Dahlonega, GA
North Georgia Mountains
3 Day Cycling Camp
May 2014
Ironman Nice, France Training -
30 Day Countown
Want to be inspired to start cycling, well this place will get you hooked. Jon and I headed to the North Georgia Mountains for the second time this month. We loved it so much the first time, we had to return. Leaving work on a Sunday afternoon, we headed north on a relaxing 6 hour drive through the country, listening to Pandora with the windows down. We arrived late at the Hiker Hostel in Dahlonega, GA around 10:00pm.
Quickly we unloaded the bags and had lights out by 10:30pm. I can't say enough great things about this hostel! I consider it more of a luxury Bed & Breakfast. It's where we stayed a few weeks ago and it's where we will stay next time. They have shared rooms with bunks that are only $18/night per person, private rooms in the main house for $42/night based on double occupancy and detached cabins for $52/night. This includes a gourmet breakfast.
It is a perfect launch pad for cycling right out the front door. We stayed in a converted container cabin which was private and allowed for a great nights sleep.
Day 1-
We woke at 7:30am every morning for an 8:00am prepared breakfast. We really looked forward to this every morning. Definite highlight to the trip. The perfect fuel for a long training day. We loaded up on banana pancakes, fresh eggs from their own chickens, oatmeal and strawberries.
Jon made the decision that he was too sick to ride with me due to a cold. It set in minutes before I was leaving that I would be riding 90 miles and 6 mountain gaps solo. I had no time to mentally prepare for that. I was overcome with nerves, not about the difficulty, but about riding by myself in an unfamiliar place. But I didn't come all this way to let that stop me. I had been there once before, I could manage it again.
I filled my water bottles with electrolyte water. Tried this product called Elete and was presently satisfied. It had no taste or flavor and kept up with my electrolite needs throughout the day without all the unnecessary sugar and calories in many popular sports drinks.
I dislike fueling with gels and artificially flavored blocks and so forth so instead I packed whole foods. I packed a couple bananas in my jersey and a LaraBar. And I fit some dried fruit and fig newtons on the bike.
Before I knew it I was off flying down Stone Pile Gap and my nerves left me. I was super excited.
I love this sport. I love cycling and being outside. It's a good 8 mile descent right off the back, super fun. I approached Turners Corner and took a left
and started up Neels Gap, the first climb of the day. On fresh legs, I flew up this 6 mile climb. It is long but it is not very steep, averaging a 4-6% grade. I said hi to the Neels Gap cats and checked out the hikers boots hanging in the trees.
Sent Jon a text so that in case something happened, at least he would know where I was last. And I was off. I didn't have have a hard time descending. I took all the descents pretty easy and controlled making sure not to burn out my breaks. I definitely didn't want to get injured so close to Ironman Nice, France. I passed my favorite Sunrise Country Store.
I was on to the second gap, Jacks. On the first day this doesn't feel like much of a climb, and I flew past the peak.
Jacks is about 4 miles long with some steep sections of 7-10% broken up with some rolling descents. It's a quiet country road with a poor surface. Can't say the thought of a bear coming out of the trees didn't cross my mind. It was a hot day in the mid 80's and I made sure I was staying on top of my nutrition.
The third gap, Unicoi was next. This climb is about 3.5 miles and a 5% grade. I was flying, making great time. Unocoi is my least favorite because it has the most traffic. As I was descending Unicoi it started to sprinkle. Not a big deal. Felt good to cool off a little. This sprinkle turned into a full blown lightning storm within minutes and the roads where I was riding were flooding. The temperature dropped. A good 20 degrees. Now I was descending on dangerously wet roads, soaking wet and freezing. When I finally heard thunder and my teeth started chattering I found shelter under a small awning.
With no cell phone reception I couldn't look on the radar to see if it was going to pass by quickly. And as fast as the storm came on, it ended. But I was far too cold to continue to ride. The last thing I needed was to get sick. I went down the road a mile and got cell reception and called Jon. I almost threw in the towel and had him come for me. But I was only a couple miles from the town of Helen, GA, where I could take a break and regroup. It's a cute little German town. I headed that way in search of something warm to drink and hopefully some dry clothes. I stopped at Higher Ground Coffee, drank a hot latte and hung my socks out to dry.
Being Memorial Day the town was packed with people. I saw thousands of people float down the river through town on tubes, watched many horse and carriages pass by in the streets and listened to entertainers playing music and doing magic tricks.
After this 2 hour delay walking around barefoot with frozen hands and toes, it started to warm up again. The sun came out, my clothes were almost dry.
Losing my momentum and feeling a bit defeated, I headed toward Hogpen Gap, climb number 4. This is one of the most challenging climbs in the area. 7 miles long and an average grade of 6% and up to 14% in sections. Challenging but I had no problems.
The decent is really steep and I took it very easy. Found that if I kept it under 35 miles per hour felt comfortable. I have seen people fly down this mountain upwards of 55 miles per hour, way too fast. The next gap was Wolfpen. This is covered by trees and has lots of twists and turns and steep cliffs just off the road. I was happy to reach the top because the entire way up I was being swarmed by enormous flying bugs. I am grateful that I didn't throw myself off the cliff trying to swat them away. Once you finish this climb that is that last hard climb of the day. I knew it would be pretty easy for the remaining 15-20 miles.
Approaching the town of Suches, I got chased by an American Bulldog, again. This happened last time by the exact same dog. It's surprising that he doesn't get hit by a car.
After fueling up at the gas station I was on to the final gap, Woodys.
Woodys is my favorite because it usually doesn't have much traffic, the climb is short and easy and the decent is an easy slope down and switchback after switchback. But today it was a traffic jam. I got off of my bike when I saw an ambulance and firetruck ahead. Apparently a couple motorcyclists crashed and they were airlifting a woman that was critical to the hospital. I said a prayer for the woman and went on. Passing by the wreckage I was only a couple miles from home. Feeling relieved, I got off my bike and walked up the crazy steep driveway at Hiker Hostel.
We had a nice relaxing evening and a steak and veggie dinner. I drank some muscle recovery tea. And we hit the sack around 10:30pm.
Day 2-
Woke up again at 7:30am for an 8:00am family style breakfast with the other guests of the hostel. Exchanging stories and planned adventures for the day, we loaded our plates with waffles, grits, eggs and fruit.
Jon was feeling better so we planned a 50 mile ride & an hour run off the bike. This was supposed to be an easier ride as far as the climbs, but there are no easy rides in this part of the country. We drove to the bottom of Brasstown Bald and parked the Jeep. We though we could do three gaps and if we had the energy we could do Brasstown Bald, the hardest climb around. Wishful thinking.
I was really happy to have him along! We started down Jacks towards Unicoi and my legs were pretty stiff. I was feeling a bit sore from the day before, so the easy decent was a nice way to start the day. Climbing Unicoi, the first gap of the day, Jon was having trouble with his gears. After a slight adjustment we continued on. We reached the top and headed down.
Jon's an excellent descender so I told him I would see him at the bottom. As he whipped around the corner out of sight, his life literally flashed before my eyes. The whole way down I was hoping I wouldn't round a corner to him splattered across the pavement.
I caught up to him and we continued on to a Hogpen Gap, our second climb of the day. I knew miles 3-5 of this climb would be hard as I rode it the day before. But it was no where near as easy as the first day. I was definitely feeling the burn. We both stopped at the top, threw the bikes to the ground and tried to regroup.
Had some water, fig newtons and super yummy sweet mango dried fruit. Another fast decent to the Sunrise Country store, and stopped to get some more fluids. We were off to Jacks.
The day before I hardly realized the climbs of Jacks, but today it felt so incredibly hard. The host at the hostel said earlier that she "always underestimates Jacks Gap". This kept repeating in my head the entire way. Half way up an enormous black snake came within inches of my bike but I passed without incident. I was pretty happy to be back the the Jeep.
We were only at 40 miles and planned for 50, but my body was saying no. I listened to my gut and called it quits for the day. After a quick 30 minute run I put my sandals on and was done for the day, so I thought. We got in the Jeep to do a little recon and drive up Brasstown Bald Gap, the hardest climb in the area.
I had been wanting to climb it on the bike since the last trip but had not yet. I though we would drive it first to check it out. The proved to be the biggest mistake of the day, now I was outright afraid of it. 2.5 miles and an average grade of 12% with parts as steep as 22%!!! I would save this for another trip, when my legs were fresh. After we parked, the only way to get to the very top was to take a shuttle or climb the trail. Feeling like I shorted myself a bit on the bike milage, we climbed the trail. Slowly, very slowly.
After some awesome views we headed back towards camp. We made a pit stop on the way at Vogel State park for a natural recovery ice bath for the legs in the lake.
BBQ dinner and to bed again by 10:30pm.
Day 3-
7:30am alarm and 8:00am french toast breakfast with hand picked blackberries, my favorite.
Jon and I set off on our ride right out the front door of the Hiker hostel. Descending down Stone Pile towards the base of Neels. 4 miles into it Jon decided his knee was giving him too much trouble to continue. So now it was plan B for me. I decided to switch it up and ride the gaps backwards. I would do Woodys, Wolfpen, and then Neels. After about 9 miles of climbing Stone Pile and Woodys and reaching the top, I felt surprisingly strong.
I started to wonder if maybe I could climb Brasstown Bald today. Stopped at the gas station near Suches and chatted with some other riders about Brasstoen Bald. They said they did it a long time ago when they were young and in shape but it had been years. They said to go for it and to be careful of the descent.
Next was Wolfpen. When I reached the top there was anther rider and I inquired with him about Brasstown Bald. He too said he would be more afraid of descending it than climbing it. And he said I still had Jacks to climb before I even reached the base and I may be fatigued by then. I descended Wolfpen.
Still unsure I came to the crossroads. I could turn right and finish up on Neels and head home. Or turn left and tackle Jacks and the feared Brasstown Bald. I started on Plan C and I made a left. There was no turning back. Stopping at the Sunrise Country store I got water and a Red Bull which I would save for right before the hard climb.
I kept telling myself, if I do it and can't go any further, I could always have Jon come pick me up. I climbed Jacks getting closer and closer to the base of Brassstown Bald. I don't know why I kept building this climb up so much in my head. The face of a new friend from the last trip kept flashing in my head. He is a strong cyclist and he looked pretty beat up when he reached the top. Standing at the base, I was starting to wonder if it was a good idea. I was on the end of Day 3 and had climbed over 20,000 feet of mountains this far and covered close to 200 miles of pavement. I looked up an there was a stop sign. Maybe a sign to not go on with it?
Maybe I was overthinking it. Then I looked down at the wildflowers and a beautiful butterfly landed on one. Butterfly's always remind me of a good friend that passed away many years ago, Suzy.
At that moment I felt like she was watching over me and I grabbed my bike and started up this intimidating climb. A mile and a half into it I was surprised about how easy it was. I was by no means setting any records, but I was making progress. Most parts were so steep that you had no choice but to stand up. And at one point the pace I was going at standing up was not going to cut it. So I tried harder and harder to pedal faster and faster. I had never climbed something this steep. I wasn't sure what to do as I knew if I had to stop I wasn't sure if I would get out of my clips fast enough before I would fall backwards onto the ground. So I pushed hard and held on for dear life. My heart was beating incredibly fast and I am positive that I reached my max heart rate. My arms and legs started to tingle as if not getting enough oxygen in the blood. As I reached the top of this really steep 22% grade I unclipped and stood there for a minute to catch breath and get my heartrate down.
With less than a mile to go, I mounted the bike and pressed on. It was difficult to get going again on such a steep grade but I managed. And before I knew it I was at the top. A car passing by was cheering and waving. I made it!
Now what. I was exhausted and still had a good 30 miles and another 2 gaps to get back to camp. I couldn't quit now. Descended down Brasstown Bald with no issues. Descended Jacks. Climbed Neels and descended Neels towards Turners Corner. I was pleasantly happy with how much fun The Neels Gap decent was backwards. Turned right at Turners corner up the last gap, Stone Pile Gap which never ended. Once I reached Hiker Hostel I threw on my running shoes and set off for a run. My plan was to run as hard as I could for 30 min. I though for sure that wasn't going to happen after 3 days of climbing but I knocked out a pretty amazing run, surprising myself. The run ended with some sun showers that made the pavement steam. I was finished.
I am sitting here now still in disbelief of what I just accomplished. Over 200 miles of cycling, 15 Gaps and 25,000 feet of climbing in 3 days. My training is really paying off. What I loved most about this trip was the challenge. I faced my fears and accomplished something I never though I was capable of.
We had a feast on that 3rd night. I are half if a watermelon post ride all by myself.
Blue chips and the best local pineapple salsa made my belly very happy. Later on steak, veggies, corn, wine and chocolate.
Lights out at 10:30pm.
Day 4-
Our final day. Wake up at 7:30am and our final breakfast with friends at 8:00am. The hosts are so wonderful, they really make you feel like family.
After some coffee we packed up. Took three trips each, we really over packed.
And said goodbye to our new friends and their doggies.
We headed to the public pool in Gainesville, GA for some lap swimming. Feeling pretty beat, I managed about 30-45 minutes of easy swimming before I called it quits. It's only about 1500 feet above sea level there but I could definitely feel it with my breathing while swimming.
We jumped in the Jeep and headed home. On the drive I started thinking about Ironman Nice France. There are about 6,000 feet of climbs and I managed 11,000 on just the first day in Dahlonega. This made me feel relieved and prepared. Many thanks to my amazing Aussie Coach, Sean Foster!!! 30 days till the race, it's about time to start to taper.
Trick is between now and the race to stay healthy and injury free. Happy to be home with my mutts! But secretly can't wait to go back!!! ;)
