20grit

Well, I was hoping to catch the leg of the ride around May 1st, but I have to play a show that day during the day. Looks like it'll be a visit at the end of the ride on that stage or the one the next day.

pastorbobnlnh 

Ahem! I think it was your idea. I know it wasn't mine!

But how does a bicycle rider ever avoid climbs on the BRP? This is sort of like saying you plan to avoid singing and praying while in church.

jimmuller 

Can you tell us what sort of show you would be playing?

Sleeping works for me. [ (!?) I'm sorry, were you saying something? ]

20grit

I'll be playing bass at a place called Big Walker Lookout. I'm just backup for a local girl who sings and plays a bit. There's a pretty broad range of stuff she sings, Stevie Nicks to Patsy Cline, Old Time/Traditional, Carter Family stuff etc.

I'm mostly a guitarist but haven't been in a band in a while and she needed a bass player.

Edit: I guess to prove this isn't me trying to worm my way out of doing some climbing on the bike, here's picture proof... sort of. There's also some end of no-shave november/movember in there as well.

Ex Pres 

The BRP is further away than I want it to be, but if I drove and met you at say, Friday night's camp, how does my car move on along the route so I can drive back home on Sunday?

wrk101

Not sure about Sparta, but around here, any road off the Parkway is 10X tougher ride than the Parkway itself. Parkway in general runs along the top of the ridge. So the roads off the parkway rapidly descend (or climb if you are going to the parkway). Windy, twisty roads, limited/no sight lines, with no shoulders, rock face on one side, cliff on the other. And this time of year, lots of gravel and sand on the road. I've been motorcycling these roads for years. And of course, every road off the Parkway is open to commercial traffic as well (trucks), which are not allowed on the Parkway. As you get further north on the Parkway, this situation changes somewhat. Not sure about Sparta area.

RobbieTunes

We'll make it happen.

pastorbobnlnh 

Today is the day we meet and we are down to two riders. I'm heading up from Atlanta to Pisgah/Cherokee, NC to meet DrRobWave later today on the Blue Ridge Parkway. He is driving over from Eastern, NC.

The two of us will slug our way up the climb beginning on Thursday morning. We continue the ride on Friday and Saturday heading to Blowing Rock. If all goes well we will arrive Saturday afternoon. Don't worry, I'll take pictures. Hopefully the predicted thunderstorms will end early on Thursday. Friday and Saturday look to be perfect riding days!

RobbieTunes

Sorry, guys, it all crashed around me, and I'm just unable to make it.

Plenty of issues that are more important to a lot of people than a bike ride.
Maybe not me, but who rules their own world these days....?

Good luck, Godspeed, and wind at your backs. I know how Rob likes the tailwinds....

pastorbobnlnh 

Quick Report: Pictues later after I return to NH on Monday evening.

DrRobWave and I met at the Pisgah Inn, left my car, and then headed the 61 miles south to Cherokee at the entrance to the BRP. On Thursday we were on the road by 8:15 am. Within a couple of hours of climbing we realized we could not cover the 61 miles in a day. The math did not work in our favor. However we kept heading north and climbing higher.

Rob climbed faster so he pushed ahead. I caught him on the couple of descents, but we mostly rode alone. The day began at 2000 ft. and at 1:00 pm, when we stopped for lunch we were at 5800 ft. We had traveled about 20 miles.

At lunch we decided we could not cover the final 41 miles. I turned around and headed back to the car in Cherokee, while Rob pushed ahead. It took me 2 hours to reach the car and another 40 minutes to drive back to catch Rob, just as he reached the sign marking the "Highest Point" on the BRP! He had reached his goal, but was thankful I had arrived! It was still 25 or so miles to the Pisgah Inn. But we were done for the day.

More about Day Two to follow.

pastorbobnlnh 

Day Two, Friday:

We drove to Little Switzerland, north of Mount Mitchel, with the plan to ride out to the mountain access road, and then ride back. It would be about 20 miles each way. If we felt up to it, we could add the 4.5 mile climb to the top of the highest point east of the Mississippi River. It was not to be.

At about 15 miles out, Rob and I had had enough climbing for the day. We were half way up a long climb and stopped for a rest and pictures. We each looked at each other and knew the time had come to head back. The wind had been against us and we would have to climb more than we cared in order to reach the Inn. So we turned around and started down the hill.

As I started back up the climb, the rear wheel felt like it had a "hop" or "lump" in it. I asked Rob to take a look, and he reported it looked funny near the valve stem. I dismounted to examine the tire and discovered the Tufo Tubular had slipped on the rim. Also the glue had dried out and I could move the tire off the rim in a few places.

I knew at that moment, my BRP ride was about over. I had a spare tubular, but no glue. Besides, I didn't know how to glue one, either. It was late on Friday and we were an hour+ from the nearest LBS. That along with the fact, I was toast, and it would be a chore just to limp back to the Inn.

Rob headed on as I braked my way down the descents and crawled up the climbs. Where I had once hit a top speed of 43 mph, I was now descending at 8-10 mph. My hands were aching from so much braking! Just as I was facing the last climb and was about 1.5 miles from the Inn, Rob arrived with the car. I was out of water and my legs were nearly useless. I loaded the bike and headed to the Inn.

The BRP was over for me.

Scooper

Pssst...

Clinchers, Bob. Clinchers..

RobbieTunes

Super riding. Giving it what you had, riding until you are through.
That's what it's all about.

pastorbobnlnh 

Stan,

Absolutely! But since my nephew built this bike for me in Atlanta, I did not have as much control as I would have liked. At least it did not go flat.

We definitely gave it all. Rob was planning to do at least one more day of riding. We'll have to wait until he returns to find out how much.

Pictures:

Rob at the start in Cherokee.



Me at the beginning.



A nice view with Goldilocks in the fore ground on day 1.

pastorbobnlnh 

Rob reaches the high point of the BRP.



My self portrait. Already lookin' beat!

pastorbobnlnh 

Day Two, Friday: The turn around point.

Me at the half way point.



Rob at the same place.



The view up the Mountain from this point.



And the view back down, to where we decided to head.



Thanks for listening to our story. I hope Rob will join in as soon as he returns home.

nlerner

Bob, sounds and looks like an epic experience! Thanks for documenting it.

Neal

jimmuller 

Wow! What a trip!

20grit

Sorry to hear about your tire problems Bob. If it had happened a bit closer to the Virginia line, I could've saved the day with some glue. Sounds like it was a decent enough time though, an experience one needs to have.

pastorbobnlnh 

20grit, thanks! To be honest, I couldn't have ridden much more, so I was somewhat glad for the mechanical. I'm still very sore. I bit off way more than I could chew--- but I'm glad I did.

Neal, it was a great trip. The scenery was fantastic. Some day I'd like to say I did the entire BRP and Skyline Drive.

Jim, you would have enjoyed being back on or near your home turf.

Scooper

Great report and photos, Bob. Thanks for sharing your adventure.

WNG

Fantastic thread, enjoyed the reports and the photos from the pkwy. It was a valiant effort on an epic ride. Must have been a hairy moment descending on an de-gluing tire.

pastorbobnlnh 

Fortunately, the Tufo Tubulars are a tough tire, so it held air and stayed on the rim. It was after the descent that I noticed the problem and decided to go slow for the remaining down hill portions of the ride.

Even deflated for re-gluing, the sturdiness of the tire can be seen. It was more tire than I wanted for this trip, but since I had to rely on my nephew for most of this build, I didn't have much choice.

Grim

Bob: any more pics of the bike? I'm liking the little bit I can see.

Your Nephew work at a local shop?

Next time drop me a line I have a set of Red label Araya on 105s with decent tires I could have loaned you for the trip.

drrobwave

Got Home last night – Day 1 40 + Miles and 8000+ feet of climbing. Made to the highest point of the BRP. Dinner and lodging at the Pisgah Inn. Dinner was fresh broiled salmon and French silk pie. Day 2 30 miles North to South from Switzerland up to 5miles South of Mt. Mitchell – all you can eat Prime rib and crab legs at the Inn Bob paid (sweet – thanks Bob!). Day 3 Sunday - Road 25 miles near Blowing Rock. I went over the Linville viaduct (BEAUTIFUL view). The views from the viaduct are incredible on the bike – I highly recommend it. Pizza at the Mellow Mushroom in Blowing Rock and visited the Mast General store in Boone. Day 4 - road 30 miles with Bill and Bob near Fancy Gap- Meat loaf sandwich at the Fancy Gap Deli. Yes I gained weight but I was on vacation.
A couple of things I learned
- There is no such thing as prevailing winds, the wind blows where it wills and is usually in your face when climbing (prevailing winds was the reason to start in the South).
- Having the ability to stop for the day when you are “done” is important. I think there are 2 ways to do this - 1. self-supported with camping gear and rouge camp when you are tired. 2 - Having car support with a driver.
- It is probably better to start in the North and go South. The Climbs are still going to be tough but you can ease into them.
-Not sure someone in a flat area like I live can truly prepare and train for this type of adventure
- Lighter is better (duh!)
- Get everyone going to have some skin in the trip (no offense to the guys who bailed) so if you bail it cost you and still helps the trip.
- Lastly look at it as an adventure and not a goal to accomplish.
I also got shin splits not sure how that happened.

Also having trouble uploading pics - sorry