Sunday I rode 16 miles at Raccoon Mountain in just over 4 hours. This was the most challenging ride of my entire trip.
I arrived at the parking lot at the trail head for Live wire and Live wire 2 around 10 am and temperature was 21 degrees. According to the forecast the high was going to be 38 degrees. I took my time and didn't start riding until 11:30. I was dressed with my full cold weather riding gear:
Many poor choices today. The first was my choice of parking location (green dot with two P's). My goal was to ride the outside loop which includes the trails Live wire and Live wire 2. The parking lot is in the NE corner:
I chose to follow the outside trail clockwise which was Live wire. I did not look at the elevation map or read the description. Even if I had I would have still chosen to climb so I could warm up quickly. Warm up I did as Ernie would rightly point out, "Why are you wearing so many clothes?" My answer would have been so I could ride slower and actually stop to take some photos and perhaps do some session-ing. The climb was much harder and longer than I expected after riding the other SORBA trails. These were real trails, not the groomed urban road trails of AEDC and Bauxite. There was even an ice flow that I had to skirt carefully.
Thirty minutes into the climb I had to stop and take off my jacket, ear warmers and hood. I should have stopped at 20 minutes and removed the first layer as I had a light sheen of sweat that lasted the entire ride.
When I reached the top the view was very nice and I took my only photo of the ride. And I didn't see where the trail continued. I followed the gravel road and after a few miscues found the trail head. You would think that with trails downloaded into Galileo that I would have no trouble figuring out where I was.
I rode a little further and found the parking lot where everyone else starts; at the top! By this time I had ridden over an hour was a little chilled now that I was on flats and mostly downhill. I was getting a little worried about how long the ride was going to take. Even though there were lots of cars I hadn't really seen any riders.
There trails were real mtn bike trails, not the groomed sanitized stuff I'd been riding for the last week. I admit to walking some rock sections that I am sure I am able to clear. I didn't want to risk injury while riding by myself. I was still a little cold and I was more interested in progress than photo ops.
Ok, now I am at the little green dot and I should take High Voltage. Unfortunately, I didn't remember that I should take High Voltage. I don't know how to put a route into my Garmin 1000 and I can't seem to scroll the map on the Garmin. Galileo doesn't show the name of the trails once downloaded into the phone. There was a sign at the intersection but for some reason I believe that I am on the inside loop which will not take me back to my truck. At this point I go in the direction I think I should be heading and my Garmin decides to unlatch from the handlebar mount. I used a foot of black electrical tape to secure the stupid device back to the mount. As I finish a bunch of riders approach and I ask for some guidance.
I didn't remember the name of the trail I parked near and wasn't able to convey that I wanted to do the outside loop. Directions came fast and furious and by the time they left I was way confused and now had been in the woods for over two hours and had only ridden 7.5 miles. Not good.
As Rahn will tell you I am direction-ally challenged and if given the opportunity will usually choose the wrong way. What to do? I chose to ride what I had already ridden backwards! Safety first right?
My goals changed and now instead of a complete loop the task was to ride at least 15 miles and record 4 hours on the Garmin. The flag on the picture above is the location of the truck. The red to the left of the flag is part of Live Wire 2 trail I rode until I knew I would have 15 miles total. It was the toughest section of the entire ride and I was toast!
When I finished the ride I started my truck, turned the heated seats on high and just sat there for about 10 minutes before I was warm enough to undress and pack up.
Once back in Chattanooga I ate dinner a the Urban Stack. The burger and sweet potato fries combined with two O'Douls was perfect. I parked my truck, made my bed and watched some GOT before passing out to wake up to rain.
Had my usual breakfast at the Mean Mug and then off to the YMCA for a shower and a place to write this blog. It is now noon o'clock and I am heading to Knoxville. The rain should end tonight and I hope to ride some trails tomorrow. Tonight, I am staying at the Candlewood Suites (same chain that Sandy and I stayed in Amherst, NY). Looking forward to laundry and a real bed.
Thanks for reading.
 |
| Trail Map Raccoon Mtn |
I arrived at the parking lot at the trail head for Live wire and Live wire 2 around 10 am and temperature was 21 degrees. According to the forecast the high was going to be 38 degrees. I took my time and didn't start riding until 11:30. I was dressed with my full cold weather riding gear:
- Cold weather mtn biking boots with Time cleats
- Neoprene socks
- Wool socks
- Padded mtn biking shorts liner
- Insulated riding bibs
- REI zippered turtle neck
- Patagonia silk turtle neck
- Insulated long sleeve riding jersey with hood
- EMS vest
- Patagonia fleece jacket
- Winter gloves
- Ear warmers
- Full camel back with tripod for gopro photos
Many poor choices today. The first was my choice of parking location (green dot with two P's). My goal was to ride the outside loop which includes the trails Live wire and Live wire 2. The parking lot is in the NE corner:
 |
| Live wire highlighted. LW2 is left of Parking with green dot. |
I chose to follow the outside trail clockwise which was Live wire. I did not look at the elevation map or read the description. Even if I had I would have still chosen to climb so I could warm up quickly. Warm up I did as Ernie would rightly point out, "Why are you wearing so many clothes?" My answer would have been so I could ride slower and actually stop to take some photos and perhaps do some session-ing. The climb was much harder and longer than I expected after riding the other SORBA trails. These were real trails, not the groomed urban road trails of AEDC and Bauxite. There was even an ice flow that I had to skirt carefully.
Thirty minutes into the climb I had to stop and take off my jacket, ear warmers and hood. I should have stopped at 20 minutes and removed the first layer as I had a light sheen of sweat that lasted the entire ride.
 |
| Cool zip lines, eh? |
When I reached the top the view was very nice and I took my only photo of the ride. And I didn't see where the trail continued. I followed the gravel road and after a few miscues found the trail head. You would think that with trails downloaded into Galileo that I would have no trouble figuring out where I was.
I rode a little further and found the parking lot where everyone else starts; at the top! By this time I had ridden over an hour was a little chilled now that I was on flats and mostly downhill. I was getting a little worried about how long the ride was going to take. Even though there were lots of cars I hadn't really seen any riders.
There trails were real mtn bike trails, not the groomed sanitized stuff I'd been riding for the last week. I admit to walking some rock sections that I am sure I am able to clear. I didn't want to risk injury while riding by myself. I was still a little cold and I was more interested in progress than photo ops.
Ok, now I am at the little green dot and I should take High Voltage. Unfortunately, I didn't remember that I should take High Voltage. I don't know how to put a route into my Garmin 1000 and I can't seem to scroll the map on the Garmin. Galileo doesn't show the name of the trails once downloaded into the phone. There was a sign at the intersection but for some reason I believe that I am on the inside loop which will not take me back to my truck. At this point I go in the direction I think I should be heading and my Garmin decides to unlatch from the handlebar mount. I used a foot of black electrical tape to secure the stupid device back to the mount. As I finish a bunch of riders approach and I ask for some guidance.
I didn't remember the name of the trail I parked near and wasn't able to convey that I wanted to do the outside loop. Directions came fast and furious and by the time they left I was way confused and now had been in the woods for over two hours and had only ridden 7.5 miles. Not good.
As Rahn will tell you I am direction-ally challenged and if given the opportunity will usually choose the wrong way. What to do? I chose to ride what I had already ridden backwards! Safety first right?
 |
| Safety first. |
When I finished the ride I started my truck, turned the heated seats on high and just sat there for about 10 minutes before I was warm enough to undress and pack up.
Once back in Chattanooga I ate dinner a the Urban Stack. The burger and sweet potato fries combined with two O'Douls was perfect. I parked my truck, made my bed and watched some GOT before passing out to wake up to rain.
Had my usual breakfast at the Mean Mug and then off to the YMCA for a shower and a place to write this blog. It is now noon o'clock and I am heading to Knoxville. The rain should end tonight and I hope to ride some trails tomorrow. Tonight, I am staying at the Candlewood Suites (same chain that Sandy and I stayed in Amherst, NY). Looking forward to laundry and a real bed.
Thanks for reading.
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