Chad Brandon of Huntsville crushed the Trans North Georgia bike adventure race last weekend, finishing first overall and also winning the Grand Depart Men Singlespeed category.
Brandon, 51, powered along the 360-mile route on a Surly KM singlespeed bike. He was sponsored by Trailhead Inc. of Huntsville, which is located near Lowe Mill.
Brandon finished in 1 day, 22 hours, 1 minute. He scratched in 2024 at 165 miles, finished in 2023, scratched in 2022 and finished in 2021. This year’s race began on the Chief Ladiga Trail at the Alabama-Georgia boundary. It ended at the Chattooga River bridge at the Georgia-South Carolina border. It reverses each year. It is billed as an adventure ride and not a race, but, y’know how things go, right?
The TNG route is described as “formidable singletrack, steep abandoned jeep tracks, and endless National Forest roads” with more than 56,000 feet of climbing. Riders will find “smooth and chunky gravel, pavement, root-strewn singletrack, rocky ridgline trails, abandoned road beds, and the occasional bushwhack. Between steep, quad-wrenching climbs and screaming descents, there are even rail-grade flat sections.”
The event is held each year in August.
