Yesterday morning, a couple of us got together to do a ride in the Gaps in north Georgia. This ride, put together by Michael at Alpha Bikes, was actually the first time a couple of friends of mine have taken road bikes into the mountains (they are primarily mountain bikers).

I ended up going up a little bit early to drive the route in the opposite direction in my car. I knew with the holiday weekend it was going to be too crowded afterwards. I got in a clean run, in cool weather, with no traffic or cops. It was perfect.

We ended up rolling out as a group around 9am. The entire day, there was a nice breeze and overcast skies which is something we haven't seen in Georgia in awhile. For the first time in months, I didn't feel like was melting on the roads around Dahlonega, GA.

The first climb went incredibly well. Legs were feeling good and Grayson and I headed up the hill pacing back and forth all the way to the top. The climb is roughly 7.5 miles long from the start with a mid climb false summit. The traffic hadn't gotten too bad by this point either on one of the busiest driving roads for motorcycles and cars in the state. It was a great run, not my fastest according to Strava, but it felt really good.

After we regrouped at the top of the climb, we went ahead and went for the descent down the other side. I had some fun and sprinted a group of motorcycle riders that the beginning. As expected...they past me and headed on. The descent down Neal's went well. Cool air was getting to the carburetor and I actually ended up with a pretty good time down solo.

At the bottom of Neal's, you start the climb up Wolfpen which is the steepest of the day. About 1/2 mile in, I realized that we didn't have Eric with us (one of the guys that it was his first time out), so I turned around. He had figured it out, so I ran into him back at the start of the road and we paced the climb together to the top of the hill. The weather was PERFECT for this climb. The overcast skies stayed and the breeze was perfect.

Once at that top, Grayson and I blasted down the other side which is one of my favorites in the area due to the tight banked turns. We ended up with a pretty good time coming down that side of the hill as well (I love Strava segments...).

The last climb of the day is a short one to the top of Woody's where you are met with a 6 mile descent that is fast and flowy. At the bottom, you coast up to the car, so now is the time to leave whatever you have left on the road. Grayson and I took the lead again and dropped the hammer down. It didn't feel any faster than previous trips, but we completely ripped apart all of my previous times down this particular downhill and anyone else who had ridden in on Strava. Despite a couple of sections of gravel, we completely ripped it up.

Once at the cars, we were all in one piece and spent. The "Gaps Virgins" finished out in style and got a taste of real mountain riding on road bikes. I really like getting friends out for their first ride in the Gaps because it reminds me of the first trips to the mountains. It literally is like riding a sport bike without the motor and you always leave with a permagrin from the downhills.

It was a great ride that I desperately needed. Thanks goes out to everyone that went...that was a fantastic spin in the mountains.

http://app.strava.com/rides/1497046/...a431fce9de8a68