We Interupt This Torturefest Program...

for a little Blue Ridge Parkway update.

Last year, I rode the Blue Ridge Parkway three times. At best, my rides were tolerable. At worst, I was a miserable, grumpy...

Even at the better end of the spectrum, I was huffing and puffing it up the climbs and anxious during the downhills.

Saturday, TRIgirls KO, SK and I headed up to the BRP. We each had our own reasons for wanting to deal with the BRP on our own terms, before the more formal group training workouts planned over the next few weeks.


The day was picture perfect. The sun was strong, though the air was cool. The plan was to start at milepost 14, head down to 0, then back up. Take a break at the car. Up to 25 and back down.

I did not remember the first stretch very accurately in terms of what happened where, but we hit a good downhill pretty early on. By singing in my head and focusing on relaxing, I did much better than any time on the BRP last year. As we neared the bottom, two familiar faces called out to us - and we realized it was the Sponsored Athlete and his Should be Sponsored Wife. They did a u-turn to meet us, take pictures and chat - before we would all start the uphill stretch to MP 14.

The climbing was hard - but not nearly as awful as last year. And I'll give a big shout-out to Patriot Sangria's new compact crank for allowing me to finally understand what it means to "spin" up a hill. It wasn't fast - but I hardly ever felt like my lungs were going to explode.

We regrouped at MP 14 - saying goodbye to the Should be Sponsored Wife. We had 11 more miles of mostly climbing before our next turn around. TRIgirl SK (who is injured and still kicks-a**) and the Sponsored Athlete took off together and dominated those hills. TRIgirl KO and I followed at a slower, but consistent and comfortable pace. While there were times I wished the hills were over, I still wasn't experiencing the "I am going to die" feeling. And because of that, I really was able to enjoy the breathtaking BRP views so much more than any ride I've ever done up there. Finally, I could understand why people actually WANT to ride the Blue Ridge!

The Sponsored Athlete and TRIgirl SK were practically napping when we arrived at MP 25. Now it was just 11 miles, mostly downhill, before our first BRP ride of the season would be completed. TRIgirl KO and I finished the stretch together, braving some switch-back downhills that were pretty tough.

At the car, we discussed where to start the circle of happiness (food and drink) and decided we were all hungry enough for lunch. We stopped at the Ambrosia Bakery and Deli (which is a smorgasbord of Mediterranean delights) for great wraps, grape leaves and a few amazing looking sweet treats.

And from what I can tell, I think we all headed home feeling pretty good about a needed confidence building training ride.