# Cherohala Skyway - 5/19



## deadlegs (Jan 28, 2004)

There is a gem of a road for cycling, the Cherohala Skyway, which runs between Tellico Plains, Tennessee and Robbinsville, North Carolina. Until recently, I was able to get over there to ride about once every two months; just have not been able to swing the time the last year or so. Anyway this past weekend I made the time, mostly to see if I am ready for the Cherohala Challenge June 16 but also because I need to get rid of some steam and demons and such.

The drive from Chattanooga to Tellico Plains took around 1.5 hours. I drove on up to the Hooper Bald parking lot which is very close to the highest point on the Skyway, the Santeetlah Overlook. As I unloaded the bike I was feeling very good; there was a chill in the air but not a cloud in the sky and the added bonus of not a single other vehicle, motorcycle or car, anywhere to be seen. On the road by 9:30, I froze my backside off for the 25 minutes, almost all downhill towards Robbinsville and down into the Joyce Kilmer Area. The climb up to the Santeetlah overlook took around 1:10. It was such a nice day and the climbing felt so good, I rode all the way back down and did the climb again. Ended up riding 55 miles with 7500' of climbing, and average 16.9 MPH, (my best previous average for doing the climb once was only 13.5)!

I took about a billion pictures and have managed to cut it down to the ones I've include here. The ones before the green leaves/blue sky picture are from the descent, those after are from the climb back up.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

Man, you're making me homesick. I grew up in the N. Georgia mountains just southeast of there, and it looks very similar. Are some of the leaves just coming out on the higher ridges? Looks like it from your photos. They're having a drought up in the mountains, so perhaps the lack of rainfall has delayed the leaves.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

That looks like a really nice route, it is really that traffic free?

BTW nice mix of images and that last one really gives a great feel for the area.


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## deadlegs (Jan 28, 2004)

MB1 - weekends usually see high motorcycle traffic but it was very cold this past weekend so I think they all waited to get out; got kind of loud after 11AM.

About that last pic. . . I've ridden the skyway 15 - 20 times and have never noticed that view; I just happened to look over my right shoulder and there it was!


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## dingster1 (Jul 2, 2006)

WOW!!! nice


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## Velo Vol (Mar 9, 2005)

deadlegs are you going to do the Challenge next month? If you climbed it twice, I'd say you are ready.  

tarwheel2, one of the reasons the leaves may be slower in coming out is because we had a late freeze in April which killed off a lot of the buds, even those here in the valley.


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## deadlegs (Jan 28, 2004)

I'll be there! Are you riding? 

Looking back at pictures over the last few years back to 6 or 7 years ago, the dead trees are growing further down in elevation every year. The brown trees are not dead, just hit from the late cold-snap and lack of rain.


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## Velo Vol (Mar 9, 2005)

I'm thinking about riding; I've done the last two. I thought I was going to melt going up the Skyway in the mid-day sun last year.


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