After coming dangerously close to quitting on days one and two it was an incredible feeling crossing the state line. This one was tough - dehydration, cramps, heat exhaustion, sleep deprivation, and stomach issues. It doesn’t sound much like fun. And I wish I could describe what makes TNGA so special but it really is something you just have to experience to understand. Ride highs and lows - Severe dehydration and cramps on the first day - Riding up the Tallulah River gorge right into a nasty thunderstorm - Lighting blowing up the transformer 20 yards away from me at the Hwy 76 intersection - Rolling out of the hostel at 3am trying to make up ground after a miserable first day - A very long 21-hour day two that included climbing Addis Gap, Tray Mountain, Hickory Nut, Hogpen Gap, Wolfpen Gap, and Wildcat Gap - The blazing heat going up Hogpen Gap in the mid afternoon sun - Taking a nap In the grass by the side of the road half way up Hogpen and waking up with ants crawling all over me - Swearing that I was quitting once we reached Vogel State Park - Troy and Sebastian riding up on motorcycles just before Vogel State Park and talking me out of quitting at Vogel - An amazing cheeseburger and cheesecake to Cooper Creek Store - Sleeping (but not sleeping) in a kids playhouse behind Cooper’s Creek Store - OMG the biscuits and gravy at Cooper Creek store - The Stanley Gap hike-a-bike - always so fun - Why was the hose water at the Cherry Log Community Center so hot?? - Mohawk boy at Bearden’s Auto Body - wouldn’t be TNGA without a mullet or mohawk kid - The meatball sub, homemade key lime pie, and refreshing outdoor cold shower at Mountainside Market - Sleeping (but not sleeping) in the floor at the old beauty salon on Hwy 2 - An amazing sunrise as we climbed Watson Gap - The Bear Creek and Pinhoti 1 and 2 trails actually being fun in the daylight - Some great BBQ at Mulberry Gap - 20 miserable road miles between Ramhurst and Dalton - Sleeping in an actual bed at the Dalton Days Inn - it was only 3.5 hours but it was at least some real sleep - Actually being able to ride a good bit of the rocky Snake Creek single track - Riding up on a huge rattlesnake stretched out across the trail - Camping out on the top of Taylor’s Ridge - Eating at least 5lbs of fried food at Evans Deli in Coosa - The misery of the highway stretch leaving Coosa with a belly full of food and a headwind - The best ice cream cone ever in Cave Springs - Crossing the state line - glad it was over but sad knowing that it meant returning to the real world - The van ride back to Mulberry Gap full of stories of snakes, snack cakes, beer, and strange people in the woods