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By Rose Hooper
Locally, Mary Kelley of Sylva ranks up there with the strong mountain
bikers.
After spending a week biking across the state with riders from
all over the world, Kelley discovered she can hold her own with
the best of them.
"It's nice to know that in a such a large group that you
are a strong rider – it's a good feeling, a boost of self
confidence," said Kelley, who rises at 6:30 a.m. to ride.
Mary
Kelley cleans her sunglasses in preparation for her daily 65-mile
ride.
More than 1,200 cyclists, 70 per cent of them men,
participated in Cycle North Carolina 2003 last month, including
Kelley and six others from Nantahala Outdoor Center.
"In August, I did the Hilly Hellacious in Asheville, a one-
day 62-mile event. I felt good about how I did, so that prompted
me to sign up for the ride across the state," said the 24-year-old
rider.
Mostly a mountain biker, Kelley only started road biking in May.
In cycling across the state she discovered the long, flat stretches
were the hardest part "because you had to keep pedaling all
the time."
"OK,
which bag is mine?" Every evening at the end of a 65-mile ride,
cyclists had to find their gear and set up camp.
"This
is what Tent City looked like each evening when we set up camp,"
said Mary Kelly of Sylva, one of the 1,200 plus cyclists participating
in Cycle North Carolina 2003.
Crossing the finish line was "an incredible feeling"
according to rider Mary Kelley, left, who was one of seven riders
from Nantahala Outdoor Center.
The key to survival in the flat stretches was a
pace line, she said. Here a group of about 20 riders stay in a
straight line with the lead rider taking the brunt of the wind.
When the front rider gets tired, he moves to the back.
"Traveling in a pack is lots faster," said Kelley, daughter
of Livingston and Linda Kelley. In the pace line speed averaged
23 mph.
Bikers began pushing their pedals on the steep Grandfather Mountain
section of the Blue Ridge Parkway – voted America's most
scenic road.
The next day started with 12 miles straight down hill, which Kelly
called "a real adrenaline rush."
Averaging 65 miles a day, the riders had time to stop and learn
about North Carolina's many atractions.
"We picked cotton, visited a vineyard, toured Harmony Hall
plantation, posed for pictures at Town Creek Indian Mound –
our state's oldest historic site – and had a beach party
at Oak Island where I saw my first jelly- fish," she described
some of the adventures along the way.
"Some students in the group were taking a week off from school
and they had to write reports along the way.
It's really an interesting way to learn about a state's history,"
said Kelley, who said other states have similar biking events.
"I might do this again 'cause the routes vary each year,
but I think I would rather do a whole different state," she
said.
Each of the bikers were required to wear license plates on their
bikes with their name and the state they represented.
The female riders from NOC referred to themselves as "SASS"
– Southern Appalachian Spinning Sisters.
"But the riders gave us different names, too, like they called
us the Limber Sisters because of the stretches we did each day."
By day six Kelley said she was feeling rather drained due to several
days of steady rain, which managed to dampen even their most securely
packed fabrics.
"All I could think about was my warm bed back home,"
she said.
"Every night we would come in wet and nasty and set up our
tents. What was really great were the semi trucks which had hot
showers. We'd take a shower and then they'd load us up in buses
and we'd go into town to eat 'cause we were starving. I ate so
much that week!"
Overall, she described the cycling adventure as "intense.
We'd bike hard all day and sleep hard at night. At the end of
the week I felt so strong; it was an incredible feeling."
Think you'd like to try it? Call Cycle North Carolina at (919)
361-1133.
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