Trans North Georgia

I've discovered a pattern in my thought processes. Basically, if I get an idea in my head, it's going to happen sooner or later unless I can convince myself that the outcome would be total misery and destruction. Realizing this pattern, I've tried to quit second guessing myself without being too impulsive. I've even gone through with some bad ideas, knowing they were bad at the time, because eventhough the chance of failure was high, the consequences were manageable.

The most prominent case being the time I tested out my Hobie 16 homemade solo righting system. I think it goes without saying, that flipping a boat over on purpose, when you're out by yourself, knowing there's a good chance you won't be able to right it, is a bad idea. But it just so happened, that the conditions were favorable that day: minimal tidal movement and a mild south wind. So, worst case I'd drift into the beach. I even lined up with a specific part of the beach I wanted to drift into. Long story short, my righting system failed, I drifted into shallow water and still spent twenty minutes trying to get it upright. I even attracted a few spectators on the beach. Eventually, I righted the boat and went on my way.

Following that same pattern, I've had the idea of racing the Trans North Georgia for a few months now. Admittedly, it's a bad idea. The TNGA is a 350 mile mountain bike ride/race from South Carolina to Alabama, through Georgia's roughest terrain complete with bears, snakes, and hillbillies. See Deliverance for reference. Technically it's not a race, but, as all cyclists should know, when two or more bikes are in close proximity, it is always a race. Sadly, the mileage of this event isn't even the bad part. The real kicker is the 56,000ft of elevation gain. That's nearly twice the height of Mt Everest, ridden in two or three days.

So why put myself through this? Because it's there. Because there's a ~50% failure rate for first timers, and that chance of failure is enticing. Also, if I don't do it this year, I'll be waiting until 2018. I've already got plans to see the solar eclipse in 2017.

Luckily, I have a pretty good starting point as far as training goes. I really don't plan on doing much fitness-wise. But, I want to get used to eating while riding and maybe experiment with riding while fatigued. I also need to perfect my gear set-up: shoes/pedals, saddle, handlebar position/grips. And, of course I'll need to decide what to bring and which bike to bring, which means coming up with a strategy. Some people recommend riding twenty hours a week to prepare for such a long race, but I think that's unnecessary. After a certain point, endurance is all about being mentally strong and staying fuelled up.

The race starts August 20th, which gives me six months to get things sorted out. I'll be posting training/gear updates between now and then along with the usual topics of work, racing, inefficiency of cars, etc. Stay tuned!