Trans North Georgia Adventure (TNGA) Race Report. Part 3 - Day Two

This is Part 3 of a my TNGA Race report (Click Here For Part 1, Click Here for Part 2, Click Here For Part 4)  

I woke up to the sun at the campground at Vogel State Park at the beginning of day 2. The small group of racers camped at the pavillion Jim and I had slept at were mostly gone. This was not good. I had set my alarm to allow for 3 hours of sleep.  The fact that the sun was up meant that somehow, I had shut off my alarm, and it was much later. Jim was still there and we fetched out kits from the dryer in the laundromat and changed. He got ready much faster than I did and waited for me to get my stuff packed up. I learned an important lesson the first night. Always pack up as much as you can before you go to sleep, don't leave things out that you don't have to. It makes getting moving in the morning much easier.

We got about 5 hours of sleep total and I was actually feeling really good. We started our day with a climb up Wolf Pen Gap, which I actually quite enjoyed. I lost Jim somewhere on the paved section of Wolf Pen Gap. At the top of the Wolf Pen Gap Climb, the route turns on to Duncan Ridge Road, which is a gravel road and continues to go up for a while. After finishing that climb and coasting down the long gradual descent on the other side, I was kind of bummed we hadn't tackled it on the first night before sleeping. We could have easily made at least another 30 miles or so. I stopped at the convenience store at the intersection of Cooper's Creek Road and Route 60. There were a few other racers there who I chatted with a little while eating some more breakfast. If you are reading this in preparation for and attempt, this C-store seemed like the type that closes pretty early so if you hit this at night, be prepared for it to be closed. I stocked up on food and headed out.

After Wolf Pen/Duncan ridge is one of the two long flattish sections of the race. Cooper's Creek is the first, later in the race, the run into and through Dalton is the next. Cooper's Creek is actually mostly downhill, it's a place you can really cover some ground quickly. Several of the racers that had left before me from Vogel that morning were singlespeed racers or riding with singlespeeders. So I caught and passed them on the section due to the spinny nature of singlespeeds on gradual downhills. I met up with them again at Iron Bridge which is just about the end of the flat section after Wolf Pen/Duncan Ridge. There is a Hostel/Cafe at Iron Bridge. I decided to get a hot meal there and the others all caught up to me there including Scott and Tristan who were a pair of friends who had come down from the Pisgah area to take on TNGA. Scott was riding what was probably the nicest fat bike I have ever seen in person, it was a singlespeed, and even though unloaded it weighed significantly less than the 29er I was riding, that still seems like by far the hardest way to race this route I can think of. Tristan was a super nice dude, he always had a positive attitude. I was pretty amazed they were still on route and in the race after hearing how they had been navigating solely from the cue sheets with no mileage to go off of when their GPS units failed! Scott's GPS started working again after it dried out luckily. I needed to use the bathroom after my meal, and when I came out, everyone was gone. Tristan and Scott were the last to leave and I caught them on the road over to the beginning of where the real mountain biking began.

Shortly after Iron Bridge the single track begins. I climbed up a very short steep little paved road off of Aska Road and was supposed duck right into a double track on the left that looks like a driveway. I missed the turn and continued up, until it became clear at the top that something was not right and I stopped to figure out what was going on. Scott and Tristan followed me up and we all agreed that we should try the little double track we had passed. This took us to the Green Mountain Trail, which was a fun rolling bit of single track until it pitches up into a pretty stout steep climb. After we came down the other side we were at the Stanley Gap trail head on Aska Road. I had a hell of a time on Stanley Gap.

I came into the trailhead with Scott and Tristan, but Scott was having issues with the heat, probably dehydration and had to slow down his pace. Tristan was sticking with Scott so I ended up leaving them behind on the climb.  As I was climbing, my track and the GPS track didn't quite line up and I had a feeling I had bypassed a section of trail. My track and GPS track came back together and right at that point was a trail sign and my heart sunk. The double track I had come up was the wrong trail. There had been a right turn onto some single track that I had missed and so I would have to descend to the bottom and start again.

As I was coming back down I ran into Scott and Tristan coming up the correct way. They wondered why I was coming back down and I explained that they were on the right trail but I had left the course and taken a different route to the ridgeline and had to descend and climb it again on route. This would have been a tough climb in and of itself but it was merely the beginning of the Stanley Gap single track climb.

After reaching the point where I had left the course I turned around and started back up again. About half way up the techy switchbacks, I realized I was out of water. I stopped at a small run off that seemed to be coming right out of the side of the mountain. It was so small of a flow that I couldn't fill my bladder from it directly so I used my bottle to scoop water out of a small hole that I dug and fill my bladder. I was really glad I was using a Sawyer Mini water filter and not a chemical treatment or Steripen here, because the water was very cloudy with sediment. Later, I would dump this water as soon as I could if there was any left if I found a cleaner source. I pushed on a bit farther and finally made it back to the top of that trail where the real fun would begin.

The major section of the Stanley Gap climb was ahead of me and it seemed like an amazing trail! It would be just a fantastic place to ride mountain bikes. If only I was going in the other direction on a 6 inch travel full suspension bike! There's nothing like having to ride up what would be an awesome Super D course going the other direction, and I was already in a shitty mood from having to backtrack the section of trail running up to the ridge. This was probably my darkest hour. The was climb ridiculously steep in many sections, though probably a little shorter than I remember it being, just because of my attitude at the time and fatigue.  I did tons of hiking on this, as it wasn't only steep, but really technical. Once I crested the top, I was relieved to be descending and ready for some fun. I immediately put on gas and started ripping, venting a little when disaster struck. I took a line to the outside edge of the trail where there was a bit of exposure and the trail just collapsed under my front tire. I was moving pretty fast when this happened, over 15 mph. I had no time to react as I was vaulted over my bars...directly off what might as well have been a small cliff at the speed I was moving. My right side and forearm slammed into the ground HARD and then I pinballed off a few trees before coming to a rest about 40 feet down the side of the mountain.

I somehow managed to not hit my head at all during this. When I came to a rest I didn't dare move. I thought to myself "You just fucked up badly. You have to be seriously injured, where are you bleeding, what did you break?" I carefully checked myself where I could reach, trying not to move too much, before deciding that I didn't have a spinal injury and picking myself up. I had a serious bruise just above my hip, a scrape on my elbow, my right ankle felt slightly sprained, a nice bruise on my thigh where my bars slammed into it, cut up knees, but nothing that looked overly serious. I was amazed I wasn't dead. The impact injury slightly above my hip had me slightly worried about the possibility of internal bleeding at the time. Those concerns faded as I monitored my condition over the next few hours. It was actually probably a bit of a ridiculous thing to worry about but after crashing that hard, I just didn't expect to get up and walk it off with scrapes and bruises. I took a solid 30 minutes recovering from that crash before I felt ok to get back on the bike and coast down at a timid pace.

At this point I was done with Stanley Gap. Seriously, fuck that trail. It doesn't like me, and I don't like it. Unfortunately now I was feeling extra sketchy and fighting a hardcore adrenaline crash. I picked my way down the back side slowly. I had never been so happy to see a gravel road as I was when I popped out of that trail. Every bump and rattle the trail threw at me hurt like hell. Eventually I got on pavement and it started sprinkle a little so I stopped for a minute under a covered bridge to check trackleaders and the weather maps and eat some food. If you are new to ultra racing, here is a tip. if you start to feel crappy for any reason, mental or physical, eat something and drink some water, then have some more. Even if you aren't thirsty or hungry, pissy moods, headaches, lack of energy, strong feelings of fatigue, all of these are signs you need food and water and you needed it yesterday. Bonking at the paces ultra's are raced at feels very different than bonking in a high intensity race, it's possible to not realize it's happening until you've been bonking for a while, especially later in the race.

I continued on past Cherry Log on the road when who do I see rolling by in his SUV but Scott Thigpen and Sean Williamson. Scott smiled and gave me the bird as he drove past. What a guy! I laughed a little, I had read Scott's race reports to prepare for the event, and we had a fun evening chatting the night I showed up at Mulberry Gap before the race. Scott and Sean were there doing a mini documentary on the race. He told me later that he was going to try to get the camera out and get my picture but I was hauling ass looking serious and he didn't have time to get it out so he gave me the finger instead. I think he was mistaking pain for seriousness. I was seriously sore from my crash.

After Cherry Log there is a long road section where I caught up to Scott, Tristan, and eventually Jim I think, or maybe Jim caught us. I'm not sure which, it's a little fuzzy, something about me missing a BBQ joint in Cherry Log. Somewhere along Highway 2 we ran into a convenience store. We pulled over to check it out and it was closed. Fortunately for us, one of the people who worked there showed up just a minute or two after we did and let us in and sold us assorted delicious goodies. I used the bathroom and cleaned up all my cuts and bruises and dressed my wounds. I took some Ibuprofen, which I normally avoid at all costs, but I was so sore from that crash that I needed to take the edge off the dull roar from my body telling me that it was time to stop riding. I reapplied chamois cream and I was set to go. We packed up and headed out.

Just after this we got on USFS road 64 and that was the beginning of the infamous Potato Patch climb I believe. About half way up the track lead off down a little trail. Jim informed me that this section of the course was a bunch of crap. We were going to ride a section of trail called the South Fork Loop which is apparently part of the Cohutta 100 race course. On my GPS I could see why it was bullshit. The exit of the South Fork loop was just up the road from where we entered it, meaning it was a completely unnecessary mileage add-on we would be riding. As we dropped down in to the valley along the South fork of the Jack's River the trail was nice and flowy and actually kind of fun. Then it started raining at about the same time we were reaching the bottom. After we crossed the stream the trail turned into a muddy shitshow of steep rooty single track that might have been a good ride at one point before it was destroyed by equestrian overuse and lack of maintenance. I'm confident it is all probably rideable if it's dry and you aren't 200 or so miles deep in an ultra race. I burned a bunch of matches here where I probably should have just walked. It ends with a fairly steep double track climb back out to the road we were just on, about a mile further up the road. My first words to Scott, Jim, and Tristan were, "What a bunch of horse shit!" Jim said, "Just try not to think about it, it's only going to piss you off more."

Soaked and covered in mud and horse shit, we started up the rest of the Potato Patch Climb. Somewhere at the midway point between where we exited the South Fork Loop and the top of Potato Patch the sun went down and the fog rolled in. This was not a good thing for our pace. Our lights were completely ineffective in the fog. I could only see a few feet in front of me no matter how I positioned the light. It was the first time ever where I found myself riding by instruments, paying attention to where the GPS said the road was going next to make sure I didn't miss a sharp switchback and fall to my death. I actually preferred to be climbing at this point. We finally reached the top and I found out that I had been confused. I had thought that this was just one of the many unnamed climbs along the course and that Potato Patch was ahead. Since that climb had taken eons and was quite massive, I was nervous about what Potato Patch had in store.

Luckily at the time, I didn't know we were actually on the Potato Patch climb, so when we reached the top, I asked Jim "So the Potato Patch climb is next?" He happily corrected me that we had just finished it and were going to be heading into Bear Creek, a fun descent. Well, it would have been fun, if we could see anything at all. Jim referred to the conditions as the night-fog-mist, an apt description if you ask me. We dropped down the road to the entrance to Bear Creek where a huge pine tree had fallen across the trail on the gate. We had to carefully weave our bikes through the splintered branches of the tree. I thought that this blow down was pretty impressive at the time, but I had no idea what was to come later in the race.

After we made it through the tree, we started down Bear Creek Trail. It was twisty and flowy in a great way. It was a real shame we had to check our speed so hard due to the fog. once we dropped all the way to the bottom we stopped for a break and there was a steep kicker I motored up as I climbed up to Pinhoti 1. I had a pretty good pace going at this point. I knew we were getting very close to Mulberry Gap, and there was food, showers, a roof to sleep under, and laundry again! I was also starting to feel a little better except for my feet. The bottoms of my feet hurt badly.

I had not made any attempt to keep my feet dry the whole race up until this point. I was charging through stream crossings with abandon. I got rained on for at least half of the second day. I never bothered to try to dry my socks at stops. One of the biggest rules of any multi-day expedition through the outdoors is to take care of your feet. Being in Georgia in August, it was warm enough that I didn't really think about it until it was too late. In addition, a small stone worked it's way into my shoe at some point on the South Fork Loop and I didn't notice it until it was way too late. I had cleaned my shoes out at the top of Potato Patch, but the damage was done. I had the beginnings of trench foot from the wet conditions and I think the stone had compressed my median ulnar nerve in my right foot. This resulted in sharp burning pain any time I placed pressure on the soles of my feet and a painful, electrical shock feeling in some of my toes on my right foot. I just wished they would quit hurting and go completely numb at the time. My toes on my right foot are still partially numb a month later. I was more careful for the last leg of the race, and in the future I will be much more careful, probably carrying an extra pair of socks somewhere waterproof. This is just one example of the kind of thing that can happen if something that is just mildly irritating isn't addressed right away.

We climbed up and descended part of P1 and eventually I stopped after a steep downhill section to take a break, take my shoes off, and have a snack. The others caught up shortly and were all too happy to take a break as well. At this point everyone had an issue of some kind. Tristan was having some numbness issues in his hands, probably from too aggressive of a position and his large backpack, Jim was feeling some heavy fatigue, but Scott was doing the worst. He was experiencing some severe dehydration. He laid down and rested for a few minutes while we all sat around eating. Jim had cell service and called his wife, who he got some confusing information about where we were ranked in the race right now from. We were all clearly pretty mentally fried at this point from the nerve wracking zero visibility descending and the wet conditions. Our physical shape wasn't too great at this point either.

Eventually we got moving down the trail again and came to a stream on P2 that Scott could filter some water from. We all took a break while Scott and Tristan filtered some water and Scott drank a bunch trying to catch up on his hydration. The heat had been extremely brutal during the day, and his body had just not been handling it well. It caught up to him and put him in even worse shape that night. The heat was a huge factor, resulting in a ton of people dropping from the race. This is a race that requires not only nearly constant hydration, but electrolyte replenishment as well. In August, in Georgia, you will be constantly sweating due to the 90F+ temps and super high humidity. I'm very lucky that I handle heat well, but it wasn't all luck that I felt like I had good legs for most of the race. I was constantly drinking water. I probably drank at least 15 liters of water over the whole course, probably more actually. I also used a lot of salt tabs in the first two days of the race when the temperatures were at their worst.

After the break by the stream I was up and off to finish P2. I needed to be out of the woods immediately. I picked up the pace and Jim followed suit. The two of us finished off trail and popped out on Conasauga  Road. We were pretty much at Mulberry Gap at this point. On our way up there, a mangy little pup that had chased my Jeep on the way to Mulberry Gap on the way to the race was out guarding his owner's drive way. He nervously started to chase us. Then he got in front of us and thought we were chasing him. I yelled at him in a gutteral, angry tone I rarely use and he took off back for the driveway. I after this I was done with riding for the night. I was ready to crash. I hammered up the rest of the hill, and cranked down the backside and caught up to Eleanor, the leading female racer, also riding singlespeed, at the very bottom. I cranked up the driveway. Man is that driveway steep! Probably one of the steepest grades in the whole course. I was so damn happy to be at Mulberry Gap!

When I walked into "the Barn" I sat down in a chair, removed one shoe and just sat there. Kate was up and offered to make me some eggs, an offer I graciously accepted. Jim and Eleanor came in and saw me just completely spacing out in that chair and snapped me out of my daze. I greeted them with "I'm so tired I can't even take off my other shoe." which brought forth a little laughter. I was not joking. We were at about mile 220 of the route. Kate brought out the eggs and I asked her about laundry and showers and someone found me a towel and a plastic bag to put my filthy clothes in. I then proceeded to sit there clothed only in a towel and finish my eggs. I went and took a shower and cleaned my shoes out while I was in there. I went back up and stuffed my shoes full of paper towels and placed them by the fan to hopefully dry out. Then went to bed on the floor on my sleeping pad with a blanket someone got for me. It was probably about 3:00 AM by the time I got to sleep.

Stay tuned for the final section of the race and the post race report!