North Georgia revisited

Ccup and I arrived in Dahlonega on Friday evening and checked into the Super8.....I know..blame it on our cheap ass sponsors. After a short nap we decided to go into town to find some food and spirits. Dahlonega was full of posh little places that ,I suppose, are fueled by Atlanta folks that have weekend cabins in the near by mountains, but Curtis and I settled in on the local Italian/American dive bar.

After a quick scan, we realized that they had the basic liquids for a cyclist survival. Fat tire and PBR on tap. After we found our spot at the bar ,the first thing that we found humorous was that the bartender "Really!" had his nose buried in a "Bar tending for dummies" book. The beer was good and the food was ok. I don't know what it is about the North GA mountains? Looking back to my May of 2010 post about Helen.....well..... The locals started to creep into the pub. I haven't watched any fashion TV lately but I doubt that plaid is the new sexy for 2011. Then out of no where, the disco ball dropped from the ceiling and the karaoke was warming up. Ccup and I made a quick escape. Ccup commented that North Ga could rival some of Alabama's finest rednecks any day. Honestly, I fit in pretty darn well.




The next morning came early. We spared ourselves the Super 8 breakfast and chose oatmeal instead. We fumbled our way to the vineyard with poor directions and somehow found our target. The funny thing is that 5 cars with bikes followed us, having no idea how lost we were. Registration was sloppy. But we finally got suited up and ready to go. The race started out with a nasty cross course and a 100 yard run/crawl up. It then made it to the North Ga forest and instantly started an 8 mile climb straight up a dirt road. At some point most of the peleton was walking. This was Hell on Earth. After a long descent, there was another 5 mile climb followed by an uncountable amount of 500 yard climbs. And then finaly a possible deadly downhill. The weather was great which made the very very long 50 mile day tolerable. I finished on my single in 5 hours and 10 minutes. The course ended with another cross course and a 300 foot crawl up with MGD hand offs.Ccups heart rate monitor said 3600 calories burned. I am pretty sure that this was the toughest day I have had on the bike. It was somehow satisfying to see people with gears still limping in an hour and a half later as we headed home.

Dangers of the velodrome

Inside the Masters back pack

Im Just saying!

7 days and 7 nights

Well, the snow is still here. It has been one week of snow on the ground. I have really enjoyed the beauty of it. It looks like we may be in for a couple more days of it at my house. I think we are on the shaded side of the mountain.


Beautiful day. Church, lunch with good friends, then a nice sunny snow ride. Skyball was still snow capped off in the distance. Although Skyballs Siren Bitches were calling us, we took a right instead and resisted. The temp was nice and warm but then dropped about a degree per minute in the last 20 minutes of the ride.

Is anyone aware of this?

http://www.blkmrkt-racing.com/

More inclement weather?

My new plan to push on through the worst weather this year is tough. Reluctantly, after work today, I headed to the local trails for a spin. You'll never guess what I found.

When the park is the most beautiful all year. You guessed it........CLOSED!

I pushed my 29r up the hill next to the park. I then slipped into the down hill of one of the switch backs that turns near the pavement. Most of the trail was virgin snow. I was really surprised that no one had decided to take a hike through the snow covered trails. I saw lots of dear tracks and then finally ran into a single set of human tracks. At least someone else in the city appreciated the snow covered mini forest this day. The stream that snakes under the three bridges was beautiful.

I was pleased to find that most of the trail was easily ridden. However, the ice shell on the snow demanded a lot more effort on the first trip through. All in all it was a peaceful ride and a good work out.

Inclement weather

It's pretty sad when the winter wonderland exhibit at SLP closes because of the threat of snow. The most crazy thing is that this was the day after and it was a balmy 55 degrees.

After a couple of failed attempts to drum up a riding partner on road and mountain bike, I was still dying to take advantage of the warm but wet weather and ride today. It was 50 something degrees( maybe more) and humid. The sun was trying to peak through the clouds. I tossed my 29r into the truck and headed for SLP. Before I arrived, I was surprised to find myself in a gully washer of a rain storm. Discouraged, I turned around and headed back South. Suddenly, I heard a little Voice in my head say "Southern Cross". I recalled the commitment I have with CC to ride the 50 mile torture cross race in Eligay in late February. I turned around again in the pouring rain and headed to SLP. I found it to be closed because of Inclement weather. Maybe by the same people who chose to be the only ones in the state to close the Schools yesterday? I managed to ride up the hill and sneak in the side of the trail. The rain stopped and the trail was beautiful. I have never seen a trail that drains so well and so quickly. It was actually nicer than the slippery and crunchy leaves that I have been used to riding the last few weeks. With the help of the mp3 player, I was able to slip in a few laps before dark.

Anyway, back to the Southern Cross. http://www.55nine.com/southernX.html

It is a 50 mile race that starts out on a cross course and then heads out onto 50 miles of dirt,paved,and gravel roads and then returns to run the cross course one last time. Last years, times varied for 3.5 hours to 6.5 hours. And in North GA in February, one can expect the worse from the weather. It should be quite a challenge. They have a 35 mile citizen race but, I have decided that it will only be worth it to do the open class. I like rides that suck. I don't know why I am wired that way. It's just that way.

For the the first time in 9 years, I have decided to actually watch what I eat. For the last three weeks, this has meant, No cokes (sad) limited beer (but not too limited) and pretty much no sugar. My plan is to be successful at dropping weight right through the holidays. Crazy huh?