Introduction

I have climbed Peaks of Otter before, but that was back in 2008 when I biked the length of Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway, starting in Front Royal, VA. At least that was my intent. It started out fine . . . except for the rain! It rained the first two days. Relentlessly. But that was OK. At least it became OK. It has to after all, you're on tour!

Fortunately, I had a cabin in Skyland that first night. Then the plan (as originally envisioned) was to camp at Big Meadows the next night and at Loft Mountain the night after. I could then spend some time in camp and maybe hike the area. Well, upon waking up the second day there was no improvement in the weather and setting up a tent in the rain wasn't on my agenda. And by Loft Mountain, it wasn't any better, so I pushed on to Waynesboro, doing something like 70 miles that day.

The ride up Skyline Drive started out nice with great views of the valley.

But it soon got misty and foggy with rain falling . . .

At the highest point on Skyline Drive, just outside of Skyland, my home that first night.

The wayside at Loft Mountain . . . here comes the rain!

It was very surreal biking along Skyline Drive in the rain. While it started out as a deluge of sorts, it turned into a steady drizzle, which I actually acclimated to quite nicely. Combine that with the tree canopy and the cloud bank that had settled in and I felt like I was biking through a cocoon of sorts, twisting and turning, ascending and descending. That is how I always describe it and it was a great experience. It also taught me to tolerate biking in 50-something degree weather in biking shorts! And I made it!

On the third day, which was bright and sunny, I biked from Waynesboro all the way to the Sugar Tree Inn, which is at the bottom of, what became, a long climb out of the hollow the next day! On the climb out of Waynesboro and back to the Parkway, I stopped at a local bike shop to have my brakes adjusted and new pads installed (I was a carefree cyclist in those days).

The climb from Sugar Tree Inn was up the road to the right; the Parkway is to the left.

And finally, on the fourth day, equally beautiful, I biked from Sugar Tree Inn to Peaks of Otter. Originally I was going to camp on the James River but was feeling strong enough to tackle that climb . . . on what turned out to be a 65-mile day with a fully loaded bike (i.e. camping gear in addition to basics). The climb is about 12.5 miles long and 3,300 feet vertically.

So what is this all about? Mark, who traveled through Italy with me last year (http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/RomeAmalfi), and I are planning another trip. This time Paris to Milan via the Alps and we need some training time with long ascents. While we have done plenty of hill climbing locally, the ascents into and over the Alps can have climbs 20 miles long. And the only climb close to achieving that length and grade that I can think of is my climb up to Peaks of Otter. So here we go.

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