Blue Ridge Brutal Ride Report (NOT)

For a variety reasons I did not make it to the starting line on Saturday Aug 18th. I went on to Asheville and like anyone who was looking forward to about 6-7 hours of suffering and then being deprived I decided to map out a route through the Blue Ridge Parkway and have my own little BRB the following day (Sunday).

I was staying in a little town called Waynesville that is located just off of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Balsam Mtn and after about half an hour on Google maps I had found a reasonable 75-80 mile route that basically traced the outline of Haywood County. There were three mountain climbs and a reasonably long rolling section so I was happy with the route, at least on paper! I started out in Maggie Valley, which is essentially a valley floor that runs about 5 miles to the base of the Soco gap. I started climbing there and it would be over an hour before I saw another level section.

The grades varied on the Soco climb but the Garmin frequently showed 10-12%. It was about 3 miles to the top at which point you make a right turn and climb up over a bridge to get onto the parkway. Just over the bridge is the first big climb of the day, up Mt Lynn Lowry to Water Rock Knob Lookout which was about 5-6 miles with an average grade of 8.0%. It was never less than 6%. During the climb I passed a biker who was resting in a turn out and he warned me to watch myself in the tunnel if I was going to climb Balsam Mtn. I thanked him for the tip and continued. As was the case with all of the climbs that day the grades were not that bad it was just that they went on and on. At the top there was a tremendously beautiful view of the valley below but I only took a moment to appreciate the view before I was zipping my Gyro Jersey and rocketing down the other side.

The decents on the parkway are much gentler than the roads around the Mt Pilot area in that the roads are wide and there is plenty of open area to see the turns ahead. I was frequently decending at 40-45 mph and felt very comfortable on these roads. The bottom of this decent is the Balsm Gap area and immediately there is the next climb. Climbing up Balsm Mtn was just hard. There is no other away to describe it. It is no Mt. Pilot but it is really long at about 12 miles. Around halfway there is a traffic tunnel. Shortly before the tunnel there is a sign that says “Please Use Headlights.” After about 100 yards into the tunnel it was obvious why. The tunnel arches to the left such that there is a short section the middle where no light can enter from either of the openings. As soon as I reached this point I began to panic. I was riding in absolute dark. The experience was very unsettling. I could not see the walls or notice if there was a pothole or any other obstruction on the road. But the dark section was short and I saw the light at the end of the tunnel after those few horrible seconds. I was very happy that no cars entreated the tunnel while I was in there. Shortly after this section the grade leveled somewhat and at the top there was a turnout and I decided to make a rest stop. I took a picture on my cell phone of a sign stating that claimed “this is the highest point in the south east (6034 feet)” with my bike propped up next to it.

The next decent was shorter than the others and this was followed by several shorter climbs that would be considered rolling sections if there lengths were only but a little less. But after doing about 20-25 miles of pure climbing the legs were already getting a little soft. Thank god for my compact cranks! At about mile 50 I made a left onto Highway 215 (Lake Logan Road) and decended for literally 30 minutes. It was a winding two lane back road with a bad surface and lots of pot holes. If you are ever going to try this ride I would push on a little further and take US276 down through Cruso. 215 was really a pain to navigate safely. About halfway down there was a beautiful water fall that I stopped to get a picture of and while I was reaching for my phone two bikers shot past me on the way down. I quickly stowed the phone and set off to catch them. These guys were really fast and clearly better at decending than me. I was taking chances and sprinting out of turns but I did not catch up with them until the bottom which was a flat winding section that ran along a river. I finally got on but was immediately shocked by the pace they were setting. They were both pushing the big ring with either 11 or 12 on the back. I looked down a few times to see us cruising along at 25 mph.

I was just about to let them go when they slowed and made a right turn. They never said a word to me.

The flat section was a great break from all the climbing in during the morning and I really enjoyed traveling beside the river that ran through an area called Bethel. At the end of Highway 215 I made a right on Pigeon Rd/US276 and the fun began! This was a rolling section and it was relentless. Hill after hill with vicious grades of 9-12% and by this time the legs were totally wasted. I limped up most of them my speed dropping to 5 mph on more than one occasion. One hill was especially spirit breaking and ended at Pigeon gap. After this section the loop turns right and takes you down Main Street in Waynesville and I was fun to ride parade fashion down the street in this little Mtn town. I stayed on US276 which eventually brought me back to US19 and to Maggie Valley. I ended up with 77 miles with an average of 14.5 mph. It was not the Blue Ridge Brutal but it was certainly brutal!