Title: Guntersville Dam Ride with Merrill Mountain Climb
Distance: 49 miles
Start Location: Flint River Greenway Parking Lot, 1173 Old Highway 431, Huntsville, AL
Date & Start Time: 14 July, 7:00 AM
Ride Leader: Hunter Chockley, chockleyj@bellsouth.net, 256 527-8643
Description: This will be a Moderate ride of 49 miles that goes thru New Hope and then proceeds to the Dam’s new facility that has Rest Rooms (~ 20 miles). After the rest stop, we will proceed to climb Merrill Mountain climb and will regroup at the top and at the bottom. The route then returns via New Hope. The expected average pace is ~15-16 mph due to the climb. The cumulative elevation climb is ~1533 ft. The route link is: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/21714303
Rest Stops: Jiff-E Mart @ 10 miles, Dam @ 20 miles, and Jim’s Grocery @ 34 miles
Showers are in Saturday’s forecast. Will monitor the weather forecasts.
Bring a cue sheet and/or a navigation device and also have the phone number of the Ride Leader and if possible have the phone number of at least one friend.
Again, this ride has a major climb of Merrill Mountain and an expected average pace of 15-16 mph for the distance so be sure you can do the climb with this overall average pace.
If you choose to ride at a much faster pace than the leader or deviate from the route then you are on your own.