Here I go again. In a few more days, I will be embarking on my last big mountain adventure of 2011 — the Bridge to Bridge ride out of Lenoir, NC. They call this the “grand finale in the annual trilogy of century cycling events in Western North Carolina.” I’m not sure what the other two are. Mount Mitchell has to be one and maybe Cashiers, maybe Hot Doggett, or maybe Blood, Sweat and Gears. Someone this past weekend told me that Bridge to Bridge is considered one of the ten toughest century rides in the US. That sounds high, but it is possible.

When looking at the elevation chart, it looks similar to the Assault on Mount Mitchell. It should start relatively flat with maybe a few rollers early, then the real climbing will begin around Mile 50. I believe that is when we head up Schull’s Mill Road and up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. From there it will be typical parkway riding with moderately steep climbs and fast descents, until a super steep climb to reach the top of Grandfather Mountain. The last push of 100 yards will be in the 20% range. I have seen the climb and know that it’ll hurt.

The weather will be interesting. It looks like in lower elevation the lows will be in the 50s and highs in the low 70s. In higher elevation, the highs could be in the upper 50s. The top of Grandfather Mountain could be in the 40s, similar to Mitchell a few months ago. This may be ideal for me since I perform poorly in heat. I’ll bring arm warmers in case it gets too cool, but these conditions could be ideal. Heat does not agree with me, so no complaints here.

One drawback is that I caught a little virus this week. It had me out of work one day and not 100% on the bike. Right now I am feeling a little better, although still slightly congested and it has made its way to my chest. With three days remaining, I am hoping the crud works its way out of my system. As long as it is not in my lungs, I should be alright.

I’m still up in the air on how to approach the ride. For my Mitchell ride, I went out at a moderate pace and didn’t start pushing myself until the climbs. It was a difficult ride, yet I felt afterward that I still had something left in the tank. Of course if I spend that fuel early, I could end up tired on the climbs. The last thing I want is to wear myself and make it tougher at the end, especially since I am nursing a head and possibly chest cold.

I probably will take a similar approach. Now I have improved tremendously since Mitchell and should be stronger, but I’m not going to get overconfident and jump out with the lead pack. I’ll ride at a moderate and comfortable pace and not worry about time. It would be nice to finish faster than my Mitchell time, but it is not something I am going to push to achieve. I will do what my body tells me and enjoy the ride.