May 2015

May Outing
May 2015 Outing -- Cycling

Cades Cove & Maryville Greenways

A small patrol hit Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park early and completed the 11-mile loop to knock out a 10-mile bike requirement for the Cycling Merit Badge. They completed the route before and vehicles were allowed through the loop.

After lunch at camp the patrol set out to do the loop a second time and add a partial loop around the Cove to get a 15-miler for another badge requirement.

However, due to a slight miss communication the “short cut” across the Cove ended up being a “longer cut” and proved to be a 19-miler ride. This time with the expected bumper to bumper traffic added the challenge of not “taking out” side view mirrors! The final mirror count = 2 / insurance claims = 0.

The extra miles were a bit more wearisome for a few -- but all proved their “spaghetti”. Bear and deer sightings kept the patrol on watch and attention off the miles.

An evening of good food and thanks to the senior scout in camp, the guys sped off to an early turn-in time.

The second day started with a quick-but-hardy breakfast in hopes of breaking camp and beating the impending rain storms and get another cycle ride in.

The cyclers made their way to the Maryville Greenway and were able to complete 15 more miles between a couple of light showers. One cycler was able to limp the last mile with a flat tire. Not too bad for 45 miles in two days!