Heartbreak

Excellent day in the saddle, 29 miles, 7800ft of climbing (sounds high). Curtis and I met up at the now defunct shop and headed towards the mountains. We had been planning/wanting to do this ride now for a while. This would be two firsts for Curtis, first ride of Heartbreak and first ride on the new bike.

The whole ride out to Old Fort was rainy, cold, and foggy. I think both of us were kind of dreading starting in the rain, especially since it was probably in the mid thirties. Once we got to Curtis Creek, we got changed, and after shivering frantically started up Curtis Creek Road. Once we gained about 1000 feet of elevation we were above the fog and were greeted with some spectacular views.

After the nine mile sufferfest that is Curtis Creek we were greeted with an unexpected misery. Wind. Crazy wind. The Blue Ridge Parkway was apparently closed off to cars. The winds up there were unbeleiveable. There were a handful of times where we had to get off the bike to keep ourselves upright. I was actually pushed off the road at one point by a crosswind. Normally the ride on the parkway between CC and Heartbreak is a quick and (relatively) painless five miles. That five miles, though, probably took us nearly 45 minutes. We stopped off at a couple of the overlooks for the obligatory pose off and snack break.



After the hike-a-bike up to the top of Heartbreak Ridge, it was time for the pay off for all of the climbing. DESCENT. Down Heartbreak all the way to Star Gap, down Star Gap to Jarrets Creek Road. This ride has the ability to lull you into thinking that all the work is done once at the top of Heartbreak. There is still quite a bit of climbing to be had on JCR after star gap. This is one of those rides though that has you jonesing for more instantly afterwards.
Post ride poses