Ride with GPS - Ingles to Ingles via Jeter Mountain Roller Coaster Road

It was a cold and windy day. Spring seems reluctant to take charge of the seasons this year but I decided to try this route I mapped out on Ride with GPS and just see how well the custom route navigation feature works.
Ride with GPS Custom Route Turn by Turn Voice Navigation Works Great!

I am going to say that again just in case another rider searching for this feature can find this article:

Ride with GPS Custom Route Turn by Turn Voice Navigation Works Great!

I purchased a Garmin Nuvii several years ago and it literally changed my life. Followed by Google Navigation on my Phone: Turn by Turn Voice Navigation ha Changed my Life!
No more maps to unfold (and re-fold - remember that?) not even Map Quest with printed turn by turn directions accomplished the total ease and assurance of  Google Turn by Turn that re-calculates my directions, dare I veer off track.

Ride with GPS Custom Route Turn by Turn Voice Navigation Works Great!

Now, after a few years of searching on line and finding the internet littered with inquiries voicing the same frustration "Is there a program that will navigate a custom route?". Google Navigation works great creating a flawless route to your chosen destination but it does not follow a custom route that you create, nor anything you save in "My Maps" or "My Tracks". Well finally my fellow seekers, our navigation prayers have been answered.

Ride with GPS Custom Route Turn by Turn Voice Navigation Works Great!

I created this route using Ride with GPS "Plan" tab. Just click and draw your route from point to point and it creates the route with a printable Cue Sheet. Then open the Ride with GPS App on your Droid or I-Phone, Choose the Route, Choose Directions and off you go. I peddled these roads for the first time, by myself, with Ride with GPS Navigation to guide me. It was flawless; Turn Left on Etowah School Road, Turn Left on River Road, and on throughout the trip.  I was Thrilled!!!

The ride itself, starting in the Etowah Ingles Parking Lot, Turning Left on River Road and eventually getting to Crab Creek Road, then looping back on Jeter Mountain Road and cutting through on Pleasant Grove Church Road to get back on Pleasant Grove Church Road and back to Ingles, was a great loop with rolling hills though apple orchards and pastoral scenes along the French Broad River, Big Willow, Sentell and Mud Creeks. I planned the route to avoid much time on Crab Creek, which has the most traffic. Jeter Mountain Road is long, winding and very hilly with a roller coaster decent before turning Right onto to Pleasant Grove Church Road (pay attention, you can get going so fast downhill that you miss the turn, I did, and the climb back up from Crab Creek is a gut buster). To avoid this you can turn right on Carb Creek and Turn Right on Tally Road to take you back.

Pleasant Grove Church Road is a rough gravel road through the

woods for about a mile and probably not conducive to road bike riding but I sailed through on my hybrid, thank God. The rest of the 21.2 mile trek (as long as you don't miss the PG Church Road turn) is just a Welcome Home!
My Advice, Ride with GPS and Have Fun!!!

"Novice" Ride with the Pros

Today I had an opportunity to ride with some of the Best in Biking and I took it. Joe and Peggy Sanders, Blue Ridge Bicycle Club President and their good friends Robyn and Tom led the way on this pre-spring break out (or break me in) "Novice Ride". They went easy on me, cruising just 25 of Joe's 35 mile Not so Hard River Ramble Lite .
This was a great introduction to the quintessential scenic mountains and valleys of Henderson and Transylvania Counties in Western North Carolina. Breathtaking and Beautiful!

 

The Blue Ridge Bicycle Club sponsors a wide variety of rides for all kinds or riders with special emphasis given to encouraging less experienced riders. As I still consider myself a newcomer in this life long sport, I volunteered to assist Robyn in organizing some of these rides scheduled to begin in April. 

All the Bikes are Packed and Ready to Go!

This was the first over the road cycling adventures this season and I am looking forward to many more!