The Six Gap

Last Sunday was a good opportunity to go to the North Georgia Mountains.  I particularly enjoy the area covered by the Tour de Georgia, a yearly intermediate length stage race which took place 2003 through 2008. Those of us who love to ride and also follow the professionals, were very excited when the Tour de Georgia came to life. To our delight, the race quickly evolved into the premier early event for the contenders of the Tour de France. Many of the sport's International stars used the Tour de Georgia to gain the necessary fitness needed at that point in the racing year. This included the legendary Lance Armstrong who rode in this race the last 3 years of his primary career. When he came to Georgia, he was at his absolute peak. He won here in 2004 and graciously conceded victory to his teammates in 2003 and 2005. Lance went on to win the Tour de France each of these years with progressively greater margins. Riding is always a thrill for me. I love to be on my bike, but I am especially motivated when I ride in these North Georgia Mountains along the same difficult stretches where the great Lance Armstrong rode.

After an easy 75 miles on Saturday at a relaxed 16 mph average, I was not too tired to attempt the ride. Picking up Norman, my usual riding companion, we were on the bikes before 9:00 AM at Turner's Corner, outside of Dahlonega, at the base of Blood Mountain. We set out to ride all six climbs of the famous Six Gap Century that attracts thousands each fall, some10,000 feet of total climbing. The distance for us, having cut out the non climbing part of the ride was 70 miles. Usually I am not in good enough shape to do this ride in early spring. Having such a good winter base however, I felt strong enough to accept the challenge.

The weather conditions matched my emotional state. They were perfect. The roads were dry, the temperature below 60. The trees had just come out and the native flame azaleas were in riotous bloom with the grayness of the morning greatly enhancing the colors. The wind, which usually complicates my life, seemed to follow our direction which rarely happens when you ride in a big circle. This was a day meant for riding, 

We went up the first climb to Neel's Gap using it as a warm up. It is long and steep and a slow pace early in the ride is prudent. We  were able to stick to our plan as no older guy attempted to pass us. (How shallow am I ? Only slightly worse than this.) The second peak is Jack's gap which is the least interesting of the six, followed by Unicoi which is very nice going both up and down.

 The 4th climb is the dreaded Hog Pen Gap. It is 71/2 miles of a 7% average grade including a few minor downhills. From the beginning of mile 3 to just over mile 5 we encountered a constant 12% grade. Nothing in the Tour de France is this steep, though many of the climbs in the Tour, of course, are much longer. It was not that pretty (meaning I suffered a bit on this climb) but with my compact crank having a 34 tooth small ring, I was able to roll up it without zigzagging. My admiration for Lance and his peers at these moments borders on adoration.   Near the top of the climb, gasping for breath, we encountered a young guy from New Hampshire who was on the 4th day of the 2000 mile Appalachian Trail hike back to his New England roots. Frankly, I did not think he saved that much money with the one way plane ticket.

The descent from Hog Pen is treacherous. Lacking switchbacks, you drop like a stone. The only reason to brake is that the machine is going faster than your comfort level. The below photo is taken of Lance Armstrong leading the pack down this mountain in the 2005 Tour. You can see the gentle turn and see the riders trying to increase their speeds. No professional is riding his brakes, a measure of bravado.

Lance descends the Hog Pen Gap

This is one of my favorite photos. Look closely. I would guess these guys were approaching 65 mph. Now study this photo again. Study Lance. Note that he, having seen me and my two friends, has taken one hand off the handlebars and has reached for his water bottle, not to take a drink, as we learned one second later, but to throw it to us; a small gesture to those of us who admire such a superior athlete. We were the only spectators to have walked the 3 miles to this spot. Taking one hand off the bars at this speed is INSANE. When we went down it on Sunday my brakes were feathered and I was holding the handlebars so tightly they begged for mercy.

At the first store stop I purchased a genuine locally made coonskin cap and considered riding with it to blend with the locals. I thought it was a good look but decided it was a bit dangerous as a substitute for my helmet. I wound up putting it on my seat which made me appear to have a tail, also not a bad look, but still somewhat conspicuous.

We managed to do all the climbs and I did not fade on the last two which is usually the case. Wolfpen was the penultimate climb and the prettiest climb in North Georgia. It is 3 1/2 miles at 6 to 7 %, with many switchbacks and almost completely canopied. Then there is 6 to 7 miles through Suches and lastly the easiest climb of the day up the backside of Woody's Gap. We finish with the great descent down Woody's which is over 6 miles but not so steep. I have been down it over a hundred time and know every turn and bank, allowing me to make the entire descent without ever touching the brakes. The cops were out en masse which explained the motorcyclists good behavior. I did my best to to get a speeding ticket doing greater than 45 mph in stretches of road with 25 mph limit in full view of the patrol car. That should have entitled me to a "super speader" ticket, bad for the wallet but good for my CV.

Less drag than a helmet