Read about Andy Dunn, Les Woolridge and Ed Atrill, members of the HBC that took a ride down the Blue Ridge Parkway, credit card style, back in 2006! It was published in paper newsletter format, but now the story is brought to you on the new HBC website!

Lance Armstrong began his come back from cancer by training in the mountains near Boone, NC on and around the Blue Ridge Parkway. In his book "It's Not About the Bike," he wrote, "The rides were demanding and quiet, and I rode with a pure love of the bike, until Boone began to feel like the Holy Land to me, a place I had come on a pilgrimage." It was a pilgrimage to Lance's cycling mecca that I had in mind when I set o Save ut to do a 3-day bike trip on this mountainous section of the Parkway from Blowing Rock (near Boone) to Cherokee, NC. I don't know what it is that keeps bringing me back to the Parkway. This was to be my fourth bike trip there. Perhaps it's as Lance said, to get my life back.

I have always gone solo on the Parkway. But this time it was good to have two officers and members of the Harpeth Bike Club join me, Les Wooldridge and Ed Attril. Since it was an extended tour, we had to devise a way to carry gear on our lightweight racing bikes. Les and I went with the Performance Seat Post Pannier Rack (about $40), which held panniers low on each side of the rear wheel. I crammed everything into one pannier; Les used 2. Ed used a seat post attachment sold on the Internet that carried one pannier above the rear wheel. Trying to keep weight down for the Parkway's long, steep climbs was another planning challenge. We brought synthetic clothes, toiletries, tubes and tires, energy bars, and split up, the tools, pump, and bike lock and chain. Weighing down our once lightweight racing bikes with an extra 15 lbs of gear felt blasphemous, but the racks all worked great.

Day 1 (July 22): 42 miles from Blowing Rock, NC (291.9 milepost) to Little Switzerland, NC (334 mp); 2,385 ft of climbing. Blowing Rock (elev. 3600 ft) is a bustling and exciting small mountain town where the rich and famous live and vacation. It's right off the Parkway with lots of hotels, restaurants, parks, hiking trails, and beautiful views. After an early breakfast, we shoved off from the park in the middle of town. It was my 42nd birthday, July 22nd, 2002. Lance was in Yellow in the Alps. The sun was out, and we were on our heavy, pack-ridden bikes. It was a great day.

All we could think about as we rolled out of Blowing Rock on Hwy 221 and then onto the Parkway was the first climb about 7 miles away. It's an unrelenting, steep 1,005 ft climb for 4 miles up to the side of Grandfather Mountain. Grandfather Mountain (elev. 5,837) is a massive, broad mountain that looms over this stretch of the Parkway. When we hit the climb, Les and I shifted into our 39x27 and started our long, slow cranking pace up the mountain (6-7 mph; 50-60 rpms). Just as it started to hurt, Ed shifted into his triple, 29x27, and started an effortless spin up the mountain (80-90 rpms). Les and I were completely demoralized. As it turned out, we kept up with Ed on the climb, and our gear choice of 39x27 was fine for the steepness of the Parkway climbs. But carrying packs, anything smaller than a 27 would not have worked. Ed's rapid and effortless spinning, and our urge to tear that triple off his bike on every climb, would become a constant theme for the trip.

Once over the top, we came around a right hand turn (303 mp) to find a breathtaking view of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Lynn Cove Viaduct (elev. 4,315 ft) ahead. The Viaduct (304 mp) is the engineering marvel of the Parkway. Rather than blast a tunnel through Grandfather Mountain, the Viaduct was built away from the mountain like a suspension bridge that winds and traverses along its side. Cycling across the Viaduct was like flying. The vastness of the mountains opened up in front of us as we passed along side rhododendron and mountain streams.

We then started a long, screaming 11 mile descent into the Linville Gorge. At the bottom was the Linville Falls Visitor Center (316.3 mp; elev. 3,250 ft). We stopped there and changed into our bathing suits. We hiked a short trail to the top of the gorge for some breathtaking views. Then we hiked another trail down into the gorge in search of our swimming hole, the Linville Falls. It was a steep hike down, but when we reached the Falls, Les and I could not resist jumping in. The water around the Falls was deep and very cold, but it felt great after the long, hard climb over Grandfather Mountain. We swam over to the side of the Falls and climbed on the rocks to try to get under it. But the water was barreling down with such loud and tremendous force that we managed only a brief shower before getting washed away.

By the time we started the hike back up it was lunchtime. Fortunately, we had thought ahead and brought some lunch from Blowing Rock, which we ate on the trail. We had another 18 miles to go to get to Little Switzerland, which included two more climbs. We arrived at Little Switzerland (elev. 3400 ft) very hungry. We stayed at the Big Lynn Lodge (800-654-5232; $100 per night), which actually can be seen from the Parkway, but is a bit hard to get to on bikes. You have to ride up the Parkway another mile to the 334 milepost exit and then ride back on a side road another mile to the Lodge. Next time I plan to try out the Switzerland Inn (828-765-2153; $125 per night), which is right at the 334 milepost exit. The Big Lynn Lodge room price includes dinner and breakfast, and they served great food, as much as you can eat. We relaxed around the Lodge, took in the mountain views, ate a big dinner, and crashed early knowing the next day would be brutal.

Day 2 (July 23): 76 miles from Little Switzerland (334 mp) to the Pisgah Inn (408.6 mp); 7,565 ft of climbing. That morning we left the Big Lynn Lodge and immediately started to climb on a day that would bring seemingly endless climbing. We were entering the Black Mountains and approaching Mt. Mitchell to the west. First, we climbed 1,095 ft up to Crabtree Meadows (340 mp) where we stopped for water. That was followed by a short downhill. Then the real climbing began.

At milepost 345.4, we started what would be 20 miles and 3,420 ft of solid climbing up to Craggy Gardens. Even so, the only way to do this section of the Parkway is by bike. The views of the Black Mountains and Mt. Mitchell were spectacular. Since this was such a difficult and long day, we decided not to take the 5-mile uphill side trip to the top of Mt. Mitchell (355.4 mp). Dark and heavy clouds were forming and blowing around us as we continued climbing. Then suddenly the rain poured down, and the temperature dropped. We scurried to put on our rain gear to stay warm. We got soaked.

As we approached Craggy Gardens, the Parkway followed the top of a narrow ridge not much wider than the road. Misty clouds where blowing up and down on both sides of the road and our bikes. Then up ahead I could see the Craggy Pinnacle Tunnel, and I knew we had passed the first big climbing test. The Craggy Gardens Visitor Center (364.4 mp; elev. 5,497 ft) was just ahead. We stopped for a quick break and to fill up on water.

It was just past noon, and we still had a long way to go, so we started down the long, fast 18-mile descent into Ashville. The descent dried us out, and the temperature warmed quickly as we went down. We stopped for lunch at the Hwy 70 exit in Asheville (382.5 mp; elev. 2700 ft) and found a nice deli restaurant near the Parkway. We were exhausted, but we still had one more big climb up to the Pisgah Inn. The Parkway through Asheville was rolling, and we got rained on again.

We crossed the French Broad River (393.6 mp; elev. 2000 ft), and on the other side the climbing began again. This time it was a series of climbs totaling 3,060 ft over 15 miles passing through 9 tunnels. The second tunnel, Pine Mountain Tunnel (399.1 mp) is 1,434 ft long and is the longest tunnel on the Parkway. Once in it, it’s pitch black, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Les and I made Ed go first, since he had a headlight. I just followed their taillights and prayed that I didn't hit a rock.

After about 10 miles of continuous climbing, we stopped at an overlook and collapsed on the grass. We still had about another 1,000 ft of climbing left. Somehow we managed to get back on the bikes for the final assault. The sun was out for most of the climb up to Pisgah, but with about 2 miles and 800 ft of climbing left, the rain clouds moved back in. We got soaked again for the third time that day. As we rolled up over the mountain and into Pisgah at around 6 pm, we looked like wet, tired, hollow-faced ghosts. We got our room and fell onto our beds in complete exhaustion.

The Pisgah Inn (828-235-8228; www.pisgahinn.com; $120 per night; elev. 4,900) is spartan, but comfortable. There are no phones in the room, and the TV picks up only a few channels. We changed into some dry clothes and went for dinner at the Inn's restaurant. It served excellent food in a beautiful dining room with a panoramic view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Inn also had a camp store and laundry room, which we used to stock up on food for the next day's ride and dry our cycling clothes.

Day 3 (July 24): 62 miles from the Pisgah Inn (408.6 mp) to the End of the Blue Ridge Parkway (469.1) and Cherokee, NC; 6,225 ft of climbing. There are 62 rugged and isolated miles from Pisgah to Cherokee, 8 dark tunnels, and only one place to get water, so you better come prepared. After a tough 2,335 ft of climbing, we passed over the Richland Balsam Overlook, the highest point on the Parkway at 6,047 ft (431.4 mp).

But that didn't mean our climbing was over. Just ahead and after a steep descent was the longest and hardest single climb on the Parkway, the climb up to Waterrock Knob. It's a 2,450 ft steep and continuous climb over 8.1 miles. Then it's another half mile off the Parkway and up to the overlook for the only water between Pisgah and Cherokee. It seemed as though we were on that climb for half the day. I thought I would never see the top. We stopped part of the way up and ate the lunch we bought in the camp store at Pisgah. I decided to experiment by eating 2 cans of Beanie Weenies. Big mistake. It's got some good carbs, but way too much protein to eat in the middle of a long ride. With about a mile to go in the climb, we could see the top, but I bonked. I kept up, but at the top, I was spent.

The view from the Waterrock Knob Overlook (elev. 5,718 ft) was spectacular.

It was sunny and hot on the climb up. As we filled our water bottles at the top, dark clouds began to form and wisped across the parking lot. The temperature dropped. On the descent down Waterrock, the rain clouds exploded on us again. But we only had one more climb of 810 ft up to Big Witch Gap (460 mp; elev. 4,900 ft). After that was the best downhill on the Parkway, a winding, steep 9.1-mile descent to the Parkway’s southern terminus at Cherokee, NC (elev. 2,020 ft). At the top of this descent, we knew we had finally made it, and the descent was our celebration. We roared down averaging speeds in excess of 40 mph. When I rounded the last turn and saw the last 469 milepost, I sat up on the bike and calmly raised both hands into the air in a salute over what we had just accomplished.

At the end of the Parkway, we turned left onto Hwy 441 and headed the one and final mile into Cherokee. The traffic was heavy, and it was hot and smoggy when we turned into the Best Western parking lot (off Big Cove Road in the Cherokee Indian Village 828-497-2020; 0.8 miles from the Parkway) at 2:30 pm. Ed's Dad and my wife were dutifully waiting in the parking lot to take us back to civilization.