Southeast - 2009 Cherohala Challenge (20 June 2009) Tellico Plains, TN

6:30am? :eek: i think i might be glad i remained home...i have skiffrun tempting me with a 100mi ride tomorrow, but, he too, wants to start at the buttcrack of dawn (6am) and i'm supposed to be "resting"....gonna ride the fg for a couple hrs in the morning. :D

Neal and I are thinking of getting a headstart on the crowd by leaving at 6:30.

Just got the message. I'll have to see how it goes. I've got 45 extra minutes of driving to get there (compared to you guys).

The good news is that the forecast high has been revised down a few degrees.

Sunrise starts are often nice, especially around Tellico Plains where you can see for miles. I would feel like I'm wasting precious time if I was sleeping when its light outside.:)

Just got the message. I'll have to see how it goes. I've got 45 extra minutes of driving to get there (compared to you guys).

The good news is that the forecast high has been revised down a few degrees.

Don't believe that at all. Anyway, it won't matter if we get on the Skyway before noon as we should leaving by 6:30.

ok...y'all need to post up and tell me how it went!!!

Anyway, it won't matter if we get on the Skyway before noon as we should leaving by 6:30.


:lol:

I should just delete that post.

It was a beautiful day. The rain this spring has kept everything intensely green and the brooks are all babbling. The morning light in the valley around Tellico Plains was especially striking. In spite of the humidity, it was not particularly hazy, so the views of the mountains - and from the mountains - were fabulous.

It was a bit warm. I did not suffer much because of my secret weapon: a Hawaiian shirt. The sag vehicles were busy and everyone was fighting cramps.

I thought I was doing pretty well (for me). Made it to Deal's Gap in good time, and it seemed like I was progressing up The Climb a lttle faster than I had in the past. But I finished in the sub-mediocre time of 9:55, with 9:13 on the bike. My previous best time was a little under 9:30. It must have been the head wind (surely there was a head wind at some point).

BTW, I ride "some old relic with downtube friction shifters", so I do not find the humor in that remark, unlike BikeWNC. ;) But then, I am approaching "old relic" status myself.

Sluggo: You were on the lime green bike with fenders? I yo-yoed back and forth with you for the
first 66mi. I had on a jersey extolling the mountain goat century dark red top fading to bluish bottom.
I crapped out at the Santeelah church. Drank two bottles of gatorade and chowed down and took
a ride to the first rest stop on 'the hill'. The heat was getting pretty brutal at that point. Air temp
wasn't all that high at altitude but the sun raised the effective temp 15-20F Lots of dehydrating
cyclists and sag activity. Felt quite good after the refresher and was able to make the final 6mi to the
top with good speed and energy. Met up with the rest of my crew and had a good ride to the bottom,
though the 5-6mi down hills were completely erased by the 1mi uphills and the rollers in the 102-110mi
range were brutal. At least there was plenty of food at the end and I didn't get the short end of
'sorry, we are out of water' that occurred at several rest stops at least briefly. Sags were kept busy
shuttling water all afternoon as 5 of the seven stops were in waterless areas 10-15miles from the nearest
supply.

That was me. I believe we exchanged a pleasantry outside the portapotty at Deal's gap. Pleased to meet you.

I also met VeloVol at the post-ride meal.

I agree with you about the short climbs on the big descent. They felt just as tough as The Climb itself -- back in the tiny grampa gear and crawling again. I don't remember them being so nasty.

I don't remember seeing someone on a relic of a bike that had fenders. But then I don't really remember much from the lake to the first sag on the Skyway. The heat did me in on the climb out in the sun. Of course, I was just kidding about old bikes and downtube shifters. LOL. Maybe we should do the ride again in January. That would be more to my liking I think. :thumb:

I did my part to keep those water shuttles busy. :lol:

I did meet Sluggo at the post-meal tent. I would never have known, but he identified me from my photo. Real life and cyberspace collide.

I'm thinking about doing this one next year. The idea of riding through the dragon kinda scares me though.......as I used to act a fool there on a motorcycle.

The "Dragon" was great this year. There was some construction on the Tenn. side and they held traffic up, or so it seemed, for most of my ride through. The traffic finally came through about a half mile before the State-line rest stop. So much of the ride was very quiet. I wouldn't count on that next year though.

Overall, my first CC was a pretty good experience. It was great to meet VeloVol, NeahH, and BWNC. Thanks for the good company along the route (the flatlands anyway). Sorry, I did not bring my camera but VeloVol and NeahH got some pics of the ride.

About 25 miles into the route I noticed that my smallest cassette gears were slipping. BWNC was nice enough to pull over with me and re-tighten the lock ring which had come become loose. I thought my day was pretty much doomed at that point with 85 miles left. I felt terrible because BWNC had greasy fingers and bright white bar tape on his new Spec. and the fact that I was holding up the group. I rushed to remount the rear wheel and on my first attempt I didn't even route the chain properly. :twitchy: I promise I have successfully changed many flats. ;) Also in my haste, I did not center the rear wheel before closing the QR. In my infinite wisdom, I discovered the rear brake pad rubbing at mile 70 before the skyway climb.

I made it over the Tail of the Dragon on down to the rest stop before the Joyce Kilmer and the Skyway, but at that point I started to feel overheated, nauseous, and weak. I had a bottle of water and one with lime flavored Heed that I mixed at the rest stop. I discovered that I could not tolerate one sip of the Heed and was on verge of getting sick. Made it to mile 74 on the skyway climb (about 1-2 miles short of the next rest stop) and I was out of water, dry skin with goosebumps, and disoriented. I was day old burnt toast. I pulled over in the shade for about the 5th time and waited on the sag.

I took an 8 mile ride of shame to the top of the skyway and joined up with BWNC, VelVol, and NeahH to finish the ride. Once I got two bottles of cold water and cooled down in the AC of the sag wagon, I got a second wind, felt better, and completed the ride. The positives are that I completed 107 miles with roughly 7500 feet of climbing in high heat and humidity. I still think I should have been able to limp up the skyway. I just did not manage the heat as well as I should have. I feel like there is unfinished business and I will try this ride again next year.

Sluggo: You passed me just before my meltdown on the skyway. When I saw you in Hawaiian shirt on that lime green bike I seriously thought that I was hallucinating. :roflmao2:

BWNC and NealH: Sorry for following you closely on the skyway descent. My extra "mass" was pushing me downhill and I was riding my brakes.

VeloVol: I still do not know how you made it up the skyway climb on a standard double. It boggles the mind.

BTW, did any of you see any naked hikers?!? Sorry if this was posted somewhere else.

From http://www.tailofthedragon.com/:

" JUNE 20: What a day for local events!! The Dragon and Cherohala as always attracted a lot of motorcycles and cars, the Cherohala Challenge brought bicycles into the mix, the Cheoah River brought kayakers and rafters into the whitewater, and the hiking trails were packed with naked hikers honoring National Hike Naked Day. If you weren't here you really missed a great day of riding and gawking at the sun burns."

BTW, did any of you see any naked hikers?!? Sorry if this was posted somewhere else.

From http://www.tailofthedragon.com/:

" JUNE 20: What a day for local events!! The Dragon and Cherohala as always attracted a lot of motorcycles and cars, the Cherohala Challenge brought bicycles into the mix, the Cheoah River brought kayakers and rafters into the whitewater, and the hiking trails were packed with naked hikers honoring National Hike Naked Day. If you weren't here you really missed a great day of riding and gawking at the sun burns."

Nope, missed the naked hikers. I did see a wild boar on the way through the Dragon. I've been charged by one of those before so I gave it a wide berth.

Photos are up on Killboy (http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/thumbpage.aspx?e=4840810). And just to prove I am not a hallucination, there are some pretty good pictures of me.

sch: I had not made the person-bike connection before, but were you on the flaming Waterford?

Bob Wilson: "Dry skin with goosebumps, and disoriented" is one small step before a hospital bed and an IV or worse. Careful out there. And what were you wearing and riding, so I can recognize you next time?

BikeWNC: How about March or April -- it can get a little cold at 5000' feet in January. I would like to do it backwards so that the descent is uninterrupted by those nasty sawteeth.

Whereabouts was the wild boar? I didn't see it. In fact, I don't recall ever having seen one.

It takes me forever to find photos on event websites.

Bob Wilson

http://www.photoreflect.com/prbin/prpv.dll?photo?s=0&i=04RK00Y2000727

NealH

http://www.photoreflect.com/prbin/prpv.dll?photo?s=0&i=04RK00Y2000686

BikeWNC

http://www.photoreflect.com/prbin/prpv.dll?photo?s=0&i=04RK00Y2000691

Velo Vol

http://www.photoreflect.com/prbin/prpv.dll?photo?s=0&i=04RK00Y2000682

Whereabouts was the wild boar? I didn't see it. In fact, I don't recall ever having seen one.

It was near the top of the first climb in the Dragon. Neal said he saw three of them there, I only saw one.

Skyway shots

http://www.photoreflect.com/prbin/prpv.dll?photo?s=0&i=04RK00Y2020161

http://www.photoreflect.com/prbin/prpv.dll?photo?s=0&i=04RK00Y2020162

http://www.photoreflect.com/prbin/prpv.dll?photo?s=0&i=04RK00Y2020164

http://www.photoreflect.com/prbin/prpv.dll?photo?s=0&i=04RK00Y2020166

http://www.photoreflect.com/prbin/prpv.dll?photo?s=0&i=04RK00Y2020170

Apparently on the descent, as I'm way behind everyone else. :lol:

Alberto Contador Victory Salute? :thumb:




Velo Vol

http://www.photoreflect.com/prbin/prpv.dll?photo?s=0&i=04RK00Y2000682



http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7PYLvbtyS04/SbqMbXq7obI/AAAAAAAAFto/88ElJhdUIvc/s400/a8584656357cebb2c753986ba8d747c9-getty-cycling-fra-paris-nice-line.jpg

Photos are up on Killboy (http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/thumbpage.aspx?e=4840810). And just to prove I am not a hallucination, there are some pretty good pictures of me.

sch: I had not made the person-bike connection before, but were you on the flaming Waterford?

Bob Wilson: "Dry skin with goosebumps, and disoriented" is one small step before a hospital bed and an IV or worse. Careful out there. And what were you wearing and riding, so I can recognize you next time?

BikeWNC: How about March or April -- it can get a little cold at 5000' feet in January. I would like to do it backwards so that the descent is uninterrupted by those nasty sawteeth.

Sluggo,

My second thought was, "is that crazy @#%$!*^ going to self-combust?" That shirt did not look too breathable. Was it lined with a refrigerant cooling system? :D Thanks for the chuckle. At that point in the ride, I needed a good laugh.

6:30am? :eek: i think i might be glad i remained home...i have skiffrun tempting me with a 100mi ride tomorrow, but, he too, wants to start at the buttcrack of dawn (6am) and i'm supposed to be "resting"....gonna ride the fg for a couple hrs in the morning. :DThat was a test to see if you would behave and follow your recovery regimine. I'm not sure if you followed all the recovery plan, but at least you didn't do the 100mi ride.

Killboy posts a picture of a unicyclist (http://killboy.blogspot.com/2009/06/as-if-it-wasnt-difficult-enough.html).

Anyone know how far he went?

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LxZ4Mi3rR3Q/SkIUJ6E3wpI/AAAAAAAAYBc/6gywo6m6lks/s400/IMG_8628.jpg

There were three boars, two together and one a bit behind (or in front, I don't remember).

Those are some good pictures of us. Most of the pictures I took came out blurry. Its been a problem with this particular Sony camera and, I think its time to make a change. I didn't have this much of a problem with my old camera. Anyway, here are a few pictures that I took on the ride:

We got off to an early start and, here is a shot around 6:45 in the morning.
http://nealh.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p1059320584-4.jpg

BikeWNC leading the way through the farmland valley.
http://nealh.zenfolio.com/img/v0/p815382210-4.jpg

Riding along the finger lakes (Tellico and Caulderwood).
http://nealh.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p919969864-4.jpg

Entering the Tail of the Dragon.
http://nealh.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p578917544-4.jpg

Velo Vol with the Cheoa dam below.
http://nealh.zenfolio.com/img/v0/p765495317-4.jpg

Top of the Dragon. A nice descent follows.
http://nealh.zenfolio.com/img/v0/p833049765-4.jpg

The long haul up the Skyway. It was particularly tough with the heat.
http://nealh.zenfolio.com/img/v6/p1014907284-4.jpg

My happiest point on the ride. What a relief!
http://nealh.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p961269257-4.jpg

I awoke to rain on Sunday and, our plan for a recovery ride could not come to pass.....in the Sylva area anyway. I packed up and started my journey back to Raleigh but, as I passed Waynesville it became drier and drier. There had not been any rain in Asheville and, checking my iPhone weather it looked like it might be a couple hours or more before any arrived. So, I stopped at the Folk Art Center and decided to ride up a bit. At this time, things looked pretty nice and the temperature was near perfect for riding.
http://nealh.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p847499385-4.jpg

As I kept climbing, clouds were creeping in and the temperature was dropping. It was still good riding though.
http://nealh.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p852971149-4.jpg

I ran into a fellow from Christiansburg who just lost his job and, decided to spend 6 days pedaling the Parkway, from Cherokee to Front Royal, Va. This was day 2. He said this might be the only opportunity that he would have and he wanted to take advantage of it. He was a mountain biker and, purchased a 29" bike for this particular journey. The weather was degrading the more we climbed.
http://nealh.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p1045158716-4.jpg

As we neared the Craggy Gardens ranger station, visibility was almost non-existent and the wind started howling. We stopped at the station for a break and, the ranger was building a wood fire as it was getting cold. I started back in drizzly cold but, about 500' down things started looking Ok. It was only at the top that the weather was rough. Cliff (the tourer) was heading to Craggy Meadows (I think that's the name) where he would spend night 2.
http://nealh.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p717039658-4.jpg

It was a long descent and, some sections of road here are in bad need of repair. I really had to watch my path ahead. I just made it back to the Folk Art Center and it started raining. A stroke of luck I guess. I stopped at the nearest fast food (Zacksbys) on 70 for lunch then headed back.

Sluggo,

My second thought was, "is that crazy @#%$!*^ going to self-combust?" That shirt did not look too breathable. Was it lined with a refrigerant cooling system? :D Thanks for the chuckle. At that point in the ride, I needed a good laugh.

I know I am in the minority on this, but the last thing I would wear on a hot day is a tight synthetic jersey. Cotton and silk breathe much better. Hawaiians know how to stay cool.

How did you all get the killboy pictures to show up here? They are resisting my efforts.

How did you all get the killboy pictures to show up here? They are resisting my
efforts.

I have a Foxfire plug-in thing that displays the image path (location) on web pages. It helps me circumvent the left click disable feature. I simply copied the jpg addresses and insert them in the posts.

I completely missed the boars.

Those are good pictures, NealH. Too bad others are blurry.

Its funny to read of it being "cold" the next day. But such are conditions in the mountains. With cloud cover and the wrong kind of wind, it can turn cool quickly.

great pictures Neal! :)

That was a test to see if you would behave and follow your recovery regimine. I'm not sure if you followed all the recovery plan, but at least you didn't do the 100mi ride.

ha. :) i did listen...only 30 easy miles on the fixed gear saturday morning and 18mi sunday evening...after a whole week off, i was ready to ride....would've ridden with you, but that wasn't part of my plan. ;)