Girl's in the Wilderness

Our ride yesterday started out with the best intentions, as most do. Namrita and I decided to ride the gravel roads of the Cohutta 100 race. We figured that it would be a good workout with a lot of climbing. How things went so horribly wrong I don't know...but here's a few guesses.

Guess #1: We forgot our ride directions.

We had to drive about two hours to get to the Cohutta mountains, and it wasn't until we were halfway there that we realized that our directions were still on the kitchen table. For some reason, it really didn't phase us. The sun was shining, there wasn't a cloud in the sky-we were really excited to get on our bikes.

Guess #2: We didn't start pedaling until 12:15.

We figured that would give us plenty of time to get back to the car in broad daylight. After all, we were only riding 60-ish miles. What we didn't factor in is that things would go wrong, as they sometimes do.

Guess #3: We didn't pack enough.

We each loaded up with four water bottles and lots of food, but we only had one or two air cartridges between the two of us and no pump. At mile 20 we noticed my rear tire had a small puncture in it. I filled it up with some quick sealant and was able to keep pedaling. I wanted to save our air cartridges in case anything else happened. We decided that we would keep an eye out for anyone who might have a pump.

Guess #4: We asked hillbillies for help.

Finally we reached a campground in the middle of the woods, and noticed a bike wheel leaning against a car. I wasn't wearing my contacts, so I thought that it was a father and son camping for the weekend. They told me that they had a pump and I ran up to get it. As I got closer I realized that it wasn't a father and son. It was two of the cast members from the movie Deliverance. I tried not to get freaked out, but the moment they started talking I completely froze. It was beyond backwoods. The guy put some pump machine up to my rear tire and let the air out. BEAUTIFUL. The other one asked me something like, "do you have far to go?" and "are you meeting up with someone?"

That's all it took for us to get the H-E-double hockey stick out of there. I had no problem using the one air cartridge we were trying to save. I suddenly noticed that how isolated we were and it took a few miles before we stopped looking over our shoulders every minute. The ride was starting to hurt, as it was climb after climb. Namrita was riding a gear ratio that I've ridden before in Michigan. I have no clue how she was making it up the mountain climbs, but let me tell you. She is beyond strong right now.

Guess #5: We are both "challenged" when it comes to directions.

I can honestly say that I didn't recognize one road that we were on yesterday. When I'm racing, I have a totally different mindset then when I am riding. I guess I just keep my eyes forward until I see the finish line. When we realized that we were lost yesterday it was too late. Luckily I had my cell phone on me, and actually got reception. Namrita called Eddie and he told us how to get back. However, we were way further out then originally thought.

The sun was starting to set, and the only people we saw were randomly camped out in the woods. It was scary. It seemed like we were on the same road forever, and I was convinced that we were never going to get off of the mountain. There are so many people on the roads during the race, that I never realized how the roads are in the middle of no where. It kept getting darker, and darker and we both were without water. At one point I was standing in the middle of the road and Namrita thought that I was a log. She was about ready to bunny hop me.

The last hour was the worst. We had to ride in complete darkness, with only a sliver of moonlight to guide us. I can honestly say that I've never been so scared in my life. We had no phone reception, no water, and it was COLD. I will remember that feeling forever when I'm doing my next 24 hour race. No matter how tired I am, at least I will have lights to see by, and not have to worry about crazy people in the woods watching us.

It was the best feeling to see Namrita's car. By that time, we were both so paranoid that we literally jumped in with all of our cycling clothes on and drove down the mountain as fast as we could. We called Eddie the moment we had cell phone reception, only to find out that he had already called 911 and was organizing a search party.

And no, I'm not joking.

We are now writing a Wilderness Survival Guide about all of the mistakes that we made yesterday. We just need to think of a title. Here are a few that we are considering.

1. Dumb and Dumber go for a ride
2. Be ye not so stupid!
3. Where are we?
4. Namrita and Danielle's not so excellent adventures