Mt Mitchell Training Ride

I'm CONSIDERING the Assault on Mt Mitchell ( 102 miles approx. 11,000 ft of climbing).... so I ventured up to Marion and drove the last 25-30 miles of the ride............... ummm..........how do I say this.... WWHOOOAAAA.

The last 3.5 miles of hwy 80 up to the BRP... absolutely stupid hilly.... that's ridiculous..... it runs from about 5% to 20 % grades, avging about 8 %.... THEN you're @ 3300 ft... only another 3300 ft to go... IN ONLY 15 miles.......lol. Yes, the approx. 11 miles on the Parkway is NO JOKE either.... there is one 2.5 mile SCREAMING decent but you know you have to climb it all back...... not good.

I actually got brave and parked at the Ridge Junction Overlook right before the turn off onto Hwy128 for the summit, and cycled to the summit... with a std 53/39 double and a 12-25 ..... pretty much agony. Made it to the summit and then got my "reward" of 40-50 mph decent....... in 50 degree weather.... you do the math.

Suffice to say, Craig is "reconsidering" the ride......lol. I'm sure there are MUCH steeper rides in many places in the world...... but this is CRAZY. I'm not a bad climber but I have a LONG way to go to be able to be even minimally prepared for this. All that climbing comes AFTER having ridden 75 miles from Spartanburg SC to Marion.

Did get a 12-27 installed and a compact crank is next. Hill repeats, hill repeats, and more hill repeats.

I will have been cycling for 2 years next week so this will be quite a stretch goal.

To all who have completed this ride... in ANY time.. I say... you rock !

Edited by tri42 2008-11-15 12:26 PM