Originally Posted by dgasmd

Well, congratulations to all of those that did it. I, unfortunately DNF. It was obvious to me at the second gap that I was not going to finish it. Did not feel good overall. I was climbing surprisingly well all the way to the middle of the mountain right before the 4th food station in Unicoi Gap. I simply felt my energy disappear. I made it to the rest stop at the top. The next 10 miles or so were descends right to the base of Hogpen. I knew I maybe had enough to get halfway up Hogpen, but I knew I would not finish it and be stranded in the middle of the climb trying to walk it up to the next rest station. So, I decided to throw the towel at the 4th rest stop in Unicoi Gap. I am pretty demoralized to say the least.

Equipment worked great, the trip was long and very tiring both ways, and everything else was fine, but I guess the engine decided not to work accordingly. A few things I know now to do for next year:

1. Spend a few days riding IN the mountains. There is simply no substitute for this. I did quite a bit of long intervals here, worked on increasing my cadence, etc., but in the end there is no substitute for going uphill. I will likely get a trainer and some of the climbing videos that are out.

2. The trip from south FL is very long. 12+ Hr and more for some of my buddies coming from Miami is a long time to be sitting in a car. I can't shorten the distance, but certainly have to work on making the trip a bit more pleasant and quicker.

3. Eat and drink more during the climbing itself.

4. Try not to be very intimidated by the fact that I think the 4 of us and maybe 6 more people in town were the only fat people doing this ride. Everywhere we went and everywhere we looked there was noting but chiseled legs and lean, skinny, and muscular people. We finally had to go to Walmart to see a few fat people before going to bed.

I would like to say this is certainly the most scenic route I have cycled in so far. Very very nice and considered people in the area volunteering for the event. Extremely nice, patient, and very considered drivers in the area despite being in the middle of redneck country. Certainly proved the stereotypes wrong. Also, lots of local people sitting on the sides of the roads cheering us on and saying encouraging words. I would like to thank the 8 y.o. girls on the side of the road that screamed at me: "come on BIG guy, you look so good going up in your pretty outfit". That was very cute.

Despite it all, we had a great time. Even the weather collaborated. We are certainly doing it again next year where I will be picking up my dignity.

Pictures later on.