satchelmcqueen

im thinking of doing this trail this weekend. all of it. possibly turning around at the 95 mile one way end and doing it again in reverse.

has anyone here done this trail? the longest ive rode is 37 miles in the cohutah mountains, (trails, old road beds) and it took me 9 hrs. this was a slow pace but a killer.

im not used to flat paved trails like the silver comet so im not sure how to judge my skills/time.

what ya think? been riding since 2006. took a few years off and back at it now with about 2 months back under my belt. feeling good so far.

pdlamb

I think there's about three hills on the Chief Ladiga / Silver Comet, and everything else is no more than 2%. So as far as hills go, you should have no problems.

I'd suggest you do this in stages; 37 to 180 miles is a big, big jump in distance. You might want to find a supported metric century first (SAG wagons if you need them, food and water at rest stops). Keep riding, and fine one near you next spring. After you ride the metric, look into an overnight rest stop at one end of the Comet/Latiga (ride out one day, spend the night, then ride back the next day). Pay attention to places you can get water and food.

There are maps online for this trail, but there's also a printed pamphlet you can get from local shops that I highly recommend. The western part of the trail is rather remote. No time like wondering where you'll find the next water stop to discover you don't have a cell signal and can't look up that online site!

satchelmcqueen

thanks man. yep def gonna stay the night at the end of the first run through. i didnt realize the west end was as repote. i will plot it all out for food and water and get the pamplet you speak of.

as far as the 37 vs 190 miles goes, i was just saying that the 37 in the mountains was a *****, vs 37 highway is easy for me. im hoping that the very flat lay of this trail will help it be easier that the mountains for the most part.

DaHaMac

I've done the trail from Smyrna to 1.5 miles inside Alabama. You are really going to have to move to complete the trail between dawn and dusk since those are the official hours of the trail.

The trail is also scheduled for a facelift: https://pathfoundation.org/2012/12/s...omet-facelift/

Here are a couple of my rides on the Silver Comet. I always try to ride with a partner as some parts of the trail run through questionable and/or remote areas.
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/654871
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/1002843

I could have probably ridden the trail a little faster by myself but who knows. I do plan to do my first 300K on the Silver Comet June 13th: https://audaxatlanta.com/index.php?op...d=89&Itemid=38

I don't think I can make it this Saturday but could set a date sometime between 12/17 & 12/23

satchelmcqueen

well i did the complete silver comet section starting in symrna and ending 1/2 mile past the alabama line. omg i didnt expect it to be that hard. im used to mountain biking only so i really didnt know what to expect.

first mistake was i took my mountain bike instead of renting a road bike. i averaged 12pmh which was really pushing it over the entire course. in top gear on the flats i could hold 15-16mph without pushing to hard, but it did catch up with me. i was told by a guy on a road bike that he could easily hold 25mph the way his was geared. this would have helped a lot.

either way i now have a good idea of my limits and what to take next time i try it. im happy i completed the silver comet but kinda bumbed i couldnt go the other 33 miles to do the whole thing. i just didnt have anything left and it was starting to get dark when i hit the state line. food and water, i had just enough.

my legs were feeling like they were going to bust open the last 15 miles. i had to get creative to even pedal at that point. instead of a true pedal with my muscles, i had to stand and use my body weight on the pedals to push them down. it was torture, but knowledge gained for the long rides.

i might try it again next fall with a road bike.

i did gps my ride so it feels good to look at it on google earth.

pdlamb

Congratulations!

Since you didn't mention tires, I'm guessing you rode with standard knobby MTB tires. If you get some slick tires from your friendly local bike shop (LBS), you'll be about 75% of the way to the smooth ride of a road bike.

Don't wait until next fall -- try again on a cool (not cold), sunny weekend in the spring.

satchelmcqueen

yes knobby tires.

gavinstevens

Good info, thanks. I'm going to ride out to AL, camp, and return to GA in the Spring.

ojdash

I did this trail the similar to the way you are doing it. I had been riding for a few years (just commuting really maybe a couple of 40 mile at the most on a day ride) and I did the trail from alt to alabama then back (stayed at a motel 8 i think in anniston). I was sore but it is very doable, although suprise hill in the middle kinda sucks