Day 3-More Climbs and lots of Hippies

Day 3 started off with sore legs, but after some coffee, over medium eggs and bread with peanut butter and jam I was ready to go. Today’s ride started off with a nice downhill section, but quickly turned into an uphill slog. We hit two big climbs within the 1st hour of riding, but eventually the road leveled out and we could ride some easier tempo. After the two first two climbs Mark headed back for some much needed sleep. Josh, John, and I continued on, riding some rolling terrain, and winding roads. The winding roads led to some confusion, along with road names on the maps not meshing with road signs. We luckily were good at making educated guesses and didn’t get too lost. As part of our route we did get a chance to ride a really cool 1.5 mile long gravel climb. Luckily it wasn’t too steep or we would’ve had some issues getting traction with road tires. Today’s ride ended up being about 3 hours in length.

That evening we headed down to Asheville to check out the city. I have always heard good things about Asheville so I was eager to check out vibe. After some research we decided on an Indian restaurant, and were not disappointed. The food was super spicy and by the end of the meal I was so bloated because of all the water I drank that I could barely walk. After dinner we walked around the town. Asheville is a really nice city, with a beautiful backdrop of mountains and a walkable downtown with shops, restaurants, and a large amount of hippies. It reminded me of Boulder, but I thought Asheville’s downtown had a lot more to offer than Boulder.