Some adventures just need to happen so when Pete Ripmaster sent out an invite for a sunset bike ride on a closed section of the Blue Ridge Parkway during a full moon I couldn’t turn down the adventure. Thanks to Collin we would be staying the night at Pilot Cove Retreat in Brevard, NC as our final destination for the evening.
Mission: Ride 45 miles with 4,300 feet of climbing from Asheville to Brevard via the Blue Ridge Parkway.
We all met up in the parking lot at McHone Performance Training around 5:30pm to dial in our bikes and accessories. This was was going to be more of bikeslackpacking than a hardcore overnight, all we needed was snacks, water and layers for when we rip down off the parkway. The temperature was a perfect 60°F as we made our way through the streets of East Asheville on our way to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We only had 7 miles of Parkway to cover before we reached the gates at the French Broad Overlook. From the barricade all the way to Highway 276 was only open to cyclists and pedestrians. Once we started riding on the other side of the barricade I felt the stress of having to watch for vehicles melt away. We were in full tourist mode as we made our way up towards Mt. Pisgah stopping at almost every overlook to take in the full moon experience.
We made it to Mt. Pisgah to layer up as it was now dark and the gain in elevation put us in temperatures in the high 30’s. The windchill on the descent into Brevard would feel more like the 20’s and would take us almost an hour. These conditions were totally worth the epic 18 miles of descending through the darkness down the windy 276. Guided by our headlights and the full moon we weaved our way down the 3,000’ descent to Pilot Cove. To cap off the night we cooked up a hot meal and slept in cozy beds which for this dirtbag adventurer was super luxurious.
After a good night's sleep I refilled my bottles and hopped on the bike to head back to Asheville. Pete and Collin had set shuttle so that they could drive back. The ride back was peaceful, I only saw two other people on the closed section of the parkway which normally this time of year would be slammed. These circumstances may not happen again but this route is still a great way to experience a sub 24 hour adventure without being a suffer fest. I’m looking forward to more adventures this summer!
