TB 3/11

Blustery out of the north again tomorrow so we’ll head north again in hopes of a tailwind coming back.   Roll from Falling Water @ 9:30 (should be 45 by then) for a trip up Retro.   Once on top we’ll check temp and wind (only supposed to lose a degree or two) and decide whether to continue with the mapped route or drop back down, head north, and add some loops along the way.  As mapped a metric and 4000 feet with lots of bailout/alt route options.  Yep, we’ll be on some of the same roads as last week but we’ll be going in a different direction so hopefully they’ll at least seem different.  (Good grief – I’m over winter already.)

 

Sat. 3/4

Lot’s of options tomorrow.

Option 1 – TB Ride from Falling Water at 9am 60 miles with a climb

Option 2 – Falling Water at 9am, chase TB almost to Graysville but turn right up Old Graysville Rd. back via Pool, May, Mayflower, Back Valley, etc. 50 miles (see map)

Option 3 – Falling Water at 9am but turn at Sale Creek and return via Back Valley. 40 miles. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42141158

Option 4 – all of the above, but you jump on at the Soddy Ball Fields probably around 9:30am but don’t blink.

Option 5 – Barry Allen Ride from Jasper. Rolls at 10am EST from Tower Community Bank 4564 Main St. He calls it a Valley Ride. 50 miles and plenty of ways to short it.

TB 3/4

TB heads north this week to see if Link will come out to play.   Roll from Falling Water promptly @ 9:00 to visit an old friend.   We’ll also visit a few other friends along the way – Old Dayton, Stormer, etc. – as we make our way to Brayton Mtn.   It’s a metric and 3700 feet but it’ll feel like much, much more.  Carry what food you need – we’ll get water at the church on top but there may not be a store stop.

Sat. 2/25

Option 1 – Roll with TB at 9am. Plenty of ways to short the course if so desired.

Cancelled Option 2 – Roll at 11am from Battlefield with Dean Poi for +/- 3 hours at Tranquilo pace

TB 2/25

UPDATE (6:50 a.m.): FUTURECAST SHOWS RAIN STAYING NORTH OF TOWN AFTER A SHORT BURST AROUND 7:30.   RIDE STILL ROLLS AT 9:00!   (Fly says the weather is always better south of town…………..) WE’LL UPDATE AGAIN AROUND 8:00 IF THINGS CHANGE.

Roll from Steady’s Campground (St Elmo Food City) at 9:00.   South via Creek to the foot of Burkhalter and we’ll then wind around to Byrd’s Chapel and Back Valley before making our way back to Trenton and then climbing up Sand.  (Remember to take a right at that bad intersection going up or we’ll never see you again!)  A metric and around 4000 feet – yep, I cheated a bit at the end by doing a loop down Broad to get it to the magic number.  May be some route changes once Fly and King have time to study what I’ve done so wait a bit before you load it into your computers!

Sat 2/18

As usual Elite’s providing options

Option 1: Gravel – Roll from River Drifters at 10am with Bub 1 and to ride up Suck Creek Mtn. to Prentice Cooper. Conditions will dictate how much is done in Prentice Cooper. Exit and head over to Big Fork Rd. to ride to HWY 127 (Taft Hwy) on Signal. Either take Taft back down the mtn or just reverse course on Big Fork. Other options on Prentice Cooper include exiting and just returning to River Drifters and/or starting at the parking lot on Prentice and just riding in the park. Estimate Bub and crew to be there around 10:40 if you choose that option. Full monty about 54 miles. Map included.

Option 2: roll with TB from Mike’s Hole in the Wall at 11am. If you want to short his route, Blankenship will be turning right on 299 after Murphy Hollow and skip the stairsteps. Probably about 50 miles total.

TB 2/18

Roll from Mikes @ 11:00 (when we should be close to the magic temp #).    South over the toe and wind our way around to Creek Rd and Morganville Ridge.   RIGHT ON SLYGO and then the left to get back to the foot of Sand where we’ll climb up to the sweet new tarmac on Murphy Hollow.   Murphy to 299, quick stop at the store at the bottom of the stairs, and then the stairs (via BeezleBub’s side road) and back.   Lots of ways to short it including: (i) staying on Slygo back to 299 should put it in the 40+/- range (I’m guessing here); and (ii) turning right on 299 after Murphy should put it in the 50+/- range and avoid the stairs and those nasty rollers on Cummings.  As mapped 60 miles. 3500 feet.

Sat. 2/11

Option 1 – Roll from Mike’s at 9:30 with TB. King will lead a shortened version that will omit the climb up Mowbray. Probably 45 miles.

Option 2 – Roll from the St. Elmo Food City at 10 for a Guild Trail gravel ride. Probably omit Upper Truck and drop down to Reflection Riding and play down there. 25-30 miles.

Option 3 – Deano says no ride tomorrow.

TB 2/11

Roll from Mike’s at 9:30 and head north AGAIN.  I know, I know, some of the same roads but we’ll reverse direction and add some twists so it isn’t exactly like last week’s route.  (Wind out of the NE and really blustery so fingers crossed hugging Signal and Mowbry will block some of it – the route is similar to the “Wind Barrier” route we’ve done in the past on windy days.)  Up Montlake, down Hotwater, and then north a bit to tie into Armstrong where we’ll finally have the wind at our backs.   Lots of ways to short this one if the wind is too bad or I start thinking about that bacon sandwich I’m gonna get at Mikes.  A metric and 4200 feet as mapped.

 

Sat. 2/4

Option 1 – Ride with TB. Roll from Mike’s at 11:00 for basically the summer Tuesday night loop. Many places to cut it short if so desired. Map is for the full course.

Option 2 – Gravel Ride with Smoke. Roll at 10 from King’s Slough Boat Ramp at Ocoee. 36 miles and 4,500 of climbing with Smoke and crew. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/33337137

Option 3 – 10:30 rollout from the Battlefield with Dean Poi for +/- 3 hours. For full transparency about 2000’ of climbing. Tranquilo pace with the option to solo off the front (King). Possible route  https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/144185943