Dropping some beer gear off for the sales crew, I hit Bent Creek for a little Mountain Biking before checking into a chill Air B-n-B room, and hitting the streets of West AVL. W.AVL reminds me of little pockets of Oakland or Portland in the early 2000's. I dig visiting, but Im not sure I need more than one place to get a burrito with a spinach tortilla and a tall boy of PBR. But I was on a mission for bikes this weekend and I definitely did not come up short.
This weekend Asheville hosted the North Carolina Bike Summit. A couple days worth of talks, presentations, group rides, beers, and general hob-knobing with bike doodes and chicks from across the state that want to make bike-cycling safer, easier, and more accessible to everyone.
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| didnt get many photos... |
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| cool commuter map stats |
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| yeah box lunch, "feed a hangover" advice came to mind... |
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| Wrap up the first day at New Belgium re-connecting with peeps from the past |
If these aren't my peeps, I'm not sure I have any...
Hosted by Bike and Walk NC - a non profit advocacy and lobbying group pushing awareness of bikes and pedestrians through local and regional governments, the weekend proved to be quite the learning experience for me personally. Who knew that the DOT and city planners refer to streets as "facilities" - KEWL! There was a lot of sharing of what works - and thats the best part of this kind of forum! I learned about how a bike path has literally revived a small community in South Carolina. I learned that there are ways to rate businesses (including multi family dwellings - ie apartment buildings) fr their Bikeability. I learned that pushing bike and walking lifestyles can actually help cities lower their insurance premiums. And I learned that the average estimate for building an above ground parking structure is $15,000 per SPACE!!! And up to $30,000 per space to go underground! I also met some really cool people. Very early on I could tell, in some cases by the bikes that rolled up, who was on the same page as me. Jake, with the flipped up flat brim who runs and advocacy group called Beers-n-Gears out of Winston Salem caught my attention over most of the tucked in shirt wearing city planners, although they were all very cool, and a wealth of knowledge too. Harry from Oaks and Spokes in Raleigh was the only other person to respond to the questions of "cultural change" with a lets-have-a-party-and-invite-everyone mentality. You will hear more about these two groups in the future for sure as I employ their experiences, and of course attend their parties, to learn what else we can be doing right here in Boone.
The rest of the weekend was full of surprises! A Free Cracker Concert attended by non other that Colorado's own Ethan "Stone Cold" Colson. That Dude is one of my Top 5! Havent seen him since herb went legal in Colorado on my way through a couple years back. Who know, dude has a full head of hair! Spritzeses on me next time Homie!
I got to do a little leg work for the brewery and try to get our beer BACK on in this vintage pinball arcade. $13 clams for unlimited free play on vintage and modern pinball games, as well as all your favorite time wasting games from the early years of video arcades
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| hotel hell livin aint that bad... |
Woke early to go hit the trails and seriously was NOT disappointed! Some of the finest single track I have ridden anywhere in the world despite being the first one down the trails to clear out the night's spider webs!
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| seeing red from the spider bites! |
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| not sure how an aztec painted turttle got to NC but - cool huh? |
Had to stop at a little brewery on the way back to AVL and ran into a doode I know from Boone who brews there a couple days a week. If you are ever in Sylva NC, stop here and sample one of their over 30 amazingly good beers, and do not miss the $3 tacos!
Back to AVL to help with the start of the media tour for our new non profit the We Can so You Can Foundation through which I hope to do some bigger things in the bike community here in Boonetown. But first a reset with my new favorite coffee joint - High 5 Coffee. a latte and cookie that set me back $6.66! No Shit! A good omen for sure!
Media Kick Off was solid - felt good to just show up and help out my work homies, and a good show of my commitment when the senior sales doodes didn't know I would be there. What am I, CFL!?!?!
Back in Boone and ready to get deeper into my community. This particular spot in the mountains of Western North Carolina really does have everything I have every wanted in a medium sized college town, and the few things that are missing....well, I guess Ill just have to MAKE EM!
Stay tuned for the first of many casual, fun, 50 Mile Radius Adventures!
Scotito du Nord
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