I contact Bob to see if he is interested in joining me, and as he does more times than not, he agreed to go. Now get this, he agreed to go even knowing that our first day would be ridden on probably the hottest day of the year with a heat index above 110 degrees, now that's true friendship.
I'm down to just 2 bikes I am going to keep for myself. On this overnight trip, I decided to ride my newest bike, a Rawland Sogn (pic below). The Rawland has 27.5" wheels, and the frame has clearance for some really wide tires, which would have been nice to have when I was riding on gravel and dirt roads during my trip from Chattanooga to Canmore, Alberta, and back. I seriously considered riding this bike on that trip, but decided that due to that trip's length and the lack of doing any tours on the Rawland, I would stick with my tried and true Heron bicycle.
I purchased both the Heron and Rawland used. The previous owners of those bikes had both passed away. From talking with their friends and/or family, it was obvious the previous owners of both bikes were avid cyclists who enjoyed and appreciated cycling. They looked at their bikes as utility vehicles, means of exploration and travel. It was explained to me that both of them would have appreciated knowing their bikes went to someone who would appreciate and enjoy them as much as they did. It is for this reason that I am honored that these 2 bikes have been entrusted to me.
Tuesday-8/13/19
So I meet Bob for our trip at about 8:30 a.m., and we roll out shortly thereafter. It did not take us long to realize that that day's ride in fact was going to be hot. We went through the small towns/communities of Wildwood, GA; Whiteside, TN; New Hope, TN; South Pittsburg, TN; Stevenson, AL; and Fackler, AL.
We then stop at a local church located at the foot of Crow Mountain. This church is a regular stop for us before we start our 2.5 mile climb up the mountain. We typically just fill our water bottles at an outside faucet at the church, but this day, we looked like a couple of kids playing in the water. We used our bottles to saturate our heads with water to cool us down. Bob even took off his shirt and soaked it with water before we left to keep him cooler during the climb. I personally believe he was prepping for a senior's (not referring to school classification) wet t-shirt contest in Myrtle Beach in a few months :)
We both survived the hot, humid climb and made it to the city park in Hytop, AL. Since we still had several hours of daylight, and the park has running water, restrooms, and picnic tables, we decided to hang out there awhile before biking the last few miles to our campsite. We left the park about 7 p.m. and made it to the Walls of Jericho Alabama trailhead, our campsite, at about 7:30.
When we arrived at the campsite, there was no sign of rain anywhere to be seen in the sky. Bob called his wife before setting up his tent, and very shortly afterwards, the wind picked up and the sky turned dark. He told his wife he would call her back because he needed to try to get his tent set up before the rain set in. We were both able to get our tents pitched and all our necessary items inside just prior to a storm hitting us. I just laid in my tent listening to the rain and eventually fell asleep. I have no idea when I went to sleep, but think it was fairly early.
Wednesday-8/14/19
We got up, broke camp, and rode back to the Hytop Park where we had a bite to eat, filled our water bottles, and then bid farewell to each other, Bob heading back to Chattanooga, and me heading to Huntsville.
I stopped at my favorite spot in Hytop (which also happens to be the only spot), Cumberland Mountain Outdoors, for breakfast. I had my regular sausage, egg biscuit, and a pancake.
After breakfast, I rode a little way and then came to my reward (pic below) for all the hard work put in climbing yesterday.
I descended the mountain on TN Highway 146 which is a fun road to go down. Traffic is light, the pavement is smooth, and there are no hair-pin curves. You can just "let 'er rip" all the way down the mountain. No need to hit brakes at all.
A few pics below of some of the scenery after dropping off the mountain.
Remnants on the road from the storms last night pictured below.
The weather today was quite different from yesterday. Even though it was warm today, the breeze was out of the north and I could feel a hint of a cooler temp in it.
I got a text from Bob after I made it to my father-in-law's. He had unfortunately run into every cyclists' nightmare. The interstate that runs parallel to the secondary road we use to get to Chattanooga was gridlocked, virtually a parking lot. This means a lot of traffic, including 18-wheelers, were getting off the interstate and taking the 2-lane secondary road Bob would be on. He decided to wait at a business beside the interstate until the traffic eased some. He had already been waiting there 1 hour when he texted me. I suggested he hop on the interstate and use the shoulder to pass all the gridlocked traffic on the interstate. He stated he may have to be a "night rider" tonight.
I have not yet mounted a bike computer on the Rawland, but I know from previous trips that I ride about 165 miles total when I ride from Chattanooga to Huntsville. It's been nice riding without a bike computer the last couple of days. I had no idea, nor did I care, how fast (or slow) I was going or how far I had been. I was just pedaling and enjoying the ride.
