Cycling

[Derek8404]

@Derek8404 -
Good to see you wearing the helmet. My bike looked like yours, in gray, until I somersaulted off it and landed on the back of my noggin. One Life-Flight chopper ride ($20k) and two brain surgeries, plus a free-to-me Staph-A infection ($250k+) later, my sense of smell is history, along with my short term memory.
I donated my bike to the Rescue Squad that saved my bacon, after I had it repaired.
No big deal, we were just going to look around our new condo’s golf course after visiting my parents. I don’t need no stinkin helmet, says the knucklehead who got to show my craniotomy scars to the kids in my neighborhood, and pass out some helmets to convince the kids they were useful.
Blink of an eye🤦🏻‍♂️

Damn, that’s doesn’t sound like any fun at all. I haven’t rode since I moved from VA, just nowhere good to ride here. I took a good spill myself one day on VA and banged my helmet up pretty good but I can imagine it would have been a lot worse if I wasn’t wearing it.

 

[NiceOldDouble]

I did this ride six times - after getting angioplasty for a blocked coronary artery! Did you ever get under six hours?

Me? Hahahahaha! I did it twice. First time was only allowed to go to Marion, which I did in 3:49. Second time, rain and a 50 degree cold front came in at the start, and I wasn’t dressed for it. Have up in Marion after 4:55 that time.

 

[Red Marley]

Me? Hahahahaha! I did it twice. First time was only allowed to go to Marion, which I did in 3:49. Second time, rain and a 50 degree cold front came in at the start, and I wasn’t dressed for it. Have up in Marion after 4:55 that time.

3:49 is a good time to Marion. You gotta make your time before you get to the mountain coz ain’t nobody going fast up the mountain. I got under 6 hours in 2000, the last time I did it, because I was fortunate to fall in with good groups on the way to Marion and we hauled arse. Without the groups, no way! The last 30 miles is all uphill except for a short stretch. I remember spotting a pal of mine as we were both grunting up the final road to the top; we both bore down, each determined to beat the other, but there was no increase in speed, only in the volume of the grunting 😄. An observer would never have guessed we were racing.

 

[SPST]

I did the Bridge to Bridge in 6:16:00. I've never done Mt Mitchell but BtoB lived up to it's motto, "102 miles of pure hill".

 

[Red Marley]

I did the Bridge to Bridge in 6:16:00. I've never done Mt Mitchell but BtoB lived up to it's motto, "102 miles of pure hill".

I’m happy to say I don’t remember my times for B2B, but im pretty sure they were not that good. That last mile or so up Grandfather Mt kicked my arse! I had a triple chainring, in the smallest ring, standing on the pedals and could barely keep turning the crank. A lot of guys were on foot at that point, and I was tempted. It might have been faster! In spite of this, I think I enjoyed B2B more than AoMM.

 

[Chuckman]

I miss biking, road and mountain. But, it's expensive and takes commitment. Plus I have been more hurt from bike-related incidents than any other form of exercise.

I did the AoMM once, 20ish years ago, and did not enjoy it lol. It was one, multi-hour quad strain and suckfest.

 

[Red Marley]

I miss biking, road and mountain. But, it's expensive and takes commitment.

The commitment is the thing that keeps me off the bike now — not the commitment to keep the legs and lungs in shape, but to keep my butt in condition to tolerate long rides! When I was in shape, I rode about 150 miles a week, no problem, but if you don’t keep it up, your butt will be the first to let you know 😬. Also, there’s a lot more traffic now, even out in the county.

 

[Chuckman]

The commitment is the thing that keeps me off the bike now — not the commitment to keep the legs and lungs in shape, but to keep my butt in condition to tolerate long rides! When I was in shape, I rode about 150 miles a week, no problem, but if you don’t keep it up, your butt will be the first to let you know 😬. Also, there’s a lot more traffic now, even out in the county.

Yeah, the long rides to get a bang from the buck. It really takes hours. I get a better exercise bang for the buck from what I do now. I definitely agree re: traffic. That's why I preferred mountain biking, but I got hurt so much more mountain biking.

 

[Red Marley]

Yeah, the long rides to get a bang from the buck. It really takes hours. I get a better exercise bang for the buck from what I do now. I definitely agree re: traffic. That's why I preferred mountain biking, but I got hurt so much more mountain biking.

I switched to mountain bikes too. Believe it or not, that’s when I started wearing a helmet for reals, coz I would crash six or seven times per ride 😃

 

[Chuckman]

I switched to mountain bikes too. Believe it or not, that’s when I started wearing a helmet for reals, coz I would crash six or seven times per ride 😃

Heard. Me, too. A concussion (busted the hell out of the helmet), and a couple left shoulder separations.

I occasionally went without on bike rides until I responded as a medic to a biker who was hit in Chapel Hill; he did not have a helmet and sustained a major and debilitating head injury. He was a physician at UNC and in a matter of a second would no longer feed himself. I was a believer after that.

 

[Red Marley]

Yep. I was a dumbass when I was younger (from the back I hear “was?”). My only defense, and it is weak, is that I don’t believe I was the only one.