Day 7 - Finish [Click here for Climbing Video]

I'm sitting here in a hotel room in Cherokee, NC the morning after finishing my ride of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Looking back, it was not fun in the traditional “Disney World” sense, but for a 55 year old aerobic-addicted athlete, it was just what I wanted. The challenge was great, the scenery was spectacular, I got to spend meaningful time with my wife and the ride provided me a sense of accomplishment similar to my ride across the United States last year.

We began our final day in Asheville where we discovered the miles around marker 380 were heavily traveled by locals entering and exiting major highways that converge there such as I-26, I-40 and 74. The traffic lightened up some around mile marker 400 as we progressed south toward the end of the Parkway in Cherokee. I climbed for several hours from 2,500 feet of elevation to the highest point on the Parkway of 6,053 at mile 431.4, Richland Balsam Overlook. Robbie was supposed to meet me there with lunch, but was late. She’d been hanging out at the Mount Pisgah General Store at mile 408, which we agreed was our nicest stop of the entire ride. It’s at 4,900 feet, beautiful scenery, a nice porch with rockers, plenty of coffee and hot chocolate. She read there for a couple hours. When she finally got to Richland Balsam I was gone, I started an 8 mile descent, she caught up with me with lunch a few miles later.

After lunch I continued the descent, hitting a few tunnels on the way. Tunnels were a big part of the story today. There are 25 to go thru on the North Carolina side, almost all of them occurring during my last 2 days of riding. They are dark, scary and dangerous. I found the small headlight I brought did not do much to light the tunnels on Friday; I actually waited for Robbie to lead me thru several tunnels with her car headlights. If you ever do the Parkway ride, invest in the brightest headlight you can find, it’ll be worth it.

After the brief descent, I continued to climb backup to over 5,600 feet to mile 460. The climbing was tough; I had my biggest climbing day with 7,971 feet. Much of it lonely, with some self-doubt. My wife reminded me “this is what you came up here for.” I broke the climbing into 5 mile sections, promising myself to stop at an overlook, eat something, take in the scenery. Something to look forward to. Because of the height of the mountains in the area I was in Friday the views were more spectacular than any other point on the Parkway.

Many people ask me “what do you do with all that time while you are riding, do you listen to an iPod or something?” Normally I don’t, but trying to draw some inspiration and fight off the loneliness, I often turned on some music from my iPhone in my jersey pocket, without headphones. I also looked at the scenery and thought a lot while riding, “what are the people who built this thing doing now, what were their thoughts while building it, were they just happy to have a job, did they know the lasting impact it would have?”

Robbie and I met up again around mile 456. She had already been ahead to scope out the remainder of the ride. She told me there were 4 tunnels, about 6 miles of climbing, with the big 8 mile descent at the end. I ate a honey bun, which I always enjoy but normally can't cope with that number of calories, filled up my bottle with Gatorade and took off. The climbing was very steep, most in the Big Witch Gap area, which I love and enjoy riding when I'm in the Cherokee area. At mile 462 I reached the summit, quickly shifted to my larger gear on the front chain ring and the chain came off, and was jammed a little. I was exhausted, but managed to lean down and untangle it, wrap it around the big chain ring, wipe the grease off my hands on the grass, and start downhill. The gradient was steep, I’d done this stretch before uphill, 2,700 feet of elevation change in less than 10 miles, I was flying, tapping my brakes around the blind corners, dodging potholes, looking for cars. I went thru 3 of the tunnels with Robbie nowhere around, but thankfully she was there to help me thru the last one, which was long and dark.

I finished the descent at the end of the Parkway which spills into highway 19 with no warning, just a stop sign before hitting the 4 lane highway. It’s amazing that the Parkway, with so many billions of dollars spent on its construction and maintenance, has no signage, no ranger’s station, no explanation at all of its beginning in North Carolina. We looked for a sign to take a picture in front of, there was none.

My feeling of accomplishment was great at the end of the ride. Robbie was relieved to have me complete the ride without getting hurt. We headed to the Fairmont-Marriott hotel in Cherokee for a bath and a big night out at the Stockyard Steakhouse just down from Harrah’s, Robbie is a big fan of the latter, she is gambling this morning.

The Blue Ridge Parkway, hills, descents, tunnels, great views, wildlife, farms, pastures, heat, cool mornings, traffic, tunnels, motorcycles, overlooks, windy, friendly people, a great experience.

Day 6 - [Click here for Tunnel Video]

I entered the Parkway at mile 330 this morning, but a little late. We spent the night at Little Switzerland, but the GPS sent us on a wild goose chase looking for a Waffle House in a cornfield. After finding a restaurant, we finally got started about 9.

CLIMBING! From the very start I was going uphill, with 1,000 feet of climbing in the first 4 miles. I climbed virtually without relief from Little Switzerland to Mount Mitchell State Park at mile 25.29. 4,097 feet of ascent, which averaged to 162 feet per mile – the most climbing I've ever done in a short 25 mile ride. The temperature was 63 degrees at the start, but it quickly warmed up on the climb, eventually to 84.

I climbed most of the distance in my 34 tooth gear in the front ring, and my 27 tooth gear on the rear of the bike. Most of the miles at 5 to 8 mph. You do a lot of thinking while riding this slow, and in this much pain. Family, work, the scenery around you, what’s up ahead, what you did yesterday. A lot of time, a lot of thoughts.

When I reached Mount Mitchell Robbie met me and we decided we would go ahead to the 34th mile of today’s ride and have lunch, at Craggy Gardens. By the time I arrived I had reached an elevation of 5,800 feet, just below Mount Mitchell and Grandfather Mountain. We had some sandwiches Robbie had bought at Mount Mitchell. I spent a few minutes talking to some cyclists I’d met on the climb, they were from DC. They were on vacation in Asheville, and had climbed Mount Mitchell, and were headed back. Great lunch, I was reinvigorated.

The next part of today’s ride was an 18 mile descent into the edge of Asheville. I put a jacket on, it was cool at 6,000 feet, took about 20 pounds of air out of my tires for better handling on the downhill, and took-off downhill. 18 miles downhill without a break is nerve racking. The grade was 4 to 8%, as I coasted 30 to 34 miles per hour were average. There were many turns on the descent, referred to in cycling as a technical descent. But for a guy like me, I was just trying to keep the bike upright and between the lines. My back and neck hurt by the time I got to the bottom, I was done with this portion of the ride in about a half hour, it would of taken me hours to do if I’d had to climb this descent. I had a couple of tunnels to go thru during the downhill, they are hard to see in, and you lose your balance on the bike when it’s dark. I'm using a light on my bike, but it really does not light the large tunnels well.

Once I reached Asheville the traffic started to pick up on the Parkway. The speed limit is 45, and the road has no shoulder. It’s unfortunate that locals use the Parkway as a by-pass or shortcut to move around the city. The Parkway’s proximity to I-26 and I-40 make it convenient for this. I rode about 10 miles in this heavy traffic, no fun. I felt my life was in danger.
I finished today with 6,619 feet of ascent in 60 miles. 110 feet of ascent per mile, 157 feet per mile if you subtract the 18 mile descent.

I finish the Parkway tomorrow in Cherokee, NC. I start the morning climbing from my current 2,500 foot elevation to 6,020, the highest point on the Parkway.

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.

Day 4

Very nice cycling weather, 60 degrees at start, 74 at finish. The first 40 miles were overcast; it heated up a little more after lunch. I only rode 61 miles today, just after crossing the state line into North Carolina there was a detour.

Not wanting to take no for an answer, I rode several miles beyond the Road Closed sign, and took a chance road workers would let me ride, or carry my bike, around the road construction. A guy on a Deere 210 excavator got onto me and asked if “cyclists could read?” He then threatened me with at $2,500 fine. I just smiled and turned around. My wife Robbie and I took a 21 mile detour in the Sparta area to get back on the Parkway, stopping on the way to eat some Kentucky Fried Chicken. We got back on the Parkway at mile 243, I had to get off at 234, the closure cost me 9 miles.

The riding was different than the previous 2 days, with rolling hills and flat stretches, or even downhills at -3% gradients. The hills were the typical 6 to 8%, but lasting only 5 minutes or so each, so psychologically they didn’t seem as challenging, although I still ended up with 4,826 feet of ascent. Or 79 feet per mile.

If someone were to ask me what a good one day section of the Parkway would be to ride, this would be it. A good mixture of hills and flats, no killer climbs, great scenery.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow with 6,000 foot mountains, familiar scenery (Boone, Blowing Rock), and beginning to go thru some of the 26 tunnels on the North Carolina side of the Parkway.

Robbie really likes corn.

Day 3

Today was an excellent cycling experience. The weather was very good, virtually no wind, temperatures 62 degrees at my 8:30 start and 75 degrees at the finish of 70 miles in Orchard Gap, Virginia. There was very little traffic, unlike yesterday’s finish in Roanoke. The topography was interesting, hilly with some flat sections.

I started the morning with a 9 mile climb of over 1,687 feet. I pedaled thru the 8 to 12% gradients in my smaller compact gear. The second large climb came at mile 40 to 3,215 feet. I had a total of 6,804 feet of ascent for today, much of it from these two climbs. They were both so difficult I barely could average 6 miles per hour. The good news was most of the rest of the ride was made up of rolling hills, with nice flat or down hill stretches that I could sprint thru at 25 to 30 miles an hour. These quick climbs and sprints made the day interesting, and not as tiring as the massive climb (see Paul Sherwin) I did yesterday at Apple Blossom.

The scenery was different today, I rode thru numerous pastures and farm land, many with daises and other colorful flowers growing. There were numerous overlooks, with views of such well known places as Mount Airy (see Andy Griffith).

I developed significant pain in my left knee from climbing today, my quad-tendon. I'm used to this, just hope it doesn’t pop on one of the big climbs.

We finished at mile 190; we’re spending the night in Fancy Gap. We progress into North Carolina tomorrow, I’ll be more than half finished at my target mile post 260.

Day 2

I began today where I left off yesterday at mile marker 50 on the Parkway. My goal was to ride the next 70 miles into Roanoke. The weather was cool this morning at 62 degrees, and was still windy. I began a 15 mile descent, with dry roads and blue skies, much different than yesterday. I averaged 23 miles per hour on the way down to 650 feet of elevation at Otter Lake, the lowest point on the Parkway. From there I started the big climb to Apple Orchard Mountain I mentioned yesterday.

Although the climb was only 12 miles, I really suffered, often reaching gradients of 10 to 12%. The temperature rose to 83 degrees quickly while on the climb, with limited humidity. This climb is what cycling the Parkway is all about, beautiful views, and hills. I averaged about 6 miles an hour for 2 hours getting up the mountain. There was little traffic on the climb, and I just kept my front gearing in the small 34 tooth ring and tried to keep the bike moving forward. I stopped once for GU and an oatmeal cookie. The top of the mountain was at 3,985 feet, 3,335 climbed. As far as I know, this Apple Orchard climb is one of the two toughest I’ll have to complete, Big Witch Gap is the other, both about 270 feet of ascent per mile.

Once I finished the climb, I had a little descent down to Peaks of Otter, where Robbie and I had a great lunch at the restaurant there, potatoes, macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes fries and fried okra. Nice restaurant, but to keep my bike from being stolen I brought my front tire in with me, most folks were dressed up from church services, I was in my cycling gear.

After lunch, at mile 35, I did some more descending down to about 2,000 feet, cruising past a dozen scenic overlooks, great views, but at my normal 30 mph I didn’t stare much. That’s not really that fast; a good descender would have been doing at least 40. Since I don’t get paid to do this stuff, I don’t mind tapping my brakes to stay in the 30 to 35 mph area where I feel safe. My max was 33.7 today, a lot of fun.

The most disappointing part of the ride today was the last 15 miles into the Roanoke area. The folks around here, we’re at the Holiday Inn in Roanoke tonight, use the Parkway as a shortcut in the area, it’s very heavily traveled, with the typical disrespect for cyclists.

Today was a great day on the bike, 5,869 feet of ascent, about 82 feet per mile, 6,970 feet of descent. Nice weather, fantastic scenery and for the most part, light traffic.

Two big climbs tomorrow, another 70 miles.

Day 1

We arrived at Afton, VA this morning, the starting point of the Blue Ridge Parkway, after spending the night in Lynchburg, VA. I was able to change clothes and put my bike together at the National Park station, this is where the Skyline Drive ends. That’s a similar 150 mile parkway running through the Virginia mountains. It tends to be flatter.

Robbie and I took some pictures at mile zero and I took off. Within a mile of the start I began a significant climb, 6 to 8% gradient. Based on today’s experience this is going to be the average. I actually did a couple of climbs today where I hit 12%. That’s how much your bike is tilted upward when going uphill. The average ride in the Charlotte, NC area is 3 to 5% at best, when going uphill.

The real story today was not the hilly terrain; I was prepared for that, but the weather. Because of hurricane Irene we had a lot of wind. I got started at 11 am, and as the next hour unfolded the wind picked up, correlating with the hurricane moving inland in North Carolina and Virginia. I'm back at the hotel now, and have seen the outer band of the hurricane striking the area we are in. We had wind gusts of over 30 miles an hour and light rain most of the 50 miles I rode. The wind moved my front wheel around a lot, and required me to pedal thru some tough headwinds; however most of the wind came from the sides. The gusts of wind resulted in numerous leaves and branches on the surface of the road.

I had little opportunity to ride in flat sections today; most of the ride was either uphill at 6 mph, or downhill at 30 mph. The descents were even scarier today because of the wet roads. Of course, I don’t care much for high speed descents anyhow; I'm typically grabbing my brakes at 30 mph. I think I may of hit 34 today. I did a pretty good job climbing, with a total of 5,060 feet of ascent. For the 50 miles, that works out to about 100 feet per mile, triple what we see on our Charlotte rides.

Today I had beautiful scenery, thick clouds at times, fast downhill’s, wet roads, 73 degree temperatures, 100% humidity, 10% gradients, high winds from every direction, road debris, low traffic, a great wife who supported me with lunch on the road, a lot of fun.

Tomorrow will be interesting. We’re spending the night at a Red Carpet Inn in Lexington, VA, 10 miles off the Parkway, we’ll leave here by car, return to mile 50, I’ll begin a 10 mile descent, then climb from Bluff Mountain Tunnel at 630 feet of elevation (the lowest on the Parkway) to the top of Apple Orchard Mountain, at 3,950 feet, the highest point on the Virginia side of the Parkway. That’ll be over 3,000 feet of climbing in 10 miles, or 300 feet per mile, an insane amount. Looks like a lot of my work will be done for the day after that climb; I’ll finish with 70 miles in Roanoke tomorrow. Hope to find a better hotel there, we ran into a horse show crowd tonight, and believe it or not, a large number of people moving inland to escape the hurricane, so we had to stay at this place, not really the Hilton, but I'm proud to have a bed to sleep in.
Garmin Link:

Prologue

Having cycled 2,912 miles across the United States in only 25 days in 2011, my next challenge is to ride the entire Blue Ridge Parkway.

To prepare for the adventure I've ridden over 6,500 miles this year, including hill repeats and quick 20 mph rides with my friends at Bicycles East in Matthews, NC. I've also made a couple of trips to the Parkway to ride 4 separate sections, getting a feel for what it’s like. HILLY!

I'm taking my 2006 Trek Madone bicycle, an extra wheel set and chain, and plenty of tubes and CO2 in case of flats. My wife Robbie will support me in a car, dropping me off each day at sunrise, bringing me lunch at mile 35, and picking me up at mile 70. Starting Saturday August 27th, finishing Friday September 2nd.

If you’re not familiar with the Blue Ridge Parkway, it’s a 470 mile stretch of two lane road running through the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and North Carolina. It’s not open to commercial traffic, and has a speed limit of 45 mph. The most significant characteristic of the Parkway is its hills. There are over 45,000 feet of ascent, averaging 95 feet per mile. A typical ride in the Charlotte, NC area averages 35 feet. 6 to 8 percent grades are not unusual. In fact, on a climb I did there in the spring, Big Witch Gap, I averaged 270 feet per mile, 2,700 feet over a 10 mile stretch. Speeds of 6 mph will be common going uphill, and 40 mph or greater going downhill.

Check in daily to see how I’m doing.