| Pothole Surfers Survive Pilot |
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| 9-4-2003 |
The day begins nicely enough as our little rag tag group of three gather in the lot at The Oaks. On the road by 7:50, we fall in with a group on Ken's Bike Shop guys and girls for a bit and then catch another group of eight or so in East Bend. Then the unexpected - yard sales - miles of them. Pedestrians and cars on and in the streets. So amazed are we that we miss our turn on Siloam Road and have to backtrack two miles to find it.
All of a sudden the route turns upward (as in "let's climb") on Hardy Road, but one more right turn on Pilot Church Road gives us a first look at our destination. The view is inspiring with tobacco fields to our left and right and the knob of Pilot Mountain directly ahead.
It takes time, but we finally make it to the park entrance (after a quick trip down the on-ramp to Highway 52 south). A couple of gentle switchbacks give us a false sense of security and more than one of us thinks that this isn't so bad. But soon we're grunting up a 15% pitch and wishing for more gears (or someone else's legs). One or two of us (OK three) hop off the bike to walk for a few dozen yards or so (only to clean our cleats), but we all re-mount and make our way up the road at a respectable pace.
A third of the way up, the mountain relents and gives us a more manageable grade and everyone makes the top with energy to spare (a requirement since we still have 20 or so miles to go). After a short rest and a decision to ride Tsali in October instead of Mount Mitchell, we all check our brakes and begin the well-deserved free ride to the bottom.
The ride back is uneventful, although a bit of fatigue keeps us quiet for a few miles, until we re-join the East Bend group on their way home. A playful paceline develops and the young guns (prompted by an unexpected attack from one of our riders) use their last bit of energy for a sprint up Shallowford Road.
Directions and the original trip map.Click here. |
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