Dahlonega Cyclocross photos

photo courtesey of Trish Albert/Southeasterncycling.com

One of the nicer benefits we have during practically every race here in GA is a dedicated cadre of photographers that constantly roam the course snapping shots of the racers and then posting them to their respective websites. Trish Albert, Carl Mesta, Grant Blankenship and Chris Lewis are all professional or semi-professional photographers who can be seen at most of the races - Trish on her bike racing as well as shutterbugging. There are a few racers like Marshall Millard, Tim Stone, Jim Behning and Dan Coy that occasionally bring their cameras out and post their galleries on Kodak or Flickr. It is a great deal of fun to go through all the shots searching out the ones of yourself. It is also a good way to get a feel for the race and the lunatics who choose to spend their Sunday mornings out pounding through the grass, dirt and barriers. I have been fortunate to get several outstanding pictures that were worth purchasing and framing.

I also forwarded the above photo to Aaron Joppe, the Sales Manager at Slingshot Bikes - and he thought it was such a good shot (since it's a detailed shot of the bike especially) that he has posted it on the scrolling marque on the Slingshot Bikes home page. Check it out: http://www.slingshotbikes.com/ Thanks Aaron!

A Busy Sunday!

I'd say that Sunday would go down as a great day all around. I started off getting up a little earlier than usual and setting off to the first Cyclocross race of the GA Cross Season. The race was held at Yahoola Park in Dahlonega, GA. Sunday dawned clear, sunny and beautiful. The temperatures are still a bit too warm for "real" 'Cross conditions, but at least it was not 80! The day was still good for racing and I hoped to do well too. I have been riding and racing a great deal more this year compared to the last two seasons, but I still was not sure of how well I was going to stack up in competition. I got to the park in time to get my race number and change into my kit, then take a couple of laps to familiarize myself with the course. I felt really good, but the course was very challenging. The major factors were several long sections of loose gravel road and trails. As I pre-rode the course my wheels were slipping and sliding all over the place and I had a hard time dialing in the best lines to take through the turns. Course familiarization done, I took my place on the start line and waited for the fun to begin. I jumped hard at the gun and got a decent position in the group and immediately settled in. For the entire first lap I held my spot, but was fast coming to the realization I had made a critical error. My front tire pressure was way too high for the extremely dry course conditions and was sliding everywhere, to the point that I was coming to a near standstill on a couple of the turns. Every time that happened I lost ground on the lead riders and had to fight hard to catch back up. Half way through the second lap, the final insult was making it through the gravel without mishap and maintaining my spot only to wipe out on the dew covered grass. I dropped into 7th or 8th spot instantly, then had to stop and straighten out my left shift lever before I could take off again. In hindsight I should have taken a few more seconds to let some air out of my tire, but all I could see was the lead pack disappearing into the woods, so I jumped back into the saddle to gain back the ground I'd lost. I was able to maintain the gap for the next couple of laps, and finally caught and passed a rider in front of me. Attrition in the lead group did me a few favors too as two riders flatted due to the harsh conditions and I was able to jump up a few more spots. The last two laps was a calculated duel between me and a good friend - Jeff. I had the upper hand on the long grass sections, but he held the advantage on the gravel and barrier sections. Fortunately for me the finish line was on the road, so on the last section of gravel path I threw caution to the winds and gave it everything to stay right on his wheel. I somehow made it through without crashing and burning, and was able to take advantage of my road speed to come around him for 5th place. Overall a good effort, but I wonder if the result would have been different had I been more attentive to my bike set-up. However, knowing the best tires / air pressure is something that only comes with experience. I don't have much of that, but I'm learning!

As soon as the results were finalized, it was back into the car to make a mad dash down to Atlanta to pick up my brother! He works for CSX Railways in their Signals Division and is in Atlanta this week for training. Since I kind of like him, I figure it's the least I can do to pick him up from his hotel to come by the house to visit some, if only to save him from boredom... This is the fourth time in the past year he's been down this way for training classes, and it sure is nice to get the chance to visit. I have not seen most of my family for an unforgivably long time, Jay included, so we've gotten together each of the times he's been here. We got to the house and decided to head over to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Fernando's for an early dinner and a Grande Dos Equis (good Mexican beer). We had a great dinner and swapped lots of stories about anything and everything. Family, friends, careers, goofing off and things we'd never tell our parents about. Did I say that out loud? No, not that! We were angels! After dinner settled we drove down to our favorite park for a nice relaxing walk around the lake on the paths. Relaxing might not really be the right term with our two screaming meemies in tow, but it was a nice walk none the less. Jay and I were somehow magically transformed into horsies, though. Thera the Fairy tripped and took a hard tumble on the sidewalk and banged her knee up, so I carried her on my shoulders for a mile or so, then Jay took over and carried her the rest of the way until she decided that maybe she was not hurt that badly. Of course the walk was nearly over by then and we were next to something interesting and fun... Then it was back to the house. We visited for a couple more hours before it got late and I drove back to the hotel to drop him off. Jay has made quite an impression here, and Chase & Thera and the dogs just can't wait for the next time he's in town!

All in all, a great day!

Creepy Crawly Critters...

Inspired by a fellow blogger (Bragger - read her blog!)... I took some great photos of a lovely Garden Spider that had made a web in a stand of tall grass and weeds nearby the house. These spiders are often referred to as the Gardeners best friend, and there are websites where you can purchase them to populate your garden. They are harmless to humans, but absolute murder on the insects that otherwise would damage plants and eat fruits and veggies.

Another photograph is an example of why you NEVER stick you hand into a water meter without looking first - or any other dark recess for that matter. The Black Widow is not a spider to trifle with under any circumstance, and I'm sorry to say is the one spider I will not hesitate to kill on sight. I don't hate them by any means, but with two kids and three dogs, it's just not worth taking a chance. The Widow is a common spider around here and I have found them in several places around the house. Not for long, though.

As you might expect from my earlier post concerning my tattoo, I'm pretty fascinated by spiders. The Native Americans belive that the spider is an incarnation of the Earth Mother. She wove the web that created the world.

Hot enough for 'ya?

Well, here we are in mid-September and the mercury persists in rising up into the 90 deg. range on a regular basis. While here in the sticky ol' South that's nothing unusual, this summer really seems to be wearing on me more than usual. June, July and August were all scorchers, and I can think of many days where it felt like working in a sauna. One 54 mile ride we did on a Sunday in July was in 97 deg. temperatures - justifiably dubbed the Dantes Inferno ride. I worked outside in the yard on another day clearing brush to open up the back fence for mending, and it was another high 90's torture fest. I drank 1 1/2 gallons of water and Gatorade that day and still lost 9lbs. I'd have hoped to see that heat finally start to break, but again, at Cyclocross practice this morning it was in the mid-80's at 8:30AM on its way to a 92 high by noon. Not exactly the weather you want for the kind of exertion put out in 'Cross practice. We did two 15 minute race-pace intervals and I quite literally could wring out my jersey by the end of it. Yuck... (the heat, not the jersey - or maybe both!) Last weekend had to be one of the worst experiences I've ever had, though. I drove down to Macon, GA for the Georgia Single Speed Mountain Bike Championships. I'd been looking forward to that race for months but I knew things were just not going to go as I'd hoped practically from the moment I pulled into the parking lot. It was 95 deg. and blazingly sunny. Even worse was when I realized I only had a couple of water bottles - my Camelback was left hanging on the cabinet at home. Oh well, forge ahead! After 15 minutes of being staged and roasting in the sun we finally got the gun, and I had a great start. I was slotted nicely into 5th place with a very strong group of riders and was holding on without much trouble at all. Once into the woods the heat started to take on epic proportions though. The trail was bone dry and dusty and there was not even a hint of a breeze. By the end of the first lap I was about 45 seconds off the pace and was wringing wet. One bottle was empty and the other half gone which did not bode well. By the halfway point in lap 2 I had actually stopped sweating, and that was the point where I decided that it just was not worth it. I bailed and rode back to the parking lot. I hate quitting a race, but it was that or risk heat exhaustion. Besides, it had stopped being fun and that's part of what I ride for. The heat just is not for me, even after living down here for 10 years. It just adds insult to injury that northern Georgia is still in an extreme drought. What little rain we get is mostly in the form of thunder and lightning storms that are not much fun to be out in. I still sometimes sit back and wonder "How did I ever wind up in GA?" If the Farmer's Almanac is to be believed this fall and winter are supposed to be cooler than normal and rainy. That the best weather news I've had all year!

Natural Bounty (shhh, it's a secret)

Kind of an odd tangent to go off on, but I am continually amazed at how sheltered and, unfortunately, ignorant "most" people are about how many wonderful things are available for the picking, growing wild all around us. First off, I say "most" because A) I don't know everyone, and B) I'm only referring to folks I do know. What I mean is, there are fruits and berries all around us waiting to be picked and made into a whole variety of scrumptious things that they have no idea even exist. I work in a building that is right next to a big, protected wetland. Blackberries, wild grapes, wild strawberries and - how I have no idea - a whole stand of Ornamental Plum trees grow in mass profusion there. Every year I pick literally gallons of blackberries, a pint or two of wild strawberries and several quarts of the plums. The grapes are ripening now, and since I have no clue of how to make wine, I just walk the paths during lunch and pick handfuls of them to snack on as I walk back to the office. I have never seen ONE other person out there picking anything. I will sit at my desk after a lunch spent harvesting with a pitcher brimming with succulent berries at my elbow, and the reaction is always the same, even after four years. "Wow - those are incredible! Where did you get them? I love those, can I have one?" And every year, I point out the window and say, there are millions down there, just go pick some! No one ever does... I actually had one person come in the next day after walking and say "I didn't see that many so I left." I picked two pitchers full the following day. Go figure. Maybe it's because I grew up in a family that gardened and went berry picking every year, but to say that I'm a Country Boy is kind of silly. I've lived in the city since the day I left home, but I still see the nature even though it's surrounded by development.

Another example is when I did the Perry Road Race this spring in Perry, GA. The registration tent was right across the road from a whole line of huge, mature pecan trees. The ground was carpeted with nuts, and I found that most of them were good. I gathered up as many as I could stuff into my pockets, then sat there and munched on a bunch more. No one else even seemed to notice... There are lots of other nuts I gather each year - black walnuts, hickory nuts, some others that I can't even remember the name of but are sweet and delicious. Persimmions grow wild down here and are wonderful to eat right off of the trees. There are apple trees here and there, and even dandelion greens (best in spring when they are young and tender). There are probably a lot more things I don't know about, but I'm learning.

Maybe it's just our society, with everything available 24 hours a day, prepared, prepackaged, pre-cooked and preserved. Why spend an hour sweating in 95 degree heat getting scratched up by berry bushes when you can go to the freezer section and get a pie that's ready in 20 minutes (or 5 in the nuke-ro-wave). Well, that's a question I'll happily NOT ponder every summer while cutting a generous slice of fresh and delightfully delicious pie to go sit on the porch and enjoy as I stare at the woods behind the house. Sorry if there are no leftovers.

Bedroom Makeover Edition

As previously reported on, we got Thera's bedroom set up new a few weeks ago, but there were "color issues" with the decor, so Krista sprang into fierce action to find the appropriate bedcovers with approved sage green accents. I'd have to say that her endeavour was successful as the new comforter is much nicer. We (she) did decide to keep the old one as well for extra insulation for those really cold winter nights.

Chase also was in need of a makeover - his sheets and basic decor was Teddy Bears and he's getting past that point, so the Nautical theme is now the order of the day. We didn't have to do quite as much, mostly a new bed set for him, but we're looking at new paint and some other touches here soon.

This and That, or How I spent Monday

I wound up staying home on Monday so we could take care of some "issues" we were having with the kid's situation. Their Daycare is under new ownership and we have not seen much good come of it. On Friday, Chase had gotten into some trouble by not listening to a teacher and then running outside (no fights or nastiness) and had upset one of the child supervisors. I was told about it when I got there, but didn't see that anything really bad had happened so we went out to the car to go home. Evidently the supervisor was writing up an incident report and was angry that I left without signing it. (The report was not necessary since they are only used for injury or serious disciplinary problems like fights) Chase realized that he had left his jacket and so ran back inside to get it. The supervisor that had "handled" the situation saw him and made a very bad decision to express his displeasure - he stopped Chase from leaving, pushed him against the wall, pinned him there and threatened him about following the rules at the school. Chase came out to the car very angry and told me what had happened. My reaction was somewhat less than pleasant and I went back inside to pointedly make my opinion known to the person, although I kept my cool and didn't make any physical threats or contact. Both Krista and I were furious and contacted the school owner, who astonishingly was so spineless and wishy-washy that he made no decision to discipline the person. He apologetically told us that he would have to discuss the situation with his board and let us know the next day how they were going to handle it. We informed him that effective immediately our kids were no longer staying there. That's the unpleasant news - the good news is that we took Monday off and hunted around for a new aftercare for the kids, and found what is practically the Holy Grail of daycare in this area. Old Fountain Academy is only 1.5 miles from the house and has ratings and earned certifications that rank it as one of the best facilities in the state of GA.

We were both very impressed with what we saw and decided to enroll the kids before we could even roll out of the parking lot after our tour. We took them there after picking them up from school and both of them said they loved it. So we filled out all the paperwork and started them right then and there. Today was the first afternoon for them, and Chase said that he asked if he could please just stay for a little while longer! So good has come out of an initially very bad situation. (BTW - we're not going to force the issue with the old school by pressing charges or the like - if the new owner is that weak about his own employess and staff discipline, he'll self destruct without our help. The next parent likely won't be so nice, and they take child welfare investigations VERY seriously in GA.)

On a humorous note, I have decided that we do not actually own a Pomeranian, we in point of fact own a PomerDaneian. Harlow does not drink out of her own bowl, she stands up to her full height and drinks from Clouseau's bowl. She does not want her puppy food, she is much happier to try and chase the Danes away from their food bowls, and actually succeeded in that with Clouseau - Kato would have none of it and a sharp growl and nose punch established that, quick... Now Clouseau eats even faster than he did before, just in case that terrifying little 7lb raider comes 'round again. Harlow chases both Danes around the yard while nipping (literally) at their heels, and she unhesitatingly tackles both of them while they lay on the floor trying to sleep. In her mind, she is every bit as big as they are. Kato and Clouseau on the other hand are about the size of Chihuahuas. It's sad, but terribly amusing.

Sunday Wrap-Up

Two big Sunday events to report on this time - first, I finished Thera's new bed and we got it set up this evening. Thera had been using her daybed for several years, but she's sprouting fast and her head and feet could touch the ends of her bed when she stretched out, so we decided it was time for new sleeping accomodations. Krista went and scoured Craigs List and found a four poster bed frame, which I dutifully went out and bought, then refinished (as mentioned in my last post). It was worthwhile work, but I'm glad to be done. The past week has been a whirlwind of bedding, pillows, pillow shams, ruffles and so on and so forth (Krista - not me, I failed interior decorating years ago). Finally today we got the last pieces and I had enough good weather to paint the bed. By evening it was dry so I assembled it and Krista got it all set up. It is quite the beautiful girls room and we're very happy with how it turned out. Mostly... Krista has decided that the green in the comforter is too light and we need something more sage green like the pillows. So it HAS to go... Anyways - pictures attached. Let me know what you think!

The other BIG event is - it's my favorite time of year again! It's time for Cyclocross practice. For the uninitiated, cyclocross is kind of a mix between road cycling and mountain biking. The bikes look like standard road frames, except they run larger, off-road worthy tires. And unlike a road bike where you use standard caliper style brakes, Cyclocross bikes use cantilever or disc brakes because there is a lot more clearance for the wheels - good for muddy conditions that would clog up and stop a normal bike. The courses we ride and race on are a mix of paved roads, open grassy fields and wide mountain bike paths. At several points in the course there are either man made or natural barriers that force the rider to dismount, pick up the bike and leap over the barriers, run up the hill, slog through the sand - whatever the obstacle happens to be. Well, the racing season starts in October, so we had our first practice session today. A large group met up at Little Mulberry Park in Auburn, GA and we headed out for some skills drills, and a few easy laps of the course. Then the hard work started. We lined up for three 10 min. race pace intervals with 10 minute recovery periods. Since the terrain is so varied, and mostly on grass it's really not possible to rest or soft pedal to try and recover. You're on the gas from the start to the finish, so it's a real gut check and a great test of where your fitness is. I started well, and was actually quite surprised and pleased at the fact I was riding right up front with several of the guys that have always been very strong and extremely fast. I was riding well within my abilities and did not have to dig too deep to keep the pace. As a comparison, this time last year I was completing the intervals a good 30 to 45 seconds off the pace. A good start, and I hope that I can further improve my fitness level so I can be competetive in this year's race series. I'll be doing a lot of work on skills this year, too. There is an art to riding Cyclocross well - you have to be able to dismount the bike smoothly, hit the ground running to clear the obstacles and then leap back into the saddle and get clipped into the pedals and start riding again - all in one smooth, efficient series of motions. The really good riders can just flow through the obstacle sections. Riders like me look like they're working too hard. Practice, practice, practice. No one had a camera today, but maybe next week I'll have a few pictures to post. The one below is from a race last year - it gives you a good idea of what we put ourselves through.

Weekend Riding

Pretty much a normal, low key weekend - no big plans, a few bike rides, a clean house and a few projects done. I got Chase & Thera's sitter to come over on Saturday and drove up to Ft. Yargo to meet up with a couple of friends - Bob Kuhn and Torre Smitherman - for a few laps on the outside loop mountain bike trails. It was a nice morning for a ride, although still rather warm and humid. I'm looking forward to fall and winter! Bob is preparing hard to defend his GA State Champion's jersey for Single Speed Mountain Bike and is riding strong. I did my best to hold his wheel, but quickly discovered several "slight" problems. I'm riding too big of a gear for the steepest hills, my handling skills still leave a lot to be desired and last, riding a mountain bike is a whole world of difference from the road. I can hold my own on a road bike and maintain good speed and power, but on a mountain bike there is no steady pace - it's on and off the entire time. At a "race pace" you are constantly having to slow down for turns, obstacles, hills, etc... then jump hard again to regain your speed. There really isn't any rest, which is much different than road biking. There I can draft someone for a minute or two and drop my heartrate by 40 beats per minute or more, but on the MTB it's go, go, go. Even the "easy" sections aren't since you have to keep pedaling. Coasting on the trails does not work since you slow down really fast. Still, having Bob just within sight for nearly the entire ride kept me going and pushing hard to see if I could make up some ground. I also have to remind myself that I've done this maybe five times now since 1997. The handling skills will only come with time, and the fitness will take work. At least the tough hills can be helped by buying more cogs! All together I got in just over two hours of riding and had a great time. Then it was back to the house for the usual Saturday cleaning, sweeping, vacuuming, laundry, dishes, meals, dogs and projects. No rest for the weary!

Today was another episode of a ride I have done many times - The Dan's Macabre. This ride is so named because it's typically run as a fast race training ride and no mercy is granted for those who don't keep up - the warning posted for the ride is to the tune of "keep up or bring a map". However, today's sojourn was more of a Dan's Macabre Lite... No blazing pace and a regroup after the hardest part of the ride. Well, that plan kind of worked out. The turnout was great - possibly the most riders we've had all year. For most of the first half the pace was mostly civilized with just a few folks attacking off the front for a county line sprint. The second half was a lot faster with a few determined attacks and chases. I finally decided I'd had enough of the hard riding and eased up a long climb with my good friend Dan while a couple other riders kept charging. We waited at the top for the rest of the group and started a good, steady ride back to the cars. Well, that's what I thought. I was having a grand old time on the front, pushing a big gear and keeping my heart rate nice and steady. After a long time, I looked behind me at - Dan. No one else was even in sight. My puzzled question was - I wasn't going that hard, was I??? No matter, we caught up to the three guys in front of us and I had fun putting in a few hard, fast pulls in the last few miles of the ride. I finished my efforts with one final full power lead-out to the last sprint point of the day and then it was an easy spin back to the parking lot and a chance to catch up with everyone.

The rest of the day was relaxed and I'm finally just about finished with one of my projects. We bought a bed frame off of CraigsList for Thera, and it needed to be stripped and repainted. I'm doing it pretty much old school, just a paint scraper and sandpaper. It's tedious and not very easy, but I'm nearly done getting all of the old (and really bad) paint off of it. Now a good sanding and we'll repaint it and get it set up. It's a nice looking bed and should look great once we get it into Thera's room. Photos to come when we get that done! We went to our new favorite Mexican restaurant - Fernandos - in Dacula for dinner and a BIG beer. If you live in the area and want a good dinner, give them a try!

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

OK, so this is not a "new" event, but I was going through my photo album and figured I'd share our experience of the Balloon Fiesta in Albuqureque, NM. Krista's Mom & Dad live out there, right at the foot of the mountains and invited us to come out for the Fiesta. This is the largest gathering of hot air balloons in the U.S., and probably the world. Over the course of a week, over 600 balloons take part. The real "action" is very early in the morning during the mass ascention. The balloons are staged in rows all over the main field and inflate then rise in waves. What is so amazing is that you are right there - you have to move out of the way as the crews lay out the fabric. As they begin to inflate the balloons they first use huge fans to begin the process, then they lite off the torches. At 0:My God It's Early AM it's in the 40's and those flames burn at over 1,000 degrees. If you are right next to the basket you get a rush of heat that's enough to make you want to take your jacket off. At least while they're doing the burn... Once the balloon rises the crew and passengers board the gondola and wait for clearance to lift off. The whole event is coordinated by the launch master and a slew of on field officials called Zebras - as they dress in black and white uniforms. Kind of like NFL officials but with a lot more eclectic style. The way they keep things moving, balloons launching and prevent collisions is like watching a ballet.



The experience starts off with the Dawn Patrol. This is a line of 10 to 12 balloons that inflate in the deep darkness just before dawn. Once all of them are up, they start to perform "burns" where they light off the gas torches at full volume. The whole balloon lights up. They will all light off at the same time, in sequence, randomly, in patterns... It's a light show like no other. Every balloon is colorful and they are lighting up in a riot of color. The show continues even after they ascend since it's still early twilight and they light up like giant unearthly fireflys as they rise into the morning sky.

After the Dawn Patrol lifts off the balloon crews go into high gear. Double rows of balloons - up to 30 at a time start to go rise and lift off. If you've never been up close to a hot air balloon it's amazing how big they really are. The two in the photo above are only half way inflated and they still tower over the spectators standing next to them. Now picture 30 of them all in a row as they ready to take off. Pretty amazing!

The show goes on until about mid-morning when the temperature starts to rise and the breeze usually picks up, making conditions too difficult for the crews to take off safely. It's a show you'll never forget. The best balloons are the "special shapes", and you'd be amazed with the variety and color. If you want an unforgettable experience - by all means find out when the Fiesta is and plan on going!