Hi-
I go to the University of Michigan and I am coming home to Knoxville, TN this weekend so I was wondering if anyone has any good rides to do in or around Knoxville. Over spring break I just road on the western parts of Northshore Dr., but honestly, the amount of cars dirtied my chammy more than once, so I'm looking for something a little better. I live in West Knox County, so any good rides around there would be appreciated as would really anything else, especially something with some sort of a decent climb (I'm looking 5-8% for 3-4miles or better). In Michigan, we don't really have much more than rolling hills, so I want to work in some more exciting terrain while I am home.

I'd also be willing to help someone with the information compile it into a website using my GPS, I'll be back home again in July and will be doing a lot more riding, it would be a great resource for people in East TN that are just starting to ride, are visiting or want to find new road rides.

Thanks,
Peter

Well, I would agree that riding in west knoxville is rather annoying, personally I ride in south knoxville, and blount county mainly. The traffic is greatly reduced and the drivers are (for the most part) respectful of you. If you want a "hill" that's really fun to do, you should check out the foothills parkway. The gradient isn't that steep, but it's about 9-10 miles to the top with a little relief in the middle. The fastest that I've ever made it up there is 42 minutes, which really isn't all that fast, but it's a good hill that will get your lungs pumping. You can park at the bottom and ride up (to look rock) and back and I think it's around 20 miles. If you pick up a map of blount county, you should see the parkway on there, and it starts where highway 321 crosses it.

If you really want to be punished, you should climb up the cherohala skyway. I did that this weekend, and it just tore me up. It's about a 30 mile climb with a couple of reliefs throw in just to keep you honest. It's about an hours drive from knoxville, and there is some traffic on the road, but being at the top is worth it. 5,383 feet.

Good luck and let me know if I can help you out with anything else !

I just returned from the K-town area and did a great group ride with the very friendly bunch called Smokey Mountain Wheelmen. Their website has a listing of regular rides (mostly south K-town) as well as cue sheets for rides that you can do solo. Check out the site:
http://www.smwbike.org/