The Assault on Mt. Mitchell was started in 1975 and the Assault on Marion was later added in 1993. John Bryan created and directed the Assault's for over 30 years. The Assault on Mt. Mitchell quickly gained a reputation for being one of the most challenging bike rides in the country and as the popularity of the ride grew limitations had to be set on the number of people allowed to the top of the mountain. The number is not set by the Freewheeler's but rather by the State Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway. The reason why the ride is held on a Monday now is to limit traffic delays on the parkway on the weekend due to the large size of our event. This year in order to allow all the equal opportunity to summit the mountain there willbe a time limit imposed. Riders must be able to make it to the Parkway by 3:30 PM. Over the 30+ year period that the event has been held the attrition rate has been a steady 30%.