Sand Rock (Northeast AL, Near Leesburg/Ft Payne)

So Slade and I decided it was a beautiful day to make the 1.5 hour drive north east to what is known as Sand Rock. This is an area most known for its abundance of rock faces for climbing and the late night parties the locals throw full of beer and campfires. It is a popular camping spot, and only recently became maintained by the local county services (dumpster/toilets).

After driving the fairly scenic yet quiet ride up I-59 from Birmingham, we stopped by the local quikstop and grabbed the necessities. There is NOT a water source of any type near this area. You would have to drive off the mountain to get water. There was a lovely group of hunters that had surely been in the woods for most of their life in the store......that's another story in itself.

After exiting at Collinsville, and then heading North through the town, we began the ascent to the top of what I can only consider to be the foothills of the popular Lookout MT of Chattanooga. The access road is newly paved and is about 3.8 miles uphill (and I mean UPhill). The park (if you will) has no fee and is open to public use. Slade laughed the whole way up this hill, as he knew we would be riding back up it at the end of our ride.

The access road comes to a dead end/parking lot where there were a lot more cars parked than I am used to seeing here (I've been camping here since my early teens). There was an abundance of hikers/campers/climbers and it really felt good outside. Great day for a ride.

Let it be known, this is not a trail frequented by Mt bikers. This is a loop that I mapped out using my limited knowledge of the area and gps mapping software. This is mainly fireroad that is heavily used by 4-wheelers and dirtbikes.

It was dry.....too dry for me. The trail sent you into many different pits of sand....some lasting 90 yards. We had to walk most of these. I have ridden it a number of times and it is never this sandy. I recommend riding while the ground has some water in it. I tried to climb a small hill on the trail and as I pushed, a large stick caught my rear dÃ©railleur and knocked it out of whack. I only recently learned the basics of tuning/repairing a dÃ©railleur, so I did what I could to get through the ride. I took only minor damage to it and was able to make it work.

The trail leaves the parking lot and rides along the ridge of this mountain. You get many fantastic views of Lake Weiss, Leesburg, and the water system they have in place there. You can see Anniston's Choccolocco Mts in the distance as they are only about 60 miles due south of here. Some of the rock cliffs are pictures in themselves, I always pack the camera for this ride.

After trudging through a number of sandpits, we began the fun part of the ride....the descent. Remember, this is a dry road used by atv's, so there were many loose stones along the trail some 12 inches in diameter. The hill down the mountain was once a fairly fast ride with a little loss of control at higher speeds, but now it was nearly unridable due to the dryness of the area. Slade and I locked the brakes and slid down the funnest part of the ride. Down the hill to an area that has many farms and houses, I am still not sure whether or not this is private land or what, but the gate is always open to the main road back to the top of the mountain. The rest of the ride is minimal climbs and long paved roads. A great area for roadbiking if that's your thing.

The trip is always worth it when you get to the top, but you have to get to the top....something I had not been able to do. I always end up pushing my bike up this treacherous climb at least a quarter of it, but not this time!! I told Slade that I would wait for him while climbing, but after the initial taste of it I decided to push up that terrible, miserable, leg check of a road uphill. Many cars passed on the way up and down the hill, most of which had passengers rubbernecking at me looking like I was completely crazy (again, not many bikes around these parts). I was totally in tune with what was ahead of me and I was going to make it!!! I hear a vehicle approaching from down the hill and a lot of laughter coming from it, so I look back only to have Slade in the back of a local's pickup asking if I needed a ride.......Well NO, I made it this far, I can make it the rest.

Slade took the easy route this time, but I'll make sure it doesn't happen next time so he is able to write this himself. Good times and FactorE....you're next!!