Based on past mountain results, I estimated an average of 10 mph for the whole ride, including stops. The full mileage is 105.5 miles for Skyline Drive and 470 miles for the Blue Ridge Parkway. It wasn't until a few days into the ride did we discover the parkway was closed for twenty-three miles. I didn't do the first mile of Skyline Drive. Perhaps we returned to the wrong overlook and cut off another six miles. I thought it might have just been three. In any case, Garmin has me at 545 and that's what we'll use.
I subscribe to both Strava and Training Peaks and will refer to both. There are thirteen entries on the table because of the one day I had to split my riding. I didn't include a short ride on the eleventh day because it was only three additional miles. That was the day we mis-communicated and I got tired of waiting and put in some more saddle time.
Miles | Spd Avg. | Spd Max | Total Time | Moving Time | Ascent | HR Avg. | HR Max | Pw |
34.4 | 8.6 | 39.7 | 4:00 | 3:36 | 4,793 | 127 | 142 | 134 |
54.9 | 12.1 | 38.6 | 4:31 | 4:12 | 4,341 | 115 | 135 | 124 |
50.1 | 10.2 | 37.0 | 4:54 | 4:29 | 4,573 | 110 | 125 | 118 |
43.3 | 10.9 | 38.8 | 3:59 | 3:41 | 4.193 | 110 | 135 | 126 |
27 | 12.5 | 37.9 | 2:09 | 1:56 | 1,781 | 99 | 123 | 121 |
23.5 | 13.2 | 36.9 | 1:53 | 1:47 | 1.942 | 109 | 129 | 129 |
43.5 | 10.8 | 34.9 | 4:01 | 3:46 | 3,973 | 107 | 132 | 120 |
45.5 | 12.6 | 37.3 | 3:36 | 3:30 | 3.720 | 110 | 128 | 121 |
43.7 | 10.3 | 42.7 | 4:14 | 3:54 | 4,967 | 109 | 131 | 128 |
43 | 10.7 | 40.7 | 4:00 | 3:45 | 4,291 | 110 | 131 | 121 |
43.2 | 10.4 | 38.6 | 4:09 | 3:54 | 4,787 | 106 | 125 | 123 |
44.2 | 8.8 | 36.5 | 5:00 | 4:16 | 5,712 | 107 | 128 | 124 |
44.9 | 10.4 | 38.3 | 4:19 | 3:44 | 4,475 | 105 | 128 | 122 |
It is easy to see by the speeds that these roads are mostly climbs and descents. I was looking at 4-5 mph going up (when I expected to be 7-8 mph). That is also reflected in the average HR, in that it didn't take much effort going downhill. After the first day, I was mostly in the 115-120 range climbing. I'm still perplexed that I wasn't getting a bit more power. The Pw numbers are the Weighted Average from Strava. Minimum and Maximum didn't seem to indicate what I was doing most of the time. But it is quite clear that I used significantly more power, with a higher heart rate, on the first day, and my legs loudly attest to that. In retrospect, one additional gear, higher cadence, less power and lower heart rate might have allowed me to go the extra seventeen miles. In any case, it's a lesson learned. Training Peaks gave me two gold medals for Heart Rate on the first day and no medals for anything following. I couldn't fit the TSS numbers in the chart above, but they range from 232 to 97 and track with the Pw numbers.
What the chart doesn't show is the manipulation of the mileage. You cannot replicate this if you are just riding between lodgings. On some days I'd ride to a specific mile post, put the bike in the car and drive to the hotel and then drive back to the mile post the next day. But by doing this I managed my effort and wasn't so beat up each day. Day one excepted.
Perhaps one day I'll do a spreadsheet on how I placed in the Strava Segments. I know I was 1st on one climb and 2nd on the downhill into Asheville. Most of what I looked at had me in the top 5 of my age category. But those of us doing the whole parkway versus locals who ride it multiple times is not a fair comparison. Footnote: I just went through Strava and charted some of the longer segments, 57 to be precise. I was first in 15% of those segments, doing my best on the downhills. Although I was quite pleased with a ten-mile mostly climb in the 3-4% range.
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