A snowy mountain bike ride on my redesigned trail
I'm logging my winter miles on my old Lemond Maillot Jaune. Got this bike back in 2001 when I first started racing.
One of my favorite signs to see
This little creek crossing was dry today. Good thing since it was 36 degrees.
Green fields on one side of the road...
the Cumberland River on the other side.
Shannon has been riding more too. She accompanied me on a ride from Trenton, KY over to the Jefferson Davis National Monument in Fairvue, KY. That ride has become one of my favorites for slow winter riding. It's a fairly flat route, which was perfect for Shannon to log in her longest ride ever. We did just over 30 miles before ending back in Trenton. She then paced me behind the car for most of the 30 miles home. It was my second time pacing this year and it sucked. The first few pace rides are always the toughest. It's like your legs forget how to go fast and how to hurt. This pace ride was less painful than the first one though. First day of pacing came with a vicious crosswind and I got little relief from being behind the car.
Getting ready at the park in Trenton
The monument sticking up in the distance. You can see it the entire ride, but it seems to take forever to finally get there.
Plenty of silos along the route.
Shannon passing one of the many vocal cows we encountered.
Getting closer...
A big puddle in front of the monument.
Finally there! Looking up at the Jefferson Davis Monument
Short break and then back on the road.
The rock wall around the monument park
Supplementing my riding with some running drills and strength work has been a refreshing addition to the week. We have some good resources at work so I come in early a few days a week to take advantage of the equipment. I'm still working hard on my glute strength which I am happy to report has improved significantly. My form on the bike has improved to probably 90% of where I want it to be. I'm starting to work on my running form now that the bike has improved.
Weight sled
Hurdles work well for increasing hip and knee flexion during running.
Plyo boxes
The agility ladder is good for footwork. I like using the tractor tire for squatting and flipping. It's a good glute workout.
We have been working on the house as well. I hope we don't have to be in our little rental home for too much longer, but while we are here I'm going to make it the best it can be. My Dad made us a bike rack for hanging the bikes and a few weeks ago I put up some pegboard for tools. We don't have a garage so the spare bedroom serves as our bike room for now.
My plan for the winter training included some time in the east Tennessee mountains in February. Some schedule conflicts popped up for us and it looked as if all of February would be lost for traveling. The weather forecast was looking nice the last weekend of January so we loaded up the car and headed east. Shannon had never been to Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg, so we based our riding out of that area. The forecast was for a pair of sunny days with the temp in the low 50s. You don't get that kind of weather too often in late January. The lows at night were around 30 so it was a chilly start to Saturday. We had breakfast at the hotel, sitting in the warm sunshine next to the lobby window. I changed after breakfast and came outside to find overcast skies. It had only been 30 minutes, but it was like a different day outside. The clouds looked like they were set in for the day, so I dressed on the warm side. It was a good thing I chose my thermal base layer because the temp stayed below 40 for most of my ride.
I left out of Pigeon Forge and rode 21 miles through backroads over to Townsend. There were a few tough climbs along the way, but overall it was a nice warm-up for the main climb of the day up Butterfly Gap. The sun was peeking in and out of the clouds as I made my way over to Butterfly Gap, which climbs up the west side of the Foothills Parkway. It's a challenging 4 miles, featuring several very steep sections, with minimal rest in between.
A green stretch of climbing took me out of Pigeon Forge
Snapped this picture during the brief time the sun was out.
The lower slopes of Butterfly Gap.
I felt good up Butterfly. The legs were good and I was warm. It's such a cool little backroad that I don't even notice the pain that comes with the steepness. The clouds thickened by the time I got onto the Foothills Parkway. The temp was still in the upper-30s and I nearly froze on the 6-mile descent that followed. I made it to the bottom and immediately turned around to begin climbing back up so I could generate some heat. This climb is much more gradual than Butterfly Gap. I climb Butterfly because it's gnarly and will make you work very hard just to keep moving forward. I climb the Foothills to work on my climbing rhythm. It's steady and allows for some good heart rate work over a longer distance.
A switchback on Butterfly Gap
Looking back down at what I had climbed.
Overcast views of the Smokies today
The lake at Hwy 129 and the Foothills Parkway
Trees smashed down from a recent storm
After 4+ hours of fighting the cold alone, Shannon met me at the north end of the Foothills Parkway to attempt her first mountain climb on a bike. She had spent the morning scouring the outlet malls in Pigeon Forge and had found some really great deals on clothing and other things we needed. The second I pulled up to the car, the clouds began to break and the warm sunshine finally broke through. Her ride was much more enjoyable than mine had been. We rode a little over 4 miles up the first climb on the Parkway in total sunshine. The temp shot up to 50 in just a few minutes. It made for a good end to 5+ hour ride.
Elevation profile for the ride up Butterfly Gap and the Foothills Parkway
Better views than earlier in the ride
Shannon finishing off the climb
After the ride we got to relax a little and tour the area. We ate dinner at Mel's Diner in Pigeon Forge, where we had a HUGE banana split for dessert. Then it was off to Gatlinburg to check out the little shops along the strip. They have a stored called All Sauced Up, which is full of every kind of sauce you can think of. I am a sauce FREAK. Needless to say, we left there with a whole bag full of stuff. Shannon enjoyed the taffy stores as well. We also stopped by the Apple Barn. They have the best apple butter around so we grabbed a jar before ending the day.
Mel's Banana Split before...
...and after.
Sauce testing
My plan for Sunday had been to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's by far my favorite stretch of road to train on, but most of the south end is closed for tunnel repair and construction. My second choice was to drive through the Tail of the Dragon over to Robbinsville, NC to ride the Cherohala Skyway. I started the ride in Robbinsville and took Hwy 143 over to the official start of the Skyway. The first part of 143 was awesome! I was feeling good, the weather was warm and sunny, and there were several 1-2 mile twisty climbs and descents to keep me working. I was having way more fun than I did at any point during the previous day's ride.
A little dog hung out with us while we were getting ready for the ride. He was excited to be around people.
Climbing up Hwy 143
Shannon provided support, following with the car, driving ahead to scout good picture spots and giving me a place to hand off clothes. I was down to short sleeves by the time I reached the Skyway. The wind was really whipping straight into my face as I made the turn onto the Skyway and started the first climb. I had never ridden the Skyway before and had no idea how long the climbs were or how many there were. The wind was really cold and I quickly found myself putting my warmers back on.
Ride route from the Garmin
Santeetlah Gap marks the start of the Cherohala Skyway
The climb seemed to go on FOREVER. Most of the road was in the shade. That combined with the intense headwind made the temp drop quickly. The climb was tougher than I anticipated. There were some steep areas that kept me slow. The wind was so stiff that I was down to 4 mph for minutes at a time. It kept getting colder and colder as I climbed.
The summit finally came 10 miles later at over 5300 ft. It was 25 degrees at the top with a 30 mph wind. I was cold to the bone and numb from the knees down. I tried to jog around and warm my feet, but the wind was too much and I couldn't generate any warmth. I couldn't even change my clothes next to the car because the wind was pushing the car doors shut. I finally climbed inside and totally changed clothes. I put on dry, full-winter clothing and then got back out for the descent.
Finally at the top
Running to attempt to warm my feet. Didn't work.
Climbing past some ice on the cliff walls.
It was a teeth-chattering descent, but the air was gradually warming up as I descended the mountain. The last few miles of the ride into Tellico Plains, TN was filled with rolling hills and helped me finish off my legs. It was a good way to end a weekend that was supposed to be super hard. I never anticipated it being as difficult as it was, but I am glad for it. It will make me tougher and make for good stories in the future. It was definitely an epic weekend of riding.
Elevation profile for the Cherohala Skyway ride
Some interesting shrubbery at the end of the Skyway
Sunset on the drive home after a good weekend of riding and having fun with my wife. :)
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