In our Element

Friday’s plan was to bike the on-road portion of the trail from Stone Mountain through the Yadkin Valley farm and wine country to the trail town of Elkin. Our friend Chad grew up in Elkin and is supporting us on this leg of the journey. Since getting to know Chad we have gotten to know Elkin and appreciate how the town has embraced its role as an ambassador for the Mountains to Sea Trail with an army of trail angels that roll out the red carpet for weary trail travelers with offers of beds, showers, meals, etc. 

Elkin is doing an amazing job of reinventing itself as an outdoor recreation hub for hikers, bikers, paddlers and rock climbers, and for that reason, is getting some serious consideration by us as a future retirement destination. 

Our bike ride was a mostly downhillish romp along some little used country and gravel roads. Along the way we saw lots of cows, squeezed in some ice cream at Byrd Campground and an unplanned hike to have lunch at Carter Falls. We bypassed a couple of our favorite Yadkin wineries, Elkin Creek and Grassy Creek, hoping to return to them if we can make time on Sunday.

We were happy we decided on some old mountain bikes for this ride as road bikes would not have handled the miles of gravel. As it was, I noticed my front tire was losing air. I pumped it back up with about 6 miles to go, and when we finished it was going flat again. 

The trail rolls right up Main Street in downtown Elkin, past the Reeves theater, where we hope to catch some live music on Saturday, and ended at Angry Troll Brewing, where we were met by Chad and his brother-in-law, in town from Germany, for some good beer and conversation to wrap up one of our favorite days on the trail... so far.