Cherohala

So a few weeks ago I did this awesome ride with Emily and I never posted the report. Sorry for the delay but here's the scoop on one kick butt day of training:

After the epic race at Chickasaw we had a weekend off before the next race. It was a perfect time to put in a huge training block. The sun was shining, it was finally warm outside and I had some time to ride. Perfect.

One of my favorite places to ride is the Cherohala Skyway. It is a 48 mile scenic road that goes over the mountains. It starts in Tellico Plains TN (900ft), climbs to 5300ft and then descends to Robbinsville, NC (1200ft). We usually climb to the top and then come back down again, although I have done it end to end and back once. That was a brutal ride. Friday we decided the weather was nice enough to go to the mountains and we headed to Tellico Plains for the first ride of the season. Mark's buddy Howell was coming down from Knoxville and Emily was catching a ride down with him. Our friend Steve rounded out the happy little group I had assembled to torture for the day.

We rolled out about 11am and headed up the river. The road that runs along the Tellico River is one of the prettiest rides anywhere ever. We enjoyed a nice easy warm up along the river and then cut up to the Cherohala. The road was busier that we are used to, due to the holiday traffic and closures on other, more heavily used roads, but it was still a great ride. We  all climbed at our own pace and after I got to the top I went back down for the others. Emily was only about 3 miles behind me after climbing for an hour and a half. Wow. Her training is really starting to pay off. Her and I spun to the top and then enjoyed some "girl time"while we waited for the guys to get there. It was odd, there was still snow on top but even up there it was 70+ degrees.

After we re-grouped we enjoyed a 25 mile descent and rolled back to the car tired and happy. It ended up being almost 5 hours of riding. We all enjoyed a sandwich at my favorite deli and then Emily and I took a dip in the icy cold but very refreshing river.