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Chattanooga to Huntsville Fast

        This ride starts in downtown Chattanooga, just south of the Tennessee Aquarium. Traveling along city streets the route works its way south and skirts the base of Lookout Mountain, climbing 200' on a four-lane road with little or no shoulder; riders should probably take a whole lane to avoid getting squeezed against the guard rail. Once around the mountain the traffic lets up and the roads quickly turn rural.

The route parallels I-24 heading west, slowly gaining elevation, then follows along the Tennessee river for several miles. There are a couple of 200' climbs, nothing steep, before passing over the Tennessee river at South Pittsburg. While the bridge is lightly traveled and includes a wide shoulder, an expansion joint on the west side has diagonal teeth that could catch a skinny bicycle tire; use caution.

After South Pittsburg the route turns south, paralleling HWY-72 for the most part, on quiet rural roads, eventually passing through the small town of Stevenson, Alabama. The Choo Choo restaurant in Stevenson is open weekdays for lunch, otherwise a convenience store is located 0.4 miles off route.

Chattanooga to Huntsville, Fast, first Half
        After Stevenson the route passes through quiet farmland, some with rough roads but nothing bad. Some areas are low and swampy so roads may flood, an alternate route may be necessary after heavy rains. There is only one store between Stevenson and Scottsboro but it's a nice one, five miles before Scottsboro. Stay on your toes in downtown Scottsboro, drivers rarely see cyclists on "their" roads and traffic can be heavy at times. There's a nice diner in the main square near Willow and Broad Streets.

AL-35 between Scottsboro and Woodville is a long straight road without much variation in the scenery. A more interesting road, AL-30, parallels AL-35 after Larkinsville, but it has rougher pavement and meanders a bit.

After Woodville the route works it's way through some quiet country roads on good pavement. Just before the finish at Cove Park ballfields there are some one-way bridges, use caution as oncoming traffic has no yield signs.

Chattanooga to Huntsville, Fast, second Half
        Directions to start:

Downtown Chattanooga, a couple of blocks south of the Tennessee Aquarium, the intersection of Market Street and East 4th Street.

       
Cue sheet Google Earth file:
KmzChaHsvFast.kmz
Maps: Page 1
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