Armuchee - Fouche Gap

 Gary and Derek Being Cautious Crossing the Wood Bridge

Ride Pictures Link
Garmin Connect Ride Data Link:
Garmin Ride Summary:
Distance: 70.31 mi
Elevation Gain: 2,923 ft
Moving Time: 04:16:56
Avg Speed: 16.4 mph
Max Speed: 32.9 mph

Group: Derek, Gary, and me. Edgar came but did not start, Mike rushed northward to see new grand baby.

The Ride: We met at the Armuchee Middle School for a brisk early morning start and what caught my attention first was Mike was missing. It was supposed to be his birthday ride, but no Mike. Gary informed us that Mike was on a flight up north to see his new grandchild. That left four of us, but then Edgar found out he brought his bike that did not have brakes. Not a good thing since we had a fast descent off of Fouche Gap Road and believe me on the descent he made the right choice not going.

Me, Derek and Gary rolled out and it was not long that each of us were wondering why we don't ride there more often. This route has to be in the top 5 list and may even threaten to be in the number 1 spot. The route has a variety of small rolling hills, one climb that is only a couple miles or shorter and a lot of flatter roads to sit at a comfortable pace. It also has a lot of scenery and believe me I am not usually a scenery guy, but this route has a fair amount. There are a lot of very rural sections of roads and a few highways, but overall the traffic would be considered low.

Though we had some areas that we maintained 20+ mph speeds we still were able to enjoy the ride and company without feeling stressed. With a 16.4 mph average speed this was a conversation paced ride and to me was very enjoyable. Even at that I still seemed to rack up some good training time according to me power data or perhaps it is time to bump up my functional threshold.


Nutrition Intake During and after the Course:(1) 24 oz. bottle of water with Hammer Heed,BCAA and Glutamine, (1) 24 oz. bottle of water with Hammer Perpetuem, BCAA and Glutamine, (2) Cliff bar (1) Accel gels (1) 20 gram Whey protein post ride recovery drink .

The Weather:  Sunny, Start @ 46 degrees | End @ 84 degrees,  humidity 46%, winds WSW 5 mph

Bike: Look 585, Garmin 705, Powertap 2.4 wired
Gear: Started with arm / leg warmers, long sleeve base layer, long finger wool glove liners (removed all of this later in the ride)

Power Summary: (Based on Coogan's Levels)
Summary Table of Minutes of Duration in Each Training Zone
  Level   Minutes       TSS
      1      6.68      1.00
      2     97.48     62.27
      3    102.56    119.68
      4     39.00     49.30
      5      2.58      5.87
      6      2.62      7.24
      7      6.55     19.22

Overall Power Data:
  Entire workout (114 watts):
    Duration:      4:20:38 (4:47:50)
    Work:          1759 kJ
    TSS:           263.1 (intensity factor 0.79)
    Norm Power:    150
    VI:            1.32
    Distance:      70.452 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    507    114     watts
    Speed:           0    33.1    16.2     mph
    Pace             1:49    0:00    3:42     min/mi
    Hub Torque:      0    423    54     lb-in
    Crank Torque:    0    963    127     lb-in