Wayah Rd N.C. Pedal in the Sun

For another fun weekend adventure, hubby & I escaped to the North Carolina mountains with our good friends the DeLongs. They rented a gorgeous luxury cabin called the Flirefly through Watershed cabins. The place was AMAZING!! Friday night we settled in & prepared for our epic journey. The 70 mile ride through the mountains was taking place first thing in the morning.

    Saturday, we awoke; Jame's, Stephen & myself rode our bikes from Tsali, through the Nantahala Gorge, passed the NOC & turned left at the put in on Wayah Rd. It was bitter cold when we started the ride. The fact that we started climbing right away into the gorge, without a proper warm up gave me pause. I honestly thought by how crappy my legs felt in that first 30 minutes that I may not be able to finish the ride.

one of the many waterfalls along the way

  But once the blood started flowing & the sun came out, things improved. Wayah Rd, known to the locals as Thunder Road, is a 27 mile climb that begins at US19/74 (at the Nantahala River Put-IN) & ends at Old Murphy Rd near Franklin. This challenging rd has it all, minimal traffic, waterfalls, a gorgeous river & lake views & it's all up hill.

Wayah winds around the Nantahala Lake, at the top of the mountain & continues up through the wilderness finally peaking at 4100 feet. This is where the AT crosses the road. The reward for all that climbing, which took me more than an hour because I rode it fairly easy, is a 27 mile rollercoaster descent! It was soooo worth it! Epic FUN :) Once down, all in one piece I jumped onto Jame's wheel as he rode some "tempo" intervals all the way into Franklin NC. This was our store-stop. McDonalds! For real :/ (Not the best decision in retrospect)

covered in mud :(

The rest of the ride was challenging as my tumultuous gut rebelled against the McTrash I filled it with. The last few miles were killer. James brought us onto this dirt road that ran along another wild river. Dirt roads with all their bumps & rocks on my race bike are not my favorite, by this time I was on the verge of puking & cursing with every pedal stroke. Ironically, this 3 mile stretch of hell was named, "Needmore Rd". Oh my...

The three of us were glad to see the end of the road finally & our car.


Here's the ride, definitely recommend it.
70 BIG miles & 6,000 of climbing.

http://app.strava.com/activities/40354001