Matt Schweiker (2)

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). The first climb went by pretty easily on fresh legs and I was at the General Store for the first resupply before I knew it. I didn't read enough beforehand to immediately know what was happening when the t road ebbed out near the train tracks but fortunately saw the warning about DQ if you cross the bridge. The water was pretty low and felt really good in contrast to the midday heat. The highlight of the day was riding along the Hiwassee on Powerhouse Rd right as the sun was setting. My ride was pretty uneventful: no mechanicals and great weather. The pace slowed considerably once the sun went down and I hit the final climb. I reached the car with a finish time of 14:33.

This is a great route for folks to stretch their comfort zones because there are several points along the route to cut the day short and get back to the car if you're just not feeling it or having problems. I also appreciate the Death March for not having those opportunities, once you're on it, either turn around or keep going. Hopefully, I'll try for the Tellico route to finish the series this weekend.