Hurricane Helene Aftermath—Getting Supplies By Any Means

The last week has been a whirlwind. After my first video posted, people reached out wanting to help. I didn’t know where to send them. I had no helicopters, spare satellite routers, or supplies, but I did have electricity and a vehicle that runs on it. So I started by visiting the nearest places to find out where to drop supplies.

I began my search by visiting the Edneyville Fire Department. They referred me to Fruitland Baptist Bible College, which is an official distribution center. As it turns out, people who are airlifted from Chimney Rock, Gerton, and many of the surrounding areas often end up near Edneyville, since it’s one of the last places easily accessible by road. Their supplies were moving very quickly.

Even in Edneyville, entire roads were missing in places. I may bring a paper map next time, but locals were amazingly helpful with directions.

As you will see in the video, Jimmy from ‘Wings of Compassion’ was able to fly into Asheville Regional Airport with enough supplies to fill my entire truck bed and frunk. That amazingly inefficient supply run was a much needed stopgap. Math works differently during an emergency. Clearly, Jimmy has done this before, and his amazingly generous audience has helped him with disaster relief time and time again. Jimmy could choose to fly his family somewhere fun and clean, but instead he chooses to help.

Sean from Bikes and Beards arrived the next day with a van and trailer of supplies, but it took him two days to get to Fruitland Bible College. Sean’s second run was faster—10 hours from Nashville to Asheville. Sean was so eager to bring more supplies, he didn’t even run a camera the second time. While this all can feel a bit like performative altruism, it’s important to keep this disaster in the media so people don’t forget what’s happening across Appalachia.

I’m happy to report that logistics are getting better by the day. Sam’s Club is accepting credit cards, and is allowing two of each item. Gas station lines continue getting shorter by the day. Cell reception is another story. Once I have access to unfettered shopping within striking distance, I will choose another location and make a supply runs on behalf of this audience. Beyond that, it’s time to make a partial return to life as usual.

It feels odd going back to fun bicycling videos, but that’s what we plan on doing. My people need to keep working, and we’ll likely segue into a massive trail restoration effort. Enormous parts of Asheville, Brevard, and the surrounding areas rely on these trails to power their economies. Bike shops, guides, restaurants, and all manner of businesses will need to survive, or leave. The clock is ticking.

Thank you all. Stay safe, and enjoy the upcoming content that was shot before the storm. Again, this timely video will post to YouTube this afternoon, and fun-bicycle related content will continue posting early.