Fool me once…a few weeks back I got word there was a suggestion of the P99 route for March 5th. I’ve been craving a long ride and the race idea for that weekend didn’t pan out. I talked it out with Katie quickly and she gave me the green light. I tentatively planned on giving it a go, as long as the weather was ok. The timing for this one was 2 months earlier in the year. Which meant an hour and a half less daylight, potential bad weather, oh and much less fitness but more on that part later.

The forecast started looking good and all of the sudden it was real. I wasn’t ready, I had in my head it was no big deal until I read my post from last year. Then I started to realize how much further back in the “season” we were and how few rides over 2 hours I’ve done in I don’t know how long. No time for second guessing though. You don’t know till you go for it, am I right?

This route really has 3 “loops” and the first two pass right by the 1206/276 intersection. For the sake of logistics it makes sense to have some sort of resupply/cache there. So for the 2nd year in a row I put the minivan up there so we could have supplies. Friday got here all too soon so I ended up scrambling to get food, clothes, and the van ready to park. It’s an annoying task but worth the effort.

This year we had a few less people show up to get started. Just 3 of us, myself, Chris Joice, and Jason Nance. It was a little colder than I’d planned but not too bad. I knew as soon as we hit the stables and started to climb I would probably be over dressed. After a little doddling we rolled a few minutes later than last year but still 5 am (ish).

Loop 1

Up 477, Clawhammer, Black Mtn, Turkeypen, South Mills River, Mullinax, Squirrel Gap, South Mills River, 476, 1206. This ends up being about 31 miles to get to the 1206/276 intersection where the van was. It’s the most fun part of the ride in my mind. Turkeypen and Squirrel Gap are two of my favorites and you’re still pretty fresh.

The hike on Black Mtn came and went, Turkeypen was pretty clear and honestly in really good shape. The bridge at South Mills River right after the Turkeypen Parking lot has been repaired, so it was nice to stay dry there. Things were moving pretty well. The forest service had even blown the leaves off a big part of Squirrel Gap for us. I’m pretty sure they used the trail as one of the break lines for a controlled burn. Or at least that’s what the charred underbrush would suggest. Still made for a lot of fun and eerie scenery at 7 something in the morning.

The bridge at Wolf Ford (the west end of Squirrel Gap) is still gone and very gone, none of the decking is there, just some of the cables. I chose take my socks off for this 50-60 ft crossing. It was early in the morning still and I really didn’t want completely saturated feet.

I made it to the van around 9:45 (just like last year), grabbed a coke and started reloading, switching clothes. A few minutes later Chris rolled up and oddly enough Katie and the kids showed up with some treats. It was really cool to get a min or two to say good morning to the family.

Loop 2

276, Blue Ridge Parkway, Big Creek, Fletcher Creek, Spencer Gap, Trace Ridge, 5000, 1206, Laurel Mtn, Pilot Rock, 1206. About 38.5 miles, two rugged descents, two of the bigger climbs of the day. This is “the meat” if you will. The first climb is pavement up the parkway and Mt. Pisgah before heading onto the rarely traveled Big Creek. I’ve done this trail twice now…both while riding this route. In the summer I could see it being fun, it’s tough in spots but not outrageous. The trail was also covered in thick piles of leaves still which made this run special.

On the way down I ran into Rhinehart and Nuebert coming up. Now that’s special. They knew the route and our general timeline, so they just came up to see how we were doing. It was pretty nice to run into folks who knew. My ears were giving me some trouble here so while I’m not 100% sure how the conversation went It was still great to see them.

Going up Fletcher/Never ending Rd/Spencer on a nice Saturday has it’s challenges but isn’t a bad ride. Spencer get’s a little pitchy, I walked more of it this year than last year (which was intentional). The trace descent is always a fan favorite. It’s pretty classic and high speed. I think this is where the problems started for me though. I got a little too “sendy” over a drop and tweaked my left ankle really hard on the landing. It hurt but I didn’t think too much about it at the time.

The climb up 1206 from campground felt like it took forever. All and all the climb from North Mills to the top of Pilot rock is about a 2500 ft climb in about 10 miles. It’s hard work. I did have the pleasure of leapfrogging a few guys who were pre-riding for the Stage Race though. Talking to them gave me some time to get out of my own head for a bit.

The Pilot descent actually felt a little easier than I remembered? I’d actually argue that I had fun here instead of just surviving as I’ve done in the past on long days. I did have a handful of spots where that ankle really spoke up and let me know it wasn’t happy. I still chose not to listen.

Got back to the van around 4:45 pm to start the shuffle. Once again Chris rolled in shortly after I did.

Loop 3

The last loop isn’t easy and it’s the longest but in my head seems easier than the 2nd. 276, 475B, 225, Cove Creek, 475, 5003, 140A, Farlow Gap, Daniel Ridge, 475, 475B, 276, 477, Club Gap, Black Mtn…easy Peasy. About 43 miles, In my head, the 5003/140a/Farlow is the bulk of the work, then you have to climb a gravel road and Hike a bit. No problem, oh but you’re 15 hours into your day at this point, details.

I got to 5003 and was still feeling pretty good, cruising along, the sun was setting. Things were going fine. Passing the “landing” area the views were pretty impressive as the last of the light faded (did not get the camera out unfortunately). Then the trail turned to heavy leaf covered rock and deadfall. The size and amount of rocks, sticks, and branches combined with being just steep enough and just tired enough made riding really challenging. On top of that this surface put my ankle into a lot of positions it didn’t like.

Progress slowed and I hit a low, I was having to use the bike as a crutch, my right leg was starting to be a problem based on how much I was depending on it. There was still a lot of hiking left. Doubt’s were creeping in, riding wasn’t working well. My ankle was causing me to drop my feet instead of level pedals which gets kind of unsafe and I couldn’t really stand on the pedals either. I made it to the top, ate some food, and tried to come to terms with potentially not finishing the route. I don’t like to make these kinds of decisions when I’m in a low.

Starting down Farlow Gap, Fred (the summer storm that created all the flooding), had not been kind to this trail. There was so much down hiking that I knew I was done. At this point just getting to the bottom was going to be tough, let alone getting back up and over Club and Black Mtn. After a while Chris caught me. It was nice to be able to ride out to bottom with someone. Those creek crossings on Farlow are pretty sketchy at this point as well.

When we got to the washout at the bottom of Daniel Ridge I got to watch Chris tangle with a sapling and launch himself in the air onto a log. How he managed to escape that one without more injury I’m not sure. Beard power or something like that. At about mile 99 I wished him luck and started my ride of shame home. The terrain was relatively flat all the way but kind of hard to swallow.

Bailed

At this point regular pedal strokes were painful, standing was out of the question, I’d already broken half of my left pedal because I wasn’t using my feet correctly. I feel like I made the right call but it still didn’t feel good. I’m pretty hardheaded and don’t like to back down once I start something. For all intents and purposes, I’d finished the route before, I wasn’t going to beat last years effort, I’d done 100 miles, I had fun (till I didn’t), pushed myself. The day was a success from that standpoint.

Being two months earlier in the year than last year definitely made this harder for me. I was in better physical shape last year after getting ready for the stage race (that never happened) but also just getting some longer rides as the days were longer and warmer. Coming out of winter my rides over 2 hours are really minimal or non existent.

I’m glad I went for it, catching up with Chris is always fun. Riding bikes all day is hard to beat. As always I can’t thank Katie enough for support of my dumb pursuits. This year she even brought treats! that must mean I should do it more often? Also, big thanks to the folks at Sycamore Cycles, I rode the Epic Evo again and that bike almost seems like it was made for stuff like this and it ran amazing all day long.