Impromtu Chattanooga

Yesterday was our usual day for group mountain biking trip. For whatever reason, the idea of riding didn't sound the slightest bit appealing to me. I was going to suck it up and go anyway, but thankfully, Patrick was there to save the day by suggesting we go on a day trip to Chattanooga.

By the time we decided to go, it was already past noon. The trip up there would take us about 2 hours, closer to three when you take into consideration traffic and a food stop. We compromised by agreeing to pack up the mountain bikes to get in a quick ride at Enterprise South (which are some of my favorite trails ever!) and then get in some good exploring after.

Around 3:30, we got to Chattanooga, unloaded the car, and hopped on the trails. Unfortunately, we only got about 7 miles in when the skies opened up. I can't say it was the biggest downpour I've ever gotten stuck in, but it definitely ranked in the top 3. Our only option was to head to the car one way or another. Bummed that we drove 2 hours for about 30 minutes of riding, we figured that we'd be able to take the few miles of trails back. Nope!
After only a couple of minutes of rain, the previously flowy trails turned into actual rivers. So we turned around and took to the road.

Once we packed back up, we called up my brother who lives in Chattanooga. Luckily, it only seemed to be raining over the trails, which are about 20 minutes outside of the city. We drove out of the storm and into perfect weather!

My brother has a friend whose family owns a ridiculous amount of land up on Lookout Mountain so he took us up there, where we got in a whole lot of sightseeing over Cloudland Canyon and some canoeing on a private pond.

We originally had plans to go out to dinner together before leaving, but it being Sunday and us having no concept of time, when we realized how late it had gotten, all  our food options had closed. (which is a major bummer because I've been dreaming about how good Urban Stack burgers are for a good six months now!)

All in all, it was the perfect almost-full-day-off-a-bike day. I am thankful to have had a moment outside of the routine of the city. Now, back to my regularly scheduled training rides.