6 Gap- Dahlonega, Georgia

“The Six Gap Century’s ultra challenging route takes you up and down six of the steepest climbs in the North Georgia Mountains. Test your stamina with nearly 12,000 feet of vertical climbing over the 104 mile course. Elevations for the six gaps in this ride range from 2,949 feet to 3,490 feet. The toughest climb, Hog pen Gap, will test even the strongest riders, averaging a 7% grade for seven miles, with sections as steep as 15%.” 

Helen, Sock Monkey and I on Hog Pen

You may not think that’s a very enticing course description but for Helen and I it sounded like a challenge we could not resist!  We took a scouting/training trip to Dahlonega from August 10-13^th.  Roger at Higher Ground (Helen’s Sponsor) did all the coordinating and reserved a very nice cabin for our group to stay in.  We rode the first part of the actual 6 Gap course.  I remember thinking, “this isn’t too bad as I sped up the first 3 mountains”.  Then I met “Hog pen”.  I only made it a little more than half way up before my quads completely locked up.  I decided to call it a day and had our sag wagon pick me up.  The next day we did the “valley ride”.  There is still a lot of steep climbing but they don’t last nearly as long.  I did manage to hit 41 mph though ;)

After our training ride I knew I had to come up with a serious game plan.  For the next month and a half I ramped up my training even more.  Helen and I did several century plus (100+ miles) rides each weekend in addition to the miles I logged during the week.  I also needed to increase my calorie intake to reduce the chance of my muscles cramping.  The last part of the plan involved a slightly easier gear ratio on the bike.

It’s finally time for 6 Gap!  We arrived in Dahlonega on Friday evening, just in time to meet our friends for dinner at Pueblo’s Mexican restaurant.  This time we stayed at a different cabin.  It was really cool.  There were several different rooms for people to stay in.  Ours was downstairs and had a kitchen, living room and laundry room.  It was great!  We had planned to do an easy ride on Saturday to get the blood flowing in the legs and loosen them up after the long drive.  Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate until later in the afternoon.  That was ok though.  We headed down to pick up our race packets and see the expo.  After we got back to the cabin the weather cleared and we went for a nice 8 mile ride up and back down Woody’s.  Just enough to let the legs know what was in store and refresh my descending skills.

The race started at 0730 on Sunday morning.  There were nearly 3,000 people and one Sock Monkey (strapped on to my helmet) at the starting line.    

The first 18 or so miles were nice easy rollers.  Perfect for getting the legs warmed up for the work ahead.  My plan was for Helen and I to stay together and not push the pace too soon.  The first 3 mountains were familiar and not too difficult.  I was a little nervous at the start of Hog pen.  It beat me the first time out and I did not want that to happen again!  I parked it in my granny gear and started my 7 mile climb up the, at times, 13-15% grade.  I had to stand several times just to pedal and keep moving forward.  I began to question if the mountain would win again.  I could not let that happen.  I kept fighting my way to the top.  It felt so good to reach the top of that mountain!!!  I think a “suck it Hog pen” might have passed my lips but hey, I was delirious ;)  The descent down Hog pen made up for every bit of the climb.  I was traveling at over 45 mph most of the way down except for when I hit 50+!!!  That’s the fastest I have ever been on a bicycle and it was AWESOME!  Sock Monkey loved it too!  The next mountain was Wolf pen.  Although it was not quite as long or steep, it was still the 5^th mountain of the day at around 80 miles in.  Next, I had a little excitement down Woody’s, the last mountain of the day.  I was flying down the mountain when I caught up to an SUV.  I was getting very frustrated at having to slow down for this car.  Soon we caught up to two more cars stuck behind a slower cyclist.  I saw and opening and made my move.  I shot around all three cars and the cyclist.  Once I hit the next curve I never saw any of them again!  I pushed hard for the last 14 miles and finished in 7:49.  After reviewing the results I saw that we had stopped for about an hour of that time on the tops of 4 mountains for food and water.  I’m very pleased with our results.                    

River Road Ride

My Dad and I both recently purchased 2011 Kawasaki KLR 650 motorcycles.  These are “Dual Sport” motorcycles made to ride both on and off road.  We both love riding motorcycles and traveling together.  We've taken a few trips in the past and would like to do more of that once I move to San Antonio.  Yesterday we set off on a mini-adventure.  The bikes are both new so you have to go through a very deliberate "break-in" process which involves varying speeds, lots of shifting and heating/cooling cycles.  This means you regulated to a lot of riding in town or on access roads.  We headed north on the access roads of Interstate 35.  The access road speed limit is 50 mph most of the time which is close to the max speed for the bikes during break-in and there are several stops, perfect for cycling through the gearbox.  We then turned left onto Loop 337 in New Braunfuls.  It's a nice two-lane road which makes it easy to let the cars pass by.  The real fun began once we reached River Road.  It's motorcycle utopia and runs thick with bikes all summer long.  Despite it being early January, we saw lots of riders out enjoying the last of the nice weather.  It was near 70!  The speed limit on this road is usually 30 miles per hour and there are LOTS of fun twisty turns and gentle rolling hills.  The road follows alongside the river (hence the name, "River Road") and is encased on both sides by tall, rocky limestone cliffs.  It’s a very scenic road so you have to be careful not to get distracted by the beauty.  We stopped several times along the way and rode slowly over the small bridges to take it all in.  I was starting to get hungry by this time and spotted the “Country Girlz” burger stop.  It’s a nice little restaurant with covered, outdoor picnic tables and a drive thru.  The food was good and the prices are reasonable.  We also scored a bonus with a free cup of coffee for my Dad (Senior citizen special)!  After lunch we rode the bikes over a railroad tie, through a small field and back onto the road (we had to get in a little “off road”).  FM 2673 is a nice 60 mph two lane road with slow rolling hills.  The stretch of FM 3159 between FM 2673 and 46 is great motorcycle ride.  It’s a perfect blend of wide open views, lazy curves and changing elevation.  For the last leg of the trip we took 46 back to 3009 (pronounced “3, double O, 9 locally).  This has been a motorcycle favorite for as long as I can remember.  Our ride ended up being around 85 miles long and was a perfect way to spend the day!  I can’t wait to get the bikes fully broken in so we can hit the curves with a little more authoritie!            

Project "Trouble Code"

My Dad and I recently traded my 2003 Jeep Wrangler TJ and 1948 Bantam trailer (which I originally purchased from him) for his 2009 Harley Davidson Dyna Super Glide Custom.  The Jeep has been in our family since 2004.  It runs like a champ and looks almost new!  I have replaced all the fluids with synthetic, added Mickey Thompson Classic II rims, BF Goodrich AT 15x31x10.5 tires, new shocks, sterring stabilizer, 1 3/4" front lift, B&M sort shifter and too many others to list.  The Jeep has had an engine light trouble code for as long as we both can remember.  We had it checked out in the past and thought it was just a gas cap vacuum leak.  When we finally got around to really checking into it, it seemed we had a problem with the evaporation canisiter which is located behind the rear inner fender skirt on the passenger side.  After removing the tire, inner fender skirt and looking over all the vacuum lines we determined they were in good shape.  I followed the lines across the gas tank, along the frame rails and up to the engine compartment.  I pointed out the lines from under the Jeep to my Dad who then traced them down one by one.  Low and behold we found a vacuum connection which had come apart due to an aging rubber boot.  The problem was right in front of us the entire time and we never saw it until now.  My Dad came up with a very ingenious idea.  He used a spark plug boot which was larger on one end than the other, just like the two lines we needed to connect.  He put them on and BINGO, the leak was gone!  After a quick trip to the auto store I used their code reader to reset the computer and we haven't had any trouble since.  I feels really good to know that we saved several hundred dollars by chasing down the problem ourselves.  I know the Jeep will keep on motoring along until I eventual trade him something to get it back again.     

Microphone check one-two, one-two

     Is this thing on?  It's been a long time since I posted my first and only blog.  Funny how life can get in the way of a good thing (that and forgetting your Blogger password...).  I've got a little more time on my hands now that I am on terminal leave at the twilight of my 20 year, 9 month and 19 day Air Force career.  Lots of things have been going on since my last entry.  There's no way for me to go back and capture everything (you can visit my mom's blog at http://travelinglongdogs.blogspot.com/
for a recount of my Excellent Summer Adventure with Cameron and Morgan), so I will just have to pick up from the last few days.  I'm off to the gym to lift iron for now but look for new entries VERY soon.  Thanks for following! 

Epic Muni Adventure

     After nearly a month off the muni I decided it was about time to go for a ride.  Not just any ride but an "Epic" ride.  Little did I know how epic it would be.  I loaded up the muni on my new bike rack and headed off to Crooked Creek out at the Pine Log forest.  I've been out there a few times before on my single speed mountain bike but never on the muni.  I knew even before I started that I was not going to like the first section of trail.  There are plenty of tight turns with lots of loose sand to negotiate.  I had just ridden the very same trail not 12 hours before on my single speed.  That might not have been a good idea.  It seems the scent of my two-wheeled mistress and I still lingered fresh on the trails.  Betty, my muni, (aka Betty Bomber) picked up on the scent and was none-too-happy about it!  Needless to say I had several unplanned dismounts (UPD's) in the beginning of the ride.  After a while I settled into a groove and began to flow with the trail versus fighting it.       

     Once past the sandy beginning section the trail heads off into the forest.  Pine needles cover the trail and hide every little bump.  This is not too bad if you anticipate the bumps.  If you’re not paying attention this can launch you into aerial flight.  Takeoffs are the easy part, it's the landings that are tricky!  About 5 miles into the ride my thighs began to burn with the intensity of 1,000 suns!  If you've never ridden a unicycle, it takes at least double the effort of riding a bicycle!  This is one of the reasons I enjoy the challenge of riding unicycles.  Back to the ride... 

     I made lots of friends along the way none of which were very nice!  I was riding along when a seemingly cute little lizard tried to kill me.  He ran right into my path.  Not wanting to hurt the little guy I veered hard to the right, catching a root I would have otherwise avoided.  This root sent me into another UPD...  I swear I saw a little grin on his face as I stood up and dusted off the dirt.  I met my next friend just as unexpectedly.  He came in the form of a 12 foot snake!  Okay, he might have been closer to 12 inches but he seemed like 12 foot at the time.  I was riding along and saw this little snake from out of nowhere.  He scared the poop out of me but I don't think he was expecting to see a 6'4" giant riding a unicycle through his neighborhood that day either.  He coiled up right in the middle of the trail and I whizzed by as fast as I could.  Once past him I stopped and got out the camera phone.  When I went back to take a picture I found him still coiled up and shaking his little tail. That's right, shaking his little tail.  I decided to leave this little critter alone!  The last friend(s) I met were not nice at all.  Someone decided it was a great idea to put a honey bee farm on the side of the trail.  I've always told my kids that if you don't mess with bees, they won't mess with you.  I might have to revise that.  I walked by the bees, not messing with them at all.  Some of them started flying over to check me out.  I'm not sure if it was all the carbon dioxide I was giving off or what but they decided they did not want me anywhere near their honey.  After I watched the first one land on me and insert his stinger into my arm, I knew I better get out of there fast.  There's nothing fast about running on a sandy trail with a 14 lb unicycle in tow while getting stung by bees.

     By this time my quads were beyond burning.  There was not a single dry spot to be found on my clothing!  It was 80 degrees and I was feeling it!  My legs were becoming exhausted to the point I was making careless mistakes.  Thankfully, my kids called me and I took a little break to talk to them. 

     Fortunately, the rest of the trip was fairly uneventful.  Until next time…