2018 Elk River Valley

The 45th running of the Elk River Valley was a success. Everyone enjoyed the routes (12, 52 and 75 miles) and this year’s introduction of a food truck was hugely popular.

There were around 60 riders for the September 8th ride. In addition to HRBike members, we hosted riders from Murfreesboro, Veloteers, Columbia and other bike clubs. There were several tandems and a few recumbent riders.

A number of riders returned telling us how much they loved the route and appreciated the road markings. Several told us they stopped mid-route to take photos. Also, many of the cyclists had lunch together at West Middle after the ride compliments of the CW Concessions food truck. Continue reading →

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 →