Low water bridge … under water! Flooding caused a few route changes this year. I was prepared for the flooding, though, as I practiced fording a river on my Thursday ride back in Alabama. I found all the dirt roads and gravel roads I could find that I felt were good simulation for the Rouge…
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brian Toone (@kartoone76) It has been a busy week of riding and racing with the Cheaha Climbing camp on Thursday, the Southern Cross race on Saturday morning, and then following that up in the afternoon with a “5 Gap” ride up to the highest point in…
The ridges get larger and higher the farther east you go in Alabama — ultimately reaching 2407′ on top of Mount Cheaha, the highest point in Alabama. This elevation trend is true locally in Birmingham as the ridges stack on top of each other getting larger the farther east you go until you hit the…
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brian Toone (@kartoone76) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brian Toone (@kartoone76) If you follow my instagram account, then you know that I’ve posted the picture of “The End of the Appalachians” sign several times. This sign is located in Tannehill State Park.…
ATV trail on the way to the top of Woodall Mountain, highest point in Mississippi. A video posted by Brian Toone (@kartoone76) on Feb 19, 2016 at 11:30am PST “Ok, google. Where is the highest point in Mississippi?” I asked my phone as I pedaled into a nasty headwind on the Natchez Trace Parkway. I…
Ridge to ridge to ridge ride plus elevation profile – elevation data annotated, no satellite imagery. Click to enlarge. Depending on your browser, you may have to click a second time on the image to zoom in and see the detail. My favorite geological feature in Birmingham is the long ridge lines that run northeast/southwest…
Snow showers visible from the top of Blount Mountain near the community of Straight Mountain, Alabama. For those that have done the Tour de Blue, this is the overlook that is used as a rest stop just past Walker Gap. During my Sleeping Giants adventure last week, I rode in shorts and a short sleeve…
USGS topo map – the Sleeping Giants Annotated view of the Sleeping Giants from the Vandiver overlook at the edge of a rainstorm. Click to enlarge. It was January 2006, and Samford was having an orientation retreat up on Mount Cheaha for faculty that had started in 2005 and 2006. I had been scouring USGS…
This is a long post; here is the TL;DR So you may or may not know that I suspended my Facebook account, deleted my Twitter account, and also deleted my Strava account this week. This blog is intended to address some of the reasons why. I also deleted my Instagram account, but when I saw…
Fluffy Steve memorial ride today after she died yesterday. It snowed big white flakes which I'm sure was Fluffy Steve shedding already from bunny heaven. A photo posted by Brian Toone (@kartoone76) on Jan 22, 2016 at 3:28pm PST Two years ago, there was an email about a bunny that needed a home. I replied…