urban bicycle journeys

My son Sam is in a band that was performing at a restaurant near Asheville on Friday night.  I drove the almost four hours out there early Friday morning, so I could spend most of the day bicycling around Asheville before going to see the show that evening.

There are very few flat areas of Asheville and most of that is either flood plain along the river or the relatively small area of the downtown.   I wanted to discover by bicycle the areas outside of downtown.

Older residential neighborhoods with 1920’s houses are scattered in several directions from downtown, but most are cut off from downtown by steep slopes and Interstate highways.  I sweated  all day bicycling up steep slopes.  Outside of the immediate downtown it is difficult to imagine Asheville as a nirvana for biking or or walking.  There does seem to be a decent bus system.  For most situations here you really need a car.

I bicycled up a long steep hill on the north side of town, looking for the Grove Park Inn, built in 1912.

I thought I had arrived there when I saw this building.

That turned out to the just an apartment building with a view; the Grove Park Inn was further up the hill, around a corner.

Downtown there are some lovely 1920’s-30’s high rises.    This is one of several.

I am probably the only person who appreciates this place.

Likewise The Beaucatcher Motel on Tunnel Road which I stayed at for $59.00 a night.  It is in the process of renovation and the rooms are actually quite nice.   They seem to be betting that people are going to want a 1962 Mad Men experience.

Sam, on the far left on the banjo,  is in the band Red Clay Revival, who played at the pleasant restaurant Native Kitchen in the nearby town of Swannanoa.   I left the camera back in the hotel room so I could only record on my I-phone.   Sam said they sounded better the next night but I thought they sounded fine.