We camped, again, at the Lookout Mtn KOA. It's about 15-20 min outside of Chattanooga in Georgia, a place that the kids love and one that is becoming a tradition. It isn't on Lookout Mtn, but on the side of Sand Mtn (west of Lookout) near Trenton, GA.
With a 7:30am start it meant I woke up Jenni at 6:20am and we started getting the kids into the car around 6:30am. We pulled into the parking lot at Findley at 7:00am. As I got the bike ready I was nervous. With less than 450 miles on my legs since the beginning of the year and a longest ride of only 41 miles, I wasn't sure I was going to survive the day.
Off we rolled @ 7:30am sharp. I wasn't sure who I was going to ride with. Brian Carter, Mike Koch and some of their friends came down from Indiana, but I failed to connect with them at the start. We had dinner with them the night before in downtown Chattanooga. It was nice to connect then. Brian and I texted each other when we reached various rest stops, but we never saw each other till the end.
Suck Creek
Suck Creek is the first and longest of the climbs. The grade averages 4-6% and goes on for 5 miles. It was how I remembered and I didn't try to think about when it would end because I knew it would be longer than I wanted. On my way up Suck Creek I came up to an ICCC jersey. I was a member of the ICCC (International Christian Cycling Club) when I lived in Indiana. I made some comment about ICCC and struck up a conversation with the rider. Turns out it was, Pete Griffin, an old college classmate from Taylor University.
My pace was a little quicker than Pete's and I crested Suck Creek before he did. The descent was a blast! The first part of the descent isn't too bad but the second half is a little more technical. My speed topped out over 40mph. The bike felt nice and solid.
Between the bottom of Suck Creek and the ascent of Sand Mtn is about 30 miles of relatively flat miles. (If you look at the elevation profile @ http://ridewithgps.com/trips/37429 you will realize it isn't flat.) The first rest stop is at the bottom of Suck Creek and I reconnected with Pete there. We rode together for a good portion of that section but when the road went up, I lost him again for good.
Metric riders (Metric Century: 100km = 62 miles), split off shortly after the 2nd rest stop (roughly 40 miles). At mile 44, there is a "non" hill called Ladd Mtn the organizers throw in for fun. It's about a mile of climbing and half way up they remind you that the split for the metric route wasn't too far back and you could change your mind if you wanted to. (Thanks for the encouragement.)
Sand Mountain
At 50(ish) miles the route crosses into Alabama and shortly thereafter makes a left hand turn and heads up Sand Mtn. Sand is shorter than Suck Creek, but it is also steeper. It's 2.5 miles @ 6-7% on more of a backroad (narrrower, somewhat rough with a few potholes) than the earlier climb. It was at the top of this climb last year that my legs told me they were thinking about cramping. I'd been consuming Hammer Nutrition's Endurolites regularly during the ride to help prevent cramping. By the time I got to the top of Sand, I was pretty spent. The wind was stronger at the top and felt cooler than the 80's predicted. My legs were tired and 5 miles after cresting the 3rd rest stop was a welcome sight!
At this point I was 10 miles from the descent of Sand and 15 miles from the entrance the KOA. Yes, the route went right by the KOA!! I called Jenni to let her know where I was. She and the kids had spent the morning at the campground and met me as I rode by. A few quick hugs from the kids and I was back on the bike.
Somewhere in there my nose had started to bleed. I didn't know why, but afterwards someone had suggested either that I was dehydrated or that I had a spike in blood pressure. On a ride like this both seemed plausible if not quite probable.
Right before the final climb there is a rest stop. I stopped for a kleenex a little water and a potty break. (When you have four kids 8 and under you still call it a potty break.) As I was pulling away to head up Burkhalter Gap toward lookout Mtn Jenni and the kids passed me.
Burkhalter Gap/Lookout Mountain
The climb up Burkhalter is brutal. 2.4 miles @ 8-10% grade, but the kicker is that the last few hundred meters pushes to 17%. It was here that Jenni and the kids cheered me on last year and their intent this year. I tried to keep my heart rate about 160 bpm and not push it to 170. If I got it to 170 or higher I wouldn't be able to recover (there is no place to recover). That and I had 82 miles on my legs and not much left anyway.
A mile up the climb I saw Jenni pulled off to the side of the road and Joshua trotting toward me. When he got to me he told me the car had overheated and wouldn't run. ughhhhh. I stopped at the car uncertain about what to do and Jenni told me to keep going.
So I got back on the bike and started thinking/worrying about all the different scenarios. Is the car dead? Will we need a rental to get home? What about the stuff in the car? What about the stuff at the campsite? Will we get the car fixed in Chattanooga? Will we need a new engine? Should we just sell it? Maybe this is our opportunity to get a bigger vehicle if we do adopt. And on and on it went.
This process of thought didn't help me as I tried to climb. I stopped once, but was determined not to walk. The last section, the steepest, was longer than I thought and I remember looking down at my computer and seeing 28% grade. Ooooof! But I made it. At the top I wasn't sure I cared if I rode the last 16 miles to Chattanooga. I walked over to a police officer and told her about Jenni and our van. She found out that a wrecker had already been called.
With that information and a little refreshment from the rest stop I rode off. My pace, other than when aided by gravity, felt slow. The problem is that the top of lookout mountain isn't flat. In fact after a little descent there is another climb before heading down the mountain. I was pretty much alone now, other than for the occasional couple of riders that would pass me. My legs were in survival mode now. I had hoped to break 7 hours for the ride but those hopes were now dashed. I only needed to finish.
Finally, I made it to the turn onto Red Riding Hood Trail (yes, that is what it is called) signifying the start of the descent off of Lookout Mtn. About a mile down Jenni called me and I learned that with the help of the wrecker and a police officer, they got enough fluid back in the radiator to get the van running again. (Praise God!) They followed her down the mountain to a gas station where she was able to top it off completely. I guess I wasn't the only one who was dehydrated.
The run down Lookout Mtn made me a little nervous. I wanted to go a little faster, but other vehicles on the road kept me on my brakes. I started to get paranoid about heating up my rims to much and possibly blowing a tire. At the bottom of the descent is a stop light and a left turn onto the main drag in St Elmo. A police officer was at that intersection directing traffic and waived me through. Both last year and this the police in St Elmo and Chattanooga have been amazing. Once you get off the Mtn, you feel like the red carpet had been laid out for last few miles back to Findley. Here my legs stopped hurting and the relief of nearly being done carried me to the finish. (It also helped that I had a few miles on the descent to recover.)
Jenni and the kids met me a few minutes later and I was able to shower and change. We chatted with Brian and Mike and their friends once they rolled across the line. I missed my 7 hour goal by 20 minutes. Total time was 7 hours 20 min, time on the bike was 6 hours 40 min. I logged around 8000 ft of climbing.
Family Fun
I had a blast with the family too. The afternoon before the ride we had fun hiking around Rock City. It was a hit for everyone, though whiny before we got there, the kids quickly changed their tune. One of Joanna's favorite lines now is "This is the best day EVER!" and we got to hear it a couple times this weekend, along with Daddy/Mommy, you're the BEST!"
We went to the Adventure Science Museum in Chattanooga a couple times. Once after the ride on Saturday and again on Sunday before heading home. There is so much for the kids to do there. They always love it. We saw a science show and the three girls got to go on stage and shoot off backing soda and vinegar rockets made from film cans. I think Joanna will be talking about that one for a while. I can hear her now. She starts her stories with "A long time ago I/we..." even if the event was yesterday.
There are more varieties of inch worms than you realize. Inch worms love to find their way into KOA cabins and are very juicy (when squished). Corn snakes aren't poisonous (Julia found one). Joshua learned that sticks used for roasting marshmallows are quite hot. He accidentally burnt his hand.
Sober Return Home
We had a very dry weekend in spite of expecting rain like last year. The report from home, however, was very different. The aftermath of the deluge that hit the Nashville area is still unfolding. We made it home safely (didn't have to deal w/flooding or an overheating car) and our house wasn't affected. But there is so much flooding in the area and so many displaced people. Millions of dollars of damage. People have died. It's surreal. We've been watching the news coverage pretty much since we got home. I am not sure the Cumberland river has crested, but it is already 2 feet above the expected crest @ 50 ft (40ft is considered a flood). We've hit the highest rainfall for one day ever in this area, over 7 inches. Yesterday is now the 3rd highest on record.
