Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
 |
| 05/18/2018 10:39 PM |
|
Down in NC with some buddies for a ride trip, largely centered around the Beech Mountain Metric ride.
DUMPING rain all last night and a good chunk of today...of course we rode anyway and had a great ride. But the rain has continued all evening and they just cancelled the ride for tomorrow. Crap.
I had really good legs this year and was looking forward to it...oh, well. We will still ride, just not certain where yet....at least we can sleep in, I guess. |
|
| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
|
|
|
huckleberry
Posts:824
|
| 05/19/2018 05:08 PM |
|
Yeah, my friend Shane Cooper of DeFeet was putting on a gravel ride and posted pics of the day before and it was literally rivers running down the roads.
Bummer, CK... |
|
|
|
|
longslowdistance
Posts:2886
|
| 05/19/2018 08:55 PM |
|
| Sorry for your ride washouts. Roads washing out here in VA. We are all looking forward to the end of this this static sh*t weather pattern. |
|
|
|
|
Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
|
| 05/19/2018 10:19 PM |
|
So today ended up being a double-fail day...based on the forecast and road conditions, we decided our best option was to do Mt. Mitchell today.
Of course I forgot my rain jacket in the cars when we started the ride....head up Hwy 80 to the Blue Ridge Pkwy and shortly thereafter, the skies let loose. Dumping rain, water running down the streets, etc. I had dropped back to ride with a buddy and was seriously considering turning around because I was getting cold and we basically had 20 miles to descend.
As I was nearing my decision point, my other buddies came down the hill after having flipped. I was good with that decision!!
So cancelled ride followed by a failed Mt. Mitchell summit.....but damn, still great riding out here. |
|
| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
|
|
|
Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
|
| 05/21/2018 10:11 PM |
|
4th ride completed...managed to get rained in all 4 days, although the last 2 days only had rain at the very end of the rides. Most of those rides were done in the sun and great weather.
Ended up with 206 miles and 21k feet of climbing in 4 days....not too shabby.
I think this may be the strongest I have ever been on the bike....dead serious. Even today, I was throwing down with my buddies and dropping themon the climbs and my legs didn’t feel tired at all.
Pretty damn good feeling.... |
|
| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
|
|
|
Orange Crush
Posts:4499
|
| 05/22/2018 02:54 AM |
|
Sounds like a pretty good 4 days the challenged conditions notwithstanding.
Trying to remember when was last time I rode in conditions like that. Must have been stage 2 of haute route alps 2015. 3 cols and poring rain all day. Lots of abandons that day. Actually no Haleakala in 2016 was a soaker too. Rides to remember. |
|
|
|
|
6ix
Posts:485
|
| 05/28/2018 12:32 PM |
|
Sorry to hear it was such a wet trip. Know you'd been looking forward to it for a while. Pretty impressive to put in over 200 miles in such nasty conditions. Was wondering how things would be for the Haute Route when we left on that Friday morning for Florida.
Bet it's an awesome feeling to be riding so well right now. Like Hincapie once said, it's like you're riding without a chain. Those days don't come around very much so take advantage of it!
Round trip to Mt. Mitchell from my house is only about 60 miles yet I've still never done it. Maybe this summer. The first hill starts only 4 miles in and is about 18 minutes long. It's so hard that it's difficult to recover before even hopping on the Parkway. And from there it's more climbing. It's coasting all the way back down from Mitchell so the ride is basically 30 miles of actual pedaling. As you experienced, the weather can be completely different from where you start the ride. |
|
|
|
|
longslowdistance
Posts:2886
|
| 05/28/2018 03:10 PM |
|
| I've been in the Blue Ridge Mtns near mp 0 this weekend. I feel your frustration. Not quite as bad, but bad. OTOH, the hikes to waterfalls have been very rewarding, with so much water. |
|
|
|
|
Orange Crush
Posts:4499
|
| 05/28/2018 05:18 PM |
|
Posted By Evan Solida on 05/28/2018 12:32 PM
Round trip to Mt. Mitchell from my house is only about 60 miles yet I've still never done it. Maybe this summer. The first hill sta
I'm stumped and at a loss for words LOL. |
|
|
|
|
longslowdistance
Posts:2886
|
| 05/28/2018 10:27 PM |
|
| The parkway goes downhill a fair bit between the climb out of Marion and the side road to the summit. But mostly up. A lot. |
|
|
|
|
6ix
Posts:485
|
| 05/29/2018 06:46 AM |
|
Orange - are you saying it's crazy that I haven't done it yet? I'lll give it a go in the next month since it will be warm. Still going to bring a lightweight jacket just in case though!
The Parkway really is a stunning road to ride on. Very fortunate to have it available. |
|
|
|
|
Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
|
| 05/29/2018 08:41 AM |
|
So we we go up Mitchell, we got up 80 (north) from Marion...I think the climb is called "Devil's Stairase"?. LOVE that climb....and the descent down is even better. Possibly my all-time favortie descent. Serpentine in some places but you can still see far enough down the road that you can use the whole thing...
We finally pulled the plug on our ascent when we were on the Parkway, I wanna say about halfway between 80 and the turn to Mt. Mitchell.
Can't say enough good things about riding on the Parkway....beautiful road, in terms of scenery, terrain and condition.
I really, really enjoyed riding in NC....youa re lucky to have such awesome roads around you!! |
|
| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
|
|
|
6ix
Posts:485
|
| 05/29/2018 09:12 AM |
|
I just wish the Parkway was easier for me to get to from my house. Only 6 miles away but that insanely steep 2 mile climb leading up to it really takes the wind out of your sails.
One thing that's really cool is that they close it to cars in the winter as they don't plow or clear debris like rocks and limbs very often. We take our dog walking on it and I sometimes ride it, although with caution. Since it's closed to cars but it's also closed to anyone to help you should something happen. And zero cellular service too. By not maintaining it during the winter months, it keeps the asphalt smooth as silk assuming there isn't a large rock or mud slide.
I have zero problem paying taxes towards such public projects. |
|
|
|
|
Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
|
| 05/29/2018 04:28 PM |
|
Just went back and checked my file....we were 21 miles into the ride when we turned around. From where we started in Marion, that left ~7 miles left to climb, actually not too far away form the turn off the Parkway up Mitchel (looks like maybe a couple miles).
|
|
| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
|
|
|
Orange Crush
Posts:4499
|
| 05/29/2018 04:44 PM |
|
Posted By Evan Solida on 05/29/2018 06:46 AM
Orange - are you saying it's crazy that I haven't done it yet?
Haha - yes. This is why I live on top of a hill. The only way out is down, no excuses. Of course there is always the final climb to get back home.
Like others said, you live in a very nice area. Cruised through there from Ontario on way to visit a friend in SC in fall sometime in early 1990s; slept outside in a sleeping bag but kept getting woken up by falling maple leafs dropping on our heads. Of course back then I hadn't heard of Mitchell, else I would have been up there already. As it stands, 5 weeks out from the ride of a lifetime - Mauna Kea. Just the thought of it makes me puke and crap my pants. |
|
|
|
|