I encountered several steep, medium length climbs on the mountain before I was rewarded with a fast descent into Dunlap. The last portion of the descent had several extreme switchbacks which made me have to ride my brakes a lot. I actually got concerned that I might overheat my brakes, but I guess I never did.
In Dunlap, I met a biking buddy from Chattanooga, Bob, who will be riding with me today, and then return home tomorrow.
We had a nice day of riding in the Sequatchie Valley with nice views on both sides (pics below). Most of the roads were country roads with minimal traffic.
Pic below of nice mural in downtown Pikeville.
About 1 mile from the start of our climb up the Cumberland Plateau we were joined by a friendly dog (pic below of Bob and dog). We tried several times to no avail to make him quit following us. When we would have a downhill, we could get some distance between us and the dog, but then we would hit an uphill and here would come the dog to catch back up with us. He followed us about 5 miles, including about 3 miles up the mountain. The mountain climb was probably like a rest break for him since we were so slow. At the top of the mountain, we talked to a man about our dog predicament and he volunteered to hold him while we made our escape. It worked, but then we felt guilty. I hope he returns to his home or some nice person adopts him.
We made it to Cumberland Mountain State Park and the host there allowed us to upgrade campsites to better accommodate 2 tents. He also had some hot charcoal from his grill and dried firewood that he brought to our fire pit and started a campfire for us. He even provided a couple of folding chairs so we could sit and enjoy the fire while we ate. Pic below of me enjoying the campfire.
Total miles today: 77.3
That downhill section is extremely steep. Glad your brakes held. Stay again at our bike hotel soon so I can get a breakfast like that again. ~RB
ReplyDeleteThanks Ron and Pat for everything.
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