BACK IN GEORGIA FOR A FEW GAPS

     In terms of cycling fitness, this is a disappointment.  You can go in the archives for the back-story of riding the six gaps of North Georgia.  These are great roads to cycle on and of all the places I've ridden, they are my favorite.  We had driven to Maryland for grandson's college graduation and a short visit with family.  On our way home, we stopped off in Suches, Georgia for a week of R&R.  Last year we stopped off on our way back from Augusta for Nationals and I had my criterium bike and not enough gears.  This year I was back on my Roark with a triple chainring.
     Every year I start my mountain adventures with the same three gaps: Woody, Neel's, Wolfpen.  Every year my time is between 2:47-2:55.  I had an inkling of trouble right from the start.  Maybe it was the cold (I had tights and wind jacket), but my chest felt tight and the legs sluggish.  Going up the north side of Woody should have been a breeze.  I've seen a cyclist go up without his hands on the bars.  The five-mile descent was fun on the smooth asphalt, then on to Turner's Corner where I'd start up Neel's Gap, almost nine miles.
     My time to Turner's Corner over the years is very consistent.  This year I was five minutes in arrears.  But I wasn't concerned because I was pretty sure I'd have a tailwind going up.  Lord knows what my time would have been without the tailwind.  My heart rate was about ten beats higher than it should have been, and cadence five-ten rotations slower.  Bummer!  More time lost (it's not like I had to be somewhere, just referencing time as a measure of fitness).  New asphalt on the downhill, only one vehicle caught me.  Then it was the turn to Wolfpen.
     This is a three-mile climb and I suffered the whole way, even having to stop a couple of times to let the heart rate drop a bit.  I might add that I love this climb, hardly ever stop, and usually have a gear left over.  The bottom line: by the end of the 34.7 mile ride I managed to lose 20-25 minutes.
     The next few days the heart rate dropped back to normal.  One day I just did Woody Gap over and back.  Three miles to the top, five miles down, turn around and climb five miles, then the three miles back to the cabin.   Cadence was good and I felt strong the whole climb.  This was a good ride!  Then I checked Strava.  I was five minutes slower than last year for this climb. 
     For my last cycling day, I had two options, depending on the weather and how I felt: start at the top of Brasstown Bald and do Unicoi, Hogpen, and Wolfpen Gaps or just Wolfpen.  I screwed it up from the start.  Specifically, I started too early.  Generally I wait until 9 am to let school and work traffic clear.  On this day Marilane would go with me to Brasstown and drive back to the cabin after making sure I didn't splat myself on the way down Brasstown.  But we had a little rain overnight and the clouds were still hanging around.  I should have waited until noon.  Driving over I decided on the shorter route.
     When we drove up Brasstown we noted new asphalt patches across the road, and they weren't smooth.  Maybe a half-dozen of them.  The rest of the road was old, with poured cracks.  It was wet, with some spots having leaves.  Most of the three miles to the top is double-digit grades, with a couple of 16% and the wall of 24% (I've seen 26 on my old computer).  Generally it takes me 25 minutes to climb and just under 5 to descend.  Anyhow, I did a couple of loops of the parking lot at the top and started down.
     I had hoped to do a record descent, but with the road conditions and wet wheels, I was pleased to get down in one piece and only twenty seconds off my best time (but according to Strava, I'm fastest in my age group and faster than the 65-69 and 70-74).  The rest of the descent down Jack's Gap was with a wind in my face and wet wheels.  It wasn't fun.  When Marilane caught up to me a few miles further (having been stopped by a road crew), I gave her the signal and packed it in.  All in all, a good set of rides, but below expectations.
     The video has two minutes of parking lot ride, five minutes twenty seconds of Brasstown, and the rest is going down Jack's.