Recent happenings
Once again, a long delay in blog posts. Business has been at a all time high between coaching (20 clients), bike fits (many), and my part time day job. All good stuff though in that the combination allows me to keep doing what I love. Talking about things I love, ascending the 2 hr 15 min climb up the twisty road to the peak of Mt. Mitchell is certainly one of them. Although, going down is an entirely different way of having fun (1:15 by comparison). We have a girl friend that it quick to say that "going down is her favorite" as made evident by her impressive MTB skills. She did that instead of descending Mt. Mitchell. Everyone has their day in Asheville. Anyhow, back to reliving my favorite road ride during our last trip. I'll stick to the short story followed by statistics and photographic evidence.
After an entirely too twisty drive to the start location we proceeding to get the group of 9 on their bikes. It was a sunny day at base camp (elevation 1,200 ft) with temperatures in the low 70's. The ride up Hwy 80 is a steep and twisty affair with about 40% of it being spun in the 39/27. That's about 9 mph for you non-gear ratio thinking people. The Captain took the helm leading up this climb at about the 30 minute mark, and continued to put out a steady but hard tempo that eventually decreased our group ride from 9 to 3. Although not intended to be a race up Mt. Mitchell, there's always a sweet spot relative to cadence and power when pedalling up a challenging climb. I did my best to sick his wheel knowing that there was lots of climbing left once on the Blue Ridge Parkway. And, that became the next separation in that our group was decreased by one more by him deciding that hard Tempo was no longer the preferred way to ride for the next 1:30. I knew that simply sucking my Captain's wheel up this mountain wasn't fair so it was time to go to work. Many of you realize that when averaging 12.5 mph up a undulating ascent, drafting is only somewhat useful. But, there was an occasional head wind along with the psychological factor. Onward we rode with the Captain pointing out the magnificent views, and me chatting about them also as a way to show no pain. Being able to have a conversation while going uphill is merely a method for suggesting that you're feeling no discomfort. We finally approached what I knew to be the last of the Parkway before making the right hand turn up the Mt. Mitchell access road; a 6 mile ascent that has plenty of granny gear climbing to zap any remaining strength. Here's were my morning recon proved to be beneficial. I knew that the Mitchell road was at mile marker 355, but the Captain didn't. He had taken over the pull about two miles beforehand. I just rolled in front to give him some help at mile marker 356. He seemed to be hurting so I did what any true friend/team mate would do. I simply kept the Tempo up and swung on to this last ascent with a 10 second gap. Now the uphill TT portion started. If not because of pride, it was forced on you due to a lack of additional gears for the ever increasing % grade. Although I did crack a bit toward the top of the last 40 minute climb, it felt great to hit the mountain top with the now 60 F air being drawn deeply into my lungs. Upwards I went to the observatory (a last bit of 15% grade) to get to the final destination of 6,600 ft. The highest point east of the Mississippi. The Captain joined me about a minute later followed by Skip and some of the rest of the group. We picked up the others on the fast & crazy descent to base camp. I shocked the observers by my lack of descending skills on a sharply decreasing radius turn about 3/4 th's the way down; brake sliding while going to the final 2 inches of pave into the pea gravel. Saved! That was pretty close. I got better after being humbled back into reality. All gathered at the bottom to share ice cream sandwiches, cokes, and some great stories. Just another day in the saddle in Asheville, NC.
Mt Mitchell Stats:
Ascent time = 2:13
Distance = 28 miles
AVS = 12.5 MPH
Npwr = 266 watts
kJ's = 2033
Elevation gained = 6,092 ft
Descent time = 1:10
Distance = 28 miles
AVS = 24.2 MPH
Npwr = 197
kJ's = 596
After an entirely too twisty drive to the start location we proceeding to get the group of 9 on their bikes. It was a sunny day at base camp (elevation 1,200 ft) with temperatures in the low 70's. The ride up Hwy 80 is a steep and twisty affair with about 40% of it being spun in the 39/27. That's about 9 mph for you non-gear ratio thinking people. The Captain took the helm leading up this climb at about the 30 minute mark, and continued to put out a steady but hard tempo that eventually decreased our group ride from 9 to 3. Although not intended to be a race up Mt. Mitchell, there's always a sweet spot relative to cadence and power when pedalling up a challenging climb. I did my best to sick his wheel knowing that there was lots of climbing left once on the Blue Ridge Parkway. And, that became the next separation in that our group was decreased by one more by him deciding that hard Tempo was no longer the preferred way to ride for the next 1:30. I knew that simply sucking my Captain's wheel up this mountain wasn't fair so it was time to go to work. Many of you realize that when averaging 12.5 mph up a undulating ascent, drafting is only somewhat useful. But, there was an occasional head wind along with the psychological factor. Onward we rode with the Captain pointing out the magnificent views, and me chatting about them also as a way to show no pain. Being able to have a conversation while going uphill is merely a method for suggesting that you're feeling no discomfort. We finally approached what I knew to be the last of the Parkway before making the right hand turn up the Mt. Mitchell access road; a 6 mile ascent that has plenty of granny gear climbing to zap any remaining strength. Here's were my morning recon proved to be beneficial. I knew that the Mitchell road was at mile marker 355, but the Captain didn't. He had taken over the pull about two miles beforehand. I just rolled in front to give him some help at mile marker 356. He seemed to be hurting so I did what any true friend/team mate would do. I simply kept the Tempo up and swung on to this last ascent with a 10 second gap. Now the uphill TT portion started. If not because of pride, it was forced on you due to a lack of additional gears for the ever increasing % grade. Although I did crack a bit toward the top of the last 40 minute climb, it felt great to hit the mountain top with the now 60 F air being drawn deeply into my lungs. Upwards I went to the observatory (a last bit of 15% grade) to get to the final destination of 6,600 ft. The highest point east of the Mississippi. The Captain joined me about a minute later followed by Skip and some of the rest of the group. We picked up the others on the fast & crazy descent to base camp. I shocked the observers by my lack of descending skills on a sharply decreasing radius turn about 3/4 th's the way down; brake sliding while going to the final 2 inches of pave into the pea gravel. Saved! That was pretty close. I got better after being humbled back into reality. All gathered at the bottom to share ice cream sandwiches, cokes, and some great stories. Just another day in the saddle in Asheville, NC.
Mt Mitchell Stats:
Ascent time = 2:13
Distance = 28 miles
AVS = 12.5 MPH
Npwr = 266 watts
kJ's = 2033
Elevation gained = 6,092 ft
Descent time = 1:10
Distance = 28 miles
AVS = 24.2 MPH
Npwr = 197
kJ's = 596
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