VegaVixen

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.

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.

wolfpack 

I am a Tour de Pain Survivor!

VegaVixen

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

wolfpack 

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

blonduathlongrl

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

VegaVixen

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.

wolfpack 

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.


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%. 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:


Where I'm headed:


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) 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...

BikeWNC

Some more pics from our ride today.



jschen and roadrider at the top of Cullowhee Mtn Rd.


Wolfpack at the summit of Cullowhee Mtn Rd


jschen leading a climb.


roadrider on the Elijay climb.


Wolfpack on Elijay.


Wolfpack moving up the hill on Elijay.


roadrider on a steep pitch on Elijay.

BikeWNC

Wolfpack on a steep pitch on Elijay.


Approaching the top of Elijay Ck climb at Cullowhee Gap.

roadrider

Here is some pics for jschen's trip.
Here we are at the start, everybody is still smiling

About 1/2 way up

Notice the road below at the left of the house

Jschen and Woflpack

We made ti to the top of Cullowhee Mtn


On they way to Elijay

BikeWNC cruising up Elijay

Wolfpack on Elijay

Wolfpack having fun

BikeWNC

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!

jppe

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.

VegaVixen

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! PM, and I'll give you a more precise start time!

jppe

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.

Sixty Fiver

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.

VegaVixen

PM sent. Hope you can join us.

wolfpack 

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.

wolfpack 

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

jschen

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.

jschen

Some pics and reports from Charlotte may be found here.