Quick Way to End a Ride

In my efforts to continue towards completion of the Rapha Rising Challenge, Sidney Portier and I headed to Traphill to do the HP&A Route. With storms threatening, we decided on doing the 32 mile option which still includes about 3500 feet of climbing.

We made relatively quick work on the climb up Oklahoma Road, and were up running parallel to the Parkway.



There were threats of storm throughout the ride, but we stayed dry aside from a little bit of spray coming up from the road. After riding along the Blue Ridge Parkway for a bit, we started the plunge back into Traphill. We parted ways at the bottom of Oklahoma so I could go get more climbing in. A new addition to this year's route includes a descent down into Stone Mountain State Park as an out and back. I've driven this a number of times to either go hiking, camping, or fly fishing but had never ridden it. It's a pretty stout stair-stepping climb out with flat sections punctuated with short bursts of 14-16 percent grades. I made my way back up and out and climbed Frank Parkway a second time and headed back into the park for a second go. At about the furthest point out, I heard a loud snap and was quickly halted. A spoke in the rear Ksyrium was snapped where it meets the nipple. With such high tension on these spokes, when one breaks, the wheel is exceedingly out of true.


I loosened the brakes in the hopes that this would resolve the issue, but to no avail, the tire was rubbing the frame to the point of stopping each revolution. I let all the air out, and still no rolling. So...I sucked it up and shouldered the bike for a long walk out. With no cell reception, I knew I had no other option. After three miles of climbing with my bike on the shoulder, and 40-50 cars passing me with nary an offer of help, I declared Southern Hospitality as dead. I finally made it to the visitor's center to try to hitch a ride with a ranger, but not before the skies opened up on me. Thankfully, one of the rangers volunteered to drop me off at the X.

At the end of it all, I ended up with around 40 miles with about 5200' of climbing. A grape fanta was in order at the campground:


Garden Creek Baptist Church, in the valley between the Blue Ridge and Stone Mountain: