# Pilot Mountain NC



## HOOKEM

Just curious, but does anyone know anything about the state park? Is there a road that goes to (or near) the top? I pass it often on my way from Chapel Hill to Bristol TN, and think to myself it looks like a great place to climb.


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## jch2112

HOOKEM said:


> Just curious, but does anyone know anything about the state park? Is there a road that goes to (or near) the top? I pass it often on my way from Chapel Hill to Bristol TN, and think to myself it looks like a great place to climb.


I've wondered the same thing. My in laws live in Bristol, VA so I drive past it a couple of times a year.

The road into the park doesn't look that long, maybe a mile or two http://www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/pimo/main.php and I'm not sure if I would be brave enough to ride on the roads around the park.

Edit:
Well apparently a few people are brave enough: http://www.3mountainmadness.com/ Didn't know that ride existed. Good old Google. I might have to ride it in 2009 as my wife is due the first week of June.


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## HOOKEM

jch2112 said:


> I've wondered the same thing. My in laws live in Bristol, VA so I drive past it a couple of times a year.
> 
> The road into the park doesn't look that long, maybe a mile or two http://www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/pimo/main.php and I'm not sure if I would be brave enough to ride on the roads around the park.
> 
> Edit:
> Well apparently a few people are brave enough: http://www.3mountainmadness.com/ Didn't know that ride existed. Good old Google. I might have to ride it in 2009 as my wife is due the first week of June.


Thanks for those links. As I suspected, it does look like a great place to climb. I think I'll make it a point to get out there sometime in the near future.


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## nrs-air

It's a decent, fairly steep 3 mile climb. It's the hardest of the 3 Mountain Madness climbs, even when they are done separately. It takes good riders around 15 minutes. There's some cool hiking up at the top too, but it's usually pretty crowded in the spring. There are a couple more climbs around Stone Mountain that are better (longer and less cars), IMO. I don't remember the names of the roads though. 

The 3 Mountain Madness is an awesome ride. Lots of fast guys come out for it, and there's lots of climbing in between the mountains too. The front of the ride is basically a cat 1 2 3 race. The first time I did it, it was more than twice as long as any ride I had ever gone on before...I was ready to hang up the bike at the end of it, lol, but since then it's one of my favorites.


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## CaseLawZ28

3MM is a good ride (if you do it yourself, I've never done it organized). There is one road to the top of Pilot and a must do. There are a couple of very very steep sections, but the remainder of it isn't bad especially near the top. Sauratown is cool too, it goes absolutely nowhere.


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## NealH

Looks like a nice ride. I might sign up for it, especially since one can skip a mountain climb should the ride become overly difficult. So "CaseLaw", would you recommend a compact double for this or, do you think a 53/39 with a 27 cassette should be fine?


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## tarwheel2

The 3 Mountain Madness is a great organized ride, but here is a cue sheet if you want to tackle Pilot Mountain and the other two -- Hanging Rock and Sauratown -- on your own some time. Another name for the route is "Triple Hump." It is a well known training ride in the Piedmont of NC, and a killer -- something like 6,500-7000 feet of climbing over 65-70 miles. 

http://www.ncbikeclub.org/queue_sheets/ncbchrthqs.htm

NC Bike Club has cue sheets for quite a few routes posted at this page. Most are in the Triangle but there are others from around the state as well:

http://www.ncbikeclub.org/queue_sheets/ncbcqueue.htm


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## nrs-air

rnhood said:


> Looks like a nice ride. I might sign up for it, especially since one can skip a mountain climb should the ride become overly difficult. So "CaseLaw", would you recommend a compact double for this or, do you think a 53/39 with a 27 cassette should be fine?


It all depends on how strong you are and how well you climb. The first time I did the 3MM, I was feeling bad at the top of the first mountain and stopped to get a powerbar. A guy at the top yelled to one of his friends "Hey, John, call up the shop and ask if that triple I ordered is in yet". Obviously joking, but it's a hard ride. I made it through on a 53/39 and 23 cassette when I was 14 or 15 and pretty weak, so it's not impossible.


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## tarwheel2

Triple Hump is a difficult ride because it's 3 long, sustained, steep climbs with lots of rollers in between. The hardest climbs of the 3 are Sauratown and Pilot Mountain. Both times that I rode the loop, we tackled Sauratown, then Hanging Rock and finally Pilot. I made it up the first two climbs w/ a low gear on my cassette of 39/27 or 39/29. However, by the time you get to Pilot, you've already ridden about 50 miles, and I wasn't able to make it up Pilot without a break. The first time, I stopped once on the way up Pilot. The second time, I wimped out and skipped the last mile or so up Pilot because my legs were really tired that day. I'm a decent climber but no lightweight. Probably could have made it up Pilot with a triple if I went real slow on the steep sections, or if I lost 15 lbs.


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## CaseLawZ28

rnhood said:


> Looks like a nice ride. I might sign up for it, especially since one can skip a mountain climb should the ride become overly difficult. So "CaseLaw", would you recommend a compact double for this or, do you think a 53/39 with a 27 cassette should be fine?


I was fine on all three with a standard double crank and 12/23 cassette.


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