|
Blog Entries
|
|
Monday, 24 November 2008 15:22 |
Russ Corn – always generous with his expertise and time – led a small group of newbies on a combination ride that was a perfect mix of blacktop and gravel road through the North Mills River Campground to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The idea of the ride was to inspire confidence in the off-road conditions that make cross-country riding such an adventure.
The handful of dual sport riders followed Yellow Gap Road and Hwy 276 to the Parkway, and then continued north past Pisgah Mountain and the gorgeous Pisgah Inn to Bent Creek Gap where they descended Wash Creek Road back to the campground. By the time the Wash Creek Road descent was underway, confidence was soaring among even the most timid riders, and they found themselves riding at surprising speeds along the same roads that earlier had been intimidating.
Back in camp, while engines cooled and thirsts were quenched, the whole group chatted and laughed and compared notes. Riders who had started the day as strangers were now reveling in their successes and their shared experience. What a fantastic feeling to learn off-road techniques from experts, and to know that Western North Carolina’s whole world of backcountry roads is suddenly open to you! I felt that I had discovered an adventure sport that, with a little nurturing, would translate into a lifestyle for me.
|
