by Mitch Askew, Eagle Cycling
Ride: Brasstown Bald
Date: 5-26-2002
Place: near Dahonlega, GA
Anyone ever climbed Brasstown Bald?
On Sunday I headed up to do three gap with Randy from Boneshakers Bicycles. I ended up after Neals gap going straight to do Jacks gap instead of turning to do wolfpen. At the top of Jack's gap is the start of
Brasstown Bald. It is three miles, I had a twenty five on and figured "how hard can it be?" At first I rode very conservative and was trying to decide if it was more like Cheeha or Mt. Mitchell, then all of sudden I hit
an incline around a bend so steep that I was forced to either get out of the saddle or unclip. I jumped out of the saddle and for the first time in my life I was forced to start "shoe-lacing" up the climb, not for rest, but to actually keep momentum. There were three other places like that and one in particular that was about 60 to 80 yards long and was the steepest grade I have ever encountered. It was so steep that shoe lacing was not even an option. I was pulling on me handle bars so violently that I thought they were going to turn up at any moment. At that point, it became a
challenge. I told myself I would either make it to the top without stopping or fall over which ever came first. I was doing about 3 to 3.6 mph which is basically stopped for that 80 yard stretch. The only thing I can describe it to is like being at the gym and doing a leg press one leg at a time as hard as you can. My Hr shot up and I was doing just enough
not to fall over. After every crank my bike would stop. Once I muscled through that section the rest did not seem too bad. Towards the last half mile to the top it flattens out and there is a water fountain at the top.
I did make it to the top without ever stopping, but it drained me of everything. On the way down, I thought for sure my brakes would melt. I
got caught in the hardest rain/hail storm in my life on the way back down Jack's gap. Wolfpen seemed pretty much flat after Brasstown Bald. But when I got to the BP before Woody's, Randy was there in the truck and it was starting to rain again so I called it a day.