Brasstown Bald...Conquered.

Yesterday I was dealt some pretty harsh conditions, but was determined to ride the sixth stage of the 2008 Tour De Georgia. On the drive to Blairsville there were crazy gusts of 30mph, and on and off flurries. The temp was around -5C. I was prepared for this though with some midzero tights and my amazing Cannondale L.E. winter coat.

We arrived at the Blairsville chamber of commerce, got some maps, and my mom figured out how to kill three hours before heading to the summit of Brasstown to pick me up. Oh ya.. we drove to the top to see if it was open first, and it was with only a thin coating of snow near the top. On the drive up was just saying "holy shit" the whole way up. I had never seen a road so steep for so long. I was pumped. I would compare the final 5km of the climb to doing Wolverton Rd. 5 times in a row with almost no recovery, and 200m of 25% thrown in to make it extra fun. On the way down it was obvious where it was 25% as our truck skidded and my mom nearly lost control on the sanded/rocky pitch.

So I suited up in Blairsville and then headed south towards the first big climb, Hogpen Gap. I cut out the big loop around the lake that they did in the TDG to save time, but it was fairly flat anyway. The wind blew me all the way to Hogpen, and I got there much sooner than expected. I was probably half way up by the time I realized I was climbing it, and that's when it got hard. I admitted defeat to going up in 39x24, and shifted to my 27t. My 27t was supposed to be Brasstown only, but this climb caught me by surprise. Near the top I had to climb into the wind and it was crazy tough for a km or so, but I made it over and began the most fun decent of my life. This descent seemed to last forever, had plenty of turns you could take brake less, and was steep enough to hit 75km/h just coasting. After this descent, things got tough as I turned into the wind to head up 75.

With a slight uphill and crazy winds in my face, it was very hard to hold 20km/h and it seemed to take forever to make it to the next climb; Unicoi Gap. This was easier than Hogpen, but near the top the wind again forced me into my 27t. I could have done it faster, but I had to save my legs for Brasstown. Unicoi was another fun descent, but not so fast with the headwind. I had some flats at the bottom, then turned on 180 to begin the ascent up Brasstown. In the TDG they went up Owl Creek Rd., but the 180 was the same climb only closer. This road would take me to the steep road that went up BB, but it was only 3% or so for about 8km.

The road to BB (also called 180) came fast, but I was ready for it. After only 100m I looked down at the road I just came up, and laughed at how high above it I already was. This climb is 5km long and the first 2km are not too bad. My mom passed me after km 2, and I said "its not that bad!" and she continued up to the top to wait for me there. We timed it perfectly, allowing me 3.5hrs to ride. Km 3 and 4 were much tougher. You can't really see the steep pitches coming, but you sure know when you hit them. I had hardly any "out of the saddle" climbing so far, but hoped to use it up the 25% pitch. This was not possible. As soon as I stood, my rear tire slipped on the dirty road, so I sat back down and put more weight on the rear end. Then I did a wheelie. Man was it steep. I had to center my weight perfectly, and just keep the cranks turning as smoothly as I could. I was only moving 5km/h up this pitch, but most of the climb was around 12km/h. I was very thankful to have a 27t for this climb, and would say it would be impossible with a smaller cog. On a clean road, a 25t would have been fine, tough as hell, but possible. The last km was lightly snow covered from that morning, but I still had good traction and didn't slip at all. Unfortunately, the road from the parking lot to the summit was snowcoverd and closed, so I couldn't climb the last 100 or 200m. After some stretching and spinning in the parking lot, we packed up and then headed back to Dawsonville.

Today I am going to do a long easier ride around Dawsonville, but I've got something crazy planned for Saturday. We are heading part way back home Saturday Aft, so its my last chance to climb the big hills. What I want to do is get dropped off in Helen, climb Hogpen from the backside, descend what I climbed, then turn and climb and descend it again. From there I will head up 75, go over Unicoi, then up Brasstown Bald. I hope to climb it twice, right from the base at the 75, but that depends on time. I may also check out Tray Mtn. Its right beside Brasstown, and maps show a neat road climbing up it. We'll see. Weather looks perfect Saturday, sunny, calm winds and a high of 48F in the mountains.

Hopefully I will have room for a camera on Saturday, but there's so much gear I have to haul around with me already....

All for now
Later