Six Gap Century, September 24, 2006

**Pedal Wench** · 09-26-2006, 08:17 AM

We bailed. And, are still kicking ourselves for doing it. We ended up with a nice 50-mile ride, just not the one we planned!

I'll start by blaming the whole thing on the Weather Channel. All night Saturday and still on Sunday morning, they were predicting the weather getting worse and worse on Sunday. 8:00 showers, 11:00 strong thunderstorms, 3:00 Strong storms with damaging high winds, 5:00 severe weather alert.

When we got to the top of Neels, the sky just opened up and we thought that it was just going to get worse. Ken, my BF had gotten ahead of me on the climb up Neels, and I couldn't find him right away at the top. By the time I did, I figured I should use the potty too. (I know - NEVER stop at the first rest stop, but I had to find the guy, right?)
We tried to wait it out for a bit, huddled under a little overhang in the parking lot, getting wetter, colder and colder the longer we waited. I could feel Ken shivering next to me. That's when a face that looked vaguely familiar huddled up next to us. Yup - I recognized Nanci from her avatar picture - how bizarre is that? Since we thought it was just going to keep getting worse than this, and this was pretty miserable, we knew that we weren't going to do all six. It just didn't seem like a smart decision at that point. We were both really dreading descending in the rain, being as cold as we were. I was having real problems seeing too - glasses kept fogging up, so I would take them off, but still couldn't see because of the rain hitting my eyes. Arghhh. At one point, I was wearing them, fully aware that I couldn't see, and I realized just how stupid and dangerous this was turning out to be.

Ken asked if it would be quicker to just turn around and go back the way we came. I knew it was 25 miles back either way, but we would only have one descent if we turned around, and three if we proceeded to 3-Gap. In a classic case of a couple trying to figure out what the other really wants to do, we ended up turning around. (I thought Ken was leaning that way, he thought I was, and both of us really wanted to do all three, but was trying to do what the other wanted...)

The descent down Neels was awful, because we were both so chilled (waited WAY too long on top of Neels figuring out weather, looking at maps, discussing what was safe and smart) and at one point we both had to slow down because we couldn't control the bikes because we were shivering so much. However, the temperature was warming up as we were descending, which helped. More than a few other folks had done the same thing as we did. Towards the bottom, the rain started to let up. And, we instantly regretted not continuing on. We STILL regret not continuing on.

Two things kept coming into our heads. Although we tend to always to do more difficult things - take the longer trail,hike the harder route, add more miles to our rides, etc., our choices are still always safe, and smart. Sitting in a downpour with a forecast of it just getting worse, we made what we thought at the time was the smartest and safest choice. Do we regret that? Heck yeah! The other thought was something we had talked about the night before while looking at the forecast. Ken had said that if I got hurt because we pushed on against our common sense, he would never forgive himself, and I felt the same way. I think if we were riding alone, things might have been different. Actually, I know it would have been. We were both worried too much about each other. Ain't love grand?

I had really trained for this, desperate to beat my awful time from last year (massive bonk and about 30 minutes of waiting for water at two of the rest stops...), and I'm so bummed that we didn't even do three, let alone six. No one is proud of doing the 1-Gap 50! But, a bunch of us are planning on a re-do, make-good, do-over redemption ride on October 8th, starting at the rock pile and doing all six gaps. Anyone is more than welcome to join us. Rain date is tentatively the 14th.

Skibum - I'm still beating myself up for wussing out. I'm going to take your boyfriend's comment to heart. I can do this ride any time - and I will!

This was the funniest thing I've heard on a ride. Picture 2,000 cyclists lined up for a mass start on a slight downhill. We're lined up way back in the pack. Over the loudspeaker, we hear them start us, knowing it's going to be a good 10 minutes until we even think about moving. A friend of mine shouts out, "On yer left!!!!!!!" Cracked up the whole crowd.

**Nanci** · 09-26-2006, 10:13 AM

You know what hurts the worst on me after this ride? That muscle on the forearm that is on the pinky side- from braking! That and general hand pain kept waking me up last night.

Stacie- switching to a shorter length based on conditions is _not_ not finishing. You could have gotten hypothermia if it continued to rain! And it _did_ rain later in the afternoon. What if you would have still been out? I bailed on the stupid Tour de Forts Century earlier this year, and it was an immediate relief. I bailed because it was super windy, tons of traffic, boring, cold. But then I got off course and almost did a whole century anyway...Too bad you didn't know where I was- I could have given you spare clothes or a ride.

Skibum- 3.5 hours- WHATEVER!! Like almost twice as fast as me. I was a total baby about descending, and I'm usually a good descender! I was expecting speeds of 35-40 or maybe more if I felt confident. BF is hard to miss- he's 6'4" on a big yellow Cannondale with CAT stickers on it.

I think the reason I had "fun" and others were disappointed was I planned on Three Gaps from the beginning- even when the weather was unknown.

A. I'm a horrible climber.
B. I would finish a couple hours or more later than BF, and not get a nap in before I had to drive home, getting us in at 2AM or later.
C. I know I can do a hundred mile mountain ride, 3 State 3 Mountain, so I don't feel like I have anything to prove to myself.

I think I'm going for the same plan next year- Three Gaps, not Six.

Maybe more of us will meet up at 3 State 3 Mountain, though!

I'm satisfied with my ride. I had almost perfect clothing choices. My nutrition was perfect. After the sun came out, it was so pretty! Even in the rain, I still took time to enjoy the clouds and fog. I _tried_ to beat my time from last year. I think I was a teeny bit faster. I don't remember if I had to stop on the ascents to catch my breath last year or not- I suspect so, but this year I didn't.

Nanci

**skibum** · 09-26-2006, 10:29 AM

PedalWench, don't beat yourself up. You didn't wuss out at all!! It's all about being smart and being safe. I know plenty of people who cut the ride short or bailed on doing it altogether. Also, there were several crashes due to the wet conditions. My BF crashed (minor scrapes and bruises) while descending Wolfpen. It could have happened to anyone -- better safe than sorry!

**stacie** · 09-26-2006, 10:51 AM

Pedal Wench, My decision was based on the forecast as well. I could not imagine being out there when conditions got worse. That's why I turned around and back tracked when I heard the thunder.
Nanci, I think we ride in some of the same circles. I haven't done the Tour de forts since the route changed. In the past we could ride over the beautiful Dames Point bridge. There was always a snow cone stop in the parking lot of the ferry. Oh, those were some good snow cones. I met some great people on that ride whom I still love to bump into on rides. Are you doing Swampman?
Glad BF is okay SkiBum. s

**Nanci** · 09-26-2006, 12:15 PM

When is Swampman?

I'm doing a non-cycling thing next weekend, brevet around Okeechobee the next weekend, no plans the next weekend, Santa Fe Century the next weekend, Horrible Hundred- that's the immediate future.

**Nanci** · 09-26-2006, 12:18 PM

Just got my official time 5:37:12. My computer shows 5 hours, so I wasn't dinking around as much as I thought- I thought my non-riding time was one hour, but couldn't figure out where. I stopped briefly at two sags, then once on a climb to eat, ond once on a descent for five minutes to let my forearms rest.

**DebW** · 09-26-2006, 01:13 PM

I hiked through most of these gaps on an AT hike in May. I was always going DOWN into the gaps and the UP out of them. As as hiker you think "Why are these gaps so low? I don't want to go down and back up". Guess it's a totally different perspective when you have to go UP to the gaps! Thanks for the entertaining report. Enjoyed them.

**Pedal Wench** · 09-26-2006, 03:32 PM

Deb, my BF said that he saw a guy with a huge backpack walking around the SAG on top of Neels, looking totally confused and out of place. I could imagine walking into that scene!

Thanks for the encouraging words. I really had my heart set on taking a solid hour, if not more, off my 6-Gap time, so to only do 1-Gap is just going to be a letdown, especially with all the training I've been doing for it. But, we kept thinking that a crash would ruin the season, and we've got some hiking and biking trips coming up that would be ruined with an injury. When we saw Skibum's BF's injury, that confirmed that we made the right choice - he's got so much experience riding, and if HE went down, what could have happened to us?!?!!

We're still trying to nail down the dates for our redo, and I'll let y'all know when it is.

OH! My forearms are KILLING me! The studio I work in has very heavy wooden doors, and when I put my hand flat on it to open it, it's so tight and painful that I can barely stand it. I know it's from clutching my brakes. Ouch!

**DebW** · 09-26-2006, 04:13 PM

Originally Posted by Pedal Wench

Deb, my BF said that he saw a guy with a huge backpack walking around the SAG on top of Neels, looking totally confused and out of place. I could imagine walking into that scene!

A southbounder who'd been on the trail for 6 months would have had total culture shock seeing hundreds of bikers (or people, really) at Neels Gap like that. Though the huge backpack argues against the guy being a thru-hiker. But I can certainly understand confusion. I spent a night in the hostel at Neels Gap on my hike, and there were 3 people there. After 5 trail days, the shower and laundry were very nice.

**Pedal Wench** · 09-26-2006, 06:34 PM

That's funny Deb. Whenever we do an extended hike, we always know that we're getting back to the trailhead and civilization when the people we pass on the trail smell good.

**Nanci** · 10-05-2006, 11:18 AM

Anybody have any luck finding their photos? Birdseyevie.net has them posted, but I can't find me or BF...

**Nanci** · 10-05-2006, 12:08 PM

Oh- I look like either I have leprosy, or I'm a corpse.

http://tinyurl.com/fu7et

The prev photo is me too. Nice...

**skibum** · 10-05-2006, 01:23 PM

I found mine although it's a little hard to tell it's me. I think the headlights from the car behind me messed up the lighting some:

https://www.birdseyeview.net/cgi-loc...n_SIX_1718.JPG

There was an unofficial photographer on Wolfpen. His shots of me were much better:

http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/...um=0&adjust=-1
http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/...um=0&adjust=-1
http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/...um=0&adjust=-1

**Nanci** · 10-05-2006, 03:16 PM

http://tinyurl.com/geqkj

It's really quite sad that I am off the dieting wagon...

**Nanci** · 10-05-2006, 03:50 PM

How cool is it to be able to wheelie your road bike for the photographer!! (Some guy on Hogpen...)

Thread: Six Gap Century, September 24, 2006

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