2011 Currahee Adventure Duathlon

This race effectively wraps up my season. Before it started I already considered 2011 a year of extreme blessings. That's a feeling I never expected to have. It's been a year I cannot explain. I mean I started the year on the lowest of lows after TJ was killed. My aspirations were gone. I expected nothing. All I wanted was to not let what happened cause me to loose my way. Too many people take a tragedy and turn it into an excuse to be a jerk. I didn't want to become bitter and loose focus on my responsibilities as a husband and father. Which to me is where everything else begins. I mean if you can be your best for your family then everything else like work and friends and even your hobbies will flow in the same direction. That's how this season of competition has been. Flowing in a good direction.

It's amazing how big of a roll your selfishness can play in life. I have always been a competitive person and for years what I wanted was to win by myself. I trained hard and used visions of winning solo to get me through some tough workouts. I flogged myself in races and did well sometimes. But this year...this year I didn't deserve anything great as far as racing goes. At least that's how I felt. I mean I wanted to keep biking and racing if only to stick it to the devil and his plan to make me a jerk. So I decided to continue the biking ministry that TJ was so excited about. I decided to race with friends instead of solo. I decided to have fun no matter what and keep my hobby in it's place. What happened after that has forever changed how I train and race. I've had more fun and won more races than ever, but all on a team. I thank God for my family, my friends, and the blessing of forgiveness. What a year! And what a blueprint for 2012!

The Map

Currahee Mountain is the historic location of the World War II training camp our military used in the 1940's. It's now part of a Georgia Wildlife Management Reserve that offers some great mountain bike and equestrian trials. For years now there's been an Adventure Duathlon there that's put on to benefit FCA. I've entered it many times with many friends. It's always a challenge for me because there's so much trail running. And I don't run. But I often read about cyclist's having a problem with bone density because of the low impact sport we choose so I try and use this event to motivate me to run. But I don't run. It hurts. My legs are so sore right now that I have to back down stairs because walking down them normally is killing me. And do you know why...because I don't run!

Running. I don't like running.

A month ago I mixed running into my workouts. As I stood at the starting line for the 2011 CAD I somehow new it wouldn't be enough. My team mates were Craig Tinsley and Boston Marathoner David Shabat. The only thing I new for sure was that Craig and I would be chasing David for three hours. And I was right. I also thought I was prepared for it but here's the thing; My treadmill doesn't help me practice running "down hill". You use completely different muscles running down hill. It became painfully obvious as the race wore on that my life was headed...down hill.

Craig Tinsley.

David Shabat likes to run.

Here's how an adventure duathlon works. Every team is given a card with 12 boxes drawn on it. This is called your "passport". The object of the race is to find the whole punchers hanging from orange banners in different locations in the Reserve. And yes the punchers punch different numbers. In order to find them you need a map. You can get the map only after running down a dirt road to volunteers who sign your passport and then running back to the start/finish to receive your map and get on your bike. The map also tells you which trails you can ride your bike and which trails you must run. Once we got our hands on the map we had to make decisions on which punches to go get and in what order. I took responsibility for planning our route...it's another "C" personality thing. We gave David the passport. We sort of knew he'd be first to most of the punch flags.

David and I were talking at the start. We agreed to take it easy and try to ramp up to a good strong pace. Then the gun went off and CRAIG went crazy! He took off like a mad man and left us no choice but to chase him down. He told us he wanted to start with a lead and try to hold it. He inspired David who shifted gears and left us both gasping for oxygen. By the time we made it back to get the map Craig and I were maxed out. And we'd only been running for about 15 minutes. It's sad really.

Of course one of the punches we needed is always located at the top of Currahee Mountain. This year the map said we could ride it. Hallelujah!  Here's how the Currahee climb went.

Once we rode back from the top of the Currahee there was a lot more trail running to do. My team mates had chosen to change shoes between each discipline so that gave me some time to solidify my plan for getting us back to the finish faster than anyone else. This is where knowing the trails became invaluable.

Eat, Drink, and keep moving. Our recipe for success.

Special Tests - Here's the reason it's called an Adventure Duathlon. You may run or ride up to the next punch flag but before you can punch your passport you may have to complete a test.

I'm handing the camera to Clint so he can film our finish.

I remember one time a couple of years ago we had to get a car tire somehow over the top of a telephone pole. This year it wasn't all that difficult. Just a board walk and some pull-ups.

Solo Racers doing the repel off the mountain.

 
Our last hour of racing was perfect for me. After the last run we had a large amount of biking to do in order to get all the way out to the last punch. It was a tough, steep road with lots of big gravel covered by leaves. I fully expected a special test at the punch location but to my delight there wasn't one. There was however another team there. They were all staring at their passport. As we rode away I heard David expressing his condolences, they had missed punch #7. We tore out for the finish, they headed back to get their missing punch. I felt bad for them...sort of. Here's The FINISH!

At the finish we were not sure if another team had beaten us. We stayed in "race mode" for the final ascension over the military net. Once we finished and celebrated a little I began to smell a sweet aroma. A fine southern delicacy was being cooked for us by the FCA volunteers. It's the one thing every man craves. Hamburgers! I had two. There were some nice baked goodies for desert too. We changed clothes and ate burgers while watching the other teams come in and try to get over the net. Great fun!

1st Place Team - Craig Tinsley, David Shabat, Chad Hayes

Special thanks to Clint Sanders for organizing another fine back woods adventure. Visit Sanders Drugs in Toccoa, GA where they have a ton of endurance fuels, bars, mixes, and supplies for we who feel the need to punish ourselves in events like this one. 


Also thank you to Rob Attaway for taking some great pictures of us. He's a great guy with a big heart!


Have a very happy Thanksgiving everyone! This weekend I'm heading to Tsali mountain bike trails with my family and the Pattillo's. See ya real soon!


Chad

2011 Lt. Governor's Century for FCA

Well, the preparations I detailed in my earlier posting "How to plan a Century Ride" were put to the test this weekend and I'm proud of the results. They say in show business that you can make mistakes as long as the audience doesn't have the script. As I look back on the event I'm grateful that our riders were kept safe, had fun, and liked the route. Nearly 100 riders traversed the course and more than a few of them put down some impressive times on a really tough route. Before I get into the details of the day I want to thank all the volunteers from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Lt. Governor's Office, Hall County Sheriff's Office, and Chestnut Mountain Church! You guys did awesome! I'd like to especially thank Roy Neill, Lisa Hayes, Jessica Pattillo, Jason Lester, and Tim Tipton for their help. You guys made me look so good!

Only follow FCA!

My wife Lisa and I got up at 5:30am to start our long day. I headed on over to the church to set up registration and check on things. By the way, you punks who stole our Event Parking signs are going to hell if you don't return them to the Church.

OK. Let's move on. We set everything up and cyclists started filing in. I was happy to see all my drivers/picture takers/mechanics/cheerleaders show up ready to serve. That would be Pete w/ Outback Bikes, Lance Carpenter & Gary McCarthy, and Phil Loveless. Thanks guys!!

I ran my mouth for an hour at the riders as they registered and got prepared. When the time came for announcements I let Lt. Gov Casey Cagle say a few words. Then Atlanta Falcons General Manager Thomas Dimitroff spoke and guaranteed a win on Sunday. OK. Not really, but he was great. I could tell he really is a cycling enthusiast because he rode a Colnago. He and Casey rode together and seemed to have a great time.

Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff

Registration and Lisa my wife, she so pretty!

The riders were led out by two officers from Hall County who went above and beyond to see the cyclists got way out on course before they went about their duties. I knew it would start out cold so I had the SAG's ready to put warmers in bags and taken to the finish for the riders. Turned out to be a great idea but I must admit that I stole it from Joe Elam and his LAP Century folks. The route was tough. That's what everybody said. And I knew it would be. But the benefit was no traffic and not a ton of turns. Just rolling country roads. The riders who completed the Century had one mean ride. I was the driver backing them up and I had a great time. I met some really cool folks who were just trying to survive. One nice lady was having a bad day and finally succumbed to her oxygen debt and called it quits. Her husband was instrumental in that decision. She ended up having a great time helping me support the group her hubby was with. I have to tell you about another lady who actually put in 115 miles. She took a wrong turn in Talmo, doubled back, and then took another wrong turn and had to turn around. When I got the call about her I was fixing to pack up the Gillsville SAG thinking the last rider had gone through. I drove back down the course and offered to bring her up to the group that was at that time 20 mins ahead of her. She said, "No thank you, I'll catch up!" Oh...Kay?! I did some quick math based on how fast I thought she might be and started calling base camp to let them know it might be after 4pm before we were back. Boy, was I wrong about her. By the time she reached the SAG in Homer she was within 10 minutes of the last group. She caught them at the Plainview SAG and then proceeded to drop them and ended up finishing 10 minutes ahead of the final group at 3:00pm.  Lesson = never judge a riders ability by their bike or how they look.

Riders assemble.

SAG# 1 in Talmo, GA

The FCA folks were great and kept the riders well fed all day. I think next year I'll make them compete to see who's got the most fun SAG. Now let's get into some rider pictures so those of you who missed this ride can cry and lament your decisions.

These guys were fun!

I love tandems!

And they're off!

Casey and Thomas enjoy the scenery.

There were many groups from different area's. Baxter's, Adventure Cycles, Habersham Bicycles, Northstar Bicycles, ISI Cycling, Bike Town, FTTE, and others. Everyone was breathing hard but having fun.



Life is easy when your security team can pick you up and place you near the front! I'm told that Thomas is in great shape and could have dished out some pain. Guess we'll never know.

Ready to ride!

75 Degrees is the best!

These guys were all about having some fun. What a variety of great riders we had!

Hubby

Now it's time to share a story from one of my good friends, Star Bridges. Star completed the 100 mile course and enjoyed several chicken sandwiches it seems. Here's his story from a riders perspective:


Chad,

Star leads into Pendergrass, GA

1st, you did a heckuva job! That was one of the best charity rides I've ever experienced. The route was well marked and we never missed a turn. That is saying something considering how fast we were going.
The freaking Chick-fil-A at the finish was an AWESOME idea!   I woofed down 3 sandwiches and 2 cokes.  That truly was the best post-century meal EVER!

Okay.  Now for the recap:
A large group of 50+ formed 5 miles out of the church.  Speed was 20-25 and moving.  At 20 miles in I made a bad error and stopped for a nature break.  This got me and another guy 8 miles of hard chasing, due to the lead group STILL hammering along without letting up.  Mile 30ish saw the 100k riders split off, and it seemed the majority went that way.  Most of the fast guys did too, except one guy on a TT bike that now saw an opportunity to truly use his bike to it's fullest potential.  He kept our speed at about 25 mph.
In Gillsville we stopped for the Sag and shed clothing.  David Sabat drove up and jumped out trying to get on after running a 5K in Toccoa.  He almost made it, but his rear tire blew right when the group started off again.  I helped him get the tube changed and we set off chasing with about 3 minutes to make up.  We held a 20-22 pace for the next 20 miles.  We got within sight of the lead group on the straightaway in Lula, but never could get any closer.  We continually caught riders who got dropped from the lead group.  When we pulled into the Sag at Homer, there were about 10 guys about to start out and we quickly refilled bottles and headed out with them.  Chad Edwards complained that the TT Bike guy kept them hammering the whole way since Gillsville.  No wonder we couldn't catch them!  I was told the TT bike guy, Stephen Dean, and Trace Nabors had moved on 3 minutes before we got to Homer.  The guys we found ourselves with now had no intention of trying to follow that Trigeek all the way back to the church.  He must of hurt them.  Main guy in this group was Sean Philyaw.  He's on a new bike (Wilier) and kept us moving along well.  As you can guess, I'm about toast now and we still have 45 miles to get back to the church.
Guys fell off along the way as I hoped our pace would somehow catch the 3 leaders.  No such luck.  We saw them at the Sag at the Plainview SAG but we all needed water and a breather and didn't jump in with them.  The Trigeek looked fresh but Stephen and Trace looked worn.  David Sabat had another flat at about mile 80 and told us to go on, that he was calling you for a rescue.  This put us down to just 4 remaining.  Sean, Me, a guy named David that Sean knew and this OLD GUY!  Old Guy started freaking attacking on hills in the last 10 miles too!  He must have been at least 60.  Anyway, Stephen Dean bonked on Hwy 60 and as we came up to him his rear tire BLEW UP.  Like, gunshot blew.  He pulled off and said he'd wait for a Sag pickup because he was completely trashed.  The rest of us continued but we never found Trace or the TT guy.  You gotta give props to Trace for finishing in the lead.  That was a really good ride by him.

Great time today, Chad.  Thank you for doing so much to make is such a wonderful experience.  I'm completely blown and will only wash the bike tomorrow.  Take care.

Star Bridges

Other texts I got:

Great Job! - Mike Mahalic
Great job my friend!!! Everybody had a great time and loved the course!! Thank you very much!! - Casey Cagle
Fantastic ride, Mr. Organizer! BIG THANKS for a very fun, well-supported ride! You guys did AWESOME! - David Shabat
Great job with the ride! Lots of fun! Thanks! - Trace Nabors
Awesome first year event! Congrats! Get some rest. - Joe Elam
Very nice event! I could see it grow to be one of the bigger rides pretty quickly. - Bob Riordan

I'm satisfied. Like all big events in life you look back on them one or two days later and have even more appreciation for the experience. In Church the next day the pastor gave a great message about the Necessity of Revival. All during his teaching I thought about the needs in this country. A lot of things we think are "needs" are actually "wants". I want a better house or I want a better spouse. What we need is discipline. We're spoiled. And the "millennial's" scare me. They've grown up in the "self esteem" culture that's taught them that there should be no winners and losers. We should all get an award. Greatness is shameful. Having a messed up life is normal. Well it isn't! Hard work is normal. Commitment is normal. Integrity is normal. You don't just strive for average do you? Perfection is being married forever. Perfection is raising a child who honors his Mom and Dad. Perfection is what we should all be striving for.

In bike racing you have to suffer at times to get your opportunity at victory. And your victory may simply be in finishing. But why would you even enter the race if you're not committed to finishing well?

The answer for America is for men to quit being selfish and take responsibility for their home. Get their priorities in order. Be vocal about their beliefs and defend morality. Stop being so passive and take control. Focus on their spouse first and then the kids. Push filth out the door. Be a Man!

If you think this is fired up you should be glad I didn't write it on Sunday. I guess I'm just tired of excuses. The people I like the most don't give me excuses. They are trying to live exceptional lives. I just wish there were a lot more men like that. So that's my prayer. God, revive us with more men who want to live exceptional lives.

Thanks everybody for reading! I hope you have a great week...here comes the cold!

Oh and check out the rest of the pictures I took this weekend HERE!

Chad