View source for Assault on Mount Mitchell

{{Short description|Annual bicycling endurance contest}}
The '''Assault on [[Mount Mitchell]]''' is an annual [[bicycling]] endurance contest in [[South Carolina]] and [[North Carolina]] first held in 1974.

For several years starting in 1992, completing ''The Assault on [[Marion, North Carolina|Marion]]'' was a prerequisite implemented to increase the proportion of finishers, but this requirement was dropped in recent years.

The ride starts in [[Spartanburg, South Carolina]]<ref>{{Cite web | last =jstandrich | title =The Assault on Mount Mitchell | publisher =Mobile Meals of Spartanburg | date =7 April 2009 | url =http://www.mobile-meals.org/node/91 | accessdate =2010-01-12 }}</ref> and ends at the summit of Mount Mitchell in [[Mount Mitchell State Park]] in [[Yancey County, North Carolina]].  The ride distance is {{convert|102|mi}} and has over 11,000 vertical feet of climbing.<ref>{{Cite web | last =Bossche | first =Chris Vanden | title =Asheville, NC: Assault on Mount Mitchell | work =Bicycling | publisher =Trimble Navigation | date =12 June 2008 | url =http://bicycling.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/209173 | accessdate =2010-01-12 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20100501135101/http://bicycling.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/209173 | archive-date =1 May 2010 | url-status =dead }}</ref>  Most riders finish in less than 12 hours; the leaders finish in under 6 hours. The contest typically includes over 800 cyclists from across the globe. 

It spawned the [[Off-Road Assault on Mount Mitchell]], which has taken place since 1999.

The record number of consecutive finishes is 40 (as of 2020), held by Michael H. Davis.

Scottie Weiss holds the record for the fastest finish, 4:54, set in 2012.<ref>https://www.goupstate.com/story/news/2012/05/21/months-of-training-pay-off-for-mount-mitchell-cyclists/29994424007/</ref>

As of 2015, the contest has a charitable component, The [[Freewheelers Cycling Association]]. This 501(c)(3) organization is partnered with nonprofit organizations such as the [[Humane society|Humane Society]] and [https://www.ncparks.gov/mount-mitchell-state-park/home Mt. Mitchell State Park]. 

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the contest was cancelled for the years 2020 and 2021.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.freewheelers.info/assaults/ Official site of the rides (operated by organizer, Freewheelers of Spartanburg, South Carolina)]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assault On Mount Mitchell}}
[[Category:Cycling events in the United States]]
[[Category:Sports competitions in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Sports competitions in South Carolina]]
[[Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1974]]
[[Category:1974 establishments in North Carolina]]
[[Category:1974 establishments in South Carolina]]
[[Category:Annual events in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Annual events in South Carolina]]
[[Category:Cycling in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Cycling in South Carolina]]



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