3-State 3-Mountain
2005 Comments

Dear Mr. Mayor,

My husband and I visited Chattanooga this past weekend to participate in the 3 State, 3 Mountain bike ride. We wanted to tell you how impressed we were by your charming town. Everyone, from the ride organizers to our hotel staff, to restaurant servers, to clerks at your tourist attractions, was helpful, pleasant, and informative. We enjoyed taking in the aquarium, the carousel, Ruby Falls,the arts festival, and the terrific restaurants.

As for the ride itself, we were so pleased with the organization, the scenery, and especially, by the city's support. The escorted start, through the downtown buildings and the finish through the safety cones and with the wonderful, friendly crossing guards made us feel quite special and quite secure which, as you know, is invaluable for cyclists.

We have told, and will continue to tell, many of our friends what a great ride this is and what a pleasure Chattanooga was to visit. We will certainly come again as we didn't have enough time to see more of the great sights in the area.

Our best wishes,

Joyce Fogleman and Nick Stanfield
Versailles, Kentucky 

Ms. Fogleman—

Thank you for your very kind note.  We are proud to have been able to host you and so glad that you enjoyed the 3 State 3 Mountain ride—one of our community’s most distinctive events.  I’ll make sure that the Mayor sees your comments and I know he will be grateful.

Todd Womack
Communications Director
Mayor Ron Littlefield
City of Chattanooga

We stayed 2 nights in Chattanooga enjoying your city after and awesome ride. The below message was sent out by me to 162 riders within the Birmingham, AL cycling community yesterday. I hope it encourages you during this time that we have a fellow cyclist it need of our prayers.

Friends,

I would like to take my hat off and salute the organizers of the Chattanooga 3 State ride. I have never seen a better run, better organized century. On one decent I counted no less than five emergency vehicles with flagman warning of obstacles and danger ahead when it was no more than some switchbacks and few rough spots in the road. Rest stops were manned with more than ample food, cold water, Gatorade, you didn't even have to fill your own water bottles. During the ride they had folks out there cheering you on, telling you how good you looked even though you know they weren't being truthful. After descending Lookout Mtn the last 4 to 5 miles to the finish were coned off and the cyclists had there own lane with a police officer/security guard type folks expressing you through every intersection. I don't know what happened in the crash coming down Sucks Mtn but I do know in my opinion the event organizers did everything humanly possible to have avoided anything like this from happening.

Next year if you want to see some stunning countryside, mountains, rivers, lakes, and be challenged on a tough ride, sign up early to beat the 1250 limit they let in this year. Chattanooga is also one cool place to visit. 

D'dog
Dirtdog
dirtdog1@bellsouth.net
Hoover, AL

Daisy, a quick note is in order on behalf of those of us from Toronto, who had the opportunity to participate in our first 3-State 3-Mountain event on Saturday.  The event was superbly organized and we all were truly impressed by the warmth of the hospitality shown to us on our visit to Chattanooga.  The arrangements, the ride, the beauty of the area, the challenge of the climbs, the sag stops and other support facilities in place, the weather - all were perfect.  It was one of the best rides I have been on.  I know that you were dealing with 1200 participants and we just wanted to provide you with direct feed back on how well we thought things went.  Now if we could just figure out how to move Chattanooga a little closer to Toronto we would have it made. 

Thanks again,

Ken Whiteside
Toronto, Ontario

Daisy, congratulations to you and your team for another wonderful ride.  You all did an excellent job on all aspects of the ride-food, route, support, and safety.  Yes there were accidents, but you did ALL you could do-above and beyond-any other ride I have been on to insure the safety of riders. Some of the safety is our responsibility.  I have ridden the 62 many times, but this was my first 100.  Thanks for all you did and the great day you gave me. 

Lynn Wilson, MBC
Murfreesboro, TN

Also, please thank the Mayor and City of Chatt. for their wonderful support. The city has done a good job of showcasing their downtown area.  

We drove from central North Carolina to participate in the ride last weekend, and we are still telling everyone who'll listen how impressed we were with your club, the event execution, the city of Chattanooga and the revitalization of downtown Chattanooga.  We had a fabulous weekend!

Many thanks for ordering up perfect weather.  That certainly helped, but we agree the 3S3MC was the most scenic ride we've done to date.  We opted to do the metric this time - didn't want to try the 100 before scoping out the terrain - and we're glad we did it this way.  It was challenging, but manageable, and left us plenty of time to enjoy the 4Bridges Arts Festival.  We toasted our good-sense decision with a brew sample at Big River Brewing and wandered the waterfront. 

We're still amazed at the level of cooperation & support you get from the City of Chattanooga.  I have never participated in a cycling event where the traffic was blocked, and intersections manned.  Amazing, welcome and impressive!  Nor have I ever experienced a mass start (thanks for being punctual with it) with 1000+ riders - that was so cool!  The number of volunteers helping produce this event was also impressive.  I help organize events for our local club, and getting volunteers is the most difficult part for us.  How do you do it?!

Three of our group completed the century and lived to see another day, so we're prepared to try it ourselves next time.  Every century rider we met talked about climbing Lookout Mtn. - or walking it - but they were all very proud to have conquered the road.

Thank you, Chattanooga Bike Club, for a memorable Tennessee weekend!

Sincerely,
Mary & Rick Hughes
Greensboro, NC

I am writing to thank you and the entire CBC for managing the 3 State 3 Mountain Challenge. By far, this was the most well organized ride in which I have participated. The support provided by your group, the cities of Chattanooga and surrounding communities, and the other event sponsors made this a very enjoyable ride. It was welcoming to see the suuport of local residents along the route, be they patient and courteous drivers, or local residents cheering the riders on or offering a cold drink.

You should all feel very proud of what you have accomplished in staging this event.

Thank you.

Mark McClain
Franklin, TN

Daisy;

Just to let you all know what a great time I had with my wife and friends last weekend.  Great ride, well organized and a beautiful scenic route that almost made me forget my "pain".  I have been riding bike for about three months now and I was able to made the 62 ride in about 5 hrs!!!  I just marked my calendar for next year.

Have a blessed day.

Manuel Agosto, AEP
Warner Robins, GA

Daisy,

Bill Murphy
Regional Sales Manager
The Travel Authority
Knoxville, TN

Dear Daisy,

I hope to see you next year.

Bob Beaury
Big F Club
St Louis, MO.

Thank you...you and your staff put on an incredible event...I think it tied in very nicely with the Four Bridges and I also like the stadium venue....great job and thanks for your hard work...you should be in the Chattanooga Biking Hall of Fame

Brad Cobb
Lookout Mtn, TN

Enjoyed this ride; was my first Century - have been a runner for years and completed 30 marathons including new york and boston but this ride was as hard or harder than any of those runs

Will be back next year

Brad DeLay of Dalton, GA

I just wanted to send you an email thanking you for putting on such a great event.  I have been riding for about a year now, and this was the most scenic ride I have ridden to date.  The start and finish was well organized, and the SAG stops were fabulous.  The stadium area was fantastic as there was plenty of room to rest and relax, and plenty of parking.  I also appreciate the volunteers taking in the riders finishing times.  Do you have an estimate on when the results will be posted?

I can only imagine how many hours of hard work went into putting on such a large event.   It was evident that a lot of work from many volunteers made the event such a success.

 Thanks again, and I am already looking forward to next year!  Is it always the first Saturday in May?  (Yes)

Ronnie Fields
Kathleen, GA

We had a blast!  What a great ride!  (Thanks Daisy and all the folks at chattbike.com!)

Brian Kuhl
Murfreesboro, TN

(Brian, Thanks for the wonderful pictures!    Daisy)

I do want to thank all of the people that put on this ride. This was my first time to do this one and it was the best one I have done. I am a 55 year old former runner who had to switch to cycling 4 years ago and have fallen in love with the sport. I plan to be back next year.

Thanks again and our prayers will be with our fallen comrade.

Chuck Brown
Gadsdon, AL

I wanted to get some feedback to you regarding the century this weekend before I get too busy and time wipes away thoughts about the event that I think you should get.

Overall the event continues to get better as the years progress.  My travel partner from PA mentioned that he felt it was hands down the best Century he has ever participated in.  This is a guy who rides allot of major rides (including the Seagull Century in Salisbury MD) in the PA/Northeast and is qualified to make that observation.  I agree totally with him.  The support, the course and the venue is very difficult to beat. 

The teams this year were more behaved than last year.  In particular, the team from Fort Wayne Indiana was very professional and in my mind showed allot of skill as they negotiated the course.  Obviously there were others who decided to take risks and paid the price.  What do you expect with 1200 riders??

That's it for this year.  I will attempt to write a ride summary for the Harrisburg Bike Club "Spokesman" and copy you on that.

Dave Mailander
Palmyra, PA

Daisy,

Thank you again for putting on a terrific ride!  I rode with my friends from the Harpeth Bike Club in Nashville, and we all really appreciated all the support provided all along the ride.  It was great to have traffic control along the way, and especially the people on the downhill side of Sand Mountain.  The rest stops were nicely stocked, but the pizza and beer post-ride are the best treat --- much better than spaghetti!!!  I am anxiously awaiting my jersey to arrive to show off at future rides!  By the way, another great design on the jersey. 

Thanks, and see you again next year!

LaRae Huffman
Franklin, TN

Attached is a ride report that I wrote after riding the Chattanooga Bicycling Club's 3 State/3 Mountain Century on May 7th. The report is in an MD Word format and should be attached.

I thought that it was a Great Ride! Having ridden Assault of Mt. Mitchell, Bridge to Bridge, Mountain of Misery and similar events many times over the past decade, I found that I liked your event more for a variety of reasons. It's a bit faster route, more variety of terrain, and I liked it that the route ends in a downtown area with a whole lot to do after the ride. Since I have family in Chattanooga, I can assure you that I will be back in the future.

Thanks Again!

David T. Whitaker (age 51)
Rider #1118 Time 5:56
Catonsville, Maryland 21228
pacelines@aol.com

I know you are probably swamped with email and post-ride activities, but I wanted to write and say how much I enjoyed the 3S3M.  You and your team did a FABULOUS job!  Thanks for all your hard work!  Your ride is the one ride that I have done faithfully each year since I started cycling and I love it.

Of course I heard about the big accident that occured.  Hopefully the rider is ok, though from what I understand he has very serious injuries. I know as a ride organizer it is probably difficult to deal with.  If you're like me you worry about your riders.  Hope everything turns out for the best and that you and he are doing ok.

Thanks again,

Debbie Arnett
Knoxville, TN

Don Page here from the Blood Sweat and Gears Bicycle Club, Huntingdon TN. I want to let you know how all of us enjoyed this year’s ride. I thought the Police did an excellent job of traffic control on Suck Creek Mountain but even so, I saw a terrible accident on the way down. By the look of the car and the shattered helmet the rider impacted the vehicle very hard. The rider has been in our thoughts and I was wondering if you could report on his condition.

I also heard of several accidents on the Sand Mountain descent. I like to think these accidents were caused by something other than rider error, but I saw people doing crazy things on the way to Suck Creek Mountain.  I had 2 groups of “Postal Team Wannabes” pass me on the right (with me 6” from the white line) barely missing a telephone pole. I saw riders taking a lot of unnecessary chances.  The first 10 miles scared the crap out of me.

We are already making plans to attend next year. This was my 4^th year and each year I see the hard work of the Chattanooga Bike club improving the quality of this great ride. No one should put any blame on the club or the members working the event for these unfortunate accidents.

Well that’s my 2 cents worth. I would appreciate any info you can provide.

Sincerely,

Don Page
Blood Sweat and Gears Bicycle Club
www.bsgbc.com
McKenzie, TN

Just wanted to say thanks for getting the “Joe” put at the sag before Lookout Mtn. We were pumped to pull up and see a 5 gallon pot of coffee waiting.  About 5 of us stood around that thing talking about how well organized the ride was and how we needed to hand write Daisy a letter to say “Thanks.”  Well, now we’re back in the work-week grind and I doubt any of us will sit down with pen and paper.  Just know that we appreciate the 3-3, and we’ll will be back with the RV and trailer next year.

Jason Hazelett, MPT
Steppin' Up Physical Therapy, Inc.
Fort Wayne, IN
steppinup@verizon.net

The ride Saturday was awesome!!! You guys did a great job and it was so well organized. I had a great time...well, except the last .4 mile up Burkhalter Gap!

I was sorry to hear about the rider in the accident. It's easy to get going too fast and before you realize it you're in trouble.

Thanks again for the great job and I look forward to it again next year.

Jeffrey W. Marzolf, AAMS
Branch Manager / Registered Principal
Raymond James Financial Services, Inc.
Knoxville, TN

Wasn't sure who to send this to, but since you emailed various info about the ride, I decided to send this to your attention.  A friend and I had never cycled 100 miles before, and we decided that it was time.  Being gluttons for punishment, we chose the 3-State, 3-Mountain.  What an awesome experience!  I thought that the event was extremely well-organized and well-supported.  Everyone was so friendly; from the workers at the SAG stops to the officers directing traffic at the intersections.  The route markings were superb - especially the warnings on the Sand Mountain descent.  After having a blowout on the Sand Mountain descent, someone in a SAG truck was checking on me within 5 minutes.  That was very reassuring.  Climbing Lookout Mountain, I was about to get off and walk when I heard bells ringing and shouts of encouragement from the top.  That was enough to keep me pedaling the rest of the way.  Many thanks to all who made this an excellent event.  I hope to make this a yearly tradition.

You guys rock!

Sincerely,

Joe Hurst (entry #610)
Marietta, GA

Daisy,
I wanted to drop a note of thanks for the fantastic event this past weekend.  I believe that all of the Greensboro Velo Club Members (GVC) that participated had a great time.

Great Route.
Well Marked.
Great Support along the route.
Great support from the City.

Please pass our thanks on to your volunteers.

If I had a suggestion it would be to have your "Weather Chairman" return to the same post next year.

Thanks again,

John Hepburn
336-282-4027
jhep5410@cs.com
Greensboro, NC

Thanks for a great Weekend!  Awesome weather and conditions.  Please pass on info of the rider that collided head on.  Location on the route, speeds involved, condition of rider.  I've not found anything in the news.  So far just rumors - and those are no good.  Discussing last night with some other riders, I agree that the route was well marked and fair warned.

John Marshall
Evansville, IN
Rider # 528  (I think)

Daisy,

This was the first year that I've ridden the century on 3-State/3-Mountain and realize that I've been missing out on most beautiful part of the ride. The 62 mile route is great 'but' the century is awesome!

The support with the police, the fire department, and motorcycles was absolutely incredible. And, the local community coming out to hand us water in front of their homes - WOW!! The Chattanooga Club thought of everything to make the ride safe and enjoyable for everyone.

I was very disappointed to hear there were two accidents and one which was very severe because the rider hit a car in the oncoming lane on Suck Creek. I've received numerous emails asking how the rider was doing as well as his family. If there is anything we can do, please let me know. I'm on the board of the North Atlanta Riding Club (NARC) and we have an incredible network of members willing to offer support as needed.

Thank you again for all your help,

Judy

Judy Galvin
Product Manager - Affiliated Products and Services
AIG Agency Auto
Alpharetta, GA
judeth.galvin@aig.com

I wanted to take the time to send my thanks to all involved with Saturday's ride.  This was the second time I've ridden the 3-State and although I didn't make it a century this time, it still was an awesome (and taxing) ride.  Chattanooga was a wonderful place to visit and I look forward to riding there again.  Coming from Memphis where we can barely get a newsprint article about the MS150 ride, it is wonderful to ride in a city so biker friendly.

Patrick Theobald
Bartlett, TN

I just wanted to let you know that you all did a top-notch job of hosting and organizing the ride this year.  This was my first century.  It was very well supported.  I appreciated the motorcycle support and the support from the local emergency departments.  Please extend my gratitude to them.

I look forward to riding again next year.

Best regards from Georgia,

Kirk Andry
Cumming, Ga

That is very nice of you to send an email to let everyone know he is okay; this was my first Century and I enjoyed it immensely.  The CBC did an incredible job...everyone was great.  Thank you...we will be back next year!

Laina Hamilton
Dacula, GA
Palmeri Group (Cartecay Bike Shop, Ellijay, GA)

Daisy:

I would like to take this time to thank you for a great ride. The sag stops and police support were great. The road conditions were good. My only concern were the riders coming down the decline off Suck Creek Mountain. The riders need to use better judgement at how fast you can go and still be safe. I came by just after the accident where the fellow hit a car. I have not heard how he is doing but it looked serious and I hope he is ok. I have ridden many event rides but with never this kind of response. The turnout was very good. I hope great success for next year and looking forward to the ride.

Take care

Larry Parkins
Mt Olive, AL

Daisy,

Thanks for running another terrific event. The Brookside bunch was once again thrilled by one of the best organized rides in the country. Do you know what happened to the man who was seriously injured on the Suck Creek descent? I couldn’t find anything in the on-line newspapers.

Michael Brown
Ft Wayne, IN

Daisy,

I was riding along at my own steady pace, just about to take the left onto Georgia 301 when the pick-up van came along and told me I needed to take a ride because I wasn't going to finish.  However, as we drove up Burkhalter Gap dozens of people were dragging themselves forward, praying heavily.  I wasn't feeling any pain and did ride down Lookout Mountain and across the finish.  I was disappointed because I could have rode for another hour .5 and still come in with the last finishers.  Anyway, that disappointment aside, I am coming back next year better equipped and educated and hope to see ya'll in the fall at the Sequatchie 100.

Patti Dobbs #279
O'Fallon, MO

Just wanted to thank everyone for a very good ride. I live in Roswell, GA, and I did the 3 State 3 Mtn Challenge on Saturday. I often ride in the Georgia mountains (6 Gap Century course), and this was a nice spring hilly century.

One note: my altimeter has been very accurate (matching others’ posted elevation gains on several rides), but I ‘only’ registered 6,850 feet of climbing for the 100-mile ride. The website claims ~9,000 ft of climbing – I’m not sure where that comes from. I would suggest altering the number downward for ‘truth in advertising.’

Thanks,

Rand Haley
Roswell, Ga

Hello Daisy:

Another fantastic 3-State...! Perfect weather.  Excellent organization of rest stops and well stocked.

Sorry about the accident on Suck Creek.  Prayers for him.  Last year, Eddie Owens, from Birmingham, fell coming down Lookout Mountain (in the rain..!).  You may have heard that it was a fractured jaw and a few other items.  But he was back riding in a few months with a wired jaw and a special motorcycle helmet - until the healing finished.  I asked him if that was what the doctor prescribed.  He said "no, the doctor prescribed no riding...!".  Well....

I checked the climbing total with my CicloMaster 434 computer.  You may not want to hear this - and don't use it, of course, until you have corroborated the numbers from other sources - but I got only 6364 feet of climbing.  It's been very accurate in the past - I don't know of any reason for it to be wrong....but it could be.

We rode the river boat on Sunday - Mother's Day lunch served.  Nice.

Looking forward to next year.

Michael McDaniel
Leeds, AL

Daisy,

What a wonderful ride (again) with great weather.  I was really sorry to see the accident on Suck Creek Mtn and have not stopped wondering about the guys condition.  I couldn’t find anyone that knew anything the day of the ride.  Do you have any updates?Again; great organization on the ride and congratulations on the turnout.  Downtown Chattanooga has really come into it’s own personality with the riverfront development, art district, museum additions and pedestrian facilities.

Hope to be there again next year.

RANDY McKINNON, P.E.
r.mckinnon@tlmassociates.com
Henderson, TN

What a terrific event yesterday was! This was my first attempt at this event and I couldn't be more pleased with my completion of the event under my own power. My longest ride to date this calendar year had been about 40 miles, so I wasn't too confident of my endurance. But the club and all the volunteers and other help were beyond amazing. Your Fall Century is well run, but doesn't compare with the support you have for this event. My hat's off to all of you. Am looking forward to next year.

By the way, your site registration lists Hawaii with the foreign countries. Have y'all not heard?

Best regards for a super event,

Robin Textor
Oak Ridge, TN

What a great ride!  Your club did a fantastic job in organizing the entire ride.  I really liked the highway cones going along Lookup Mountain, and through town.  I felt really safe because of that.  That was a great idea.  It was a beautiful ride as well. 

Well done, and we will be back again!

The only "problem" we had was the time difference--next year we will come up the night before so we can do the metric.

Sally and Steve Edwards
Christiana, Tennessee

David,

Just wanted to let you know that those of us from B'ham really appreciate the excellent job you guys did with the century!!!  It was the best staged century I've ever participated in.  THANK YOU!

Susan Cotton
Birmingham, AL

Daisy,

I know that your inbox must be flooded, but I wanted to thank you for the update.  Several of us from Memphis travel down for this ride every year and really enjoy it.  My group was right in the middle of the area of the accident.  I heard the impact less than 10 seconds after the car passed me, and some of my group saw it happen just in front of them.  Needless to say, we all have been thinking about the cyclist a great deal.  We will continue to keep him and his family in our thoughts.

On a brighter note, I wanted to congratulate you and the rest of the CBC and volunteers an a wildly successful event.  The attendance grows every year, so you definitely have something good going.  However, I would suggest a full length canopy over the 2.4 mile stretch up Burkhalter.  :)

Best regards,

Todd Nichoalds  
Bartlett, TN

You guys run a first class operation.  Our group has thoroughly enjoyed the ride the last two years.   One of the best run events we have come across. Thanks for your hard work.

Tom Petrie
St Louis, MO

Daisy,

I waited till it had all sunk in but I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed 3S3M this year.  It seems like every component of that ride was spectacular and I am inclined to credit all of that (including the weather) to you.  What a great days worth of fun ... punctuated by a feeling at the top of Burkhalter Gap that I will remember for my lifetime. It was a privilege to be a part (albeit small) of the team that made it happen.

I hope you had fun.  I sure did.

Wally Hynds
Knoxville, TN soon to be Iowa

Daisey:

This was my third 3 state. It was the best. Of course the weather was too good to be believed but there is was just for the taking ; so I took it.

Although I missed going over  walnut bridge I liked the new route and especially classy was the way you took over the roads in the  city with those orange cones. No one ever did that before! The sag stops were flawless. I never had to wait more than  7 seconds to refill my water bottle. You never ran out of water or Gatorade.

I heard there was a crash behind me on the first climb. I hope not too many people were hurt. I myself had no close calls on the hills. Thank you.

I am 62 and at the 85 mile mark I took  highway 11 back home avoiding the last climb which I dreaded. Highway 11 north is a great road, little traffic, a nice shoulder, a good surface. I ended up with 96 miles and enough climbing for me. After all , I had a big golf game on Sunday and had to be fresh.

Thanks  for a great day. The event jersey will be  worn a lot this summer and will be a nice reminder.

William Reichert
Spartanburg, SC

Dear Chattanooga Bike Club -

Thanks you so much for putting on such a wonderful ride. I'd never been to the south before, so thanks for showing me the best it has to offer in both scenery and hospitality. Also, enclosed is the payment for my jersey. What a great symbol for accomplishing 100 miles.

Thanks!

Jordan Schmidt
Washington DC by way of Montana