Brevard, NC

After a ruckus night in Knoxville, the four of us rolled to our feet and into Sam's Diner for breakfast. With full stomaches and a mere 130 miles ahead of us, the drive to Asheville seemed almost effortless

We pulled into Park's driveway in Brevard, NC in the late afternoon, but with just enough time to squeeze in a ride with Park and Chris. An out-and-back just under a mile from Park's house in the woods. It seems every time I visit Park he's somehow managed to find the most amazing house to live in. The first time it was a small log cabin in the woods. Last summer it was a farmhouse; and this time he's got a small house on more than an acre of land. I'm not sure how he finds these places, but it's always nice getting to visit them.



Last night Park took me to the Brevard Rock Gym. I haven't seriously climbed since I was in the Boy Scouts, but all the kids in the gym pointed me in the right direction. One of the employees, Liz, helped point out some fun routes and good techniques, which I was in dire need of. The gym is mainly all set up for bouldering, so you don't have to wait around to be belayed which is a nice change. It didn't take long for my forearms to completely cramp, but I think that proves that it's time I start climbing regularly. It's tons of fun and one hell of a cross-training technique.

After the gym we walked over to The Square Root where James and Adam were killing the trivia competition. With a team of two, they were in second place. Quite a feat considering that the first place team had about ten team members. When we arrived, we did our best to help, but the questions were getting increasingly difficult. Our score dropped to fourth place, but we rallied at the last second when we wagered it all on the final question, bouncing back into second place overall - a $25 gift card helped pay for our drinks and made second place even sweeter.

The next day Park took me to a secret trail that he was working on and showed me the ropes. The trail was almost invisible and sometimes following the correct path was a challenge.



It was the closest thing to the trails I'd ridden out west. The trail basically consisted of a few jumps and hips following the steep side of a ridge.



Park ruled it and I tried to match him, but my pedals were fighting me due to a broken bar on my Mallets.