2013 Chainbuster Green Gobbler Race

There were so many things about this race I want to tell you. I'll keep it chronological so follow me on my emotional roller coaster if you can. I'm sounding a little melodramatic because the weekend started with my 11 year old daughter Ellie being diagnosed with pneumonia. She's my little ninja. She's never been this sick and it really burdened me all weekend. I tell you this so you'll understand why everything I'm about to write seemed like a dream. It was like being in a video game where you and your teammates can make great things happen, overcome unforeseen dangers, and achieve improbable victories... but reality is still there to remind you or who you really are what is really important.

Normally I give in to every man's natural tendency to take an all expenses paid ego trip. I mean that type of mental 10 feet tallness is a gift from God. It's why we can charge into battle. It's what athlete's use to jack themselves up for a race. It's blind belief in the face of the unknown. We all have it. Some men just don't sign up for events where they can let it loose. It's this theory that helps me understand why people do Tough Mudders and Spartan Races. You have it when you're a kid and then forget it. But some of us fortunately find it and let our dormant testosterone loose once again.
I like hanging out with those people.

I say all that to say this... I was not able to take an ego trip this weekend for thinking about my daughter. When I left her on Saturday morning she was better but still hurting and sore. They had a doctors appointment that morning to see if she's made any progress. Before that my oldest daughter Molly was signed up to compete in the Dirty Spokes Trail Run at the University of North Georgia. I headed out to Conyers.

Molly had a great race. She started near the front, which we talked about doing, and set a good pace. There were some other women running with her who actually coached and encouraged her. She tripped on a few roots but otherwise completed the course well enough to earn 2nd Overall Women.

She loves competing with all the great people who frequent these events. The atmosphere is a lot like what you find at mountain bike races. Just great people everywhere, doing there own things but happy to join any bit of fun that happens.

In the meantime I arrived in Conyers and came flying out of the truck to get ready. I normally lead the kids race and I enjoy it. Thankfully Kenny had postponed the race by 15 minutes so I could get my act together. We lined up the kids and for some reason he let me talk to them. I said something stupid like "are you guys ready to race?" I lead them around the course where all the racers cheered as they went by. It's very cool. It always helps me keep things in perspective.

Then it was time to race. My team mates for the day were David Shabat (as usual) and a newbie named Randy Hemphill. Although you'd never think he's new to mountain bike racing because he rides a shiny new Cannondale Scalpel 29er Full Suspension bike. It's purdy.
I don't really know Randy that well. He is soft spoken and friendly and very receptive to all the advice I felt like giving him. He's no stranger to competition. He's a runner who recently discovered that running all the time is hell on your joints when you get older. I liked him right away. And I liked him even more after he blistered his final lap. More on that later.

The Start

 This year the start/finish and the course itself was set up totally different than any other time I've raced there. We raced counterclockwise and the two worst climbs on that side of the road were unfortunately included. There was a lot of open down hill/gravel road/20 mph types of opportunities as well. Looking back on it now I think it may be the best course I've ever ridden there.

The start was too short! Kenny!
I had some insider information so I knew to get off to a blazing start and get to the woods in the lead group. Others had the same idea but ended up knocking heads. Todd Case had to stop and straighten his handle bars.
I flogged myself to get with the 7 leaders and before we were a mile in I realized there was a gap to the top five. I went around the two guys that let it happen but couldn't bridge to the leaders.

David couldn't figure out my phone so his video of the start actually ended up being a short clip of the sprint for the woods. But it's kind of cool so I wanted you to see it.

I wanted to try and stay with Rob Butler. He and Dustin Mealor were going for the 2 Person Male Expert Category and Rob is fast. He also weighs 20 pounds less than me and is 20 years younger. I figured... hey... you might as well shoot for the stars right? Well he was in that lead group that I lost at the start. So I was surprised when I caught up to him about 4 miles in. Turns out he had some stomach issues and backed off. He still beat me to the finish by almost minute. Punk.
I filmed one of their exchanges.

I made my exchange with David and sat down to keep from puking. I went a little too hard on a pan flat section of forest road just before the finish. After I recovered I started telling Randy about the course. He seemed a little nervous which is good. Nervous energy translates into adrenaline.

While we waited I called to check on Ellie and hear the good news about Molly's race. Then I walked around a little to listen to the stories everyone is always telling about the start and the course.
Randy and I sat and watched all the exchanges coming in and soon David was back and we put Randy on course.

As results started being posted we tracked our progress and kept eating and drinking. My turn came back around and this time I settled down knowing we had a lead. It was a beautiful day to be racing a bike and I wanted to enjoy it a little.

Dustin and Rob would come hang out with us and we'd laugh about stuff. We had a great spot right behind the staging area to watch all the exchanges and hear all the stories. I'd say there were around 300 racers. I would also estimate that the Coed division was the toughest. Those folks were slugging it out within minutes of each other at each transition. I especially enjoyed watching Rich Kidd when he would get the chip from his team mate Missy Petty. He would run up and get it and then bounce back to his bike like he'd just been given the key to Pandora's box yelling something like "race my bike, race my bike!" It made everyone smile every time.
 
Then "it" happened.
David Shabat's carbon handle bar broke on the left side when a tree reached out and slapped it. We're not sure where on the trail it happened but he was forced to ride the rest of his lap with one side gone. There was just enough left to use to keep him stable but no way he could get crazy on speed. But get this, his second lap was only 2 minutes slower than his first. Unbelievable!

Here's the story in David's words:

Chad, Randy, and I were off to a great start as a three man team, down at the Chainbuster Green Gobbler 6 Hour Mountain Bike Race at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, Georgia.  We already had a good lead on second place and didn't want to lose that nice cushion.  Before the race, Chad said he "wasn't feeling it" which simply meant he wasn't on his bike, yet.  Randy was racing mountain bikes for the first time, so he had that first-race excitement going on.  I was going in like an old pitcher at a playoff game - willing to push it harder than I should on a body that has a few known limitations.  What I didn't expect is that my body was stronger than my bike.

On my second lap out, I was flying.  I was out there with a solo rider who was 20 years my junior.  He was whooshing through the singletrack  twists and turns with all the usual flawlessness of fellows who, in their 20s, are training and aren't out goofing off, like I was when I was his age.  At one point, out of some wild hair, I passed this guy on a climb and thought I'd put enough of a gap on him to even out my lack of grace in the tight turns.  

I was horribly wrong.

Coming out of a deep dip that took us through a stream crossing, I came flying out and into a right hand turn (watch this phrase) and came out a little wide.  Mr. Young Fellow blew by me and we both laughed because it was some kind of karma that put me in the chase again.  So, this time I played along.  I stuck to him like glue.  I figured this would be my best lap, yet.

I was horribly wrong.

We went into another hard - right hand turn - and again I was a little wide and tagged a tree that was about 4 inches in diameter, with my left hand.  I heard an awful crack!  I thought "well this is it, I broke my hand to pieces".  No, not at all.  My carbon handlebar saved my hand, but it snapped off between the brake lever mount and the gear shifter mount.  "Well, you've got half a lap to cover and you still have all your rear controls still working!"  I was still coasting when that thought crossed my mind.  And off I went, holding the remaining piece of handlebar on the left AND the broken end of the bar with the grip and brake lever.

I was unstoppable.

My adrenaline was pumping as if someone was pouring it into my blood from a bucket.  I was passing people on the big dirt climb.  I passed more people on the power line climb.  I was skidding out in the hard curves, but managed to stay on the bike - oddly enough - minus the left half of me sticking out the normal width, I wasn't hitting anything with my left side when I went into hard right hand turns!  Ha ha ha!  Amazing.

So, now I have half a bar and I am under pressure.

I was worried that I had wasted a bunch of time with my handlebar mishap.  So, I pushed as hard as I could through the rest of the course, especially the gravel road section, where I simply brought both hands to the center and rode in a time-trial position until I got to the transition area - still passing people until the end.No one on our team even knew I had broken my bars.   Chad only looked at my leg, grabbed the chip, and put it on Randy to send him on his second lap.  I couldn't stop laughing for the rest of the race. I said a quick prayer of thanks that it was only the bar and not my hand or worse.  

I have to thank José from Performance Bike for working with the other person I have to thank, Paul Dallas, for lending me a bar for my third lap and swapping the bars out and back.Randy and Chad both did awesome. I cruised through my third lap - and was SLOWER than on that fateful second lap where I only had half a bar for half the course.  I need to find better ways to get my adrenaline pumping!  Cheers to Chad and Randy for being the fantastic gentlemen and skilled athletes and competitors that I relied on.  They brought us victory, while I brought us a little comedy (and some not-too-bad lap times).

Cheers,
David

While David was out on his third lap with his borrowed bar Randy and I started wondering if he could get a third lap in. The debate went something like this;
We don't need it... but it would be cool to have 9 laps... but David may not get back in time, we need 42 minutes... yeah... but it would be cool to get 9 laps. And so we decided that if there was anything near 42 minutes left when David got back that Randy would go for it.

David arrived with 42 mins 50 seconds left in the race. Randy was ready and flew out of transition. Pretty fun stuff.
I synchronized my phone with the race clock and headed out to a corner of the field I like to call the teaser spot. The course designers bring you out here and you think you're almost done but they turn the course right back into the woods for a little more pain. It's a big tease.

Randy came flying down into the field so fast I could only snap a picture of his exit back into the woods. Then he caught some guys in front of him and because he was with them I missed getting a shot of him on the gravel road.

But it's all good. He finished with about 30 seconds to spare giving us our coveted 9 laps.
Nicely done for a "newbie".

Let the celebration begin!

Rob Butler & Dustin Mealor, 2 Person Male - Expert

Randy Hemphill, Chad Hayes, David Shabat - 3 Person Male

It was a great day for racing! We had a great time and even won our category (trust me that isn't always the case). And then, even though I was invited to eat at Cracker Barrel with my team mates, I was suddenly very home sick. So I said goodbye for now to my friends, new and old, and headed back to Flowery Branch.

Next up is the Georgia Ride to the Capitol on Tuesday, March 26th! I think Joe Elam and I will try to join the Reality Bikes ride from Cumming and then hook up with the Lt. Governor Casey Cagle in Roswell. Join us!!

Thanks for reading!!

Chad Hayes

A Brutal Surprise at Oak Park, AL

So here's the thing about mountain bike racing in a place you've never been. It's nerve wracking. But just like anything in life there's pressure put on you and pressure you put on yourself. I tend to put pressure on myself and probably always will until I'm just too old to have a chance at winning. And on top of that I choose really fast team mates who put additional pressure on me. What am I thinking!

Race#1 Heritage Park in February 2011

Here's what I was thinking at the beginning of the year about the Chainbuster 6hr Mountain Bike Race Series; Have fun, be competitive, don't make racing an endurance mtb race a new miserable experience. The best way to do all of those things was to NOT RACE SOLO! I did it the year before and was miserable (which obviously breaks rule number three). So this year it was important to find a team mate who shared my vision of how to race a mountain bike. David Shabat was willing and very excited. All year we've raced together. He trained hard and got better as the year went on. I'm really proud of what he accomplished this year as far as mountain bike skills go. We managed several podium places and scored enough points during the season to take 1st Place for the entire 6 race series. That's something neither of us thought was possible back in February when we started. To be completely honest the door was opened for our overall victory by two things; the rules and the absence. Let's start with the latter of the two.
All year long we've been chasing the "Gutbusters" Bill Lanzilotta and Alex Hagiano, and Team "Engine" Matt Hammond and Dave Chen. We've never beaten them. They are faster than we are and it's a fact. When they showed up we knew we were in for a long hard day. We might be ahead one hour and behind the next. The key to winning the overall as it turns out has a lot to do with showing up. Dave and Matt missed a race earlier in the year and the Gutbuster's didn't come to the last race in Alabama (a double points race). This becomes important later on in the story.

The rules. Let me see if I can sum it up for you. The key sentence in the rules is: At the end of the series if you have raced a minimum of 5 out of 6 races to qualify for the series we will then drop your worst scored race. The key point here is that the dropping of the worst score is mandatory. A team cannot decide to keep that lowest score. So I'll just let you do the math and look at the results. I say all this not because I think we shouldn't have won the overall. We earned it. We worked our tails off all year. But I have to recognize the fact that those guys ride like lightning. And it paid off with 1st place finishes in several races including Matt and Dave taking the top spot in our final race. However, they didn't show up at Tribble Mill and then had to drop their lowest finish. Hence we win by being the most consistent for 6 races. And the Gutbuster's? They just flat blew it by not showing up at the last "double points" race. So, the reality is that we are not the fastest riders...just the most consistent. Which according to Chainbuster Racing is exactly what the points system is designed to do. Reward the most consistent team or solo riders.

Oak Mountain State Park, Pelham Alabama

The Course

I was prepared for bitter cold that did not happen. When David and I arrived at the park we thought it would be much colder than it was. No wind. No frost. The sun was coming up bright in the sky. It was 39 degrees but warming up quickly. Soon after we set up camp there came the arrival or our friends Dustin Mealor, Trent Smith, and Todd Fisher (Team Spare Parts) and family. These guys were ready to have some fun. Having them there was a great relief. We were in enemy territory and needed some friends.

Team Spare Parts encampment.

I got ready and went out to scout the first few miles of the course. This ended up doing me absolutely no good for two reasons: 1. The start was a 1.5 mile parade lap on paved roads that basically cut off half the section I scouted. 2. The most difficult part of the trail was on the back side of the course about 4 miles in.
You can see in the 2nd video that I went out way too hard. I pulled the lead group up the road and then promptly found a place to crash! This gave me an idea. Slow down a little bit since you don't know the course. Duh!
I tried to chill out and ramp back up slowly. During that process Dustin caught me. He drilled it to catch up with the lead group and soon went on by me. I stayed with him until the time came to not stay with him. That time would be when the trail became something more like a moon crater. Or maybe the "lake" side of a dam. You know the rocks they use to keep the waves from eroding. That's what we rode across for half a mile.

One of many. But not my knee.

Up and down. Around the trees. Every turn was an "endoh" waiting to happen. There were people camped out up there. Waiting to see the carnage. Oh sure they rang cow bells and cheered for you when you made it down the drop offs without losing teeth. They stood ready to help in case you need life flight. But let's be honest. They were NASCAR fans. They were there to see the crashes. Only this part of the trail was a guaranteed crash fest. They didn't need to hope. They just needed to be patient.

Rollers are fun.

And so...I gave them what they wanted. I only crashed 4 times during the race. The first three on the first lap. Twice I washed out in the loose corners. But twice I found the rocky surface of this section too hard to navigate. It hurt my feelings and made me want to curse Alabama. If you can believe it I managed to catch Dustin after that and started talking myself into being happy. I noticed he had his cool video camera on the back of his bike and now I was the star. We were killing it over some big rollers and I just knew I was looking super cool in the video. Right up until I washed out in a corner and slid off the mountain. Nice.
The first lap was over and now I had to deal with the fact that the race wasn't. The course was in a word "brutal".  My mind was swirling with doubt. My legs hurt. I kept drinking and eating. By the time David made it back I was ready to take on Oak Mountain without incident. I wanted to disappoint the NASCAR fans. I wanted some revenge.

After that successful lap I felt much better about the race. I took time while David was on course to look at where we stood. At that time we were in second. I was very surprised. The course was so bad I just knew we were behind a lot of locals who knew how to navigate the bad sections. But there we were, in the mix. As I stood and waited for David to come in Dave Chen (Team Engine) rode in and couldn't find his team mate. He had to go out again for two in a row. I didn't realize this until I caught Dave on the trail. He was suffering but working hard. I passed him on the climb and then managed to complete the rocky section without a problem. Once on the rollers and heading back to the start it started to sink in that we were in the lead. I handed of to David but he had a big problem, a well rested Matt Hammond took over for Team Engine and was flying after him. Matt not only passed my team mate somewhere during that lap but pulled a double. He did two laps and got the second one in with only 4 seconds of time left in the race. Very cool. I told you those guys were fast. Great job Matt!

Oak Mt. Podium

By the time the Series Podium happened it was too dark to take pictures of it. I've got some great audio though with a black picture. If anyone out there has a picture I'd love to get one.

Team Spare Parts fought valiantly and settled for 4th Place by a mere 50 seconds. They were not happy but had a great time none the less. Great job guys!

Todd, Trent, Me

David and I finished up an unbelievable year in great fashion. We celebrated by eating at Cracker Barrel. That's right, Cracker Barrel. I had Mamma's Pancake Breakfast with bacon and extra syrup. David had French Toast. We both drank caffeinated coffee and took a to-go cup for the road. 4 hours to get home. 5 for David.

Another good thing about being in Alabama this weekend was the look on all the Auburn fans faces as the afternoon wore on. We had a radio and listened to the Georgia Bulldogs whoop up on the War Eagles...I meant Tigers. Sorry. It was great to be a Georgia Bulldog!


This coming Saturday I'll be racing the Currahee Adventure Duathlon with David and Craig Tinsley. That should be a great story. Last year I competed with Craig and a team mate at the last minute, David Park. We raced for 5 hours and it came down to the last 3 miles. That's a story for another day but if you ask Craig to tell you about the finish make sure you have some time to kill. It was epic!

Craig Tinsley, Me, David Park at 2010 Currahee Duathlon

Thanks for reading! See you all out there soon!

Chad

Doing the double - Part 2

I've done two races in one day. I've completed a 5 day stage race. I ridden many 100 mile rides. But I've never competed in an endurance mountain bike race at my limit on one day and then an epic mountain climbing road ride the next morning. I was in uncharted territory. I had no idea how my body would react. After a thrilling day of mountain bike racing that put over 3 hours at my threshold into my legs I started thinking of one thing, RECOVERY! 

Crit Racing is in Downtown Dahlonega...Finally!

If I wanted to have a good time riding with my friends I'd better eat, drink, and rest as much as possible for the next 13 hours. Not so easy when we still had to load up our tent and gear, drive to Dahlonega, prep for the ride, find food, and pack up the Lt. Governor's Century tent at the expo down town. Again my wife was unbelievable. We made it all happen and enjoyed the Crit races that evening while scarfing down a couple of burritos. Actually I scarfed, she ate like a lady. We saw a lot of friends and hung out with Star Bridges and Sean Philyaw. 

Watch the CAT4/5 Race HERE 

Sean raced the CAT4 race and got put out by the officials for fixing his saddle after it got bent. He hit a pot hole. "Officially" he should have ridden around to the pit area and then fixed it. OK then. 

Historic Worley Bed & Breakfast

Lisa and I stayed at the Historic Worley Bed & Breakfast. It's because of great fortune that we had this room. I waited too late to start calling about rooms and didn't think I'd get anything. Then I had my call returned by Mrs. Francis. She started the conversation by asking what kind of person I was. It seems that the same people have been reserving a room for Six Gap every year. One of those couples couldn't make it this year and she had an opening. But in order to keep her other "regulars" happy she was giving me the third degree. Happily I passed inspection so Lisa and I stayed in a super cozy B&B. The next morning I got up and had Mrs. Francis' special cinnamon oatmeal, egg and cheese casserole, bacon (no I didn't), and many other things that on any other day I'd have made myself sick eating. Lisa is not a morning person but she got up, took me to the start, and returned to relax and enjoy breakfast and coffee with the wives and other guys who were only doing 3 Gap. 

I forgot to tell you all something important. 

My cell phone crapped out on me overnight on Friday. It was to be my memory recorder for the weekend. Consequently I had nothing to take pictures with for the entire ride. I also couldn't get the calls from friends trying to find me at the start. Lisa was not happy about me not having a phone for a 7 hour ride. I made Star text her and he updated her throughout the ride. I got some nice brownie points for that. 

Here's a tid bit you can file away in your brains; Regular rubber balloons don't hold helium for two days. So the balloon I filled on Friday was entirely inadequate on Sunday morning. My friends Stephen Sisk, Benny Bohanan, and David Shabat had trouble parking and couldn't find us in time for the start. With 3,000 riders it's a wonder we ever found each other later but we did. The Lt. Governor Casey Cagle was there to start us off and we made our way toward the first major climb. I began eating and drinking. I also started my campaign to "wheel suck" as much as humanly possible. Lucky for me Star Bridges and Sean Philyaw were feeling sprightly and didn't mind pulling us along. I was worried about bonking. Normally I'm prepared and therefore very aggressive. My body was giving me good signals but it's a long day. My legs were sore but I had power. My heart rate stayed low and I felt good. I wanted to feel that way in 6 hours so I stuck to my survival plan. Eat, drink, conserve energy.

Food

Once we made the top of Neels Gap I went for the food table like a 4 month old to the peach flavored baby food. PB&J was my goal...and some fig newtons...and they had carry on bags of trail mix, yeah baby! The kind with M&M's!! I stocked up on everything, filled my bottles, and found my comrades.

Then out of the mist came my friend and team mate David "Sharp Dressed Man" Shabat. He was so very happy to see us. I'd like to think it was because he likes us but there's something inside me that says it was more than that. His first words were, "Do you have anything to eat?" David forgot everything. He had no food of his own. He had only one bottle and it's the one we got in our podium bag the day before. We all gave him some of our stash and off we went. This was our group: Star Bridges, Sean Philyaw, David Shabat, Me, Stephen Sisk, and Clint Sanders. Six companions. We were the Fellowship of the Gaps.

OK...that's kind of corny but I'm gonna leave it.

The draft became mine and David's best friend in the whole world. The draft is such a beautiful cycling reality for people like us. If this were a 1 hour race we would have both taken pulls and done our share of the work. However, this was 7 hours and over 11,000 feet of climbing. Not even President Obama could match our conservation efforts. We shall survive!

The turn in Helen, Ga taking you to Hog Pen Gap

Once we made it to the top of Unicoi Gap we were almost half way. The soreness in my legs had grown to a dull ache that only got worse if I went above 250 watts. That's a key factor we'll discuss later. On the climbs our group would split up some. Star, Sean and Clint made their way a little faster than the rest of us. We'd all re-group at the tops. I looked forward to descending Unicoi but the climb up Hog Pen was looming. It's a monster. I'm fond of saying that climbing a mountain is like eating an elephant; one bite at a time. We followed the "draft" as far as we could, which happened to be the start of the Hog Pen climb. Once the road turned up my legs began to tell me that my pain threshold was about to be tested. Eating this elephant took almost an hour at an average of 260 watts. I was in a fog. I think there were trees and I saw some grass. Otherwise I just stared at my Garmin and settled in to my pain cave. David was in his too.

There's a theory out there in cycling that says a rider who's suffering should picture himself putting the pain in a box. Close the box and keep pedaling. It's stupid but it gives your mind something to think about. After moving ahead on the Jack's climb, Sean told David he must have put his pain in a box. David then calmly explained that he doesn't have a box. He has a large chest with gold buckles and ornate jewels on the top. Inside the chest are six drawers lined with silk. His pain on this day was so great that he'd already filled three drawers and would run out of space by the time we reached the Wolf Pen climb. His goal in moving up ahead was to steal someone else's box while they were distracted at the food table. David is a real thinker. I like him a lot. Naturally I started looking for a rider who didn't seem to need his pain box. Stupid, I know.

Star Bridges, Me, David Shabat, Stephen Sisk, Clint Sanders, Sean Philyaw. Top of Hog Pen Gap

We made it to the top of Hog Pen Gap! My legs were angry with me. Otherwise I felt pretty good and I'd say David was doing well too. Once we ate PB&HONEY sandwich's we set out to bomb down the back side of the mountain. I was feeling fortunate and didn't want to mess it up so I took it easy and followed my friend Stephen Sisk. You can't help but to go fast. If you stay on your brakes you'll heat up the rims and pop your tires. I thought we were going pretty darn fast and then a motorcycle blew past us doing about 70 MPH. Almost knocked me down with the wind as it went by. I glanced back and then moved over to see what kind of rice rocket it was and... it was David Shabat on his Motobecane! Evidently he felt there was nothing to live for or maybe his brakes stop working once the bike goes above 50 mph or perhaps his mind finally cracked and he wanted to see if he could break the sound barrier. He was out of sight in seconds.

Next up was the Wolf Pen climb which started with us all together but we split up as usual...wait...no it didn't start with us all together. We forgot Clint! He climbs like a mountain goat but turns into a little girl on the steep descents! I was so focused on survival I didn't realize he wasn't there. I think we all assumed he was already at the top of Wolf Pen waiting on us. When I got to the top I got some food, filled my bottles, and sat down for a while before the big push for home. As I'm sitting there shoving food into my mouth Clint rides up?? Basically he waited on us at the bottom of Hog Pen and then again at the turn on Hwy 180. Then he climbed Wolf Pen at the speed of light to catch us before we could leave him again. I felt bad. He's a great friend and I'm just telling you that I had no idea he wasn't there.

The final 20 miles were really good. On the road to Suches we rode up on Benny Bohanan. We hadn't seen him all day and then there he was. We rode and talked for awhile. I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It was obvious that David and I were going to make it to the finish so we began pushing a little harder. Clint and Star were there with us, still on the front, keeping us in the draft. After our final stop on top of Woody's Gap we had a great descent to the Stone Pile. The last 9 miles were really hilly and rolling. David and I were with Clint and we both had the same idea. Empty the tank. Clint pushed hard up the hills and we tucked in behind him. We actually took some pulls and finished up strong. Easy to do when you've been babysat all day by good friends. Clint even let me ride through the finish first because he knew my wife was there waiting on me. I wished I had thought of him after Hog Pen as much as he was thinking of me then. It was a great and powerful finish. 

I rolled in under the tent where my wife was smiling and ready to give me a kiss. I was ready to receive it. After taking a shower in the school gym I was ready for spaghetti with my friends. Only Star, Stephen, Sean, and David stayed for lunch but it was fun to talk about the days adventures. I try to make these posts short so you guys won't have to read forever so there's no way I covered everything that happened. You'll just have to ask the remaining members of "The Fellowship" to tell you what I missed.

My plan of survival was successful. Things didn't go exactly like I planned but then nothing ever does. All my friends returned safely and I wasn't miserable all weekend. My wife proved once again that I out punted my coverage when I married her. Life is still good. Thank you God!

And thank you all for reading! Check out my blog everyday for the latest info on rides in North Georgia. Have a great week!

Chad

P.S. - There's been some really cool developments with the Lt. Governor's Century Ride. United Healthcare is bringing the team and the Health&Wellness trailer for the day. Check it out.

News Flash:

Aside from the ride that we hope you can share with your group, we would like to invite you to UnitedHealthcare's exhibit from 9am-2pm where professional cyclists will provide bike safety classes for children, bike demonstrations as well as important information on eating healthy and staying fit.  The UnitedHealthcare team will have bikes and helmets for the day's use should your child not have one and we will also raffle off a child’s bike and helmets!  Remember, the children's bike safety expo is open to everyone and anyone who wishes to come!  We also encourage you to stick around and cheer our finishers home as they make their way down the home stretch and participate in the silent auction that includes really great items!