Abe Kaufman Sets a New Record in the 2023 TNGA

The Trans North Georgia Adventure (TNGA) is a 350-mile mountain bike route through the mountains of northern Georgia on trails, forest roads, and paved roads featuring challenging terrain, beautiful scenery, and a whole lot of climbing. There were more than 90 riders at the grand depart this Saturday, and nearly 20 have already scratched from the event, which is nothing new for the TNGA.

Forty-year-old Abe Kaufman from Virginia was first to finish this year’s event, crushing the challenging route in just 1 day, 15 hours, and 44 minutes (1:15:44). Abe’s time was a full hour faster than 25-year-old James Dunaway’s record-setting time at the 2019 TNGA. He rolled in shortly before midnight last night and was kind enough to put together a quick ride reflection for us. Find it below.

Words and photos by Abe Kaufman

I was excited to come back to TNGA this year after scratching last year about 60 miles from the finish with bad knee pain. I knew I wanted to come back and chase the FKT, but had no idea if I’d be able to pull it off. I quickly fell behind the pace last year, so knew I’d have my work cut out for me. Fortunately, the weather (and trail conditions) were nearly ideal with no rain in the forecast for the whole weekend and temps in the 50s to start out Saturday morning.

The race went really well overall, with almost no mishaps other than a couple of minor wrong turns that required some backtracking and one massive over-the-bars wreck 12 hours in that left me with a sore back for the rest of the ride. I focused on pushing hard anytime the riding went uphill and then dropped the heels and recovered anytime there was a downhill. I had the split times taped to my top tube so was able to keep tabs on my pace throughout the race. The trail magic was on-point; a couple of roadside aid stations were set up and a church was open to riders in the middle of the night with food/water. I ate like it was my job and thankfully the stomach cooperated, even during the heat on Sunday afternoon. I did bonk a little when the heat peaked Sunday afternoon and had to keep stopping anytime I found water to try and cool down a bit. Otherwise, my body held up well, with just the sore back from the wreck and some tenderness in my knees when trying to push hard late in the ride.

A lot of effort went into getting the bike and kit dialed down to the lightest possible setup. I decided I couldn’t sacrifice the dropper post and 100% needed a suspension fork to have a chance at keeping my hands on the handlebars for the duration of the ride. I took a calculated risk with running a lightweight 24-hole wheelset (Roval Control SL) and the super fast Continental Race King tires. Otherwise, the bike was setup with SRAM XX1 AXS drivetrain and Shimano XTR trail brakes. Lighting was taken care with a Fenix HMR65R headlamp on my helmet and a BC26R on the handlebars.

I used a 1.5L Rockgeist top tube bag for electronics and some snacks and then had the rest of my food, self-care items, tools, and spares in an Apidura half frame bag. I also carried 2L hydration pack, which was clutch for keeping up with hydration on the singletrack sections where grabbing a bottle isn’t as easy. Overall, I don’t think there’s anything I’d change about my kit.

Congrats, Abe! There are still many riders out on route, and you can follow them live here.

Further Reading

Make sure to dig into these related articles for more info...

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Dispatch

17-year-old PJ Terry and Andrew Wiedrich Co-win the 2022 TNGA

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Culture

Hard Miles and Trench Foot on the 2021 TNGA

10

Culture

“Mulberry Trap” and the 2021 TNGA

79

ROUTE

Trans North Georgia (TNGA)

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