Trail Review : Enterprise South

The Enterprise South Nature Park in Chattanooga, Tennessee were some of the first trails I went to when I began mountain biking. It features approximately 10 miles of looped trails. There's no doubt that these are appropriately labeled as beginner trails, but don't let that be a deterrent for your visit. What these trails lack in gnarly factor, they make up for in fun.

Enterprise South is divided into three directional loops. I've done both directions and I highly recommend the Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, although there are still tons of fast downhills the Tuesday Thursday Sunday direction, too. Each of the loops are about the same difficulty, even though technically they're considered beginner, intermediate, and advanced. As I said, they were my favorite trails when I started mountain biking and I never came across anything that I couldn't handle....except for the occasional rock garden but that's a personal hurdle I'll overcome eventually.
Each loop has its own defining features.

The loop we started on is known as Black Forest. It's a quick singletrack with a handful of punchy climbs, roots, and loose ground. (There's also the most fun downhill run into a parking lot if you're doing the M, W, F, S direction). From there, you go into TNT, my personal favorite. There is a tiny bit more climbing on this loop, but the pay off is wonderful. This loop has a lot of roller sections which is a heck of a good time regardless of how much speed you're comfortable with maintaining. The Log Rhythm loop is the last one we came to. For advanced riders, this area can be used as your playground. It has an elevated bridge, pump track, and log obstacles. For those not comfortable with the advanced features, they're easily bypassed without taking anything away from the all around experience.

I definitely won't be making any trips to Chattanooga that I don't make time to visit this trail at least once. It's a good way to get in a couple of really solid miles on your bike. For those riders looking to amp up their mountain biking skills, it's a really great place to work on getting comfortable with maintaining speed. For those just looking for a good place to ride, this is a decently easy trail that doesn't feel like a snooze fest.

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.

Trail Review: Chicopee Woods

Chicopee Woods are 21 miles of incredibly well maintained mountain bikes trails created by SORBA in Oakwood, Georgia. I've been hearing about the insane trails at Chicopee Woods in Oakwood, GA for a couple of months now. Patrick has made his way up there on several occasions, but it had sounded a little too intense for me. Unlike the other trails I had ridden previously, Chicopee's loops don't have an easy out. Once you're in, you're in until the end.

We finally made our way up yesterday so that I could see what all the hype was about. And, man, they didn't disappoint!
The trails were probably the most technical I'd ever ridden. There are lots of roots, rocks, punchy climbs, and fast descents, that make even the beginner trails a little sketchy.

The trails are separated into several different loops, varying in difficultly from beginner to advanced. From the parking lot, we started on the easiest loop, known as the Tortoise. It made for a solid warm up, allowing time to hone in on the challenges ahead and get your legs burning on a couple of relatively easy, but long climbs.
Honestly, I can't tell you where we go from there. The trails quickly split off into several, non-directional loops. We ended up riding everything, except Copperhead Gap, the most advanced trail. Patrick has done that one on previous trips. He reports that it's a lot of climbing and really technical, but I don't really have much more information to report on it than that. I'll do it next time, promise!

While I may not have known exactly which trail I was on the majority of the time, I can say that the Flying Squirrel loop is one that no one should miss! It's a little climby, with one insane, rocky hill that nearly took me out a couple of times. (Keep in mind, I would rate my personal riding skills at just below intermediate so what I regard as tough, may be more or less challenging for other riders). However, any climb on any of these trails has an incredibly fun pay off at the end. There is almost an exactly equal amount of climbing as descending. I haven't smiled my way through an entire trail system before Chicopee.

Aside from that, I really only remember that I kept getting lost between White Tail and Red Tail, finding myself riding the same section of trail over again, only to then turn around. White Tail is probably the best trail for someone looking to get more comfortable with fast descents, without any crazy climbing in between. There are some cool, hidden drops that I accidentally did (without dying!)

Yesterday was an insanely hot day, so it's important to make lots of time for water and food breaks when you can. There aren't any water fountains at the trail head, so make sure you're fully stocked up before heading out there!

We ended up getting soaked by a spontaneous thunderstorm for our last 2 miles. While I never recommend intentionally riding wet trails, it definitely made the final stretch that much more enjoyable. We got back to the car covered in mud, absolutely exhausted, with ~15 miles under our belt for the day.

Chicopee Woods are about an hour outside of the city and definitely worth the trek up north. I can't wait for our next trip up there. I can't recommend those trails enough!

#CrossIsComing

It's been killing me to not blab about this publicly, but I've officially been invited to join my dream team for the upcoming cyclocross season. I'll be racing with Loose Nuts Cycles alongside some really awesome dudes. 

I have a lot of work ahead of me, and big shoes to fill. The team's 2015 season was insanely impressive with podium finishes nearly every race. 

While incredibly intimidating, I'm glad to have such successful teammates to learn from, and to constantly worry about disappointing if I don't train hard enough (hah!)

This might be my favorite picture ever...no one has ever captured my "holy crap" face before. 

I'm slowly easing my way into full-gear training with a 100 mile/week goal. My riding schedule currently includes one full mountain biking day, with four days doing long(ish) distance road rides. So far, I've fallen just short of my goal, which means I need to be adding another ride day into the mix.
As the year progresses, I plan to advance my training rides gradually, but for now, my goals are challenging enough without burning myself out.

Something that I'm learning is that while my team is crazy supportive, at the end of the day, we're all advancing at our own paces. It's easy to get real discouraged when comparing myself to these people who have been racing for years now. While I definitely don't want to give myself the easy way out, or make any form of excuses for myself, it is important to remind myself that every day is a form of progress. Slowly but surely, I'm getting there.
If you had told me a month ago I'd be doing the things I'm capable of doing today, there's a high chance I wouldn't believe you.

My biggest obstacle now is just to do all those things I'm too scared of. I have to learn how to push myself and get out of my comfort zone, which is not something that I've ever had to deal with before. Training is as much mental space as it is physical effort.

I'm excited for what this summer has to offer! I can't wait to see what I'm able to accomplish...and how many flips I'm able to do by the end of all of it.

Today's my birthday! Which is sort of like a mid-year chance to make new resolutions all over again.

I've grown a lot as a cyclist in the past few months. I still have so many obstacles that kick my butt (or, ya know, toss me over the handlebars...literally), but it's crazy to be riding routes/trails that I did even just a few weeks ago and doing monumentally better than before. My goal for my 23 year old self is simply: if I'm scared of it, I gotta do it. 
This, of course, applies 98% to on-the-bike only. Let's be real, I'll never not be an anxiety ridden baby. And I'm alright with that!
Right now, my biggest challenges on the bike are just psyching myself out. I come up to a big hill or a technical downhill and my first instinct is to get off the bike. After that, it's nearly impossible to convince myself to get back on it.

I'm working on being able to concentrate my thoughts back into a good place even after I stumble over part of a trail.
I got the chance to go riding with a new trail mate today. It made all the difference being able to watch the lines she was taking and ask questions while we were out.

Last week was filled with very exciting news that I cannot wait to share publicly. Right now, all I'm allowed to say is that I'm more excited for cross season than I ever thought was possible. More on that real soon!!

Also, Patrick and I have decided to venture into something creatively new. I'm still working out the fine details and, as my new-found-adult-self, I'm not open to sharing every piece of our new project until I feel comfortable with the way it's going. But, just know, that I'm very stoked on everything that's happening right now. I'm really excited to see where everything ends up.

So yeah. Here's to 23! I hope I can convince people to like me this year.

Wastin' Away in Margaritaville

This past weekend was my momma and I's semi-sort-of-annual-mother-daughter-vacation! We've been going to Gatlinburg, Tennessee since I was about 12, so this year we decided to switch it up and spent a lovely weekend in Myrtle Beach and Charleston.

Neither of us had ever been to Myrtle Beach and spent only minimal amounts of time in Charleston so it seemed like a perfect idea!

Unfortunately, the weather didn't quite agree with us going to the beach mid-April. Our first two days in Myrtle were spent wishing we had brought more sweaters. The temperatures also meant that any lounging on the beach we were planning on doing was pretty out of the question. We spent Friday wandering around the shops along the boardwalk. By Friday evening, we were out of things to do. (One can look at only so many "Myrtle Beach 2016" tank tops & shot glasses). Bummer when we still had two days of vacation! So we decided to do what anyone else in our position would do - let's take a road trip from our road trip!

A quick Google search revealed the Charleston was only 2 hours from Myrtle. Saturday morning, we woke up super early and started the trek to The Holy City. With Myrtle not exactly being our cup of tea, Charleston ended up being everything we wanted in a city! The weather cleared up, we had all new things to explore, and we spent the afternoon roaming around taking pictures and reading all about the history of the town.

It took Mom and me about six times longer to walk anywhere than it should have because we would both stop every 500ft to take a million pictures of someone's house. Everything in Charleston is so dang pretty! 

Once we were done oogling over downtown and were in danger of having full memory cards on our cameras, we got back in the car to search out Folly Beach.

Folly Beach has a special place in my heart, so I had to be sure to visit it again. This time last year, Patrick and I drove overnight to Charleston for his birthday and got there right as the sun was coming up. We ended up taking a nap on Folly, eating lunch, and turning around to come back home.

Essentially, that's what Mom and I did on this trip. We ventured out to the beach just long enough to snap some pictures.

Sunday was our last day on vacation. The drive back to Atlanta is 5 hours, so we had to leave early to avoid falling asleep at the wheel.
We got up really early, excited to see that the good weather from Charleston followed us back to Myrtle. We were finally able to venture out to the beach to take in all the beauty that had been hiding itself over the past 3 days.

We got back to Atlanta right around 2pm. Patrick was leaving at 3 to meet his friends for mountain biking, so naturally I had to tag along, too. I was exhausted from an amazing weekend, but it was great to be back on my bike.

Thank you, Momma, for an awesome weekend!

Right down the Middle

I've had Sophia (my mountain bike) for a week, officially! We've only had time to take her out on one proper outing so far, but I think that was enough for me to fall in love with her.
Last Monday, we ventured out to Cochran Mill Park, a nature center about 30 minutes south of the city. They have a series of trails spanning about 11 miles and ranging in skills from beginner to advanced.
Patrick was nice enough to stick to the beginner trails with me, while our other friends went to do a couple of loops around the advanced. I know I'll get better and I shouldn't be so tough on myself after a day of mountain biking, but holy cow! those beginner trails kicked my butt.

The views that come with mountain biking are definitely worth the suffering.

Once I got my sea legs (or is it trail legs?), things were overall pretty smooth sailing. Luckily, we got to the trails pretty early so, for awhile, it was only us out there. I was thankful to have my warm-up time to myself without having to worry about running across other cyclists, hikers, or dogs. However, right after leaving this beautiful river, the beginner's loop got even more intense. We climbed for what felt like forever (it was less than 500ft over 15 miles...whoops!) over rocks and roots. I quickly found out that I definitely need to study up on my climbing skill set. I'd get momentum going, but as soon as I saw an obstacle in my path, I panicked and got off my bike. Right now, the biggest goal for myself is just not be afraid. I've only ever broken my pinky finger and the thought of getting significantly hurt is always in the back of my mind.

By the end of the day, I only crashed once. Got a gnarly chain ring tattoo on the back of my leg and the most ridiculous bruise ever on my knee when a stick tried to stab into it. There's something really humorous of being on the ground and hearing your boyfriend yell "you're okay, don't cry!" as he rushes over to you. Sometimes I think he knows me a little too well...



My only problem now is that I don't want to go back to road riding. Even my 2 mile commute seems tedious now.
We're off to Chattanooga this upcoming weekend to visit my brother for Patrick's birthday. I'm real excited to check out some new trails in a new city.