Hallelujah, a nice day
Yesterday, we took a planned day off in Boone and Blowing Rock. Which was a good thing because it rained most of the day. Sightseeing, shopping, and eating some good meals was a nice change after four days of hard climbing.
Today, the weather was beautiful. Mid 40's and cloudy at the start, later reaching the low 70's with sunny skies.
Mark, Joe, and Jeff are optimistic about a long day ahead.
Today, the plan was to ride 84 miles on the BRP, plus a ten mile out and back 1400 foot climb of Mount Mitchell. We had a great day, finishing with 94 miles cycled and over 10,000 feet of climb. The parkway at elevation was beautiful. We spent a good part of the day at over 5000 feet of elevation.
Great views of the Blue Ridge early in the day
The Linn Cove Viaduct
Mount Mitchell. (Summit towards the right.)
This is the view of Mount Mitchell from the parkway about 5 miles before the side road leading to the summit. The 4.8 mile climb on the side road starts with 3 miles at 8% incline, then an easy mile at 0 to 5%, followed by a final mile at 8 to 9%.
On top, near the observatory tower
Jeff and Mark on the last climb of the day
At Craggy Gardens, before the final descent
Thanks to Karen and Aila for supporting us and driving the cars.
Here are the Garmin stats for the day: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/176878177
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