Two big rides and two mountain races stack up over the next few weeks.
If you sat out Blood, Sweat & Gears this year, the mountains are handing out plenty more chances to wreck your legs over the next few weeks, on two wheels and on two feet.
On two wheels
The Boone Gran Fondo rolls out of downtown at 8 a.m. on Sunday, August 2. It is part of the Gran Fondo National Series and a national championship qualifier, with three routes of 24, 57, or 94 miles that all climb hard into the Blue Ridge. Expect a wave of out-of-town wheels that weekend, which is good news for anyone pouring coffee or flipping breakfast downtown.
Two weeks later the Blue Ridge Brutal heads out of Jefferson on Saturday, August 15. The name is the honest kind. It is Ashe County's long-haul answer to the Gran Fondo, and between the two, early August belongs to the cyclists.
On foot
Run the Beech takes to the trails at The Summit on Beech Mountain on Friday, July 24, part of the resort's summer race series and run high where the air is thin. Then the Grand-Further Mountain Run tackles Grandfather country on Saturday, August 22, with the climbing to match the name.
Whatever your gear, pick a distance and go find out what the Blue Ridge thinks of your training.
A left917 roundup · sourced from the Gran Fondo National Series, the Blue Ridge Brutal, Beech Mountain, and Tanawha Adventures
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