Southeast - 2011 3-State 3-Mountain Challenge

Okay, registration is now open. Date is Saturday, May 7. Who's in?

http://www.3state3mountainchallenge.com/

Maybe. I'm waiting for them to offer a dry weather guarantee.

Someone has to be riding it. In prior years we've had several people say they did it.

I'd love to... but I think it's too early in the summer for me - it'll totally kick my ass. I've ridden once since October...

I've ridden once since October...

Oh my. Well, you have three months to get ready, assuming this cold wet weather ever goes away.

I'll be there, the question is... do I ride the 12 miles to the start from my parents house... and then back at the end...

I just turned in my registration today. I'm doing the metric century since one mountain is a big enough psychological challenge for me at this point.

I'm in.

The rules of probability say this year will be dry, since two of the last three years were wet, right?

Maybe I'll met someone from BikeForums at the event. Or not.

Road up Signal and Suck Creek, 48 miles this AM. Buddy and I registered when we got back. Can't wait =)

Meh, Six Gap was rainy this past year and survived it. Can't be any worse.

But will be keeping fingers crossed for better!

One month away.

I will be doing it. Only doing the metric though. Have to be in Nashville that afternoon for a 10K race.

Anyone else game?

Two weeks to go. 1400 base miles so far this year. Rode Burkhalter but not with 80 miles on my legs, so it will definitely be a challenge to get to the top. I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be.

Maybe. I'm waiting for them to offer a dry weather guarantee.

It looks like your prayers have been answered. The projected forecast for Saturday is sunny with a high of 80, a morning low of 52, and zero perfect chance of rain. It will be a little warm in the afternoon, but looks like it will be a fabulous day.

Several folks from our local group will be doing this, but I can't be one of them. Have a good ride!

It will be a little warm in the afternoon, but looks like it will be a fabulous day.

Sounds good!

The weather couldn't have been better. A little chilly on the first descent, but a great ride nonetheless.

They had to cut out the last climb up Lookout Mountain because the local county government is busy helping people recover from the tornado damage. I can't complain. After all, it's just a bike ride. Some people lost everything they own, including loved ones. The ride organizers decided to give the proceeds from the ride to help the people affected by the storms. They did a heck of a job with support, SAG stops, and overall organization.

Yup was a great day for riding!

My heart may have been a little hurt, but my butt and knees were glad to skip the last mountain =)

They had to cut out the last climb up Lookout Mountain because the local county government is busy helping people recover from the tornado damage.

Bummer. I know this sounds shallow, but I was frankly disappointed that the ride axed its signature climb. That was the part I was most interested in doing.

Another thing, Suck Creek Mountain literally does suck. With cyclists forming a slow rolling roadblock in one lane and vehicular traffic trying to go both directions in the other one. And then it gets even worse with half-crazed cyclists flying down the descent and around the corners.

It's only a matter of time before someone ends up in the ER again, or worse.

Bummer. I know this sounds shallow, but I was frankly disappointed that the ride axed its signature climb. That was the part I was most interested in doing.

I completely understand your disappointment. This was supposed to be my first century, and now it will have an asterisk by it. I trained well for it, and I had enough left in the tank to finish strong on Burkhalter. I still did better than I thought I would. Finished in 5:16 :) How did you do?

Finished in 5:16 :) How did you do?

That's good for your first time. Mine was a bit over a bit over 5:20. It was slow going at the beginning, but once I got to the flat stretches on the other side of Suck Creek, it felt pretty good (except for Sand Mountain, which just felt like work).

Obviously Burkhalter would have been a test, but I thought I could probably have handled another 20-30 miles yesterday without too much damage.

Those Alabama roads will beat the crap out of you =(

Same thing further out, Foothills Classic route, hits a several mile section of road that will shake every bit of your body and bike to bits =(

Any of you spot the Fuji rider rockin platforms and toe clips??? =/

It was my first time on the 3S3M (or 2.25M in this case) & it was a really nicely done, nicely supported gig, I thought. I have to say (and this is clearly NO reflection or comparison with the devastation the area received on 4/27) that I wish I'd had the last climb to whup me. I was really looking forward to the challenge and I felt like the end was anti-climactic. That said, it was still a GREAT ride and a great time. I finished with 5:01 of riding time and rode the whole way (except a few miles of climbing & post climbing on the washboards of AL until we could re-group) with 7 other friends from Knoxville. It's nice sharing the load and riding with people who you know (not only 'cause they're friends, but also you know how to communicate together so it's safer). There was an interesting diversity of bikes out there. One of the most interesting was the guy on the Puch with clips and wearing blue jean shorts and a t-shirt. Rockin' it old school! Looking forward to this one next year too.

great move on the part of the organizers with regards to the proceeds from the event!

What was the total distance of the century? I only did the metric, so I didn't pay attention.

Another thing, Suck Creek Mountain literally does suck. With cyclists forming a slow rolling roadblock in one lane and vehicular traffic trying to go both directions in the other one. And then it gets even worse with half-crazed cyclists flying down the descent and around the corners.

I started near the back which was a mistake. I couldn't pass many until Suck Creek Mountain. Of course it was an adrenaline rush passing hundreds of people. It made me feel like a better cyclist than I really am.

I saw one idiot in a car pass another car going up the mountain with dozens of cyclist in the way. I don't know how he made it, but he did. Then another idiot kept on honking his horn at everyone that was close to the double yellow line.

i had 87 & change on my computer at the end

I started near the back which was a mistake. I couldn't pass many until Suck Creek Mountain. Of course it was an adrenaline rush passing hundreds of people. It made me feel like a better cyclist than I really am.

Ditto. I'm hardly a speedster, but good grief--7 mph on a 4-5% climb?


I saw one idiot in a car pass another car going up the mountain with dozens of cyclist in the way.

Yeah, I saw one vehicle passing another one fairly close to a curve. Dumb.

I imagine they've attempted to close the road to traffic before, but they really need to do something. This is the fourth(?) time I've done the ride and this time was the worst I've seen.


i had 87 & change on my computer at the end

The cue sheet said 90, didn't it? Was it even shorter than that? My computer recorded about 86, but it acted up along the way.

i had 87 & change on my computer at the endsame.

funny to hear that about the first climb. I was thinking I'd hang back and take it easy but I just couldn't do it *that* slow, so I ended up weaving through an endless crowd of other cyclists just to keep a good cadence. I have to say with traffic (bikes) and traffic (cars) I didn't see anything startling and there seemed to be pretty good communication between folks...my friends and I announced our presence and signaled which way we were going as we made our way up. I did see a guy pass a slowly descending conversion van going wide into the oncoming lane on one of the hairpins on the last steep descent and while I wasn't going to follow him it didn't actually appear to be particularly dangerous because there was great visibility to the road ahead.

Ditto. I'm hardly a speedster, but good grief--7 mph on a 4-5% climb?

Amazingly it wasn't just a few people, it was several hundred riding at 7 mph. Maybe they were all from Florida and have ever done a climb of more than 200 feet. Just a wild guess.