# Cherohala and/or English Mountain Challenge



## Gunther (Jul 28, 2004)

My brother and I will be in East Tennessee over the Thanksgiving holiday and are hoping to bring along our bikes. Two possible ride routes that have caught our eye are the English Mountain Challenge and the Cherohala Challenge. Both have imperial and metric century options that would allow us some flexibility for weather conditions. The Cherohala Skyway looks very interesting.

I’d be interested in comments from those who have ridden both routes. As we'll be doing this either Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving, traffic may also be an issue. Suggestions for food/drink availability along the way would be nice as we’ll be doing this one self-supported and need to plan accordingly. 

Other similar ride suggestions would be great, too. We don't need an organized event, just a general idea of a neat route for a bicycle.

Thanks!

GtB


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## Tarmac_Editor (Dec 31, 2005)

*Tail of the Dragon*

The Tail of the Dragon portion of the Cherohala Challenge route might be a lot better to ride now since the Tennessee Highway Patrol started cracking down on motorcycles and sport cars tearing it up through all of the twists and turns of that road. Apparently a lot of that traffic has headed over to the Tsali and Franklin, NC areas.


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## deadlegs (Jan 28, 2004)

I've ridden the Cherohala Skyway many times; one of my favorite places to ride. Scenery is amazing, traffic is not bad as it's really a road from nowhere to nowhere. You can have a bit of motorcycle traffic but in the 20 or so times I've ridden there, I've never had any trouble with them. 

I'll get back to you later today with a little more info. There are a number of other roads in the area worth checking.

Hey, I posted some pics from the area a while back. Click the user gallery link.


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## TACSTS (Feb 4, 2004)

I've done the EMC metric twice now. It's a fun ride, and I would highly recommend you trying it out. Once you get out of town (Sevierville) I would not expect much traffic at all even though it is a holiday week. It's a quite rural area, which is good for traffic, but I'm not sure about where you'd find food/drinks. Having only done the supported rides I wasn't looking for convenience stores or other places to refuel, but I'm sure they're there. ~60miles, I'd probably only need 3 stops max if carrying two bottles, I'd say you could find enough for that. The mountain is a nice challenge, just be careful coming down the other side, lots of switchbacks that sometimes have had rocks/sand in them so it's wise to keep your speed way down. 

I'm sure you'll have fun either ride you do, it's a beautiful area of the country with some great riding.


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## Gunther (Jul 28, 2004)

I have the cue sheets from the SMW website and from their event organizer. Looking at the cue sheet and latest Google satellite imagery, it doesn't look like it would be too hard to follow the route. The Skyway looks like a nice wide swath of pavement. Hopefully, post-Thanksgiving weather will work out for the full loop.


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## Duckman (Jul 21, 2005)

I live nearby and stay away from the Dragon. Surely its better now tho since its cooled off, the crackdown, etc. 
Heres some recent Skyway pics mixed in with a bunch of other Fall WNC pics. I climb it every few weeks incorperated with some combo ride(Yellow Creek Gap, or the Santeetla Lake loop maybe). The area has such great riding otherwise, that I feel lucky to get to it that often. 
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=111468


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## Gunther (Jul 28, 2004)

Great pictures Duckman. Makes me homesick.


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## TACSTS (Feb 4, 2004)

Do you have a cue sheet for English Mtn? Let me know I've got one I can scan and send you if you need it.


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## Gunther (Jul 28, 2004)

Tacsts,
Yes I do. The organizer has posted cues for full and metric centuries with options to climb or bypass the mountain. VERY nice of them.

The EMC website indicates grades approaching 20% on the climb. I assume this is spot grades and not a sustained grade for the duration of the climb. Overall, what's the climb up English Mountain like? The last time I climbed to the top (maybe 25-30 yrs ago), it was all dirt roads and I was on a motorcycle. I'm sure much has changed.


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## TACSTS (Feb 4, 2004)

There is a kicker at the very top, (the sawtooth if you are looking at an elevation profile) that is 22%, but only for a couple hundred feet. Problem is it's coming after about 2 miles that averages ~15%. It's a tough climb to be sure, the hardest I've had the chance to try. We've got some just as steep around here (So. Central KY) but nothing that lasts that long. I've done it w/ a 39-27 as my low gear. It hurt and I probably ran a cadence of about 4rpm but I made it! Massive lactic acid overload aside, it's a blast! :thumbsup:


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## Gunther (Jul 28, 2004)

Duckman,
I'd be interested in some of your loops. I'm trying to identify a good 50-70 miler that is a good balance of scenery and starting/parking location. 

GtB


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