This past weekend was the Six Gap Century in North Georgia. The ride covers 6 major gaps up in the mountains. 2,500 like minded people descended on Dahlonega, Georgia to challenge themselves on terrain that the pros rode when the Tour de Georgia was contested. It was a good day.

I was a little bit nervous about this ride. I knew it would be difficult and I did not want to have another episode like I did at Cherohala Challenge with the cramping. I prepared as best I could for Six Gap. I ate pasta for the three days leading up to the event. I drank nothing but Powerade the day before. My training for the event was basically the same as any other century I have done this year. I’ve never bonked in any of these rides. Only cramped at CC. I had no interest in this happening again.

The ride down to Dahlonega was rainy the whole way. The weather report suggested that Sunday would clear and warm but it made for a long drive through my old stomping grounds. I picked up my packet early at the Expo which they moved to the Middle School. Typical sales and services from sponsors and vendors. I didn’t feel the itch to buy anything.

We stayed in Dawsonville at the Super 8 as the hotels in Dahlonega filled a few months ago. It was only 20 minutes or so away from the start. I cannot recommend that hotel but for all other than the super budget traveler. It smelled in that place. It was two stories and no elevator in case that matters to anyone.

Sunday morning we drove to the start around 6:45. The start was at 7:30 so I figured I would have time to get stuff together and bike ready a few minutes before the start and ride off. Well the traffic was frightful. Dahlonega is a small town. We sat in traffic leading to the Lumpkin County High School start all the way back to close to the middle school. We bailed in a little parking lot below the middle school and I got myself together and rode my bike in to the start. I was definitely not the only one. And people were parked all along the side of the road and anywhere else they could find to park. The crowd was going to be huge.

I got to the high school and there was a huge lineup of people standing with their bikes behind the start line at the high school. All the way back up the drive. When they announced it was time to roll I never started pedaling until I actually crossed the “start” line.

The ride to the first gap, Neels, was pleasant enough. We actually passed through one gap, Stone Pile, that wasn’t even billed as part of main gaps. It wasn’t huge but you felt it twice: once going out on the course and again coming back.

The second gap was Jack’s. The third was Unicoi. I don’t remember anything particularly bad about these mountains. I actually felt good climbing the first three gaps. At mile 50 which was pretty much the end of the first three gaps I still felt relatively fresh and actually thought I would finish this ride feeling pretty good. Those mountains were not terribly steep but they were long. I kind of enjoy those type of hill climbs.

The downhills early on was wet from the rains the night before as well as the rain dripping off the trees. The downhills, for me, was a little sketchy since the pavement was wet. It’s not so much I don’t feel comfortable about wet downhills, but when you have packs of riders in front of you, you really don’t know about their skill. I stayed conservative and vigilant over and down the first three gaps. The downhills were rather cool. The temperature early in the morning was around 65 or so. Certainly enough to get a sweat going uphill but enough to chill you going downhill. Those that had a light jacket or armwarmers might have been happy coming down the mountain but they shedded them quickly going up.

The first three gaps were crowded. Things really didn’t thin out until Hogpen Gap. And Hogpen Gap really thinned people out. Hogpen was one of the King of the Mountain “stages” along with Wolfpen Gap. Riders wore a transponder and you would roll over the start line at the bottom of each climb and roll over the finish line at the top. Hogpen was a beast. It was long and steep. Probably 2-3 degrees steeper than anything at the first three gaps. It was a grind. I would look down and was chagrined to find I was only riding 5-6 mph at times. I got tired very quickly on this climb. I wasn’t breathing hard but my legs simply turned to mush. There was a stop mid way that I by-passed. Some kind folks at the rest stop was standing roadside offering cups of water which I grabbed. It was welcomed. It was a very hard ride. I was pleased that I wasn’t passed but a couple of times and I am eager to see what my time is compared to others.

The ride down Hogpen was very steep and would have been a blast but the road was still wet. I was hoping to hit 50 mph, but the best I could do was 46 mph. I had changed my crankset a couple of weeks before to a compact crank so I didn’t have that high gear that was I used to either so there was a lot more coasting.

The next gap was Wolfpen. I was told that the worst thing about it was that it came after Hogpen. It wasn’t as steep as Hogpen. It was another long grind but after the assault up Hogpen it was was more difficult. I settled into a nice rhythm and made it up the hill as well as could be expected.

Woody gap would be next after we got down the mountain. It was a tough little climb. My family was waiting for me at the top so that was a pleasant surprise. The climb was not that memorable as I was probably just hoping to make it across the top. I do remember that it was a little tighter and more twisty than the other climbs which made it feel different I suppose. The joy of the downhill was what made it worthwhile climbing Woody Gap. That was the most fun downhill I’ve done since at least 3-State 3-Mountain and maybe ever on the road. I would have assumed the other gaps would have afforded a more challenging, more fun downhill, but for me coming off Woody Gap was the best.

Like many rides the last mountain does not necessarily mean an end to the madness. From the top of Woody Gap to the finish it was like another 17 miles. Probably seven was pure downhill but there was a lot of hilly work to get through at the bottom. Stone Pile gap remember? At some point you begin to wonder if the end would ever get here. You would come around a bend and there would be another hill to climb. At this point I was ready to be done.

After 103+ miles my journey around the gaps was complete. I thought the support was very good. The rest stops were crowded but that was to be expected as the locations they had them were small, but only because they were on the top of the mountains and there was a lot of people. Water and Heed was the drink of choice. There were plenty of peanut butter sandwiches along with typical fruits. I stayed with the trail mix to absorb as much sodium as possible.

No cramps this go around. I took a small medicine bottle full of Enduralytes and chugged three every hour. I think it helped.

The traffic in the mountains was pretty bad. Folks from Atlanta come up Highway 400 to visit the mountains. It’s a popular location around Dahlonega. Lots of cars and motorcycles. Coming up some of the mountains cause problems because cars do not want to give bicyclists a break and bicyclists do not want to get over when cars are trying to get through. This bothers me a lot. The first three mountains were jammed with cyclists and for whatever reason they simply do not want to stop riding 2 and 3 abreast grinding up the mountain. So the cars can’t get past because it’s too dangerous to pass into the other lane. So the driver get pissed. But sometimes drivers do not give the cyclists a wide berth. Many times, not always, neither side were considerate for the other. If there is a car back and you are in the middle of the road and won’t get over you are simply being an asshole and are wrong. Just because we are riding Six Gap does not mean that the area is ours. People coming up to the mountains have no clue what a Six Gap is. All they see is inconsiderate cyclists. The traffic laws still pertain when we are riding and I saw at least a handful of signs saying that cyclists must ride single file. It may not be possible all the time but when cars are trying to get past then cyclists need to get over to the right. But yea, I saw many drivers that were rude and passing danger close. I was glad for that reason to get to where the cyclist herd thinned and I could ride like I normally do.

For some reason I saw a lot of people with flat tires. Not sure what that was about. Of all the centuries I have done this year: 3-State 3-Mountain, Cherohala Challenge, H.O.T. 100 and Six Gap they each had their own challenges. 3 State came really early in the season and was hard to train for. To this day Lookout Mountain remains the toughest climb by far. I don’t look forward to riding up it again. Cherohala Challenge was a literal pain. I won’t do that ride again. Too few people going over too long of a distance. Made it seem like you were alone for a long stretch of time. Plus the cramping and heat. Not for me. H.O.T. is a local ride. It was windy and not terribly fun. It was a good training ride to prepare for Six Gap.

And then there is Six Gap. I think, for me, it was the queen ride. It seems more prestigious. I was more prepared for this one than 3 State and CC so it wasn’t as painful. Hogpen Gap is a beast and will really test your will and motivation but if you just keep your pedals churning you will make it. I live in middle TN so there isn’t a lot of training opportunities for big mountains. Certainly not for 11,200 feet of elevation change. By far the most I’ve ever done. I sure wish I could train on some of these mountains.

Today I woke at oh-dark-thirty to ride in the Murfreesboro Bicycle Club H.O.T 100 century. Frankly it was a pleasant event through some very hilly Middle Tennessee countryside. After the last two events I’ve ridden this summer I wasn’t expecting this event to be terribly demanding. I was wrong. It was a nice challenge made even more so by the weather. Only this time it wasn’t rain, cold or heat.

A nice crowd of a few hundred people (I’m not good at estimating) rolled out en masse from Lascassas Elementary School. Unlike the last two rides I wasn’t exactly humble about getting to the front quickly and riding a tempo I am used to on most rides. I’ve never really rode these events for time in the past as the goal was always to finish. I decided that I wanted to do a sub-6 century and even counting stops be back to the car in 6 hours. The route was basically two large loops. If you were doing the 100 route you went out on the second loop.

The route was rather challenging. It was rarely flat. Lots of little rolling hills. They kept coming and coming and coming. They didn’t stop until I got back to the parking. There was one nice climb at around 30 miles that was quite surprising. I looked down and there was a percent grade written on the road. 16%. Then 15%. 14%. All the way to 11%. Are you kidding me? Maybe in Chattanooga, but in nowhere Mid TN? It was a nice grind.

After that climb there was a rest stop which I decided to bypass. I decided that I was going to treat this event just like my normal Saturday rides that are 50+. I wouldn’t stop until rest stop 3 at 53 miles. I stopped at the last two to get more water/Heed and food. And let me say that the sponsors that put those together did an incredible job. They had anything and everything that you could possible want. From gel squirts to watermelon to beef jerky. I was extremely happy to see the beef jerky. I’d been using that to boost my sodium levels over the last week.

There was another surprisingly long climb across a ridge within some woods. I think it was Pleasant Ridge and it was no joke. It was a very long climb. Maybe 2 miles or a little longer? You may be riding in the middle of Tennesse but don’t underestimate the topography. It’s too bad there aren’t some mountain biking courses built around there.

I’m not certain if there were a lot of people that did the 100 miles. I rode in a couple of fast moving pace lines that was fun but for the most part I dangled out on the course alone. Probably 90% of the time I rode solo.

Which ended up being problematic. Somewhere around 60-70 miles the wind picked up. Nothing messes with my mind more than wind. And it seemed like I was mostly pushing into a head wind. It was so tiring. The last 20 miles were rather brutal. I remember coming down a decline where I would have expected to be going 20+ and I could only go 13 mph. That was disheartening. I had never ridden that long in the wind. And I was alone so it didn’t make matters easier either.

Ever since Cherohala I had been worried about cramping. I got a calf cramp around 80 miles which was a drag but I worked through that. I drank a lot the few days before. Ate a lot of high sodium foods and snacks. Way more than usual. I ate a banana 2 hours in. Another banana at 4 miles in. Took 1 Enduralyte about every hour. Stayed hydrated.

The roads were a drag in the 100 mile loop and a few other sections. They were old farm roads with potholes and extremely tooth rattling rough texture. It was horrible in places. But there aren’t a ton of roads in Mid TN so they worked with what they had a came up with an overall good course.

I happily finished the whole course, rest stops and all, well under 6 hours. If I didn’t have to deal with the wind and stayed in a paceline for more than half the time I feel like I could have gone sub 5 for ride time. That will be a goal for another time. The route was a bit over 101 miles. It was a good day. And I was glad to ride an event that was close to home.

I completed the 2009 Cherohala Challenge. It was brutal. The first 70 miles was fantastic. The last 45 miles were rather torturous.

The ride started out in Tellico Plains at the Visitor’s center. Starting out a 7 AM we made a little traverse through the valley as we made our way to the base of the Dragon’s Tail. How does 318 curves in 11 miles sound to you? The top of the Tail saw us enter North Carolina around mile 54. At around mile 72 we entered the Cherohala Skyway. The road undulates until the finish back at the Visitor’s Center with a total of 116 miles.

I enjoyed the ride for 72-75 miles. The valley was nice and rolling and the packs kept together for the most part so mileage ticked off quickly. The Dragon’s Tail was a nice ride. Tight twisty mountain climb. It was fun. The thing that started the annoyance was the motorcycles. I get that we cyclists were pretty much one-day guests on their playground. And these folks were not antagonistic, at all. No trouble. But they were loud and they buzzed by constantly. All the way back to the visitor’s center even. But that part of the ride was fun and I enjoyed “slaying the Dragon”.

Same can’t be said for the Skyway. Cherohala Skyway is a huge grind. It’s not that steep. The views were incredible. But unfortunately I started cramping. Badly. My legs seized up constantly. I was forced to pull over and try to loosen them up as best I could. This ridiculousness continued for 45 miles. I have never been in such pain on a ride. Unfortunately I had to stop half way up to the first rest stop on Cherohala Skyway. I managed to make it the rest stop and rested trying to work things out and hydrate as best I could. I left the rest stop and got about a third of the way and had to stop. I went another third of the way to the next rest stop and had to stop. Dammit, I was pissed and in pain. I rode it out as long as I could until the muscle was just too painful. I made it to the top of the Skyway and started downhill. Which you would think would be a badass ride down considering what we climbed. Nah. It was rolling hills. It was so disappointing to run up on some of these rollers. In fact one of them I had to stop half way up…again. I managed to make it down desperate to get to the finish. I actually seized up on the flat for the first time about a half mile from the finish. It was unbelievable.

The Cherohala Challenge was a low key event. There was only 400 people, max, that rode. The problem with that is that the packs splintered. I rode by myself for the last 45 miles. I doubt I could have hung with anybody given my plight but if might have helped a bit.

The weather was hot. Damn hot. And windy in the wrong direction on the Cherohala Skyway. I’m certain dehydration caused my problem and I should have done a much better job of taking care of myself. Not very smart. We traveled through two National Forests (Natahala and Cherokee) yet the Skyway was not shaded at all. I believe we were in the sun for the better part of the ride. Definitely 95% of the last 45.

How was the rest stops? Not great. There were lines at the first two. I’m too impatient. Sorry I hate to criticize volunteers. They do a great service, but there wasn’t but a couple at each rest stop. And the selection was lacking. I should have provided for myself more.

And to add a finality to my whining the t-shirt is not to my liking. At all. Seems a disappointment given the anniversary. If you look at the front small logo, you’d be hard pressed to know what the shirt is about. There is no bicycle graphic or anything. The color blows. Sorry, just an opinion.

It was a disappointing ride for me in many respects. I was not too happy with how I rode the Cherohala Skyway. But on the other hand, I finished under a tremendous amount of personal adversity. For that I’m proud. It was a tough ride.

I doubt I’ll ride it again. I’m trying not to let my personal adversity influence another attempt but the bottom line is I didn’t enjoy the ride that much. The roads were too wide. It didn’t feel intimate, if that makes sense. Too much traffic. At this point, been there, done that. It was definitely a challenge.

I have to give a shout out to my family. We spent the night in a cabin and they hung out in Tellico Plains until I got back. It was a tremendous feeling to see the girls looking proud of their old man. I hoped to do better and feel better because they think of their dad as a superman of sorts. I don’t like to let them down. I don’t think I did but I wish I had come in quicker and in better condition. And it was very helpful to have my wife drive us home. My legs were cramping all the way home. I doubt I could have driven myself. It was truly pathetic.