Great Lakes - CyLowe Gerogia Reports Go Here

So, how was Brasstown?

aham23 is waiting patiently.............

later.

??

hehehehe :D

Where the heck is "Gerogia"??

All right, I'm finally going to install the stinking spell checker in explorer.

Georgia? Wasn't that just invaded by Russia?

Still out of town. Report is useless without pics.

And the title should say Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Missouri Reports Go Here.

Teaser until I get home early next week: Clipping back in on The Wall of Brasstown is challenging.

Still out of town. Report is useless without pics.

And the title should say Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Missouri Reports Go Here.

Teaser until I get home early next week: Clipping back in on The Wall of Brasstown is challenging.

cool. i think you need to start your own thread thanks to the spelling challanged. :rolleyes:

later.

Damn you're rough Ahem.


LOL!

Damn you're rough Ahem.


LOL!


funny.

when you were leading us out at the DD, i mean sprinting up the first hill, i was thinking the same about you. ;)

later.

aham23 is waiting patiently.............

The anticipation/letdown factor of this thread is almost off the charts.

I drove 500 miles today and am looking forward to crashing on my own mattress for the first time in 10 days. The report will be here someday.

Until then, here's another teaser.

Life is full of choices. This one was not hard to make on such a beautiful Friday morning in northern Georgia:

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3626.jpg

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3626.jpg

Hey Aham -- didn't you say that sign was on the 200K route of the DD? :roflmao2:

We're all looking forward to hearing more! :)

We're all looking forward to hearing more! :)

+1 - I am dying to hear about this new land...."Jer-Row-ge-uh".

+1 - I am dying to hear about this new land...."Jer-Row-ge-uh".

Damn you guys!

LOL

Uhhh.....:D

Before getting ahead of the plot here…

The family and I drove down to Atlanta , which is a long, yet quite scenic drive with hills throughout southern Indiana , Kentucky , Tennessee , and Georgia . Seeing little roads disappear into the hillsides along the way was whetting my appetite to climb, as was the crowded six mile I-24 downhill on the south end of Monteagle , TN. Even the neighborhood we stayed in midtown Atlanta had steep inclines here and there. But after 14 hours of travel, would I be too tired to even get up and drive 100 miles north the next morning? Ha!

After some consultation with a few folks over on the Southeast forum, I decided to ride most of the 3 Gap 50 mile route (http://cyclenorthgeorgia.com/images/stories/6gap%20map%202008.pdf) starting at Turners Corners near the bottom of Neels Gap. I was up well before the dawn and snuck out the door and up GA-400/US-19 toward Dahlonega. It was really dark out at 5:00 am and even at 6:30 am. US-19 between Dahlonega and Turners Corners was twisty and fun, yet very narrow and busy, so I was glad to still be behind the wheel for a few more miles. By the time I got to the starting point, the sun was up and I was ready to roll.

The weather was cool and though I knew Neels was going to be 7 miles going up, it was a really nice way to start the ride. Being a US highway, it was busy, but it had awesome pavement, wide shoulder, and welcoming signs. Apologies in advance for grainy photos done on cheapo camera while moving

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3523.jpg
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3525.jpg
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3528.jpg
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3529.jpg

At the top was a hostel along the Appalachian Trail .

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3554.jpg
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3557.jpg

Hey aham…
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3561.jpg

The downhill from Neels was super sweet with the nice asphalt. Lower gear, my foot!
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3568.jpg
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3574.jpg

To be continued…

I knew I was looking for a turn right after Vogel State Park , but carrying a lot of speed and caution, I overshot Wolf Pen Gap Road and had to double back.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3581.jpg
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3584.jpg

Wolf Pen is no US highway. Twisting, turning, narrow, quiet and canopied with shade trees. I think I only saw three cars on it the whole time. I overestimated how hard this road would be from a grade perspective, where it really only kicked up at switchbacks.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3607.jpg
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3615.jpg
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3621.jpg

The top came more quickly than I had expected, so it was photo op time again. (Note to self: mud in the cleats is a pain when going for these tourist shots. Use the covers next time.)

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3625.jpg

The original plan had been to ride over to Woody Gap and down near Dahlonega and back around to the start point, but it was still really early and I had time, so I decided to descend back down Wolf Pen and figure out if I wanted to ride Jacks > Unicoi >Hog
Pen Gaps or do something different. The descent down Wolf Pen was pretty technical with very tight turns.

A few things about these Georgia side roads comparing them with SW Wisconsin roads I ride throughout the season. One: They are taller (duh). Two, they have switchbacks. The practical Nordic types who cut the dairy roads in Wisconsin probably only thought about clearing a practical amount of land and using a practical amount of pavement, resulting in practically straight roads that go straight up the hill, practical grades be damned. This means downhills in Wisconsin are short and fast. Downhills in Georgia are twisty and brakes get a whale of a workout. Miss a turn and you’ll be covered in kudzu and they’ll never find you. But I digress…

After the descent down Wolf Pen and the last mile or so of Neels below Vogel State Park , I stopped in a small general store to top off the bottles and a quick call back to Atlanta to get a gage on how much time I had to ride. The voice on the other end said, “Are you going to try Brasstown?” Well, shoot. I guess I have to now. :D

More on that later. Got to get back to work... :o

Haha...nice...damn this work firewall. I'll see the pics later.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3561.jpg


thank you. i was wondering where i could sign up for this.

later.

Oh man is this going to be great! (Think animal house).

The ride over to Brasstown Bald was pleasant. Sunny skies and little traffic along GA-180 up toward Jacks Gap.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3630.jpg
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3634.jpg
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3636.jpg

I was feeling a lot slower up Jacks Gap, though, and it didn’t take long to figure out why. Chip seal. Ugh. It wasn’t the worst, but by gods does chip seal suck the mph out of the tires. The perspective on the road was different, too, as it didn’t look steep, but gradually got steeper without any big turns or sudden changes. By the time I got to the top I was feeling it and this was the view…. A decision to make…

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3643.jpg
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3649.jpg

I turned left.

Disclaimer: I didn’t go all the way to the very tippy top of Brasstown Bald. Apparently I’m not famous enough or on some fancy organized ride like the Tour de Georgia to go all the way to the top. Needless to say, the three miles I did ride were freaking brutal. Steep. Quite steep. Starting in 34x24 and quickly going to 34x27 steep.

About 1.5 miles up it got silly steep and I started tacking, but needed a break, so I stopped. This was a mistake that almost derailed my ride. I learned that folks call this section “The Wall.” Very subtle. Although this probably doesn’t give proper perspective, here’s what it looked like below and above:

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3652.jpg
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3655.jpg

Clipping back in took me three attempts, but I got it done and got the wheels pointed skyward. The break made a big difference and I felt good the rest of the way up. There is a point on this where I looked to the right and the observation tower at the tippy top of the mountain looked like it was straight above me. My heart kind of sank thinking there was no way there could be a road going all the way up there. At least not one I could handle.

I reached the parking lot after almost three miles of straight up. Waiting for me was a guy cheering and clapping and this sign that meant that I wouldn’t be able to do anything foolish like try for the summit:

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3661.jpg

So I stopped in here for some Gatorade and a Payday bar. I called back to Atlanta and then called aham to let him know that the Dairyland Dare ain’t nothin’ but a little Monday morning recovery ride. ;)

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3663.jpg

Me looking all dapper.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3668.jpg

The view to the top from the parking lot:

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3671.jpg

The descent off of Brasstown Bald is scary treacherous and stupid steep. I stopped four separate times to let my rims cool down from the braking. The last thing I needed was a blowout on a 20% downhill. Again, the kudzu coffin awaited any miscue. :eek:

For those reading this, I know a bunch of you have climbed up Mounds Park Rd and Mounds Rd to Blue Mound in Wisconsin . How does this compare? I’d actually have to say quite favorably. Although the climb to Blue Mound is not as hard as Brasstown, it was really good training for Brasstown. If you could ride up Blue Mound and feel strong at the top, you could probably tackle Brasstown (at least to the parking lot, that is. :rolleyes: )

The descent down Jacks Gap was buzzy with the chipseal, yet fast as I cruised over 40 mph for long stretches to the bottom.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3672.jpg

The climb back up Neels Gap was a bit toasty with the sun higher in the sky. The 7 mile downhill back to the car was thrilling. Again, awesome smooth wide road meant big sweeping turns and keeping pace with cars. That was a perfect way to end the ride. It was only a 53 mile day in the saddle, but every part of it was worthwhile. I very much want to get down there for the Six Gap Century ride so I can do the whole route, especially Hog Pen Gap, which I hear is the hardest of the gaps.

That was just Friday. More on the trip later, but that was pretty much my mountains adventuring.

aham, I'll check my schedule and we'll see about the 6 gap.

first, there was only one choice, so no decision to make.

second, you dont look dapper, but U.G.L.Y.

third, if Tim Tim knows the way then my schedule is open.

appreciate the recap and pictures.

later.

Great stuff Cy. Tell us what it's like to climb a long mountain (huge hill). Do they generally flatten out here and there to let you rest or do you just have to muscle through? Do you have notice to prepare for the real steep sections? etc. TIA

memories of GA. Great ride report.

Do they generally flatten out here and there to let you rest or do you just have to muscle through?
Depends on the road. Some have some slack, some you learn the hard way not to clip out on a 20% incline.


Do you have notice to prepare for the real steep sections? etc. TIA
My team director was telling me through my radio about the changes as they came along. Or that might have just been hallucinations.

No, there were no % markers a la the big European climbs. They probably would have been mentally disheartening. 17%? Oh ****, I can't do that! :eek:

When it got steep, I pedaled faster/harder and tried to stay upright knowing that it's easier than walking in cleats.

My team director was telling me through my radio about the changes as they came along. Or that might have just been hallucinations.

Team director, that's good. I swore climbing in Colorado, I saw Elmer Fudd on the side of the trail :eek:

Nice pics :thumb:

For a recovery ride, I tagged along for 36 miles of hilly group ride fun around Dunwoody and along the Chattahootchie River with the Dunwoody Cycling Club (http://www.dunwoodycycling.com/). Great group of riders. Very welcoming to a stranger and low ego factor all around.

At one point I chased after the A group not realizing they were taking an extra loop. Looking back there was nobody behind me. Crap. I have no idea where this ride goes, so I better catch up and hang on. Surprisingly my legs felt fresh, so it wasn't a big deal even when they cranked up the pace.

After the mid ride meeting point, I resisted the urge to chase again and stuck with the B group so I could get a sense of where the heck we were. With all the turns and hills and stop lights, it was hard to get my bearings.

If you're ever in Atlanta and looking for a ride, check them out.

I'm a little late on this...been away....but congrats my friend....what an adventure for you.

When I was in Girona, Spain for a week of riding I got a taste, and it's ugly because of how LONG the climbs go on.

But what drove me to the broom wagon one day was the descent....absolutely nuts....and there was loose gravel in places coming down a mountain. I value my fake hip too much....had to pull off. There is no way to baby it going down...too long....two twisting....too technical....I was in way over my head and knew it.

Oh, and then came the blowout you mentioned...POP...and the back end is fishtailing. That one could have been bad, but wasn't! :)

[QUOTE=CyLowe97;7338597]Me looking all dapper.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3668.jpg
Great ride report! Give the GLF readers a little taste of SE climbing. Also nice to know my old stompin' grounds have some climbs similar to Brasstown or Mitchell:rolleyes:...By the way, Don't cha' think he looks a bit like Martin Short???

Continuing on the Dixieland swing, we stopped in overnight near Birmingham. I had never been there before and was quite surprised at the terrain. Hills!

I only got a short morning leg stretcher ride with a kick up one really steep hill, but kept thinking it would be fun to get back there sometime to explore a bit more.

Anyone wanting a vertigo inducing view of the city and the surrounding area should head up to the Vulcan statue.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3781.jpg
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3796.jpg
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3783.jpg

The metal grating as floor didn't look so bad from below, but was a bit disconcerting once up there.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3785.jpg

Toward Birmingham

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3791.jpg

The other way toward Vestavia Hills
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3787.jpg
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3789.jpg

Birmingham. Who knew? :)

About 1.5 miles up it got silly steep and I started tacking, but needed a break, so I stopped. This was a mistake that almost derailed my ride. I learned that folks call this section “The Wall.” Very subtle. Although this probably doesn’t give proper perspective, here’s what it looked like below and above:

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3652.jpg
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3655.jpg


Doesn't look so bad . . . . :innocent:


I'm a little late on this...been away....but congrats my friend....what an adventure for you.

He lives! Where the heck you been?

Doesn't look so bad . . . . :innocent:

Yeah, not so bad until you go down, squeeze the brakes hard and the bike only slows to 33 mph.... :eek: :twitchy:

Onward... The next stop was Memphis, where we were staying very close to Bartlett's R.B.'s Cyclery (http://www.rbscyclery.com/). Since it was Tuesday night, I invited myself on the shop's ride. This one was a bit more on the serious side than the one I did in Atlanta. I think I got some condescending stares at my aluminum frame and non-shaved skinny legs. Lots of high end zoot gear showing up in the parking lot and some serious mugs on a few faces. Hmm. 'Racers.' Okay, let's see what an A ride is like here.

Despite a few warnings about how high the pace would be and about a few hills on the route, I think I surprised a few of them by hanging in the paceline and taking a couple of healthy pulls at the front.

In all, 36 miles in 21.5 mph (including a sedate warm up and cool down) and a great route northeast of Memphis. One cool thing is that the route is marked on the pavement almost to the point of obnoxious, so I knew I wouldn't get lost in the event I did get dropped. Thanks to the regular Penny Road ride at home, I was able to keep up without too much trouble.

I don't have any scenic photos from Memphis, but here's from the entrance to the new library at my wife's alma mater. botto should know this one.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Georgia/DSCN3836.jpg

Fun!!!! Great Pics.

Yeah, not so bad until you go down, squeeze the brakes hard and the bike only slows to 33 mph.... :eek: :twitchy:

Outstanding! Now if I could only figure out how to do the descents while avoiding the climbs ....


And wait a minute ... they have a library in Tennessee? Must be new. Donated from the north?

wait a minute ... they have a library in Tennessee? Must be new. Donated from the north?


Wow!
I like it.

Sage....I've been recovering from a back injury that turned into more than that....been three weeks now and I still ain't right.

CyLowe....I like that paceline story and ave. speed with the big boys.