Time for Thanks

Yesterday I managed to get a loop in on both Sycamore Cove and The North Slope and today I met Jonathon for a little Wednesday Afternoon Ride at Dupont. Tomorrow I'll get a hike in and then there will still be three more days of bikes and hikes and tiki torches and friends and for all that I am thankful!

Laughing Water

I took Duma out for a quick little adventure after work today. We headed to a hidden little corner of Pisgah that has always intrigued me a little but has never seemed worth stopping at until today. I was a little dismayed when I had to do a wet foot stream crossing just seconds after leaving the truck. Little did I know that getting a shot of the waterfall would require wading thigh deep upstream.

Laughing Falls:

Taking Care of Business

When David Cook was over a few weeks ago helping me finalize the 99 route he pointed at Farlow Gap and said:

"This. Can't we just get rid of this?"

Of course we couldn't. How Farlow Gap not be part of a 99 mile ride that was encompassing all the other big trails? We had to do Farlow and when better than 80 miles in? Both Cook and myself knew that averaging 5mph in Pisgah would be ambitious and would put us at Farlow 16 hours in. It would be dark and we would be alone, cold, hungry and very tired. We both wanted to finish the 99 and knew that Farlow at that stage in the game would make it challenging but we agreed that Farlow was a must.

I had bailed out of the 99 at the bottom of Cove Creek and I set off on Saturday morning to finish what I started. I just had to do 475 > 5003 > 140A > 140 > 5031 > Farlow > Daniel > 475 > 475B > 476 > 477 > Club Gap > Buckwheat Knob > Bennett Gap > 477 and the 99 was done. Easy enough, right?

So I parked at the Fish Hatchery and started from there. It was a cold morning and 475 provided the perfect warm up. By the time I made the turn onto 5003 I was nice and warm and was looking to be another perfect warm fall day in the mountains. I was sort of day dreaming and lost in my own world when suddenly a pick up appeared full of bear hunters. That woke me up a little bit and all day I would hear their dogs and trucks but not see them again. 140A and 140 came all too easy but by the time I got to right turn near the bottom of Kissee Creek Rd. I decided to say screw the 99 route and went off exploring instead. I intentionally took a wrong turn and went to the end of a road and had lunch on a nice little old bridge. I then went back the way I came and stopped at a waterfall I knew was there but never investigated. Down a steep trail and then you get to this nice little campsite:



and then this wonderful waterfall:





as I continued up Kissee Creek Rd. I stopped again to check out this big rock that has always intrigued me:



behind that one you can see another rock:




this one is really big with a nice overhang providing good shelter:





Farlow came easy enough and my new fancy suspension fork had me riding more of it than I ever have before:



some big bike guys got to the gap just as I did. We went back and forth a few times with me trying to take pictures:



they pulled ahead and I didn't see them again until Shuck Creek:



I then pulled ahead on the uphill and didn't see them again. I went left on Daniel for a change and took a peak at the waterfall:


Davidson River Trail back to my truck and I was done. A nice little ride.

Worlds Away

After several days off the bike and yet another rained out wndc I cut out of work a little early and went for a quick little spin. I still have some unfinished business from this past weekend and at first was thinking that I needed to go out and finish the 99 route. But the more I thought about it the more I thought how much fun it would be to do a nice little ride instead of going all the way to Farlow. So I set off for a very nice and relaxed and leisurely spin out of Mills River. My route was:

1206 > 5000 > Bear Branch* > 5000 > Spencer Gap > Trace Ridge > HR Road > 5000 > 1206

* out and back

It looks like this:



Climbing Bear Branch my rear tire went flat like it had been doing since 5am last Saturday and since I was not in a perceived hurry I decided to actually change it. I timed myself and was back on the bike and rolling in under five minutes. Other than that little of bit of rushing around I was not in a hurry and enjoyed the woods at a nice and relaxed pace. Thirteen miles and only a few thousand feet of elevation gain, worlds away from the 99. Little rides are fun as well!

99 Pictures

It wasn't exactly a photo shoot sort of day but I did manage to snap off a few pics:

Sunrise on Black and Turkey Pen:





Emily on Turkey Pen:



Eric taking a picture of Mike at Cantrell on Squirrel:



Pink Beds:



Parkway:



Big Creek:



Sunset on Laurel:



Sign in at Pink Beds:

The Taste of Tears

I knew it was going to be hard. I'd put the route together (with much appreciated help from my friends) and had done the math. 99.9 miles doesn't sound like a lot but real Pisgah miles come slow and hard. The mountains take their toll and my math was telling me 24-30 hours was a realistic finishing time frame for me. I decided to ignore my math and made 20 hours my goal. That would mean averaging 5mph, which is fast for Pisgah, and would mean a 1am finish time. It would be a long day in the saddle and I came into it with a good level of physical fitness but due to the various complications of life was seriously lacking in the mental fitness and confidence in my equipment that it would require to spend 20+ hours with my bicycle in the woods.

I made it to White Pines just before dark and scurried to get my camp set up so I could focus on getting the bike ready. I had a flat tire and only one good tube so I decided to patch an old tube and use that and keep my known good tube in my pack. I had to swap out my grips and tweak my brakes and even lubed my chain. And then finally there was the problem of what to do about my fork. The fancy suspension one was still on there and after one ride I wasn't sold. But it was already on and after polling everyone decided to keep it on. The cooler of beer that I had brought for the weekend was growing steadily empty and continuing to hydrate seemed like a whole lot more fun than switching out a fork. Somewhere in the haze that followed people started talking about how long they thought it would take. 14 hours seemed to be the consensus. That seemed rather ambitious to me and though I didn't mean to I scoffed at the number. The next thing I know I'm the last 5am rider left around the fire and I figure I'd better try and find my tent.

I woke up at 4:51 thinking I was going to miss the 5am start so I scrambled to get dressed and on my bike. There were a few guys standing around and I clanged my cow bell promptly at 5am and jumped on my bike only to find that the tube I had patched the night before was flat. I said fuck it and just pumped it up as fast as I could figuring that I could just stop and change it along the way when I needed to but the main thing was to get on the bike. I was on the bike at rolling out at 5:03 just twelve minutes after waking up and never bothered to ask when everyone else was starting. I hoped they weren't waiting for me.

Shortly up Clawhammer I realized I hadn't tightened my stem bolts so I had to stop and dig out a multi tool and the first riders caught me. Brad Kee stopped and we chatted for a moment and then I did my best to take off up Clawhammer. I made the turn onto Black and Brad and Matt rode off in front of me. During the short hike a bike over the top we were rewarded with an amazing sunrise that had the first rays of light delicately playing off Looking Glass Rock and I started to become concerned that I had left some important pieces of gear out of my pack in my haste so I decided I had better stop and see what all I brought. As I shifted through my stuff Rich Dillen and David Cook both passed me. Emily Brock then came along and we chatted our way to Turkey Pen.

On the descent down Turkey Pen Gap the sun continued to amaze me and I had to stop to try and get a picture. Mike Brown passed me and I was suddenly feeling very slow and wondering if maybe these guys really were going to do it in 14 hours. Damn, that's fast, I thought, and imagined everyone else finishing shortly after dark while I was out there for 20+ hours. That was not a good feeling. Me and Mike Brown passed each other a few times and I was glad to have the company. We caught up to Eric Wever and the three of us rode Squirrel together. This was not a race and it felt good to be riding with friends. Cissy Fowler caught up to us at Laurel Gap and I was starting to have fun again but was secretly wondering when I should bail.

I took off up South Mills River but then hung out at the Pink Beds and waited for the others to catch up to me. They did and then we saw Team Dicky coming down 276. After riding up 276 to the Parkway he had decided to bail and was on his way down to camp. He said he was looking at his watch and doing the math and was calling it a day. I had been doing the same thing, looking at my watch and making mental calculations and they were not pretty. 6 hours in and 25 miles traveled = 24 hours. At that moment I decided to cast my vote for time outside of eternity. I took off my watch and buried it in the bottom of my pack and vowed to give up the idea of bailing this early and continue along the course as far as I could. I had all the gear, light and food I needed so why not? Sure my chances of finishing did not look good but I might as well try.

I took off up 276 as fast as I could trying to use the pavement as a chance to gain some time. But climbing 276 and then the parkway to Big Creek does not make for easy miles and I was probably pushing it too hard and could really feel my right knee and groin becoming inflamed. Cissy caught me again at the top of Big Creek and suggested that I try and work through the pain so that's what I did though I'm not exactly sure how. By Fletcher Creek I was hurting again and out of water but decided to keep moving and just do Spencer > Trace real fast and then get some water at the campground. Cissy passed me during the hike a bike up Spencer and then took off down Trace in front of me. She was on a mission to get down Pilot before dark and the sun was hanging low. There was no water at the campground so I had to fill up out of the river and gave Cissy some ibuprofen while I did so. I was fumbling with my ipod and all sorts of stuff so I told Cissy to take off up 1206 without me.

I climb Yellow Gap Rd. all the time and this time it really hurt. I had to get off and walk for a little bit and all I wanted to do was sit down and quit right there. I was choking back tears and on the verge of sobbing. I knew it was going to be hard, but this was absurd. Finishing seemed to be an impossibility and Laurel > Pilot seemed like just an unnecessary prolonging of the suffering. I turned on my ipod for the first time of the day told myself if I got back on my bike and rode to the top and then make the turn onto Laurel Mtn. I could reward myself for making it this far by turning on my phone and calling my girlfriend Terri.

I made it to Laurel and up the trail to some of the first rocks where I stopped and dug out my phone and called Terri. I told her I was at the 50 mile mark to which she congratulated me. But it has taken me 12 hours to get this far and it is really hard, I pleaded. She said yeah, it was taking longer than anticipated but reminded me I knew it was going to be really hard. She suggested I stay on course for as long as I could and pull the plug when I thought was best. I was feeling very lonely and knew that Cissy was far ahead. Emily was still behind me somewhere, maybe, and I just sat there for awhile hoping that she would appear and we could head up the trail together. She didn't, and after procrastinating a little longer I keep going over my conversation with Terri and felt better and continued on up the trail. I put the Grateful Dead's Blues for Allah on my ipod and it was synced perfectly with the setting sun. I watched the sun burn itself out over Pisgah and thought about what a long crazy day it had been. From sunrise on Black to the sunset on Laurel things could not have been better, it was a glorious day and I was feeling better but still going over the options in my mind, trying to ignore the demons.

At the top of Pilot I put both my lights on high and decided to enjoy my squishy fork. I came off a rock a little too hot at the top and took a high speed endo. I went all the way over onto my back with my light taking a good hit but it was fine and so I was so I went on a little more cautiously.

When I pulled into the Pink Beds it was decision time. Bail now or continue on? I was cold and hungry so I put on my warm clothes and started gorging on food. I broke out my safety kit and emergency whiskey and thought about what to do and decided it was time to bail. Down 477 I would go. Confident in my decision I could taste the beer and got down the sign in sheet to state my intentions. I saw that everyone had bailed except for Cook, Brad and Cissy. I realized that I wasn't the only one who was finding it hard and realized that maybe everyone wasn't 8 hours ahead of me like I had been thinking all day. I wrote down that I was bailing down 477 and took off.

Out on the road I was feeling okay and again remembered my conversation with Terri and reminded myself this was a mental game as much as anything and rode past 477 and made the right onto 475B for Cove Creek instead. It was a nice night and there was no reason not to be out riding. I was continuing on but still not sold on Farlow. Maybe I would catch Cissy and just follow her or maybe I would sign in at Cove Creek and then take 475B back up to Club Gap and do all of the route except for Farlow. Or just maybe I would go for Farlow.

I didn't catch Cissy and there wasn't a sign in sheet at Cove Creek so I quit for the final time and headed out 276 for the slow painful spin back to White Pines. I had enough light to burn bright all night, 1000 calories and $4.00 cash for the vending machines, I wasn't suffering from any serious physical or mechanical problems but I quit. I lost the mental game. 17hours15minutes.

Epilogue:

It turns out Cissy had skipped Farlow like I was thinking but rode everything else. Cook made it to the top of Farlow before pulling the plug. He came in at midnight just minutes after Cissy. His computer showed he had gone 105 miles. I guess my mapping software isn't 100% accurate. Whoops! Brad Kee stuck it out to 2:37 and finished the whole thing. Very impressive. It turns out Emily was just behind us all day and if only I would have sat a little while longer she would have caught me. All the other riders put forth great efforts and did big rides and though challenging I think fun was had by all at the 99 which makes it a success. Thanks!

Pictures to come tomorrow!

The Pisgah 99

It all started with a simple email sent out to members of the WNDC:

Unofficial, solo, self supported +/-100 mile time trial. Not a race, not a group ride, nothing more than a suggested route and a suggested start time:

Upper White Pines. 5am. Saturday 11/14/09.

Bring everything you need - nothing will be provided. Be prepared - there will be nobody to come looking for you if you aren't.

Nobody knew what to expect. We worked hard on the route and I had a pretty good idea that it was going to be hard but like everyone else I underestimated just how hard it would be. Twelve riders started. Brad Kee finished at 2:37am for a time of 21:37.

Many thanks to everyone who made the 99 what it was. I'm glad to have friends who like to ride their bikes in the woods. Thank you all!

I bailed at the bottom of Cove Creek and made it back to camp at 10:15pm.

What day that was!

All mileages are approximate and unreliable

Right on Avery Creek Rd./FR477

01.28 Right on Clawhammer Rd./FR 5058

05.22 Right on Black Mtn./127

07.00 Left on Turkey Pen Gap/322

12.14 Left on South Mills River/133

12.80 Right on Mullinax/326

13.97 Straight on Squirrel Gap/147

20.51 Right on South Mills River/133

24.46 Left on Pink Beds/ 118

27.29 Right on Hwy 276

30.61 Right on Blue Ridge Parkway

35.58 Right on Big Creek/102

40.00 Left on Fletcher Creek/350

40.68 Right on Spencer Branch/600

41.60Straight on Spencer Gap/140

42.45 Right on Trace Ridge/354

44.99 Left on Hendersonville Rsvr Rd.

45.49 Right on Wash Creek Rd./FR5000

47.41 Right on Yellow Gap Rd./FR1206

50.92 Right on Laurel Mtn./121

56.72 Left on Pilot Rock Connector/ 110

56.91 Left on Pilot Rock/321

58.95 Right on Yellow Gap Rd./FR1206

62.84 Left on Hwy 276

64.28 Right on FR475B

67.28 Right on FR225

68.29 Left on Cove Creek/340

71.29 Right on FR475

73.98 Right on FR5003

76.92 Left on FR140A

77.82 Right on FR140

79.07Right on Kissee Creek Rd./FR5031

81.06 Left on 140A

81.61 Left on Farlow Gap./106

84.78 Right on Daniel Ridge/105

86.48 Left on FR475

88.43 Left on FR475B

94.04 Left on Hwy 276

94.69 Right on FR477

94.84 Left on Club Gap/343

95.76 Right on Buckwheat Knob/122

96.94 Straight on Bennett Gap/138

99.90Right on FR477

99.99 Finish! Good job!