Bike Ride – Smynra, GA to Piedmont, AL

Summary
Distance: 152 miles
Elevation gain: 3,800 feet
Type: Out and back
Trailhead: Paved lot. (map)

It’s been a while since I’ve done a birthday ride, and, given the work I put in getting fit for the Georgia Loop, this seemed like a good year for a long ride. My previous birthday rides were in 2007 and 2008. Those rides were 200 miles long. I’m fit this year, but not as fast as I was back then, so I set a goal of 150 miles.

I did this ride, and the previous rides, on the Silver Comet trail in Georgia and the Chief Ladiga trail in Alabama. The trails meet at the border.

These trails are rails-to-trails projects, and it’s really nice not having to deal with cars. Another benefit is that there are water stops available every 15 to 25 miles. While most of the ride is on an abandoned rail bed, some of the Silver Comet needed to be constructed on other property. The result is a few pretty steep hills which can be challenging.

This year, the weather was really hot and the humidity was high too. I struggled to be able to pedal at my normal pace, and ended up accepting what I could do for the conditions at hand. Instead of 15 or 16 mph, I was at 12 or 13 mph for some of the day. The heat just sapped my strength.

In spite of my issues with the heat, it was a good day. 150 is a lot of miles, and, for me, spending that much time on a bike takes the ability to get into a certain frame of mind. I need to be able to get into the moment, and just pedal. It’s kind of a meditative state. I am totally relaxed while enjoying the rhythm of pedaling.

The ride was hot from the start at 6:30 AM. I was soaked in sweat almost immediately. Rockmart was my first water stop at about 39 miles. I carry ziplock bags with energy drink mixes so I can keep up with my electrolytes and calories, and I reloaded my two bottles.

Cedartown is the next water/reload stop and is about 15 miles away. Given the heat, this was where I planned to make a decision about whether to continue west for a 150 mile ride or to return home with a 100 mile day. My legs were feeling pretty good, so I decided to continue to Piedmont, ignoring how hot it had become.

When I reached Piedmont at about 77 miles into the ride, I knew that the heat was becoming a problem. I had a headache which is a sign of dehydration for me and I couldn’t pedal at a decent pace. The welcome center there has a gazebo and water available from a faucet outside the restrooms. I took a long break while enjoying a breeze blowing through the gazebo.

When I left Piedmont for the return trip home, the heat felt even worse. It had rained the day before making the humidity horrible. The trip to Cedartown, GA is about 25 miles and I felt overheated when I got there. I could feel heat radiating from my body and I was not feeling well. I bought a cold Gatorade from the visitors’ center and sat down to enjoy it. I was still really hot and came up with the idea of finding a hotel for the night. I didn’t want to exercise that option, but the thought gave me some comfort. And then, I had an epiphany – I rinsed out the Gatorade bottle, filled it with cold water, and poured it over my head. I did that several times, and rested in the shade until I felt well enough to head to Rockmart.

There is a great little park with a water spigot and lots of shade trees in Rockmart. I repeated the water on the head trick again in Rockmart while taking a fairly long break under the trees.

The next stop east of Rockmart is Tara Drummond park in Dallas which is about 17 miles from Rockmart. On the way there, the trail climbs and reaches its high point at Brushy Mountain tunnel. This climb, while not steep, grinds on for about 6 miles, and has always been hard for me. There is a great little spring at the west end of the tunnel and I had brought along a little camp towel to dip into the cold water. I washed off my face, neck and arms to help cool off.

At Tara Drummond, I filled my bottles at a fountain, and reloaded my Gatorade bottle for more cooling off. It was getting late enough that the temperature was starting to cool off, and rain was starting too. I had about 17 more miles to go and started to feel a bit better.

Anne texted me to let me know that she was waiting for me where I had started. This was a surprise because she hadn’t planned to be back in town that early.

It was great seeing her as I finished. That was the perfect end to a long day.