We crossed our first state border!!
But it was hard work getting there because the state line was on the ridge of the Smoky Mountains (see picture). A sign denoting the reason why we were really scared:
Well, so it wasn't quite 35 miles, but it was probably about 15 up and 15 back down. Apparently, experienced riders say that these climbs don't ever get any easier, you just start going faster. It's still a works-in-progress. Besides my sidewinds, another trick that helps get up a mountain is finding some buddies! There was a group of 6 of us who went up the mountain together. On the way up, we biked a mile, and then stopped to catch our breath, and then went on again for another mile. The support of the group was great! It made riding even this rough terrain more enjoyable. I always thought cycling was an individual sport, but I think it might be more of a team sport =) Here's the group at almost the top!
Left to Right: Kaitlin, Ryan, Liz, me, Kim
We took some glorious pictures at the top of the Smokies, and then coasted down the mountain into Gatlinburg, a little town at the base of the Tennessee side, which was Las Vegas-esque. It was quite peculiar to see such a booming town with so many touristy things to do right in the middle of nature. But it was a good place to stop for the day.
Day 15: Gatlinburg, TN to Maryville, TN (~45 miles)
What goes up... must come down...
So after climbing up mountains for the last 3 days, we were SO grateful for the wonderful downhill ride most of the day! However, most of us had legs that were so tired that it was still a challenge to get into Maryville. Besides the downhills, one of my favorite parts of the ride was our pacelines! "Pacelines" are when riders ride in a line, close together, such that the front biker blocks the headwind for the rear bikers. The rear bikers can thus "draft" off the front rider. At one point when it was pretty windy, we were riding with 2 riders in front and 3 riders behind each of them. It was awesome when I crouched down low, because I felt no wind at all!
We made it into town early that day, and set up lodging at Camp Tipton. Read on for Maryville adventures!
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