Advice; 53-11 fixed! lol

You are going to hurt!

That's not advice, that's punishment.

I talked to a 70 year old guy at a local bike shop here in Waynesville, he rides everywhere with his SS. And you really can't go more than a block or two without climbing. Meanwhile, I was on my triple crankset MTB.....

Yeah, but did he tell you what gearing his SS had? :)

TwoFish lockblocks are cheap and very effective. I use 'em for my bike flashlight applications. 300+ lumen flashlights on ebay about $15 shipped. Fishblocks I got at my LBS ~ $10 for a 3-pack.

If I had advance notice of this, I might well have taken time off and flown out for the adventure. Vacation cabin appropriations are my specialty.

I might actually have something to help 'you' out with for a change. Sending PM.

Somehow this thread has alluded me for the past week. I feel sort of embarrassed that Robbie's been doing all the posting.

I'm flying to Atlanta a few days before and driving up to meet Robbie and Rob on the night before we start. I can only hang (or should I say trail behind) them for three days, before I need to head back to Atlanta before flying home. I feel really honored that they have included me in the group.

I'll ride from Cherokee to Blowing Rock, so I'll cover the two highest points on the BRP. A number of years ago I rented a bike in Asheville and rode uphill for 15 miles. The grade was not bad, it was just the constant climbing. So I've been training by spending time on my 9 mile climb here in NH. My climb is 1000 feet over that distance, so not as steep on average, but I have several sections that kick up to 10% and one which goes at +15%. I hope I'm ready.

My nephew pulled my Atlanta bike out of storage yesterday. First thing he checked for me, was the tooth count on my big rear cog. 34! It also has a 30 or 32 granny, so, Robbie will need to wait for me at the top! That is if he wants any friendly competition on the descents!

This Tuesday evening at the top of the 9 mile climb. That's ice covering the top of the alpine bog!

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...eStForest2.jpg

If I get passed on the climb, I will preach on Sunday to you guys...

The parkway is narrow without any real bike lanes and gets a lot of car traffic, so I would encourage you to use a rear lamp to make sure cars see you. There is no where to go but off the road into the grass if they get too close to you. I use a small lamp/strobe combination that attaches to the seatpost. It is either on/off/flashing and pretty bright.

I use the Parkway to get around the south side of Asheville and have seen many drivers get impatient with bike riders, especially groups, and go around them even with cars coming in the opposite direction. Be careful, make yourself seen, you'll be fine.

I'm impressed guys, there are some long uphills heading north from Asheville towards Mt. Mitchell.

I live about 10 miles from milepost 385, might be able to ride one day with you, depends on work schedule. But if you need anything, send a PM, I can give you my phone number.

Will do, thanks for the advice. I'm thinking about getting a big yellow triangle from a local farm dealer.

I saw one of those Spanninga taillights on a guy's seatpost last week, in broad daylight it was really bright and easy to see.

And of course, probably mentioned already (OK, I am too lazy to look), but lots of tunnels in the early sections. Lights are a must.

An alternative to Lock Bloks for securing LED flashlights to bikes that I've found satisfactory are these from Meritline.com Unlike a lot of other mounts which are fragile or turn brittle, these are robust and seem UV resistant. Only concern is the shipping lead time.

http://www.meritline.com/showproduct...shlight-holder


http://www.meritline.com/360-degree-...--p-35024.aspx

Only rode the Northern section from Front Royal Va south. Huge climb from Front Royal. Vehicle traffic is very heavy on weekends. A rear light plus the slow vehicle triangle would be a smart move. Lots of morning fog in the higher elevations. Peaks of Otter near Roanoke are worth an afternoon off the bikes if you have the time. Have fun!

Lights: Check!
Rack: Check!
Handlebar bag: Check!
Small panniers: Check!
Rain gear: Check!
Hill climbing legs: Check! :thumb:

Should I be concerned about my flat land riding buddies? Rocky Mount, NC is sort of level, compared to my neck of the woods here in New London, NH. (Click on the "Terrain" option of the maps to see the topography.)

Tow rope: Check! ;)

Also, there are basically no services on the southern portion of the Parkway. First service stop is Pisgah Inn. And going off the parkway to find services doesn't really work, until you get to Asheville (step climbs and descents, services are many miles away, etc). So be sure to carry enough stuff to make it to the car. Traffic during the week is light on the southern end. Take a lot of pictures!!!

Cherokee is mile market 470, Pisgah is between 408 and 409. Asheville is around 390. Parkway crosses over highway 25 in Asheville, which is a major commercial strip. Liberty Bicycle shop is less than 1/2 north on Highway 25.

Bike shops are scarce once you get west of Asheville. There is a nice one in Sylva, Motion Makers. The shop in Waynesville is small, open really bizarre hours.

Of course, there is the "thrifty bill" shop in Waynesville, right downtown, great hours.

and fortunately I conducted the wedding of one of their service Managers.

Bike, check.
Lights, check.
Helmet, check.
Climbing legs, we'll just have to see.
No racks
No panniers
Concession to 2 bottle cages, check.
Rain gear, well, let's just say I'm amphibious.
Skipping the sunglasses for the John Lennons.
Traveling very light, check.

Stopping in Waynesville, trying to figure it.
If you hear renegade campers in the back yard, it's us.

Of course, I just looked at a map yesterday, figured "well, it's road, it goes somewhere."

Beautiful drive. The only thing that creeped me out (when we drove it in a car) was that it's almost all out in the woods where there is no sign of human habitation -- no driveways, no mailboxes, no cabins or shacks with supper-fire smoke, no graveyards, no village post-offices with flags fluttering in the breeze, no cenotaphs with an old Sherman tank or a muzzle-loading cannon in front of the memorial, just mile after mile of perfectly (but monotonously) engineered road curving away up and down the mountainsides. Dunno...out west on the Icefield Parkway that seems to work. In the East it was a little other-worldly. A friend of mine does it every couple of years with a group that drives all the way down from Toronto, so it obviously does have great appeal. Do let us know how you like it, Robbie.

A lot of folks from western US think that everything east of the Mississippi River is paved. 'Tain't so. Especially in that part of the world. If you flattened it out it would be a lot bigger than it looks on a map, and even on a map it's pretty big.

No - we think that anything east of the Rockies is Indian Country. :D

And if you're a Native Californian, then there probably isn't any life east of Hwy 5.

Right now, at this moment, a lot less trees.

So far, 3 tornadoes have touched down.

#1 went about 10 miles NW of here, and was actually on the ground for 96 miles. It's on it's way towards DC.
#2 is on track, 40 miles S, along I-95. Which of course, I live 1 mile west of, should be around here in about 30 minutes.
#3 is tracking farther south, parallelling I-95, but about a mile south, should pass south of here in about 2 hours.

We were watching #1 on TV, from one of those cameras on the TV tower in Raleigh, until the screen went blank.
We changed channels and watched it on a competitor station. That really is bizarre, now that you think of it.

My son's worried he won't be able to get Netflix. I'm worried the Yuengling won't stay cold.

No damage on the Blue Ridge, which is good. Even their web site's been down lately. Budget cuts.

Keep yer head and tail end down and hit the basement.

Very bizarre day. I can drive 15-20 miles in about 3 different directions and find some homes or businesses wiped out.
Doesn't seem to be much damage between the paths of the 3 different tornadoes, but they were all on the ground for almost 100 miles.

Right now, and for the last half hour, torrential rain. Even the horses have had enough and headed for shelter.

Now, the cows, different story. Dumber than soap.