Climbing Hurts So Good!
Ahhhh… the feeling is back. Climbing… sure it can hurt… but I love it. I’m training for a century in the mountains at the end of June. It’s called Blood, Sweat & Gears. This was my first ever mountain century last year and I loved it. So, I’m back for more this year and my training in the mountains got a good jump start this weekend. I’ve been on mostly rolling roads around my home so I needed to get in some true ascents. My mountain ride was 56 miles with 5,600 feet of climbing. The gradient ranged from 8% to 16%. The Blood, Sweat & Gears climbing total is 13,000+ feet, with one climb up Snake 
Mountain reaching an 18-20% grade near the top. This picture on the right is one of the climbs I pedaled this weekend. Shull’s Mill Road is 10 miles long and takes you up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It’s a good road to 
get the climbing legs going. Once up to the Blue Ridge Parkway the gradient average is 8%. One of my favorite points is crossing the Lynn Cove Viaduct. It’s beautiful and you can look across the mountains on a clear day. You can see by the picture on the left where the road climbs up to the viaduct. Look closely and you’ll see where the road winds around the mountain in the top left of the picture. This particular picture was taken in the fall.
Here’s another one with a closer view of the viaduct. It’s an awesome ride. To finish, I had to climb back up a mountain to our condo.
Truly satisfying!
Calories Burned: 2,700
Feeling: Pretty Good
Reward: An ice cold IPA
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Comments
WILL– I knew you would be excited about this. Although, I’m afraid it’s nothing compared to your climbing. Yeah… the names are good… there’s also the “Blue Ridge Brutal”. It’s another century in the mountains. The last 30 miles is the Brutal part.
CHRIS– There are times in the mountains when I’m wishing for flats. But there’s a great feeling of accomplishment once you’ve made the climb and that erases what you thought was painful.
Donald, while you were enjoying the Blue Ridge Parkway at one end, I was up towards t’other. The weather around Roanoke, VA was excellent on Saturday and I had the chance to do some nice climbing near Roanoke Mountain. On Sunday I rode with a group from the Blue Ridge Cycling Club and we did a comfortable 50 mile/88 km ride, with around 2200 vertical feet. Great scenery and I felt good for what is for me an early season ride. I am starting to get enthused about the idea of an end-to-end Blue Ridger. And, Will, you are right about the names of US rides: I have done Blue Ridge Extreme, the Mountains of Misery, the Cheat Mountain Challenge and Mountain Mama (”Mama’s Gonna Whup Yo’ Ass!”). The Wintergreen Ascent sounds pretty mild, but is a 12 km time trial with grades of up to 17 percent and the clock is running the whole time. There is still the Hotter’n Hell Hundred and the California Death Ride to do in the future. But in Europe there is the Raid Pyreneean, probably the toughest of all and not named after a furry squeaking rodent.
After my ride on Saturday I had a Blanche de Chambly, and on Sunday a Creemore Springs Urbock, both imported from Canada for the occasion. And of course some serious Mexican food to replace those burned-off calories. Climbing, beer, enchiladas–the whole Meaning of Life unfolds.
I live in a hilly area, but we don’t have any climbs like that. I’d like to ride in the mountains someday.
That looks amazing! I’m jealous you have some solid climbs close to where you live. I’ll take a 10 mile climb over a flat anyday.
Sprocketboy– again you know how to wrap up a great trip as explained by you so well… the whole “Meaning of Life” unfolds.
Jeff– I am fortunate here. Around my home there are some good smaller hills (rolling) to get your legs going but just 3 hours west and I hit those great climbs. I love it. I’m headed back over this weekend.
Arlyn– Thanks for visiting… I’ve added you to my blog roll. Maybe someday you can make the trip to the east coast for just a cycling vacation and include Blood, Sweat & Gears… or Bridge to Bridge!
Ian– I know how it is… I used to live in Florida near the east coast. Sure it’s great to ride along the ocean but the only real workout is when the sea breeze hits you head on (not easy). It’s nice to have the elevation here in NC.
I’m jealous. I’m not a very good climber but I like it. I miss the long steady climbs we used to tackle when we lived it Cairns - Gillies Ranges 19 km, Kuranda Ranges 16 km, Copperlode Dam 9 km.
Here in Brisbane we only have shorter steeper climbs of 1-6 km.
I’m planning to enter the Tour of Bright again this year - Victorian Alps - Mt Hotham - 33 km climb with up to 10% gradient!
Hi,
We’re from Quebec and we are planning to bike the Blue Ridge Pkwy in a few weeks. Do you know where we can get the contour lines to figure the gradients of the road day by day ?
Thank you for helping
Hi Claude,
I can tell you the average gradient for the parkway is 8%.
You can also go to this website–
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com
Zoom into North Carolina or Virginia depending on what part of the Parkway you want to ride. Use the tracker on the left of the page to start recording your route by placing way points with your mouse. You can then ckick on the “Topo” tab in the top right of the map window to see the contour lines. I hope this helps. If all else fails you can call (828) 271-4779. This is the Park headquarters in Asheville. Have a blast… it’s a beautiful ride. When are you planning to go?
Now we are talking!
Sounds and looks fantastic … good luck training.
Blood, Sweat and Gears? !!
Americans are so much better at naming their big rides.
The most famous “tough” event (not the toughest) in France is called the Marmotte - a cute furry beaver-without-the-tail thing.