Adventures and Such

  Within the past several years, I had this race pop up on my radar. It was far from here, in Colorado. It was much higher than here, coursing through and above the high alpines of the Rocky Mountains. It sounded really hard. And it just seemed a bit out of reach. It was the Vapor Trail 125. And now I know it was just what I was looking for! The Vapor Trail, in Salida, CO, is put on by a seemingly awesome human named Mike Franco. It's 125 miles of largely single-track riding with a mix of easily ridable railroad-grade dirt roads and blown out rocky roadbeds rich with gold and silver mining history in the late 1800's, as well as several steep, technical hike-a-bike sections. And the climbing is served up on a giant-sized platter as the elevation gain totals a little over 17,000'. The course takes you through sections of the Colorado and Continental Divide Trails, over Hancock, Tomichi, Monarch, and Marshall Passes, and up and over Canyon Creek Trail with a 45-minute hike-a-b...

  Well, it had been a while since a real adventure, and, in a moment of weakness, I apparently put my name on the Trans-North Georgia Adventure (TNGA) start list some time last year. This race is mainly off-road and usually ridden on a mountain bike and runs east to west, from Clayton, GA (at the SC border) to the Silver Comet Trail where it crosses the AL line. It's 355'ish miles and has 40,000+ feet of elevation gain using forest service roads, gravel, single and double track, pavement, and whatever Honcho calls that shit at the top of Hickory Nut. Just kidding, I like that section. And if the route itself weren't difficult enough, the event is held the second weekend in August every year, meaning, essentially, the worst time of year imaginable in the Southeast.   After switching jobs in June, life hadn't afforded me the time to ride as much as I typically would. I completed a whopping two training rides the two weekends prior to the race. Oh well, the mind is strong....