Day 5

A lot of climbing today. 7,199 feet of ascent. Very steep climbs at 8% average, some spots 12%. I had some huge descents, got up to 35 mph, kind of out of my comfort zone, I'm getting used to these.

We went thru Linville, Boone, Blowing Rock, ended up tonight in Little Switzerland. I rode over the Lincove Viaduct today, kind of like a concrete bridge that wraps around the side of a mountain.

At times today I asked myself why I was up here doing this, the climbing was that hard, and there was so much of it. But after I finished the 70 miles I felt good about it. I have not had to stop on any of my climbs, I continue to grind thru them at 6 miles per hour.

I replaced my saddle today with a John Cobb; I typically keep it on my spinning bike at home, but tried it today for more comfort. It’s made of similar material to a Tempurpedic mattress. Also has an unusual shape, and an opening runs thru the middle of the saddle, a little heavy but comfortable.

Temperature was 59 at start and mid-seventies thru the afternoon. Beautiful weather and scenery, just tough work. Robbie is having a good time following me, bringing me food, drinks, general support. She brought us a great lunch of vegetarian hamburgers from the Knight’s Restaurant in Blowing Rock, our favorite breakfast place when we visit there. We ate in the courtyard of the Moses Cone center.

Rambling a bit tonight, just very tired. Huge climbs the first 30 miles tomorrow, then a 15 mile decent.