Mulberry Gap & the Drama Queen
We stayed up at Mulberry Gap again this weekend. The place is as it all for mtb’ers, especially if those of us with dogs. We rode out & back on the Bear Creek trail with the dogs….lots of creek crossings and deep tree cover, so they can handle the distance. Then we headed for Mulberry Gap for dinner and a shower. We hung out with the owners, Diane & Jinnny, and some of the other guests. I’m dragging ass a bit from the Fool’s Gold, so I was in bed by 9:30.
Sunday morning we had a huge (well mine was huge) breakfast of pancakes and eggs accompanied by a giant cup of joe. The perfect start to a long ride. The dogs were still worn out from the Bear Creek ride, so they did not need much attention. We brought an extra sheet from home, covered one of the bunks and they stayed in the cabin until later. We rode out with 3 of the other guests to meet the Cartecay Bikes ride of the weekend, the Drama Queen ride. We meet the group out on the trail, but not as expected. They can through sporadically and going fast. They were also wearing number plates and tiaras. I guess there was more to the ride than we realized….I was expecting a more gentle, social pace, but that was not to be. The group was large enough that we were never alone for long, so I took my time on the climbs and ripped the downs. Pinhoti 2 is one of the best descents in GA, smooth, fast, lots of berms and lips to launch off of, tight sections through the trees….good times. The climb up hwy 52 gave me a chance to test my legs a bit and I was happy with the results. As I mentioned early I’ve been dragging a bit lately, so it’s nice have some legs back. They didn’t last forever as I climbed the middle part of Pinhoti 3, they began their all too familiar protest. I rolled through the SAG and headed back to Mulberry Gap to let the dogs out and wait on Nam. How cool is it that I can so conveniently stop by to tend to the boys? Anyway, Nam came by and we bailed on the rest of the 55 mile route which include a leg crushing trip up Tibbs (1 mile here take about 45 minutes on a good day). We circled around and caught up with the 30 mile DQ ride finishers, had a beer and chatted for bit. Finally we descended Pinhoti 2 again and headed for Mulberry. Showers, in the car and on the road. This place is like a home away from home.