Bill Harris

The Blue Ridge Parkway is known for spetacular views.

Because it is very close to my house, I frequently ride the parkway. I ride with a race-style dual cluster, and generally I ride about 30 – 36 miles, or around two, fairly strenuous hours. In most of my training my goal is to test my power system, not to undergo a fitness test. Sometime I enjoy, trashing myself with endurance –style rides, but this is not the norm.

Here is one of my favorite starting points for parkway rides with Google map coordinates

James River North and South

There are two great rides here. First, travel south to the top of Apple Orchard Mountain and you will climb from the lowest elevation of the parkway (700’) to the highest part of the parkway (3,700’). Especially steep is the 7 miles from mile marker 65 to 74. This ride is definitely a physical trial. As with most rides on the parkway, the scenery is spectacular and changes dramatically from season.

It is about 15 miles and 3000’ to the top and it takes me about 1 ¾ hour. If you want more miles, ride to the Peaks of Otter . The return climb to the top of Apple Orchard is only 1000’. That said, on your return ride dropping 3000’, at speeds of more than 45mph is quite interesting.

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When you climb the parkway, you will be rewarded with endless views of the road falling away below you.

In the winter the parkway is often closed to vehicles; yet still open to bikers.

North:

If you ride north from James River, the rides are much less steep. For a 38 mile ride I suggest you ride to where route 60 crosses, coming up the hills from Buena Vista. There is one pretty steep hill, with about 2 miles of climbing, after you leave the Bluff Mountain tunnel.

A view of Douthat Lake from Middle Mountain Trail (a pretty good climb on a Mountain Bike).

There is a frequently told story, or urban legend, about a man who dies upon being locked in a walk-in freezer, despite the fact it was unpowered and the interior was room temperature. The point is followed up with the idea that the mind ‘creates the universe’.  Unfortunately this is a myth or urban legend; however, there are a number of well-known mind-body connections that pay a role in athletics and exercise.

It is generally believed that when you are moving (or biking) uphill, the autonomic nervous system (ANS) of your brain says ‘slow-down’ or sends a message of fatigue. This is an energy-saving survival mechanism. As Dr. Hauss describes in his book, The Buddha’s Brain, the PNS is perpetually scanning for danger and we need to conserve our energy so we can run away from sabre tooth tigers on the savanna.

So when you are biking up a long, intimidating hill the message of fatigue is sent to your brain and your body experiences a false or induced sense of fatigue. This can be especially true in mountain biking on narrow single track. Around my neck of the woods, in areas such as Douthat or North Mountain, there are short sections of very steep trail that you must power into.  The net result is that a 200 watt effort will feel or seem like a 300 watt effort.

In my experience this dissipates with time. There are many hills, previously perceived impossible, that I can pedal, bottom to top, without stopping to push. Plus, you can gauge your visual-visceral response to the terrain by examining your perceived efforts. Again this is something that is improved with meditation. Unfortunately, meditation will not add very much conditioning something. You will still need to power up those hills.