Crossville, TN to Townsend, TN 104.7 miles
The topography of today's 104 mile ride was much of the same as the previous couple of days. Even though the ride wasn't quantitatively the same as the previous day's ride, it still proved to be quite challenging and rewarding. The last 15 miles followed the very picturesque Little River. The trees continued to show their magnificent colors, despite the heavy overcast sky. I was so mesmerized by the beauty that it took me over an hour to go the final 15 miles. We are now nestled in Townsend, TN, which is the entrance to the magnificent Smoky Mountains National Park. During the course of the ride, we crossed into our final time zone. It is hard to imagine that it is all going to come to an abrupt end in five days. It will be a very emotional and bittersweet moment.
Saturday, Oct. 18th
Townsend, TN to Cherokee, NC 57.4 miles
The guides called today's short 57 mile ride a rolling rest day to Cherokee, NC. However, I strongly disagree since we had two significant climbs. The first being 14 miles and the second climb, which was considerably steeper, was 15 miles. Being that the trees are in peak color and it is the weekend, the traffic was very busy on the narrow two lane road. Unfortunately, the combination of fog and clouds prevented one from having any visibility at the various vantage points. By the time I reached the summit, the temperature was 36 degrees and I couldn't feel my toes. I jumped in the van to warm up before making the very chilly descent. Soon after I started down, the sky started to clear up and the Smoky's showed their stunning beauty. I do not know if I have ever seen such unbelievable foliage colors. With the traffic hot on my tail, I had to let it ripe and I flew down the mountain at 35 mph +, matching the posted speed limit. Tomorrow it is off to Asheville, NC via the Blue Ridge Parkway.