The Mountains (Tsali)

I usually do too much on my time off. Try to cram a lot into the days. This works good for me but it's sometimes hard on the fam. During our trip to North Carolina we rode off road bicycles Monday and Thursday, rode the Cades Cove Loop on bicycles while it was closed to cars Wednesday, and hiked 6 miles up and down a mountain on Tuesday. We enjoyed every minute of it but we come home tired, not rested and refreshed like you should feel after a week off.

It sounds like I'm complaining but I'm not. The off road rides were both at Tsali which is near our base of Bryson City N. C. Good trails along the edge of Fontana Lake. The first day we rode the Right Loop which had more shelf trail than I remembered and that made for a few anxious moments. There was only 1 rocky climb we couldn't clear until we got to the Windy Point Overlook where the combination of shelf, rocks, slope, and roots got the best of me and I went to hike a bike. 13 miles in the mountains is a lot more work than covering the same mileage here.

The other off road day at Tsali was on trails we had never ridden before, Mouse and Thompson. Mouse had an overlook option which had us walking on an up hill and bull dogging a couple of rocky loose downhills. The switch backs just spook me. The rest of the trail was easier than Right Loop with a good amount of lake side trail and not much shelf. After a lunch stop Rupe and I left T at the trail head and did Thompson which was an absolute blast, good flow, and not near as technical as the other sections.

All in all a great trip. I'd recommend Tsali to any beginning rider with the advice to take your time and enjoy the scenery. We've been there two years in a row now and haven't ridden all the trail yet. Faster riders could easily do 2 loops in a day. The location has some excellent places to eat and stay without the crowds that come with all the tourist crap that's on the North side of the Smoky Mountain National Park.