Saturday Apr 22
Spent the last couple days down in Georgia watch the appropriately named Tour of Georgia. Thursday morning we left the hotel room and road to the TT course to pre-ride what the pros would be doing later that day. The course was a very nice, picturesque 30k course. Along the way we hooked up with a couple others riding the course. One fellow was from Louisiana and worked with Lance a few years back in setting up his TT bike at the Texas A&M windtunnel. The other was a recent testicular cancer patient from Wisconsin I believe. The guy had guts as he had a couple instances of slight bleeding from his nose in the short time we rode together. I'd freak out in a similar situation. He struggled to keep up but he hung tough and we waited when necessary. Two-thirds through the stage is a surprisingly tough hill called Mt. Alto. I expected a good hill but was surprised by the steepness. It also was longer than expected. That was before we realized there was still more climbing after a short flat section. I imagine that would be a very tough section after TT'ing up to that point. The road into town was great fun with rolling downhills and a few S-curves near the bottom.
After cleaning up and checking out of the hotel we drove down to see the finish of Stage 3. The giant TV screen showed the action on the course as they approached Rome. The peloton would come into town and make 3 small circuits before crossing the line for the final time. The race stayed and came down to a downhill sprint finish. Amazingly Lance came from 4th wheel and outsprinted everyone to take the stage by maybe a half wheel. The spectators went nuts.
We went to get a bit to eat and then drove down to the TT start. TT's as a rule are not great excitement to watch. We stood right at the barricade just feet from where every rider had to get their bike weighed and measured. It was great for picture taking since they were only about 5 ft away and you could say a few words to the riders. Some would acknowledge you but higher up in GC that you got the more serious they became. Most of the bikes weighed in at 19-21lbs but there was a Cannondale 613 with a full disk wheel at a little over 17lbs. Thats sick.
Afterward we drove the couple hours to our cabin near the top of Neel's Gap, north of Dahlonega. It was a simple cabin with full kitchen and nestled in the woods. The best part however was the location. We left the cabin and sailed down the mountain for 7 gently twisting miles. Its these long climbs and descents that we lack in our area are such great fun to tackle.
Down below we stopped at a general store to grab a bite to eat since we brought along nothing but PowerBar type food. A perfectly good kitchen gone to waste. After fueling up our bodies it was time to ascend the road we had just came down. The road very smooth and made for great riding. I settled into good rhythm at the base and prayed that I could keep it up for 7 miles. This road seemed daunting the night before as we drove up but seemed less so on the bike. I'm not sure why. maybe it was the difference between going up in daylight versus night. The pedals kept turning over smoothly and with each mile my confidence grew that I would finish well. With a couple miles to go I began to close in steadily on a group of four other riders. Soon I was upon them and we exchanged greetings and my mind focused back on reaching the summit. Near the top the road serpentined more and with each turn I wondered if the cabins were just around the bend. The legs kept going and finally I saw a cabin hiding in the woods. One more turn to the cabins and two to the summit. Confidence overcame hope as there was no doubt of a successful ascent of the mountain. Around one right turn, then a slight left bend, then a second right turn and another sweeping left and I rolled over the top. A look down at the watch showed an elapsed time of about 36:30 for 7 miles. Allan rolled in about 30 seconds later and David about 5 minutes later.
We chatted for a while at the top before Allan and I decided to go down the other side and up the next mountain, Wolfpen Gap. Wolfpen is a 3 mile climb. Its a smaller 2-lane road and a little rougher pavement and much more twisting than Neel's. The road up Wolfpen is supposed to be steeper but it was less than I expected visually. It must have been tougher though because I spent the second half in my 39x25.
We didn't waste much time at the top of Wolfpen. We needed to checkout of the cabin by 11 and we were behind schedule. Down Wolfpen we rolled and then up the 3 miles up Neel's and back to the cabin.
We got back to the cabin in time and checked out. Then we walked back up to the summit and the store at the top. They were having a barbeque and making the most of all the people there to watch the race. After eating I staked out a spot on the last bend before the summit. From this spot you could see the riders come around the final down S-turn down the road and follow them past our location almost to the summit. A group of six came by in the lead. That group contained eventual stage winner Jason McCartney who broke away from the rest on Wolfpen Gap. The main chase group came by about 3 minutes later and contained all the GC contenders and were led by USPS with Lance riding about 4th wheel.
Cipo hung in there and was with a large pack, his jersey fully unzipped and not doubt driving the ladies crazy. We didnt wait for the final few stragglers to ride by and we headed back down to the car. By the time we got back the roads were back open and we began the long ride back home. Just before midnight I pulled into the driveway. A long day and a fun trip had come to an end.
Today is the Apple Pie race. The weather is cool and very rainy and I am tired. I slept to 8:30. That just does not happen unless I really need sleep. They could not pay me to race today in these conditions. It's best to relax today and hope to recover in time for tomorrows race at Carondelet
Spent the last couple days down in Georgia watch the appropriately named Tour of Georgia. Thursday morning we left the hotel room and road to the TT course to pre-ride what the pros would be doing later that day. The course was a very nice, picturesque 30k course. Along the way we hooked up with a couple others riding the course. One fellow was from Louisiana and worked with Lance a few years back in setting up his TT bike at the Texas A&M windtunnel. The other was a recent testicular cancer patient from Wisconsin I believe. The guy had guts as he had a couple instances of slight bleeding from his nose in the short time we rode together. I'd freak out in a similar situation. He struggled to keep up but he hung tough and we waited when necessary. Two-thirds through the stage is a surprisingly tough hill called Mt. Alto. I expected a good hill but was surprised by the steepness. It also was longer than expected. That was before we realized there was still more climbing after a short flat section. I imagine that would be a very tough section after TT'ing up to that point. The road into town was great fun with rolling downhills and a few S-curves near the bottom.
After cleaning up and checking out of the hotel we drove down to see the finish of Stage 3. The giant TV screen showed the action on the course as they approached Rome. The peloton would come into town and make 3 small circuits before crossing the line for the final time. The race stayed and came down to a downhill sprint finish. Amazingly Lance came from 4th wheel and outsprinted everyone to take the stage by maybe a half wheel. The spectators went nuts.
We went to get a bit to eat and then drove down to the TT start. TT's as a rule are not great excitement to watch. We stood right at the barricade just feet from where every rider had to get their bike weighed and measured. It was great for picture taking since they were only about 5 ft away and you could say a few words to the riders. Some would acknowledge you but higher up in GC that you got the more serious they became. Most of the bikes weighed in at 19-21lbs but there was a Cannondale 613 with a full disk wheel at a little over 17lbs. Thats sick.
Afterward we drove the couple hours to our cabin near the top of Neel's Gap, north of Dahlonega. It was a simple cabin with full kitchen and nestled in the woods. The best part however was the location. We left the cabin and sailed down the mountain for 7 gently twisting miles. Its these long climbs and descents that we lack in our area are such great fun to tackle.
Down below we stopped at a general store to grab a bite to eat since we brought along nothing but PowerBar type food. A perfectly good kitchen gone to waste. After fueling up our bodies it was time to ascend the road we had just came down. The road very smooth and made for great riding. I settled into good rhythm at the base and prayed that I could keep it up for 7 miles. This road seemed daunting the night before as we drove up but seemed less so on the bike. I'm not sure why. maybe it was the difference between going up in daylight versus night. The pedals kept turning over smoothly and with each mile my confidence grew that I would finish well. With a couple miles to go I began to close in steadily on a group of four other riders. Soon I was upon them and we exchanged greetings and my mind focused back on reaching the summit. Near the top the road serpentined more and with each turn I wondered if the cabins were just around the bend. The legs kept going and finally I saw a cabin hiding in the woods. One more turn to the cabins and two to the summit. Confidence overcame hope as there was no doubt of a successful ascent of the mountain. Around one right turn, then a slight left bend, then a second right turn and another sweeping left and I rolled over the top. A look down at the watch showed an elapsed time of about 36:30 for 7 miles. Allan rolled in about 30 seconds later and David about 5 minutes later.
We chatted for a while at the top before Allan and I decided to go down the other side and up the next mountain, Wolfpen Gap. Wolfpen is a 3 mile climb. Its a smaller 2-lane road and a little rougher pavement and much more twisting than Neel's. The road up Wolfpen is supposed to be steeper but it was less than I expected visually. It must have been tougher though because I spent the second half in my 39x25.
We didn't waste much time at the top of Wolfpen. We needed to checkout of the cabin by 11 and we were behind schedule. Down Wolfpen we rolled and then up the 3 miles up Neel's and back to the cabin.
We got back to the cabin in time and checked out. Then we walked back up to the summit and the store at the top. They were having a barbeque and making the most of all the people there to watch the race. After eating I staked out a spot on the last bend before the summit. From this spot you could see the riders come around the final down S-turn down the road and follow them past our location almost to the summit. A group of six came by in the lead. That group contained eventual stage winner Jason McCartney who broke away from the rest on Wolfpen Gap. The main chase group came by about 3 minutes later and contained all the GC contenders and were led by USPS with Lance riding about 4th wheel.
Cipo hung in there and was with a large pack, his jersey fully unzipped and not doubt driving the ladies crazy. We didnt wait for the final few stragglers to ride by and we headed back down to the car. By the time we got back the roads were back open and we began the long ride back home. Just before midnight I pulled into the driveway. A long day and a fun trip had come to an end.
Today is the Apple Pie race. The weather is cool and very rainy and I am tired. I slept to 8:30. That just does not happen unless I really need sleep. They could not pay me to race today in these conditions. It's best to relax today and hope to recover in time for tomorrows race at Carondelet
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