Today was the first day of our annual Blue Ridge Cycling Camp. A pilgrimage to the warmer climates, this four-day camp is a chance to boost some critical bike fitness and prepare for a breakthrough season.

This year we have 20 campers, and we are based out of Boone, N.C. We chose Boone for the availability of on- and off-Parkway riding. Today was an off-parkway day and we were not disappointed!

Re-Defining Epic

This route is a modified version of the Blood, Sweat and Gears ride. Today we got two out of three…replacing the Blood with GRAVEL of all things.

After rolling out on the beautiful bike path together, we quickly got to work riding several hills that didn’t even qualify for representation on our map’s elevation profile…but man, they were hard!

Things started to get serious with a three mile 5 to 7% grade climb…but that was nothing like Snake Mountain.

Say hello to 15%+ grades that made your entire body hurt. 100% bonafide and crazy difficult. Literally a wall of a road.

For extra fun, there were quite a few loose dogs “cheering” us up the hill.  🙂

Parting Ways: 92 vs 62

Given the size of our group, we had two separate routes planned. The longer ride was just over 90 miles with two more quality climbs planned. The shorter ride was shorter on paper, but at the cost of a significant climb. This was made only more “not awesome” but extending the 15%+ climbs to over a mile, then topping it off with an uphill gravel section. Totally crazy!!!!

We even had a rogue group of four break off and put in 110 miles of epic riding…all of which will come together on Day Two for our trip to Mt. Mitchell!  Stay tuned for more…

Learn More and Reserve Your Spot for 2015: www.endurancenation.us/blueridge

Other Pictures

Anne, 1-Person-Support Crew ALL STAR!

Road. River. Clouds.

George Jordan conquers massive hill #1 of 2.

The Strava File

>> Click here to learn more about the Blue Ridge Camp and how you can reserve your spot!

>> Read the Day Two Camp Report here.