Danny Thomas in his UMCA vest is just a blur as he races his bicycle across North Carolina.

Those who read my 2005 record report on this website know that I consider these rides to be valuable learning experiences. Last year I learned about deer on the Parkway, heart monitors in the dark, and sunglasses in the fog. This year I learned some even more valuable lessons, which I'll share with you.

The first thing I learned this year was an abiding respect for the people who plan the routes we ride. I learned how hard it is to look at a map and find the best route. It's like a three-dimensional game of traveling salesman. Do you choose the shorter route over the mountain or the longer one around it? And how much are you really slowed by a few miles of city traffic, stop signs, and traffic lights? How about rough versus smooth roads, church traffic, and the inevitable Fall Festival scheduled in every little town this time of year? I remember getting that first email from Fred Boethling explaining to me that the UMCA wanted navigation to be a significant part of the process and thinking "Man, this sounds like work for someone used to just riding hard and following a cue sheet".

Since the overall time is the deciding factor I tried to improve last year's route, which I had merely copied from the previous record holder. After days of pouring over maps and visiting topo websites, I finished the first iteration of my route... which I changed at least a dozen times.

The next thing I learned was the Internet address for every source of weather information. It became an addiction... I started checking every site about every two hours. Not that it did me much good; the weather in the mountains changes about every two minutes. Just like every addiction, mine started out with that euphoric rush when I saw that the forecast for my chosen date was sunny and mild with a light tailwind. A north-to-south wind in the mountains of North Carolina? Impossible! Then I watched with growing despair as the forecast slowly changed to cold rain and the wind direction slowly changed to a crosswind, then a headwind, then a strong headwind. Then I learned to quit looking! That was the real lesson that I learned... once you have chosen your date, don't even look at the wind forecast. Why stress yourself out? You're going to ride anyway!

My next lesson was one that I failed to learn last year. Don't plan major physical activities in the fall right after school begins. Elementary school children are like little Petri dishes... they are the perfect medium for growing viruses. Enough said. Being a single father of two beautiful little Petri dishes, I also learned how to train without much time outdoors. I know this may come as a shock to those of you who consider spinning classes at the gym to be just a social activity for middle-aged housewives, but it is possible to maintain a reasonable fitness level indoors. A significant portion of my training this year has come from the spinning classes that I teach at Gold's Gym in Cary, NC.

Thomas is clearly enjoying his record bicycle ride across North Carolina.

If you haven't surmised this already, I began my ride with a mild case of the flu, at daybreak, in a cold rain mixed with occasional fog. Luckily, I was somewhat protected from the wind as long as I was on the Parkway but I did have to deal with wet leaves covering the road. I was also lucky this year that the deer decided to stand and watch me pass from the side of the road rather than from the middle of it, although I did nearly get taken down by a bird crossing the road about a foot off the ground. Imagine explaining that one to the ambulance driver!

Weeks before the ride I had prepared a guide for my crew showing my estimated time at every major landmark and I asked for my first time check as I exited the Parkway. The estimates were pretty accurate since they were based on actual scouting rides over the past two years and I was quite surprised when my crew informed me that I was already almost two minutes behind schedule. So I began to push myself. Hard. So hard, in fact, that I began to worry about finishing.

To make matters worse, I was now riding into a dead headwind and I found myself descending wet switchbacks in wind gusts that nearly blew me off the road. I love to descend and I'm normally very good at making up time on the downhills, but this year the descent down the Continental Divide was one of my least favorite parts of the ride. I was forced to do something I almost never have to do... use my brakes. For the next two hours I pushed into the wind, up and down rolling hills and I suffered.

Imagine my surprise when my crew informed me at the two-hour mark that I was now approximately 10 minutes ahead of schedule! That information couldn't have come at a more opportune time because I was in serious need of some recovery. Luckily I was just turning at right angles to the wind. I let myself back the pace down a little.

The next few hours were more of the same: strong crosswinds, light rain, and occasional traffic lights. I made it through more of the lights than I had predicted and I was slowly inching further ahead of schedule. I wasn't prepared, however, for how much it hurt to ride in such a strong crosswind. My shoulders, back, and neck were killing me from fighting to keep the bike on the road. By the time I got to the outskirts of Charlotte, I was one hurt'n puppy.

Thomas' North Carolina record is one hour 23 minutes faster than last year!

To make matters worse, I began to hit traffic headed for the Panthers football game (OK, there was one thing I forgot to check... the NFL schedule!). Then, to add insult to injury, I arrived at a large church just as service was letting out and I got caught in a traffic jam at the exit. Luckily, there was a police officer directing traffic and he kept our waiting down to a reasonable minimum. He also graciously wished us good luck and safe passage as I rode past him.

The finish of the ride was one long, low-blood-sugar blur. Those last five miles were the longest five miles of my life! However, once I heard that I was still on schedule to break the seven-hour mark, I found that things didn't hurt so badly and it was easier to just relax and ride.

Just like last year, I want thank my crew chief, Mary Simmons. She put up with a lot to do this for me and I want her to know how much I appreciate all her efforts. I also want to thank the good people at High Meadows Inn in Roaring Gap for taking such good care of all of us before the start. They were very kind to us and I promised them that I would pass along their good deeds to any cyclists planning to ride the northern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Official record: October 8, 2006, 133.2 miles, 6 hours 48 minutes, average speed of 19.59 mph
Start: NC/VA state line on Blue Ridge Parkway
Finish: SH 160 at NC/SC state line
Official: Nancy Diamond