We had a great Chattanooga Ride! It was our
fastest since we moved the course to start near Dawsonville in 2006.
This route includes several of the foothills south of Burnt Mountain. All
fourteen cyclists who started the ride finished the whole distance: 141.57
mi., 7:00:27, 20.203 mph.
Here was this year's line-up: JJ Cucaz,
Stephanie Cucaz, Zoe Frazier, David Goodman, Andrew Hodges, Lisa Hodges,
Scott Luikart, Andrew Macrae, Ben Rothschild, Dominique Shore, Russell
Tindol, James Todd, Mason Zimmerman, and Coach Frazier.
Also: Adi Gummadi: 41.31 mi. Teja
Gummadi: 74.06 mi.
Our previous fastest for the northern "mountain" route was 19.850 mph
on May 12, 2007.
May 12, 2007: 7:05AM Chattanooga Ride:
Brian Burke, Rusty Burns, Greg Hanson, Andrew Maholski, Kevin Mitchell,
Mike Notheis, Joe Saliceti, Bob Sill, and Coach Frazier.
The 2007 group still has the record speed for the first leg to Talking
Rock, 19.714 mph. We were quite a bit slower on the first leg, 19.126
mph.
For the second leg, Talking Rock to Resaca,
about 31.6 mi., we were really fast this year, 22.017 mph. In 2007, we
averaged 20.821 mph for this leg.
Finally, for the last leg, Resaca to the
Tennessee border, in 2007 we averaged 19.474 mph compared to 20.853 mph
this year. The final leg include the 4.7-mile gradual climb up Snake Creek
Gap (96.2 miles to 100.9 miles). The group picked up a lot of time
on this climb with David Goodman and Scott Luikart at the front.
They pulled the group up the climb at 19 to 21 mph until they backed off
for the final 400 meters to allow the group a little recovery before the
long descent. By the time the group reached the top of Maddox Gap
(109 miles), the average speed was up to 20.1 mph.
The finish of this year's ride was "fun"
compared to last year's "epic" headwind-fest. Maintaining our double
pace-line, Andrew Macrae pulled the final fast 13.2 miles with partners
Russell Tindol, Stephanie Cucaz, and James Todd on the front with him.
We rolled through Lookout Mountain Valley to the Georgia-Tennessee border
holding between 24 and 27 mph for the most part.
The 2011 Chattanooga Ride was our
eighteenth edition. The first Chattanooga Ride was on April 9, 1993.
The most riders to complete the entire distance in one year is 15 (in 2008
and 2009). This year's 14 is the third most to complete the ride.
The most participants on the ride is 23, in 2009. The all-time
fastest Chattanooga Ride was on April 24, 2004. This ride started
from 1550 North Brown Road (FB-50 start): 146.96 miles, 6:40:33, 22.014
mph. The record setters were: Bill Murphy, Bob Sill, Mike Notheis,
and Pat Tuley.
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