Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.Jim311
05-18-03, 08:30 PM
Man, what a blast. We arrived Saturday afternoon at Helen and went for a ride. We rode a loop that was a 1.5 mile climb, then about 2-3 miles of downhill on the trail, then another 3 miles down the mountain on the road... sweet. Then on Saturday night we smoked some stogies and had some beers to commemorate my birthday. Sunday morning we ate breakfast, and warmed up a little before the race. I had the jitters and so did my friend. It was our first race. We all lined up, and it was a sprint to the nearest hill climb. It had been raining all weekend, and literally the first mile or two was so slippery with clay and mud that it was practically impossible to climb even on foot. The entire course was rediculously muddy. My friend broke his chain a few miles into the race and didn't have a tool, so he ended up running like 5 miles.. he was extremely disappointed. I rode pretty conservatively (I figured going a little slower around the slick corners was better than crashing and wasting time) and still managed to finish pretty well. I won't know the official results until later when they're posted on the website, but somebody who finished behind me told me that we were in the top 15! Not bad for my first race. I didn't get too many pics, just a few of after the ride. I had a damn fine birthday. One couldn't ask for a better birthday present in my opinion :p