The Three Gap Fifty is an alternative route to the Six Gap 104 mile route. It offers half the gaps and half the distance, but riders still earn bragging rights after finishing. The demanding course features 58 miles and 6,385 vertical feet of climbing with elevations ranging from 1,400 feet to 3,364 feet. TeamOne members Jodel & Z made the trip to Dahlonega, GA, to earn those bragging rights!

The Ride

The day started early enough. Beautiful mountains, trees, and sunrise greeted the TeamOne members participating in Three Gap Fifty. Excitement and anticipation filled the air as riders anxiously awaited their start time at 8:30 am in Dahlonega, GA. Before they knew it, the ride started and they were off!

Team members that were not able to watch could see the riders’ progress on Garmin Livetrack. They could see how hard it had to be when riders went uphill. And then, all of a sudden, the blue dot marking their progress moved so fast on the map that it could only be that downhill stretch. The elevation cross-reference showed just how steep the mountain was at that point. The riders’ average would jump up quickly. Rest stops showed a parking lot and cars when zoomed in on the satellite view. The TeamOne members faced each mile with tenacity. That would be the only way to conquer this ride today. The first 30 miles passed by, slowly at times, quickly on the few downhill stretches.

As they were approaching the 30-mile mark, with the incredible elevation, the evidence in the average, cadence, power, heart rate showed what an accomplishment it was to keep going. That elevation, so quick in succession from the one before, with so little downhill, shows the incredible strength these riders possess.

At 31.17 mi TeamOne was at 3,389 elevation – whew! Yes, team members that couldn’t make this ride were cheering them on through Garmin Livetrack. Just as exciting as watching the Tour de France.

At 32 mi, the signal was lost. On the elevation, this mile marker was the highest elevation of the entire ride! The team members were going so fast downhill, the GPS couldn’t even find them.

Now past the half-way point, Jodel’s adventure became even more magnificent. Going down the mountain, the descent was fast and a sharp corner was at the bottom. He was feathering the breaks all the way down, with no care about speed. There was no pedaling involved. Fatigue grabbed his legs and forced them into braced position. Though normally he doesn’t lean into a turn, this turn was sharper than he had anticipated. At this point, no matter what, he knew to keep his sight focused on the turn. “Your bike goes where your head goes”, he said. All he could do was hang on. He heard a slide. That tire saved him. He figures he took that turn at about 30 mph – way too fast, but as an experienced rider and brave beyond belief.

The switchbacks were a lot of fun, but he was “white-knuckling it” throughout the ride. Z used his shirt as an airbrake, not that it helped much. Jodel stood tall down the hills to make more resistance – there was absolutely no crouched position on this ride.

At 38.87 mi, the signal was back. Only 3 miles to the next rest stop! Already at 4,370 elevation gain – incredible.

At 40.08 mi, the riders just finished a downhill, and then another stretch uphill greeted them (with only a few short breaks to coast downhill in a tucked aerodynamic position). The heart rate statistic was good, even with all the effort put into this ride.

At 40.52 mi, there were only about 1 1 /2 miles to go until the long downhill stretch. The ride up the mountain was an incredible challenge at this point – average mph was showing that. Just a little further, and then they could enjoy a nice break. 4,452 elevation! Woody Gap Rest Stop at 41.8 miles. Then — no stats. The Garmin tracker stopped. Elevation on the LiveTrack graph shows, speed shows. The map shows movement. The graph shows speed – gaining quickly downhill. Getting close to the finish … the map shows that much. Speeding down these last hills.

At 3:05 pm they were so near the end. Yahoola Rd is close by. Then the team members turned onto Yahoola Rd. From the 528 to Starbucks in Avalon Park on our normal route – well, maybe a little further than that but the thought is for motivation. Speeding downhill at over 32 mph … can’t even see how fast. This is the downhill they earned.

Another hill. Heart rate is up. Power is up. The elevation is climbing. It’s a short one hill but by their momentum and all the other hills, it seems to be a major struggle for them. Downhill again, and again, and again. The wind is nothing compared to this mountain ride. Flying downhill beats that any day.

Black Mountain Road seemed to never end. 8 miles of this leg. That’s a good sign – the end is soon! Still a few more hills. No easy task to keep going, as it had been a long 50+ mile trek, but TeamOne riders kept going. The 2nd to last downhill — the speed picks up dramatically. The last hill – finally. Why would there be a hill at the end, kind of a sadistic course? 🙂

Camp Wahsega Road – That’s almost the end of this spectacular ride! Only 1 1/2 miles left. Cadence is high – almost there.

What an incredible day.

TeamOne member’s strength and stamina displayed for all to see in the colors of the graphs. What an accomplishment. Maybe next year they will actually train for it, now that they know what it is like.

A full day of riding as a team! Amazing, exhilarating, inspiring, challenging.

Honorable Mention:

  • Diana Chow rode with TeamOne members up to the first rest stop (18.1 mi) then continued on the Valley Ride (35 mi/+2,900 elevation) course solo, to the finish.
  • John Stone (GA resident) rode with the TeamOne members for approximately 23 miles, they started to slow him down so he went solo thereafter. 🙂 He finished the 3-Gap course 2 hours ahead of his TeamOne friends and was waiting with Diana to cheer TeamOne across the finish line.
“If you are not last then you are First” … “DFL is better than DNF”
Quote of the Day

Event Day Statistics

This is the course charted by one of the team members who participated in +56-mile route.

 

Video

Music

This is one of the mixes by DJ Israel “El Lobel” Rodriguez we were playing on the ride. Feel free to share, like, download, or go to SoundCloud and see what other mixes and genre you might like created by our dear friend from da Bronx “El Lobel“.

View the entire playlist: https://soundcloud.com/teamone/sets/salsa-for-riding

Photos
Provided by Diana Chow & Jun @ 18mph Studio

Fuel Consumption

The Three Gap Fifty included 5 full rest stops, all supplied with a great selection of food and drink. Three Gappers enjoyed a huge spaghetti dinner after the ride. Below you will find the nutrition and hydration TeamOne members had before and during the ride.

Ciao,
TeamOne