Mountain biking in Helen, GA

We left Helen on Friday at dawn and came back to Bloomsburg around 10 P.M. on the same day. On Thursday, my dad and I rented mountain bikes and did a 16.36-mile ride in Unicoi State Park. This was the first time we had ridden together in over a year; the last time was a 36-mile ride to Stillwater. I ride a bit faster, so I stopped and waited for a little while every mile or two.

The mountain bike rental company drove us up to a mountain pass at 2900 feet. From there, we began climbing on a gravel forest road called Forest Road 44--I had expected trails--that would later lead to some campsites. We passed a waterfall after about a quarter of a mile, but other than that, nothing of note occurred. The hill was hard, but I weathered worse ones back in June. We reached the high point of the ride at 3227 feet. From there, there was an epic, bumpy descent for four miles, falling over a thousand feet over sharp switchbacks on treacherous gravel terrain. I usually descend hills--even gravel ones--at 20-25 miles per hour (and 30+ on paved roads), but I kept it down to about 15 on that hill.

Around mile 5, the hill bottomed out at the Upper Chattahooechee River Campground, near the headwaters of the Chatthoochee River. It was a small stream down there; it's hard to believe that it's hundreds of miles long. All rivers start somewhere, I guess. Supposedly there was large a waterfall there, but we didn't see it.

The next few miles rose semi-steeply, climbing 500 feet in two miles. Coupled with the terrain, it was fairly slow going. But from there, it was almost all downhill for the next five miles. There were a few uphills, but nothing like the previous ones. I finally saw a few vistas on this reach; the first few miles had been rather lacking in views.

Around mile 9, I came to a little stream crossing and stopped to observe a school of fish in the water below. Trout, perhaps. After that, there was one more little uphill, then one more downhill. After that, the road became flat and ran alongside the Chattahoochee River. Eventually, the pavement returned and we rode out of Unicoi State Park. Gradually, the road approached civilization, with houses and fishermen becoming visible. Eventually, the route reached a highway, which brought us to quieter road. From there, it was just a short ride up a hill to the mountain bike place.

My time was 1:23:34, not counting the 58 minutes or so that I spent waiting. Interesting, seeing as they advertise the ride as taking 2 to 5 hours. I guess they mostly get touristy people instead of more serous cyclists?

 1224 feet of elevation gain and 3879 feet of elevation change. The high point was 3227 feet and the low point was 1454 feet.

Very tortuous [not torturous...] route

By the way, my shin splints seem to have resolved themselves during the trip, so I may be running more (and biking less) over the next few weeks (though I'm off for another ride now).