I bet the title got your attention today, but don’t worry, no blood was spilled during today’s ride. Our prides were a bit wounded, and we’ll get to that in a moment. First, let’s have breakfast.

How about apple pumpkin oatmeal along with some granola, fruit, and a pumpkin chocolate muffin?

Our day begins with an easy climb to the Blue Ridge Parkway followed by a fast descent to the French Broad River.

The French Broad is not happy and is right up to the edge of its banks. Too much rain has made it brown and rapid.

Too much rain has not shrunk the hills, though. We are having a wonderful day on the bike until we hit a long stretch of 20% grade. My legs do not want to finish this climb and we have to stop 2/10 of a mile from the top and walk to the summit. It’s the first time we have ever had to walk up a hill.

It doesn’t look that steep, but it came at a bad time in the climb. The 40+ MPH downhill back into town was a nice change of pace though.

After the ride, we enjoy a summer seasonal and the Rocket Girl lager from the Asheville Brewing Co. Both are a nice reward for the 4000 feet of climbing today. They serve food here as well.

We split the quesadilla and the Asian salad. It’s late as we haven’t been able to start riding until past 10 AM due to heavy fog, so we are glad to have some food.

Later in the day we visit the Thirsty Monk, which is the best beer bar in town. It’s Allagash night and we get to keep the glass. They have a Belgian beer bar in the basement, where we get stuck for an hour during a downpour. We can think of worse places to get stranded.

Dinner tonight is at Farm Burger, where we have not eaten in the ATL yet. We can report that the Asheville location is delicious. We are too full for any more beer and pass on dessert as well.