2012 Tour de Tugaloo

This ride takes place in Toccoa, Georgia, a very historical town where the people are quiet and friendly and very patriotic. I love visiting Toccoa and have spent miles and miles on the roads around there. Even on the dirt roads. Especially the ones leading up Currahee Mountain. The history rich area center's around the fact that it was once the home of the 101st Airborn who training at Camp Toccoa in preparation for their defense of our country in World War II. Their story was featured in the movie series Band of Brothers. I've blogged about the Currahee Adventure Race in the past and how cool it is to run up that mountain. But now I'll tell you about a great cold weather road ride that takes place each year from nearby Yonah Dam Park. Visit their Facebook page for some great photos!

Tour de Tugaloo on Facebook

I arrived early at the park and found the hustle of setting up was still in full swing. Joe and Penny Elam from Habersham Bicycles were there selling stuff and helping riders. Pearl Izumi Outlet was there selling winter stuff. Some really nice folks from North Georgia Canopy Tours were showing off their zip line rides. Some guy was warming hot chocolate and later baked cookies!
At registration, DeLisa Christ was way too happy... as usual. Ride Director Duane Mahon was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. And it was the typical temperature in the 30's to start the day.

Clint and Brent Sanders

My plan for the ride was the best I could come up with and still take my beloved wife to watch Georgia play football later that afternoon in Athens. The 100 mile riders would be leaving at 9AM while the rest would leave at 10AM. I needed the early start and a shorter route. Fortunately I was in Sander's Drugs earlier in the week and learned that owner Clint Sander's would be riding the 42 mile route at 9AM with his brother Brent. That was perfect for me! A ride with some good folks instead of all by myself.

Photo by Robin Lindsay Dake

My chosen armor was less than sufficient for the first hour of the ride. I stood around shivering at the start and quickly lost some fingers and toes on the way out. The road leading out is along the river... and the river is COLD in November! I do admit I'm a real girl in the cold. I thought about getting some good banter going about how cold it was but there were people with less than I had on riding and smiling like homesick polar bears. Brent was one of them. So I only complained to Clint.

We made our way with some of the 100 milers for about 7 miles until we had to turn left. Then we were on our own. We rode along talking about the people who lived here and there. Clint and Brent grew up there so they could tell a million stories about small town "stuff". Of course we talked bikes and racing and food and a little business. It wasn't long before the sun was warming us and I had the perfect clothes on.

We rolled over hill and dale, through old concrete tunnels and across lovely wooden bridges. It was a great day to be on a bike.

After turned off River Road I was in uncharted territory. My phone had no signal. I had no food and one bottle. As we rode zigged and zagged from one turn to another I was very grateful for my company. Clint split a chocolate Stinger waffle with me as my bottle went dry. Then we rolled up on the sweetest rest stop this side of the Georgia/South Carolina line.

A very nice lady refilled my bottle and another one offered me the first cranberry filled brownie I've ever had. So I had two. And some graham crackers with peanut butter in them.

I don't know what Clint and Brent had. They didn't exist during this very important time in my life.

I wanted to stay and properly taste everything on the table but I know how bad it feels to stay too long at a SAG stop and then re-mount the bike. We bid farewell to the baked goodness and headed on.
The road then went wild. A roller coaster of asphalt leading out to a final climb up where the air was clean. Then we turned around and headed back.

I looked at my watch and started doing some math. At this pace I wouldn't make good on my commitment to Lisa.
This cannot be.
So I left my companions and began a time trial back to the finish... and the hot chocolate... cookies... classic rock... a massage? Nope. No time for a massage. Crap!
I flew past the brownie SAG again and saw my friend Alex Sloan with a hand full of them. He was leaned back laughing like a big Viking drunk on wine. Only he's like 90 pounds with nary a whisker on his face. Alex doesn't deserve them. He's a Tech grad. I let my dis pare turn to anger and blasted back to home base.

Music back at the finish was awesome!

As I rolled up to the car the air was filled with Bob Dylan. These guys were really good and I wish I could have hung around for the festivities. I quickly changed and headed to out to my next big adventure.

Some notable things happened that I missed because of the way I decided to ride the Tour de Tugaloo. Young rider Dylan Cantrell got to ride with newly signed BMC/Hincapie Development rider Will Richter. What a cool thing! I've often said I wish I would have found cycling at an earlier age. It's great to watch Dylan enjoying the great youth cycling movement going on today. How cool would it be to play football in the yard and have Matt Ryan walk up and play? That's the equivalent of what happens at some of these rides when pro guys show up. Makes me wish I'd gone to the Hincapie Gran Fondo the weekend before and met Cadel and TJ. Blah, Blah, Blah! No use crying over spilt milk.

There were undoubtedly many more memories made at this ride. My own experience has to have been the least of them. You can begin to understand if you'll visit the TdT Facebook page and look at all the photos. I ended up having the best time with Lisa at the ballgame. We have so much fun no matter where we go. Man I love that woman!

Well that about wraps it up for this edition of Chad's News. The remainder of the year will be a smattering of group rides with maybe a CycloCross race mixed in there. Be on the lookout for our annual New Years Ride in the GAPS!

Chad Hayes

Winter Riding in North Georgia

NEW YEARS DAY RIDE - Gainesville, Georgia

It's getting colder in North Georgia these days. October was pretty tame but now I fear old man winter will be striking a blow to our cycling adventures really soon. But I'm confident that we all shall persevere. I say this because I can recall countless times over the years when the elements only served to fuel my childish desire to go beyond acceptable norms. I also say this because if one of my friends decides to ride in the snow...I'll probably go with him. I have the gear, why not use it? And here's the thing...I'm not alone! There are more than a few crazy people here in N. GA. that only need a small window, a tiny push, a double dog dare to do something on a Saturday morning that defies logic. You know who you are.

How's this for a list of things we've all done in the dead of winter:
1. Shoved off from the garage at the house and already can't feel your fingers.
2. Riding across "crunchy" grass and frozen mud.
3. Can't drink because your camel bak is frozen solid.
4. Peeing on your rear derailleur. (Crude, but true)
5. Fine in the sun, then ride into a valley and it's like "The Day After Tomorrow"
6. It's so cold my eyes won't stop watering!
7. Two sets of gloves means I can't make a fist. Can't grip the bar. Don't really care.
8. Have to suck on a Clif Bar to loosen it up to chew.
9. Pinky toe is just...gone. Other toes are dropping like flies.
10. Eskimo jokes. Lots of Eskimo jokes.

Feel free to ad to this list.

Winter Riding - Lance Carpenter, Gary McCarthy, Stephen Sisk

One of my favorite stories happened one winter Saturday morning on a road ride with Trace Nabors. It had snowed on Friday but not enough to stick to the roads. There was snow on the ground though and that gave me an idea. How about a GAP's ride with snow? Trace was all about it. So we met at Lumpkin County High School at 7:00AM and started our 45 mile ride in the mountains. It was 22 degrees. I had everything I owned on my body. Baclava and a skull cap. 2 pair wool socks and booties. I was not going to be cold...boy was I wrong. I lost my fingers and my toes before we ever made the top of blood mountain. The decent nearly killed me. I couldn't tell if I was gripping or not so I just pushed the hooks of my thumbs into the bar. If you know anything about the turn onto Hwy 180/Wolf Pen Gap you'll understand how scared I was at not being able to grab my brakes because my hands were so cold. I almost decided to blow on past it and turn around.

Trace Nabors and Me - Frozen Lake Winfield Scott

On the climb up Wolf Pen I realized that my pain was not shared. My partner on this journey was actually enjoying the ride. I thought, "I must find out what magical garments he has on." "Can you feel you're hands?", I asked. "Yeah!, they're good.", Trace answered. "How about your toes? How many do you still have?" I said as the pain felt like spikes through my feet. "Toes are good too." "How is that possible?" I asked. Trace answered, "I have warming packets from Wal-Mart in my gloves and on top of my shoes."
Doh!
If he had been a guy I just met I would've taken him down, robbed him of his toasty phalangie saving packets and left him for dead. As it was I just didn't speak to him for the rest of the ride. Especially after he told me he had extra's...back at the truck! I'm just kidding about not speaking. Trace can't help it if he's smarter than me. I was mad at myself.
We had to stop and get a picture with the frozen Lake Winfield Scott behind us. Proving once and for all that we...are...stupid.
That's a lesson I learned and have never forgotten. Now I keep some of those warming packets in my wallet. You know, just in case.

This weekend many of my friends participated in the Tour de Tugaloo in Toccoa, Georgia.  I missed it this year to my regret because the weather was great. My friend David Shabat and his wife and son enjoyed a great time together that morning so I asked him to tell me about it.

David and Ben Shabat

David writes...

We showed up at the Tour de Tugaloo start, at Yonah Dam, in full gear for the chilly, sub 50 degree weather.  Packet pickup was a breeze as the sun started burning the dew off the grass, Toccoa Spinner - Sharon Mahon, led some of the cyclists through some pre-ride stretching.  We got a little warmed up, hit the restrooms one last time, and hit the pavement right at 10 AM.  It was a swarm as cyclists took up both sides of Yonah Dam Road, perhaps thinking this was a closed road for the day.  So, I bumped my pace sky high and continually shouted out to keep to the right, as cars and trucks were coming right at us from the opposite lane of this narrow, windy road. 

After about 3 and a half miles, the crowds started to thin.  I waited on my party to join me.  We climbed the first hill of the day and made it over to Old Church (Riverdale) Road and took our first turn.  A few miles later, we were at the first SAG at Traveler’s Rest.  Then onto a very busy Rt 123 until we reached River Road, in the unincorporated area of Westminster SC.  We passed under the train tracks and were finally starting to warm up, as we climbed Jarrett Bridge Rd and made our way to Horseshoe Bridge Rd, Jenkins Bridge Rd, and onward through Westminster and Walhalla, South Carolina.  The hills were rolling and pleasant as we blew through the miles, but never took off much gear due to heat (since it remained cool).

We SAGged  at Jenkins Bridge Rd at 123 and carried on.  The hills weren’t bad at all and we enjoyed riding past many farms, not unlike rides we’ve taken in Habersham and Hall Counties in Georgia.  We made it back from Walhalla to Westminster, at about mile 40, my wife decided she’d had enough.  Our good friend and Toccoa Spinner, Kim Turpin, was right there with a vehicle to load Lenka’s bike while Ben and I pressed on.  Oh yah, did I mention my 12 year old son was riding this 100Km (62 mile) course?  So, we continued onto Cobb Bridge Rd, and that’s where the fun began…

Climbs, climbs, and more climbs.  People were groaning that the course was like some hidden away Three Gap.  Ben and I just smiled as we passed them and offered a cheerful “good afternoon”.  Some people smiled back.  When I told them they’ll make it fine because my 12 year old was doing fine, they got an extra burst of “shamergy”… yes, that’s the shame-energy you get when you can’t believe you’re complaining and get passed by someone who should be complaining…  So, a lot of shamergy on Cobb Bridge and then after we turned onto Unity Church Rd.

Unity is like a piece of Unicoi on the downhills.  Turn, turn, turn, turn, turn… Unfortunately, some vehicles took the turns wide and we played some last second shoulder hugging games, but I used good cycling hand signals for Ben to know when to slow down and when to move from one side of our lane to the other, to avoid potholes at high speeds.  Once we made it back to 184, we took Old Liberty to River, finished River Rd, and SAGged at the River Rd 184 corner.  There were about 25,000 bees on a few hollowed out decaying logs, RIGHT BEHIND THE SAG area!  Needless to say we were scared into leaving sooner than Ben wanted.  But, off we went, with just a few miles to go.

Ben was a total trooper, making it the 62 miles and screaming “Wooo Hooo!” as we crossed the finish line for what was a chilly, challenging, but very exciting and fun ride.  Ben can’t wait until next year, when he plans to make his poor old dad suffer…

David

Another edition of Chad's News is coming next week as I blow you guys away with news of our trip to the netherworld. Our foray into the abyss. Our incursion into the savage wasteland known as...Alabama.

David and I are joining forces once again to try and hold our podium position in the Chainbuster 6 Hr MTB Series Final. And then we plan to attack the trails the next day in a Dirty Spokes Duathlon. Stay tuned for the story of pain and agony. Woe...indeed.

Have a great weekend!


Chad