Bent Creek just outside of Asheville NC
just minutes from where we were staying in West Asheville
these are the only photos from Bent Creek... as I was riding not playing photographer
we went to Bent Creek and rode the same set of trails twice
simple enough
we parked at the Rice Pinnacle Trailhead
from the trailhead we rode down the paved trail into the woods
then once on dirt we looked for the Wolf Branch Trail
the Wolf Branch Trail is a moderately technical trail
we climbed the Wolf Branch Trail up to a fireroad
Dean had no issue clearing the climb with its roots and rocks
Grant was able to but was not willing to fight the trails
Grant opted to fight me rather than the trails
this is often Grant's way
ten year old Grant can be stubborn
much of my riding with Grant is working with him... fighting with him... doing my best to motivate him
we pedaled on the fireroad for a short distance then popped back into the woods on an unmarked trail
the locals called this trail Corvair
Corvair was a great compliment to the climb
it was a nice swooping descent
not too fast... not too steep... not too technical
fast and fun enough for Grant to smile
Corvair put us out back onto a different fireroad
we climbed that fireroad back up to the start of Corvair
we looped Corvair a number of times
allowing Dean and Grant to ride at their own rates
Grant is strong for a ten year old
Dean is strong for a 12 year old
there is no expectation for Grant to keep up with Dean
all I ask is that Grant does his best
Grant fights me... but when he rides...
Grant KICKS ASS!
the boys rocked it!
we looped Corvair a number of times
no Strava to tell the tales
just our account of our actions
that is all we have
from the base of Corvair we climbed one last time and backtracked on the fireroad to the Wolf Branch Trail
we got to ride down the moderately technical trail that we had to fight to go up
the boys were all smiles
Grant is very much Jeckle and Hyde
not sure which is which
but the mood of Grant climbing is far different than the mood of Grant descending
when we returned to the car the rain started
we got lucky with the timing but not lucky with the weather
the day prior it had been hot... summer hot
somehow things switched back to cold... winter cold
the wind blew
the precipitation wavered between rain and wintery mix
snow... sleet... and hail
not lots of it... just minutes at a time
the following day it rained all day
good day for Didg and the boys to rest after two days of riding
so... with the rain we had no trail options
on this day we went to the Biltmore Estate
Biltmore on the Gwadzilla Page
http://gwadzilla.blogspot.com/search?q=biltmore
http://gwadzilla.blogspot.com/search?q=biltmore
the next day was cool... we did not have cold weather gear so we waited for the afternoon to return to the trails
rather than investigating another trail system we went back to Bent Creek
not sure what to do... I took the boys on the same loop
they seemed pleased with that
Rice Pinnacle Trailhead to Wolf Branch Trail to Corvair
but in an effort to mix things up
after a few loops of Corvair we did a little investigation of a trail at the base of Corvair
I thought it would feed back to the trailhead
I thought it would feed back to the trailhead
the boys loved the whoopdeedoo flow of this trail
until it turned out it fed into the Bent Creek neighborhood and we had to climb out
it was not a steep climb
it was rideable
but Grant complained
Grant blames me for everything
can you blame a guy for trying?
I guess you can
after our cross country ride at Bent Creek I took the boys to the Bent Creek Community Park
I heard there was a pump track there
sure enough!
there was a pump track and some trails in the woods
the boys dug it
there were other kids on BMX bikes that hat the boys inspired
it was a good day
a day that would end on a bad note
but more on that later
Bent Creek Trails
Bent Creek Community Park