Low volume week, family vacation to Blowing Rock. Lots of hiking time.
I did get in two short 1hr-ish climb workouts. Just ride down off the house from the mountain, do a loop and grab a couple little climbs back to the house at SS and threshold. Some cat 3 and a cat 2 climb.
Observations:
-wish I lived there
-Zwift outside of radio tower doesn't have steep climbs
-if you look, there is steepness in NC mountains, not like 4-mile long mega % Italian stuff.......but still.....more than most Zwift climbs have for % grade in parts
-"downhill then up" cheated elevation gain really is a big thing somewhere like Raleigh.....you gain a ton of "up" by riding rollers. In real mountains, not so as you have to slow for corners down and you don't gain any cheated elevation. All earned.
-had to use the tubeless 38 gravel tires due to house location.......those cost me something going up the paved roads
-I don't know......I may just make TT and cyclocross my "thing" then have the wife let me do a couple of the GFNS USAC partner timed hill climb segment events each year and ditch any return to road race. I feel I'd have more fun a couple weekends a year doing that and finishing XX of XXX for fun than finishing with road rash sliding out in a parking lot crit.