Bruised and Battered in Asheville, NC

[Steve]

 - But Not Down and Out!

Hurricane Helene wreaked incredible destruction across the Southern Appalachian region, as I'm sure most of us are aware. Lives were lost and homes destroyed. My family and my circle of friends were spared serious damage, for which I feel gratitude. In the face of so much tragedy I've also felt a bit guilty for daring to  bemoan the loss of some of my favorite riding routes. Call it GUILTITUDE. 

The best of our urban routes are trashed -- but I'm happy to report that the trails in the nearby national forest are largely open (THANK YOU Pisgah Area SORBA) and as beautiful as ever in their winter splendor.

                              https://www.pisgahareasorba.org

I'm sharing a few pics from recent rides. Please excuse the non-Riv content (the Ritchey is currently my most MTBish bike). 

On the RAD Greenway:

In the forest:

[Ted Durant]

On Monday, December 2, 2024 at 12:29:22 PM UTC-6 steve...@gmail.com wrote:

 - But Not Down and Out!

Really nice to hear from Asheville area folks and to see glimmers of hope for getting back to something like normal life. I was looking at a cycling camp based out of Asheville and wondered if they'd be able to do that this coming year.

We had at our Thanksgiving table the 92-year old father of a friend. He had lived in Asheville for 30 years, isolated with his Parkinson's-stricken partner since COVID and developing a bunch of his own health issues. Incredibly, 10 days before the storm hit, our friend brought his father to Milwaukee, and the partner's family took her to their home elsewhere in NC. The storms wiped out the apartment they had been living in.

I'm sharing a few pics from recent rides. Please excuse the non-Riv content (the Ritchey is currently my most MTBish bike). 

Given the long, close relationship between Grant and TR, a Ritchey is probably about as Riv-adjacent as you can get (aside from Bridgestone, of course).

 

Ted Durant

Milwaukee, WI USA

[iamkeith]

What Ted said.  Nice to hear from you and to hear glimmers of joy still exist.  It's really been hard to see.  I have friends in Boone  who have a sister in Ashville, and they're all ok too , other than a crushed car.  The whole country is hoping for some sense of normalcy to follow your recovery.