Off The Beaten Path

North Georgia Mountains

In just a couple days, I will be making about 240,000 pedal strokes through the Chattahoochee National Forest.  I have been waiting for this adventure ever since the inaugural event back on September 4, 2010.  This season has been centered around preparing for TNGA.  Countless hours of training, researching gear, reconnoitering, and going through dozens of "What if?" scenarios in my head. 

If you had asked me 2 years ago if I wanted to race hundreds of miles over gravel roads and trail, I would have said, "That's insane!  I hate gravel road racing!"  Fast forward to now and although single track is where my heart is, I have begun to enjoy those long gravel grunts upward to the sky.  The race is 350 miles with 60,000 feet of climbing.

There will be a lot of this terrain; fortunately most of it tree-covered.

The first half of this race is mostly gravel roads.  Some are really steep and with the drought have been chewed up by the vehicles.  It is will be slow going on some of these:  two pedal strokes forward, one pedal stroke backward.  It will be frustrating at times, and that is where it would be easy for my morale to splinter.  But I have a few mantras to keep me happy. 

The other morale boost for me will be receiving texts from my family.  Cell phones are allowed in this race and although service will be sketchy and usage limited by battery life, I will turn it on occasionally.  Carly got an iPod Touch for her birthday and we are both geeked up about communicating with each other.

Zeke is somewhere in that mess. 

Most of the course is open, but there are some sections that will require bush-whacking.  I am hoping the wild hogs do some trail maintenance on those sections.  Poison ivy and I don't get along very well.

A lot of single track in the last 1/3.

The last 120 miles will be brutal.  After pedaling 230 miles on a heavy-ass bike, eating convenience store food, and lifting 35+ pounds of bike/gear over numerous downed trees, I then get to contend with The Snake portion of the Pinhoti.  This is 34 miles of gnarly, rocky, and rooty single track that has 5500 feet of gain.  The Snake Creek Gap TT Series takes place on this section every January, February, and March.  Average finishing times for the race are between 4 and 7 hours.  And that is during daylight.  I am expecting to be riding a lot of this in the dark.  O happy, happy, joy, joy!

Back in March, this creek was a foot deep.

 
The other big obstacle will be finding water.  The western portion will be fine, but a lot of the creeks and small rivers on the eastern portion are dried up or just trickles at this point.  Daytime temps will soar into the 90's and night temps will drop to the mid-60's.

I will be riding my 2008 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR.  It weighs 24 pounds.  The gear on the bike weighs 12 pounds.  My Camelbak, with a full 70 ounce bladder weighs 5 pounds.  That is 41 pounds of bike and gear. 

Stumpy, aka The Yak!

My vision quest will begin at 8 am on Saturday, September 3.  My goal is to reach the GA/AL border on Monday afternoon.  I am only halfway towards my goal of raising $1000 for Trips For Kids-WNC, so if you could find some spare change in your vehicle or couch, I would greatly appreciate a small donation.  Just click here

Enjoy what the out of doors has to offer!

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Thanks to all those who have supported me in my efforts this year:  Charlie, Carly, Moms, Dads, Zeke, Coach Lynda, and cycling friends.  You can track my progress here.

6 Hour Race to Sunset @ Blankets Race Report

Sleeping in and getting ready at a relaxed pace was nice.

Fueling pre-race was the hard part.  Normally, it involves just one meal.  But today I had to come up with two meals.  I had the bright idea of trying to make gluten-free biscuits to go with my eggs.  It was like a cross between a rice cake and a hockey puck.  And that lead weight sat in my stomach for hours ...  I attempted to take in a few more calories around noon, but my stomach was not happy. 

Seeing as how I had not ridden here in 4 years, I took Karma (2011 Niner AC9 SS) out for a pre-ride just after I arrived around noon.  This was definitely a perfect course for one gear.  I rode a lap, just to make sure I chose the right gear ... and I did, a 32 x 20.

A tight squeeze ... especially at 12-15 mph!

The temperature hovered right around 90 at the start.  The course was technically demanding, with short, grunty climbs, roots galore, rocks that moved with you, and stutter bumps everywhere from the super dry conditions the past month. 

The race started out LeMans  style, with a 1/4 mile run to your bike.  Coach's orders were to ride at 90% and NOT race the boys.  However, I intended to run hard so as to avoid as much of the 1st lap cluster as possible. 

Loose gravel, carbon soles, and metal cleats makes for an interesting start.

The race went off at 3 pm and as I was running up the gravel parking lot, I looked down and saw a bike shoe all by its lonesome.  Within seconds, the owner was trying to run against 200 race-hungry individuals to claim his lost "sole."  It was quite a push and shove match to get to your bike first.  I am just glad that she was in one piece when I arrived to leap upon her and be off on my 6 hour adventure.

I chose to summarize each lap in a few sentences.

Lap 1:  Really, not even a mile in to this thing and I am down with a bloodied forearm.  So much for avoiding the cluster.  Come on people, just "ride that thang!"

Lap 2:  Welcome back, my friend Momentum.

Lap 3:  Wheeee!

Lap 4: I think there are more people laying trail side with cramping issues than are racing.

Lap 5:  Wow!  Red Bull does give you wings!

Lap 6:  A 100 lumen light might work well on the TNGA, but it does NOT work well on a tight, twisty single track race.  Oh, well, I will consider this my parade lap.

Karma's first race and first win.

I ended up 1st woman, 1st SS, and 2nd solo overall.  And I adhered to Coach's orders.  I swear, I was not racing the boys ... they just seemed to keep getting in my way, so I had to pass.  I had a great day on my single speed.  The legs were happy all day, but my lower back and balls of my feet weren't.  The course was very jarring!  I was happy to be finished.  It was nice to be able to get cleaned up at night and not worry about sweating again.

The bike rode well and had no issues:  powerful, yet quiet.  Even with a slightly longer wheelbase than my Specialized SS, I had no issues maneuvering around the switchbacks and other tight twisty sections of the trail.  Now that I have the fork dialed in, I am quite happy with the Reba.

Lisa Randall (Mountain Goat Adventures), her husband Chris, SORBA Woodstock, and the Bike Patrol executed a perfect race.  Inexpensive fees, combined with lots of shwag (pre and post-race), and quick reporting of results made for an awesome race. 

My podium shirt.

Zeke also rocked it!  3rd place in the SS field.  He spanked some guys half his age!

SERC #10 Fontana Race Report

Happy that the season is almost over.

Wow!  It has been a long, but fun season!  I think the racing was the easy part.  All the prep work leading up to each race was a race in of itself ... especially when you have an 8 year old in tow.  But I had help from family and friends and I do believe it has drawn Carly and I closer to each other.  Yeah, there were times when we fought like sisters, but there were many more times when we hugged and laughed and gave each other high 5's.

Team Outdoor Store is in da house!

Fontana Village was the perfect place to have the finale.  Probably because they had an AWESOME pool with an attached lazy river.  Over the course of three days, Carly got in 10+ hours of pool time and countless laps on the lazy river.

How I spent 50% of my pool time.

The kids course was also the short track course.  It was located between the restaurant and the pool on a grassy hillside.  It included a steep downhill, which Carly bombed down ... but it also had a nasty gravelly-grassy climb, which Carly hated.  This steep little grunt was also part of my course, which I had to climb up on each lap.  No fun for a little girl with a heavy bike.

Carly had to do 3 laps.  She led on the first, but then lost her bearings and slowed down, allowing a couple of her competitors to pass.  She pushed the climb up to the Start/Finish line.  By the end of the second lap, I could tell she was done.  Grimacing through the 3rd lap, she persevered and finished.  I was proud of her efforts.  This was definitely one of the hardest and least fun of the series, but she finished strong.

The head cocked to one side is an indicator of "not fun."

Carly's biggest issue is the heat and humidity.  You see, along with the orange hair and fair skin, she also got Grandmom Sandy's heat intolerance.  Heat rashes, flushed cheeks, light headedness, yucky stomach ... you name it, when Carly gets hot, this is what happens.  Even though she raced at 8:30 am, the sticky heat has been there.  Carly can swim all day, but mountain biking is hard for her in the summer.

I, on the other hand, relish the heat.  It is actually to my advantage.  But one thing I have discovered this year is that is has slowed my recovery.

My course was hard.  Not as technically difficult as Monte Sano, but there was a lot more climbing.  Most of the climbing was on pavement or gravel.  The first big descent was steep with lots of loose "baby-heads."  It was easy to get hurt here.  The second descent on Turkey Pen was way more fun.  Smooth and fast with a few water bars that you could get more air than you wanted to.  I opted to run gears as I was coming off a big block of training which had included a 28 hour ride through the Chattahoochee National Forest on "The Yak."

Single track entrance -- if I had to do 1 more lap, I would have needed a machete.

The course started out with a 0.4 mile lung/leg busting climb up pavement to the single track.  I got a good start and entered the single track in 3rd, hanging on tightly to Anina's wheel.  Kim was just in front of us, but slowly pulling away.  I settled into a sustainable pace for me.  On the first lap, I surged ahead of Anina a couple times, just to see what she had.  She did not waiver and stayed up front.

Coming through the Start/Finish area, a couple spectators said that we were 35 seconds behind Kim.  I followed Anina back up that steep paved climb, but could tell that she was faltering a bit.  She entered the single track first, but after about a mile, I could tell she was slowing.  Thinking that maybe she was playing team tactics and not wanting to drag me up to Kim, I passed and upped the pace a bit.  Anina was right there behind me.  But when we began climbing back out of Lewellyn Cove, she popped.  (Anina had raced the short track the night before ... and won.)

The second lap hurt more than the first but I had managed to gain a little more time back on Kim.  On the third lap, I went hard early, hoping that I might be able to reel Kim in, but by the time I began the false flat climb to the Lewellyn "descent of death," I blew up.  I came to the realization that pushing on was only going to increase the probability of something catastrophic happening, I backed off and finished the lap more conservatively.

I ended the day with a 2nd place and 2nd in the series.  This netted me a little cash, which I can finally put towards the purchase of 4 new truck tires.  Carly also ended up with a 2nd place in the series as well.  Pretty cool, if you ask me.

Going through her bag of goodies.

I have to thank Terri and Dave for a great season.  Awesome venues, nice and low entry fees, timely score keeping, and post-race watermelon.  I enjoyed racing my SS, the Specialized SJ aluminum.  A responsive and "mechanical-free" machine, out-fitted with the awesome Endless Bike Co. kick ass cogs.  Chamois Butt'r kept me chafe/saddle sore free, and Ergon kept my hands pain-free.

I am not sure what adventures Carly and I will have next year.  I wanted to expose her to a "real" sport; hopefully she will one day want to pedal all day.  But I will not force her.  Whatever endeavors we take up, we both hope that Daddy can be more of a part of them.  Such a busy man working for Ducks Unlimited, his hard work is what allowed us to partake in such an enriching activity.

Our biggest supporter of all -- the "Big Daddy."

TNGA and Trips For Kids WNC

TNGA ... it is going to be brutal, no doubt about that.  With 350 miles and 56,000+ feet of climbing in 90 degrees and sweltering humidity, I am going to be in the pain cave more than I have ever been.  Along with attention to detail, fitness, and the ability to adapt, motivation is going to be the key to success.

During my recent bike packing recon, I learned that motivation will be my limiter.  Let's face it; I am a single track kind of gal.  Miles and miles of gravel road just does not grind my grits, especially when pedaling 40-45 pounds of bike and gear.

So I have decided to team up with Asheville local Stephen Janes and Trips for Kids WNC.  I met Stephen a few years ago at the Cohutta 100.  Since then our friendship has grown.  His love for kids is genuine and his devotion to the Trips For Kids program is overwhelming.

What better way to see our sport grow than to get kids involved.  And what better way to fuel my spirit through the mountains of the Chattahoochie National Forest than to know that I am racing for our future.  My goal is to raise $1000 in the weeks leading up to TNGA.

So please, sacrifice just one Starbuck's and donate $3.50 on my behalf.  That's only $.01/mile people!  Let the children keep my adrenalin flowing and not the sound of banjo music and Sasquatch calls.

A link is to the right. Please click on it!

SERC #9 Huntsville Race Report

Having never been to Monte Sano State Park,  I was uncertain of what to expect.  I had heard that it was technical and rocky; but that was about it.  Both Carly and I were pleasantly surprised at her course:  a mix of pavement and smooth, buff single track.  What rocks?

While Carly and Zeke pre-rode her course, I went off to do mine.  The first few miles were fast and had a few rocks.  I was on my SS, running a 32 x 19.  At first I thought I might have to go bigger.  But then I encountered steep rocky climbs and steep rocky descents.  These rocks were sharp and slick.  And there were enough roots thrown in on top of the rocks to make it really fun.    Whoa, Nelly!  I would call it Pisgah Lite or Syllamo-ish.  There were a couple sections that I rode over and over again, trying to find the best line.  I don't think there was one.  I was wishing I had brought my full suspension bike. (Shoulda, coulda, woulda.)

After the pre-ride Carly and I finished up our day with 3 hours of pool time, while Zeke went back out to get his single speed fix on.  We capped off the evening with dinner at Chili's with Ursula and Jay. 

Race faces on!

Sunday morning came way too early for Carly.  Biscuits with sausage and gravy was her pre-race meal.  Carly had a good race with no bumbling boys to maneuver around and finished strong.

Pavement start.

Totally focused 10 yards up the trail.

My race started out with 1/4 mile of flat road.  My start was good and I was up front for about 1/2 of it.  Then I heard the gears shifting down behind me and I quickly went from 1st to 5th.  I managed to get around Paula when she bobbled in the first techy section (note:  Paula raced the Tn State Championship Road Race the day before) and passed Catherine when it opened up to double track. 

Kym, who won the Tn State Championship Road Race, was flying up front in first place with Gerri hot on her heels ... well, until she flatted.  After moving up to second place halfway through the first lap, I noticed I wasn't feeling all that sparkly.  Heavy legs and breathing way too hard, I knew that I was not on form to finish at this pace.  I backed off the pace and tried to settle, but on this course it is hard to settle.  The climbs are hard on a SS as they come quickly, around corners, and are strewn with rocks and roots.  All of a sudden the 19T felt like an 18T.  I had to run 2 short climbs (10 yards) and 1 long one (40 yards).

I actually looked forward to the final 0.8 mile paved climb as I could establish a rhythm that was not torturous.  And having Jay hand me an ice cold cup of water helped as well. 

The second lap was agonizingly painful.  Even spinning the flats at 120 rpm hurt.  I felt like a pinball in the techy sections.  Dabbing became a constant on that lap.  To top it off, Paula began to close the gap and at one point was only about 10 seconds back.  Although I felt I was at the end of my rope, I was able to dig a little deeper on the climbs and pull away from her.  Finishing never felt so good!

At the finish with a smile ... or is that a grimace?

As much as that race hurt, I would do it all over again.  Because with the pain and suffering comes a HUGE endorphin rush.  You just cannot beat that feeling of utter exhaustion and exhilaration, knowing you left it all out there on the trail.  Why do drugs or alcohol when you can race, I ask?  I friggin' love my bike!

Karma

is what her name shall be.

19.02 pounds

Karma is the concept of action or deed, understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect.  Some might say that my new steed is fate; others would say "happenstance."  I will let you be the judge.

My troubles began back in the winter.  Specialized had been great to me up until this point.  But I could not even buy the bike, a 2011 Specialized S-Works SJ SS,  unless I went to another shop.  And that I refused to do.  I even wrote a letter to Mike Sinyard and Rebecca Rusch was kind enough to make sure it got into his hands.  Well, at least it made it to the desk of his secretary.  The end result of that was the regional rep telling Bruce that he did not have the privilege of being an S-Works dealer.

Well, it just so happened that I finally committed to racing the 6 Hours of Warrior's Creek, after being asked 3 years in a row by the promoter.  It always coincided with the Ouachita Challenge.  But I was wanting to do a 6 hour on my SS and I had heard great things about this grassroots race.

It just so happened that Mike Stanley was going to be there with a van full of Niner Bikes to demo.  Zeke talked me in to trying one out.  I did, an A9C with a rigid fork.  As much as I love my Specialized fleet of bikes, I was quite impressed with the Niner.

After much hemming and hawing and with Zeke talking my ear off about the company, I decided to get one.  That was a BIG STEP for me.  I have ridden nothing else but Specialized for the past 12 years.  Their bikes are the best, the components and gear comfortable and durable, and their customer service and advocacy has been top notch.  But ... they just seemed to be more interested in the road aspect of cycling and their "concept" stores.  The small LBS's got kicked aside.

After waiting 2 1/2 months, she arrived.  Bruce meticulously (and I do believe with love) assembled her.  And yesterday I got to try her out at the Whitewater Center.  Just so you know, I paid for this bike, so my opinions are completely non-biased.

I "cut my teeth" on technical rocky trail at The Snake.

After just one 3 hour ride, I cannot say that the bike is friggin' unbelievable or da bomb, but I must say I was most impressed.  The cockpit felt perfect and racey.  She soaked up small bumps; a smoother ride than my Specialized aluminum SS.  Power transfer was instantaneous.  And she was quite nimble through the switchbacks.  I was also able to flick her through rocky sections like I was on my Specialized Era.  

Westfork Trail.  She begs to climb.

I will need some more time on her before I can give a complete thumbs up.  Racing her this weekend at the SERC Huntsville will be a true test.  I have also never ridden a Reba, so I am sure that making some adjustments will help to smooth the trail out as well.  I was riding on the Specialized Renegade tires.  I like them on the rear, but they wash out in sandy or deep loose over hardpack.  Slapping a Specialized Captain on the front should make her rail through the turns better.

I am hoping that this relationship is only the beginning.

Mike Stanley is an awesome rep.  He works his arse off.  Down to earth, goes above and beyond, and loves his job.  I had a good rep with Specialized, but I think his hands were tied.  It might be just me, but I think the corporate leaders are more interested in world domination and sponsoring road racers who throw their $10,000+ bikes into the ditches of the French countryside.  The last (and only) time I threw my bike down in anger was when I was 9 years old.  And that earned me a week of being grounded.

Where is the scracth 'n sniff sticker?

TNGA Recon

With the TNGA only 2 months away and I being a bike packing virgin, I decided to pull an overnighter on a section of the course.

At the start

I began my adventure at Moccasin Creek State Park at 8 am.  My bike and gear weighed in at a hefty 45 pounds.  That is 41% of my body weight!  Having never ridden with weight like this before, I immediately felt it ... even on the beginning flat section of asphalt.  Climbing up the Wildcat Creek forest service road gave me a chance to get used to the weight and how it was distributed on the bike.  I think I packed Stumpy, aka The Yak, pretty good, as the bike felt balanced.  The downhills took some getting used to, especially the tighter turns.

The morning hours were quite pleasant with the forest service roads offering plenty of cover from the sun.  I was just at a cruising pace and had planned to make Helen by 11 am.  But ......  then I made the approach to Hickory Nut Trail.  I looked for it for several minutes, first going to the right and then to the left on trails that led nowhere.  I then came back to the intersection, switched my GPS from breadcrumb trail to compass.  The cue sheet said proceed around dirt pile and head south.  So I did and entered the bushwack from hell!   Poison ivy, poison oak, and blackberry briars greeted me.  Nice!  I finally found a resemblance of trail, only because of the wild hogs that had cleared some small sections looking for breakfast.  The next 2.5 miles was a combination of pushing, soft pedaling through derailleur-eating sticks and large rocks, hoisting Stumpy over downed trees, and hoping no copperheads were lurking in the thick underbrush.  A few choice words were said, including "tartar sauce!" and "pickle juice!"  (Carly has taught me well.)

The last mile of the trail was rideable but not what I would call fun.  Those 3.5 miles took an hour to get through!  And then I had to stop at the lake, remove socks/shoes and scrub the ivy/oak resin off my legs.  Was I ever glad to get to Wendy's!  Although I had to wait in line due to the lunch hour rush, it was worth it.  The last time I had a Wendy's burger was after the 2006 12 Hours of Oleta in Miami, Florida.

Hunger satisfied, I began the long pedal up Hogpen Gap.  This is a 7 mile paved climb, with grades ranging from 8-15%.  Pedaling a fully-loaded mountain bike was a far cry from riding a 16 pound road bike during the 6-Gap Century!  From there it  was a 4 mile descent to my next turn.  As I began my descent, my speed approached 40 mph.  As I came around the second sharp turn, there stood a mama bear and 3 cubs!  I had nowhere to go and could not stop.  I managed to wrestle the bike to the middle of the road and just as I became even with the bears, she jumped over the guard rail and the babies followed.  Whew!  That could have been ugly.

The remainder of the day was anti-climatic, just turning over the pedals while a steady drip of sweat fell from the tip of my nose.  I was happy that I had chosen Stumpy with 120mm of travel, fore and aft.  I call her my "recliner" bike and felt comfortable all day.  Some of the fire road descents were pretty eroded and rocky, but seemed effortless and fast aboard my full-suspension steed.

After 11 1/2 hours, 95 miles, and 10,500 feet of climbing, I found a nice spot along the Toccoa River and set up camp for the night.  The ThermaRest Neoair pad, size M (14 oz) was very comfortable and the Kelty Lightyear down 40 (11oz) kept me warm when the temps dipped down to 60 degrees.  Yes, at about 3am, I got cold and had to burrow into the bag.

The next morning Loretta joined me for the ride to Mulberry Gap.  We got moving shortly before 8 am and the Aska trail system was the first real bit of single track that I encountered on my HEAVY bike.  A bit more pushing was involved and it was harder to steer through the switchbacks.  Amazingly, my legs felt great and I was able to ride more than I thought I would.  My body had finally adapted to The Yak.  The descent off Stanley was fast, but not screaming XC fast.

Loretta and I refueled at the small grocery just before the climb up to Watson Gap.  Unfortunately, this store won't be open when I come through during the race.  This section from Shallowford Bridge Road to Mulberry Gap is devoid of stores.  It will be imperative to find water to purify (easy enough) and have enough food on board to make it without putting myself into a deficit.  At least on this section Mulberry Gap will be my carrot.

Mulberry Gap food!

The South Fork Trail was chewed up by recent horse traffic.  We encountered a group of five horses, but the people were very congenial.  Surprisingly, if you just use common sense and give the horses and their riders respect, you come to find out that they are mostly good people. 

The climb up the remainder of Potato Patch from Buddy Cove was brutal.  It was here that I hit my lowest point of the ride as I had expected a short journey from the Pinhoti to the 3-way intersection.  Fortunately I had drunk a Red Bull which helped to see me through.

It gave me eagle wings, but I was really needing condor wings at this point.

We finished up our ride with the Bear Creek descent.  We opted to skip out on the P1 and P2 as time was getting away from us and we both had families that were expecting us home soon.  Mulberry Gap was fulfilling, what with a hot shower and Ginni's cooking.

A PR for Loretta ... longest MTB ride, ever!

We covered 61 miles and 7500 feet of climbing today.  This was a great test for both my gear and myself.  I felt sparkly the whole way, save for Potato Patch.  This also had been the longest I had been on the bike this year.  If I can keep my bike and body working well and the weather is good (meaning hot and dry), the TNGA is definitely doable ... and perhaps winnable!

My hands held up well, but I think I will swap out my Ergon GC2's for the GS2's.  With the GS2's having a slightly longer bar end and with the grippy rubber, my hands and ulnar nerve will be happier over the long haul, especially if I get wet during the race.

The Chamois Butt'r 1oz packets did their job well.  No chafing/sores, but I still had some sit bone soreness after the ride.  I suppose the only way to fix that is to ride more ... which I can do.

I had so much fun than another bike packing session is being planned for late July.