Believe it or not, cycling is not always butterflies and
rainbows.
The Secret Gaps 200K brevet this past Saturday is a good example of this; I had two minor crashes. (I’m fine – more details below.) Even so, there is so much I love about cycling. Usually, I focus on the riding itself, the scenery, and being outside in general. On Saturday, however, I was reminded that the people I ride with are also an integral part of the enjoyment.
The Secret Gaps route begins in Dahlonega and makes a big loop through the mountains to the north. My friend Julie organized the ride. She also generously invited several of us to spend Friday night at her delightful home in Suches, about 19 miles north of Dahlonega. As Dahlonega is about a 2 1/2-hour drive from my house, this made it much easier for me to make it to the 6:30 AM start of the ride the next morning.
Jen, Julie, Susan, and I were the first ones to Suches on Friday evening. We enjoyed a delicious dinner of two types of lasagna and a variety of salads and vegetables that we all contributed. A little while later, Andrew, Jeff, and Julie's husband Paul arrived. After some enjoyable conversation, we hit the hay to be ready for our early-morning departure.
The next morning we ate a quick breakfast and headed to Dahlonega at about 5:30 AM. Most of the route between Suches and Dahlonega is along Woody Gap, a twisting, steep road that requires caution and moderate speed.
We gathered in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Twenty-two people had signed up, including about seven who were doing their first brevet. They certainly picked a challenging route for their first one! Major kudos to all of them for starting and finishing.
Because it would be nearly an hour before the sun rose, we had to start with front and rear lights and reflective vests and ankle bands, as per Randonneurs USA (RUSA) rules. Eleven of us soon formed the front group.
The route had nearly 11,000 feet of climbing. Much of this was over three major gaps, but a significant amount was over smaller gaps. Suffice it to say that there wasn't much riding on flat terrain. The first big climb came about 14 miles into the ride with Woody Gap. I felt good on that beautiful morning, and climbing is one of my cycling strengths. I stayed on the front for much of the ascent.
Descending is another story. Because I'm not terribly good at it and because I'm lighter than most of the guys, I usually find myself at the back of the group on descents. This was true on the descent from Woody Gap. Fortunately, the group wasn't hammering, and I soon caught back up to the others.
Around mile 48 we started up one of the "secret" gaps, Hicks Gap. At the start of the ride, Julie had cautioned us about gravel on this road. Sure enough, the descent was replete with road patches consisting of fine gravel. I should have made a more concerted effort to get to the back of the group before we began the descent. Several riders were behind me, and I started worrying about going too slowly and endangering them. I moved right, thinking they might want to pass me. That was my mistake. I lost control in a gravelly patch. The saving grace is that I landed in a relatively soft ditch. Still, I went down hard. The closest other riders immediately came to my side, and those who were ahead came back.
My first instinct was to get back on my bicycle as soon as possible, but Andrew and Sam wisely made me be still. I felt a little stunned but thought (hoped) I was all right. I had a few small cuts. After a few minutes, something weird happened; my vision went blurry! I was NOT all right. I sat down. The others tried to call Julie or Dick, who was also providing ride support - no cell phone service.
Then, almost as suddenly as my vision had gone blurry, it cleared again. I felt much more normal. The others, particularly Ian, were reluctant to let me continue riding because I likely had a mild concussion. However, I felt like I could at least soft-pedal to the next control just a few miles farther. The bigger injury seemed to be my shoulder. I could tell it wasn't broken or dislocated, but it was sore (sprained, I later determined). Fortunately, the soreness didn't prevent me from continuing riding.
A short distance later, cell phone service came back, and we got in touch with both Julie and Dick. Dick was closer and said he would meet us at the next control. As we continued riding, I was relieved to hear everyone resume their regular chatter. It was normal and comforting. Although I felt fairly well, Ian still cautioned me about concussions. He knows about them from being a soccer referee. One of the biggest concerns is that the injured person is trying to assess the extent of the injury, but the thing that is injured is the brain itself. I totally understood where he was coming from.
We met up with Dick and got some refreshments. We had several info controls in a row with relatively short distances between them. (RUSA made Julie put a lot of info controls on the route to make sure riders don't short-circuit it.) I decided to take it control by control, seeing how I felt, and promised to call Dick and abandon the ride if necessary. I told my riding companions that I might want to go a little more slowly from then on and not to wait for me.
After we got back on the road, I did, in fact, drop back a little. Another info control was only a few miles farther. I stopped to take a photo so that I could fill in the required information on my brevet card later. My sore shoulder made it difficult to get my paraphernalia back in my jersey pockets. I fumbled for a few minutes but finally got it and started pedaling again.
I wasn't that far behind the group, and because I hadn't seen anyone else stop to take a photo, I assumed one of them must have snapped one as they rode by. However, a few minutes later, here came a few of my friends riding back toward me. I thought they were coming to check on me. It turns out that everyone else had missed the info control! They had seen me stop but thought I was calling Dick to come pick me up. I told them I had gotten the required info and offered to sell it for $5 per person :)
About halfway into the route, Julie met us on her bicycle. She was riding back and forth between several groups, checking on them while still getting in some riding herself. She said she had left her car at the top of Unicoi Gap. It was unlocked and filled with food and drinks. Even though I knew there were few stores along the route, at that moment I didn't realize how glad I would be for Julie's generosity.
My shoulder continued to be the biggest effect from the crash, but I still could ride comfortably enough. The main difficulty I had was pointing with my right arm to indicate a right-hand turn. So, I opted for the traditional bent-arm signal with my left arm to indicate a right-hand turn. No one uses this signal anymore, but it was the best I could do under the circumstances.
We had two major climbs left: Jack's Gap and Unicoi Gap. I did fine on the Jack's Gap climb, but, as usual, my cycling companions pulled ahead again on the descent. I kept on keeping on. Eventually, I caught up to a few of the guys.
Unicoi Gap loomed at about mile 90. I began the ascent, looking forward Julie's car provisions at the top. Climb, climb, climb. I dropped the guys. I thought the climb would be about a mile, maybe two. But it kept going. And going. The gaps are challenging anytime, but on this difficult course - and having crashed - I was feeling this climb. One way I kept my spirits up was by thinking of my friend Dale, the king of malapropisms. He calls it "Unicorn Gap."
It turned out to be about three miles to the top of Unicoi - I finally made it! The first ones from our group were already there. I can't tell you how ready I was for a break. I ate the remaining half sandwich from my jersey pocket. From Julie's car I took some magic elixir: Coca-Cola Classic. Randonees are the only time I drink full-octane Coke. The sugar and caffeine work wonders. Life started seeping back into my body, and I knew I could handle the remaining 30 miles.
The top of Unicoi Gap lies along the Appalachian Trail. A few hikers stopped to rest near us in the parking area. We offered them some Cokes, too, which they gratefully accepted. As I handed one of them a can, I couldn't help but say, "Have a Coke and smile." Cheesy, I know, but he did smile! As an Atlanta native, I really do have an affinity for Coca-Cola. OK, so it's more than an affinity; I refuse to drink Pepsi.
I purposely went last as we headed down Unicoi, the final steep descent of the day. I'm not fond of big descents anyway, and my earlier crash certainly hadn't endeared them to me. I took it at a pace comfortable to me and thought, I'll get there when I get there.
We had one more control at Smithgall Woods before the end. I caught up to the group there and rode with them the rest of the way, which was mostly rollers. Like I often do late in a 200K, I got somewhat of a second wind.
We were about four miles from the end. I was smelling the barn. I was going to finish this brevet!
The group was staying together well, riding in a pace line. We were going up a moderate climb. The rider in front of me must have zoned out because all of a sudden, he just quit pedaling. I didn't think I was drafting him too closely, but it was close enough that my front wheel touched his rear wheel, and I went down - for the second time during the ride!
Fortunately, I wasn't seriously injured - just a strawberry on my hip. Still, all my riding companions made extra sure I was OK. Also, three different cars stopped to check on me. I was heartened by the kindness of the people around Dahlonega. Truly, I was fine, but I thought, "Lord, please just get me to the end of this ride!"
We stopped at a stop sign at the next turn. As we waited for an opening in traffic, a guy in a huge diesel truck purposely blew a cloud of black exhaust on us as he drove by. I would have been a lot more mad if I hadn't just encountered several other very nice local people. There you have it: people can be good or bad.
At last, there it was - the finish! I thought of Madea as I rolled into the parking lot.
I changed clothes, visited for a few minutes with some of the other riders, and headed home.
I missed getting to see Robert when I got home because he was racing in Chattanooga all weekend. However, it was a true delight to see my three beloved dogs. I took a wonderful shower. Then, I made myself some ROOT (Robert Out of Town) Pasta. It has several ingredients that he doesn't like but that I love, e.g. artichokes and goat cheese. I also made myself a salad with vegetables from the week's CSA delivery. As a bonus, I grilled the eggplant (also anathema to Robert) that was in the CSA delivery and added it to my ROOT Pasta. I enjoyed my feast with a glass of wine.
The greyhounds Allie and Fleetwood sleep in the basement, and the beagle Shelly sleeps with Robert and me. Of course, it was just Shelly and me in the bed that night. I lay down next to her and felt a profound sense of gratitude. I had finished a very challenging brevet, I wasn't seriously injured, and so many great friends had shown such kindness and compassion. Life was - and is - good.
