Man, what a brutal route! Absolutely gorgeous day though. Nice crisp temps helped keep me cool on the first section of climbs. Some somewhat fresh chunky gravel (near Tumbling Creek area???) really zapped the speed out of me. Started seeing other cyclists out and about around Potato Patch and Mulberry Gap, which lifted the spirits a bit...

Last year my buddy Buck and I committed to completing the ITT Series in 2024. We set about a training plan, equipment plan, route research and several trips to East TN to ride portions of each of these routes...

The Dirty 130 is tuff! For any mortal it is an all-day journey that requires planning, good equipment, decent weather, fitness, and grit...

Weather was perfect, almost cool. I rode a Giant Revolt. For this ride, I rode with WTB Resolute 42s. I felt very comfortable on them, they are a little rounded and a little more knobby than a lot of other gravel tires...

This past weekend I joined my friend Troy in an attempt on the Dirty 130 route. Conquering the three ITTs had been a goal of mine for 2023 but after a complete rupture of my bicep tendon in April I didn’t think it was going to happen...

So this is one of Tennesseegravel.com's three ITT series rides. You do it unsupported. This one works pretty well with 3 restocking points. I started this one and rode 50-60 miles with Carey Lowery...

As is the case of my first Triple Crown attempt back in 2021, riding these routes on consecutive days is simply time-management. It’s difficult to make 3 separate trips up to Tennessee from Charleston, SC (on top of coming up for the Three Rivers Way), so scheduling a visit to ride them all in one shot makes sense to me. It’s still a bad idea, but I like bad ideas...

I’m absolutely not the one to ask about advice for pacing. Very slow. I do know that the cold leg climb out of the gate is brutal...

I didn't ever fully intend to do this route in the ITT format. Perusing as we do, I had been eyeing the north Georgia parts of the mountains for a while. "I should ride and camp the Jake Mountain singletrack." "Camping at Mulberry Gap for a Pinhoti bike-cation would be swell." "The Death March route would be a perfect overnighter."

The Death March Revival made for a humbling day. My “gravel” bike is an outdated 2014 fully rigid Niner SS with Bontrager alloy rims...

It was an adventure of nearly epic proportions! Ok...I failed at this on Father's Day as most of you know, so I had a better plan for this attempt...

I got an early start driving from Chattanooga and was clipped in by 8am. The outside temperature was about 54 degrees… I started with arm warmers and kept them on for the first 2 hours!

Finished the Tellico Highlands ITT Saturday. What an incredible journey. 9:36 ride time and 11:33 overall, 90 miles and 11,270 of climbing...

the grand-daddy of the Tennessee Gravel Triple-Crown, and maybe my favorite race ever! perhaps it's that it's the mountains, the distance, the climbing.... or all of the above??

Somehow I let time slide until mid May before I realized I hadn’t done one of the ITTs yet this year. Knowing that invite to the Fall Invitational wasn’t going to appear out of thin air, I figured I had better get moving. In fact, why not try to squeeze the Triple Crown into 6 weeks? I never seem to do these things the easy way…

I struggled with writer’s block for this ride report. How is one supposed to write about a ride that took over 17 hours? The many highs and lows, belly laughs, and brain fog. It’s a lot to process and recover from...

I have had a busy month building my endurance for the Cohutta 100 NUE mtb race. Thankfully there have been some local events that met my training needs, and it has been a fun ride getting some solid training in with my friends...

I and two friends (Luke & Justin) took on the Tellico Highlands route on Saturday, November 20, 2021. I had ridden numerous forest service roads in the North GA mountains, but this was my first time riding in the Tellico Plains area...

Charleston, SC to Tennessee is a long drive and I procrastinate. So, naturally I would tackle the Triple Crown on consecutive days right on the deadline...

Tennesseegravel.com put up an ITT challenge for the Dirty130 route, and this would be my third time doing the course. the first two times were the official races in '17 and '18, and all who competed will tell you just how tough this route is...

This ride was not really a race for me but a challenge to see if I could complete it. I have rode this distance several times but on the road and not nearly this much elevation...

The plan: Ride comfortably but focused. Carry two bottles, limit time losses on stops to refill at 3 water points. Finally, have fun and take in the scenery as there is so much of it to enjoy. Living in Florida I don't get the opportunity often to be in the mountains or ride the type of gravel found on these courses...

My Tellico highlands ITT attempt was a last minute replacement for my previously scheduled Rockstar 270. The one day race format is way easier to disguise as a vacation than having to co-ordinate pick-up, drop-offs and meet-ups...

The Death March is probably my favorite bike loop, I’ve done it a bunch of times over the years now, and was stoked to try the ITT from Mulberry Gap. The epic loop is easiest from Thunder Rock, however, if you want to add a bit to it, try it from Kings Slough. But, if you really want a test, Mulberry start/finish is the ticket...

I did the first edition of this race in 2017, back when mass starts were the norm. It then went on a 2 year hiatus and ended up turning into an ITT this year (damn Covid). I chose Black Friday to do the route. Because why else would I want to get up at 3 am?...

So, 12,000 feet of climbing is no joke. There are plenty of steep climbs. Some have annoyingly loose or large gravel. I was able (with some effort) to pedal all of them without spinning out. I will say that the hardest climbs were the ones near the end...

With the crazy times of COVID and the cancellation of so many races, I have found myself looking for challenges that are both safe and provide a sense of accomplishment when they are completed. The Dirty 130 is one that checks both boxes very very well. I did the 130 on a gear bike in June...

Dirty 130 is one of the greatest gravel loops in the southeast. It has some of the best climbs with awesome views and remote riding that keeps you looking up the whole time. My day started right at six am when the sunlight was just breaking through the trees...

On my drive to Chris Joice's (Dark Horse Productions) scruffycat100 adventure in Knoxville on 10/12 I figured I'd break the drive by giving the DMR a try. My anticipated early morning start time had been delayed by an accident on the Chattanooga interstate. I was fit to be tied after several hours of stop and go just to work my way to the next exit...

If my ride buddy and I were going to complete the trifecta this year, we had to do the DMR on September 28th. It just so happened that the morning of September 28th was within 24 hours of East Tennessee and West North Carolina being devastated by Hurricane Helene with remnants of rain and wind still in the area...

I meant to get all three of these ITT’s done last year, and then I didn’t. I failed and then subsequently finished the Death March Revival on both sides of a lovely ride through Nebraska at Gravel Worlds, and then never got around to trying the D130 or Highlands routes...

I don't know what got into me. Last year my wife, Courtney, rode all three of Tennessee Gravel's individual time trial (ITT) routes. And she really enjoyed it. But I had very little interest in trying to ride these long, hard routes as fast as possible - all by myself...

Started a little later than I intended. Stupid Starbucks doesn’t open early enough haha! I knew it was going to be hot, so I overloaded the fluids carrying 2.5L on the back and 2 -24 oz on the bike...

Having accomplished both a road and virtual Everesting event, I had left to do a gravel version and a single track version. It was also time for me to pay it forward again by raising money for my local animal shelter. So, what better way to combine the two than doing a yo-yo version of the DMR: riding it clockwise the first lap and counter clockwise the second lap...

As is the case of my first Triple Crown attempt back in 2021, riding these routes on consecutive days is simply time-management. It’s difficult to make 3 separate trips up to Tennessee from Charleston, SC (on top of coming up for the Three Rivers Way), so scheduling a visit to ride them all in one shot makes sense to me. It’s still a bad idea, but I like bad ideas...

Due to my bad memory, ended up driving down Saturday morning. Forecast was good; middle 50’s to start, low 70’s for the high. There was some rain Friday, spotty in the mountains, some places dry, some were messy...

Some Dirty 130. Testing new Garmin Edge 130+. An epic route, no doubt! I didn’t take the time to familiar myself with the new device before heading out into the wilderness , so it called for confusion and quite a few U-turns..

I was running a little late leaving the house. Rain was pouring down with bright flashes of lightning, and the ominous thoughts were already beginning. Would Melanie want to postpone to tomorrow? Will it be lightning all day? What in the world am I doing?

Left it all out there (and then some)… but bettered my time this go-around for a PR and FKT!!

Started the first major climb (right from the start) adjusting a bunch of things on my “old” rebuilt as a single speed Crux (seatpost height handlebars, etc) which kept the pace down and ended up being good for later...

Continued my streak of late starts with tires rolling at 11:32am from the pullout. I left the hardtail home and rode a Crust Bombora (steel frame) drop bar gravel bike with a Bedrock frame bag...

With the end of June in sight, I knew I needed to giddy up if I was going to qualify for the Triple Crown. Because the Tennessee Gravel ITT courses aren’t hard enough, I came into DMR having separated my right shoulder five weeks previously while out training (stupid tree!)...

I admit that I have had a few adventures in the queue recently. I was not entirely sure that my outing for this weekend would be the Highlands route. Then as the weekend approached and rain seemed to be settling in over the crags in Linville Gorge, I had to look elsewhere for some mountain time...

This is a long one so maybe take a quick bathroom break to get started. I decided I would join Kim Ranallo for Dirty 130 after realizing our birthdays were pretty close and she had planned to ride the route for her bday...

It’s crazy to think I completed the DMR only a month ago. After the DMR, I felt renewed mentally and spiritually. That ride was an exhale for the soul. But only two weeks after, I was already scheming my next ITT pursuit: Tellico Highlands...

A couple friends from the bike shop and I picked a date to complete the DMR. As it approached, both friends bailed (for valid reasons!) and I was left with two options:
1. Postpone the ITT for a different time; or
2. Complete it alone...

Charleston, SC to Tennessee is a long drive and I procrastinate. So, naturally I would tackle the Triple Crown on consecutive days right on the deadline...

Another wonderful gravel day in my favorite mountains of Tellico and Citico, but this time with a mission.... time to kick it up a notch and string together a bunch of favorite climbs, while practicing short stops, fueling, and metering out the effort...

My goal was to get started around 10 AM on Sunday morning and ride comfortable hard all day long. So naturally, I got rolling just after 11 AM with a new plan to ride hard enough to finish before dark...

What an amazing journey on the Tellico Highlands ITT course in Tennessee this weekend! Total stats: 93.69 miles and 11,402 feet of climbing. Tellico Plains is really a gravel riders dream with endless remote, backcountry forest roads with a mix of smooth to semi-technical gravel...

Full disclosure- this is my first attempt at a race report. I could not have asked for better conditions when setting out for the DMR. Not only was the weather perfect with clear skies and temps in the 70s, but this area had not received any rain in about a week which is crucial for those mountain roads to fully dry out...

I am very new to mountain biking, and this was my first official course. I chose the Death March Revival because I had been riding the Georgia parts of the course all summer, so it just felt right. And also because I had to know what 12,000 feet of climbing in a single day would be like...

I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate my birthday than Death March Revival (yes, I understand how weird that sounds to some people). And since the grand depart had to be postponed until next year, an ITT would do the trick...

I heard about the Dirty 130 last year but hadn't seriously considered giving it a shot until earlier this year. In the last 5 years, I went from primarily racing cyclocross in the fall, to 50 and 100 mile mountain bike races...

Lost the bottle strapped to my post on the first descent and had to replace it with Power-Ade, but luckily the cage hose-clamped to the seat tube held and that was the only real hiccup of the day. Maybe I'll get a bike that actually holds more than one bottle at some point...

After a lovely ride in Tellico this summer, I basically forgot how to climb a hill while I was focused on Gravel Worlds in Nebraska in August. After that was over and I saw how much fun Mike and Buck seemed to be having on these ITT’s, I decided it was time to get off my duff and try to string together 130 miles in Reliance.

First off, I practiced all the climbs prior to attempting this ride, so I knew that I personally needed to pace carefully and EAT and Drink...

My riding buddy and I have planned to attempt the three ITT routes this year. We scheduled the Tellico Highlands first because we believed that it may be the least difficult of the three. 11 May was our fallback date after getting weathered out on 4 May...

This was an extremely quick up-and-back to ride Tennessee Gravel's premier route, the Dirty 130. With just three days to play, we made the 8 hour trip to my friend's cabin in Murphy, NC, for a short-long weekend...

My favorite gravel race route... everything from long climbs, long descents, fast rollers, rowdy "gravel", smooth pavement, and just enough resupply to entice you to ride light!

Well... after two months entirely off the bike, and just six weeks back in the saddle, i guess i'm back to my old tricks!?! Friends helped keep me motivated, and Travis Jolly had discussed hitting up DMR together... why not?!

As is the case of my first Triple Crown attempt back in 2021, riding these routes on consecutive days is simply time-management. It’s difficult to make 3 separate trips up to Tennessee from Charleston, SC (on top of coming up for the Three Rivers Way), so scheduling a visit to ride them all in one shot makes sense to me. It’s still a bad idea, but I like bad ideas...

As racing returned to normal after the pandemic, Cycling FKTs (Fastest Known Times) started to lose some of the limelight, but myself and a few colleagues have stayed smitten with the idea and occasionally attempt one to keep things fresh...

As a cyclist, and specifically as an 'endurance athlete', sometimes you choose a challenge that places you somewhere between self-loathing and certifiably insane. This is Death March Revival...

Random Thoughts From D130... Wish I wouldn’t have left my scuba tank at home, this humidity is FOR REAL. Lots of turtles out today. Where did the campground go, am I out of it already???

I have been trying to do one of the ITT routes for the past several months, but my work and family schedule just were not cooperating. Since the last century that I did was the Cahutta several years ago, I decided on the Tellico Highlands route...

Hopefully fast enough for top-step Tennessee Gravel triple-crown challenge 🤞🏼🤞🏼🙏 .... and it IS!!! By 4minutes!?!

Started at Mona's at 9:36am on Sunday. I'm pretty bad at early morning starts but enjoy riding at night, so they cancel each other out (most of the time)...

Started out from Thunder Rock campground at 9:48am without being fully committed to riding the full route, (having considered not dropping down potato patch to MG). I'd just come off the previous week of being down with the flu and wanted a big day in the saddle without pushing the pace too much or worrying about my time...

It’s been over 4yrs since the actual DMR race, and that time it was based out of Mulberry Gap and was held in December. The course is 98% gravel and nearly all of it is in national forest land. Beautiful, remote, and rugged… exactly my speed...

I and a friend (Luke Eichelkraut) decided to tackle the Dirty 130 on the weekend of May 7 & 8, 2022. This was the last leg of the Triple Crown for us for the 2021-2022 season...

I and a friend (Luke Eichelkraut) decided to ride the Death March Revival route on Saturday, October 23rd, 2021. I had ridden numerous forest service roads in the North Ga mountains before, but nothing on quite this scale...

Charleston, SC to Tennessee is a long drive and I procrastinate. So, naturally I would tackle the Triple Crown on consecutive days right on the deadline...

Well, the Death March is certainly aptly named! I’m really glad I chose my hard tail over my gravel bike bc some of those descents would have been gnarly in the best of conditions… but I ended up doing a lot of them in the middle of thunderstorms...

As an old and busted chubby flatlander, this was never going to be an easy day at the office. Much to my surprise, I apparently brought Michigan temps with me as it was only 41 when I started at 6:48 AM! Luckily, I was in for a super sunny day that would warm up quickly...

Started the day under perfect skies and crisp temps for the first day of May! Because I’m between gravel bikes at the moment I rode a MTB hardtail equipped with 700 X 40C tires. This made for a comfortable and confident descending ride, but it was a tad slower on the more sustained climbs...

This route, designed by Kim Murrell, is one of three races hosted by Tennessee Gravel. This year it is happening as an ITT event, which I kind of like, because I got to choose my date, ensuring that at least I would not be out in the rain...

Getting myself ready for a couple of things coming up, I've been looking for some bigger rides that are semi-local to avoid making myself dizzy riding the same loops over and over here at home. I'm a fanboy of Kim's routes but hadn't done one in a while, so I figured I would go give the D130 an off season spin...

I wasn’t exactly sure where I was. I remembered the climb and maybe the creek side from this morning’s start, but I was confused. My head was spinning. Everything was beginning to look the same. I don’t remember these houses. Nor do I remember these farms… nor the pastures. It was such a beautiful farm setting. I hadn’t seen it before. It was getting dark...

After completing TNGA I was looking for a few routes to get my suffer fix. Dirty 130 and Death March Revival got penciled onto the calendar. Then the realities of homeschool hit and motivation went out the window. Thank heavens I have friends who keep me motivated...

The day started with an early arrival at the start location, where temps were in the low 40s with a light fog. Forecasted conditions were going to be prime for making an epic loop on the Dirty 130. The days game plan was to start at 6:45...

So I’m sort of new to off-road riding. When I was hit by a car while road biking in downtown Chattanooga at the end of 2015, I decided to reduce the odds of getting hit again by supplementing mountain biking into my training. That’s when I started biking with Brad Cobb and Spencer “Taco” Whittier...