Greetings from the padded-seat comfort of my cushiony couch … a great spot to be after the 208 mile Black and Blue Relay Race! Team Little Guy fielded two teams comprised of eight bikers in the biking odyssey from Grayson Highlands, VA to Asheville, NC on Saturday, July 19th.

The video consists of a few snippets from the day of the race. Everyone had a great time and rode hard in the summer sun.

Here’s a chronological recap of our weekend experience …

Friday: We hop in our vehicle and drive up to Asheville to pick up Tom “Major” Heyden. We then depart for Grayson Highlands State Park to camp out for the night. By the time five of the eight bikers and their gear is loaded up in the front, back and top of the vehicle, we look like the modern day Beverly Hillbillies. Along the way, we stop for dinner at a small eatery in Virginia. John Radebaugh, Ed Agnoli and yours truly order what may be the largest calzones we’ve ever seen … roughly the size of Air Force One.  

Bellies full, we roll into the park at about 7:30. Inside the park on the way to our campsite, we see a black bear on the side of the road! Is this an omen, and if so, will we get the bear, or … ???   

Saturday: After a late night, 4:30 am comes early! But with a 6:00 am race start and a campsite to break down, you gotta do what you gotta do. It was a beautiful night – a full moon, and 55 degrees to start the day. No one was eaten by the bear.

The other three riders, Robin Kolvek, Randy Coleman and Tim Gardner, join up with us at the starting line. The Major joins them to form the CUNA Mutual Group team in the race.

At 6:00 am, Ed and Robin ride off. The first stage is a steep downhill for about 25 miles – with so much speed and a crisp start to the day, they are quite chilled riding out of the park.

The ride progresses smoothly through the morning, and by noon, we have passed Grandfather Mountain and everyone has had a turn in the saddle. Things are going smoothly, except for a muffed transition on my part  as John rode in to the second exchange point earlier than we thought (we knew Radebaugh could ride fast, but WOW! Maybe there’s something to those juicing rumors …). I had to slam my shoes on, throw on my helmet and hit the trail!

As the day wears on, things get more difficult. The cool air begins to heat under the bright summer sun … and by the time Ed and Robin are riding out again for their last stages around 1:00 pm, the air temps are in the mid 80s — and it’s a lot hotter than that on the pavement.

As the afternoon wears on, some other teams and riders start dropping out, wilted by the sun and the big climbs along the way. Incredibly, some of the dropouts were riding the course on their own! Though it is surely  disappointing to them personally, there’s no shame in riding a mountain century (and then some) in the heat.

But we keep plugging … and sweating … and riding.

The CUNA Mutual Group team runs into some bad luck in the afternoon, with two flats and a missed turn slowing them down. Then at the end, Tom’s hamstring starts barking at him on a ferocious uphill climb – incredibly, he guts it out! They finish the race about five minutes ahead of our team. Rob Semar arrives in Asheville with the wristband for our team at 7:40 pm, our trip over! This equates to a more than 15 mph clip over the race course!

More important than numbers, TLG had a great time and everyone put in a great performance. Congratulations to everyone who competed – especially the individual riders who completed the entire 208 mile course!

So much for that bear!

Up next is the Blue Ridge Relay Race. No time to rest – the race is a mere seven weeks away.

Run Little Guy Run!