Southern Cross=Mission Accomplished!

The view from the top of the mtn..  It was worth it.. I guess..  

Lucky no. 23, it's Ian's b-day no.  Notice how clean I look.. 

Gonna be a wet day..  This was taken before it started raining..  

Too many miles of this 

and this..  Super soft mud with nothing hard around it makes the climbing that much more enjoyable..  I was smiling the whole time though!!

The run up..  Ah, you almost needed a rope, I climbed it on my knees.  No kidding!

Afterward of course the sun came out!!  What's that all about..  

I have to admit I was a nervous wreck Friday night knowing that Saturday would either be good, or suck REALLY bad..  After talking with some guys Sat. morning at Hardees, I knew I would be okay..  Seemed they hadn't gotten any of the info about the race except the initial one that had directions..  They didn't know it was "in the mountains"..  

So I get there, get registered and it starts raining..  Not a good sign, it had rained most of the night, so I knew it would be wet, but I hate starting off riding wet..  So we gather around and are warned of a couple of things..  A. bears, B. a rabid raccoon that had chased one of the guys trying to mark the course, C. due to lack of a 4wd vehicle the day before, some of the course wasn't marked yet, but they were trying to get to that area then by borrowing a jeep..  "A jeep?" one of the guys asked.  "yes, a jeep, there is snow and ice on top of the mtn" came the reply..  That's when I knew I had the correct bike!  My trusty Giant XTC..

A few days before I was warned NOT to bring a cross bike, the gearing would be too big and the roads were trashed due to snow and ice melting..  Sure enough, I think the only thing dry I rode on all day was the paved road..  

I got a good start I guess, but then had to stop after about two miles to adjust my front brake..  The housing broke and the pads wouldn't get off the rim..  Once fixed, sort of, I was on my way, alone..  I quickly caught up to a group of guys I'd share most of the day with..  

After about an hour or more, my computer I guess had too much mud in it, we hit the bottom of the endless hill..  I never knew a road could go up so long in Ga.  We climbed for I know over two hours..  NUTS!!!  This is when I REALLY knew I'd made the correct bike choice.  At mile no. 18, there was a supply drop where you could change out your bottles or anything you had brought..  I had put in two new bottles and four GUs..  This was about 2/3rds up the climb..  As I take off a guy drives by and says, "there's a big bear around the bend, becareful"..  Great, my legs are going fast, I'm still climbing and now a big bear is going to chase me..  Well, fortunately I didn't see the bear, but the climbing got a lot more steeper..  I reluctantly dropped to the granny gear and passed some guys that were walking..  Yes, walking..  

Once to the top, which seemed to take another eternity, the descent arrived..  This was supposed to be seven miles of heaven.. Instead, due to the snow melting, it was four miles of pain from the cold air on your wet face from the spray, and three miles of heaven once you got below the clouds and warmer air..  

I reached the finish in just under four hours, catching two guys within the last three miles..  One said to me something I like this: "dude, I'm so done, I can't even feel my legs"  Thing his, he still had to do the cross course portion, which I won't comment on..  

So, all in all, a great day..  I was totally pumped with how it went..  I got 32nd out of 57 starters. The event I thought was well organized and planned out..  I hope they do more of them, I'll surely sign up!  

 

Something everyone should try next year for sure..

Till next time!  

Getting ready...

Five days before Southern Cross and I'm one tired puppy..  Had some really good MTB rides lately to get that final build up..  Will recover most of this week with a final ride Thursday..  I'm excited yet nervous..  I really have no idea of what to expect..  Should be fun, did 3.5 hours on the MTB today and still felt good when I had to stop..  I think that's a good sign..  

Till Next week!  Oh, and hope for warmer weather!!  

A Saturday Ride..

A lot of talking on this ride..  

Not exactly the best way to start a ride..  

Relaxing day...

ACC

Erik cruising along...

Today was a beautiful day..  I met Erik, Ed and JT out at Ft. Gordon for a nice steady ride..  Should've known it was going to be interested when JT deafened us all when he blew his tire up!  That of course led to more adventure when we were probably farthest from the cars..  We decided to do the big loop, then the small loop and then another loop in a different area I'd never ridden.  Well after our slight delay due to JT's blowout, we got started..  Weather was nice, wind actually wasn't too bad and the company was great!  

The adventure began when JT had yet another flat..  The flat was not really the issue..  The issue was I was the only one with a tube..  Unfortunately I picked up the wrong seat pack and that tube as for 30 mm tires, not 23 mm tires..  So, I also had a patch kit, so we decided we'd just patch it..  Well, a patch kit is only good if it has glue.. Uh, no glue..  I don't know what happened to it, but it wasn't in the pack..  So, we're back to trying to get a 30 mm tube in a 23 mm tire.. JT finally gets it in and we're off again..  

We ended up doing the big loop and the small loop, about 38 miles..  I thought of doing another loop, but don't want to kill myself before tomorrow's ride, which I hope will be DRY!

And on the fourth day the legs said...

"Dude, no more riding in the rain, let's sleep in"...  and so I did..

I got to M'ville Wed. and went to a New Years party with Ian for a while, then took him home and decided to crash at a friends house so I could cut loose..  I don't know though, I just wasn't feeling the "get stupid drunk" feeling..  Plus, I really wanted to have some good days of riding and knew this would not help out at all..  So, I did the right thing, had a few beers and watched everyone else get wasted..  I went home about 2:00 and had a good time..

Party time..  It was really cold, but thanks to the fire and a few drinks, everything was all right!

Not a good situation when you're totally toasted after a ride..  Thank goodness Michael had the day off.. It wouldn't have been a nice ride back to my mom's house in the rain with no food, drink or money!!

Now this hill doesn't look bad, but it is especially your fifth time up it..  And that gravel is there because soft sand is under it.. 

My favorite section, simply beautiful...  I had a deer come so close to hitting me, I could feel the breeze as she came by..  

This is the start, very nice facilities..

  I got up Thurs. and headed out to Bartram Forest for a two hour ride.. It was nice and sunny..  Good ride, but rode with a group some, so I didn't get the full workout I was looking for..

Friday I decided to do a road ride, but with all the Kaolin mines running full blast decided to go back to Bartram..  I had a GREAT workout!!  It was drizzly, but I did 30 miles, which doesn't sound like much, but it's really hilly out there and rough..  I rode for 2:35 out there only for it to start raining half way through..  I was so wasted afterward and then realized I left my lights on AND I had no one to call..  I finally came up with someone and wouldn't you know when they got there a forestry truck drove up..

Saturday was out at the airport loop, which has a 7.5 mile loop that can be really hilly if taken the right way..  I did the hilly ride way..  That's what I need..  HILLS..  Of course, it drizzled the whole time, making a wet ride.

This morning of course it was raining, so I slept in, but was rewarded by sunlight after lunch..  So, I did 25 miles and had a super workout..  Focused on each hill and my HR, which is the key to getting better..  

My legs are toasted now, but I'm psyched.. 

BTW, Bob shared a profile shot of the Southern Cross route, it's going to be BRUTAL!!  

One final note..  If your in the market for some cool pro stuff or embrocations, ck out www.tscyclingusa.com  

I just got some stuff from them, there was an issue, and they totally took care of me..  Great service and good prices..  Thanks Don for the help!! www.tscyclingusa.com

Till next time..