Photos taken on the day of my ride are below.
Click photos to enlarge.
Climbing Cottonport Ridge - Peter Lee enjoys the shade on the climb
Jeff Bauer & Mary Crowley are visible farther down the climb
The Last Supper - the night before the ride
14 cyclists and support crew
at Rafael's Italian Restaurant
George Hiscox tinkers with his helmet light
in his van / lodging
Kevin & Hamid talk with RandoBoy
before getting started
Pre-ride instruction - 4:00 AM
Ready to Go
Jeff & Mary
crossing the TN River
The mountains come into view
in the distance
Saturday was a beautiful day for a ride
Jeff fills his camelbak at Riceville
Cottonport Ridge
David Rudy on one of the weekends many cimbs
Dave Harris
Peter Lee
Kevin climbing Dayton Mountain
Hamid Akbarian
Micah Fritzinger
Bob & Kevin cool off after deciding to abandon the ride after 200k
On Saturday, May 30th 2009 the Harpeth Bicycle Club held a 600k brevet starting in McMinnvile, TN. The route included all of the roads
on the Cherohala 200k permanent route, plus Baker Mountain & Dayton Mountain. So, it is definitely
a challenging route but one that I had managed to finish two years ago. Turnout for the ride was strong and the
weather was ideal at the start - everything looked set for a good ride.
The group that I rode with for the first 200k made good time to the cabins at Tellico Plains, but once there, I lost my drive to continue. Along with Bob Hess, I made the decision
to abandon the ride after only 200k. So from my perspective, the weekend became more about tracking the progress of the other riders and doing what I could to support
their efforts. Most of the others were able to complete the brevet successfully despite very hot temperatures on the return leg Sunday. They are defenitely deserving of congratulations for completing such a
difficult ride.Complete results can be found HERE.
As for myself, after reflecting on my experience over the weekend, I found it interesting how much my expectations for myself have changed since my first brevet three years ago.
If, in 2006, I had bicycled 200k in 9 hours, including climbs over Baker Mountain and Dayton Mountain, I would have been thrilled and overjoyed. Now after such an effort, I feel like a slacker. It just doesn't feel right - I've learned to expect more. But that is a good thing,
it will make the next completed brevet all the sweeter.
I look forward to it already!
More photos of the 600k available on Photobucket HERE
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