Chattanooga, TN
Early Bubba Special rolls this week @ 4:00 from Red Bank (old BiLo at corner of Dayton Blvd and Browntown) and does the “regular” Tuesday night loop up Hotwater. (Map in Other Rides section below)
“Regular” Tuesday night ride leaves from the same place @ 5:30 as always.
Roll again @ 9:00 from Mikes. We’ll do our own groundhog day with another warmup on Riverfront as we head south into the wind again. However, after the toe we’ll head up Elder, down Raccoon to Cummings, down the stairs, 299 and then enjoy the sweetest tarmac in Chatt on Murphy Hollow. (Those are words I thought I’d never say.) Right on Slygo where we’ll wind around to New England and Creek Rd for (fingers crossed) the wind push back to Mikes. It’s a metric and around 4000 feet. If the wind gets too bad we can shave a few miles after Murphy by turning left on the way down the foot of Sand.
Early Bubba Special rolls this week from Whole Foods @ 4:00 for the Hillz. Should be back to the Bend by 5:30 or so if anyone wants to jump on there for a few loops. After-party at Whole Foods.
Remember that the “regular” Tuesday ride continues to leave from the old BiLo in Red Bank at 5:30. See “Other Rides” below for map.
Roll from Mike’s at 9:00. South via Creek and over 136. Plan to regroup at Sunset for the 5-6 mile ride over Lookout – wind gonna be even worse on top but hopefully at our backs and sides going this way. (Careful of the crosswinds going down.) We’ll regroup at the store at the bottom, and then hopefully let the tailwind push us back home via the normal Marble Top route with Dry Valley kicker. Nothing creative, the key this week being to play the wind. A metric and 4000 feet as mapped.
Roll from Mike’s at 9:00. South via Creek and over 136. Plan to regroup at Sunset for the 5-6 mile ride over Lookout – wind gonna be even worse on top but hopefully at our backs and sides going this way. (Careful of the crosswinds going down.) We’ll regroup at the store at the bottom, and then hopefully let the tailwind push us back home via the normal Marble Top route with Dry Valley kicker. Nothing creative, the key this week being to play the wind. A metric and 4000 feet as mapped.
Early (4:00) ride rolls from Red Bank this week.
Roll from Mike’s Hole at 10:30. Most likely route will be the Hillz to start with which will put us back to Mike’s around 12:00 at which point those with more time may head over and climb Elder or add another Hillz loop. (2 Hillz loops = around 3500 feet and 3.5 hours – ain’t sexy but the Hillz keep us warm and are pretty good about shielding the wind.) If the weatherman is wrong about how bad things will be, we’ll latch onto Bub’s wheel and let him lead us for a loop south or head into the headwind via Sunday makeup roads (heading north), climb Hotwater, and let the tailwind push us back. MAP STARTS FROM WHOLE FOODS BUT REMEMBER WE ROLL FROM MIKE’S!
Blustery out of the north again tomorrow so we’ll head north again in hopes of a tailwind coming back. Roll from Falling Water @ 9:30 (should be 45 by then) for a trip up Retro. Once on top we’ll check temp and wind (only supposed to lose a degree or two) and decide whether to continue with the mapped route or drop back down, head north, and add some loops along the way. As mapped a metric and 4000 feet with lots of bailout/alt route options. Yep, we’ll be on some of the same roads as last week but we’ll be going in a different direction so hopefully they’ll at least seem different. (Good grief – I’m over winter already.)
TB heads north this week to see if Link will come out to play. Roll from Falling Water promptly @ 9:00 to visit an old friend. We’ll also visit a few other friends along the way – Old Dayton, Stormer, etc. – as we make our way to Brayton Mtn. It’s a metric and 3700 feet but it’ll feel like much, much more. Carry what food you need – we’ll get water at the church on top but there may not be a store stop.
UPDATE (6:50 a.m.): FUTURECAST SHOWS RAIN STAYING NORTH OF TOWN AFTER A SHORT BURST AROUND 7:30. RIDE STILL ROLLS AT 9:00! (Fly says the weather is always better south of town…………..) WE’LL UPDATE AGAIN AROUND 8:00 IF THINGS CHANGE.
Roll from Steady’s Campground (St Elmo Food City) at 9:00. South via Creek to the foot of Burkhalter and we’ll then wind around to Byrd’s Chapel and Back Valley before making our way back to Trenton and then climbing up Sand. (Remember to take a right at that bad intersection going up or we’ll never see you again!) A metric and around 4000 feet – yep, I cheated a bit at the end by doing a loop down Broad to get it to the magic number. May be some route changes once Fly and King have time to study what I’ve done so wait a bit before you load it into your computers!