The camp unofficially got started when seven of us met up early on Monday, March 23 to get in some early miles before the official camp started on Wednesday, March 25. The first ride out of the gate was a challenging 43 mile loop known as the Helen 3-Gap which featured two really huge climbs including the 5 mile long Hogs Pen Gap (campers pictured at Summit). This ride took almost 3-hours and featured spectacular weather. Many of us got our first biker tan lines of the year. Many of us also went at it too hard and would suffer for it later in the week.
Tuesday arrived with another beautiful day as we set out to take on the back side of the Helen 6-Gap ride which featured epic climbs up Blood Mountain and Wolf Pen Gap. At the top of Blood Mountain a church group was serving burgers - what a nice treat on a very long training day of over 4 and 1/2 hours (nearly 75 miles).
Wednesday brought the first official day of camp and an additional 15 campers to town. Many of us started the day with a 3k swim at the local Rec Center. Due to some weather concerns we rode a portion of the Devils Branch loop which resulted in a very fast paced 42 miles.
Thursday we changed the schedule and took on the challenging Brasstown Bald out and back 40 mile route. This infamous route is where the Tour of Georgia finished up a stage each year. With a light rain and lots of fog the accent up Brasstown took a scary twist as riders were forced to ride a slalom course up the climb (or get off and walk) with only about 30 meters of visibility. Though this road has little to no traffic, weaving in and out of the on coming traffic lane with little visibility made for some scary moments. However, most campers were so blown at this point that the concern of being run over never entered their minds.
Friday arrived and the rainy weather continued. Many of us opted for another 3k morning swim and hoped the weather would break by late morning. No such luck but we gathered again to take on the Helen 3-Gap route in reverse which featured a 7 mile climb up the back of Hogs Pen Gap. Once at the top the weather worsened and the temperatures dropped. After struggling through another 43 mile loop in really bad weather the campers looked forward to a hot shower and a huge meal. The consensus after the ride was a day off the bike on Saturday if the rain continued.
Saturday arrived and so did the rain. Probably the hardest rain of the week. We left our bikes in the cabin and headed for the trails around Unicoi State Park. An out and back route was chosen to Ruby Falls and back. This challenging route featured narrow rocky single track that was mostly off camber. Cold and tired we arrived at the turn around in 2 hours! This was a lot more running than most anticipated and a new return route was needed to shorten the time. We found a road that was more direct that would cut some distance off but still ended up with a 3 hour and 5 minute run. Wow - totally epic run and all during a raging downpour. My legs felt totally destroyed.
Sunday morning arrived and finally NO RAIN! Our goal was to get one last crack at Blood Mountain and Wolf Pen Gap for about a 35 mile route. With just 5 miles to go one of our campers (Andy) went into a turn a little too hot and smacked into a pop-up camper giving him a nice gash on his right leg and some serious rib pain. After a visit to the hospital to reveal no broken ribs and getting some stitches to close the gash on his leg everyone started their drive home to their respective hometowns. What a great time despite the weather and the last day incident (Andy has already reserved his spot for next year). Mark your calendars for 2010 - March 17 to March 21.
Bring it!
Shannon Kurek aka HFP Man
