yes. I am a maybe as well. I will keep checking on this thread and let you know what I can do.

I don't do much posting, if any, in Foo but I might be interested in the Charlotte area ride. Depends upon whereabouts and what time... I'm an hour SE of downtown by auto and I don't like to get out of bed much before 5:30!

OK just made reservations at the Comfort Inn. So I'm just waiting on the 28 to get here.

After two trainer rides, I kind of got busy and put off even riding on the trainer. I finally did a ride on Sunday. :o A relatively flat coastal century. Felt pretty bad at the beginning. :( Then my legs started coming around and I felt great for a while. :D But I pushed my luck too far and started feeling terrible in the legs. :mad: Then felt decently good by the end. :)

Cardio feels fine, but my legs are pretty lousy right now. Well, there's a few more days to change that still...

bump

it's almost here!! :)

Yes it is. I did a short ride with my wife out on the Burningtown loop today. I'm always surprised at how green it is out there this time of year. The roads look to be in good shape. Tomorrow I'll check out another ride I hope we can do.

The BRP is currently closed to cars. Whether it stays that way depends on the weather but being a holiday week it is very possible it remains closed. That is great for us as we will have it all to ourselves should the weather allow us to ride up there.

I packed up my bike this morning. (Decided to do it early since I had never used my carrying case before. Turned out to be really easy.) Can't wait! :)

I packed up my bike this morning. (Decided to do it early since I had never used my carrying case before. Turned out to be really easy.) Can't wait! :)

Sounds good Jason. Have a safe trip and I'll see you Wed. sometime.

The current weather forecast is still unsettled and we won't know how it will shake out until the timing of the weather systems become more evident. It looks like Thurs. will be a nice day with showers moving in that night. After that we will have to just wait and see. I expect at least some rain on Fri. We will do the best to work around the weather. Temps should be in the 50s on Thurs. to the low 60s on Sat. Fri. may be the coolest day. I've lived in the mountains long enough to know that we seldom get the weather as forecast.

I've lived in the mountains long enough to know that we seldom get the weather as forecast.
Meh. That's not exclusive to the mountains. Last night the forecast for today was partly sunny, high 54F (no mention of rain). Actual conditions when I finished riding this afternoon: light rain, 40F. I even saw some sleet along the way.

Thanks, weather forecasters. :rolleyes:

Jason has been here since 11 this morning and we are getting ready to head out for a short ride. For those that plan to meet up with us the next 3 days, please PM me your plans and I will get back to you with the info you need. Thanks.

PM sent.

Ok. After fighting with my recalcitrant and slowly failing computer, waiting forever for my dialup connection to upload and download data, and trying to get other time-sensitive work done, I've managed to get two routes up on mapitpronto.com. Woo-hoo. :rolleyes:

For those Charlotte area riders interested in riding with Jason down here, I propose two rides, one on 12/30 and one on 12/31. I put these rides in two different areas of the Mecklenburg County area. Unfortunately, I'm only familiar with my usual riding area, and somewhat familiar with routes in Gaston County. I just haven't ridden much elsewhere, and so have no appreciable familiarity with other routes in other areas. :o

I know we have a lot of folks who ride down in the southeast area of the county and in northeast Union County. If folks down in the southeast part of the county want to ride with Jason, and would like to propose an alternate route in that part of the county, we could surely consider that. I know I've ridden with serotta and friends in Mineral Springs -- was a good 34-mile-ish route, but I'm just not so familiar with the roads there (rode it at night).

In no particular order:

Route 1: This is the Polar Bear 50 route in Gaston County, perhaps more accessible to those in the western area of the greater Charlotte area:
http://www.mapitpronto.com/index.cfm?fuseAction=routePlanner.viewDBRide&rideID=1376 (substructure had put same map on routeslip.com, which I didn't find 'til later:
http://www.routeslip.com/routes/18523 For both routes, take the climbing numbers with a grain of salt, or just split the difference). Cue sheet, including shortcuts: http://www.gastoncountycyclists.com/CueSheets/A_route_2005.pdf

Route 2: This is the Harrisburg 55 route (which appears to be more like 58 by this plot):
http://www.mapitpronto.com/index.cfm?fuseAction=routePlanner.viewDBRide&rideID=1379 A .pdf with cue sheet exists for this route: http://www.gastoncountycyclists.com/CueSheets/Harrisburg_Elementary_70-55MileRoutes.pdf

BTW, I selected these distances on the assumption that most people prefer a longer, though leisurely-paced social ride. However, if there is significant preference for a shorter ride of 30-40 miles, the two routes above can easily be modified. Each of these has shortcuts to shorten the ride for those who aren't ready for a longer ride (personally, each will be a bit of a stretch for me, as I've never ridden more than 35 miles in one ride, and I've not been riding regularly these past two months), or who just don't have time this weekend for a longer ride.

For those who are interested, let me know by Friday morning which ride you could do (and preferred length, if that's an issue), and on which day you could ride. Based on responses, I'll try to work out the best schedule to accomodate the most people on each route, and post up what I've got by Friday evening.

Given the currently planned distances, and not knowing what the pace of each day's group will be, I propose that we start the rides around 10:30am, and assume we'll be done by 3pm for sure. FWIW, it appears from weather forecasts that we may have showers here on 12/30, but 12/31 is supposed to be sunny.

Vega, I am hopeful to ride on the 30th and perhaps even the 31. I have to see if I can convince Jarrett to go; he doesn't like the coldness! I'll let you know for sure.

Liz

Vega, I am hopeful to ride on the 30th and perhaps even the 31. I have to see if I can convince Jarrett to go; he doesn't like the coldness! I'll let you know for sure.

Liz

Heh. He and I are kindred spirits. :p Now that I have little toewarmer thingies to go inside my shoes, I'll probably be able to feel my feet during the pedal cycle. Yes, having at least some feeling in one's feet makes riding outdoors a lot more enjoyable! :D

It looks like I'm going to take a family-visiting trip, so I don't think I'll make it for any of the rides. Too bad, as I would have liked to meet jschen. I hope someone will post pictures.

Thanks for organizing my Charlotte visit, VegaVixen. Looking forward to meeting you, Liz. Sorry you can't make it, Velo Vol. Our first planned ride is later this morning, but BWNC and I already did a short ride yesterday.

Hey, Jason! So, what's a short ride for you? 30-miles? That's my long ride! :lol:

Weather forecast now claims rain for Sunday, with showers on Monday. Here's hopin' they're wrong, wrong, wrong. But if we're rained out down here, we'll find somewhere to ride where it's not raining, even if we have to drive a bit. :)

Well, I do have a six mile loop around UCSD that I sometimes do, with minimal climbing. :p

Yesterday's ride was 21 miles. Today was something like 33, split between a BRP section before lunch and rolling terrain in the valley after lunch. We're having a great time out here. Well, at least I am... hope the others are too.

Man, if I'd known y'all weren't gonna do more than that, I might have come up. I had the impression, evidently erroneously, that y'all were gonna be doing 50-60 miles a day with 7-8k feet of climbing a day! Guess I just didn't understand.... :(

Well all good intentions don't always go as planned. We rode up from Balsam Gap on the BRP 6.1 miles and 1900' elevation gain. Unfortunately, while the temps in the valley were warming to near 60, up on the BRP we rode past snow, ice on the road and winds well into the 30s. So when we reached the first level section before it turned down we decided it be best to return to town, get lunch then go ride the 20 mile Burningtown loop.

We did the loop in 60 degree temps, calm winds and another 1300' of climbing. So in the end we did almost 33 miles and 3200' climbing. Just the usual 100' per mile for around here, so not easy but fun. Hopefully the weather will cooperate the next couple of days and we can get in more miles.

Nice ride report! Thanks for sharing! :) And I hope your weather will continue to hold out. :beer:

Jason and I may have to drive a bit to find some non-rainy riding Sunday and Monday.... Still got my fingers crossed for a forecast that's off by a few days....

Nice ride report! Thanks for sharing! :) And I hope your weather will continue to hold out. :beer:

Jason and I may have to drive a bit to find some non-rainy riding Sunday and Monday.... Still got my fingers crossed for a forecast that's off by a few days....

you could drive up to the mountains on monday (31st) seeing how it's gonna be 56F and partly sunny. jes' sayin'. if i could stay till then and ride, i surely would.

I hope there will be pictures!

Look here (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=5871777#post5871777) for the pics.

you could drive up to the mountains on monday (31st) seeing how it's gonna be 56F and partly sunny. jes' sayin'. if i could stay till then and ride, i surely would.

We're expecting that same weather here Monday afternoon. We'll play it by ear. There's always Morrow Mountain in Stanly County if it's not raining there. But Sunday, at least here in Charlotte, is beginning to look like a bust. Maybe we can still pull off a BF dinner Sunday night, for those interested. :o

From the responses I've had, CycleMagic, polara, Eboo, and I seem to be the only ones who've expressed definite interest in a ride either Sunday or Monday. As 1" of rain is forecast for tomorrow, and Monday is supposed to be sunny with highs in upper 50F's, we will ditch the planned Sunday ride, and do the Harrisburg route on Monday. Also, after talking with others, the route has undergone distance-reduction surgery, and is now a lean 30-miler, with a 22-mile option for anyone who wants it. Cue sheet and map here (http://www.gastoncountycyclists.com/CueSheets/Harrisburg_Elementary_30MileRoute.pdf).

As there is no longer a ride planned for Sunday, and because CM had expressed interest in joining us for dinner, I now propose doing so following our Monday ride, even if it's a little on the early side, so that CM can get safely home to Hicktown before the New Year's Eve parties start swingin' and the dangerous drivers start gettin' out. If anyone else besides polara, eboo, and CM wishes to join us for the ride and dinner, PM me for start time. :)

CM, check your PM. ;)

I am a Tour de Pain Survivor!

Yay, you! :beer: Um, y'all didn't break Jason before sending him down to Flatland, did you? :eek: :p

good grief no!! that guy can climb!!! just feed him really good cause i'm sure he must be as hungry as i am.

I am a Tour de Pain Survivor!

hey! I sent you good thoughts this morning, glad you made it! yay for you!!!

Ohhhh, I think he's gonna eat well while he's here. I can't have anyone eatin' less than I do, and that's, um, quite a bit. :rolleyes: :D

Well, I'll try to do a bit of a ride report now....

Met roadrider at his hotel and then headed over to the rec center - our starting point.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Tour%20de%20Pain/DSC01432800x600.jpg

It was really warm at 10am, so much so, that some of us were slightly overdressed. After a 15-20min warmup over flat to rolling terrain, we started the first climb. Cullowhee Mountain Road is one hell of a climb. Approximately 6mi in length, and the grade probably averages out to around 9% or 10% with some seriously steep sections thrown in for the pain factor. These steep sections ranged anywhere from 12% to 16%:eek:. I had to stop really soon after starting the climb and remove some clothing - tights came off, jersey unzipped, and jacket unzipped. I think these pics are from that stop:

Looking back down Cullowhee Mtn Rd:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Tour%20de%20Pain/DSC01433800x600.jpg

Where I'm headed:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Tour%20de%20Pain/DSC01434800x600.jpg

I had to stop again somewhere, probably along the double digit grade section.

I finally made it to the top of Cullowhee Mountain and damn - I am proud of myself for climbing this. It was sooooo hard. But, what doesn't kill you will make you stronger, and this didn't kill me. :). The decent was well worth the climb tho! I hit a max of 51.2mph coming down Walnut Creek!! Jschen is an excellent climber as well as decender! I stayed behind him for the most part, trying to follow his line as I think he has a lot more experience in descending.

We then had a nice little section of about 8mi that was somewhat flat with rollers (my flat and BWNC's flat are definitely two different interpretations:)). We stopped for some "lunch" at a gas station on Hwy 64 and then off to climb Elijay.

Whew. By this time, roadrider and I were pretty tired. Roadrider was in a 39/25 (I think) and some parts of the climb were very difficult for him (and me). Elijay was a good ride, again, some really steep sections that just hurt terribly...cadence dropped to the high 30's low 40's at times. Again, I got through this climb with several stops to rest my really tired legs. This climb also had a fabulous descent! It felt like I was going WAY faster than 51mph!!! After the last descent, we were just about done with the ride....nice bit of rolling terrain back to the rec center.

So, overall, the hardest 39mi I have ever ridden. I had 4700' +/- of climbing (motionbased data (http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4668790)) and a ride time of 3:40hr. I didn't set a new PR for my power, which, really, was good because I would have been overdone toast if I had and might not have been able to finish the ride. A great ride tho. It puts all the climbs, including Col de Lystra (around Lake Jordan), that I have previously done in great perspective.

Anyways, I'm just now sitting down to finish this report after a great meal fixed by BWNC: NY Strip Steak, rice, and salad. It was an awesome meal. There's even a little left for a snack later on.......:)

I'll post the rest of the pictures in the Go For a Ride thread...

Some more pics from our ride today.


http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p37/apadyk/Jason6.jpg
jschen and roadrider at the top of Cullowhee Mtn Rd.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p37/apadyk/Jason7.jpg
Wolfpack at the summit of Cullowhee Mtn Rd

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p37/apadyk/Jason8.jpg
jschen leading a climb.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p37/apadyk/Jason9.jpg
roadrider on the Elijay climb.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p37/apadyk/Jason10.jpg
Wolfpack on Elijay.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p37/apadyk/Jason11.jpg
Wolfpack moving up the hill on Elijay.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p37/apadyk/Jason12.jpg
roadrider on a steep pitch on Elijay.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p37/apadyk/Jason13.jpg
Wolfpack on a steep pitch on Elijay.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p37/apadyk/Jason14.jpg
Approaching the top of Elijay Ck climb at Cullowhee Gap.

Here is some pics for jschen's trip.
Here we are at the start, everybody is still smiling
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj7/roadrider1/IMG_0020.jpg
About 1/2 way up
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj7/roadrider1/IMG_0021.jpg
Notice the road below at the left of the house
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj7/roadrider1/IMG_0022.jpg
Jschen and Woflpack
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj7/roadrider1/IMG_0024.jpg
We made ti to the top of Cullowhee Mtn
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj7/roadrider1/IMG_0025.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj7/roadrider1/IMG_0023.jpg
On they way to Elijay
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj7/roadrider1/IMG_0027.jpg
BikeWNC cruising up Elijay
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj7/roadrider1/IMG_0030.jpg
Wolfpack on Elijay
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj7/roadrider1/IMG_0032.jpg
Wolfpack having fun
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj7/roadrider1/IMG_0028.jpg

The photos have been posted from our rides over the past few days and I thought I would add a few comments.

Jschen arrived late morning on the 26th after taking the red-eye from LA to Charlotte, renting a car then making the 2.5 hour drive up to the mountains. He was surprisingly chipper for someone having made that trip. After assembling his bike, making contact with Wolfpack who was on the way up, we went out for a short ride from town up to the BRP. We had a nice sunny day in the mid 50s for the ride of about 21 miles and 1500' of climbing. It seemed every dog on the route came out to greet Jason as we rode. Welcome to the South!

Thursday's ride was meant to take advantage of the 60 degree temps by heading up to the BRP. We started at Balsam Gap and walked around the gate for a ride in our own private National Park on the closed road. The first 3.5 miles are a steady 7% grade after which it eases the next 2.5 to around 4%. We rode up to mile high elevation at GRassy Ridge Overlook at 5280'. Unfortunately the wind was howling up there blowing to 30 mph or more and the temps had dropped as we gained elevation. We made the decision to head down for a ride in the valley. I knew it would only get colder and more windy the higher we would ride.

After lunch we did a loop of the Burningtown Valley near Franklin, NC. It is a rolling to hilly 20 mile rural ride in the Little Tenn. River valley. It was around 60F for the ride and we were a bit overdressed after coming off the BRP. The loop is a classic WNC ride and offers some great scenery on low traffic roads. Later that evening we went out for pizza and beer for dinner in town.

On Friday, roadrider came up to ride but the weather didn't want to cooperate. We were rained out and spent the day hanging out, eating lunch, then going to dinner later that evening.

Sat.'s ride started near Cullowhee, NC. We had planned to do an extended version of the Ring of Fire, a classic local climbing ride. The first climb is Cullowhee Mtn Rd, a sustained climb of 4.4 miles and average 8% grade. The devils is in the details though. The first 2 miles average 10% with grades up to 16%. There are several steep sections throughout the climb. Roadrider found himself wishing for gearing other than the 39/26 he had. Wolfpack was all smiles at the top of the climb and with good reason. It was the hardest climb she had ever done.

After a short quick descent we rode the rolling false flat up the Pine Ck valley through the Xmas tree farms. The climb up to Walnut Gap is relatively short at about 1.3 miles, but has some 9% grades and is deceptively tough for its length. The descent of Walnut Ck, 7 miles and 1900', is a fantastic ride on new pavement around hairpin turns, long straights and steep grades. Jschen and Wolfpack took off while roadrider and I trailed behind. We met up at the bottom to find big smiles on Jschen and Wolfpack. They hit 51.2 mph on the way down! Wolfpack said that the descent was worth all the climbing.

We rode a mile down US 64 to a store for snacks. We were at the point of decision. Should we continue on up Buck Ck for an additional 3000' of climbing or head on to Elijay to complete the short loop? Jschen and I didn't care either way while roadrider was concerned about his gearing and Wolfpack wasn't sure she would be able to complete the longer distance with all that extra climbing. So we decided to head on towards the car and the final climb up Elijay to Cullowhee Gap. After several miles of rolling false flat up the creek we reached the final climb of the day.

Elijay isn't as hard as Cullowhee Mtn Rd, 4.8 miles and 1500', but it does offer several steep pitches well over 10%. We each rode our own pace up the climb and had a couple of regrouping points along the way. Once at the top the work was done. The descent of Tilly Ck is technical in that the pavement isn't quite as good as the rest of the ride and there are several switchbacks that usually hold debris. Whatever. It didn't seem to phase Jschen or Wolfpack, both very good descenders, and they once again broke the 50 mph mark. Even I got to 50 on that descent and I'm cautious on the downhills. We cruise the final flat back to the car. I offered everyone the chance to ride another lap of the loop but there were no takers. Ha!

After the bikes were loaded on the cars we headed our ways. Roadrider had a 3 hour drive to get home, Jschen was on the way to meet up with VegaVixen and the Charlotte crowd, and Wolfpack to stay the night and head back Sunday morning.

I think everyone enjoyed the riding we got in over the 4 days. We had great weather. 64 degrees on Sat! Just awesome. I'll trade a day of rain anytime for the 3 other days we had. We talked about a May SEBF ride starting at the Pisgah Inn on the BRP as we did last May. Stay tuned for that!

VV-Late notice but there should be a few of us riding out of the YMCA right off I-85 in Concord at 9:30 Monday morning if anyone is interested. We'll probably do 60-65 miles. The Y is on Exit 54 on George Liles Blvd.

Thanks, jppe, but we're going to be ridin' the H'burg 30-miler in early afternoon. You guys are welcome to join us, if you still have any gas left! :D PM, and I'll give you a more precise start time! :)

We'll see how the ride goes this am-looks like a great day to ride either way. Will you be leaving from Harrisburg Elementary? There's also a group leaving from there Jan 1 at 9:30 that will do a 3hr 15 min to 3hr 30 min 60 miler if you're interested.

Awesome pics guys (and gal).

I am really impressed with the whole TdP and think this should definitely be made an annual event... and one day a certain Canuck might have to think about joining you for a little pain.

We'll see how the ride goes this am-looks like a great day to ride either way. Will you be leaving from Harrisburg Elementary? There's also a group leaving from there Jan 1 at 9:30 that will do a 3hr 15 min to 3hr 30 min 60 miler if you're interested.

PM sent. Hope you can join us.

Awesome pics guys (and gal).

I am really impressed with the whole TdP and think this should definitely be made an annual event... and one day a certain Canuck might have to think about joining you for a little pain.

That would be nice if this certain Canuck could join us on a TdP ride. I think we should make it an annual event also:).

so, what's up with J?? how was the riding?? pictures??

Had a great time in Charlotte, but I was never signed on to BF during the time so I didn't report in. (VV did fill me in a bit, though.) I'll put together a full report of my trip soon, though. :)

I had a wonderful time. Thanks BikeWNC and VegaVixen for planning and hosting a wonderful trip, and thanks wolfpack, roadrider, polara426sh, and Eboo for showing up. Sorry I couldn't meet you this time, CycleMagic... hopefully next time.

Some pics and reports from Charlotte may be found here (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=375634). :)