Category Archives: Current Events

Community and other special events of interest to cyclists

Ride Report: TN Riverpark

Tim and I took a mid-week trip to Chattanooga to ride the TN Riverwalk. This riverside path parallels the Tennessee River from the Chickamauga Dam to Ross’s Landing Park in downtown Chattanooga near the Tennessee Aquarium and extends all the way to the beginning of the St. Elmo/Lookout Mountain area.

For our day of exploring, we opted to ride mountain bikes fitted with hybrid tires, but road bikes would have worked. The path from the dam to St. Elmo is about 12 miles one way, mostly flat, concrete, and very scenic. There are many trailheads with parking, bathrooms, water fountains, benches, bike repair stations and rental bikes, see Riverwalk map. Between the dam and downtown would be a great place to start the ride, especially for riders who are less experienced. On the northern section, there is the dam, modern industry, and the Hunter Art Museum on your Continue reading →

Levi Dykes TN State Champion

At 12 years old and weighing 98 pounds, Tullahoma’s very own Levi Dykes brought home some big results for Balls Out Bicycle Racing and Highland Rim Bicycle Club at the Three River Rumble

Omnium in Rockwood, TN during the July 21-22 weekend. Most importantly, Levi won the 13-14 Tennessee State Championship Road Race on Sunday July 22nd!

On Saturday, July 21st, Levi won 1st place in the 13-14 Individual Time Trial (ITT) and 1st place overall 9-18 ITT with a 27-second lead over second place. The ITT was unusually short at only 1.35 miles in length with a half-mile climb to the finish. The start was an un-ramped standing start with no hold-assist. Levi arrived to the starting line with a heart rate of 145 beats per minute after a 8-mile warm-up. When the race official dropped his hand, Levi flawlessly clipped into his pedals and leapt from the line with a 600 watt sprint for the first ten seconds. As he transitioned into his Merckx aero position, he settled into a 250 watt output Continue reading →

Summer Cycling Tips

The combo of heat and humidity here in middle TN can make summer cycling a bit challenging. We generally log most of our miles in the summer and with all this riding, we need to be sure to protect ourselves from the nasty things the heat brings on…dehydration, leg cramps, sunburn, saddle sores…to name a few.

Most of the nuisances of heat are preventable with a bit of preparation. For instance, ride early in the day or later in the day to avoid the hottest temperatures, hydrate before, during and after a ride, protect your skin with sunscreen and protective clothing, acclimate to the heat gradually, use chamois cream and wash your shorts right after you ride, replace electrolytes… Continue reading →