North Georgia Cycling and Athens Crit

There are not many hills in Florida let alone anything real to climb, so we have to travel north to Georgia or TN.

This time it was to Helen Georgia which is 6:30 from JAX.

This small town offers some GREAT climbs and smooth roads for the crew - Saswata Roy, Peter Litsky, Josh and me.



We got in town on Friday and hit the roads for a few hours late that afternoon.

The plan was for 2 hours Friday and 4 hours Saturday morning.

The climbs did NOT disappoint as the views were AWESOME!!!



The 1st climb we did was Unicoi and then on to Brass Town Bald and 20+% grades.

Sassy and Peter at the top of the 4K'+ top.



We were not too worried but hey this is Georgia :)



Here is a little video recap of the day...




After we finished, we headed off to Athens to watch some friends race at Athen Twilight Crit.




The course is 1K and the race for the amatuers is 25 laps and it is ALL OUT!!!





Ralph and Skinny Pete made it through to the finish which is a REAL goal - it is that hard - congrats boys!!!




The Pro's go off at night and it was CRAZY - pouring rain and MUCH MUCH faster.



We went to turn 4 and cheered on Curtis and Karel.







This Pro race is the top Crit in the country and it brings out all the best.

Congrats to the shaved leg tough guys - VERY VERY IMPRESSIVE!!!

Ironman New Orleans 70.3 recap

This is a little - err...ok - a LOT late in posting but I am just getting caught up now - sorry.


Anyway - it is REALLY awesome to be able to race a major race in a major US city.

The race was great - video recap is at the bottom but here are a few pix.

New Orleans is really coming back - the city does have soul and it shows.



We took a tour by carriage of the French Quarter and I usually don't do this kind of this...

I do stuff...I don't sit back and watch but this was incredible.

It gave us a chance to see the tourist things and stay off the feet as well :)



I was denied Cafe Du Monde on this trip so I will have to go back!!!



The finish line is really incredible as it is set right downtown.



The swim was in Lake Poopatrain - yeah - that part - not so great :)



Peter finished the swim and headed out on the bike.



The bike course was windy and flat with only a few bridges - just perfect for FL riders.



The start of the run was REALLY hot and in spite of this picture - it was not at all staded.



13.0 miles later - the finish chute is a welcome sight.



I don't think I could have gone much harder.





was able to run into 3rd place in AG and picked up a little bling :)



We had a chance to go blow off some steam after the race on Bourbon Street.

Congrats to Peter and Steve for great races and an awesome after party.







Here is a race recap...

Cohutta 100 and getting "it"

- - - Guest Post - - -

From the Grubby Mountain Biker - Sean Crichton

Congrats man!!! Great Race!!!














This past weekend I think I finally found what you guys get with your Ironman & ultra endurance races. I had thought that last year with me doing that Augusta 70.3 – I would get ‘IT’…. I thought I would have some sort of ‘enlightenment’ and the feeling and the need for pushing longer and harder would come…. But I have to admit – it just didn’t happen. After that race, which although I thoroughly enjoyed, I just couldn’t see the appeal of a full Ironman. I just didn’t get ‘IT’.…. I thought to myself “WHY do those guys do Ironman and WHY do I not even WANT to contemplate it?”… I figured, “Well, I’m no triathlete, I’m just a grubby mountain biker”… so in February, I did 12hrs of Santos – but again – no revelation, no shining light, no neon sign with ‘the message’… just a great, long fun day of riding and a cool story to tell people that I rode my bike for 11.5 hours straight….but that was it – nothing else. I kind of chalked it up to ‘Well, maybe that’s what it’s all about’ – just having fun. I was okay with that for a while, but then ‘racer’ in me just wasn’t satisfied with that….so I figured I’d hit this Cohutta race and just have a long, fun ride on some trails that I’ve never ridden, but then ‘IT’ finally happened…. I can’t explain exactly when 'IT' happened or exactly what caused 'IT'. Could’ve been the lightning storm, torrential rains, and 30mph cross winds that came on at mile 40....Perhaps ‘IT’ happened when I saw my timer read 3hrs40min at mile 46 and figured I’d be halfway done (50miles) within 4 hours…..but then it took a solid hour to actually reach that 50mile point (yes, I was avg’ng 4mph at that point…while in zone 5!!)….. or maybe ‘IT’ happened when a guy on a single speed passed me up a climb when I was standing up in my Granny-Granny gear – putting down one of my hardest efforts of my entire life on a bike….. or perhaps ‘IT’ happened when I realized at mile 85 that my brake pads were completely worn out and my brake levers were flopping completely to my handlebars with NO affect on my speed.……. I guess now looking back – ‘IT’ was all of those and more …. And now I finally get it. That 8hrs and 31 minutes of suffering and eating mud and freezing downhills and never-ending climbs and cramping shifting fingers was probably the BEST 8hrs and 31minutes I’ve ever experienced on a bike. It was a killer time and I’d definitely recommend it to try sometime. You’d love it.

Gatlinburg TN, Spring Break 2010

Not unlike the opening scene of the Griswold's Vacation - the family plan was set in motion by me - Clark W. setting out on a family trip with an 8 hour drive to the mountains of NC/TN :)

A family trip can strike fear in a teenagers heart...






After the initial shock wore off, we ALL (even Shane) had a BLAST!!!

The mountains offer great views, outdoor recreation and lots of rednecks :)

Rednecks and children like pretty much the same things so I figured we are all good :)

We also brought along bikes to train as I was gearing up for NOLA 70.3 and Josh is getting ready for the summer race season. Hills are not too common here in FL and this is a great place to jump start your fitness.









We stayed in a nice cabin near downtown that offered walking to the shops and shuttles.




The closest access to the river was only 100 yards away and the C- bone and I decided to check it out after a short trail run.





The Boyz took a more extreme version of fishing putting on wetsuits and getting in the water.







Haile was the ultimate worm killa and bait handler - she had no issue skewering them when they squirmed - I think she should be a nurse :)











After a good day we did some REAL REDNECK sports and went to the Hillbilly Golf.

Drew schooled us all but that is expected as she is the most competitive...seriously...the girl does NOT like to lose :)











One of the highlights to the trip was a white water rafting on the Nantahala river - it was awesome.

The trip from Gatlinburg to NOC is 60 miles and goes over the mountains so I started at 7am on the bike and the Boyz, Hailie and Drew met me in Bryson City - I love it when a plan comes together :)


The water was great - our guide was awesome and everyone had a blast!!!









Here...




we...




goooooooooo.............






Sunday was Easter and the bunny made sure to visit Bone :)





Josh and I went out and rode on Little River Road - really incredible with some really cool spots to fish and swim.



Why does it always have to be a race ? :)




The views along the road are awesome!!!





The worm killa strikes again :)




Bone is NOT HAPPY but Shane made sure he was fine on some "extreme" (not so much :)) Riverboarding.




His brother took it to a little higher level :)



We found a rock to jump off...pretty cool spot!!!












Then next day we traveled up the mountain a little and found a cool bridge to go explore and nice stream...








The last day was going to be a bit of a trick so I got up early to train in the remote pain cave...



Then I moved outside...



After a few hours on the trainer - made breakfast - packed up and headed out the door for the ride home.

Bone and I talked Drew into stopping for some road toyz - I picked this one out - subliminal implants :)





"Iced" up the legs with Biofreeze and compression gear for a long ride home and chilled out...







It was a great trip and we will definitely go rafting again.

It is often a trick to balance family, work, training and fun but a family vacation / cycling training camp worked out AWESOME!!!

That's all for now...Kia Kaha :)