Up the Down Road

This is a pic of me at the bottom of the entrance to the Blue Ridge Assembly. The BRA is on the side of a mountain. Thus, the entrance is Up Road, and the exit is Down Road.



If you are on a bike or walking, they ask you to use the Down Road, either up or down. It is way less curvy than Up Road. But on a bike, that means the descent is screaming fast, and at the end there's a speed bump! (Reminds me of an old Bill Cosby routine.)



The road is so steep that you feel compelled to put the car in low gear to avoid burning up the brakes. Imagine that on a bike! FUN!



So this day I rode down with Ben and Bryce, did about 15 miles, during which I drafted behind Bryce, who was on a mountian bike! (He does adventure races, and actually had a tow rope attached to his bike! I knew he could smoke me, up, down, or on the flats, even if he was on a tricycle.)



I let them go up the hill without me so I could go to the drugstore in town. When I got back, I snapped this pic, and then commenced to climbing. One mile up. Slowest noted speed: 2.5 mph. I could have walked faster, but I didn't. I pedaled every inch!