New Diana Disco - Figure 8
your way up to New Diana and back to
Bike & Fitness. The first
17 miles follow back roads to New Diana. The remaining miles are
mostly along Hwy 259's wide shoulders. (28 miles total)
Hang on, I got a TT - After a
quick jaunt up to New Diana, you'll soon find yourself on a pretty
little stretch of road (2879) across the river bottoms of Little
Cypress Bayou. You may still hear people refer to it as the "Ol'
Time Trial" road. (27 miles total)
Welcome Back Carterville
- Ooooohh, oooooohh. Noonday Road is as shaky as Horshack
during finals, but Sam Page Road is a smooth as Vinnie Barbarino's
lines
with the new girl. (18 or 27 miles)
Goforth and Multiply - Well,
maybe not "multiply." But you will have fun on River Road,
Fritz-Swanson, Goforth, Post Oak and Cardiac Hill (on 2087 just
before the river). (27 miles)
Fahrenheit 450 -
It'll be a pleasure to burn . . . your legs, that is. Or maybe
just long stretches of smooth pavement. Whatever, this route
offers a couple length options with FM 450 as the backbone.
(28, 40, or 48 miles)
Ode to Joy Road - You'll
be, uhhhh, "humming" along on this route. "Joy Road, Joy Road;
We adore thee. Maple, Lansing, Smelley, too. Maxey,
Tryon; we will pedal on. Happy are we, the ride is through."
(23, 28, or 33 miles)
Airport Shuttle - Place
your seats and tray tables in the upright, locked position as you
gain altitude over Cardiac Hill. Be sure to wave as you buzz
the tower at the airport. (26 miles)
I Yam What I Yam - Get
in touch with your inner being as you wind your way across Highway
300 to Gilmer - yam capitol of the world. Lose yourself as you
sneak back to the bike shop through New Diana. (28, 41, or 50
miles)
Lorna's Doom - OK, not
"doom," but she had a bad day here. Watch out for the collie
(and the fish). Otherwise a great route with interesting rest
stops at Church Hill and C.E. Rogers' Store. (30, 42, 53, or
61 miles)
Ickey Hill Interlude -
The hills on 449 between Hallsville and Marshall aren't terrible . .
. but "ickey" does come to mind. Be sure to whisper as you
near the Cow-Man on the Time Trial route. (37, 52, or 62
miles -- 3,824 feet of climbing)
Dam Good Ride -
Venture out to the lands north of New Diana. Take a break at
the Lake o' the Pines dam. Scream down that really good
hill south of Harleton. It's a dam good ride. (27, 40,
48, or 62 miles -- 3,879 feet of climbing)
The Pyrenees - Le
Col de Aspin? L'Hautacam? Le Col du Tourmalet? Well,
maybe not. But there are a few hills between East Mountain,
Gladewater, Kilgore, and back to Longview. (32, 48, or 62 miles --
2,982 feet of ascension)
Pope City Pilgrimage
- Our ride director, Pious Paul I, has issued his ruling -- Ride
from Hallsville High School to Pope City (just a bit north of
Marshall) and you will be blessed. (24, 34, 53, or 63)
Signs of the Times
- "Please Repent." "Home of the Bubba Burger." You'll
see these and a lot of other cool signs on this route which visits
Hallsville, Marshall, and Harleton. (37, 54, or 62 miles)
P.S. Try lunch at The Cafe in Harleton
Flower Power - This ride
ain't for no pansies. You'll need to petal hard to get up all
of those hills between Gilmer and Ore City. To keep your mind
off the pain, count the number of roads with flower names.
(28, 41, 50, & 63 miles)
Hee Hawkins Ride - (aka
Blazing Saddles) Where, o where are we to ride? / Why did you lead
me here all this way? / I rode the world over and thought I found
great routes / I hit some broke glass and Pppsstpfssttt both tires
were flat. (40 or 64 miles).
Watch My Figure 8 - "Do
these shorts make me look fat?" Who cares. Just burn up
some calories on this fun little double loop to Marshall and back
(24, 37, 54 or 64 miles).
Gilmer Pyle - Shazaaam.
Sgt. Carter says get your tail in gear and ride from the Bike Shop
to Gilmer and back. Practice your Gomer impersonations as you
go (34 or 61 miles).
Go, Tyler, Go - Everyone can
enjoy this little journey west to Tyler, the town named after our
favorite bruised-up, dog-loving, collarbone-breaking, grit-yer-teeth
professional cyclist (Tyler Hamilton, of course). Starts and
ends in Kilgore (42, 56, and 64 miles).
Deadhorse Discovery - Not
to beat a dead horse, but . . . this route is similar to
GGG Whiz, but includes a
bonus for your olfactory senses. We won't tell you where, but
you'll know when you're near. Giddyup.
A Harleton Romance -
"Juan Antonio's bulging muscles rippled as he pedaled through New
Diana and Harleton. Jane coyly admired his pedaling form as he
crested the slight rise . . . And then it happened." Who knew
62 miles could be so interesting? (32, 44, 54 or 62 miles)
A Harleton Romance, Part Two
- "Jane boldly slid her hands down into the drops. She tensed
her body, waiting for that perfect, magical moment and . . . Bam!
She rocketed to the front dropping Juan Antonio, leaving him gasping
for air." Our story continues with different turns.
(36, 51, or 62 miles)
Mutiny on the Lake -
Arrrghhh. The ride captain has declared this our official
route. It should be smooth sailin' around Lake O' the Pines,
but you never know what the group might do to the Cap'n. (28,
40, 50 or 68 miles)
Pedal a la Periferia -
You might even say, "Bike to the Border." Either way, this is
a good ride. Take a peek into a third world country (aka
Louisiana) and count your blessings as you roll back through
Jonesville, Karnack and Marshall (46 or 62 miles).
West to East Mountain
- Trust me, it is a whole lot easier to go west to get to East
Mountain than to go east (although that might be fun if you had
enough time). No matter the direction, this should be a fun
ride (30 miles).
Journey to Mama Jo's
- Watch your mouth on this journey. Mama Jo don't tolerate no
back-talk, no sassing and certainly no snide comments about the ride
director. This route heads south from Maude Cobb Convention
Center, visits Mama Jo's Boutique and returns by the Airport. (31
miles).
Four Miles and No More
- The famous explorer Prof. W. Hutzisname is noted for never
"exploring" more than four miles away from his mother. He
would approve of this "local" route which packs in a lot of miles
for never getting far from home (28 miles).
Pipe Dreams -
What a great "short" ride up near Diana and Harleton. Davidson
road is a great back road with some nice little diversions.
Watch for the big black pipes near the end of Davidson road -- earn
style points for riding through the pipes (40 miles).
Steel is Real - Yes, you
can ride your high-dollar plastic bike, recycled beer can aluminum
rig or your pretty-boy titanium job. But when you ride through
places like Ore City and cruise past the steel mill at Lone Star . .
. Somehow only a classic steel bike is appropriate (28, 42, 50 or 66
miles)
Brandy Branch, You're a Fine
Girl - Ahhh, the route down and around Brandy Branch Cooling
Pond. You'll be humming the 70's hit all the way:
"Brandy Branch is a fine route (what a fine
route)
What a good ride this would be (such a fine
route)
I'll forget about life and ride on endlessly.
(dooda-dit-dooda), (dit-dooda-dit-dooda)
(39, 52, or 62 miles)
Cosmic Burger - Ahhh, Dude.
Slip on your tie-dyed jersey and a mellow attitude. This
journey to enlightenment makes a pit stop at the Cosmic Shed near
Henderson. Peace. (45 or 62 miles).
Quad City Quandary - Which
is the best? Which is the worst? Visit all four cities
-- Gladewater, Gilmer, Ore City, & Longview -- to find out.
(62, 50, 40, or 26).
Fat-Jigglin' Forty
- A few intrepid souls recently launched a quest to discover the best-worst
roads in East Texas. That's right, they wanted the
roughest pavement, the biggest pot holes, the most gravel,
the ferocious-est dogs . . . Yeah, a Paris-Roubaix
meets redneck sort of challenge. The resulting route is
surely 40 of the roughest miles around.
Shiloh, Can You Go?
- There are several historical markers on this route, but
perhaps the most interesting one is at the old Shiloh
school. There are a lot of turns and a bumpy section,
but definitely a fun "local" route. (34 Miles).
East Mountain Bound -
With all due respect to Jerry Reed and the Bandit, this is
our take on a cross country run. This route has a good
mix of wide open routes for putting the hammer down and back
country roads for losing any smokies that are after you (42
miles).
P.S. Don't be afraid to
explore some of the other roads seen on the map.
