Post date: Apr 16, 2011 3:13:35 PM
Leaving the cold winds of Missouri behind we departed for the hills of Georgia, some 14 hours away. We arrived at 3 in the morning and passed out. Somehow we all had enough energy the next morning to go out for a 40mile ride with some 8,000 feet of climbing. My legs did not appreciate me after this, and took it easy the next day. Wednesday morning was my last day in Georgia so Fred and I decided to tackle the Brasstown Bald before lunchtime. The ride there was beautiful and a little cloudy but that was nothing compared to the fog we encountered at Brasstown. The 3 mile climb was steep and I couldn’t see more than a 100yds in front of me because of the fog. Fortunately there was no car traffic and we were sheltered from the winds. Upon reaching the parking lot, we decided to go up to the observation tower. There we observed fog as thick as Aunt Jemamiah’s syrup. On the descent down I forgot about the gate blocking the road and slammed on my brakes, causing my bike to skid for a couple of hundred yards. The skid burned through my rear tire and I was stuck on top of Old Smokey with no way home. Fred’s trusty cellular phone called in an airstrike from basecamp some 25 miles away and we were picked up by Marc and Sheena just as the fog as lifting. It was a pretty epic weekend full of great riding, beautiful views, tons of laughs, spandex and amazing food. I will definitely be back next year.