Assault on Mt Mitchell: The Simplest Things in Life

May 20th, 2005. Spartanburg, SC to Mount Mitchell State Park

Advertised as 115 miles and 13000 feet of climbing.....I actually recorded 110 miles and 11322 feet of climbing on my cyclocomputer after finishing the event.  What I do know for sure is that was my hardest bike ride ever.  The near-1000 cyclist, started in the rain in Spartanburg, SC at 6:30 AM.  The first two hours were in the rain (fortunately, I do like the elements).  We did the first 45 miles in two hours.  The rest of the ride was just wet and lots of climbing and much slower pace (for me). 

It was so wet, that the rain from my helmet and glasses flowed to accumulate in a hanging position from the tip of my nose.  As I inhaled, much of it apparently went up into my nostril chamber.  I can't even begin to count how many snot rockets I "attempted" to launch, many of which ended up on my right shoulder because I am a novice to the correct snot rocket launching procedure.  My eye-protection fogged up and I had to look over the top of them to see.....while riding in a very large group....with continue call-outs of "slowing!".  Most of the group pace was a slinky accordion pace, much of which was a result of suddenly slowing or merging cyclist, and maybe the lead sheriff escort vehicle who was strictly instructed to go no faster than 25 mph because of the potential stopping for school busses (it was a Friday morning). Fortunately we did not encounter a single school bus that I am aware of. 

I finished with my actual ride time reading 7:02 (hours:minutes) and overall event recorded time of 7:47.  I had 3 or 4 quick stops to “feed the beast” (me) at the well-stocked rest areas along the way.  The top recorded event time was 6:11 and the slowest was 12:42 (that is dedication).  There were still other cyclist who were not allowed to continue past the final checkpoint because of the possibility of not finishing before nightfall.  663 of the 1000 Mt Mitchell starters actually finished. 

I had slowed my pace during the final 40 miles once I realized that I was having issues with my soreness in the sides of my knees.  I had started the event with concerns of recent strain in my right knee, however I ended up having mini-occurrences of "knee-lock" in my left knee on the long 22 mile climb up the parkway.  My right knee felt fine after the first hour or so.  The day after the event my left knee area is still sore in the iliotibibal region, which I remember from my injury last spring.....but the pain is in a slightly different spot lower along side the knee.  My legs are so tight this morning.  So I need to stretch and again considering yoga classes to get me ready for the fall and next spring where I’ll be sure to try a few sanctioned racing events.  I can say for sure that the local microbrew tasted mighty good last night (with friends) and the freshly brewed coffee tastes even better this morning. 

I've been doing these event rides this year trying to stay in contact with the lead group and get sucked along for as far as possible......uh, until I have to pee of course.....which has been the case in all of my events this year.  Once relieved, then it is usually an unsuccessful mad chase to catch the lead group, resulting in a solo effort as long as 70 miles (Tour de Cashiers in April).  I need to learn to pee out of my shorts from the seated position on my bike while still in motion.  If you found humor in my snot-rocket experience, then just wait until my next event chronicle if I decide to try this! 

The cyclist in the Mitchell event were more strung out and I was able to hook up with one or two riders here and there along the route and work with them.  I spent much of the climb up the Blue Ridge Parkway talking to Eric from Alpharetta, GA.  Talking helped me not to focus on the pain in my legs.....and keep negative thoughts of potentially not finishing out of my mind.  Another thing that was absolutely fantastic was the roadside spectators ringing their cowbells and cheering you on as we started up the parkway.  I could only wave to them to give them a hint of my much deeper true appreciation of their verbal encouragement. 

In all of its meteorological glory, my first Assault on Mount Mitchell was a fantastic experience for me, and one of which I am very happy that I endured considering that the day (or night) began with waking up to 3 AM to thunder storms and strong winds reeking havoc on my window blinds.  Luckily I went to sleep at 7 PM the night (or day) before to get the rest I needed. I had to meet my friend Kevin at his home at 4 AM to drive down to Spartanburg, SC for the 6:30 AM start. 

Without the fantastic support of the event organizers this would have been truly an EPIC day, but I'm going to categorize it as a near-epic experience.  Finishing at 6600 feet above sea level in the fog and clouds, crossing the finish line with a real time clock clicking away the seconds, and having my bike ushered out of my hands by the Mitchell support crew and into the bike storage truck, and THEN downing 3 cups of the best tasting HOT tomato soup at the end.  I felt like I had just completed something really special that I will be able to reflect on forever and even share stories with the younger generations (who are willing to listen) when in my older ages.  White bread and tomato soup never tasted so good.  The appreciation of the simplest things in life are always hugely amplified after the accomplishment of a self-exhausting physical effort in an event like the Assault on Mt Mitchell, thus taking the simple things in life less for granted.  I am so grateful and so blessed to have the ability to partake in an event like this.  I can’t wait until the next one! 

-Frank