Georgia Cross: Blairsville

So I was at my friend, Arch McKown's, wedding Saturday in Huntsville, AL and really wanted to race this weekend, so I scoured the schedule and found a race in Blairsville, GA that was conveniently located about halfway between Huntsville and Asheville. While it was a little tough to wake up the morning after the wedding celebration, the drive was absolutely gorgeous and I got to see the first snow of the season on the mountain tops.

I got an OK warmup and got to pre-ride the course, which was pretty 'sticky', not fast, but seemed to suit me OK. I let some air out of my rear tire just before the start to aid in riding the steep run-up on the course. Turns out I was one of only a couple that rode it all day, however after entering the course in about 4th place, I over-shifted going into the run-up the first lap, and ended up dead-last! I spent the rest of the day chasing, but decided to just race steady and try to pick off 2 riders per lap.

This worked out better than expected and after riding within myself the next several laps I was able to ride conservatively on the uphills (my strength) and pass on the technical sections and the run-up, where I gained about 15 seconds a lap on the runners. I attacked the chase group with about 3 laps to got and went from 10th to 7th place, and caught another rider with 2 to go, but couldn't make up the lost ground on the front group and ended up 6th after riding my 2 fastest laps of the day. A little disappointing, but I was happy with my form and my new bike!

http://sadlebred.smugmug.com/photos/418701898_4TiNR-L.jpg