As much fun as pushing a mountain bike through the snow is I need time actually riding a bike so I've been turning to my road bike several times a week. A new house means new road routes and the stuff around here is great. I have a little after work flat route that takes me around Mills River or I can head East and tackle any number of mountains.
Saturday I headed out from the house with Pisgah on my mind. The weather was great and if I wasn't going to be riding my mountain bike in the woods I still wanted to be on a bike in Pisgah so I wandered around Mills River, Etowah, Penrose and Brevard gazing up at the snow covered Pisgah range:
![Photobucket](http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y130/sandbead/DSCF0546.jpg)
I made the turn onto 276 and headed for Wagon Road Gap. I was already over 30 miles into the ride and out and back to the top would be another 30 and then I still had 30 more to get home and that math didn't sound good and had me looking for any excuse possible to bail. I tried to use every speck of ice on the road as a reason to turn around but stuck it out and made it up to the Parkway:
![Photobucket](http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y130/sandbead/DSCF0552.jpg)
I turned around and came right back down:
![Photobucket](http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y130/sandbead/DSCF0553.jpg)
Right at 60 miles I was right back at the forest gate and stopped at a gas station for some food and then headed for home. I got turned around and made some wrong turns and ended up riding all the way up 280. By the time I made it home it had been a big day but I felt great.
Sunday it was right back to the same spot except this time I did it right and took the truck, the dog and the girl. There is a lot of snow up there still. Easily a two foot snow pack with drifts of four to eight feet.
![Photobucket](http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y130/sandbead/DSCF0557.jpg)
![Photobucket](http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y130/sandbead/DSCF0570.jpg)
Pilot and Slate Rocks:
![Photobucket](http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y130/sandbead/DSCF0573.jpg)
Rich Mountain:
![Photobucket](http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y130/sandbead/DSCF0574.jpg)
After we got home I went right back out on the road bike. Hutch Mountain is a steep little road and makes for a great little recovery loop:
![Photobucket](http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y130/sandbead/DSCF0575.jpg)
Man that is what focus looks like. Saddle Time.
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