Boone resident Beth Frye is no stranger to the Blood Sweat and Gears Bike Ride. In fact, she’s no stranger to the winner’s circle.

Hundreds of cyclists from South America to just around the corner prepare to ride either 50 or 100 miles before the start of Blood, Sweat and Gears. For details, see page 8. Photo by Mark Mitchell

Frye was the first woman to cross the finish line of the 100-mile course Saturday in the 11th running of the Bike Ride, which is hosted by the Watauga-Avery Red Cross. It is the fourth time she has won the ride. She also won the ride last year.

The ride is the main fund raiser for the Jeremy Fisher fund and the Russell Fund, which helps provide disaster relief to Watauga and Avery Counties. Race director Sonny Sweet said he has yet to come up with a total amount raised, but he estimates that it could be around $50,000.

For the first time in 11 years, all 750 available slots for the 100-mile ride and all 500 slots for the 50-mile ride were sold out.

“It was an awesome ride,” Frye said. “The course and the support was fantastic. It was a great day out there and it was a lot of fun.”

A professor at Appalachian State, Frye said it’s fun to be able to participate in a ride that is close to home.

The 100-mile course winds throughout the county, which includes a 21-mile path on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
“First of all, it’s my home. I live here in Boone, so it’s in my backyard,” Frye said. “Secondly, the camaraderie. Everybody works together to put on this event and that’s one of the things I enjoy about it — the support we have for it in the area.

Boone resident Beth Frye was the first woman to finish the Blood Sweat and Gears Saturday. Photo by Rob Moore

The overall winner of the 100-mile ride was Oscar Maurocio Henao, who is from the nation of Colombia and rides for Team Santo out of Miami. His teammate, and fellow Colombian, Shon Durango, was third.

Finishing second was Charlie Brown from Salisbury. Henao said the Watauga County course is similar to the terrain back in his native Colombia.

“The course is amazing,” Henao said. “It’s like my country in Colombia. The climbs there are like the climbs here.”

Durango agreed.

“The course was beautiful,” he said. “It has nice hills. The people were nice. The riders were also very nice. It was excellent for the team and the weather was beautiful.”

Brown, who rode in his third BS&G and races for the team of Carolina Masters, said Henao and Durango benefitted from being teammates in the ride.

“This ride is typically attrition and the distance takes its toll on the front runners,” Brown said. “When there’s that plus the team strategies, it adds a dynamic you usually don’t see in Blood, Sweat and Gears.”