Southeast - Southeast BF Spring Ride - May 17/18

OK EVERYBODY!

I will most likely not be riding the Friday afternoon ride BUT I will be bringing - peanutbutter and jelly and bread - enough to make at least 8 sandwiches to stash at an opportune spot, most likely the top of the climb where we intersect the parkway. Believe me knowing they are waiting for you makes it easier, and one less thing to carry.

Somebody should bring an ample amount of water, three gallons maybe, and leave them with the desk so I can stash that too.

We need just one volunteer for that (the water.) anybody...anybody...

WP a final head count is in order considering that there are dropouts so I know how many pjb's to make.

sore all over

I'm bringing 2 gallons of water. That's 32 oz per person, 1 1/2 water bottles. I have a plastic box to put the food in, and a bunch of fig newtons, each 200 calories per package. I was planning to stash it across from the rest stop at the top of the hill, just like last year. I'll either drop it off on Friday night, or early Sat morning.
We can coordinate the drop, and add the pbjs.

final head count (as far as i know...):

The following people are confirmed for the Saturday & Sunday ride (5/17 & 5/18):
wolfpack, BikeWNC, jschen, rnhood (NealH), soarallover, rm -rf, Velo Vol (Saturday, 5/17 only), Pugsly

are you taking requests for jelly?? i can't eat that super sweet stuff - just too sweet. i may just bring my own - smucker's low sugar strawberry. :)

i can volunteer someone to bring water if you want me to. :) it's hit or miss whether they do or not...how 'bout Jon???

well, i sent an email to Jon (Pugsly) asking him to bring 3 gallons of water. didn't see you're response, rm -rf, till after i'd done that. we should have plenty to eat & drink. thanks for bringing the stuff you're bringing!

I will wait untill you return to make the drop.

okie-dokie

I'm not sure what time I'll arrive on Friday. I might go out for a short ride in the late afternoon. Maybe I'll see your 2pm group on it's way back.

Okay, bike is put back together and loaded on the car. Bringing plenty of extra water, but only planning on carrying two bottles on the bike. Trying not to do anything stupid like forget my cycling shoes or something.

ok....bike is in the car, spare set of wheels, cycling bag with all cycling related stuff as well as 'regular clothes'....i'm sure i'm forgetting something, but as long as i have my bike, cycling clothes, helmet, shoes, my powertap, i'm good to go. i think.

see y'all tomorrow.

....i'm sure i'm forgetting something

beer?

is it time to leave yet???? :)

No.

So the weekend start times are 10 am?

yes, i have beer. bought it yesterday during lunch.

and Velo it is at 10am tomorrow.

heading out now to meet in CLT and have breakfast with jason & VV.

Ride reports?

Here's my Friday non-ride report:

When I was outside, it felt more like March than like May. :rolleyes:

I hope tomorrow is a lot nicer.

Ride report for the May 17 ride.

The ride was delayed for a few minutes because someone, ahem, with a long commute, arrived 10 minutes late. Thanks for waiting for me.

Shortly thereafter, we departed.

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0242.jpg

Heading downhill from the Pisgah Inn

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0243.jpg

Descending off the mountain on US 276

As soon as we turned off the mountain, I got dropped like a lead weight. Downhill riding obviously isn't one of my strengths. I didn't catch back up to the group for miles.

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0245.jpg

Along US 276

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0248.jpg

A break to shed layers of clothing

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0249.jpg

A golf course by US 276

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0251.jpg

Agriculture along US 276

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0253.jpg

Along US 276

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0255.jpg

Field along NC 215

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0256.jpg

The group riding on NC 215

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0258.jpg

A more streamlined peloton

Continued on next post . . .

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0259.jpg

Lake Logan

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0261.jpg

Me posing on NC 215

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0264.jpg

Group picture at Lake Logan

Once we passed the lake we had a sustained climb up NC 215 for several miles. Despite the cool temperatures, I worked up a sweat.

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0267.jpg

Me posing by a waterfall on NC 215

I enjoyed some cool spring water here.

NC 215 gets a bit steeper past the waterfall. The tree cover opens up more, offering some terrific mountain views.

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0271.jpg

Scenery on NC 215

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0274.jpg

Looking downhill near the top of NC 215. I'm intrigued by the bald mountains.

Finally, I arrive back on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0276.jpg

View from Courthouse Valley overlook

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0277.jpg

Food break at Courthouse Valley overlook. Thanks to rm -rf for the provisions and Soarallover for the sandwiches!

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0278.jpg

View from Courthouse Valley overlook. The leaves have yet to come out at 5,000 feet.

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0281.jpg

Graveyard Fields

Continued on next post . . .

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0283.jpg

Looking Glass Rock

http://www.brianarner.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0284.jpg

Last climb up to the Pisgah Inn

Distance: 51.7 miles
Riding time: 3:45

Overall, an excellent ride. The weather was great, the riders were friendly, and the scenery was fantastic.

This is what cycling is all about.

Thanks to wolfpack and Bike WNC for organizing this event.

Wow, just had a great time all three days. When can we do it again?!

Friday (http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5701583)

Saturday (http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5701582)

Sunday (http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5701581)

I am glad you guys got back Ok. Karen should be back shortly as she had to drop Jason off in Charlotte. I just got back myself and, it was truly a great weekend of mountain riding. We just missed a 10K weekend, falling about 1K or so short. We changed the route today due to inclement weather which trimmed our climbing but, it's a good thing because I don't know if I could have done any more - my legs were zonked. Winter was apparently taking one last slap at the Parkway but, Spring was in Sylva so, that's where we started today's ride.

Great pictures Brian. The Pigeon Loop is absolutely beautiful. We refilled our water bottles from a natural spring spout and, it hit the spot after about 7 grueling miles uphill.

I am sure Karen and Jason, will write full reports shortly.

Well, just let me say, that staying up till 12:30am Friday morning and then getting up at 5am to prepare to drive to CLT to get Jason & have breakfast with VV & Jason, was, to say the least tiring.

Met those 2 around 8:30am at Ihop in CLT for breakfast and left around 10am for the mountains.

Needless to say, we were way early for check-in. That was too bad, cause we both could've used a nap. We did "just" get started on napping when Jon showed up an woke us up. Andy arrived probably around 1:30pm along with another friend, Neal.

Everyone got there stuff ready to go and we rolled around 2pm. Rode from the Pisgah Inn to Graveyard Fields with a few stops on the way at overlooks.

Jon, Andy, & Neal before the ride:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Friday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01796800x600.jpg

Andy, Neal, Jon, & Jason:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Friday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01797800x600.jpg

Andy, me, Jon, Jason:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Friday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01798800x600.jpg

Jason, Andy & Neal on the first long descent:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Friday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01799800x600.jpg

My usual preferred riding location:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Friday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01800800x600.jpg

One of the overlooks:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Friday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01803800x600.jpg

On the way back, we stopped at an overlook, and WAY off in the distance is the Pisgah Inn. Not really visible in the photo (and Andy can tell you which mtn hump it's closest too), but it's there, after a bit of climbing:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Friday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01806800x600.jpg

The wind was blowing so friggen hard later that evening, the trees were leaning! Seriously - it was VERY windy Friday night.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Friday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01809800x600.jpg

After arriving back at the motel, all the guys congregated at my room, which was on the first floor and designated The Partay Room. :D I told them I wasn't coming to their room because all of the guys were on the second floor and I didn't want to stumble down the stairs and get hurt. They could stumble up the stairs tho. :)

I forgot the camera when we went to eat...I wanted to get some photos of the awesome food & desserts, but, oh well, maybe next time.

more...

OK...slept pretty well Friday night - didn't hear a thing, but the guys said that they felt the building shake a couple of times from the wind and it was pretty noisy. < shrug > dunno. I hardly ever hear anything.

Up around 6:30am, back to sleep till around 7:30am, then off to the restaurant for breakfast with everyone. After breakfast, went back to the room and had a nap. :)

All ready to go around 10am, but had to wait on one person driving in from (I think) Knoxville, TN. Once he got here, we took a few pics and then we're off.

BRP to Hwy 276 = mostly downhill = lots of fun descending. Except for me - my bike sucks big time cornering now - after changing to a 0 offset post and a 90 to 110 stem, and I was very cautious. The bike feels like it just won't turn and wants to just plow straight through the corners. Really need to get that fixed....I was the last one down:(

Picked up a friend of Andy's somewhere on that descent. Maybe he started at BRP/Hwy 276, dunno. Nice guy (i.e. good looking and nice legs:)).

Before the ride, in the parking lot - Jon, Neal, Andy:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01814800x600.jpg

Jon, Jason, me, Andy, Tim, Neal, Brian:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01815800x600.jpg

Again, my preferred riding location, behind the guys:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01817800x600.jpg

The guy behind Andy (2nd on right w/backpack=Andy's friend). Look at those legs!:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01830800x600.jpg

the guys on Hwy 215:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01824800x600.jpg

Brian (Velo Vol):
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01826800x600.jpg

Jon being silly:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01831800x600.jpg

still more...

more pics on Hwy 215 (or maybe Lake Logan Rd) before the climbing starts.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01834800x600.jpg

me at Lake Logan:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01838800x600.jpg

The guys at Lake Logan:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01841800x600.jpg

Neal:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01843800x600.jpg

Dragonfly on Jon's wheel (at LL):
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01845800x600.jpg

Lake Logan:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01846800x600.jpg

Another group pic at LL:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01847800x600.jpg

The climbing begins:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01848800x600.jpg

And, off they go:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01850800x600.jpg

....

Pretty much, after the climbing started, we got strung out a bit. I guess. I was riding sweep, as I said I would, so, I don't know what the guys did. I thought the climb on Hwy 215 was great - I would love to go back and do this ride again when I'm fully healthy. Yep. Knee/leg problems. Outside of left knee hurt pretty bad the whole day, but I stubbornly pushed on. I had one good climbing leg on Saturday and if I had not been in pain with every pedal stroke, I think I could have climbed a little better.

There were times during the climb up 215 that I thought about calling Andy (should I have been fortunate enough to have cell service) and tell him he needed to ride on and get the car to pick me up at 215/BRP. That's how bad it was hurting. But, I'm too damn stubborn for my own good sometimes. :rolleyes:

Anyways, there were lots of nice stops along the way...here at a waterfall and spring where we refilled our bottles.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01851800x600.jpg

A pic for the other SoCal women:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01853800x600.jpg

Another stop:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01857800x600.jpg

Brian (Velo Vol) and Jason:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01859800x600.jpg

I stopped here to take more clothes off:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01860800x600.jpg

The climb continues:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01862800x600.jpg

The last 0.25mi on 215 up to the BRP was brutal. I have no pictures of this, as I could not pedal and take pictures as slow as I was going. I was really glad to reach the rest stop.

Break at BRP/Hwy 215 where we had water & food stashed:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01864800x600.jpg

View from BRP/Hwy 215:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01866800x600.jpg

Back on the BRP, headed to the Pisgah Inn. This is at the Devil's Courthouse:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01868800x600.jpg

Overlook, Andy says lots of good rock climbing...
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01869800x600.jpg

The group at supper Saturday evening:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01872800x600.jpg

Deer-In-The-Headlight-Look:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01874800x600.jpg

Silk Pie "All The Way", Andy's dessert:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01877800x600.jpg

Vanilla Ice Cream w/fresh strawberries:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01878800x600.jpg

Jon:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01880800x600.jpg

Jason:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01881800x600.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01882800x600.jpg

Tim & his wife Denise:
<photo deleted per Tim's request>

Pics/report from Sunday will come in a bit....

It was a really great 3 days of riding (well, just 2 for me) and I'm ready to go back and do that loop again! Climbing 215 is not that hard, but was only made hard due to my knee/leg pain. Gotta get back up there sometime over the summer to ride it again. Who's going with me??? :)

Thanks for a great ride, everybody! It was a bit of a tough ride for me (too much work, too little riding), but it's a great ride. Great ride profile, nice green scenery (the likes of which is not to be found in SoCal), and great company. A special thanks to BikeWNC, wolfpack, and VegaVixen for making this trip possible for me! :beer:

I'm in NYC now, to watch my sister graduate. I hope to write more about the ride once I'm back in SD.

Great pictures, everyone! I'll have to wait until I get home, Sunday May 25, to sort out my pictures, too.

We got a window of good weather this weekend. The winds didn't pick up on Friday until sunset. I even got in a 12 mile ride at 5pm. Then Saturday couldn't have been better. Sunday, we finished the ride from Sylva just before the rain hit. It was raining for hours on my drive out.

Wow, just had a great time all three days. When can we do it again?!

Friday (http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5701583)

Saturday (http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5701582)

Sunday (http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5701581)


The motionbased charts are really interesting. Thanks for posting them. The last quarter mile of the climb before the Blue Ridge, at mile mark 35, doesn't look so bad on the chart, but it is steep.

http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/funny-pictures-cat-excercise-bike.jpg
..

I'm just wondering what Tim did to get that look from Denise!

lol.

i just told him to smile and she kicked his leg, under teh table of course! :D

Sunday's ride/pics:

Well, I've waited a bit late to do this, but I'll do anyways...

Sunday, we were to start at Graveyard Fields and ride the BRP to Richland Balsam and then back. So, it's very windy when we leave the Pisgah Inn and only gets worse the higher we get...(honestly, I don't want to ride because of the wind..). There are some guys at the overlook, who have gone camping for 3 days and leave their lights on....borrow my jumper cables but that doesn't work....They offer to leave them under the car, cause, ya know, we're riding in this hellacious wind and won't be there when they finally get to get a jump....Then, we decide to abandon this idea of riding in this kind of wind. Gosh, guys are kinda dense at times...........:D

I have to sell them my jumper cables cause we decide to ride in the valley instead and I can't just leave these guys hanging, ya know??? So the guy offers me $20 for them...I ask my guys - "Do y'all know how much jumper cables are???" NO. $25. I hope I can get a set for that...

Anyway....we decide to drive down to Sylva & ride 'cause BWNC says it will be warmer. It is warmer. Like 65F vs. 47F and friggen hurricane winds!!

We start out following a road that follows a small stream (same route Andy & I ride the Sunday after Burnsville)....I'm leading the way, and as usual, I'm going too hard/fast and drop these guys. I don't drop them for very long tho. Thing is, my left knee has bothered me all weekend and I made it a lot worse by being stubborn on Saturday and riding through the pain. It is hurting pretty bad, even on the flat sections. Like a 6/7 pain scale out of 10 and I have a slightly higher threshold when it comes to cycling pain. So, this is not too good.

Nevermind that....someone has to have a pee break about 3.5mi into the ride. Yay!!! That's my chance to tell BWNC that I can't continue this ride. So, I have to bail and go back to teh car. It's ok, as it's the same route I rode after Burnsville.

But, I did get a few pictures....at Graveyard Fields - Andy checking out the conditions:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Sunday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01888800x600.jpg

Jon's bare legs. He said that the hair on them would keep him warm since he wasn't wearing warmers.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Sunday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01887800x600.jpg

The guys at the overlook before Richland Balsam overlook:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Sunday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01889800x600.jpg

Jason at Richland Balsam:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Sunday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01890800x600.jpg

In Sylva, before the ride:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Sunday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01893800x600.jpg

You know....my favorite postion....damn. I love riding behind the guys with the great legs!
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Sunday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01896800x600.jpg

At the turn-around, due to inclement weather:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Sunday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01897800x600.jpg

Jon's bare legs. He said that the hair on them would keep him warm since he wasn't wearing warmers.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Sunday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01887800x600.jpg

You know you love it! That definition, those guads... :)

but of course! i loved every minute of riding this weekend....me, the lone female, amongst all those men with fantastic looking guads & calves! :D

I'll shave my legs just for you!

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d175/erotictophat/borat_nice.jpg

:D

what happens at the Pisgah Inn/BRP rides, stays at the PI/BRP. :D :p

Nice pictures. It appears that by only doing one ride, I missed out on the really good stuff.

Where "really good stuff" =

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/Saturday%20SEBF%20May%20Ride%202008/DSC01877800x600.jpg

I can't say I have a particular yearning to ride in hurricane winds, though.


Gotta get back up there sometime over the summer to ride it again. Who's going with me???

I'm looking at doing a mountain century next month. But July and August may be open to that possibility if someone wants to organize another ride.

I'm looking at doing a mountain century next month. But July and August may be open to that possibility if someone wants to organize another ride.

I'm planning on doing Roan Moan on 7/26, the full century. I'll be flying out to SoCal after that. After 6/9 (Assault on Marion) I don't have anything pressing to ride and will be riding by how I feel in June instead of structured training.

BWNC and I will have to check the calendars & see what we are doing and decide if we want to organize another ride in, maybe, August or late September....

I want to know how someone with the "BF name" of "velo vol" can possibly show up at a BF ride in anything other than a Volunteer Orange jersey? Or at least just regular Orange?

What the heck were you doing in that yellow thing? Are you a secret Vandy supporter?

Do I need to get my wife to contact her friend and former track teammate, now TN asst BB coach, Holly to hunt you down an punish you?

lol. no, no one razzed V V for the yellow jersey. but, come to think of it, maybe we should've. :D

I want to know how someone with the "BF name" of "velo vol" can possibly show up at a BF ride in anything other than a Volunteer Orange jersey? Or at least just regular Orange?

What the heck were you doing in that yellow thing? Are you a secret Vandy supporter?

Do I need to get my wife to contact her friend and former track teammate, now TN asst BB coach, Holly to hunt you down an punish you?

I assumed, with some justification as it turns out, that North Carolina folks don't follow NCAA sports enough to know the difference. :rolleyes:

For the record, Vanderbilt's colors are black and gold

http://www.bikesomewhere.com/images/large/vanderbiltFront.jpg

Truth is that I don't have a UT cycling jersey. I have yet to fell compelled to shell out a lot of money for pretty jerseys, including orange ones.

Your wife is friends with Holly Warlick?

I assumed, with some justification as it turns out, that North Carolina folks don't follow NCAA sports enough to know the difference. :rolleyes:

For the record, Vanderbilt's colors are black and gold

...
Truth is that I don't have a UT cycling jersey. I have yet to fell compelled to shell out a lot of money for pretty jerseys, including orange ones.

Your wife is friends with Holly Warlick?I don't really qualify as a NC folk, I just live here. And I hardly pay attention to SEC or ACC stuff, let alone my natal Big 10.

Yellow? Gold? Guess I should have thought about LSU. But a "Vol" in Vandy colors spins a better yarn than in LSU colors - but come to think of it, it has been LSU fighting it out against Pat's crew for the top women's BB spot lately. At least you left the red jersey and shorts to Jason.

Performance makes that same yellow jersey in orange. Cheap. Esp. if you catch it on sale - which is the only time I purchase jerseys.

Not exactly friends. My wife was a frosh when Holly was a junior or senior. Don't let any TN players know this - we wouldn't want them to know that their coach ever bent the coach's instructions, but they have a story about Holly repeatedly downing cups of gatorade that my wife was supposed to be drinking at some track meet. At least that's what they told me a few years ago at the women's sports banquet (I don't recall the actual name - I was just there to be window dressing) where they honored the previous TN female All-Americans.

See, the story loses some zip when the details come out. But the basics are there. :thumb:

Great pics and reports. Thanks for sharing. That's two of these rides I'd hoped to join in, and two I've missed. Maybe I'll make the next one.

Hi guys...I just caught onto this thread through Wolfpack's blog. Looks like an awesome ride. I've ridden the BRP North to South solo a couple years ago, and your pics really make me wish I was there.

Work wouldn't have allowed me to this year, much less I broke my ankle last week, but next year, count me in...

I think the BRP and Skyline Drive are God's gifts to cycling on the East Coast. You can't appreciate what a gem it is until you are spinning on it for multiple days...like you did.

Congrats!

Oh, here's my blog from my trip. Hope you enjoy...

www.crazyguyonabike.com/journal/gerald

I've ridden the BRP North to South solo a couple years ago, and your pics really make me wish I was there.

Oh, here's my blog from my trip. Hope you enjoy...

www.crazyguyonabike.com/journal/gerald
That's a challenging ride and a nice report. Looks like had quite a team accompanying you.

I would say "challenging" is an understatement. A very nice trip report there orcanova (Gerald I presume), with some great pictures of both the scenery and your family. A lot of climbing there. Since I grew up in Virginia, I've driven those roadways that you traversed so I know how beautiful it is. I've been up the Peaks of Otter many times during my hiking days - tho never by bike. Maybe someday you can join us on one of our weekend mountain riding trips. I am planning on riding from Leesville Lake to the Peaks sometime later this summer. I want to keep Virginia in my riding loop, so to speak.

Thanks...it wasn't too bad, just lots of hours in the saddle. The hardest part was not having someone to ride with. I only saw Andree and Charlotte every few hours, so it was pretty lonely out there. Next time I would do it with at least one other rider.

But they were so awesome to be with, and I was very lucky to have their support the entire trip. Andree is my neice and Charlotte is her daughter. I hadn't seen Charlotte since she was an infant, so it was awesome to bond in a way we never would have, that will stick in her mind forever. We are bonded really close now, thanks to that one week. Sometimes out of the blue she says to her Mom: "We need to call Uncle Gerald!" And the cool thing was, she really got it: she understood it was a challenge, she cheered me on, and she would get all excited as the spotter when they were driving up the road looking for me.

Catching up on ride reports...

After VegaVixen picked me up from the airport (thanks!), I had breakfast with VegaVixen and wolfpack on Friday morning. Then wolfpack and I headed up to the Pisgah Inn to meet the others for a quick Friday ride. BikeWNC was kind enough to arrange a bike rental for me.

It's gorgeous out on the BRP. The ride profile is comparable to, say, GMR broken into lots of shorter inclines, but the ride experience is oh so different. It's green everywhere, unlike in the desert that is SoCal. Not better or worse, but definitely different. And the weather that day was pretty nice. Cool temps, calm winds. And the pavement... oh so smooth. I could run right over the rough spots, and it would be smoother than most pavement out in SoCal. We did an out and back ride, taking breaks to peer out over the expansive vistas at the overlooks. The green hills in the background just go on and on, with no end in sight.

That night was windy and cold. So cold that I was forced to learn to shave my legs quickly, for fear of getting goose bumps before I was done.

Saturday was the big ride. The initial downhill stretch was a blast. We got to a nice, twisty descent, but with sufficiently shallow grades where one wasn't hard on the brakes the whole time. And all through really nice scenery. Eventually, though, what goes down must head back up.

Others were getting warm on the climb, but being a SoCal wimp, I decided to keep my leg warmers on. Most of them dropped me pretty quickly, but I kept plodding along at my own pace. That is, until the road pitched up a bit, and I quickly burned out my climbing legs. (Haven't rode enough recently.) The rest of the day's climbing (even on really shallow inclines) was in limp-home mode, taking it REALLY easy. But that didn't detract one bit from how great a ride it was and how pretty it was out there. Though I would have been comfortable with dragging myself home alone, I really appreciated Velo Vol and BikeWNC checking on me.

At the top of the main climb, we had a quick snack break. wolfpack didn't want a PB&J sandwich, so I happily wolfed down her share, too. It wouldn't help my climbing any (my legs weren't out of energy... they were simply fatigued), but it sure tasted good. Then we headed back to the inn along the BRP.

I think there's more flowing fresh water on this ride than in all of SoCal. Not counting rides in the rain (Baldy Challenge on Oct 14, 2006 was pretty wild), I don't think I've ever rode next to so much fresh water before. I would love to do this ride again at varying times of the year, with the trees looking different.

Weather conditions forced the Sunday ride to move to one of BikeWNC's local rides, which I had rode with him back in December when I visited. I love this ride. It's so quiet on those roads. The climbing starts out very gradual, and one can feel like a great rider, hammering along at double digit speeds for quite a long time. But there's also a few short butt kickers of inclines, including "the wall", a 15% stretch. I was feeling pretty good and putting in a way harder effort than I realized. It must be the route... the same thing happened back in December, when I asked BikeWNC how hard we were going and he quoted a much higher wattage from his PowerTap than I was expecting.

When we got up to the BRP, there was a light rain. Being the SoCal wimp in the group, I put on my windbreaker, whereas the others simply braved it on the descent. And oh what a descent... I love this descent. One has to be a bit careful, but one can take it reasonably conservatively and still have a blast bombing down this route. The only problem is that it ends way too soon.

After a quick pizza lunch, it was off to Charlotte, where wolfpack and VegaVixen taught me what a honeysuckle is. Strange thing that is, and I never really got the hang of handling it, though VegaVixen kindly fed me a few that were properly handled.

I had a great time out there, and I look forward to hopefully visiting again sometime.

thanks Jason! i really hope you had a great time out here riding on the BRP. it's always nice to ride in WNC.