Cycling on the Blue Ridge Parkway & the Zuma Coffee Jam

We took a short vacation to Asheville, NC, this past week. On the way out, the bridges across the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers were closed at Cairo, IL, and we had to detour through Metropolis, IL, where Judy took my picture with the Superman statue. I took the Rambouillet and was able to get in one ten-mile ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I rode for about 1.5 hours because it was mostly uphill and I stopped to take pictures.

Judy dropped me off at the Ox Creek Road intersection and planned to meet me at Craggy Gardens Visitor Center. Another cyclist, Gary, parked and unloaded his recumbent at the same time. He and his wife both own Rambouillets and he owns a Saluki. He was also riding up to Craggy Gardens, so we rode together except when I stopped to take pictures at the tunnels and overlooks. The climb over the ten miles was at least 2,000 feet because the elevation at the Bull Creek overlook is 3,483 feet, and the Craggy Gardens overlook is 5,500 feet. I do not know the elevation at Ox Creek Road, which comes up out of Weaverville near Bull Gap.

A highlight of the trip was the Thursday evening jam at Zuma Coffee in Marshall, NC. This is a regular event, but there was a large number of musicians this past week because they were celebrating Bobby Hicks' 78^th birthday. Bobby joined Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys when he was just 21, and he played with the Ricky Skaggs band for over 20 years. Bobby now lives in Marshall. I have included a 3-minute video from the jam (The text that fades in and out of the video is from the video-conversion software test version). Bobby is on the left at the beginning of the video. He plays at about 0:52. I hope you enjoy it.

Metropolis, IL

One of two tunnels I rode through

Bull Creek Valley overlook

Lane Pinnacle is the far peak washed out by the sun

Gary climbing with Craggy Dome in the background

Gary at the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center

Me at the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center

Zuma Coffee jam musicians