piper_chuck

I thought I was going to get my Blue Ridge Parkway ride last weekend, but a couple things came up that made me delay it for a week. In the end, this is probably better, it gave me some time to work out a few details.

Logistically I've got all my camping gear ready.

The bike is a triple and I've got a 12x26 cassette that's going on tonight so I can get in a few rides before heading to the mountains. It's not clear how often water will be available on the routes I chose so I ordered an Aqua Rack to let me carry two more bottles. If it looks like I don't need all that water, I can use one bottle to store snacks, cell phone, etc. I've also got a headlight on the way for the tunnels and already have my rear blinky. I'll bring tools, extra tubes, chain, tire, etc, to keep at the camp. Basic tools such as spare tube, patch kit, spoke wrench, etc are already in the saddle bag.

I guess the temps will be lower than down here in the flatlands, so I will bring fall riding clothes.

Food shopping will be Wed or Thursday evening. I've already got some Gatorade and Gu for taking on the ride.

Here's the plan.
I need to work part of the day Friday, so I will have the car packed Thursday night so I can hit the road at 11 am or so Friday morning. Destination is the Linville Falls Campground, where I'll stay until Sunday. Once I get the camp site setup, I'll either go for a short ride or explore the falls by foot.

I want to do two rides.

Linn Cove Viaduct
The ride from the campground to the viaduct and back seems to be a reasonable distance and according to the guides, the scenery is nice.

Mt Mitchell
The campground to Mt Mitchell and back is more than I can handle, so I plan to drive to Crabtree Meadows and then ride up to Mt Mitchell and back. I'm not sure if I'll attempt to ride up Mt Mitchell or not, it'll depend on how well I do getting there. I was going to continue riding up to Craggy Gardens, but it appears the road between Mt Mitchell and there is closed.

I haven't quite determined which to do on Saturday and which to do on Sunday. The Mt Mitchell ride appears to be the toughest, so I probably should do that on Saturday. Then on Sunday I could break camp and cycle from the Linville Falls area to the viaduct and back.

Questions:
Are there any other destinations in that area, or alternate places on the BRP that are within a reasonable distance of Chapel Hill and are better choices?

Is the Linville Falls Campground, and area, a good base camp? I was going to stay at the Bears Den, because it has showers, but given the price difference, I think I can go a couple mornings without a shower. Is there another campground in the area that has something to do after my ride, and that's an absolute should not miss?

I'm approaching 50, still carrying too much weight, but have established a reasonable base mileage and have pushed myself in this area to ride the available hills. I'm not particularly fast, but I can make it up the hills with energy to spare. Given this, do these rides sound like good choices for a first mountain ride?

P.S. Thanks to wolfpack and BikeWNC for their input offline as I kept changing locations due to a changing weekend schedule, none of which went according to the original plan.

wolfpack 

Good Luck! I think you're going to have great weather this weekend! I'll be up that way, not in your location though, to ride Tour de Tuck on Saturday. Only thing I can say is that I drove from Hwy80 to MM on the BRP and that section is pretty much UP all the way to MM. Don't really know where in relation to Hwy80 Crabtree Meadows is though....

Have fun and be safe! Ride report and pics expected!!

piper_chuck

Thanks, and good luck on the TdT. I thought about doing it, but I don't think I'm ready for that much distance and climbing yet. The two rides I'm looking at are shorter, 25 to 35 miles round trip, which will give me an idea how I do with longer climbs than I get around here. Crabtree Meadows is slightly north, and uphill, of Hwy 80, so after a short descent, the ride will be mostly up all the way to MM. But then there's the return.

I will bring a camera, which will give me an excuse to stop often.

BikeWNC

Do the Mitchell ride on Sat. There will be less traffic that way especially if there is a football game at App St. this weekend. Do the Sunday ride to the Viaduct early on Sunday to avoid any traffic. Make sure you ride a mile or so past the Viaduct to the big curve for some nice views.

There is no water on the BRP that I know of. I was told there is a spring at the first tunnel past NC 80 but I don't know anything about it. Water is available in Mitchell State Park if you make the climb up there. Also, there is water at the Linn Cove Viaduct Visitor Center. It should be a nice weekend so have fun.

piper_chuck

Got it, thanks. Will carry as much water as I can.

Nota

"Do the Sunday ride to the Viaduct early on Sunday to avoid any traffic."

Yes, "early" as in, before about 9:00 or so; unless of course you don't mind riding amongst the riders doing the Bridge to Bridge ride.

norskagent

I just rode up there last weekend. Julian Price campground on the parkway is closer to both the viaduct and the town of blowing rock, and larger than linville falls campground I think. I rode a ~30 mile loop from blowing rock along 221 to grandfather mtn., then took the parkway back to
221/ blowing rock. It was an excellent ride, low traffic, very scenic, several nice stopping points, coffee/lunch in blowing rock, etc. The decent from the rough ridge area to Julian Price must of lasted over 5 mins. @ 30+ mph!

piper_chuck

Hmmm, had forgotten that ride was on Sunday. I'll definitely get on the road early so I can get past the area they're riding before any of them reach the BRP.

piper_chuck

I thought about staying at Julian Price, it's definitely larger and is supposed to be nice to stay near the lake and hike around it. The reason I chose Linville Falls instead is it looks like the hill between JP and the viaduct is pretty steep, and it's further from MM. The slope from the Linville falls area looked more gradual. It sounds like the 221 route you chose is a better way to get up the hill? I like Blowing Rock, spent lots of time there when I used to attend the GM Highland Games, but I'm not planning to go there on this trip. My intent is to stay on the BRP once I get there. I'll do all my meals at the campground.

I'll keep JP in mind for another trip, perhaps I can convince my wife to go camping. She'd be able to hang out at the lake while I ride and then I'd have to take her and the kids to Blowing Rock and Boone to shop, eat, etc.

piper_chuck

Just checked the long range forecast. Overnight lows of 50, highs in the upper 60s, and sunny both days. Sounds like great weather for riding. Cooler weather will reduce the water requirement, but I'll still pack 4 bottles for the MM day, and will make for easier riding.

norskagent

221 through there has steeper grades than the parkway, but they are not as long and are broken up w/ some flat sections. I brought an old steel bike w/ 42/26 gearing, and managed all the hills fine but I admit the last brp hill before the 221/blowing rock cutover was long and hard. If you go to MM you should definitely summit if conditions allow, it it well worth it. Bring a windbreaker for the descent...

wolfpack 

damn perfect riding weather!!!

Nota

Well the B2B (century riders) start at 7:00, and I'm not sure what the mileage is before getting to the Pkwy, but even the fastest riders probably won't start rolling in until closer to 10:00ish or so. I know one thing, after doing the TdT ride the day before, I'll probably be lucky if I can even make it to the Pkwy by noon.

Actually, I've recently developed a serious yen to try and do the entire BRP, all 469 miles of it, sometime in the not too distant future, myself. It'll probably have to wait until sometime next spring or early summer, though. I've been trying to find someone else, or a small group of riders, that would like to do it with me.

I did a 45 mile ride up on the Pkwy, just off 421 between Wilkesboro and Boone, this past Sunday, with 5 other guys I met up with from a cycle club out of Wilkesboro. At the end of the ride, which was fabulous btw, one of the guys piped up and said he was planning to do the exact same ride - from Skyline Drive to the end of BRP, sometime next spring. Eureka! I'll likely camp at the campsites along the BRP - though if I could wrangle up a nice big motorhome or such for the week, I'd try and have the womenfolk to drive along the Pkwy and meet up with them at campground in the evenings. That would avoid having to carry a tent and pitch it every night and then have to pack it in the morning.

Anyway, hope you have a fabulous ride this weeken; and as Wolfpack says, "Be safe".

Cheers

roccobike

Just want to wish you a safe ride piper chuck.

piper_chuck

I checked the B2B cue sheet. It looks like 72 miles before reaching the parkway. I'll make sure I get to my turnaround past the viaduct early enough so I don't end up in the middle of the ride. Maybe next year I'll be able to do some of the organized rides. A ride of the whole parkway sounds like a great trip.

Good luck on the TdT and the B2B, and you be safe too.

piper_chuck

Thanks.

piper_chuck

Last minute venue change. Google earth is a wonderful thing. I went to look at Linville Falls Campground to see if I could determine which sites looked best. From what I can see, most sites are in a field with no trees? Pitching a tent in the middle of a field is not exactly the kind of getaway I was hoping for. I want to camp in the woods. Looks like I'm heading to Julian Price instead. I chose the Linville campground because I thought it would be nice to hike to the falls, but not if it means hanging out in a field. I guess I'll settle for a walk around the lake. Maybe I'll bring my fishing gear...

This will mean a longer drive to Crabtree Meadows to begin the MM ride, but them's the breaks.

Oh, and norskagent's 221/BRP loop is looking like a great choice given the new location, thanks!

norskagent

I would do it clockwise from Julian Price, you will be faced with a longish hardish climb at first, then some nice descending and curves on 221, followed by stepped climbing, curves, waterfalls, flattish sections, all along 221. From the 221/Parkway intersection at Grandfather Mtn. it is a short easy climb to the viaduct visitor's center. Then very scenic easy climbing to the rough ridge area, then....one loooooong fast descent back to Julian Price!

piper_chuck

Got it, clockwise. From your description it sounded like that's what you had done. I looked at the maps and it looked like 221 had lots of scenery so it's better to view it while going slow uphill rather than risk going off the road due to rubbernecking on a descent.

From the cue sheets, I think the B2B will be following the same route, with the BRP section first, so I'll have to be sure to get on the road early enough to not get tangled up with them.

On last Sunday's ride from home I unknowingly joined the last 10 miles of the 56 mile bike leg of a half tri. At first I thought the guys passing me every couple minutes were just training, but when I found a sheriff directing people to turn left at an intersection, which just happened to be the way I was going too, I realized it was a race. It became kind of funny because the people at the water stop cheered me on even after I told them I was not part of their race. The same happened at the turn into the park where they were finishing. I had to be sure the girl standing in the middle of the road directing them to turn left knew I wasn't in the race so she didn't freak when I went straight by her.

norskagent

Either direction will be a nice ride. I didn't have a computer on my bike, but google maps measures the loop as almost 25 miles. From Julian Price, you will have to climb in either direction. I rough-measured the clockwise hill at 2 miles, and the counter-clockwise hill at 6 miles. That's why I suggested clockwise. You will still have to ride the same elevation gain on 221, but not all at once as the parkway is layed out.

piper_chuck

I just finished a similar exercise on mapmyride. It looks like the counter-clockwise climb is around 5 miles at about 3.8% vs 2 miles at 5.2%. I'll keep these in mind. I'll be driving south on the BRP on Sat to ride to MM, so I'll be able to assess that grade on the way. And, I'll see the other hill on Friday, although I'll be driving down it, on the way to the campground. Going counter would eliminate the concern about getting mixed in with the B2B riders, but I suspect there's something to be said for going clockwise and getting thrrough Blowing Rock as early as possible. Anyway, I don't have to decide until I get ready to head out on Sunday. The route you laid out is simple enough that I won't need to print a cue sheet.

BikeWNC

It won't matter, after you ride to Mitchell those little hills will seem like speed bumps.

piper_chuck

Oh, ok, hadn't thought of that. That's assuming I make it up Mitchell, which I plan to do, and that I even want to see the bike the next morning! Hopefully choosing reasonable distances for my first mountain trips will help.

I've been running through lists in my head all day. Confirming that I've thought of everything to take camping, and trying to decide what I will carry on the rides. Examples include a desire to bring my Nikon D40 (SLR) versus the practicality of my older, but much smaller, PHD camera. It sure would be nice to be able to get great pics, but carrying the larger camera on the bike adds lots of bulk and weight.

piper_chuck

Made it to the top of MM. Will post pics after I've had a chance to download them from my camera.

norskagent

Did the last half mile up to the MM parking lot keep you entertained?