{"id":2310,"date":"2008-05-19T13:04:53","date_gmt":"2008-05-19T17:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.brianarner.com\/weblog\/wordpress\/2008\/05\/2008_bike_forum\/"},"modified":"2008-05-19T13:04:53","modified_gmt":"2008-05-19T17:04:53","slug":"2008_bike_forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.brianarner.com\/weblog\/2008\/05\/2008_bike_forum\/","title":{"rendered":"2008 Bike Forums Spring Ride Report (Blue Ridge Parkway)"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Saturday, 17 May 2008, I joined eight other cyclists from BikeForums.net<\/a> (where I have the user name “Velo Vol”) on a bicycle ride in Haywood County, NC. The course was the “Pigeon Loop<\/a>“: it started on the Blue Ridge Parkway<\/a> at the Pisgah Inn<\/a>, descended down into the valley on US 276, climbed back up the ridge on NC 215, and returned to the Pisgah Inn on the parkway.<\/p>\n

I arrived a few minutes late at the Inn, but everyone was gracious enough to wait for me. I put on my cycling gear and prepared to ride. It was cool at 5,000 feet (somewhere in the 50s) so I donned my arm warmers.<\/p>\n

At about 10:25 a.m., we rolled out from the inn.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Heading downhill from the Pisgah Inn<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Descending off the mountain on US 276<\/p>\n

Downhill riding obviously isn’t one of my strengths. As soon as we turned off the mountain, the group dropped me like a lead weight. I didn’t catch back up for several miles.<\/p>\n

US 276 descends steeply off the mountain for four or five miles, then levels out following a stream further into the valley. The group maintained a good pace through this stretch at about 22 m.p.h.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Along US 276<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I finally caught up to everyone as they stopped to shed layers of clothing. The temperature in the valley several degrees warmer than it was on the parkway.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A golf course by US 276<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Agriculture along US 276<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Along US 276<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Field along NC 215<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The group riding on NC 215<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A more streamlined peloton<\/p>\n

After a nice flat stretch on NC 215, the road turned uphill into the woods.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Lake Logan<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Me posing on the bridge along Lake Logan<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Group picture at Lake Logan<\/p>\n

After a brief break at the lake, the climbing continued for several miles through the woods. It’s a tranquil ascent on a low-traffic road: not too steep, but tough enough to work up a sweat, even when its only in the 60s.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We took a break to regroup at a waterfall. Nearby, a spring provided cool mountain water. It was good.<\/p>\n

The grade on NC 215 gets a bit steeper past the waterfall. The tree cover opens up more, offering some terrific mountain views.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Scenery on NC 215<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Looking downhill near the top of NC 215. There are several bald mountains in this area.<\/p>\n

Finally, the road reaches the Blue Ridge Parkway.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

View from Courthouse Valley overlook<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We had a food break at Courthouse Valley overlook. A couple riders generously provided peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and other provisions. That went down well, as I hadn’t eaten for six hours.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Another view from Courthouse Valley overlook. Note that the leaves have yet to emerge above 5,000 feet.<\/p>\n

The ride’s last leg was a 14-mile section of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The traffic wasn’t bad, and the views were spectacular. Great stuff.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Graveyard Fields<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Looking Glass Rock<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Last climb up to the Pisgah Inn<\/p>\n

Distance: 51.7 miles<\/p>\n

Riding time: 3:45<\/p>\n

Overall, an excellent ride. The weather was great, the roads were good, the riders were friendly, and the scenery was outstanding.<\/p>\n

If you ever get a chance, I highly recommend riding in this area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Saturday, 17 May 2008, I joined eight other cyclists from BikeForums.net (where I have the user name “Velo Vol”) on a bicycle ride in Haywood County, NC. The course was the “Pigeon Loop“: it started on the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Pisgah Inn, descended down into the valley on US 276, climbed back […]<\/p>\n<\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2310","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"h-entry","8":"hentry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brianarner.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brianarner.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brianarner.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brianarner.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brianarner.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.brianarner.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2310\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brianarner.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brianarner.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brianarner.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}