Tim and I took a mid-week trip to Chattanooga to ride the TN Riverwalk. This riverside path parallels the Tennessee River from the Chickamauga Dam to Ross’s Landing Park in downtown Chattanooga near the Tennessee Aquarium and extends all the way to the beginning of the St. 
Elmo/Lookout Mountain area.
For our day of exploring, we opted to ride mountain bikes fitted with hybrid tires, but road bikes would have worked. The path from the dam to St. Elmo is about 12 miles one way, mostly flat, concrete, and very scenic. There are many trailheads with parking, bathrooms, water fountains, benches, bike repair stations and rental bikes, see Riverwalk map. Between the dam and downtown would be a great place to start the ride, especially for riders who are less experienced. On the northern section, there is the dam, modern industry, and the Hunter Art Museum on your Continue reading
Airbnb “The Inn on Creeper Way.” Bike rentals & shuttles are available in Damascus but we took our mountain bikes fitted with skinny tires, perfect for the crushed limestone surface. Our inn was right on the trail so we began there climbing 17 mi toward Whitetop. (Many riders take a 30 min. shuttle to Whitetop & coast the 17 mi downhill.) After riding to Whitetop and returning to Damascus, we headed toward Abingdon where there were fewer riders, and the landscape changed to trestles & farmland. I suggest riding the Creeper during the off-season or early in the day to avoid lots of novice riders. There were many water stops, one was Creeper Cafe home of the World Famous Chocolate Cake!