# 3 State 3 Mountain Update



## West End Rail NJ (Apr 28, 2005)

Great day for a great ride, there was another bad accident coming down the 1st mountain (Suck Creek) a lot of guys flatted coming down this mountain as somehow a great deal of tacks / nails were spead over the roadway. A guy was traveling at a high rate of speed into the 1st switchback and went off the road into a rock ledge, hope he's ok, anyone hear anything please post. Thanks to the guy from Chicago suberb who gave me the pills to get up the last mountain (sodium something) really brought me back.


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## SPINDAWG (Aug 24, 2003)

*I enjoyed the ride aswell.*

This was my first time and I was impressed on how well organized it was. The volunteers went out of their way on every sag to lend a helping hand with the bottles and food. Traffiic control was exceptional as well. Don't think I had to stop for an extended time for any of the intersections.

I was also warned of tacks being in the road,as if the riding surface leading up to the second climb wasn't bad enough. I think next year,I'll try and remember to either double up on the bar wrap or try out the Fizik gel pads for that portion of the ride.

Seen alot of guys running compacts this year.I usually bad mouth such gearing,but I got to admit even though I didn't have any difficulty with any of the climbs with a 39/27 a compact would have been nice for Burkhalter,as I started cramping at the base of the climb. 

Overall,it was a good experience and you couldn't ask for better weather.It was just what I needed to get me pumped for the Mnt.Mitchell ride coming up in a couple of weeks!


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## West End Rail NJ (Apr 28, 2005)

*Update on injury*

Just spoke to a buddy of mine that was riding with the crash victim, a dr. from Vandy, somehow lost it on the turn and hit very hard, was life flighted out to Erlanger and underwent surgery last night to relieve swelling in his brain. Lets all say a prayer for him and his family for his recovery.


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## BikeWNC (Sep 9, 2004)

I had a great ride also, but I did flat right after the first sag stop. There was no debris in the new tire and a very small pin hole in my tube. Perhaps I fell victim to a tack as I heard the same reports.

About the crash -- I was coming down Suck Ck in very uncrowded conditions, on a lefthand bend I heard what I thought to be a bike go down behind me. I was in the corner doing 35 mph or so and could not turn to look. I really wasn't sure what I had heard but when I saw the EMS starting up from the sag area I put 2 and 2 together. I later heard from several other riders that there had in fact been a crash. Don't know if what I heard was that crash but it seems likely it was. I hope he does OK.


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## lemmy999 (Apr 6, 2004)

SPINDAWG said:


> .I usually bad mouth such gearing,


Uh, why?  

I thought the ride was great also. The weather was fantastic. Some bad weather on Friday and Sunday, but Saturday was perfect. I really can't say anything negative about the experience. I hope to be there again next year. 

A few weeks back I did a 60 mile ride including Sand Mtn and Burkhalter Gap with a 39/27 but this time I had a 34/27 and it was very nice. I only used that gear on Burkhalter, but my nearly 36 year old knees sure feel nice today.  

I sure hope the guy that crashed is ok. It happened somewhere behind me, but my wife came by shortly after it happened and said it looked like it had been a pretty bad crash.


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## SPINDAWG (Aug 24, 2003)

*compact gearing used to be called "alpine gearing"*



lemmy999 said:


> Uh, why?
> 
> I thought the ride was great also. The weather was fantastic. Some bad weather on Friday and Sunday, but Saturday was perfect. I really can't say anything negative about the experience. I hope to be there again next year.
> 
> ...


and its great for going up really steep mountains and then down them again.What it really sucks for is riding on the flats...the middle is gone or you end up shifting between chainrings and riding in crossover gears an awful lot.

Compact gearing makes alot of sense for pack fodder and big guys when stage races enter the mountains and you only care about making the time cut.


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## Mbikes67 (Aug 7, 2005)

*Compact*

From Sean Yates Blog speaking of Tommy D

"Yesterday we went to look at the finish on Plan de Corones.You can see from
the pictures that they are still building the road, if that's what you could
call it, it is really bad, we are going to use 33-28."

Also, from the same blog

"We couldn't get onto the Gavia due to snow. Tom was riding really well on 34x27 - his pedalling makes these climbs look easy but they are not - he's just a great climber. "

I don't think Tommy D's very big?


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## Velo Vol (Mar 9, 2005)

I was one of the lucky ones to hit a tack coming off of Suck Creek Mountain. Then, to add insult to injury, I discovered my spare was defective. [Note to self: it's a good idea to check tubes before stuffing them in the saddle bag]. After a bit, support came by and hauled me to the nearby rest stop. They were "out" of tubes, but a rider offered me one.

Otherwise, I thought it a nice ride (first time doing it). There was plenty of food (although not much variety) and the roads in Tennessee and Georgia were pretty good for riding. Alabama roads were a different story--I guess pavement hasn't yet creped into all the corners of that state.

Weather was great. I'm glad it wasn't any warmer, for that last kick up Lookout (with a 39x25) was hot enough for me.


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