Day 1 - Northern Terminus of the BRP to Otter Peaks

It is 9:11 PM on Day 2, and I am only now able to write about Day 1. They keep us busy, and we are exhausted! But happy. This is a fabulous vacation. The tour guide is wonderful. The accommodations are very nice. The Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) is beautiful.



First thing in the morning. Here's Janie, Jettie, our new friend, Thurman from Georgie (a 7-time BRP enthusiast) and me! The weather was warm already. Janie ditched her arm warmers and I shed my vest before we started.



The official start!


Here's most of the team. Trevor from Devon, England on his Bike Friday. Don't let looks deceive you - he's a total machine on the road. Pat, the orthopedic surgeon from North Carolina. Very nice soft-spoken gentleman. He began cycling only 3 years ago. He used to be a runner. He's quite fast on the bike. Janie, Jettie, me, Paul Wood, our hottie tour guide and owner of Black Bear Adventures. We all have a crush on him. Even Jett. And there on the end is the Thurmanator.












Paul taking photos of us as we go by.



Lunch! This was mile 49. We started the day with a 12-mile climb (Category 3) and then another Category 3 climb at mile 20.






Paul and Rod (our other super cute boy crew member) keep track of us (and our time) each day. As you can see, the boys are much faster than the girls.



Jett, me, Paul, and Janie on the James River. Famous Civil War location!











Here's my bike set-up. I borrowed my friend's Go-Pro onboard camera. It takes still shots, video, and bursts of multiple shots. I will have to wait until I am home with a real computer to see how this works out!



And here's our sad tale for Day 1. Total mileage: 86; total feet of climb: 8500. The lovely steep red stuff at mile 64 is a Category 1 climb. 3950' over 12 unrelenting miles. Janie (who had undertrained and was suffering) and Jettie (who was just plain suffering) took a bump after 4 miles of this bruiser. I gulped and headed off to climb the last 7 miles by myself. The boys were all ahead of me. It took all the courage I had to not flag the van down and jump on. By the time I reached the top, I was crawling at 5 mph. Paul and Thurman were waiting for me. Then we had the amazing fun of a ten-mile downhill. I was so happy I could have cried. I attempted to videotape the downhill. Hope it worked!




This weather station marked the top of the climb. Happy sight!


This was the view outside our room at the Peaks of Otter lodge. So lovely.


And then I found Trevor in the lodge with his nightly beer.

We all loved the day, even though we were spent and exhausted. This is a great tour.