2011 Fool’s Gold 50!

I had hoped to do a 100-miler this year but there’s always next year! Matt & I signed up for the Fool’s Gold 50, and unlike Southern Cross, we registered in time for the awesome Twin Six t-shirt! Volunteers from the mountain bike community and the horse community have been doing A LOT of work on these trails and the Bull Mountain area is becoming one of my favorites (I could do without the horse poop though) . . . and it’s only about an hour from the house.

Twin Six!

Like Southern Cross, the Fool’s Gold 100/50 started at Montaluce Winery in Dahlonega. We had to pick up our race packets the day before and even though it meant a 4:30am wake-up call, we decided to sleep in our own bed rather than spend money on a hotel. Once we got back to the house it was time to get everything ready . . . bikes, drop bags, clothes, breakfast, etc. I always take way too much “nutrition” and hardly eat any of it so I tried to taper it down to Hammer/Powerbar gels, Hammer Perpetuem and two Clif Mojo bars. I panic a little and think “I should take this or that, just in case” but if I think about how little I consume on our non-race long rides, I don’t need all that “just in case” stuff . . . that’s what the aid stations are for! I opted for a Camelbak & Perpetuem bottle and dropped a Gatorade bottle in my sag bag (Niner only has one bottle cage at the moment). I was really excited when I discovered I could use old prescription bottles for the extra perpetuem for the sag bags and it works way better than a snack-size Ziploc!

Matt laughed when I wrote the contents on the bottle  . . .

I got up at 4:30am, started the coffee and started loading stuff into the Element . . . a quick breakfast and water/coffee/Gatorade for the road and we were on our way to the race. We had to be there by 6:30 to drop off our sag bags and it was still dark, and even a little chilly, when we got to the winery (come on fall/cooler weather!). The 100-mile racers were set to start at 7:15 and 7:45 for the 50-milers and I was pretty much ready to go, so I sat down, finished my water and waited for the sun to rise. Of course I had to go to the bathroom before we headed to the start and while I waited in the long-ish line, I wished I had at least put on my socks/bike shoes in the event the slow-moving line pushed me too close to start time. Luckily, I had enough time to get ready and to the start in plenty of time to chat with a few friends and relax for a minute.

Eddie ran through the sponsors, course notes, etc. and then led the 3 or 4 mile neutral roll out from the winery following Hightower Church Road. I have no skillz when it comes to road riding so I was pretty much by myself on the paved road section . . . I’m usually by myself on the gravel too but it’s apparently much more efficient to ride in a pack on the road. Once we turned off onto the gravel, the road was a fairly easy up and down until we reached Camp Wasega, starting the climb up Coopers Gap.



P.S. I'm QOM all over town on Strava . . . and yes, I realize I'm the only female at the moment! Now if I can just figure out how to load a profile picture. :)

Matt and I have climbed Coopers Gap so many times that it seems to not be quite as steep as the time before, probably because I know what to expect. This is an 11+/- mile climb up to the top of Winding Stair. The first few miles are manageable but as soon as you pass the Ranger station it gets a lot steeper but there is a descent or two thrown in to give the legs a break. Mary passed me around mile 9 maybe . . . I think she likes to start towards the back so she can pick off her carrots! :) The first sag was at the turn off to WS but I had most of my perpetuem still and since I was carrying the camelbak, I didn’t need to stop so down the steep, sketchy gravel I went! I hate the first part of this descent . . . I’m usually okay if I can follow someone but if left to my own line-picking, it’s just not pretty or fun for that matter. I let a younger boy go by when it settled out a little bit but once the boulder section of the descent was done, it was a lot of fun. I’m not the best at descending but I think I’m getting better . . . I didn’t get passed on the descent so that’s huge for me! I figured Matt would have caught me here but I held him off for a few more minutes!

Note: The following may or may not have occurred in said order or even on said trail for that matter . . . I'm lucky to have made it through the race without getting lost!

After Winding Stair, we took a left onto the Turner Creek trail then to Jones Creek to the base of Bull Mountain. Matt caught me in here as I was walking a really steep climb . . . he said something about me having gears so I guess I should have been riding it but whatever! :) The trails were in great shape and I was still feeling good. I had no idea how many women were in front of me and how many were behind me. Julie and I had gone back and forth on Hightower and Coopers but I didn’t see her again until I was leaving Sag #2 so I did my best to push it a little harder to get out of her sight.

Somewhere around this time (not exactly sure where I was), I reached the top of a short steep climb and there were two older men sitting there cheering people on . . . they looked like they were having a good time and said something about being race spectators! It made me smile . . . a really nice day to be sitting in the woods watching a mtb race!

Next up is the lovely Bear Hare climb followed by the Bull Mountain descent. I was riding behind a guy in a Powerbar kit and he was keeping a pretty good pace but when we hit the steep rooty climb, he hopped off his bike and since I was on his wheel, I ended up walking too. I think I’ve cleared some of that section before on the Niner but oh-well. That’s when I heard Matt behind me so I got out of his way and he cleared most of it on the SS. I wouldn’t see him again until sag #3 at the bottom of Bull . . . I wish I had been able to stay with him to the Bull descent b/c that may have saved me from crashing into the sketchy washout a little later. Again, I’m horrible with the details but you have to work A LOT to get to that awesome Bull descent and I was still feeling pretty good . . . riding when I could and walking when I couldn't!

So I was following Powerbar guy down Bull when all of a sudden he’s on the right side of that sketchy washout/ravine and he slams on his brakes not sure where to go so I swerve to the left and try to ride that side down. I ended up sliding off into the middle, bounced off rocks, probably panicked with the brakes a little and crashed pretty hard in the middle of the ravine. It hurt and a few unladylike words flew out of my mouth but I felt like I was okay . . . if I could just get unclipped and untangled from the bike. Another rider had cleared it but he stopped at the bottom to make sure I was okay. I was okay and didn't want to hold up his race but it was nice of him to take a minute. Once I got back on my bike, my left thigh was stinging so I think my handlebars may have jammed into my thigh, who knows. I have a nice scrape on my right arm, thigh, & leg and a few bruises on my ankle and knees. It was time for a few new scars anyway . . .

The rest of the race is kind of a blur . . . I finished up Bull and eventually made it back to sag 2/3 where Matt was getting ready to head out. He asked if I was okay a few times and I assured him it looked worse than it felt. I was still feeling pretty good and trying to get my Camelbak off for a refill and scarf down a Mojo Bar when Julie came in so I knew I had to get out of there . . . she was getting closer! I jumped on the bike and finished eating on the fire road over to the Jake connector and over to the new Jake Mountain trail. Julie caught me around mile 38 and I couldn’t hang on. She ended up gaining about 8 minutes on me in the last 12 miles . . . she’s riding really strong too! I plowed through the creek crossing . . . refreshing! When I reached what appeared to be a wall, I hopped off the bike and saw Matt was half way up it and Julie was turning the corner at the top. Matt and I rode together again for a while and finished up Jake.

After Jake, I skipped sag 4 since I had enough water to get me to the finish. I was pedaling along, apparently not paying attention, when I luckily noticed some pink flags in my peripheral to my left marking the Black Branch trail . . . I flipped a quick u-turn and jumped on the trail. Whew! There were a few people that missed another turn along the race course so I feel fortunate that I managed to stay on course. Black Branch wore me out but it should be a blast once it’s ridden in b/c it was a little rough. Next up was gravel back to the paved road and back to the Winery. I was still feeling good but my legs had about had enough. I made it back to the winery but still had one last steep climb left . . . the road back to the start/finish is pretty steep so I shifted down a few gears, got out of the saddle and eventually made it to the top!

Coming up on the finish line I saw some familiar faces . . . Matt’s brother, Dave, Samantha & the kids were there to cheer us on and take some pics! It was really awesome that they came up to watch us finish the race! I finished in just under 5:25 and Matt was just behind me at 5:28. I ended up in 7th out of 29 women and 78th out of 233 overall.

Jonah, Hannah & Ethan

I drank a coke, ate some lasagna and a brownie then we headed to the car to change . . . we got to the car and it started raining pretty hard and it was cold so Matt & I jumped in the back of the Element until it stopped. We headed back up to the start/finish to chat with some friends and hear about their races then hit the road back to the house stopping at Arby’s on the way home. That medium roast beef sandwich is becoming my favorite post-race meal!

This was a great race . . . Eddie & Namrita and all of the volunteers did an awesome job and I’m sure we’ll be back!

Next up . . . should be the Chain Buster race at Tribble Mill this weekend. I feel like I’m trying to come down with something (Matt’s been sick all week) but hopefully I can fight it off before Saturday! Also coming up is the GA SS Championship . . . you should be there!!!