Since I'd punished myself pretty severely on Pilot Mountain, I thought I'd follow that up with something even more punishing. Yep...brutal.
So, I had most of the day off on Sunday (was done with work by about 10:30AM). This left me plenty of time for a BIG ride. Well...I planned a big ride. But, I'm a big wuss...so it turned in to a medium ride.
Anyway...I drove west from Winston-Salem to about 20 miles west of Asheville (right past the future sight of the JDRF ride). I found the Blue Ridge Parkway and went for a ride...and, what a ride it was.
I started at the Visitor Center at Waterrock Knob which is at an elevation of roughly 6000'...yep...WAY up there. I parked my van in the clouds. Hopped out...and went for a ride.
I took the bike out of the back of the rental van and....rear tire was flat. Crap! Well, I have my spare tube. But that didn't leave me any spare for the ride. I was going to be at the mercy of fate. Yikes...it was going to be a long hike back to my van if I blew out a tire on the side of the mountain. But, I decided to risk it. So, I changed the tire and hit the road.
What an astonishing ride!! The first 8 miles were down the mountain...descending almost 4000 feet to Balsam gap along the Parkway. I AVERAGED about 35-40 mph on the way down...and I didn't even pedal. Hah... that was fun!
On the other side of the gap it started to rain on me as I started to climb. I went up toward the Richland Balsam Overlook...the highest point on the Parkway at about 6300' of elevation. It was about a 10 mile climb that included a bunch of overlooks (I took advantage of all of them for some rest) and tunnel long enough that it was pitch black in the middle. I kept climbing...but, wow, once I was past abut 4000' it got really tough. I didn't think the elevation and thinner air would effect me that much...but, it did. I'm a huge wuss!!
It was interesting being in a storm on top of a mountain...it didn't really rain down on me. It just sort of rained from every direction. The water just sort of appeared rather than falling. It was a strange sensation....the temp was cold and the rain made it worse. I was legitimately concerned about how I would keep warm on the descent (luckily I brought my Zephyr. Thanks MC!).
Anyway... the overlook at the top took forever to reach and I thought I was going to die several times along the way. Sadly, it was a little anti-climactic when I reached the top...I was in a cloud and couldn't see more than about 10 feet. Bummer.
I stood there gasping for breath and waiting for scenery for about 5 minutes before I started to get too cold. So, I decided to start heading down the mountain...and got even colder. Hypothermia was beginning to become a real concern. And, I was nearly out of water. And, I still had a 3500' climb ahead of me to get back to my car. Things weren't looking good. Especially with no spare tube.
I finally reached the bottom of my descent and the air warmed up significantly...I was getting a little sprinkle on me. But, it wasn't bad and the warm air was wonderful. I crossed the gap again...knowing that I had about 8 miles of climb ahead of me. The first 4-5 miles of which would be in reasonable temps...after that. Things were going to get bad. I figured the only way to stay warm enough was to keep pedaling. No matter how much it hurt. But, it REALLY hurt of a while there.
I spent the next hour of my life pondering what sort of a drooling moron parks at the TOP of the mountain. I had every opportunity to park at the bottom...DUH!
About half way up to my van I was spent....I'd already ridden about 30 miles, climbed a mountain, and still had 4 miles and half a mountain to go. I just didn't think I was going to make it. I was taking breaks whenever I reached an overlook, which was about every 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile. But, even that was becoming a too long a stretch to climb. Every time I stopped I got cold. Every time I started again was too exhausted to continue...I was totally out of water starting on ascent back to my van, so I'd been riding hard for a long while with no water.
I finally pulled in to an overlook with about 2 miles to go. I was convinced I couldn't go on and was standing there wondering what to do. If I sat still too long I was going to freeze. But, my legs just weren't willing to go much farther.
A truck pulls up next to me as I was standing there in this stupor. The driver said hi and asked how I was doing. Blearily I noticed that he had a Trek US Postal Service bike mounted in the back of the truck. I just shook my head...I wasn't doing well. But, I didn't know what to say...I was too tired to think.
"You need water" he said...half question, half statement. I just nodded in response. He hopped out of the truck with a gallon jug of water and filled my bottles for me.
"Where you headin?" He asked.
I informed him with slurred speech that I had parked my van at Waterrock. He laughed..."don't ever park at the top man. Leave your car at the bottom so that you know you can make it back".
I nodded...understanding that I had just learned a lesson, but too tired to really say thanks for the advice.
"You're gonna get cold if you stand too long. You don't have too far to go. Better get pedaling."
He must have seen the despair on my face...
"You can do it. It's not long now." he said
So, with his water and his encouragement helping me out I started up the mountain again. I drank about 1/2 the bottle of water and felt better almost immediately. My cadence picked up and my speed picked up a little (10 mph vs. 6 mph). Soon, I heard an engine behind me...cars had were infrequent on the parkway and most passed slowly, so I didn't pay it much attention. But, he was back there for a long while. I was too tired to look back or wave him by me...so, I just hugged the right edge of the pavement and tried to speed up a little. Soon, he passed....it was the guy in the truck. Apparently turned around and went back up the mountain to make sure I was going to be OK...at this point I was only about 1/2 mile from my van and must have looked like I was going to finish because he passed me. A nod and a friendly wave as he went by...and he was gone.
I made it back to my van. Got out of my wet clothes ASAP, and turned on the heat in the van. I sat and rested for a little bit...wow. What a ride.
Finally I decided to leave....so, I took a couple pictures of the cloud I was inside of...so, basically a grey photo, then took off. About 2 miles down the mountain I heard a loud "psssssshhhttttt". I looked back and my back tire had gone flat....so, the spare flatted too.
So, I guess I was left wondering...
What if that guy hadn't come along and encouraged me and gave me some water?
What if that back tire had blown on my way up the mountain...or worse, on my way down about 40mph?
So, I had most of the day off on Sunday (was done with work by about 10:30AM). This left me plenty of time for a BIG ride. Well...I planned a big ride. But, I'm a big wuss...so it turned in to a medium ride.
Anyway...I drove west from Winston-Salem to about 20 miles west of Asheville (right past the future sight of the JDRF ride). I found the Blue Ridge Parkway and went for a ride...and, what a ride it was.
I started at the Visitor Center at Waterrock Knob which is at an elevation of roughly 6000'...yep...WAY up there. I parked my van in the clouds. Hopped out...and went for a ride.
I took the bike out of the back of the rental van and....rear tire was flat. Crap! Well, I have my spare tube. But that didn't leave me any spare for the ride. I was going to be at the mercy of fate. Yikes...it was going to be a long hike back to my van if I blew out a tire on the side of the mountain. But, I decided to risk it. So, I changed the tire and hit the road.
What an astonishing ride!! The first 8 miles were down the mountain...descending almost 4000 feet to Balsam gap along the Parkway. I AVERAGED about 35-40 mph on the way down...and I didn't even pedal. Hah... that was fun!
On the other side of the gap it started to rain on me as I started to climb. I went up toward the Richland Balsam Overlook...the highest point on the Parkway at about 6300' of elevation. It was about a 10 mile climb that included a bunch of overlooks (I took advantage of all of them for some rest) and tunnel long enough that it was pitch black in the middle. I kept climbing...but, wow, once I was past abut 4000' it got really tough. I didn't think the elevation and thinner air would effect me that much...but, it did. I'm a huge wuss!!
It was interesting being in a storm on top of a mountain...it didn't really rain down on me. It just sort of rained from every direction. The water just sort of appeared rather than falling. It was a strange sensation....the temp was cold and the rain made it worse. I was legitimately concerned about how I would keep warm on the descent (luckily I brought my Zephyr. Thanks MC!).
Anyway... the overlook at the top took forever to reach and I thought I was going to die several times along the way. Sadly, it was a little anti-climactic when I reached the top...I was in a cloud and couldn't see more than about 10 feet. Bummer.
I stood there gasping for breath and waiting for scenery for about 5 minutes before I started to get too cold. So, I decided to start heading down the mountain...and got even colder. Hypothermia was beginning to become a real concern. And, I was nearly out of water. And, I still had a 3500' climb ahead of me to get back to my car. Things weren't looking good. Especially with no spare tube.
I finally reached the bottom of my descent and the air warmed up significantly...I was getting a little sprinkle on me. But, it wasn't bad and the warm air was wonderful. I crossed the gap again...knowing that I had about 8 miles of climb ahead of me. The first 4-5 miles of which would be in reasonable temps...after that. Things were going to get bad. I figured the only way to stay warm enough was to keep pedaling. No matter how much it hurt. But, it REALLY hurt of a while there.
I spent the next hour of my life pondering what sort of a drooling moron parks at the TOP of the mountain. I had every opportunity to park at the bottom...DUH!
About half way up to my van I was spent....I'd already ridden about 30 miles, climbed a mountain, and still had 4 miles and half a mountain to go. I just didn't think I was going to make it. I was taking breaks whenever I reached an overlook, which was about every 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile. But, even that was becoming a too long a stretch to climb. Every time I stopped I got cold. Every time I started again was too exhausted to continue...I was totally out of water starting on ascent back to my van, so I'd been riding hard for a long while with no water.
I finally pulled in to an overlook with about 2 miles to go. I was convinced I couldn't go on and was standing there wondering what to do. If I sat still too long I was going to freeze. But, my legs just weren't willing to go much farther.
A truck pulls up next to me as I was standing there in this stupor. The driver said hi and asked how I was doing. Blearily I noticed that he had a Trek US Postal Service bike mounted in the back of the truck. I just shook my head...I wasn't doing well. But, I didn't know what to say...I was too tired to think.
"You need water" he said...half question, half statement. I just nodded in response. He hopped out of the truck with a gallon jug of water and filled my bottles for me.
"Where you headin?" He asked.
I informed him with slurred speech that I had parked my van at Waterrock. He laughed..."don't ever park at the top man. Leave your car at the bottom so that you know you can make it back".
I nodded...understanding that I had just learned a lesson, but too tired to really say thanks for the advice.
"You're gonna get cold if you stand too long. You don't have too far to go. Better get pedaling."
He must have seen the despair on my face...
"You can do it. It's not long now." he said
So, with his water and his encouragement helping me out I started up the mountain again. I drank about 1/2 the bottle of water and felt better almost immediately. My cadence picked up and my speed picked up a little (10 mph vs. 6 mph). Soon, I heard an engine behind me...cars had were infrequent on the parkway and most passed slowly, so I didn't pay it much attention. But, he was back there for a long while. I was too tired to look back or wave him by me...so, I just hugged the right edge of the pavement and tried to speed up a little. Soon, he passed....it was the guy in the truck. Apparently turned around and went back up the mountain to make sure I was going to be OK...at this point I was only about 1/2 mile from my van and must have looked like I was going to finish because he passed me. A nod and a friendly wave as he went by...and he was gone.
I made it back to my van. Got out of my wet clothes ASAP, and turned on the heat in the van. I sat and rested for a little bit...wow. What a ride.
Finally I decided to leave....so, I took a couple pictures of the cloud I was inside of...so, basically a grey photo, then took off. About 2 miles down the mountain I heard a loud "psssssshhhttttt". I looked back and my back tire had gone flat....so, the spare flatted too.
So, I guess I was left wondering...
What if that guy hadn't come along and encouraged me and gave me some water?
What if that back tire had blown on my way up the mountain...or worse, on my way down about 40mph?
I added some pictures...
1 comments:
Ross, at the risk of swelling your ego, I'd like to compliment you on your mountain tale. Well done! J2
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