2/14/12
Valentines Day. How interesting it is
in different places at different times. Those who I would most like
to ask to “be my valentine” are all far away. Instead of going
on a date, I enjoyed a board game with my several of my new
co-workers, who are becoming fast friends. I laughed harder than I
have in a long time, and I feel great.
One week ago, I arrived at Mountain
Trail Outdoor School outside of Hendersonville, NC. This outdoor
school is a very integrated and praised portion of Kanuga
Conferences, a large conference center and camp which operates at
differing capacities year-round. I am learning a new ecosystem, a
new high-ropes course, new culture and a somewhat new lifestyle. I
have a room of my own, and will be in one place for over 3 months.
This will be the first time I've been in one place for that long
since June of 2008. I have purchased a used mountain bike to enjoy
the thrills of biking through the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western
North Carolina.
My last week on the bike was a good
one. I spent 2 nights in Savannah, GA, where I was hosted by
couchsurfer James Holmes. James is one of the warmest, most friendly
and easy-going people I have ever met, and we got along wonderfully.
He has lived in Savannah for many years, and knows the ins and outs
of the city very well. The first activity we did together was to
play a life-size version of the game “Banana Grams” in a city
park. He and some friends put the game together themselves, and they
invite the public to play at least once a week. The local security
loves the game and the attention it brings to the square where they
play, so it will probably continue for some time.
James took me on a walking tour of some
of his favorite hang-out spots downtown, along the Savannah River.
We met up with some other friends of his, played some billiards,
listened to some live music, and told jokes. The next night, James
took me to a restaurant which has a free Oyster shucking every
Thursday (as long as you buy some food/drink). We arrived just in
time, and I was given a quick lesson on how to pop open the freshly
steamed oysters using a towel and a special knife. Large piles of
oysters were dumped into the middle of a plywood table surrounded by
eager oyster eaters, and we all grabbed handfuls to shuck, dip in
cocktail sauce, spritz with lemon, and slide down our throats still
hot. They were delicious, and I think I ate at least 10.
Later that evening Kristen, a friend of
James', took me to watch some of her friends playing 'gypsy jazz' at
a restaurant downtown. They were a great group of high-spirited,
talented and down-to-earth musicians, and I enjoyed their show very
much. Kristen is a harpist, and we spoke about music, relationships,
cycling and the rest of life. The next morning, she joined me for
the ride out of town, and rode with me for about 10 miles until I was
out of city limits.
I spent 2 nights alone in the woods
between Savannah and Greenville, SC. I crossed the border into South
Carolina shortly after leaving Savannah, and began to encounter
hills. It was an interesting adjustment to ride in hills again after
nearly 2 months below 400 feet in in elevation. Wide, empty tracts
of land and large pine plantations made up much of the scenery. I
rode bridges over some beautiful reservoirs, ended up on some soft
dirt roads, and got chased by more dogs than anywhere I've been. One
dog started chasing me on a steep downhill, so I just pedaled and
sped up, thinking I would lose the dog quickly, but it kept up with
me as I pedaled faster and faster down the hill, picking up more
speed than I had in weeks. It was the longest hill I had gone down
since leaving Missouri, and yet, I just barely lost the dog before
the bottom of it. I imagine that I was going somewhere near 30 mph,
but the batteries on my speedometer had died, and I had failed to
charge replacements. I hate to think what might have happened had
the dog caught up!
I passed lots of houses and trailers
with questionable foundations, and even one which a tree had
completely smashed, though no one had done anything about it. I
passed lots of churches and church-goers on a Sunday morning, and
arrived in Greenville, SC at the home of couchsurfer Jessica Wilson
on Sunday night.
Jessica is a yoga teacher and jewelery
maker who spent 4 years traveling around South America. A big part
of that trip was on a bicycle, so we had lots of stories to share,
and could easily relate to each others' experiences. Jessica took me
to the end of a super-bowl party after a delicious, healthy dinner of
quinoa and veggies. We hung out with her friends, a couple from
Germany and Switzerland, and shared stories of traveling and pursuing
dreams. The next morning, Jessica took me to a couple of her
favorite places in the city, and I departed at noon. I hope to make
it back down to Greenville to visit, as I am now living only 40 miles
away.
The ride into Hendersonville started
with a new, well-paved bike path, and then a massive climb up some
fairly steep mountains through beautiful forest. It was a cold day,
and I had trouble keeping the right layers on as I heated up climbing
the steep hills, and then cooled down SO fast going downhill. My
ride into Greenville had been over 70 degrees, and my ride into
Hendersonville hovered around 40. It seemed that as soon as I made
it to the top of the mountain, winter suddenly set in. Waterfalls
danced through the rhododendron leaves as I made my way through thick
forested highways with rocky cliffs covered in ferns and moss. I was
so happy that this was going to be my home for the next 4 months! I
pedaled onto the Kanuga grounds just before 5 pm, and rode straight
into a gathering of my new co-workers, who were all getting prepared
to carpool to dinner. After some short greetings, I moved into my
new room, and went to dinner with the crew. Now, I have had dinner
with the same folks every night since, and I am enjoying this group
immensely.
Taking a break from long-distance
biking is taking some adjusting. I've been off of the bike for a
week now, and I feel like I'm already losing some strength and
endurance. My appetite is calming down, now that I'm being fed 3
buffet meals a day. I'm glad to have the mountain bike now, as there
are trails on the property here, as well as in the Dupont National
Forest less than 10 miles down the road. I also plan to ride into
town on a fairly regular basis when the weather warms up a bit. For
the end of training this week, all of the staff (16 of us in total,
including instructors and admin) will be heading to Charlotte, South
Carolina for some biking and sea kayaking on the beach. I am looking
forward to seeing a new place that I have heard a lot about.
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