So I meet this guy named Graham Skardon from GA who came up to buy a bike I had for sale.We ended up riding that afternoon on some local trails together since Rebecca and I were heading out to ride that afternoon anyway.
At some point he brought up a bike packing event he was doing in a few weeks. I had done a bunch of 100 mile events, but never a multi day trip that was almost 300 miles long. It piqued my interest and sounded like just what was needed given all the standard year end stress at work. It was not 48 hours later and I had signed up and started the planning.
The Planning Begins
The next problem was what bike would I ride for this type thing. The Marji Gessick had claimed my SS a couple months prior and I had not figured out what to replace it with. I had been looking at the new 2018 Stache and a number of others at the shop raved about how fun it was. Best of all it had the stranglehold dropouts so i could flip it to SS when I was ready.
I read a ton of articles and blogs on other riders and racers, of course had to watch ride the divide again, and then started the Amazon ordering rush to try and assemble all the gear I thought I needed. Revelate designs seemed to come up in a number of articles so I decided to go with them for all of my bike bag needs. This proved to be a great choice as everything performed as expected.
New bike arrives the week of the event, so no time for test rides except in my yard. All the bags arrive a couple days before its time to leave. I am able to test pack up the bike once before having to hit the road and it seems like all should fit. I later find I did not pack everything exactly like it would be and have to figure things out the night before the race.
Night before the race!
I get everything loaded up with the plans to make it to Mulberry Gap retreat early and get my campsite setup for the night. The rain started somewhere on the way there and it ended up taking longer than expected. I roll in at about dark and it is still raining steady. I find out where the primitive camp setup is and then realize that I did not really bring lights for camp so i could get the rest of my stuff packed up.
Luckily there is a cabin available for the night and I end up having a great place to sleep and get the rest of my gear prepped. If you are looking for a really cool place to stay that has a pump track on site and trails all around then give these guys a try.
Bike fully loaded and ready to go about 1:00AM
End up getting to bed later than expected as it seemed like I was always forgetting something that needed to be loaded up. Call it a night and try to get a few hours of sleep.
Day 1 - Adventuring and late night hillbilly encounters
Alarm goes off sometime early, the sun is not up, and I would prefer to just stay in that warm cabin and sleep a couple more hours. Get up and moving as I know that I need to get the bike loaded up and get my car to the parking area.
The first realization of what a packed bike weighs hits me as I try to wrestle this pig down three stairs and back to the car. I had a hard time picking the bike up and getting it onto the rack and end up having to put some bungees around it to the car so it doesnt fall off the rack from the weight.
Everyone is shuffling about around the main building getting things ready and messing with their bikes. I head in and eat some breakfast. The food was great and these guys did a great job of taking care of everyone. I know that @JohnEmerick at the shop has raved about Mullberry Gap when they have gone down for company trips.
Learned that these events all seem to have a patch. They had some cool ones collected from the group.
Departure time nears and everyone gathers at the starting point. Remember that I have not started my Garmin Etrex and have to fumble with that for a minute or so before taking off.
The main group of riders have already disappeared up the road when I rolled out of the parking area. You immediately start into some climbing up the road heading toward the entrance to the first trail. I have never been down here, but have heard people talk about the Pinhotti trail. The guys at the shop talk about it being killed as it is just up and down the whole time.
I hang a right into the trail and not long after that it starts going up. Within the first 100 yards into the trail peddling that tank of a bike I knew I had possibly made a terrible mistake. I continued up and up having to get off a couple times due to the wet trails and my lack of willingness to keep pedaling this beast. The trail keeps rolling and mainly climbing for some length of time. Probably half way up the trail or so I run into this guy Dustin Welch who looks to be having as tough of a time as I was. A group of riders come up and look super fresh like the last however many miles of climbing we just did was not big deal on a loaded bike.
Dustin and I decide to take a break for a few and take in some food and catch our breath. We continue pushing on and eventually pop out on a road, not really sure what road it was. There are a couple other riders stopped here taking a break. Took a couple pictures and kept plugging on.
We now have a group of three or four and are back moving along. We passed a turn at one point and then were back on some more trails. The rain had been light most the morning, but then started really coming down for a while. I was able to test the rain jacket and wished I had brought rain pants and everything was wet and getting cold. We rode for a ways more and then came out to a state park. Again took 5, grabbed some food and a couple pictures.
We continue on for a while in the rain. I am again wondering why in the hell I am out here on a 80 pound bike riding in the rain. Not sure how many more miles we rode, but there were some really fun trails out there. There was a mix of chunky jeep trail and single track and steep gravel climbs. After coming down one particularly technical single track section we descended down further into the woods and right next to a sweet waterfall. Again, time to take in the sights and some food for a few minutes.
These are the things that make these trips so epic. You cant see things like this stuck in your house or at your job.
We get back going and motoring on and I am definitely starting to feel run down. I get my first experience filtering my own water and have to say it felt awesome. Funny how something as little as filtering your own water can bring such satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. The sun is going down, it is getting cold, and I am starting to get frustrated. Suns down, out of water again, when we come across a water source that seems to be down the bank a bit.
Down the bank we go and find a very small flow of water to gather from. Dustin and I both work on getting bottles filled up. I had brought a small bag for my filter which proved to be insufficient. Bottles loaded we continue on up the road. I have now come to the realization that there is no way I am going to make it over 100 miles tonight as was my original goal.
We start up the next long climb and both Dustin and I are getting tired and starting to talk about stopping at a campsite that is not supposed to be far up the road. Miles pass and no campsite, we top a hill and there is an abandoned church that has a nice emtpy covered area. It is decided to stop there as the thought of sleeping under cover during the rain sounded better than a campsite.
We get our stuff laid out, get some food cooking, eat, and its time to try and get some sleep. Not sure what time it is now, but feels super late. Now sleeping outside in a tent is not something i have done much in my life, so sleeping in a bag on the ground in this shelter was definitely new and nerve racking. Every sound in the woods behind made me puts me on alert. I hear different critters crunching around in the woods and then some coyotes off in the distance. As nerve racking as it was it was even more freeing. How lucky was I too be out adventuring in the woods on my bike and doing something I had never done before.
As I started to finally fall asleep it did not last long. Cars had been going down the forest service road for a while and now someone stopped and shined a flashlight at us. They didnt say anything, just sat there for a minute and then pulled off. Now I was really nervous, I was in the hills of GA in the middle of the night with unknown people in trucks shining lights at me. I think the sound of banjos maybe started in my head and I thought about deliverance. We settled back down and to sleep I went for a bit more.
The sound of a 4x4 in the woods clawing at a trail wakes me up this time. I sit up and can see headlights bouncing around in the air vaguely. This goes on for a bit longer when the lights get brighter and crest the side of a hill I did not know was there. So here we both lay in sleeping bags and this truck/suv pulls up to the side of this pavilion and sits there with their bright lights shining on us.
You cant see inside the truck at all and nobody is saying anything. Just dont say anytihng and sit tight Dustin says. I am now trying to figure out what is nearby that I can grab to defend myself if these guys decide to jump out and try to beat on some cyclists. It feels like an eternity passes and still nobody is saying anything or doing anything. Finally the trucks starts to back up and turns around the way it came. I think they sprayed us with some dirt and they were on their way.
I am surprised I did not crap myself and Dustin and I just sit up looking at each other like WTF was that all about. I am now physically and mentally beat down and the situation has told me that I need to get the hell out of here before I get killed. I tell Dustin that I am done in the morning and will be calling Mullberry Gap to get a shuttle back to the start and call it a weekend. He tries to encourage me, but I am done. We lay down for a bit more, no sleep is had, and now the sun is coming up and I am damp and cold as hell.
The events of the prior night are whirling around and I am immediately questioning my decision to quit. Problem is that I only had a limited number of days to complete this adventure and that required about 100 miles a day. I looked at my computer and we had made it 48 miles I think it was. First thought was how in the world did we only make it this far in an entire day of riding and why did I feel like I had ridden so much more.
Day 2 - The new adventure begins
Dustin starts in on how even if we cant finish the entire route that we can always just make our own route and start off by heading into the closest restaurant for some lunch. This trip was not about trying to win a race or really go fast, it was about trying something new and finding a way to melt the stress away if even just for a few days. At that point the thought of hot food and a bunch of it sounded like the best thing ever. I tell him I will ride to food and then figure it out from there. We pack up, grab a couple pictures, and are off on our way.
We start off and I think the food was maybe 30 miles or something away. We ride on some nice rolling forest service roads and I tried to get some pictures along the way. Stopping and taking an extra few minutes to capture some pictures was great and something I never did on the faster paced races.
Just some random shots that were memorable during the day.
We rode some nice rolling forest service roads and the weather was perfect. The sun was shining, no more rain in the forecast, and felt good. We were shooting for Ocoee to grab some food at the Ocoee Damn Deli. I ordered a burger and fries and they were awesome. We sat for a bit and I started feeling better about continuing on our own adventure.
The next town up the road was Blue Ridge and it was going to be a 30 mile ride on a busy road with little shoulder. That did not really sound like fun and it was somehow only a few hours from dark at this point. Dustin is from around this area of TN and knows some people he can reach out to and see if we can get a lift into Blue Ridge.
It does not take long and he has a buddy that is not far away that is willing to haul us to the next stop. We ride down to a gas station, grab a beer and proceed to go to the park and wait. We are not there too long and up pulls a small pickup truck. I am wondering how we and these massive bikes are gonna fit.
We get them all loaded up and I jump in the back of a truck for a 30 mile ride. This feels all kind of sketchy and like it could be one of my worst ideas yet. However, it proved to be yet another experience outside of my comfort zone that gave some weird satisfaction.
We pass the Cohutta 100 start at the white water center and decide to stop at one of the lookouts for a view of the colors that had been changing.
We get back on the road and on our way to Blue Ridge. Snap a couple more mountain shots and then we start getting into the town and see this.
Where else could you actually buy guns and drugs in the same place?
We arrive in the town of Blue Ridge and it was time for some food. Seemed like many of the small mountain towns, lots of shops and most likely pricey restaurants. I offered to buy Brandon and his wife dinner that night for their hospitality and helping me to be lazy that afternoon. There were not many food options we saw so found a spot to grab a beer.
Brandon was always smiling and great to hang out with
Sit and had a drink or two to find that we could not order food on the patio.It's packed inside and the waitress says there is more of a "dive" bar with good food and decent prices. We finish our drinks and head over to the next place.
There is a band playing covers and it is fairly busy. I am not a big fan of crowds, but food was needed so it was the best option. We get a table outside in the cold which is fine as at least people are not on top of you.
Order dinner, eat, have a few more drinks and then we have to figure out where we are sleeping that night.
I figure no big deal, call the local hotel down the street and we will be snoozing in 30 minutes. A valuable lesson is learned about hotels in small mountain tourist towns. They book up fast and are hard to come by in short notice. We are a ways from camping at this point, I have had some beers, and riding for miles late at night would not have been a wise choice.
Brandon and his wife have to take off so we part ways and go for one more beer to figure out what we are going to do.When I go for my bag with license and card I come up empty. It is nowhere to be found, I run down Brandon as he was leaving and check his truck and it is nowhere. Now I am really stressing as that had all money, license, etc for the trip.
I walk back to the bar and Dustin is sitting with a group of guys he knew from rafting. Apparently Dustin is also a raft guide down there and most of these guys know one another from the different posts. I let him know about the money situation, he has his card so we are good until we can get back.
It is getting late, I am getting tired, and we still have nowhere to sleep for the night. As we are talking with the group they mention that they just live a mile down the road and we are welcome to crash at their place on the floor. Sleeping on strangers floors is not something that has been common in my life, but this sounded like a great idea at this point compared to the alternatives.
Most of the guys cant be over 25, a couple of them are hammered and wanting to ride our bikes on the way back. Dustin is more adventurous and lets a guy jump on his and after a minor crash the bike is retrieved with no damage. We make it to the house and get our mats laid out to try and get some sleep.
Before going to sleep I get a message from Brandon telling me that he found my money and cards on the floor of his truck and can meet up tomorrow to get it to me. Crisis averted and I slept strangely well that night in this strange place.
Day 3 - Morning whiskey and waffle house
Its already light out when I wake up. Everyone is still sleeping, but its time to get stuff together and get riding. Start getting my stuff packed up, Dustin gets up and starts doing the same. At some point a guy comes in that I did not see the night before. His walks in shirtless, doesn't say a word, sits down, and then proceeds to grab the flask the guy was drinking from the night before and took a few slugs. Then his big dog walks up and he proceeds to pick him up and put him in his lap as he grabs one more swig.
I was again filled with excitement at the fact I had again done something way outside of my comfort zone and just rode the cosmic wave this guy Rich Dillen told me about before the Marji Gesick.
Its another beautiful day, the sun is shining, and its time to get out there and ride. We get all packed up, thank our hosts, and off to the nearby waffle house for some breakfast. We get side tracked at a local coffee shop first.
Rode through town and had to grab a shot of the big moose bush on the way out of town.
The other interesting thing in this town was the train and the huge amount of tourists.
People were everywhere as the train looked to be loading up to depart shortly.
Onto waffle house we go and find that everyone else in town also had the same idea.
Took a bit to get a seat, but in normal WH fashion the food is fast and tasty. Proceed to eat a boat load of calories and get filled up and ready to ride back to Mulberry Gap.
I think it was 40 miles or so that we had left and the weather looked perfect to end this weekend adventure.
We are off on rolling roads for a while before he head out into the woods back onto some more gravel double track. Make a wrong turn after a tall climb and drop down into someones yard and are greeted by a handful of large angry dogs. We quickly change direction and scurry up the road and try a different direction. This leads us up a tough steep climb to find a road close sign.
We decide to see whats ahead since we don't really have any other known options at this point. Keep pushing on to find that the road has washed away, but not too much that we cant pass.
We continue pushing up the road and pop out on another paved road and keep pedaling. Time passes and I am just enjoying the ride and the sights. After a while we come up on a bridge and decide to walk down to the creek and eat a snack.
Hanging out snacking under the bridge
We get going again and once again have to stop to grab a quick picture as its just too nice not to.
We roll on for a while longer and get to a point where we can turn right to take the final gravel road back to Mulberry or we can stay straight and climb the mountain back up to the top of the Pinhoti trail we popped out on during the start and get some proper climbing and descending in to wrap up the day. We stay straight and start heading up the climb.
Not sure what this road was, but it was fairly busy and seemed to go on forever. We climb and climb some more and the road just seems to keep twisting upward. Finally we see the lookout up ahead on the right and decide to stop off and grab some pics before we get back to the single track.
Off we go again, ride down the wooden stairs, and roll out back onto the main road for a bit more climbing before we hit the Pinhoti trail We get to the trail entrance, check all our gear is tight, and proceed to try and bomb down this way faster than I should on a loaded bike.
One thing about the trail is none of it is all downhill. We rip down some trail to then be greeted by a climb just steep enough to zap you a bit. This goes on for a number of miles and we are having a blast on this final leg. We pop out of the trail, hang a left, and its the final stretch back to Mulberry Gap.
We get there to find a decent number of people hanging out and chatting about the race. I sit for a few, but then its time to grab a shower and get a bit cleaned up for the drive home. Clean up and head back to hang out and talk with the group for a few more before loading up and heading home.
The Aftermath
As I start the drive home it is a bit overwhelming to think about all the adventure I just experienced in a few short days as well as how much I missed the family and was ready to get home. I have done a decent number of events and rides across the country over the last few years, but this seemed to be by far the most fun I had ever had out on my bike. There were no time cutoffs or course markings to follow, there was a map and the unknown adventure down the road.
There were a large number of 100 mile NUE events on the schedule for this year, but since this experience and a couple other bike packing adventures I have had since this I think that schedule will be changing a bit. The long drives for shorter rides will be replaced more with shorter drives and longer epic rides.
If you are looking for an adventure that will push you beyond your limits and at the same time be more fun than anything you have tried before then I would highly recommend giving bike packing a try.
I want to give a huge thanks to Dustin Welch for showing me just how fun going out and adventuring on your bike can be regardless if you stick to the original plan or not. This was an awesome adventure and has inspired me to push my limits further and get out there and stop just racing and have an awesome adventure first and foremost!
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