birmingham

Alenda has almost completed medical school. She graduates in May 2008 (congrats, Alenda), and she has decided to specialize in neurology. The application process is complex and daunting. Residency programs interview applicants and rank each one. The applicants rank the programs. On "match day" a computer is going to tell us where we are spending the next four years. I am going to visit as many of the potential towns as possible while she interviews. I am going to give each city a rating, on a 1 to 10 scale, for outdoor lifestyle. I hope to do something hardcore in each town. Last week we went to Birmingham, Alabama.


While Alenda was interviewing I went to Oak Mountain State Park. Oak Mountain is 30 minutes from downtown Birmingham, and it contains 50 to 60 miles of trails. The terrain is a combination of technical single track and old roads. The trails are well maintained and well marked. I ran a 17 mile loop known as the Double Oak Trail that is maintained by the local mountain biking group.

The section I ran looked like great mountain biking. The first five miles of the loop is old, dirt road. The rest is singletrack like this.

Wildlife was plentiful at Oak Mountain. I saw this owl (upper right hand corner) hanging out in the trees. Birmingham is a great place to live for outdoor enthusiast. Mountain biking, running and paddling opportunities are plentiful. Little River Canyon, a classic class V river that runs frequently, is an easy hour and a half drive. Due to sketchy road biking and pretty flat terrain, I give it a seven out of ten.

Johnson City is a hard act to follow for outdoor living. It is one of the most underrated towns in the East. I took this shot and the ones below on road cycling routes over the last few weeks.

This is the Doe River Gorge (background) as seen from Johnson City. The Doe contains 5 miles of continuous, Colorado style class IV and IV+ whitewater. This scenic overlook is a ten minute bike ride from my house.

Buffalo Mountain overlooks Johnson City. It contains 10 to 15 miles of singletrack as well as 15+ miles of ATV trails. JC earns an 8.5 for the high density of whitewater, trails, and quality biking in the vicinity.