Bicycling Bald River Road

This post is a record of a bicycle ride I took yesterday, a marker of sorts. I want to remember the ride so that when I look back, after a mid-summer repeat, I can see improvement. I struggled on the first half of this ride and wondered at times if I would make my goal. As a result, few pictures were taken because the process of grabbing my camera and framing a photo demanded more energy than I could spare.

For most of the ride, I was frustrated with myself, frustrated for not staying in solid bicycling shape over the winter and frustrated for almost turning around several times. Yet in the end, I am a mileage driven person and found it within myself to reach my goal. Completing this ride as I had planned, was very satisfying.

We began and ended the ride in a pull-off at the intersection of Bald River Road and the Cherohala Skyway. Bald River Road, located in the southern Cherokee National Forest, is best known for a spectacular 90′ waterfall, Bald River Falls. The waterfall is about six miles in and completely visible from the road. Through a recent road improvement project, the Park Service widened the viewing bridge and increased parking on the east side of the falls. The good news for outdoor enthusiasts, those who fish, whitewater kayak, hike and bicycle in this area, most motorists turn around at the falls.

Bald River Road follows the river for 18 miles, terminating at a campground just beyond to the TN/NC state line. About 13 miles from the beginning of the road is a small community called Green Cove and bicycling to Green Cove was my goal for the day. The community consists of cabins in various degrees of repair, a few trailers, an old fishing lodge and a small store to grab some bait if you are a fisherman or some nourishment if you are a bicyclist. But getting to Green Cove involves 13 miles of uphill pedaling with about 1000′ of ascent. Although a few sections of the climb are somewhat flat, other sections are quite challenging, especially if you are in early season bicycle shape. The reward for sticking with the uphill climb is that the downhill ride is a coast to the car, mostly.

Yesterday was a perfect bicycling day, blue skies, sunny and breezy. The road is tree lined so much of the cycle occurred in dappled sunlight. Traffic was light, only a dozen or so motorcycles and a few cars and trucks and I did notice the mountain laurel growing along the river, heavily laden with blooms. I also noticed the air was filled with bird song and that an abundance of yellow-black swallowtails fluttered about the trees and ground vegetation. Unfortunately, the swallowtails also flitted into my front tire and smacked into my helmet. I also noticed a few early summer wildflowers in bloom and a number of small waterfalls overflowing from the spring rain. But I stopped to photograph none of this, my stops were limited to eating and drinking. Funny, looking back at the ride today, from my perch on a kitchen stool, the absolutely beautiful day comes to mind, not my burning legs.

After the ride, we stopped at Tellico Grains Bakery in Tellico Plains for a late lunch before heading home. The bakery specializes in oven fired pizza, but we ordered sandwiches filled with ham and bacon and other sorts of decadence. And finally, on the way home, we indulged in delicious bakery almond biscotti.