Great Friends...Hard Racing

Great weekend spent with good friends and a great mountain bike race. Diana and I journeyed to Dalton Georgia Friday evening so I could participate in the Snake Creek Gap mountain bike time trial.

The trip down was uneventful, it was hurry home throw stuff in the car run by bicycle shop to pick up new fork and off to Dalton GA. We went via I-40 and I-75. It scares the daylights out of me driving the I-40 gorge at night with the large trucks. We made it through the gorge and stopped somewhere along the way for a bite to eat. We arrived at our destination at ~10pm.I thought of installing the new suspension fork on the bike that night but decided against it based on my experience with a previous last minute bike build.

Off to bed for a good nights sleep (i never sleep well before a race) and an early morning start. We actually got to sleep in since the race was only 5 mins away, slept till 7am. Up and at'em pack the car eat breakfast off to Starbucks for a cup of coffee and on to the race venue.

Once at the race we met up with Andy and Cara and waited for the shuttles to depart. The race oraganizers/volunteers shuttle the racers out and they race back to the finish. It is very well organized event. The 34 milers were shuttled out first,Andy was part of this group. Approximately 2 hours later the 17 milers were shuttled to their start.Diana,Cara and I sat in the car to keep warm while we waited for the start of the 17 mile race. Once given the go ahead we loaded our bikes onto the trailer,Diana volunteered to drive us to the start line. This worked out great!

At the start it was a last minute pit stop then off to the races. You roll up to the line single file and the timer tells you when to start. The start is uphill which is great! You immediately get the blood to flowing and your body temp up. The race itself was great. Throughout the race I was having a good time but felt I was going so slow. I broke my chain, my water bottle jarred out of the cage forcing me to stop and retrieve it, front skewer came loose stopped and tightened it and then stopped to take off my skull cap(home made)and gloves! I had forgotten my skull cap and made a skull cap from a sleeve i cut off a thermal top that was ~ 6 years old. I finished the race safe and sound but I had no idea how I had done. I only knew I had a great time.
Talked to a bunch of people after the race and thanked the volunteers for their support. Said goodbye to Andy anc Cara and headed for home. We were unable to follow the same route home due to a trffic jam on I-75 North. We chose to go east on 52 then head north through Murphy and Andrews. This was a beatiful drive and there was no difference in travel time.

Arrived home fed dogs, showered and hit the bed.Sunday was another great day! Got up 7:30am (have to quit sleeping in day almost shot) immediately looked for results from previous days race.Unfortunately they were not posted :(. Fixed breakfast unloaded car and loaded truck in preparation for tandem ride. Diana and I had a great ride ~ 2.5 hours.The legs were a bit sore from the previous day's endeavor but it felt good to be riding the bike! Wile riding we planned our dinner menu. This was pretty easy since it is one of our favourite post ride meals.Linquini and shrimp in a spicy tomato sauce mmm..mmm good!It was spicy enough to make my head sweat which is good!
Arrived home, yep you guessed it, I immediately looked for race results again. This time they were posted! I WON the old mens category and finished 3rd overall in the 17mile event. I was very excited. Sometimes Diana does not know what to do with a hyperactive 50 year old. She has threatened Ridlan.

That was my(our) weekend!! Thanks for reading.