Riding, Riding and riding some more!

This post is going to be for guys like me. When I was a younger man I hated reading. Give me a nice magazine with pictures on every page and I was happy just reading the captions. So in order to catch up with the riding and events I've been doing I will resort to the creation of the blogless blog. No long stories. No witty recounts of the events. Just photos and captions.

Let us begin.

2013 Dirty Spokes Duathlon at Heritage Park in Watkinsville, Georgia

Kelley Edwards ran 2.8 miles, I rode 8 mile mtb, then he ran another 2.8 mile. It must be said that Kelley ate like a killer whale within 1 hour of the race. It must have been delicious. Both times.

Molly did the Duathlon Novice as a solo which is a run and ride only. She did great. Finished the first run before Puke boy.

Molly on the run.

Kelley Edwards suffering greatly.

Molly finishes the last climb.

Molly had a great race.

Kelley learned a lot and gave everything.

Kelley and I got 4th, Molly 1st in her age group.

And now we'll move on to the Gainesville Promise to Ride... Ride. This charity ride was for the Family Promise of Hall County. A non-profit organization that provides temporary housing for homeless children and their families. A great cause. I really enjoy riding with the ISI Cycling guys too. David Shabat and his son Ben showed up as well as many other local cyclists.

I talked Stephen Sisk into it.

Craig Tinsley rode in the ride t-shirt.

It was a beautiful day. But windy.

We rode hard with the ISI Cycling guys.

Craig won the door prize for being the first rider back from the metric ride. He made a dangerous move and cut in front of a pickup truck with 500 meters to go. The rest of us were too scared to try it. So tactics won that one for you Craig! But I'm going to whip out a movie quote and say, "The encounter was a victory, but we show it as an example of what not to do."

First guy to tell me the name of the movie wins a water bottle.

Next is a story from my good friend Sean Philyaw who took some team mates with him to the Sonny King races in Alabama. His crit didn't go so good but the next day he raced in the Foothills Road Race and that... well I'll let him tell you.

Sean Philyaw
Foothills Road Race, Alabama



A beautiful day dawned in Northeast Alabama.  If you have never done this road race, it is a great one and I highly recommend it.  The Northeast Alabama Bicycle Association did a great job organizing the Foothills Road Race, while providing a great breakfast and excellent recovery lunch, which were all inclusive in the registration cost.  Job well done and I will be back.

The topography there is identical to what we have here in Northeast Georgia, with rolling hills and a few nice climbs thrown in to make it painful.  The previous days Sunny King Criterium was less than successful, but my legs were now open and ready for adventure. The roll out of Piedmont, AL, was neutral, but it didn't matter anyway.  The fireworks would not start until 15 miles into the race.

Attacks began going off the front, but this early in the race, everyone has fresh legs, so the attacks are reeled back in no time. After the initial flurry of attacks, a rest lull hit the peleton, so the guys from NGCA / Mission Source decided it was time to hit it again.  Good call!  I tried to hold wheels while the breaks were being brought back, just to conserve energy.  However, racing and not attacking a few times yourself is not very rewarding.    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXGPp15P9U4

By 30 miles into the 48 mile race, we had attacked enough to thin out the herd, so we had a good strong group of riders together to close the deal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhvUiaM5PVM

At mile 40, the impending doom of the final climb sets in and the group slows down to eat one last time before releasing the fury of the climb on our bodies.

I am not a climber and I can hold my own, but one must realize that a climber will beat you to the top of a long climb every time.  The best you can hope for is to maintain contact and catch them on the way down the other side.  Having more mass does have its benefits at times.  Before the climb, I mentioned to a few of the other guys that are of similar physical makeup as myself, that we would have to crest the climb with the lead group in sight and then we could bomb down the descent in hopes of once again making contact with said group.

A group of four dangling carrots crested the hill ahead of us. We set out to catch them and catch them we did.  In fact, we blew right by them and I am not sure how many of them were able to maintain contact as we flew through the flat valley toward the finish.  Climb video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP3pEXt-h_k

All this time, I tried to stay in a good position without having to do too much work.  When we got to the final corner, I was in great position and my legs felt great.  One fellow did a sneaky roll away in the last corner and with 500 meters to go, I thought he would never have enough gas to make it the the finish.  Boy was I wrong.  He made it, but just barely.  In hindsight, I should have jumped on his wheel at the corner and made my move with 100 meters to go.  Live an learn, but I was happy with the 2nd place result and for having raced a smart race.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDVju8-m6X8

My new mantra is........I don't have to be the strongest, just the smartest.  You can attack and inflict pain all you want, but it's the first one who crosses the line that counts.

I personally have found that the training is the easy part.  Learning tactics and then trying to make good tactical decisions when your heartrate is pegged is the hard part.  Either way, you cannot have any more fun in this world than riding or racing with good friends.  

Sean

Thanks Sean! I can't wait to race this weekend at Twilight in Athens with these guys!

That's all for this blog post. Have fun out there!

Chad Hayes