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Josh

Thursday morning I woke up and could tell my legs, and operator head space and timing, were in a much better place then they were the day before on Mitchell. They didn't have the heavy sensation when walking up and down steps. 

In the morning I had pleasant surprise in the hotel breakfast area. I had gotten my plate and was about to sit down when I noticed Danielle and AB trying so hard not to laugh and giggle. At first I thought I had spilled something on myself. I realized that wasn't it and turned around and saw my aunt, whom I hadn't seen since before the pandemic! She had flown into Charlotte and then coordinated arrangements with the SAG team and driven up to support us on the final day! 

I should also mention that Danielle's father had driven out on Wednesday and met us at the top of Mitchell. We we're rolling deep at this point. 

After the morning route briefing we headed out to the start point where we had stopped the day before. While getting ready an off duty park ranger pulled up, and in so many words, told us that we were singlehandedly responsible for road erosion due to 'illegal parking.' I apologized and told her we were out of towners and had simply followed google maps to the gravel area along the road. I could tell she wasn't going to accept that as an answer and so just nodded and smiled until she drove away while several people behind her were to honking aggressively. Sometimes encounters like that nag at me longer then they should. But, we rode around the corner and within 200 yards of the start saw 3 baby turkey's and a momma turkey along the road getting some breakfast. I figured that was a good omen.

I really wanted to do my best on the 14 mile Mt. Pisgah climb and so, for the first time in the trip, I didn't really throttle-down my effort if I was feeling okay. I certainly didn't do as good as I could when fresh, but I felt like I did a pretty good effort. 

I had another nice surprise when, about 1.5 miles from the summit my parents drove by! They had left their home in Coats around 0430 just to come support us during our final push. 

We had a quick stop at Frying Pan tower parking lot (a legal parking area). The next part of the plan was to have a lunch stop at Richland Balsam, about 20 miles down the road and the highest point of the Blue Ridge Parkway at around 6000 feet. As has been tradition over the last week, the parts I thought would be easiest actually seemed the hardest. I pulled into the rest area not feeling totally great. I was dripping with sweat and the cloud cover and cold had set it in which triggered my Reynauds. George was nice enough to lend me an extra cycling vest to stay warm during the descent. Not being able to feel your finger tips while descending at 40mph on wheels less a cm wide is a bit nerve wracking.

At this point we basically had one long climb ahead of us up to Water Rock Knob. It had warmed up quite a bit as we came into the valley. But, about 10 minutes into the climb it started to rain, a lot. Once again I felt in my element with rain and temps of 55 degrees. My legs started to feel good again. I was feeling quite spritely, well as spritely as one can after riding the equivalent of a week of a grand tour, as I pulled into the next SAG stop. George and I, and the ever growing support team, saddled up and did the final descent to the southern entrance of the BRP. We came to the bottom to the sound of Madeleine, Danielle, AB, Grandpa J, Aunt Ann, and Nana and Pappy all ringing cow bells and cheering for us as we crossed the line. George and I were presented with "Ride Blue Ridge Parkway" cycling signs and license plates that Madeleine and Danielle had secretly bought during our ride. We sprayed some champagne and gave everyone hugs. We had done it. Chapeau George and SAG team.

Now, we start planning the next one...

Today by the numbers: 

Wildlife: Turkey, 4.

Calories: 4006 kcal. 25, 695 kcal for the trip

Food Consumed: Fig Newton, 2. PB cup, 2. Pickle Juice, 4. Coke, mini, 3. PBJ, 1. Cheetos, mini bag, 2. Some sort of flavored pretzels my father brought, 4.

Normalized Power: 242 watts

Fellow Cyclist: 3, all south bound. 

Max Speed: 48.9 mph, average speed 14.1 mph

Ride Time: 5:39:38 today, total for the trip about 32:52:12

License Plate Situation:

USA: We added Kansas today.

During the trip we saw: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina,  Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, PA, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Colorado, Texas, Kentucky, Montana,  Utah, California, Nevada, Alabama, Washington State, Washington DC, Oregon, Rhode Island,  Iowa, South Dakota, Mississippi, Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, and South Dakota.

No signs of Canada today but during the trip we saw:  Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Quebec.

We also saw a pair of swiss Harley Riders for a few days earlier in the trip. 

George

I stepped into the elevator this morning with my bicycle to go downstairs and load the car for the drive to today's stage start.  To my surprise Josh was standing there with his gear.  Neither of us said a word for several seconds, which spoke toward the familiarity that has formed between us over the past week.  When Josh did talk he said, "I'm nervous."  I was glad to hear it, because I was too.  Back in the winter, when Josh created the route, he sent me a daily itinerary of distances and climbing elevation.  Immediately I earmarked stages 1 and 2 for their length and climbing on back-to-back days... and then did a double-take when I saw the final stage, and how it packed the same 10k feet of climbing into 30 less miles.  So the challenge was set- 80 miles, bouncing back and forth between 2k feet and 6k feet elevation, all day long.

 As we set off we immediately encountered a turkey tending to her 3 babies on the side of the road.  It seemed like a good omen of some sorts, but on reflection I'm unsure what it may have represented.  After reading the rest of this you can be the judge!  Anyways, the babies were cute and they distracted me for a few moments and put a smile on my face.  That is until we were passed by a fellow cyclist for the first time on this entire ride.  He was a young fellow who blew by us with a "Good morning gentlemen" that belied his speed.  I wondered if he was doing interval training for an hour or so, or if he was about to tackle a beast of a day like us.

 The climbing commenced after a 5 mile warm-up. It was 13 miles long, a heckuva way to start a day.  I knew immediately I wasn't gonna have the same sensations and motivation I had the day before on Mount Mitchell.  Josh, on the other hand, seemed back.  His legs spun rapidly as he eased his way out of sight over the next 15 minutes.  I told myself to just concentrate on the altimeter in front of me.  Every foot of elevation gain was one step closer to 10k and the finish.  My weariness forced me to spend more time than I wanted spinning upwards in the granny gear, though I did haul myself out of the saddle often and shift upwards.  I found the SAG team near the summit and refueled/resupplied.  

Our next meetup point, 25 miles up the road (literally), was to be lunch.  We had basically developed a routine by this point that SAG stop 1 was short and SAG stop 2 was lunch.  I began to feel a tiny bit fresher through here, and the views were stunning.  A major bonus was the crisp clean air took on the familiar scent of Christmas trees.  One spot in particular, with a natural amphitheater of sloping forests and an unobstructed view, took my breath away.  It made me feel that all the pain, including the months of training leading up to this 30 seconds, was worth it.  That moment, beautiful with wispy fog floating through the bowl of trees in front of me, was perfect and imprinted in my mind forever.

Lunch was a fun distraction from what was to come as the SAG team had more than doubled from 3 to 7 with the addition of so many of Josh's family cheer crew.  I'd like to thank them for making me feel special too.  We sat around and talked, but before pushing back off we made our way to the sign at the front of the lot stating this was the highest point on the entire Blue Ridge Parkway at 6,053 feet.  As the photo was being snapped I was looking toward the south and the direction we were heading.  The grey clouds looked ominous.

This is the point at which a long-time cyclist and friend of mine, Mark, would have said the ride turned "epic".  There was a 10 mile descent to the base of Water Rock Knob.  Now the BRP website says the entire route has 27 tunnels.  Almost all of them were in the final 2 stages of our ride, with at least 15 today.  Most were short enough that at least a little light was penetrating between the openings and into the middle- yes, these tunnels are just carved into the mountainside with no lighting whatsoever.  It's scary enough to be climbing at slow speed in pitch black darkness, praying that you'll see the light at the end soon and hoping no cars enter and hit you.  It's a million times worse doing that at 30 plus mph!  No lie- I thought I was deep in outer space.  You lose your sense of up and down, left and right.  I was squeezing my brakes and just bracing myself to hit the wall of the mountain when my big-man Angel Josh says loudly and calmly, "George... you're in the wrong lane... straighten out!" Then he came by me and I followed his tail-light out the other side.  I figured out how he saw and I couldn't in there.  Josh had removed his non-Rx sunglasses and could faintly see the reflectors- while I'm blind as a bat without mine so removing them never occured to me.

Several tunnels later we were into the final big-time climb of the BRP- the aforementioned Water Rock Knob.  It's 8 miles long and tough.  The grey skies opened up and dropped a deluge of rain on us as we ascended toward the 5k foot plus summit.  All I had on were cycling shorts and a thin summer jersey.  I was freezing despite a heart rate in the 130s.  All the motorcycling clubs pulled off on the overlooks and stared at me like I was crazy for riding up that mountain in those clothes in this weather.   I motivated myself by screaming out bizarre "Waaaahoooos" and Tom Brady style "Let's Go"s all the way to the top.  

Josh came up with a game plan to deal with the final 18 miles- 15 of which were steep and downhill in a rain that mercifully would lighten up the more we descended.  I had spooked not only myself in the tunnel, but Josh was worried about me now too.  So the plan was we'd take it easy going down, and I'd follow his tail light through the remaining tunnels.  The plan did not work.  First of all, gravity, steep inclines and wet roads don't make for taking anything easy when the guy you're trying to follow is 6 foot 5 and fearless.  To make matters worse his tail light burned out before we got to a tunnel!  Luckily, a truck came up behind us and seemed to understand, and he kindly followed us the rest of the way down, his headlights sharply illuminating the reflective strips on the roadside.

And then we were there.  I heard the finish line before I saw it as the SAG and support group rang cowbells and held signs heralding our achievement.  I screamed "Wooohooo" as I shot past them on the roadside and brought myself to a halt.  Josh pulled up alongside and I gave him a hug, before we went back to celebrate with gifts, champagne and cake.

Oh- and I got the sign.

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(Check back in the days to come for a wrap up of final thoughts.  Just need a little time to process everything...)