2015 Blue Ridge Camp Daily Update Thread
Coach Note: The Blue Ridge Camp is our annual cycling (and apparently beer sampling!) trip to Boone, NC. We ride four amazing days, building incredible fitness on the bike. Boone is centrally located, so 80% of campers drive here, with the rest flying to Charlotte -- super easy! Learn more about the camp online here: http://www.endurancenation.us/camps...ing-camps/
Day One: Boone to Blue Ridge, Banner Elk & Mast Gap
I rode the 78+ Mile Option in 5 hours 10 minutes, with a Normalized Power of 248 watts. The ride had approximately 7,000+ feet of gain.
We started off the day with smiles and a great Team picture...way to represent!!!! Then it was time to head off to do our ride. The short option was 58 miles, the long option was 78, both with about 1,000 feet of gain for every 10 miles ridden.
We took a new route up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, which included gravel, and then we were off and flying down the BRP, including a really great tip over the Aqueduct.
Then we regrouped for a quick pit stop with our super vehicle (thanks ANNE!!!) and headed to Banner Elk and Mast Gap.
Little did we know that in addition to climbing there would be more gravel in our future! The folks on the long route, enjoyed this view. In case you were wondering it's about 17% grade!!!
Totally Epic!!!! After getting over the top (by foot!) it was time for more riding down back through Mast Gap and over to Shulls Mill Road, one of our favorite climbs of the camp!
Tomorrow we head off to Mount Mitchell...with 11,500 feet of climbing on the plate. Stay tuned!!!
Comments
Day Two: Linville Falls to Mt Mitchell [aka 11,000+ ft Climing Day!]
At the start of Day Two, I promised NO GRAVEL. However I said nothing about climbs, wind, flying icicles, sleet or 11,000 feet of suffering. All were had on this epic day of cycling.
This is about as close to West Coast riding that you can get on the East Coast! Of course, we have to keep things real here by adding in the weather issues, but overall it was an epic day.
We were greeted by overcast skies, cool temps and even a light shower on the drive to the start. By the time we started riding though things had cleared up and smiles were everywhere!
Team Endurance Nation veteran Joe Matchette making riding look fun!
By the time we left the first SAG stop and started the clime to the entrance of Mt Mitchell, however, it was game on.
The Road Only Goes Up From Here!
The weather on Mount Mitchell was pretty damn ugly. A headwind and clouds made for slow and lonely going. Then add in the dropping temperatures and you have a recipe for danger. While a few brave souls rode to the tippy top, most of use turned at the official Park Entrance.
Look, the Tree in the Back is Covered in Frost / Ice!!!
With a super quick turnaround at the top, it was time to head back to lower / warmer temperatures. There's quite the descent from Mt Mitchell first, and it was quite a while before anyone really felt "warm" again.
The Parkway accommodated those who opted in for the full ride with some sunshine and elevation to keep things interesting.
When it was all said and done, the group had a complete epic day. I personally rode the 82 miles in 5:20, with a Normalized Power of 260, an IF of .76 and racked up 311 TSS points. Totally shelled!
Time to rest up before tomorrow's epic ride to Beech Mountain!
This camp is an EN bucket lister.
This is getting me psyched and scared for the ToC next week. Good on ya, mates!
Day 3: Mast Gap Annex, Beech Mountain, Shulls Mill and even a Jagaround!
After riding Mount Mitchell, it's hard to find something that folks will still find epic. The answer? Shorten the ride to the suffering but work even harder!
Beech Mountain is a three mile climb that averages around 9%. It so happened that there was a training group riding going on for the local "Beech Mountain Metric" ride so we had lots of company all day long.
I put in a total of 62.6 miles today, with significant gain....another 4 hours and 20 minutes of solid work. View the Strava file here.
Here's a shot of me at the top...who knew this was Eastern America's Highest Town? My legs agree 100%!!!
This climb is legit. At three miles long it reminds me of several other short, nasty climbs I have done. Nothing makes the world clearer than going 5 miles an hour, heart pounding, sweat pouring off your brow every time you look up the road. Thankfully the last mile is not as steep, but by then you are shelled anyway.
We took different routes to the ride today, with some riding from the hotel and others driving to start from the Mast General Store Annex. But we all got in some serious riding! The folks who rode from the hotel got a little more gravel in...as you can see from the video below.
Some of the MONSTERS in our camp decided to ride up, over, down and back, around WHATEVER of Beech Mountain to hit 10,000 feet of climbing...simply epic.
After all that riding we had a great dinner out at Lost Province with a good Creamery stop for a night cap.
Last Day Tomorrow!!!!
Day Four Recap: Easy (44) Like Sunday Morning, Except for the Up Part
After three days of approximately 27,000 ft of gain, our minds and legs and lungs were calling out for something more "normal" -- it took me several hours and much map-searching, but I was able to dial in this ride.
After some initial riding out of town with some climbs (nothing compared to the past few days!), we regrouped for a Team picture to capture the awesomeness of the camp and Team Endurance Nation.
Then we encountered some incredible flat sections that were right out of the picture books...I had to save them for posterity in this video:
All told this ride put me over 30,000 feet of climbing in four days. Or, as I like to think of it, six months of elevation I would have gotten by riding in my home state of Rhode Island!! Everyone agreed that this was the perfect end to the camp...it will surely be back next year!
A huge shout out to our many campers, brave, fearless and in a matter of few days, incredibly fit as well. We all pushed the limits of what we thought was possible...and were able to come back again the next day for more. Plus now we have a bunch of crazy cyclist friends for life!!!
I'll be writing to all the campers with post camp training instructions, but in the meantime those of you on the outside looking in we'd love to have you join us in 2016. There's info for you -- and a discounted incentive -- to make a deposit for the camp by the end of this month, online here: http://www.endurancenation.us/camps...ing-camps/
First, props to logistics. It ain't all that easy to just map out appropriate rides. I'm guessing that's how you stumbled across all the gravel early in the trip. Nice job on finding safe & challenging routes.
Second, props to the support crew.
Third, and this is very relevant to me as I just came off of a BBW Apr 18-24, what do you guys plan on doing next week in regards to training?
Great video! At least you had 3 minutes of cruising along? And what's with all the leg warmers and long fingered gloves... bet we don't see any of *that* during the ToC!
No real goals until the following weekend's workouts...need to get a Thursday Long Run and Friday swim in...but the rest is bonus. Patience is key; absorption takes 7-14 days depending on how hard your Big Bike Week was!
Al, thanks! A bit bundled for sure, but we didn't get attacked by locals looking for water. Or fined when we spilled some on our jerseys.
I was shocked at how tired I was 24-48 hrs later. Felt GREAT the day I finished. But, 1-2 days after was when the 'tired' caught up to me. Swam 2 days after that, ez drills. Then, some soft spinning, ez jogging, then into the weekend when I started to pick it up. Back on schedule by the Sunday, a week later. Everything you said about the absorption motivated me to take a whole week to chill. Now, very glad I did. And, I expect that I'll appreciate it even more with the summer oly and fall HIM.
Great job to all you guys and gals.
UPDATE: As of 05/08/2015, 14 of the Early Bird Slots have already been filled by last year's campers. If you are interested in 2016, get in soon! http://www.endurancenation.us/camps...ing-camps/
UPDATE 2: As of 05/09/2015, all 15 Early Bird Slots are claimed by last year's campers. Sold out in FIVE DAYS!
We have room for 10 more athletes at the Bonus Level Price of $1500 -- make a deposit before 6/1/15 and save $100!