The Return of X

This past Sunday the fifth race in the Georgia State Championship series was held at Carter's Lake in Ellijay, GA. None of the team had ridden the trail before so we decided to go up Saturday to preride and camp.

It was ridiculously hot and we were all soaked with sweat after setting up camp. We talked to some other riders and they reinforced what we had heard, the trail was short (a little over 5 miles) but very difficult.

It turns out they were right. The trail pretty much points either straight up or down. Preriding turned out to be crucial. The first downhill came early and began with a sharp left, and missing the turn meant riding off a sizable cliff. There is also a downhill course at Carter's Lake and the cross country trail incorporates a couple sections of it. Needless to say, they were extremely fast and sketchy. As for climbing there was over 800 ft per lap, but the majority of it came in two really difficult sections.

After the preride we all headed down to the lake for a quick swim before heading into downtown Ellijay for dinner.

Sleeping was a sweaty affair until it finally cooled down around 2 am. At about 7:15 am I was stirred from sleep by the race promoter bumping Cake's cover of 'I Will Survive.' That's one way to start the day, I guess. Camp came quickly to life with everybody preparing breakfast and getting ready for the race. We set up the canopy by the start/finish, and began warming up.

Our wave was thankfully the first wave of the day although it was already in the mid-80s by our 9:30 start. The race organizer let us vote for how many laps we wanted to do and our group chose 3. The race began with a sprint up a small paved hill before funneling into single track and that first downhill. I was feeling good and had chosen a good sprinting gear and was second going in to the woods. I was passed shortly afterwards by a young blond kid and Ross from Outback. I held my spot for half a lap until I was passed by Durkie!!! He looked to be in great shape and pulled quickly away. Later, during one of the tough climbs, X came up behind me urging me up. I was doing all I could but I spun out near the top of the hill and watched X motor away.

I spent the rest of the lap (and race) swapping positions with Jim, a guy racing a single speed in our category. I walked the final and most difficult climb of the lap and turned around when I heard someone riding up behind me. So who do you think it was riding this climb while everyone else walked it? Crendogg of course, and doing it with his trademark grin. At the top of the climb I saw Craig walking his bike, he had gotten a flat and didn't have a blow-out kit. It was a tough break, he was looking very strong.

I started to settle down on the second lap and tried to control my breathing. My wool jersey was soaked with sweat and weighed about 10 pounds. Kurt caught me a little ways in and we rode together for most of the second lap before I passed him again. It was so hot I had depleted my Camelbak by the end of my second lap. Durkie getting a flat turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he was waiting in the feed zone with a water bottle for me. I drank about half of it in one gulp before tossing it.

On my final lap I had little energy left for climbing so I tried to make up as much time as I could on the long downhills. I was passed by Jim at the top of a climb but I returned the favor on the final grueling climb. I wasn't sure what position I was in but I didn't care. I just didn't want Jim to pass me again. I mashed out the last half a mile or so, helped along by the Rage pumping from the race promoter's PA. X was at the finish to give me some knucks and a cold drink. X had gotten 4th, I had taken 5th and Kurt finished shortly after in 7th! All in all a good showing for our complete squad. Crendogg took 2nd in his category!

So lessons learned from this race:
*There is a heat threshold for racing in a wool jersey and we found it.
*Always carry a blow-out kit
*Make sure your Camelbak is completely full
*There really are scorpions in Ellijay, I saw one with my own eyes.