Blue Ridge Brutal Turns 20 with this Saturday's Ride

By Joel Frady

Hundreds of bicyclists will fill the parking lot of the Ashe Civic Center in West Jefferson early on Saturday

morning, all ready to tackle the challenge of 50, 75 or 100-mile rides over the hills of Ashe County during the 20th Blue Ridge Brutal. Created in 1990, the Brutal is held annually as a fundraiser for the Civic Center. All proceeds will go towards art programming in the schools.

Kathy Howell, board member for the Civic Center and chair of the Brutal committee, said that there were "eight to 10" riders in the first Brutal but that it has seen approximately 300 riders in previous years. Riders have traveled from as far as Florida and New England to participate.

"This is an event that brings lots of people into the county," said Howell. She noted that "it gives us lots of visibility to promote our programs and what we do for the county."

Route organizer Gary Prange, who owns Screen Specialty Shop in West Jefferson, said that no matter how far the bicyclists choose to ride, they will face a course that is beautiful, but also one that lives up to the event's name.

"The goal, first of all, is to give cyclists a beautiful ride around the mountains of Ashe County," said Prange. "We used to drop into Watauga and Alleghany for a little bit, but we've pretty much cut it all back to directly inside Ashe County" except for a "small part on Highway 18 that drops into Alleghany."

The route is similar to the one used over the last three years, which Prange said was made tougher at the request of the riders.

"Over the years, we've had to toughen up the route because people 20 years ago used to just ride for pleasure," he said. "Now, it's almost - I don't want to use the term race, because it's not a race - it's a ride through the county, but most people are very conscious of what their time is. With cycling being a good form of aerobic exercise, people take it very seriously, so we've had to, over the last 10 years, toughen the route up to make it more brutal." For instance, riders no longer travel on Railroad Grade Road between Todd and Fleetwood because the road was too flat.

"When you go from Todd to Fleetwood, it's about a 200 foot drop in elevation, so basically for about 10 miles you were riding downhill," said Prange. "If you've just ridden over every nasty hill in Ashe County and just gotten over the top of Three Top … the last thing competitive cyclists want is a flat spot. They were cramping up."

The only changes made to the route the last couple years have been caused by road construction. Prange said that they "try to keep the riders away from any major road construction."

One major change to the 2009 Brutal is the option for anyone to attempt the infamous "Assault on Mount Jefferson" after they complete their ride, instead of only opening the Assault to participants in the 100-mile ride. Originally held on the Friday night before the Brutal, Prange said that it was discontinued for years due to "lack of attendance" but that it was brought back in recent years.

"Now, it's open to anybody that has legs left," he said.

Aside from the ride itself, Howell said that she enjoys the family atmosphere of the event.

"Quite often, several members of the family will ride, and if that doesn't happen then more often the spouse who is not riding and children are out at the Civic Center all day," she said. "It's just a nice group of people, nice family activity."

Registration for the Blue Ridge Brutal is $50 and includes the ride, an event t-shirt and lunch. The ride will begin at 8 a.m. To find out more, click to www.ashecivic.com/2009-BRB.html or call (336) 846-2787.