Sunday I joined a group of guys all crazy enough to want to go do the Skyway Trail near Cheaha Mtn. in Talladega Forest. It was a good mix of single speeders and geared guys with a total group of around 10. For just about everyone it was their first time riding the trail and only my second time so we all were in for a long day of not knowing what to expect.
The weather was less than beautiful, thick pea souped fog restricted our views to less than 100 feet at times, but never diminished anyone's reluctance to bomb down the downhill sections at speeds close to 30-35mph. Everyone had a great time and we only had one mechanical on the day and were back on the trail after 10 minutes.
The fog made everything wet and the previous days downpour left the trail soft and loose but we were able to find good lines riding mostly in the run off ruts from the water flow off the mountain. This trail was a lot of climbing and descending with little to no flat areas as we rode the ridge of the mountain most of the day. On our way back about an hour out it began raining, which we were all already soaked from the foggy mist and wet trail, it just added to the demoralization of why we were even out there to begin with, 5 hours on the bike in the cold and wet weather can take a toll on your mental aspect of the sport sometimes. Looking back though I'm pretty sure everyone is glad they did it now.
This trail is definitely a great way to spend a day if you want to get 50+ miles in the saddle with some good climbing that is close by. When the weather is nice, the views from some of the bluffs are amazing and really put all the climbing you do in perspective. Below is my garmin from the ride. I used 52 gear inches, or 32:16 x 26er, for the ride although a 17t would have allowed me to stay seated for most of the climbing and been a little more comfortable for a training ride.
Anyone wanting to find out more information about the upcoming race or any group rides there is a facebook group called Skyway Epic you can join or you can go to the website for the race here.
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