Noontootla

A day after my Cooper Gap fail, and subsequent auto repair, I was back at it. With the previous day's rain though, and the marginal, but not 0% chance of it that day, I figured I should stick to gravel, so I grabbed some Waffle House, headed up to Ellijay and hung a right towards Noontootla.

As I turned left onto Mill Creek Road, a Scooby-Doo van turned left from Mill Creek Road onto 52, and I was like: "Ha! Scooby-Doo van!" It had been a while since I'd seen one. Then, about a minute later I saw another one. What are the odds? Well, it turns out they're pretty good. One of the local tubing companies (I forget which one) paints all of their vans like the Mystery Machine. In fact, the last time I saw one, it was probably one of theirs.

A little further on, I want to say on Doublehead Gap Road proper, I saw vultures eating an armadillo. I'm not sure what the exact range of armadillos is, but I've always heard that they are alleged not to exist in the National Forest. Though I wasn't quite in the National Forest, I was really close. That one had to have been at the absolute upper limit of their range.

I parked at the Fellowship Baptist Church...

...adding my truck to the long line of vehicles which appeared to have delivered other cyclists to the same destination. Before long, I was climbing Noontootla.

Some ways up, there had been a bit of a rockslide, and someone had put up a couple of barricades. They weren't all still in place though.

I'm guessing the previous day's furacão was to blame.

I had a great time climbing Noontootla.

It was really hot, but I was making sure to just pound that water. No need to be conservative. There is water everywhere up there.

Another rider passed me, descending herself. I think I've only descended Noontootla once. It's kind-of fun, but given the various route options up there, I prefer to climb it.

I always remember that there are 2 difficult kicks at the top of Noontootla, but I didn't notice them that day. Instead, I was surprised to just see a car parked ahead of me at Winding Stair Gap. "Oh, I'm here, I guess."

It was damp and rough on the way down Winding Stair, and my gloves were as soaked as gloves can be. No PRs were set on that descent.

There were a dozen or more folks on dirt bikes in the old game check lot near Bull Mountain, to whom I waved. While I hadn't noticed the kicks at the top of Noontootla, I did notice Little Bitch Gap on 28-A. It always sucks.

I passed a car descending towards Montgomery Creek, then struggled to stay comfortably ahead of it heading towards Camp Wahsega. I didn't want to play leapfrog, but I didn't want to hold them up either. As I neared the camp, I slowed down and let them catch and pass. Better there than in the curve after the camp.

Speaking of the camp, it's looking pretty good these days.

In years past, there were times when I wasn't sure it was even still open.

It's tough to stay on the gas through the rollers near Camp Merrill, and it's easy to blow yourself up and suffer up to Cooper Gap. So, I resisted the urge to push through it, and eventually sat back and spun. This turned out to have been wise.

Cooper Gap Road...

My nemesis from the day before.

This time it worked out fine. No rain, just heat. There are a couple of curves up near Cooper Gap proper, but much like the kicks at the top of Noontootla, I didn't notice the curves, and just found myself at the gap, unexpectedly. It was a nice surprise, but it did make me wonder if I was really paying good attention or not.

Funny thing... I did have the song "Jessie's Girl" stuck in my head for most of the ride, for some reason. So, maybe that was a factor.

Obligatory photo of the quarry:

From there on, there was almost nothing I could do to get my phone to take a photo. I was just way, way too sweaty. The fingerprint thing couldn't read my finger. The touch screen didn't register any touches, no matter how I flexed the case. I couldn't just slide the screen up to the accessories. Siri wasn't listening. So, no photos for most of the rest of the ride.

It was good that I'd taken it easy through the Ranger rollers because the rollers across the top of the mountain were tougher than I remembered, and it was nice to have a bit of energy up there. At Hightower Gap, I noticed a 15mph speed limit sign. I think I'd seen another one earlier in the day too. Ha! Fat chance of that. I hope it doesn't apply to bikes.

At Rock Creek Lake, there was a stocking chute that I'd never noticed before. I tried to get a photo, but no luck. Similarly, I tried to get obligatory photos of the hatchery and Shady Grove Church. Nope.

Someday, I'm going to have to hike the FS333 area and explore the various side roads and trails out there. I noticed quite a few that I'm not sure I've ever noticed before.

When I pulled back onto Doublehead Gap Road, my mind was in this mode that I call "perpetual retrospect", which I love when I can get into. I may have mentioned it before... When you think back on some fun, epic, beautiful, interesting, or otherwise good time, it's almost always more poignant in retrospect than it was when you were doing it. If, while doing it, though, you imagine yourself in the future, thinking back on that moment that you're experiencing right then, that same poignance will strike you, while you're actually doing the thing. Sometimes you have to prime it by just reflecting on a few moments ago. It's tricky, and it doesn't always work out, but I try to get myself into that mode whenever I'm doing something cool, even if it's something that shouldn't really be that great at the moment, like getting stuck in the rain. Perpetual retrospect. It's great. Give it a try.

So, anyway, I really enjoyed the scenic ride back along Doublehead Gap Road. The whole road is paved these days, so the ride is easier than it used to be. A lot of the properties along the road have been renovated too, and there were families enjoying them. There was one house with like 5 guys sitting out on the porch, grilling something, but otherwise just sitting around talking. We waved to each other.

At the top of the last kick before descending back to my truck, a lady in a Prius pulled over the top of the hill, rolled down her window and stopped. Our conversation went something like:

"Please! I beg you to stop. I need your help!" (but not in a super serious tone)

"Whatcha got?"

"I've been driving around for like 20 minutes. My map cut out, I've got no phone service, and I have no idea where I am."

"Yeah, that's North Georgia for you."

"We have a house in Ellijay, and there's service there, but out here, suddenly there's nothing!"

"Ha! Yeah, that's where you are. Where are you looking to go?"

"Anywhere really, just any major highway!"

"Well, if you turn around and drive straight, without turning, the road will change names several times, but if you just stay straight, in about 20 miles, you'll hit Hwy 52. Take a right and it goes to Ellijay."

"What if I keep going this way?"

"In about 4 or 5 miles you'll hit Hwy 60."

"Hwy 60! I know where that is. Thanks! I'll give that a try!"

"Good luck!"

And she sped off. I hope she figured it out. I don't think there's service in either direction on Hwy 60 for quite a while.

When I got back to the truck, I realized just how muddy everything was.

Again, it wasn't slippery or muddy per-se, just a little wet, but it was enough to make all the little bits accumulate, eventually. Blah!

On the way back home, I pulled off of Hwy 52 for a second, to see The World's Largest Squidbilly.

I'd seen it on the way in, but figured I'd see it again, which I did.

Getting back on to Hwy 52 from their little parking lot required 4WD and high ground clearance. Fortuantely I had both, but from the looks of it, people have gotten stuck trying.

For dinner, I went back to the River Street Tavern and ate a French Dip at their bar. It really, really hit the spot, and I walked out with that whole body tired and those comfort protiens working their magic.

The drive home was uneventful, and if I remember correctly, I crashed out earlier than usual.

All in all, a pretty good day.