Great Smoky Mountains here I come!

Fall in full swing at our Lodge in Townsend!

The Valley View Lodge

Ozone, TN; note the trestle train bridge across the road.

My hometown, in PA!

The Fort Loudoun Dam
site of our lunch today

The one lane bridge just outside of Townsend.

The Smoky Mountains off in the distance.

After completing yet another century, I find myself at the base of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Getting here was quite the ride today!

We started in a misting rain, slight fog, and cold temps (at least for this Floridian). high today was 59 degrees. The roads finally started to dry out after 20 miles, but by mile 45 we road back into the rain as a shower fell on us over the next 15 miles. By lunch at mile 62, I was drenched and chilled. Along the way the landscape was tremendous; the Cumberland Plateau is filled with beautiful lakes. Riding along these lakes and seeing the color in the trees is such a wonderous change from the brown plains of Oklahoma and the dull desert of California.

One scenic highlight today was coming across a road named after the community I grew up in in western Pennsylvania, Hopewell Twp. Then there was the town of Ozone, a small town with a waterfall aptly named, Ozone Falls.

We had lunch outside of the town of Lenoir City on the banks of the Fort Loudoun Lake and Dam, part of the TVA water management system. Lunch was another outstanding array of fruit, salad, and rice dish, veggies, chips, cold cuts and cookies. After lunch, a change to drier clothes we set out for Townsend only 40 miles away.

Today's ride had a five page route sheet; in other words, lots of turns. Some of the roads were so far removed from the beaten path that when we were on them we had them all to ourselves - no vehicle traffic. That was good too, as they were narrow, leaf covered, and very serpentine. The best part of the ride came as we closed in on our destination; we road along the Little River for nearly ten miles. The river must be a treasure for fly fisherman as it was shallow, filled with rocks, had rapids and still pools. Along the river were all sorts of lodges, cabins, trailers, and houses that surely bustle with activity in the summer season. At the end of our ride along the river we crossed over a one lane bridge that had to be the narrowest of many one lane bridges we came across on this adventure.

We also crossed into the Eastern Time Zone (I'm getting closer to home!) today. As a result we lost one more hour. Getting to our lodge a few minutes before 5:00 pm, made for a busy evening. Today was my massage day, but since dinner was at 6:00 I visited Tara at 7:15.

Tomorrow the ride is only 54 mile! A short day, filled with two climbs, each 13 miles long, will not start until after 8:30, a welcome change from our 7:30 starts. I get to sleep in as breakfast isn't available until 7:30.

Today's key stats:
102.8 miles
6:33 in the saddle
3,030 kcals burned
40 mph top speed
6,134' of climbing
15.9 average speed
no flats today in our group, not sure about the Colorado trio.