We departed the Inn at MM195 for an “easy” ride to Blowing Rock at ~MM292. The BRP web site listed two detours for construction/repairs to the BRP near Blowing Rock. The detours appeared to add about four miles to the day or ~96 miles. It looked to have one long climb and a few short ones with some rolling hills. We would cross from Virginia into North Carolina today. Doughton Park offered a nice stop at about the 3-hour mark for fluids. We reached the first detour at MM269. There were dark skies ahead and the detour took us away from that, which was nice. We stopped a truck and asked about how far out of the way the detour was. We were going south and the northbound detour was routed a longer way, so we knew it would take us a short while to get back on the BRP. There was a near miss with a dog just on the detour. After a few miles and one medium climb, we were back on the BRP. We went a few more miles and were detoured again. The BRP web site had the second detour only being a short one. Gibbs was noticing some shifting issues and he could not stay in the easiest gear. This was concerning considering we could not repair a broken cable. After winding through remote neighborhoods and waiting to arrive in Blowing Rock, we saw the sign for Boone City Limit. Doh! This was a tough blow as we had already gone 94 miles and only expected about two more. However, Karma was good to us in that Gibbs could now just ride to Boone Bikes, and after an earlier call they said to bring the bike by. Gibbs rode to the shop and Chris and I headed for the eight-mile ride to Blowing Rock. Sure enough Gibbs’ rear shifter cable was hanging on by a thread. A shout out to Boone Bikes for getting him rolling so quickly. Chris and I arrived at the Chetola Inn happily just before it started raining. Gibbs got there about 30 minutes later wet, but shifting nicely. It was time to clean up and get some grub! We ate at a great restaurant in Blowing Rock called the Bistro Roca.
Gibbs happy to be in NC!
Chris looks not sure why he is on this ridiculous ride...
Scott is happy and his feet are hot in these covers with no rain!
Day Three Stats:
Distance: 102.91 miles (297.77 total)
Ride Time: 7:26 (21:16 total)
Elevation Gain: 8,747′ (27,068′ total)
Garmin Data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/10256931
Projected Profile:
Actual Profile:
