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.