The Saga Continues

Ride number two of #TKAtoZ Tour coincided with stop number one. I nearly Strava'd the thing, but I think that would raise some angry flags if I banged out a 500 mile "ride" from New Hampshire to Virginia. After a nice evening complete with guacamole at a local Mexican joint, it was onto the sleepy town of The Plains. I'm not sure why I find such novelty in a town that begins with the word, "The" but I'm endlessly fascinated by The Plains. By my estimates, The Plains is approximately 300 yards long by 250 yards. It's a single street crossing another street, although the north/south doesn't actually intersect the east/west in one clean intersection, rather they're askew perhaps 20 yards. Also amazing is that a town of just over 200 people has a website. Ben King has been raving about how awesome Virginia is for as long as I've known him. Joe Dombrowski has been raving about Virginia, and in particular, The Plains, and even more particular The Haymarket Bicycle Studio for a long time as well. This fine establishment is home to a high end coffee shop and a stellar bike shop under the leadership of this fellow named Jared. Jared, Joe, and Ben are all Virginians and they're all three arguably the nicest three people I know. You should visit the Haymarket Bicycle Studio for no other reason than to say hi to someone really nice as found in Jared. And then buy some UnTapped and a cup of artisinal coffee. I mentioned that this is a sleepy town, so it's funny to see 70-some-odd people descend upon The Plains yesterday for a bike ride I hosted. Why? Because Sunday Funday! (Why else? Because riding bikes with people is just more fun and I told the internet that they should come to The Plains to meet, drink coffee, talk about the weather, ride, embrace some incredible Virginian horse country, return to Haymarket Bicycles, discuss the delicious nuances of maple syrup, sip some more coffee and chatter away. And it worked.) Superb turnout and that's something we'll continue now here in Asheville, NC where I arrived last night.If you toggle back to the future on this iamtedking.com machine, you can look in late 2007 and into 2008 and see that I lived in Asheville once upon a time. I love this town. LOVE this town. For better or worse, tons of people are realizing just how awesome it is which is why it's becoming a destination for so many great things. It's a mecca for breweries, is a worldwide capital for all things outdoors, has incredibly thoughtful restaurants, has stunning natural beauty which goes hand in hand with the creative art scene, and is just a boatload of fun. I don't get back often, so I'm thrilled to be back.And better yet to be promoting that stoke in bicycles that everyone on two wheels can appreciate. Again, stay tuned here and to my twitter for when/where we'll bang out some rides. I'm thinking we'll do rides from the SRAM tent and/or a local coffee shop. Good idea? Yes, I concur.Alas, you don't just show up here with a transporter, you gotta bang out the miles. After my stay in The Plains, I hit the road and was driving south where the highlights include a blinding setting sun from about 2pm-5pm and coffee from Sheetz. Scott Zwizanski, Zwiz to the layman, introduced me to the institution that is Sheets during my time on Priority Health. This isn't just a gas station, Sheetz is a way of life. From their colorful logo to their hoaky misspelling of Sheets with the creative use of the letter Z to the ebullience of their staff or their ingenious mechanized ordering system for sandwiches, Sheetz is a pillar in the gas station experience. And their coffee is palatable.Okidokie Smokey (mountains), I'm going to do some frigid Monday morning exploring of my old stomping grounds. I see snow flurries which indicate to me that it's the opposite of warm outside right now.