has anyone done this ride out of Franklin, NC, which is scheduled for this Saturday

Yes, NealH and I did it last year and we're doing the metric this year. Are you thinking about the metric or the century? The route is a nice one through beautiful mountain valleys with a few good climbs. The century has the longer more difficult climbs of Standing Indian and Wayah Gap. Let me know if you want any specific info.

thanks for volunteering the info. We are doing the century. The wesite claims 10,000 feet of climbing. Is that accurate? How many riders do you guesstimate will be riding the century?

And, of most importance, is there a good restaurant in Franklin with a good beer/wine selection?

I don't think the 10K figure is accurate. I think 7-8K is more correct. I'm not sure how many do the full century. Since the ride is in the second year, I can't really say but I think it is at least 50 probably more. There are just two sections on the century route I don't really like. One is when you climb out of the Nantahala Gorge just past the Outdoor Center. The road is narrow and gets some traffic so be careful there. The other is on NC 28 the last few miles into Franklin. Again, there is some traffic on a narrow road. Other than those two sections the route is low traffic.

I don't live in Franklin so I'm not very familiar with the restaurants, but Cafe' Rel on Depot and Bus. 23 is pretty good. They only take cash though, no CC. Let's hope the weather cooperates.

a guy that rode the century said his garmin read 8500 ft. nice ride. beautiful. one complaint: it started too late.

cafe rel was good. thanks for the info.

They should start the century riders an hour earlier. I'll mention that to the organization. Being only in the second year, it is a growing ride. I expect as word gets out it will become more popular. We had 4500' of climbing on the metric, which is a great route. Bring some riders with you next year.

The Ruby is an underrated event. Well organized with great routes - near perfect for cycling. Lunch was outstanding as the food was home made. Had dinner at Cafe Rel with BikeWNC and, it was great. Also underrated. The Ruby might become one of the few events that I will ride rain or shine (though I have my limits with rain intensity).

I did the 100 miler last year but my Garmin messed up and did not record all the ride-thus I don't recall the total feet of climbing. I think 7000-8000 ft is a good estimate. I thouroughly enjoyed the route.

A bit late on the reply here, but I did the Ruby 100 route. I thought it was a great ride and event, even though it is fairly new. I would agree about the two sections, coming out of Nantahala Gorge and 28 coming into Franklin leave a bit to be desired with traffic, but the rest of the ride more than makes up for it - the descent off of Wayah is some of the most fun I've had on a bike in a long time.

As to the climbing... I use a Garmin Forerunner 305. I rode from my place 14 miles north of Franklin and back home which added 2500' extra climbing (twice over Cowee Mtn). Subtract that from the total of 10,600' on my total 120 mile ride, and I get 8100' climbing on the Ruby route itself. (which is only 93ish miles BTW)

For what it's worth, in my experience Garmin devices exaggerate elevation data, and I always reduce by about 10%. So I'd guess 7250-7500' actual feet of climbing is probably more accurate. I'm going to start running both a Polar 725S (barometer) and the Garmin and average the two.