Pleasant AM wake up, slept late in quiet woods.
Plan is to round trip Snake Gap to Dug Gap & back via road. Short drive to TH. Bit below freezing. In parking lot but what do my homesick eyes behold but a CXT outhouse. (Actually I’m not homesick but the phrase was appealing). This ride is the shorter of the 2 time trials of just 17 miles. It is rated as the most technical of the Pinhoti trail. Headed out insulated for cold weather. Good ST like a hiking trail w/ roots & rocks. Made turn onto ridge & it got really rocky, like PA rocks w/ some WVA thrown in. Better at riding them but still walked some questionable moves. Noticed a tree across trail @ 1.9 miles. Front brake worked @ first & then failed and squealed. I moved the pad adjustment lever in and brake reappeared. Don’t know if it is really repaired. Changed out of heavy gloves & hat to sweat cap & regular long fingered gloves. Did sweat up. Higher heart rate than usual. Trail crossed a creek several times going downhill and wetted bottom bracket. Not sure if bracket is among the still functioning gear list. Will check later.
Trail dumps out on dead end road @ telecommunication towers, thought ST should continue. Bit perplexed, didn’t want to ride down hill to learn that i missed the trail. Found a sketchy ST dropping off road, walked down it a ways checking for traffic signs. Hardly used so it was back on the road. Big down hill on pavement, kept using front brake as test & appeared to stop the front wheel. Found trail marker & Pinhoti trail sign right @ gated road @ bottom of hill. Turned left per map and dropped into steep pavement downhill, assumed aerodynamic shape and drifted the corners on knobby tires. The road flattened out and then it was just a pleasant grunt back to TH.
I was inside van w/ door closed. I looked outside and there was a car w/ a bike on top. Guy was getting ready to ride. Struck up conversation and learned his name, Rick, and his role, VP of NWGA SORBA and an official for this weekend’s last Time trial and he was going to ride this section of trail & clear whatever. I shared the tree and that it needed a chain saw not the small hand saw he was going to carry. Rick said that he needed to drive back to his house & pick up his chain saw. We chatted for a while, I asked him if he knew of a place to get a shower. He said I could shower @ his house as he didn’t live too far away. I volunteered to walk in and help him cut the tree in return for enjoying the club’s work on the trail and the shower. Upon Rick’s return he told me he made some phone calls and learned about me from other SORBA contacts. getting around.
We hiked the 2 miles in & cut the tree and hiked out just before dark. I learned that the sketchy trail I checked out ended up in his back yard and he had several other secret stashes.
I followed him to his house retracing my road ride and then into Dalton crossing I-75. I wondered how those trails could be @ his house. Answer: his house butts up against Dug Gap, he rides up a gated gravel road to ride down hills.
I met his wife Cindy who was recovering from a injured ankle incurred in her exuberance to obtain Atlanta Braves baseball players autographs. After my shower I met Gennie & Gay from the local chapter & participated in an impromptu club meeting. Rick grilled a deer steak that I enjoyed.
I camped in the cul de sac in front of their house.
Today they left for work and I left for more riding. Planning on returning to Chattanooga to ride Raccoon mtn.
Rick offered me the sweep rider function for the time trial. I could ride the trail and not have to ride the road back saving 8 miles after hard 17 miles. Big production this time trial. The club has done well with enlisting various community groups to support. Just might hang for participation and another go @ trail. Good trail.
Rick is on board of Pinhoti trail assoc representing mtn bikers. Trail is well constructed and challenging. Worth the hard effort to ride again.
N. GA is down out of mountains. Snake Gap is on West edge of Appalachian Valley. The Pinhoti, whose logo is a turkey foot, connects with another trail and then joins the AT @ southern terminus. AT design was to continue in AL but the valley lacked public land. The Pinhoti and the other trail named after the spark plug of the AT solved that but is not considered part of AT.
Finding creative beer here is a challenge, usually unsuccessful.
Off to ride.
7:45PM update
Ran numbers on chain to learn I had 397 miles, 100 more than I like, to only replace chain & not cluster. Called Bear Creek Bicycles asking about chain & possible cluster. GPS would not recognize Park Drive but person on phone gave me directions.
Made shop location. Person on phone was Shane, the owner. And the cash register started ringing. New chain for sure and the cluster is shot. I bought top of line SRAM because. The bottom bracket was also toast. Ka-ching: sprung for Chris King BB hopefully be the last 1 in long time as his components are. Shane called attention to my almost wafer thin rear brake rotor. Ka- ching. He then wrestled w/ a shifting problem. I am good to go until I replace the chain rings or possible front brake. Shane helped me out, I called back to tell him he didn’t charge me w/ everything. He forgot the rotor. I will pay him before I move on.
I spent all afternoon in shop. Got to play w/ his Lab and loosened up a few handfuls of hair from her. Let me pet someones dog and loose hair follows. When my dog, Chase was with me my house had a patinia white Lab hair but his coat was so silky.
A shop groupie visited. He said he is country southern. He said the difference between a red neck & a good ol boy is the good ol boy throws his beer cans in the back of the pick up, the red neck throws them out the window.
Enjoyed some intellectual exchange w/ Shane.
No ride today which is my definition of OK after yesterday’s ride. I will sweep after the race on Sat to get a shuttle to start of Snake Gap to ride it again. There is a 34 and 17 mile time trial. i rode the 17 miler. Rick offered to let me ride the 34. The longer course starts upstream of Snake Gap and is much less technical than the last 8 rocky miles on Snake but if you ride too fast on first part you will deplete energy for toughest miles to come. I’d like to ride a few more of the rocks on the Snake and have energy for the post race party and zanny activity to follow. Bruce says that it is international Cougar day celebrated to Chattanooga.
So Shane offered me a sleep spot behind the shop. Right now I am downtown in old Dalton parked next to the tracks. Downtown Main Street: no parking meters. New town is out by I-5 & usual big box stores.
My comment: America is filled w/ wonderful people shaped by local lifestyle and they are all good. The country side is worthy of enjoying. I have been east of the Rockies since Labor Day. N Georgia is pleasant, a back woods cabin on a mountain side w/ a flowing pure year round creek for drinking & electric & call me off the grid. Shane’s family is from here. They have a cabin on road to Mulberry Gap Inn. A road in the area is named “Shake Rag” because an old woman sat on her porch and when shine was available and the coast was clear she would wave a rag. If bad times she would just wave. He said that the hills were prime location for stills.
Just slowing down and enjoying company of people I meet. And that’s my story.