Has anyone here ridden the Blue Ridge Parkway

[7rider]

All (469miles) or at least some? I'd like to pick your brain for info like fitness level, training schedule, nutrition, was the ride harder than expected? Did someone follow you in a car? How long did it take? That sort of stuff.

Any recommended books or websites for training info? I'm pretty sure there isn't a "Couch to 5k" version for biking the BRP.

I am exploring the idea of riding the Parkway. I'd like to make it a fundraiser for a good cause. And I'd love to be able to do it in September or October of this year or late Spring 2012. But I prefer Sept/Oct.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

As others have mentioned - I did the whole thing last September (read that thread - I hope you can find some useful stuff there). We went Labor Day weekend and beyond, to get there before foliage season and to avoid leaf-peepers in Winnebagos. Had to deal with some holiday weekend traffic initially, but after that, it was pretty much empty.

The only "training" I did for it was ride lots. I did a weekend ride or two up in the Catoctins for hill work, and had my LBS put a 12-27 on the back so I could have a bit lower gearing. We had 2 vans with us, with which we shared driving duties, so we had plenty of food along the way - Gatorade, water, bagels, bananas, granola bars, all the usual ride stuff - and no gear to carry. We stayed in hotels.

North Carolina section was harder than I expected because the hills were steeper than I thought they'd be. But, we were touring so we paced ourselves, took advantage of the many rest stops with scenic overlooks, and took our time so as not to completely cook ourselves each day.

Email or PM me and I can get you more details.

BTW...the guide we used for much of our planning was Charlie & Elizabeth Skinner's book.