PMBAR

Eighth place!  Though suspiciously missing from the list of results?  Hmm...that's three out of four races so far with either mistaken, or flat out misplaced identity!

GSC #3 / SERC #4

Jeremy Bore?? 

Muddy, muggy and mispelled...

Eighth place, and another race under this year's belt.

Six Hours of Heritage

Cafe:ine/Addictive Cycles takes first place in the duo men.

Scoping out the scene bright and EARLY, Edge and Matt set up to represent -   

then at 10:00 a.m., Edge kicked off the six hour road to perdition.

Coming in after a couple laps, Edge sat down for a quick mud assessment (not too bad), and tried to decide whether to have  scones or biscuits with his post-ride tea.

There were many flawless transitions all afternoon, with Matt specializing in stealth mode ninja transition splits,

and tip toe getaways.  Then, just before heading out for his last lap of the day, he did some swift mental calculations.  He figured if he came back in by 3:25 at the latest, then they'd have a shot at sending Edge out to sweep the course and get one more lap in before the clock ran at 4:00.

Well, Matt defied the odds.  Fueled on pickle juice and pure moxie, he laid it down and was back in the pits at 3:25---on the DOT!!  (**editor's note---it was AWEsome!).  So with exactly 35 minutes on his side, Edge scooted out of the pavilion, setting the dust on fire.

And the ominous heavens flirted with his ambition...

But alas, despite his valiant effort, Edge still made it back five minutes too late.

No need to be vexed; the scones paid off, and the pair secured a delightful first place win.

And once again, the rest of Team Cafe:ine did not make themselves scarce; Shea and his wife took first in the co-ed duo, and Andy Christman took second in the solo sport (after his chain broke in two places!).  YEAH!

By the way, this is the first race in the "Dirty Spokes" series which Chain Buster has now taken over, and their first party really was a good one.  Everyone was pleased with the smooth operations, the Fat Tires for first placers, and the unexpectedly good swag bags...

They gave away 26" tubes, tires, snowflake socks, and puppies!

Really fantastic, and I can't wait to see what they give away for the 12 hour swag next time.  See ya then!

Lake Russell

What has no arms and no legs, sitting in a pile of leaves?  Russell/Rustle!  Ha ha, but contrary to one of the best quadriplegic jokes in history, riding through the leaves at Lake Russell is no laughing matter - just look at the mugs on these guys; let's get serious.

As we pedaled out of the parking lot, Andy light-heartedly wondered if we'd be riding straight up a mountain, straight out the gate.  We all kind of chuckled anxiously, then immediately found ourselves at the bottom of a three million foot climb - what the...

No worries though, because going up is the only way to see nature at her finest, like this beautiful waterfall,   

  

and Andy holding up a tree for Clegg while he gets a quick back rub from another tree across the way.

  

Bill has since pointed out that pain is a sign of weakness leaving the body; for me, it's oxygen.  I was so depleted from all the fun I was having, I don't even remember this picture being taken.

  

Lake Russell is part of the wonderful Wildlife Management Area near Cornelia and Toccoa, and really is a lovely place to become one with nature for a few hours...unless of course you think you're surreptitiously taking a leak on the side of the trail, only to get caught by these guys with your pants down (unsuspecting girl in blue, you know who you are).

  

After looping around and crossing a dam, we hit some paved road which was sweet relief for about a second--then it turned out to be a paved trial of mental fortitude---commencing the second three million feet climb of the day.

Ahh, but waiting for us at the top was Chenocetah Mountain, and with it a spectacular view of our progress to the right:

  

and a kind of New England-y, cool looking fire tower to the left, boasting TONS of patio space;

  

a perfect place to corral the bikes and snack on some potatoes and shot block...balls (heh).

We didn't know it at the time, but we were about to be rewarded with a truly magnificent downhill back to the parking lot...

  It was an AWEsome day.

12 Hours of Santos

Jeremy Epar and Bill Landizlotta take first place in the 12 hour men's duo.

Wait, WHO??

Well, apparently the lady on the phone taking care of race registration had giblets in her ears, but at least she got their first names right.  Anyway, despite the case of wrong identity, the Team Caffeine boys cleaned up in nearly every category they entered down in Florida last weekend. 

 Making their presence known early on, the crew shook out their winter legs and got it done.
 

 

 

 

   (For fear of the copyright police, I can't show you what was happening between Bill's elbows and knees)

 

 

 Raise your hand if you love pain!  And beer!

Not only did Caffeine take the duo men, but David Hall took first in the 12 hour single speed, and Andy Christman topped it off with first in the 12 hour sport.  Nice job guys, on this most auspicious start to the 2010 season!

New Tires

We welcome the newest addition to the Edge clan!

A fuzzy little quadruped, called---

Tires.

He'll be on Edge's heels at all the races this season...see ya then! 

Snow Sucks

"Ah yes hello, God?  Yeah hey, this is Jeremy.  Yeah.  Hey listen, I was wondering if you could cut the crap with the weather.  Yeah, I know, it's just that---well yeah, exactly, it's freezing, which is fine, but the actual snow and shitty road conditions are getting on everyone's ner---what's that?  Oh, well yes, I guess it is kinda pretty, it's just that---what?  Yeah, the cows are handling it ok, but the thing is, they don't ride bikes, so it doesn't really matter what they think.......mm hm...oh, yeah?  Okay, well I never really thought of it that way, it's just that the race season starts soon, and training has been pretty tough----no, I know, being stoned  would be a lot tougher---right, and at least we have wheels----yeah, yeah, ok got it.  Well nevermind then I guess.  Yeah.  Ok sure, talk to you later."

God says maybe later.

EDGE VISOR

From Pace Sportswear, check it out!  

That's right, Edge used to customize his cycling caps by cutting out the tops and hemming the edges with bright orange thread when he still lived in Columbia.  Not only were they crafty projects, but they also prevented his buzzed head from overheating in the summer months.  One of the Hawley folks caught a glimpse of his creation on a routine group ride, recognized the fabulousness of it, and turned Edge's prototype into a reality.

As the Ghost of JR always says, those of you following along in your catalog can find this dynamic visor under CLTH1221. Be sure to look up all the available ribbon colors:

 Black and white checkers,

and even better...

rainbows!

Why is Pisgah so steep?

 Yep, it's about that time again.

Time to get off the ol' ass and take a spin toward Spring.  Not to mention the upcoming race season, which, dare I say, is less than FOUR WEEKS away???  Sheisse!  Quick, grab your Gatorade and let's go!!

Who cares if it's 20 degrees and they're predicting freezing rain; find some good Cane Creek folk, the omnipresent Wild Bill and is son, and head for the fire roads.

Cold out?  Don't even think about it.  Being so profoundly immersed in the off season, it may be easy to let the dropping temperature and constant uphill climb get on your (sciatic) nerves, but keep your chin up.  See, CC Chris stopped at one point to consult the map, but thankfully it assured us we had to keep going up,

which CC Paul thought was the best thing he heard all day.

Snow, ice and hundreds of feet of trail blocked by downed trees just meant tons of extra fun with all the extra hike n' biking (more hiking). 

Nothing could dampen our euphoric moods; we were just glad to be outside!

It didn't matter that we had women and children on the ride, or that "stuff" kept freezing in WB's goatee...Edge prolonged our fun as long as possible, and we eventually got to slide down the mountain back to the cars.

Tho slightly hypothermic at times, it was a great ride and we made it back before the rains came, as evidenced by Bill's dance of mountain bike joy.  Yeah!

Looking forward to a great season in 2010...see ya at the six hour maiden voyage in February!!