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08-18-07, 05:52 PM
Well, I just finished what I felt was the hardest century ride I have ever done. That is for actual bike riding. The most miserable century ever was last weekend in Georgia. The Chattooga Century is very well supported with great SAG and rest stops, but the heat was terrible. 102 to 104 dgrees with heat index around 110. I thought I would pass out from heat exhaustion.
Well, back to the Blue Ridge Brutal. It started at 8 AM at the Ashe County Civic Center. There were at least 300 people. The temps were actually cold. My car said 59 degrees when I first arrived at 7 AM. The ride started promptly at 8 AM with a mass start. With so many people it was hard to try to get up to the front with the hammerheads. Actually that was OK, because they would have dropped me pretty quick.
There were a few short hills during the first 8 to 10 miles and this helped to thin the ranks of the large group. At about mile 15 we entered onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. I forgot how beautiful the sites were from this road. I had plenty of time to enjoy them because we were on the BRP until around mile 37. The BRP is not easy by any means. There were plenty of hills with grades of 7 to 11% for good distances. Trust me, I had my head down most of these hills so I had plenty of time to watch my Garmin.
After leaving the BRP, we had a few flat spots here and there, but it was mostly hill after hill. These were also not easy. It seemed as though every hill would start at 4 to 5% and then gradually increase to 7 to 10%. The real test came at mile 71 where we turned onto Buffalo road (I think). The first few miles of this were mostly flat. At least that is what it felt like, though the Garmin said we were on a continuous uphill climb to about mile 77 or so. The last 1.5 miles of this were just absolute HELL!!! The grade seemed to stay at or above 11%. My Garmin would show 14% many times. I was trolling along at 4 to 5 miles per hour here. Actually, about half way up I got a little cramp in my left thigh so I pulled off for a little bit. That was a lot of fun trying to get started again mid way up a 11 to 14% grade. There was a rest stop at the top and I just wanted to throw myself on the ground. I ate a lot of grapes and watermelon and they were SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!
You would think the pain would end after that climb but NOOOOOOOOO. Another climb (with a 4 to 9% grade) starts at about mile 80. This lasted for about 3 miles and then another downhill. Then the climbing started again at around mile 85 or 86. This was also about 7 to (% for many parts. I was wanting to cry by now. Even after mile 90, there were hills with fairly steep grades. It just seemed the hills would never go away.
We finished back at the Ashe Civic Center. They had us all wear these computer chips (I think they are) and they were detected by equipment at the finish line so your official time could be recorded. Also, at the finish line was a nice pasta meal of spaghetti and salad. There was a desert table with GOOD brownies. A few CRAZY people left the finish line and climbed up Mt Jefferson. That adds about 1400 ft of elevation gain over 3 more miles.
This was well organized with very friendly rest stop people. I would love to do this again next year.
Total elevation gained: 8900ft
Total miles: 101.9 miles
My total time: 6 Hours 18 minutes
My ride time: 5 hours and 50 minutes
I guess I spent too much time eating watermelon.
Well, back to the Blue Ridge Brutal. It started at 8 AM at the Ashe County Civic Center. There were at least 300 people. The temps were actually cold. My car said 59 degrees when I first arrived at 7 AM. The ride started promptly at 8 AM with a mass start. With so many people it was hard to try to get up to the front with the hammerheads. Actually that was OK, because they would have dropped me pretty quick.
There were a few short hills during the first 8 to 10 miles and this helped to thin the ranks of the large group. At about mile 15 we entered onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. I forgot how beautiful the sites were from this road. I had plenty of time to enjoy them because we were on the BRP until around mile 37. The BRP is not easy by any means. There were plenty of hills with grades of 7 to 11% for good distances. Trust me, I had my head down most of these hills so I had plenty of time to watch my Garmin.
After leaving the BRP, we had a few flat spots here and there, but it was mostly hill after hill. These were also not easy. It seemed as though every hill would start at 4 to 5% and then gradually increase to 7 to 10%. The real test came at mile 71 where we turned onto Buffalo road (I think). The first few miles of this were mostly flat. At least that is what it felt like, though the Garmin said we were on a continuous uphill climb to about mile 77 or so. The last 1.5 miles of this were just absolute HELL!!! The grade seemed to stay at or above 11%. My Garmin would show 14% many times. I was trolling along at 4 to 5 miles per hour here. Actually, about half way up I got a little cramp in my left thigh so I pulled off for a little bit. That was a lot of fun trying to get started again mid way up a 11 to 14% grade. There was a rest stop at the top and I just wanted to throw myself on the ground. I ate a lot of grapes and watermelon and they were SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!
You would think the pain would end after that climb but NOOOOOOOOO. Another climb (with a 4 to 9% grade) starts at about mile 80. This lasted for about 3 miles and then another downhill. Then the climbing started again at around mile 85 or 86. This was also about 7 to (% for many parts. I was wanting to cry by now. Even after mile 90, there were hills with fairly steep grades. It just seemed the hills would never go away.
We finished back at the Ashe Civic Center. They had us all wear these computer chips (I think they are) and they were detected by equipment at the finish line so your official time could be recorded. Also, at the finish line was a nice pasta meal of spaghetti and salad. There was a desert table with GOOD brownies. A few CRAZY people left the finish line and climbed up Mt Jefferson. That adds about 1400 ft of elevation gain over 3 more miles.
This was well organized with very friendly rest stop people. I would love to do this again next year.
Total elevation gained: 8900ft
Total miles: 101.9 miles
My total time: 6 Hours 18 minutes
My ride time: 5 hours and 50 minutes
I guess I spent too much time eating watermelon.