Local Bike Guide: Birmingham
SideTracked Magazine 2008
by Morgan Andriulli

Chandler Mountain owes me. That mountain and I have history. While not the steepest climb in the state, it is steep enough, especially in the rain. I found this out the hard way on an infamously wet, cold late-season Camp Sumatanga road race in October in the early 90’s. It was pounding rain so badly, organizers shortened the course to 20-odd miles to keep the corner people from drowning and keep enough bodies around to haul our frozen corpses off the hill after the finish. It’s too steep to descend that hill in the rain.
For the finale, we round the sharp bend onto the chip seal climb up to Horse Pens 40. First hairpin comes up, no problem. Deadweight is jettisoning off the back like tools from an open saddle bag. Things get steep and I’m hanging on. This hurts. Numb lips, tunnel vision, disembodied voices; I’m not long for this flogging. The head count goes down to six with me in the rocking chair position. Sweet! The money goes six deep in this race. That soggy Hamilton will look mighty good when I slap it down at the post-race triumph at McDonalds. All I have to do is stay upright; precisely the opposite of what happened by the second hairpin. The group hits the sharp right bend and spreads across the road. I take the inside line where the grade is about double the smart line. Water is running down the chip seal like an overflowing washtub. The rear tire decides it’s had enough and breaks grip. Next stroke, it slips again. Forward momentum goes to zero and I dump over into stank, dead fall foliage in the ditch. Covered in ditch spooge, too steep to remount, rain, spittle, snot and breakfast reflux running off chin, hunched over bars, skittering up hill in stupid cleated shoes, smirking deadweight passing left and right. Ten bucks out the window, Cat 4 glory washed down the hill. The humiliation was complete. I hate Chandler Mountain.
That’s not saying you should let this soggy Icarus fable turn you off of one the best rides in the state.… Really.
The Scene: As Alabama’s largest city and metro area, Birmingham has a thriving road and mountain bike scene. Two road clubs (one recreational, one racing) and one mountain bike club share members from around the region. (Even in big-time B’ham, there are only so many bikers to go around.)
The Birmingham Bicycle Club is the best bet for getting in contact with local riders and local rides. The BBC runs weekend and weeknight rides, even in the dark of winter. These rides are seasonal, so it is advisable to access the BBC web site (bhambikeclub.org) to check the calendar and find contacts.
The September BBC Fall Century has migrated around the area over the years. Most recently it ran out of the University of Montevallo around Shelby County south. It was not a terribly exciting route, but the catered post-ride feast from Johnny Ray’s Barbecue made it worth the effort. That changed in 2008 when the BBC century returned to its roots to run once again out of Springville to cross Blount and Chandler Mountains east of Birmingham in St. Clair County. Part of that route is featured as a ride in this section…. And Johnny Ray’s is still the caterer.
Standing Rides - Birmingham has a number of bicycle shops that, in spite of being competitors, are surprisingly closely knit. Many of the standing weekly rides originate from the one of nine or so bike shops around the Metro area. A few of the weekday rides move from shop to shop picking up riders as the group moves through. For cyclists visiting the Birmingham area, there are plenty of opportunities to hook up with a road or mountain ride at your level almost any day of the week during the season. All it takes is a call to a bike shop in the vicinity.
Weekly shop rides:
o Bike Link – Hoover: 1st and 3rd Saturdays, 9 AM. 50-60 miles. “Moderate to up-tempo”. 205 213-9698. 2766 John Hawkins Pkwy.
o Bike Link – Inverness: 1st and 3rd Sundays, 1 PM. (Through March). 36 miles. 16-17mph. 205 991-3335. 5263 Highway 280 South, Inverness.
o Cahaba Cycles
o Cahaba Heights: Saturday, 7:30 AM. (All skill levels.) 205-967-2003.
o Cahaba Heights: Wednesday, 5:15 PM. (Moderate to fast-paced) 1.5-hour ride through the less-trafficked roads west of Cahaba Heights.
o Pelham: Saturday, 8:00 AM. (All skill levels.) 205-987-4043.
o Trussville: Saturday, 8:00 AM. (All skill levels.) 205-655-6090.
o Oak Mountain State Park (MTB) – 9 AM. (All skill levels. Prompt Start!). South Trailhead parking lot. 205-987-4043.
o Bob’s Bikes – Vestavia Hills, 1410 Montgomery Highway, 205-979-3460
o Wednesday Bobs Bikes Ride – 6 PM. Multiple groups and skill levels. Hilly 20-mile loop through Hoover and back through Shades Crest. (April through August.)
- Homewood Cycles - 2834 South 18th St. 205-879-3244
- Monday Recovery Ride – 5:20 – Easy, non-competitive group ride. Good skill-building for beginners. Group and paceline techniques.
- Tuesday Race Simulation Ride - 5:10 PM. 2-hour high-intensity training ride. Designated 2 to 4-mile “attack zones” followed by recovery and regroupings.
- Tuesday “Later Ride” - 5:20 PM. Slightly less intense than Race Simulation.
- Thursday - 5:20 PM. Up to 1.5-hour moderate pace ride.
Racers Abound - Birmingham has a very healthy racer scene. GC Cycling is the local racing club, though a number of bike shop-based racing teams have cropped up in the last few years. Leg-shavers have plenty of company on the road if one knows where to look.
The big weekly ride is the Starbucks Ride that runs out of Mountainbrook village starting from, you guessed it, the Starbucks on Cahaba Road near the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard in Mountain Brook. It’s a 65-mile non-stop testostero-tacular that attracts 30 to 50 or more sado-machochists every Saturday morning. This is easily the largest standing ride in the state. The Starbucks Ride would be a good way to learn a route out of the city, provided you could pay attention to your surroundings after carrier-launching from the parking lot. Eat your Wheaties, snort down a couple of double-espressos and load some extra water before clicking in because this TGV train is non-stop.
The ride changed recently to a slightly more civilized format where there are designated go-fast zones and point sprints, followed by scheduled regroupings. For the winter season through the end of February, the Starbucks ride leaves at 8:30 AM. For the rest of the season, the point format is retired and the ride leaves at 9 a.m. Attendance is dependent upon the race schedule for that weekend, so check ahead.
For more details, search out the Alabama Cycling News web site, (www.alabamacyclingnews.com).
Mountain bikers gather through the Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers (BUMP). BUMP is dedicated to continuing development and maintenance of the epic 17-miles of mountain bike trail at Oak Mountain State Park. They also developed and maintain approximately four miles of trail known as the Dead Dog Trail at the Trussville Sports Complex. BUMP schedules regular trail maintenance days and mountain bike rides throughout the year. (www.bump.org)
Lay of the Land: Being the biggest metro area in Alabama means that it’s pretty tough riding in the city limits. Numerous big group rides start from Mountainbrook and other in-town gathering places. New riders and visitors are best served if hooked up with a local group as navigation out of the city is dicey for outsiders. Birmingham is infamous for its non-grid road system, un-navigable south-west/north-east diagonal layout, narrow roads and intensely dense and hilly neighborhoods.
The popular riding areas are east and south of Birmingham proper. The terrain is characterized by the northeast running ridges of Coosa and Oak Mountains to the southeast of town and further east in St. Clair County by the bigger and steeper Blount and Chandler Mountains. You’ll experience moderate to tough climbing up to the ridges. The valleys are quiet in terms of traffic and surprisingly bucolic given the proximity to the urban creep of the Birmingham metro area.
The Rides
Horse Pens 40 – 50 Miles
Even 15 years later, Chandler Mountain extracts its price. On scouting this ride, I developed Achilles tendonitis, probably from the low-RPM churning needed to get over both hills. I managed to stay vertical this time around. My wife is a witness and can verify this.
Though outside the metro area, this excellent 50-mile ride from Springville sports two very tough climbs packed into the first 20 miles. After slugging it out on Blount and Chandler Mountains, the rest of the route unwinds until its final, lazy and bucolic stretch back to Springville. This is arguably the most satisfying ride in the Birmingham Area. There are plenty of stores along the way and a good lunch stop at Horse Pens 40 on top of Chandler Mountain. If you take the time for lunch, the BBQ sandwich is excellent, though it could be quite a load for the remaining 30 miles. If you overdo it with the BBQ option, the route is downhill or basically flat all the way back. The other option is to stay or start at Horse Pens 40. Camping is only $5/night.
If starting the loop from Horse Pens 40, you get to finish the ride with the stout Chandler Mountain Climb. There is also a shortcut option that bypasses both climbs and stays in the valley along the base of Blount Mountain, cutting the total distance to 40 miles. The start location is easy to find at a Wal-Mart just off I-59, conveniently located next to a Waffle House; perfect for early starts.
Oak Mountain State Park - Oak Mountain State Park is home to the best-known mountain bike trail in the state. The park hosts the Bump-n-Grind Mountain Bike Race in June, one of the best attended bike events in the state at over 600 entries in all classes, and the XTerra off-road triathlon makes a stop there as well.
At 17 miles, Oak Mountain Red Trail is long and fast. The bulk of the trail is quick, sweeping, non-technical singletrack. Skill comes in handy when you amp up the speed. The turns come so fast and thick that you need to pay attention to bike handling, as my wife learned on the scouting run of this trail. About a mile in, she found that special root that removed the bar from her hands at about 15 mph. Her impact with the dirt produced a small shockwave and mushroom cloud while the bike’s bullhorn grip popped a large rock from the trail before shearing off completely. Aside from the odd subdural hematoma and missing bullhorn, spouse and bike were able to continue, albeit at a more subdued pace.
Blood Rock comes near the end of the clockwise loop like a rude shock. This rock garden is so out of character with the speed-friendly nature of the trail that it is a wake-up call to the inattentive rider. Blood Rock is actually three or four deep rock steps spaced about 1.5 bike lengths apart. Line selection is critical before committing to each drop because there is precious little room for course correction after landing. Prudent first-timers at Oak Mountain may want to scout this section before committing. I did, and then kept on walking. Oak Mountain is not a beginner trail, but it is a good intermediate trail with enough tricky stuff and length to keep the serious speed demons more than entertained.
BUMP added a one-mile long beginner family trail a few years ago. I have the distinct dishonor of crashing on the family trail, as well. Randall Naccari, an officer on the BUMP board, is a witness and can verify this.
BUMP is in the planning of stages of expanding the Red Trail around
Parking/Start:
o Springville Wal-Mart (Horse Pens 40 Loop) – I-59 Exit 156 northeast of Birmingham. Left at end of ramp, cross over freeway. The shopping center is on the left.
o Oak Mountain State Park - From I-65, take Exit 246 (Cahaba Valley Road/SR 119). Follow signs to State Park Road which runs closely parallel to the west side of the Interstate. The turn is near the BP gas station. The road curves beneath the Interstate to a four-way stop. Left at the stop sign onto John Findlay Drive. This will take you directly to the park entrance.
Continue about 1.5 miles into the park on John Findlay Drive. Turn right onto Terrace Drive across from the Golf Course. Follow Terrace Drive about 1 mile to the large parking area on the right at what appears to be the end of the road near the picnic areas. The Double-Oak Mountain trailhead is about a half-mile back towards John Findlay drive on the right. Look for the trail sign and map kiosk on the right.