Chris Stanton was very excited to know about the Mt. Mitchell ride. What was he talking about? Yes, I had scanned the recent June Newsletter, but I had not read every piece. Fine, I would look for my name in the Mt. Mitchell Report. Alas! There it is! Now wait a moment! I did remember reading about this ride in previous newsletters. The idea of a century in South Carolina sounded exciting at the time. I could imagine the first 70 miles of "rolling" hills, ones that would look like Camel Hill to me. At the end, there would be a 30 mile long climb, one that probably would remind me of the "d'hors classement" hill that I tried to ride in France when I lived there 10 years ago. Yes, I did imagine trying this ride this year, but I did not have to wait long for a reality check! Since my son was born 2.5 years ago, when have I had time to ride? In addition, I spent a year in Evanston, Illinois, on sabbatical, where I learned that I nice ride was one where you did not hit a pot hole. Furthermore, a cold winter day for riding in Gainesville is a beautiful warm summer day in Chicago riding circles. I spent some time on a trainer while in Chicago, but I found it a bit boring. Now I did once, several years ago, ride up Clingmans Dome in Tennessee, starting from the Sugarlands Visitor Center US 441. Two years later, I "attacked" Mt. Evans in Colorado one morning on a rented Basso, starting from my hotel in Idaho Springs. I did get to the summit lake, a couple of thousand feet short of the true peak, where I was out of water, out of food, and freezing cold. I did get to meet some of the goats that almost caused Tony Rominger to loose it over the side a few years ago. Hey! Maybe I could do Mt. Mitchell? After all, I was able to complete (albeit in 12 hours) the Cross Florida Ride in 1994, only a few months after the birth of my son and while doing 90% of my preparations on my trainer. So, yes, this year, perhaps I did do it, but "Only in My Dreams!" Maybe I will wake to do it next year?
Mark Patlovich, Skip Choate, Ralph Schlief, and Bruce Stechmiller from the GCC rode Mt Mitchell this year.