The 3 Gap 50 - Woody Gap

I was going through my old blogs today, and I discovered that I never finished blogging about the September 28th 3 Gap 50 bike ride. I failed to highlight not only the best part of the bike ride, but arguably the best 8 miles I have ridden all year -- the descent from Woody Gap.

The climb up Woody Gap completes the Neels/Wolf Pen/Woody/ "Gap" trilogy. Woody is the shortest and least steep of the three mountains. But the prize isn't the climb. It's the descent. It's long. It's fast. You reach speeds approaching 40 mph without trying. It has decreasing radius turns, sweeping turns, and tight turns. The road is an amusement park roller coaster -- and not a new state-of-the-art coasters made of metal and designed by NASA computers. It's an old rickety wooden coasters that's loud, rickety, and gives you the sensation that at any moment the car could jump the track. It's a ton of fun, but it's not to be taken lightly. The road demands respect.

Once Jim and I reached the final rest stop at the Woody Gap summit, we were reminded of what could happen if you screw up. Behind the table of sports drinks and carbohydrates, was a rider laying on his back with a cold cloth across his head. In the distance the faint wail of a siren could be heard, and it was growing louder. Soon, an ambulance pulled in. After a brief exam, the rider was on the gurney, loaded in the back, and he was on his way to the hospital. Afterward I heard the story of what happened. Reportedly he got spooked by a passing car, misjudged a turn and crashed into a guardrail. A motorist traveling in the opposite direction stopped, gave him aid and a ride back to the summit rest stop. The bent aluminum and carbon fiber which used to be his immaculately tuned bike lay abandoned in the grass. His injuries did not look too serious, but he certainly had a big hit.

Below are the videos of Jim and my descent. I haven't figured out the reasons why, but Jim is faster on the downhills then me. If I am in his draft, I can hang with him. But if I lose his slip stream, I can't catch him. He slowly pulls away.

It took 14 minutes to cover the 8 mile descent. Youtube has a rule that no video can be longer than 10 minutes, so it's broken up into two parts.

Here is Part 1 :



and Part 2:



Speed is Good!

The 3 Gap 50 - Wolf Pen Gap

Below is the video of our descent of Wolf Pen Gap from the 3 Gap 50. If you are reading this from your email application,most likely there is no embedded video viewer. Click here to view.

The descent was fast and twisty. I followed Jim's lead on this descent and used the entire lane. There were a couple fast left/right switchbacks, and decreasing radius turns. Leaving an extra margin for error was well advised. For most of the descent we were both traveling at speeds at or above the posted speed limit.

The Climb up Wolf Pen Gap was steep and slow. It took us 32 minutes to cover the 2.8 miles to the summit. Jethro Bodine from "The Beverley Hillbillies" would take his 3rd grade education and cypher this information to compute a mere 5.25 mph average. Over this distance we climbed 1050 feet for an average elevation grade of a staggering 7.1%.

For the segment of the descent covered in this video, we road 2.2 miles in only 6 minutes (22 mph avg). The descent was 590 feet, which computes to an average descent grade of 5.1%.

Before clicking the video, don't forget safety first. Strap on your helmet and enjoy the ride! Speed is good!

The 3 Gap 50 - Neel's Gap

I may change my mind on which of the three climbs of the 3 Gap 50 is the toughest. In my last post, I said Climb #2 up Wolf Pen Gap was the toughest. I went back and looked at the GPS data from the ride. The climb up Neel's Gap is very looonnngggg -- 7.42 miles & 1546 ft of elevation. It took us 55 minutes to make it from the base to the summit averaging a measly 8.12 mph.

The ride down was simply exhilarating. We covered the 3.04 miles of the descent in less than 7 minutes, averaging 26.27 mph. All miles are certainly not created equal. Over those 3 miles I probably rotated the peddles 6 times. Going up the mountain, probably 60,000.

Neel's Gap is also known as Blood Mountain. I just assumed the name dated back to the Civil War. I was certain there was a story about a battle which ended with the typical phrase "and at the end of the day the ground ran red with blood...". But if I was to say this, I would be WRONG! Blood Mountain was once considered sacred Cherokee ground. Wikepedia says no one knows how Blood Mountain got it's name, but most likely it was because of a bloody battle fought nearby between the Cherokee and Creek Indians. It also may have got it's name from the color of some native vegetation that grows on the mountain. Because, I only saw green stuff growing on the mountain, I'll vote for the cooler Indian war name origin.

The photo above is the scenic view from Neel's Gap. Click on the picture to see the full size image.

Finally, strap on your bike helmet and click on the Youtube video below to ride along with me and Jim down Blood Mountain. Be thankful that you get to ride down for free -- We had to climb up!

Speed is Good!

The 3 Gap 50

It was unlike any pre-ride preparation I have done prior or since. The date was Saturday September 29, 2007. It was the evening before the annual 3 Gap 50 bike ride in Dahlonega, GA; a grueling 50 mile ride featuring 3 mountain climbs. Twelve hours before the start I sit in the waiting room at a local "Doc in a Box" thumbing through a magazine. My best friend and cycling partner Jim is with the doctor being diagnosed with bronchitis. He has traveled from his home in Virginia to cycle more miles in 3 days then we have ever attempted. The day prior we had ridden 126 miles from Atlanta to Alabama and back. During the ride Jim complained on and off about not feeling well. I didn't feel like dancing either, but we buckled down and grinded through the ride that day. Saturday he woke up feeling worse. We canceled our plans for a 20 mile ride around Alpharetta. With Jim feeling no better by sundown, we went to the doctor. There would be no 3 Gap 50 for Jim the next day. I road it without him while he hydrated, rested, snacked on antibiotics, and watched football with Julie at our home.

It was now 1 year later and Jim was back. This time he was healthy, fit and with me on the starting line for the 2008 3 Gap 50. It was a beautiful day in the former gold rush town of North Georgia. I had done this ride twice before. Jim was a rookie. He was about to embark on the most difficult ride of his life. He was going to climb more in the saddle the next 6 hours then he has done in all of his riding thus far this year. The little hills in his home of Asburn, VA will never be as daunting again.

The 3 Gap 50 is listed as a 58 mile ride with 6,385 feet of elevation. The route begins and ends at Lumpkin County High School just north of downtown Dahlonega. The route twists and turns through the country side for nearly 20 miles before you reach the signature portion of the ride -- the rhythmic succession of 3 mountain climbs and descents.

2008 3 Gap 50

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The first is Neels Gap where you climb 1,600 feet up Blood Mountain for 10 miles. At the summit you cross the Appalachian Trail. The descent is 3 miles long and fast. I reached a top speed of nearly 40 mph without trying. Cross winds on the descent have fooled me in the past to question if my rear wheel was mounted securely to the frame.

At the bottom of Neels, you make a hard left turn onto Rt. 180 and immediately begin the climb up to Wolf Pen Gap. The most difficult of the three, you climb over 1,000 feet but only over 3 miles. Portions of the climb have an incline over 5 percent. On this segment I thanked the Gods my bike was equipped with a triple crank and a low first gear. When you reach the top, you are at the highest elevation of the ride. The sign at the summit lists the elevation at 3,260 feet. my GPS pegged it at 3,340 feet. The descent is steeper, shorter, and more twisty than the descent from Neels Gap. If you lose concentration, one of the guardrails on the many turns will reach out and bite you.

Of the 1,000 feet you earned climbing Wolf Pen, you only get back 500 in your 3 mile descent to Lake Winfield Scott. For the next few miles you traverse up and down over rolling hills until you reach the town of Suches. Here you make a hard left turn at the corner of Rt. 60 and Woody Lake and begin your climb up to Woody Gap. The easiest of the 3 climbs, you climb 400 feet on the shoulder of Rt. 60 for 2 miles. At the summit you cross the Appalachian Trail for the second time.

It is at this point where the real fun begins. It's now time for the mountains to pay you back for all the hard work you have put in for the past 5 hours. It's hard to imagine where you'll have more fun on a bike. The descent is long, fast, and fun. Sit in the saddle and enjoy the best 7 miles of asphalt ribbon the state of Georgia has to offer. Like the descent from Wolf Pen, this is not for the faint of heart. A demon awaits you on each corner

The remainder of the ride takes you mostly downhill back through the country side to Lumpkin County High School.

As in the New York City Century, I had my little video camera mounted to my handle bars. The video was terrific, and in some instances breath taking. I plan on having separate blog entries spotlighting each of the three videos that capture the mountain descents. I first need to do some post-production in order to meet the 100 mb and 10 minute limits mandated by YouTube.

I know, I know, I said I wouldn't make promises about future blogs. But I really PROMISE to get these videos posted over the next couple weeks. Until next time, remember speed is good, and never shift in the middle of a hairpin turn. See you on the bike trail.