single bikes, and “let it roll”, and thought to ourselves “gee! I wish I would get a second pass at this one!”  We all regrouped at the bridge at an unmarked turn, so we could ride the “flat” section together.  After a while, we started worrying about Tim and Sharon Patterson (Louisville, TN). We knew they had made it to the top, and the downhill was only 4.5 miles long. 

Finally a truck pulling a cattle trailer stopped and talked to Susanna. They told her the Patterson’s had a flat.  So, we waited and waited.  After speculating whether the guy had killed them, hauling their bodies in the trailer amidst the little cows (we could only see their ears), Smith and I decided to go back up the hill.  About halfway up the hill, we realized our friends had probably turned away, but we decided to go all the way – just in case.  As expected, they had turned around (we hoped!), and we got our wish of a second descent of Iron Mountain.  Pure bliss we would pay for later.

Michael waited for us at the bridge with Steve Johnson (Charlotte, NC) and lead us back to the pack at a furious speed, once he realized we could take corners aggressively.  At first, Smith was panicked when Michael told him the group left 30 minutes ago, which was not true. They probably were 5 minutes ahead.  We caught up with them at a major intersection, a few miles away from the town of Roan Mountain.  We stopped for a welcome cold drink, and headed for the Roan Mountain State Park, and up the mountain for 7 miles.  The first part of the climb is the steepest, but the end is not easier because by then, your legs have been tenderized.  We watched Tim and Beth Sullivan (Charlotte, NC) walk away from us, and climbed at our pace, enjoying the wild flowers, which were very abundant, probably due to the heavy rainfall this spring.  The top of the climb was a bit hazy, so we did not get the great views of the valleys around.  We regrouped at Carver’s Gap, which is a great hiking spot (there’s an Appalachian Trail crossing sign near the top).  I promised myself to come back with hiking boots.  Roan Mountain has the reputation for having great hiking trails. The downhill from Carver’s gap is very fast, the bottom section has few windy turns and a mean dog you want to avoid.  Michael volunteered to go get it, but somehow, the beast must have known, which was fine with us.  The rest of the ride is mostly downhill to the Inn. You deserved a shower and the watermelon Paulette had prepared for you… and checking the results of the first time trial of the Tour de France.  Saturday dinner was just as beautiful as Friday’s with grilled salmon and casseroles.  I particularly liked the blueberry desert.

Sunday morning, we all agreed to an easier ride, went back to the river but pushed the ride further to about 28 miles (1 way) to see a waterfall.  Both Michael and Tim jumped in the pool.  From the screams we heard from Tim, we knew the water was cold, and decided to pass. Michael, the perfect host that he is probably got frustrated with us when he tried to sprint away so he could take more pictures… well, since we did not realize what he was up to, we chased him, and he looked quite frustrated to have us on his tail. Hopefully he will take us back.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed the company of the Charlotte group, the warmth of Michael and Paulette.  They really go out of their way to make people feel at home, and enjoy their cycling experience.

Give Bicycle Inn a call and reserve your own weekend of fine hospitality to see what the Inn is all about. You will wonder why you hadn’t heard of this divine retreat setting sooner.

Not to brag, but Sisk gave us the award “King of the Hill” to Team WeTandem (Smith and I) for the feat on Iron Mountain twice. I wear it proudly…the polka dot jersey

Claude Monnier, Road Dogs

Raleigh, NC

(The guys in the cattle trailer message was: “the folks on the double bike had a blow out and are turning around. Don’t wait for them, they will find their own way back.”)….