For cyclists who have pedaled the 3 State 3 Mountain Challenge – an annual recreational bike ride that winds through Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia – the Burkhalter Gap climb up Lookout Mountain is “legend.”
More than 80 miles into the 100-mile ride, Burkhalter Gap Road in Dade County is the final and most intimidating portion of the event, which draws more than 2,000 participants, organizers say.
“It is by far the steepest, and it’s just legend,” said Daisy Blanton, communications director for the Chattanooga Bike Club, which organizes the event. “It’s why the ride is so popular: People want to conquer Burkhalter.”
But that final leg of the ride soon may be changed.
Dade County Executive Ted Rumley said the County Commission decided at its May meeting, less than a week after this year’s ride on May 1, that next year it would not give permission for the ride to take place on county roads, including Burkhalter Gap Road, because of safety concerns.
On May 5, commissioners sent a letter to event organizers, asking that they work with state officials to find an alternative route up the mountain on state roads, which are wider and safer, Mr. Rumley said.
Phil Pugliese of Outdoor Chattanooga, which also organizes the event along with the Chattanooga Bike Club, will meet with Mr. Rumley today to discuss the situation.
Mr. Rumley said that, during the ride this year, he witnessed a number of close calls in which a cyclist veered close to oncoming traffic on the road leading up to Burkhalter Gap and on the mountain itself.
Roads are not closed during the event, which launched 22 years ago.
Vehicles caught behind cyclists often try to pass the riders on the steep incline, crossing a double-yellow line in the process, Mr. Rumley said.
“People (drivers) are taking that chance. It’s just too dangerous,” he said. “We’ve had so many complaints. It’s not worth risking a life.”
Lookout Mountain, Ga., resident Sheila Philips, 53, said the ride is dangerous not only for the cyclists, but for drivers going up or down the mountain on the event day. She contacted Mr. Rumley regarding her concerns about the race.
“I have nothing against the cycling or exercise. I lost over 100 pounds walking. But I didn’t walk in the middle of the road,” she said Monday.
Ms. Blanton acknowledged that the roads are narrow and cyclists sometimes must zig-zag within their lanes to make it up the incline.
“But it’s one day a year. It brings tons of money to this whole area,” she said. “It brings people through Dade County, and it’s bound to help them.”
Dade County resident and avid cyclist Mike Pollock, 47, said he thinks the number of county residents who support the event far outweighs the number who oppose it.
“My take is maybe one or maybe two people were pretty vocal about being slightly inconvenienced” by the event, he said.
Mr. Pollock said he’s ridden in the 3 State 3 Mountain Challenge at least eight times. He hopes the commission will consider other options – such as closing Burkhalter Gap Road to traffic on the day of the ride – before compelling event organizers to re-route. The Lookout Mountain climb is crucial to the event, he said.
“Those who can overcome Burkhalter Gap get a great sense of pride, a great sense of achievement,” he said.
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