3 State 3 Mountain is an annual ride (25th anniversary) put on by the Chattanooga Bicycle Club, and has grown into a fairly large ride throughout the years, usually maxing out its allotted occupancy. This year the century course was changed due to the demolition of the Haletown Bridge. We climbed Aetna Mtn. (TN), Ladd's Mtn. (not one of the 3 but it's a big enough stinger & should be recognized), Sand Mtn. (AL), and Lookout Mtn. (GA). We got rained on, but it was while climbing Sand Mtn., the perfect time! It was rather refreshing! To make up some distance with the course change, we stayed on the rollers of Sand Mtn.for many, many miles going through Bryant, Flat Rock, and Ider, AL. The wind was killer up there! We were fortunate enough to be in a fairly large group where we all took turns pulling and resting. The last climb of the day was Burkhalter Gap Road, 2.3 miles, and the last quarter mile or so is 18-20% grade. In years past I have really struggled in the climb, one year I stopped, got off my bike, took off my shoes, and walked up in my socks! Hilarious!! This year it didn't seem that bad. I mean, it HURT, but not like I remember it hurting in years past.
I finished the 100 mile ride in 5 hours 40 minutes, a PR for me. This wasn't a race against others, but it was a race against myself, to measure my improvement. I met lots of new friends and had a great time. On the Tuesday night ride after this, I met a guy from FL that came up here for the week with 10 of his buddies just to do 3 State. They were spending their week of vacation in Chattanooga to ride their bikes!! How cool is that? I need to remember that on those days where I really don't feel like training, or I'm bored with my same old routes. I really do take Chattanooga for granted sometimes. Anyway, good day, good ride, good people, and a good leg sting for the rest of the night!
No comments:
Post a Comment