BikeWNC

NealH and I are riding Issaqueena's Last Ride out of Walhalla, SC in the morning which is paired with the Tour de Cashiers the following weekend. I thought I'd give it a shout out for those who might be close enough to give the Cashiers ride a try. It is one of the more difficult rides but one with great scenery and roads and is on one of my local routes. If you want a challenge come on up to Cashiers, NC next weekend, or Walhalla tomorrow for either of these super rides.

https://www.ilrsc.com

https://www.tourdecashiers.com/tour-de-cashiers-home

lhbernhardt

Wow, I thought you were kidding; "Tour de Cashiers" sounds like what happens when you ride down to the mall on Saturday with your wife/SO & hit all the shops.

Luis

jppe

Hope things went well. I might have done ILR again but am gambling in Vegas trying to secure funding for a 15 lb bike. I'll be in Phoenix next weekend. So much for what little conditioning I've been able to build up the last month........btw, a local group did back to back 100 milers today. They did a 100 mile we normally do in December and then did it in the reverse direction. Thankfully I was out of town.

BikeWNC

I saw PAlt in the parking lot before the ride. That's the last I saw of him today. lol Neal worked me and I suffered late to just get back to the car but it was a great day for a ride. We're riding a good portion of the Cashiers ride in the morning and I hope I feel better than I do right now. lol

Bikey Mikey

I saw the title of this thread and all I could picture was a large number of Walmart and other types of cashiers in their uniforms riding in group.

Phil85207

For dang sure you are a better man than I am. almost 8000 feet of climbing and up to a 14% grade? I think I will pass on that one, but good luck.

BikeWNC

We did the 60 miles which had 5100-5200' of climbing including that 0.7 mile 14% section (which had long stretches of "mellow" 9% leading up to it).

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/172609487

overthehillmedi

I was thinking he meant the tour you do at the front of the store when you're trying to figure out which line will be the fastest.

seenoweevil

I used to play music at some of the venues on the road to Cashiers. No way I'd ever ride those roads, no matter how beautiful the countryside! Have a great time!

BikeWNC

We managed to recover enough from yesterday's ride to get out on the Ring of Fire loop which will be part of the Tour de Cashiers this coming weekend. After the first tough climb I was surprised to find my legs feeling a lot better than anytime during Sat. ride. We took breaks at the top of each climb to wait for each other and one other nice break at a store. It was a relaxed pace on a great morning for a ride. My Garmin under-reports the elevation gain on this loop!

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/172977522

mynameistaken

How many people usually turn out for the TDC? Or more specifically the metric century.

BikeWNC

It varies from year to year, but generally I would say somewhere around 100 riders for the metric. The century gets about half that. The ride used to be in early-mid April and was often plagued by bad weather. The organizers got tired of poor attendance due to the weather and working around the Easter holiday so they moved it to early May. This year the weather looks warm and dry so I hope for a very good turnout. It's the perfect tuneup for Mitchell about 3 weeks later. Hope you can make it. It's an awesome ride on amazing roads.

NealH

I should also mention that out of the approximately 50 that choose the full century, at least half of them bail out early and finish with 80 miles (and avoid the last big climb). Its a nice option as the century route is tough and the event is relatively early in the year when we are still trying to ramp up our fitness.

A really nice event and well organized. Lunch is excellent too.

PAlt

No more talk about the "nice weather", don't want to jinx it. The last three years I got varying degrees of wet. This will be my fourth year in a row, look forward to seeing the two of you there. Had to bunk in Dillard, GA. since nothing was closer by & reasonable.

BikeWNC

Yes, and it's graduation weekend at WCU so that makes finding lodging tough. Last year we got in before getting wet. You must be slow. haha

PAlt

Not liking what I'm reading on current forecast. What are they saying locally? Are you and Neal interested in trying to meet for dinner?

NealH

I think the weather will be Ok although there is the chance of a shower or two. Its always a risk with Cashiers as they get a lot of rainfall. Hopefully the forecast doesn't degrade anymore. I'm staying in Waynesville and will not arrive until late tomorrow as I can't get off work early enough. I'm good for dinner on Saturday evening but not tomorrow. If you're staying over Saturday then let's plan on it. We will also do a recovery ride on Sunday if the weather permits.

BikeWNC

Perfect weather today for the ride. As expected, I suffered at the end but managed to get back to the car and a great lunch at the Village Green. It's always funny listening to the comments in the parking lot after the ride. My favorite today was - What the hell was that!?? lol Anyway, Neal tweaked his back right before the start and I'm just too heavy to ride this event in style. But we had fun? and met a few other riders along the way. Best turnout ever for the ride which is in the 20th year. Glad for that because the organizers put in a lot of effort to make sure everything is as perfect as can be.

I actually felt pretty good until midway on the second big climb. I think I shorted myself in calories though I tried to keep up early in the ride. It is interesting to see that my normalized power was 194w which while not huge is pretty good for a 5 hour endurance effort. So we rode 62.6 miles in 4:58 ride time/ 5:19 total, with a garmin measured 6670' of climbing. That is about 500' low but the weather was changing today with a front passing through so the pressure was changing all day. My unit records low anyway. The smoked trout salad and pasta with veggies was a welcome lunch after burning 2837 kJ on the ride.

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/175047465

jppe

Great riding. 48.9 MPH for Max speed-didn't realize there were some long fast descents like that in NC!

I visited my daughter in Boone. My wife dropped me off at the BRP and Hwy 421 and I did something similar around that area. I'm glad I tossed in my light rain jacket at the last minute. It started raining as soon as I started riding and was pretty cool. Wet roads most of the day but not much rain after starting. Since it was Cinco de Mayo my recovery meal was Mexican + margaritas.......

Know anything about the route on the Asheville ride Saturday that uses the Ox Creek climb? Indicates about 7000 ft of climbing over 105 miles.

BikeWNC

I didn't know there was a ride in Asheville this weekend. I'm not familiar with the Ox Ck climb either. I may have ridden it before not knowing the name. If you can show me a link to the ride I might be able to give more info. Or, maybe not.

NealH

We rode, or should I say climbed Ox Creek during the Villainous Viper. Its on both the metric and century routes. It turns off the Parkway just above the Elk Mountain turnoff. If you remember we almost missed this turn last year because it wasn't marked well.

jppe

I think this is the right website:


www.wheelrideforfood.org

NealH

That looks like a nice event Joe. Too bad it conflicts with the Ruby event. The event hosts/coordinators should be cognizant of other events on the same date and in the same general area. I can't make either though as I will be on my way to Florida to visit relatives and ride some flatlands.

Here is another event that I might try this year. I've ridden most of the roads but I like the idea of rest stops at the local farms. Something different.

BikeWNC

The route looks like it is the reverse of the Villainous Viper Neal and I rode last Fall. If I'm correct, the Ox Hill climb is one we went down. Not sure though. I wish they had a map with the cue sheet. Anyway it looks like a nice route. Have fun!

NealH

I just checked my file and you are correct, we went up Town Mtn & the Parkway, down Ox creek and then up Paint Fork. It was a good route except for the final couple miles coming back into Asheville.