TNGA '22

 

The Plan

The question I asked was how fast can I ride this course? After racing the Delta Epic, I know I can stay awake for 40+ hours. I've ridden TNGA twice, so I know the course. A hydration pack would mean fewer water stops and not running out of water on long stretches. I can carry thousands of calories worth of food pretty easily. Bibs are more aero than baggy shorts and gears are certainly faster than a singlespeed, right?...

The plan was to ride straight through with minimal sleep. I had plenty of food and water. I'd put in more miles last spring than ever. I was ready. Or so I thought.

The Race

I had gotten a good night's sleep, falling asleep early despite coming from central time. Canned Starbuck's Mocha wasn't all that great, but it got the job done. I was still full from a burger and milkshake last night, so I didn't eat much breakfast. This was a mistake.

The first 20 miles mostly consisted of me thinking, 'damn, this is harder than I remember'. But after a few hours I found my pace and settled in. Up over the mountains and down through the creeks.

Hot and humid is pretty bad, but temps hovering around the dew point are worse, in my opinion. Humidity is literally 100%, there's condensation on the leaves, grass, roads, etc. Everything is wet. Nothing will dry out. And that's where the temperature seemed to stay all day. Things that cause excess sweat and hold moisture become very uncomfortable - like hydration packs, long sleeve jerseys, and tight bibs with no air flow.

Several hours in coming down Addis Gap, it starts pouring rain. I was already drenched before that, but it still sucked. My brakes are typically decent enough, but when wet, they lost quite a bit of power. Like v-brakes would've been stronger. So I had a long descent with a death grip on the bars, in the pouring rain. My primary headlight charge port must have been open and gotten wet because it started freaking out. It turned itself on, I turned it off. Then the indicator light was flashing red three times, pause, flash again, over and over. I tried pressing the button in different ways with no luck. Oh well, I would deal with it later. 

I made the turn to start climbing Tray Gap, the highest point on the route, and things really started to suck. It's not a steep climb, but it does go on forever. I was still drenched, didn't have much energy, and wasn't all that hungry. I stopped to sit down for a minute and that's when the pain hit. My lower back was so tight I could hardly bend over. My gloves had been damp all morning but were really soaked from the rain. I took them off to discover my hands were quite pruny. I knew pruny hands would get shredded even with gloves, so I left them off to give my hands a chance to dry out. Turns out my gloves wouldn't be dry for another 24 hours... I wasn't having a good time at all and was 100% ready to bail when I got to Helen around mile 100.

I try to keep my drug use limited and strategic - it was still early in the ride, but an Ibuprofen and a shot of caffeine would certainly help get me over this mountain. A free taco at the top from some local mountain bikers was also a nice pick-me-up, though I was dreading the descent. I remember coming down Tray and Hickory Nut last time and really hating life for a short while. But this time it didn't seem as bad. 

I was starting to feel better when I caught up to some other riders at the gas station in Helen. I stopped to rest and refuel and decided I was feeling good enough to keep going. My primary headlight still wouldn't come on, so I was relying on my backup. 

The long paved climb up Hogpen was a drag as usual in the thick humid air. I cautiously rode down the back side in the fog with a dim headlight, then turned onto Hatchet Creek Rd towards Vogal State Park. It was only 10:30pm or so when I reached Vogal. I wasn't all that sleepy, but I was struggling, my body needed rest. So, I pulled off to sleep on a picnic table under a pavilion, just like my first TNGA ride. I was still drenched and a little chilly, so I got out the emergency blanket. I awoke a couple hours later to pouring rain and a cool mist blowing through the pavilion... so glad I wasn't out riding in that. 

Around 4:30am I woke up feeling rested enough. With the rain gone, I packed up and headed up Wolfpen Gap. I was looking forward to some good breakfast at Cooper's Creek Store just a short 20 miles away. It didn't disappoint - coffee and a breakfast burrito, and a fried pie to go. The next section leading up to Stanley Gap wasn't so bad, but everything was still damp. And I was still low on energy. Stanley was worse than I remember. I recall riding up a good bit of it but not this time. I stopped halfway and ate the fried pie. Then there was quite a bit of hike-a-bike to a false summit, a short drop, then more hike-a-bike. 

I was strongly considering bailing in Cherry Log at mile 165, but I didn't like the idea of calling up the sag wagon. Mulberry Gap was only another 5 or 6 hours away at mile 212, less if I cut out some singletrack. I could make that. For whatever reason, I thought that was a more respectable drop out point. 

I started struggling again riding up FS64 to Dyer Gap. I was thinking hard about the South Fork - Pinhoti 0 loop. If I was going to bail at Mulberry, I could just skip it and save quite a bit of effort and probably an hour of riding through that muddy mess. I finally got over Dyer Gap and into the next valley. I passed up South Fork, then circled back around and gave it a good hard stare. This is roughly the halfway point. My hands were hurting pretty bad even though I had my gloves back on. I had some pretty serious chaffage from the weight of my hydration pack and being drenched for so long. I was exhausted and tired of being sweaty and damp. There was no way I was going to make it another 175 miles. I could just skip this loop. But with some good food and a good night's sleep, I might feel differently in the morning. If I skipped it now, there was no going back. Damnit.

I conjured what energy I could and headed into the woods, bombing down South Fork splashing through the creeks, then up the Pinhoti, splashing through the mud puddles. I managed to knock it out in under an hour and almost had a good time doing it. Back onto the gravel road for more climbing but I was in familiar territory now, which seems to go by faster. I slogged up Potato Patch Mountain then started the descent to Mulberry. I was definitely skipping Bear Creek and Pinhoti 1-2. It's an easy ride back to Bear Creek if I really wanted to keep going. I stopped at the overlook and admired that cursed mist rising from the valleys. 

This would be my journey's end. I did feel better in the morning but not good enough. My hands were still tingly from nerve inflammation (and would be for several days). If I was a bit more stubborn I probably would've pressed on. I think I was probably in more pain the first time around and I kept going then. But, I knew what was coming up, and finishing just didn't seem worth the pain.

What Went Wrong

Long sleeve jerseys are good for sun protection, but another option would've been nice, something with better air flow. Also, I think baggy shorts are more comfortable on all day rides (what I wore last time).

Padded gloves were part of my plan to avoid Ulnar nerve damage this time, but I didn't think about them being soaked and unwearable for most of the ride. I'll have to find a hand comfort solution that won't succumb to saturation. Perhaps some handlebars with more back sweep.

The real killer was the hydration pack. While I didn't run out of water this time, the weight on my back, butt, and hands was too much. A few weeks ago, I was having second thoughts about it, but that's been part of my plan all year so I stuck with it. I need to find a good way to carry 3-4 bottles and maybe plan on filtering water on long stretches. 

Fresh brake pads would've been nice. 

Training could've been more specific. Riding gravel mountain roads is a bit different than anything around Nashville. Additionally, since getting sick in June (likely covid), I've been running and riding slower with a higher heart rate compared to a few months ago. I'm sure the heat is a factor too, but I didn't track my heart rate last summer so I can't compare.

As crazy as it sounds, I'm ready to go back. Most of my issues were gear related and should be easy enough to sort out. I have some other routes in mind too like the Vista 300 and maybe Cohutta Cat.