27 July, 2011 – Linville, North Carolina

Ride: Blue Ridge Parkway and Linn Cove Viaduct

Today was a pretty good day for a ride, sunny and not too warm. We were not able to ride up Grandfather Mountain since they only allow bicycles up the mountain on one day.

When we got to Linnville, we found a great place to park in the shade near a church. The neighborhood was very ritzy and it was clear that there was some money here.

Here's Paul, looking very dapper in his new Radio Shack Kit, we had no idea that he had joined the pro peloton!

Since Paul had his new kit, he was the model for today's camera shots! Here he is in front of the sign for Grandfather Mountain which we thought we were going to be able to climb at this point!

Soon afterwards, we crossed the Linn Cove Viaduct which was pretty cool. Below you can see some pictures of the viaduct which is actually a form of a bridge along the side of the mountain.

Tom doing the video production gig again for the third year.

As we traveled on this ride, we crossed the Eastern Continental Divide. This is the spot where all water flows either to the Atlantic Ocean or the Mississippi River. We've been over the Western Continental Divide in Colorado several times. This one isn't really that impressive, compared to the Rocky Mountains!

Tom took this picture to be similar to one he took in Boulder Colorado a couple years ago, The only difference is me looking rotund!

While we were heading towards the end of the ride, we saw this cool looking rock that looks like a fish hanging over the road. Not sure what Paul is doing?

This was a really great ride today, and it's highly recommended.