September 16, 2007
Bridge to Bridge Incredible Challenge 100 mile ride

The Bridge to Bridge Incredible Challenge is among the most difficult century rides in the region. After traveling around on rolling hills, riders are confronted with a 13 mile climb up to the Blue Ridge Parkway on route 181. Then, after a spectacular ride on the Parkway, crossing the Linn Cove Viaduct, it continues to entrance to Grandfather Mountain. This is where the real fun begins.

This was my fourth time doing this ride but the first century ride of the year. The start had been moved back two hours but the cutoff time for riding Grandfather was kept the same. As a bonus, the course had an additional 1,000 feet of climbing. This brought the total climb to 10,500 feet.

The 800 rider mass start electrifies the spectators. It’s a wonderful sight seeing hundreds of riders in multicolored jerseys filling up the road as far as the eye can see.

The first 51 miles flew by quickly in 3 hours flat. The hills aren’t bad but they’re large enough to get you ready for the real climbing in the second half of the ride. This year’s cool weather provided optimal climbing temperatures and the climb up route 181 seemed much easier than usual. The sun didn’t beat down as fiercely as it had in the past.

Riding along the Parkway, I heard deafening screams of anguish. A rider was unleashing tormented cries due to severe cramping. Another one stopped along the road, trying to dismount, but wasn’t able to due to cramps so he just had to fall onto the grass with his bike toppling over him. Despite the ideal temps, there was still a fair share of muscle cramps.

Making the 7½ hour cutoff was a challenge and I came in with just a minute and a half to spare. Like I said, this is where the real fun begins. It can actually take longer to ride the last two miles than to walk it. Another rider started walking up while I rode and I didn’t pass him until the very top. Grandfather climbs 1,200 feet over its two mile ascent for an average grade of 13%, topping out at a whopping 24%. After riding 100 miles, doing a climb like that is no easy task.

A cramp strangled my right leg on the first steep switchback. I was forced to rest for several minutes and tried not to push too hard on the pedals the rest of the way. In the last half mile, a rider couldn’t pedal any more and simply feel onto his side, the sound of metal hitting pavement permeating the air.

The last switchback is one of the toughest and there’s an audience to watch you. I caught the guy who walked up with a last second burst of speed, which garnered some applause for the effort.

I still had some daylight left, so after retrieving my bike below Grandfather, I took off for Lenoir. The ride down 181 is unbelievably satisfying. It's 13 miles of nearly continuous downhill. Unfortunately, daylight was getting rare. I had a light but riding around blind curves at night is a bit dangerous. Fortunately, a pickup truck stopped and the driver offered me a ride back to my car. He had run support for the ride but only had to pick up one rider during the event.

I got 125 miles. That was by far the longest ride for me this year. Another Bridge to Bridge is in the books.