“Hey it’s a nice day in February – let’s go do a night ride up the Farlow Gap trail” (Farlow just happens to be one of the gnarliest, most technical trails in Pisgah National Forest)

“There’s a full moon out so let’s go climb all the way up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, ride along the parkway and over some snow/ice patches, and do a lap around Pisgah at night.”

Yeah right … suggest those things to your riding buds and they’re likely to think you’ve gone totally mental – off your rocker.  Well thanks to Eric and The Most Horrible Thing Ever for bringing together enough like minded loonies to take on such an epic challenge!

I’ll just start off by saying this was really hard - probably definitely the most suffering I’ve done on a bike.  A few stats for those into the numbers:

• 175 miles
• 21,463’ of climbing
• 14,600 calories burned
• 37.5 hours (midnight Friday night until 1:30 PM Sunday)

The GPS had never seen numbers like this before!

NOTE: Read on for the story of how this all unfolded … I also put together this page with all the passports (routes), GPS plots, and elevation profiles.  Enjoy!

The concept for the race is a 36 hour endurance bike race in Pisgah National Forest.  It’s broken up into 6 stages – each of which have 6 checkpoints.

Alex, Chris, and I headed up to Cove Creek Campground early Friday afternoon – loaded up with 6 bikes between the 3 of us – you never know what can break with 36 hours of riding Pisgah!  The plan was to grab a few hours sleep in the tent before the midnight start.  But nerves got the better of me and I didn’t get much shut-eye – what the heck am I doing – I should be warm at home chilling out on the couch!

Stage 1 – Up Farlow and Beyond

Well before long I heard the clanging of the race cowbell - midnight rolled around and Eric handed out the passports for stage 1.  Well kids, we’re heading UP Farlow!  Eric had laid out a 37 mile route for us, and about an hour into the stage he had us climbing up Farlow Gap.  It was actually pretty cool – I was alone the entire time on the climb.  Occasionally I’d see a train of lights behind weaving their way up the mountain.  Finally I arrive at the top and they said I was the 2nd person through – sweet!  There was a team not far behind me so I jumped on the bike and took off down the other side of the mountain.

The next downhill (Kissee Creek) was interesting – rocky loose doubletrack at night with lots of leaf cover – made for some sketchy riding.  But the tubeless and Stans did the trick and made it through without any issues.

Fast forward a few hours and I’m at the top of the Butter Gap trail.  It was super fast – most of the spots that would be muddy were frozen crusty soil – which actually made for great traction and a screaming descent – a great way to round out stage 1.  I rolled back into the campground just before dawn at about 6 AM.  Broussard is at the fire – turns out I finished in 2nd place only 30 minutes behind him – not bad I thought!

In all the excitement I didn’t eat nearly enough during stage 1 – not good when you’re 6 hours into a 36 hour event and already feeling hungry!  So I went to the tent and scouted out the stash of food.

Yeah I probably went a bit overboard on the food – but wasn’t sure what was going to work.  Jersey Mikes subs, Red Bulls, Gatorade, oranges, bananas, Dots, sugar coated gummy bears, fig newtons, Odwalla bars, Hammer bars, clif blocks, yogurt covered pretzels, scrambled eggs, yogurt …

So I took some time before stage 2 to eat.  It’s 6:30 and the sun is just coming up.  I eat some eggs, yogurt, and gatorade - trying to psych the mind up to start another day of racing.

Stage 2 – Cantrell Creek vortex

Stage 2 had a mandatory checkpoint at the bottom of the Cantrell Creek trail.  Ask most people about Cantrell and they won’t have much positive to say.  It’s like this vortex of bike destruction! Rocks, creek crossings with mossy rocks, parts of the trail that just ride along old rocky creek bottoms, thorns.  Oh yeah, and in February there’s ice too!  I’ve ridden this trail twice before – the first time I lost a rear derailleur to this trail in the 2007 Double Dare and the second time I had a flat tire in the 2008 Double Dare.  So I was definitely not looking forward to riding Cantrell again.

Prepping the bike for Stage 2

So I hopped on the bike and started riding – thinking of my planned route along the way.  The legs are feeling really weak and my heart rate was not coming up – I’ve definitely gotten myself into calorie deficit.  I was pretty tired and by the time I got to the Club Gap climb I was walking up most of the stuff that I usually ride.  Then came the ride along Black Mountain trail – more hike-a-bike – I was feeling totally tired and broken at this point – and I’m thinking I’ll throw in the towel and stop after stage 2.

Checkpoint #1 – Club Gap (Yep that’s snow on the rear tire)

The legs started feeling better and I picked up the pace on the South Mills River trail.  I’m flying along and get surprised by some slick rocks and end up laid out on the ground!  I figure it’s a good opportunity to eat so I chow down on some Fig Newtons, Gummy Bears, etc.  About that time Extreme Tomato rolls up … he, Clay and I cross over the South Mills River

Snow and Ice on the South Mills River

Little did I know that those 2 had already done a few river crossings without bridges.  Check this out – totally insane!

Eventually I make my way to Cantrell Creek.  I’m cruising along and in the groove when whhooooaaaaa … slip sliding on some ice and rocks!

This whole section of trail was one long slick section of ice with rocks sticking up!  That was a close call.

The rest of stage 2 was pretty much a suffer-fest for me.  It’s going to be after 4 PM by the time I make it back.  I’m tired and out of energy and thinking that I’ll definitely quit after stage 2 – or at least drink a few beers by the fire and go sleep

Stage 3 – finally get to descend farlow

As I pulled back into the campground after stage 2 I’m totally ready to hang it up.  Tired, legs are weak, hungry and need to eat.  But Eric seems to have other plans in store.  “Dude, you just have to climb the fire road up to Farlow and come back” he says.  Oh great, fire road climbs are may favorite (NOT!) I think to myself.  As spent as I am we’re talking about roughly 2 hours of climbing up 2000’ to Farlow Gap.  So I grab some of Erinna’s chili (thanks – that was great!), some sub sandwich, and try to get psyched up for this.

I had to pull out the tunes for this one to stay motivated (metal, punk, industrial).  Cranked up the MP3’s and kept turning the pedals.  On the way up I passed a few people who went to Farlow and then back down the fire road – turns out most (all?) did this.  Well I decided if I was going to suffer the fire road climb then I might as well get the payback of the Farlow descent.

Make it a Combo!

(Jersey Mike’s sub with a side of tasty Farlow downhill)

Darkness has just settled in as I fire up the Dinnotte lights, chomp down some Jersey Mike’s Super sub, and enjoy the super-sized rock gardens descending down Farlow.  I had a great ride down Farlow / Daniel Ridge and got back to Cove Creek camp about ?? 10 PM Saturday night.

Stage 4 – Gravel road grinder

At this point I’m pretty pumped up that I’ve made it this far.  The legs endured another monster climb in stage 3 without cramping (I even passed one other racer), and I managed some sweet singletrack without any catastrophes, so maybe the body is holding up OK.

But then Eric hands me the passport for stage 4 and I let out some kind of hysterical laugh.  Yeah right, I’m definitely calling it quits now!

Basically stage 4 is a huge loop around Pisgah on a mix of fire roads, Hwy 276, and the Blue Ridge Parkway.  And it started with a huge climb up to the Parkway.  Now I make no secret about the fact that I’m not a big fan of fire road climbs to begin with.  And at this point I’m almost 24 hours into this race and I’m really having trouble getting pumped up to do this one.

But then Dr. Evil dangles the carrot out there.  “You know, there’s only 2 other teams out there right now, and you’re ahead of each of them so far on checkpoints.  And the Yeti dudes decided to sleep until morning.”  So basically if I continue on now (and don’t sleep) I have a decent shot at winning this thing.   Hmmmm …… so do I do the sane thing and pass out or do I forge on?

Well insanity prevailed.  I went to the tent, pounded 2 Red Bulls, and Starbucks shot, and some more Jersey Mikes.  I then loaded up the camelbak with food supplies and headed out at 11:30 PM.

So it’s midnight Saturday night and I’m riding up Hwy 276 towards the Parkway – alone – under a full moon – and the only noises are from the wind and an occasional critter in the woods.  The moon lit up the road nicely so I turned off the lights and just took it all in.  Wow – this is cool.  Eventually I see a red blinker up ahead and on the final switchbacks I catch up with Peter and we ride together up to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Thanks Peter - it was nice to have someone to chat with for a bit!

Finally – the Climb to the Parkway is Over!

 

Bonus - the Parkway gates were closed – didn’t have to deal with any car traffic!

Peter said he was doing fine so I took off ahead on the Parkway.  Full moon, bright stars, dark mountains nearby and the lights of Asheville and Brevard further off in the distance.  And the moon lit up the road so well I turned off the bike lights again - it was totally surreal.  Definitely glad I did this stage at night!

So after a few minutes I passed Mount Pisgah and it was time for a long fast downhill section of the Parkway.  I turned the lights back on and turned up the speed heading down.  I was keeping an eye out for ice in the tunnels from the runoff.  Then at one point where the Parkway crossed over to the North side of the ridgeline I came screaming around a corner and wooaaahhh – snow/ice across the entire road.  Luckily I stopped just short of that.

A few minutes later I arrive at FS 5000 and prepare to descend that fire road all the way down to the North Mills Campground area.  The ride down was a bit unnerving.  At this point it’s 3 AM and I keep seeing white patches on the road that look like they might be ice.  But they turned out to be the type of gravel they’ve used – it almost glows at night with the bike lights.

I was pretty well dressed for the weather that night – the body, fingers, and toes were all nice and warm.  But when I got to the bottom of FS 5000 it was like the bottom dropped out.  All of a sudden the temperature just plunged and the fingers and toes went from numb to pain!  North Mills is in a valley and the river running through it also helps to cool it way down.

So now it’s about 3:20 AM and I’m at the total opposite end of Pisgah from Cove Creek Campground.  I’m at a low point elevation-wise and have a solid 30 minute climb in front of me.  The temperature has plunged and I’m shivering.  And oh yeah, the brain is starting to play tricks on me – seeing things that aren’t there – sleep depravation is taking it’s toll.  OK Dave, time to get a plan or this could get ugly real fast.

So I walked some just to stimulate the brain and break the monotony of pedaling up the dirt road.  If I can just make it to Yellow Gap at the top then I can rest – it should be warmer and it’s sheltered from the wind.  3/4 of the way up heard some campers still awake in their tent on the side of the road.  Heard some commotion and a laugh – not sure if they were laughing at the crazy on his bike at 4 AM or what.  I finally make it to Yellow Gap so I stop and sit down to rest for a few minutes.  I am definitely quitting the race after stage 4 I think to myself – if I can just gather enough strength to make it back to Cove Creek campground – yeah that’s it – chill out by the warm fire, have a few beers, and pass out in the tent – sounds like a great plan – definitely giving up after stage 4!

After slogging through FS 1206 for what seemed like an eternity I see a red blinker light and a bike on the side of the road ahead.  Then I see a dude lying down!  I ask him if he’s alright – turns out it was Luther – he was fine and had just been grabbing a few z’s on the side of the road.

Soon after that I somehow got a burst of energy – the legs came back to life and I made great time- had a fun descent on the Cove Creek trail and pulled back into camp just after sunrise on Sunday.  Sweet!  I survived stage 4!  Eric says I’m in first place at this point – just need to put in a solid showing on stage 5.

Stage 5 – Doin’ Some Laps

It’s about 7 AM and the campground is pretty quiet.  Eric’s hanging by the fire – thanks man for keeping the fire going!  At this point I’m totally drained both mentally and physically – I’m in a daze just trying to stay warm by the fire.

So luckily Stage 5 isn’t too difficult.  It’s about a 1 hour lap (Campground –> Davidson River Trial –> 475B –> 225 –> Cove Creek –> Campground).

To be honest I really don’t remember much about what happened Sunday morning!  I was so fried by that point.  I do remember thinking the last thing my body wants to do is to sit back on the bike saddle.  So after some procrastinating I hop back on the bike and start the loops.

As I pull back into the campground after loop 1 Eric says I’ve got some competition – Luther is out doing laps and might catch up if I don’t keep going.  (I later learned I had a lead of a few checkpoints)  Perhaps Mr. Evil Genius was just trying to make me suffer even more

Well I ended up doing 3 laps and finally finishing The Most Horrible Thing Ever at 1:30 PM on Sunday.  37.5 hours of fun, pain, near defeat, and at last triumph.  I was totally psyched to nab FIRST PLACE … WOO-HOOO!

So was it worth all the pain and suffering?  You bet.