Fabulous 4th Metric Century

[Bluechip]

Is anyone doing this ride? I am traveling from TX to visit relatives and am signed up for this ride. It will be a tough ride for this flatlander from the Houston area. My normal elevation gains are usually measured in the 10's of feet instead of the thousands of feet. I should be fairly easy to spot. I wil be the one in the red Texas BF jersey that fits a little snugly. I will probably be on a red Cannondale CAAD 4. Say hey as you pass me by.

http://www.polkcounty.org/4th/4th.htm

[BikeWNC]

Is anyone doing this ride? I am traveling from TX to visit relatives and am signed up for this ride. It will be a tough ride for this flatlander from the Houston area. My normal elevation gains are usually measured in the 10's of feet instead of the thousands of feet. I should be fairly easy to spot. I wil be the one in the red Texas BF jersey that fits a little snugly. I will probably be on a red Cannondale CAAD 4. Say hey as you pass me by.

http://www.polkcounty.org/4th/4th.htm
I've done the ride in the past, but my wife has to work this year on the 4th so I won't be able to make it. Are you bringing your bike with you? What gearing do you have?

[Bluechip]

We were planning on driving but just yesterday decided to fly. So I will be shipping my bike about a week before we leave. I was planning on bringing a mtn. bike also but that's out now. I have a 53/39 crankset and usually use a 12-23 but just recently bought a 12-25 and I hope that it's enough.

[BikeWNC]

We were planning on driving but just yesterday decided to fly. So I will be shipping my bike about a week before we leave. I was planning on bringing a mtn. bike also but that's out now. I have a 53/39 crankset and usually use a 12-23 but just recently bought a 12-25 and I hope that it's enough.
People do it in a 25 for sure. You might find there are a few hills that you will have to stand for though. The grade for the Greenville watershed climb isn't too bad. It is a long climb but much more moderate than some of the shorter steep hills. Have fun.

[Bluechip]

One week to go and no one else is doing this ride? I was hoping to see a couple of BFers out there. Oh well, I should be easy to spot in my BF Texas jersey. Just say hey if you see me. I am sitting at home hoping to recover from a nasty cold or sinus problem I've had for a couple of days. I am hoping I can ride by the weekend but it's tough if you can't breath.

[damocles1]

Most of the group in town is driving up (about 20+). If you aren't a great climber, you'll definitely need a 25. The watershed is nothing, just longish. Camp Old Indian is the brutal climb. It comes just before the watershed.

There is 5500' of gain, but there are only two really tough climbs.

It's a fun ride...

[Bluechip]

I survived the 4th. It didn't start to well. I unpacked my bike Tuesday and tested everything out. It seemed fine. Late Tuesday night I realized I forgot my bottles and powder. I found a couple of bottled water bottles that sort of fit but I could see them bouncing out at any large bumps. Luckily when I got to the ride a LBS had set up shop and I bought two new bottles.

The bike seemed fine until the very first hill and then it wanted to shift on its own. I thought maybe the rear der. hanger was bent or some of the cables had come out of adjustment during shipping so I played with the cables. I stopped a few times but couldn't get it to work properly. I figured they would have some sort of mech. support at the rest stop but no such luck. By the second rest stop I finally got it readjusted properly and it was shifting fine. Soon after on the climb around a lake the bike started to make a loud squeaking noise. I thought it may have been the seatpost so I waited until the next rest stop to check it out. It turned out to be a loose bottom bracket. No way to fix it on the road so I pedaled on hoping it wouldn't crater on me later. It held out fine with the exception of no one wanting to be near me because of the constant squeaking.

The first "grunt" hill I took in a 39x23 because of the ghost shifting problem and it was tough but I just stood and powered up. A later "grunt" hill with the photographers at the top I was about to fall over but held on until after the picture was taken. I pulled over for a second only to see a rest stop just around the next corner so I got back on and headed there to catch my breath.

The watershed was never ending but was well worth it for the ride on the way down. The switchbacks were so much fun. With my extra weight I was catching people left and right. It was a blast. I am jealous of everyone that gets to ride around here all the time. This goes down as my favorite ride so far. If it works out I would definately come back and do it again.

[BikeWNC]

I survived the 4th. It didn't start to well. I unpacked my bike Tuesday and tested everything out. It seemed fine. Late Tuesday night I realized I forgot my bottles and powder. I found a couple of bottled water bottles that sort of fit but I could see them bouncing out at any large bumps. Luckily when I got to the ride a LBS had set up shop and I bought two new bottles.

The bike seemed fine until the very first hill and then it wanted to shift on its own. I thought maybe the rear der. hanger was bent or some of the cables had come out of adjustment during shipping so I played with the cables. I stopped a few times but couldn't get it to work properly. I figured they would have some sort of mech. support at the rest stop but no such luck. By the second rest stop I finally got it readjusted properly and it was shifting fine. Soon after on the climb around a lake the bike started to make a loud squeaking noise. I thought it may have been the seatpost so I waited until the next rest stop to check it out. It turned out to be a loose bottom bracket. No way to fix it on the road so I pedaled on hoping it wouldn't crater on me later. It held out fine with the exception of no one wanting to be near me because of the constant squeaking.

The first "grunt" hill I took in a 39x23 because of the ghost shifting problem and it was tough but I just stood and powered up. A later "grunt" hill with the photographers at the top I was about to fall over but held on until after the picture was taken. I pulled over for a second only to see a rest stop just around the next corner so I got back on and headed there to catch my breath.

The watershed was never ending but was well worth it for the ride on the way down. The switchbacks were so much fun. With my extra weight I was catching people left and right. It was a blast. I am jealous of everyone that gets to ride around here all the time. This goes down as my favorite ride so far. If it works out I would definately come back and do it again.
Glad you enjoyed the ride. Too bad about your bike problems. You never know when you ship a bike how it will behave. If you liked the Fab Fourth ride you would love some of the rides up in the NC mountains. There are many throughout the summer so if the week of the 4th doesn't work out there are other opportunities. I guess it wasn't too hot down there this year which is always nice.

[Bluechip]

Glad you enjoyed the ride. Too bad about your bike problems. You never know when you ship a bike how it will behave. If you liked the Fab Fourth ride you would love some of the rides up in the NC mountains. There are many throughout the summer so if the week of the 4th doesn't work out there are other opportunities. I guess it wasn't too hot down there this year which is always nice.
It was definately not hot. On some of the downhills I was very chilly. I am used to 95 degrees with 80% humidity. I finished in 4:40 with 4:08 ride time. Not fast but I just wanted to finish before they closed the course.

[damocles1]

The weather this year was great. It's usually balls hot by the Watershed climb.

I had more than a few issues this year.

A big, nasty, spider bite on my leg that forced me to take antibiotics and prednisone, thus killing my legs and HR for the ride. I also changed out a chain and cassette the night before so I could have a 18 tooth cog to climb in. Guess which gear never worked on the ride.

For all the problems, I still pulled off a 3:20. It's 15 minutes slower than my best time, but I finished...

The leaders crossed in 2:49...