Morning Run

I was sweating so bad I accidentally saved the first file. The Garmin 1000 is so sensitive rain or sweat drops will act the same way as a finger tip touch.



It was brutally hot and humid.  I actually got up at 1 AM in an attempt to get up to the Gaps early so I could beat some of the heat. So when I started it was 62 and 100% humidity and I was freaking cold on the descents! But based  on the forecast I knew the blast furnace was about to come on when the sun came up. Holy Cow it came quick! Weather underground said 98 degrees but a real feel of 112 degrees. The road was just baking in the sun. In Georgia they use this gooey asphalt crack sealer to fill in road surface cracks. It was so hot yesterday that the goop was melting and I almost wiped out on the descent several times riding over the stuff. It was no different that hitting an oil patch.  I thought I had a front flat the first time I hit the stuff because I almost lost full control of the front end. I am so aggressive on the descents so this scared the SHOT out of me! So sadly one of the things I LOVE to do had to be dialed back if I wanted to get home in one  back side of Unicoi has some nasty parts where the grade is 10+ but you never get a break the minute you start climbing.  There also is a ton of traffic on it because there is a little German village called Helen that this road leads to. So all the summer vacationers (Florida old people that feel cyclist have no business on the road) were constantly buzzing me. I lost count of how many drivers with Florida plates buzzed me. All the Georgia drivers were the exact opposite and would lag behind while I could see if it was OK to pass and then wave them on. Many of the passengers would stick there head out the window and say awesome job or your nuts its too hot out! I changed clothes almost every 3 laps because I was sweating so bad I was almost falling off my saddle when I was climbing or slipping off the handlebars if I stood to climb. The amazing thing though by the time I started the next climb I was soaked again. So many times my heart rate monitor would just stop working because my clothes were so wet. I would pull my jersey away from the strap and then it  would start again.  I was drinking almost 40 ounces of liquids in ONE climb plus water. I was trying to be very cautious to pace this ride because I had gone to deep on the Hogpen Everest 4 days ago and had cramped severely which gave me a big time muscle hangover. I did this ride pretty much mashing a 50/28. I never dropped out of the 50 and didn't even want to know what my cadence was on the climb.I finished up around 9 and it was still 90 out even after the sun went down. I have one remaining Gap and then can lay claim to having Everested both side of the entire  Six Gap Route. I have come a long way from riding the Gaps for the first time in 1996 and having a tri coach tell me to go home after the third Gap because the group was tired of waiting so long for me! This also was my 11th Everest since 4.11.15  and my 6th for the month of June as part of my commitment to the Hells500 Nepal Fundraiser. Can't wait for July1st! I am POOOOOOPED! One thing I forgot to mention that I thought was awesome. My last lap was the PR for the DAY!!!!!

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Ray Brown

Unicoi Gap Back Side Everest Part 1

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Morning Run

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