I agree with this. Logistics are tough. Ride is real fun but hard. Not much you can do about the logistics but you should prepare for the hard stuff.
If you are able to ride a good pace with a fit group for 4-5 hours, (like the Gyros A-) and then ride very hard for 2 hours you will finish in 8 hours which is middle of the pack, so your training might be to build up to riding 50 miles or so followed by some tough hill repeats for 45 min. to an hour. Cramping at the end or after the event is a big probability if you have not put in the work prior to the ride. Training to do MM is a nice way to get in shape but other than bragging rights it is just a very tough century with a ton of hassles held in the middle of nowhere. If the weather is bad don't go. bp -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of JP Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 7:32 PM To: Gyros Cycling Club Subject: [Gyros: 17111] Re: ASSAULT ON MT MITCHELL 1. I did the AoMM this year for the first time. I enjoyed it but it was hard. It's almost two separate rides. First is the mad dash to Marion, around 75 miles. If you can find a group and stick with them, not too bad. After Marion the serious climbing begins and groups splinter. The last 16 miles, according to my Garmin, had over 3,800 feet of climbing, total for the ride was a little over 10,000. The web site says 11,000. It feels like you climb forever. At the start of the ride a lot of the locals are on the roads cheering and clanging bells, which makes it really neat. 2. I did join the club in order to make sure I got a spot. If the club members did not take all the available spots they open up the remaining ones to the general public. They do go fast. Also, close to the ride date I always get a couple of emails with people wanting to sell their spots as they cannot do the ride for whatever reason. 3. It is not a race, it is a ride. And it all depends on your conditioning, etc. Most recreational bikers will find it hard. Not impossible. But hard. 4. That is a tough one. It really depends on the goals you set for the ride. I wanted to finish without crashing and preferably not be the last one up the mountain. I trained moderately but more than twice a week. I also did a lot of hill repeats because you do spend a lot of time climbing. And not 4-5 minute climbs or even 10 minute climbs. 30-40 minute climbs of 5-10 % grade. Not killer grades like on Pilot or Grandfather but you feel like you are climbing forever. I would say riding twice a week is not enough. One of the worst parts of the whole ride is the logistics. You get to the top of the mountain, they take your bike and you have to take a long bus ride back to Marion if you have a vehicle there (2 hours) or Spartanburg if you don't have a vehicle in Marion (even longer). Makes for a long day. Hope this helps. On Dec 19, 6:04 pm, Curt <[email protected]> wrote: > I have a friend in South Carolina that wants me to do the Assault on > Mt Mitchell with him in May. Some questions for my Gyros friends: > > 1. Is the ride worth it? > 2. He says that I have to join a bike club in SC to get a spot in the > race. If you have done this, is this true? > 3. How hard is this race? > 4. Will riding Thursday and Saturday rides be enough to prepare for > this race? > > Thanks for any information. Miss riding with you guys this year, but > plan to get back into the rides next year. > > Curt Miller -- You received this message because you subscribed to the Gyro email group. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send an email to [email protected] -- You received this message because you subscribed to the Gyro email group. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send an email to [email protected]
