Post by billjacobs on Jun 15, 2005 9:02:25 GMT -5
Wow, that's a great 115-mile ride. Around 300 riders showed up at the Tellico Plains High School for the 7:30 start, despite drizzle and wet roads. Back roads out of Tellico Plains and about 40 miles of rolling-to-flat stuff before hitting the mountains. Rural/agricultural for most of that, with a final 5 miles or so of flat along the north shore of Tellico Lake -- really the valley of the Little Tennessee after it gets out of the mountains. Somewhere along the way, in the midst of rooster-tail riding (take your choice -- coated-over glasses or occasional grit in the eyes from the wheel in front), a front group of 50 or so had dropped to about 35 at the foot of the "Tail of the Dragon," so named by virtue of its 318 curves in 11 miles. Actually, this thing has near-reverential status among motorcyclists, who compete for fastest time down (I'm told it's around 9 minutes). Fortunately, we were early, the roads were still a bit wet, and the business at the top that caters to the motor group had posted a friendly note on its website that, hey, these boys and girls only do this once a year, they'll be gone by noon, and be courteous. In short no problems, although later in the ride, up on the Cherohala Skyway, a pack of 15 or 20, about half of them loud, came roaring by.
Anyway, the Tail is a moderate two-part 1,200-foot climb on lovely road. The roads had dried off by the time we reached the top, and from there it's a good descent down to a bridge back across the Little Tennessee just below Cheoah Dam, and then 13 miles or so of moderate climbing and a long stretch of slightly-rising river valley. The front group splintered on the Tail, of course, but I and two other riders teamed up across that stretch for some good work together. Beautiful mountain roads, virtually no traffic or development, and with one short exception nice smooth blacktop.
At about 70 miles the real work starts, a pretty-much-uninterrupted climb from 1,700' to 5,300' over about 13 miles, initially on the road into the Joyce Kilmer Forest and then on the Cherohala Skyway. The latter is a spectacular road finished on the North Carolina side less than 10 years ago. It's totally in National Forest, and is built to Parkway standards. There are some 9-10% stretches, but nothing like Tilley Creek or Walnut Creek. Think of it as a somewhat longer Buck Creek with bigger views, but without the intermediate descents or steepest pitches. I usually spend a little less than an hour on Buck Creek, and this took about 1:20.
Once on top, some high ridge riding, but pretty soon you start down -- back to Tellico Plains at 900' elevation. Unlike the climb, the Tennessee side is broken up with what the area riders call the "Sawteeth" -- 12 pretty good rollers, two of which approach 400' and a few more of which also evoke, at that point in the ride, an "oh {expletive deleted}" response. Nonetheless, there's an awesome amount of descending, great road surface, open curves, almost no need for braking, all spread over about 25 miles.
Once you get to the bottom you ride along the Tellico River for 7-8 miles back into town. Although everybody was well spread out by then, I did connect with another rider to share the load. Back at the School, lousy cold showers and an OK, but nothing-special, pasta lunch.
Took me 6:30 at an average of 17.8 (the average on the first 40 was about 23, and mine had dropped to 16.6 at the top of the Cherohala). The fastest rider came in at about 5:50, and I was somewhere towards the back end of the first 20. All sorts of riders, of course -- some were still coming in between 10:30 and 11:00.
Overall, not as hard, mile-for-mile as the Tour de C, but the extra 15 miles makes up for it (my time on the Tour de C this year was a bit under 6:20). We spent a few miles on a major highway to get across Tellico Lake, but little traffic on it -- we took the right lane and everybody else took the left). Otherwise, great roads, virtually no traffic, little development, beautiful mountain rivers and vistas; and there was also a motorcycle escort, at least for the front group, who waved us through the few intersections (I never slowed or unclipped except for rest stop refills).
I'll definitely do this one again, although Tellico Plains is a bit problematic. Nice little town, but takes about 2:30 to get there from Sylva, and there are very few rooms available -- most people stayed in motels about 20 miles away near I-75. I had made B&B reservations in October, so was in town and able to ride over to the start, which was nice. My wife was along, and she did some exploring on Saturday (the day of the ride), and we spent the second night. There are good short hikes along the rivers, some nice drives, and a few good places to eat. If interested, start reserving early.
Anyway, the Tail is a moderate two-part 1,200-foot climb on lovely road. The roads had dried off by the time we reached the top, and from there it's a good descent down to a bridge back across the Little Tennessee just below Cheoah Dam, and then 13 miles or so of moderate climbing and a long stretch of slightly-rising river valley. The front group splintered on the Tail, of course, but I and two other riders teamed up across that stretch for some good work together. Beautiful mountain roads, virtually no traffic or development, and with one short exception nice smooth blacktop.
At about 70 miles the real work starts, a pretty-much-uninterrupted climb from 1,700' to 5,300' over about 13 miles, initially on the road into the Joyce Kilmer Forest and then on the Cherohala Skyway. The latter is a spectacular road finished on the North Carolina side less than 10 years ago. It's totally in National Forest, and is built to Parkway standards. There are some 9-10% stretches, but nothing like Tilley Creek or Walnut Creek. Think of it as a somewhat longer Buck Creek with bigger views, but without the intermediate descents or steepest pitches. I usually spend a little less than an hour on Buck Creek, and this took about 1:20.
Once on top, some high ridge riding, but pretty soon you start down -- back to Tellico Plains at 900' elevation. Unlike the climb, the Tennessee side is broken up with what the area riders call the "Sawteeth" -- 12 pretty good rollers, two of which approach 400' and a few more of which also evoke, at that point in the ride, an "oh {expletive deleted}" response. Nonetheless, there's an awesome amount of descending, great road surface, open curves, almost no need for braking, all spread over about 25 miles.
Once you get to the bottom you ride along the Tellico River for 7-8 miles back into town. Although everybody was well spread out by then, I did connect with another rider to share the load. Back at the School, lousy cold showers and an OK, but nothing-special, pasta lunch.
Took me 6:30 at an average of 17.8 (the average on the first 40 was about 23, and mine had dropped to 16.6 at the top of the Cherohala). The fastest rider came in at about 5:50, and I was somewhere towards the back end of the first 20. All sorts of riders, of course -- some were still coming in between 10:30 and 11:00.
Overall, not as hard, mile-for-mile as the Tour de C, but the extra 15 miles makes up for it (my time on the Tour de C this year was a bit under 6:20). We spent a few miles on a major highway to get across Tellico Lake, but little traffic on it -- we took the right lane and everybody else took the left). Otherwise, great roads, virtually no traffic, little development, beautiful mountain rivers and vistas; and there was also a motorcycle escort, at least for the front group, who waved us through the few intersections (I never slowed or unclipped except for rest stop refills).
I'll definitely do this one again, although Tellico Plains is a bit problematic. Nice little town, but takes about 2:30 to get there from Sylva, and there are very few rooms available -- most people stayed in motels about 20 miles away near I-75. I had made B&B reservations in October, so was in town and able to ride over to the start, which was nice. My wife was along, and she did some exploring on Saturday (the day of the ride), and we spent the second night. There are good short hikes along the rivers, some nice drives, and a few good places to eat. If interested, start reserving early.
