Ryan Jenkins Wins Bridge to Bridge
Salisbury Post November, 2004
Ryan Jenkins admitted he was a little
surprised that he jumped to such a quick lead in the Bridge-to-Bridge Incredible Challenge
held last Sunday.
"Less than 10 minutes into the
ride, I was out of sight of the group," Jenkins said of the approximately 500 other
racers against whom he competed.
Before he knew it, Jenkins, a
31-year-old Salisbury resident, had opened a commanding lead.
The Bridge-to-Bridge race is one of the
most grueling of its kind on the East Coast. It starts at the Lenoir Mall and ends atop
Grandfather Mountain.
The elevation at the start of the event
is 1,100 feet above sea level. The elevation at the top of Grandfather Mountain is 5,280
feet.
Jenkins won last Sunday's race, but he
needed all of that early lead he enjoyed. By the time he crossed the finish line atop
Grandfather Mountain, his lead had been narrowed to a scant two minutes.
Jenkins said he's not sure how much
longer he could have held on to the lead.
"The last 10 or 15 miles were
tough," Jenkins said. "I ran out of gas."
Still, he was plenty proud of his
effort. Jenkins won the race in a time of three hours, 57 minutes.
This year's event measured 73.9 miles.
It's usually held earlier in the fall and stretches 102 miles.
The race was bumped back to November
because of flooding in the mountains caused by hurricanes in September. The race was also
shortened because organizers wanted to make sure Grandfather Mountain was vacated by the
time night fell.
Of the 500 entries in the race, 375
finished. Some took almost twice as long as Jenkins to complete the event.
Jenkins works for Lexington State Bank
in Lexington. He and his wife, Suzanne, have a 3-year-old son, Carter. Suzanne is about to
deliver the couple's next child any day.
Jenkins said he got into mountain
biking while a student at Western Carolina University. He said that evolved into road
riding, which comprises almost all of his riding nowadays.
Jenkins said he rides anywhere from
nine to 14 hours a week. In 2004, he cycled a total of 12,000 miles.
He's a member of the Just Fresh/Clif
Bar racing team and competes in about 15 races over the course of a year.
Jenkins said last Sunday's
Bridge-to-Bridge race marked the fourth time he'd competed in that event. In the previous
outings, he'd finished sixth, 11th and 18th.
Jenkins said the Bridge-to-Bridge race
is among the most scenic there is, with the course winding through the mountains and
across the Linn-Cove Viaduct, close to the Grandfather Mountain entrance.
Jenkins said he plans to compete in the
Bridge-to-Bridge again next year, though he admitted that defending his title will be a
tough road to hoe.
Contact Steve Huffman at 704-797-4253 or shuffman@salisburypost.com