Cohutta 100 (old post)

4-22-06 Inaugural Cohutta 100 Starting at the beautiful Ocoee Whitewater Center in Ducktown Tennessee, the course is a 100 mile loop around the Cohutta Wilderness Area in Cherokee and Chattahoochee National forests. Although the course starts in Tennessee, it winds down into Georgia and then back for an epic loop consisting of an initial 20 miles of great Tanasi single track, 65 miles of forest service roads and a conclusion of another 15 miles of fast, rolling single track to the finish. Rain was present that night, so the initial single track saw many shallow puddles and slippery turns; not a problem for my Cannondale and the Continental treads. Mid-way through the race, I found myself in good company with the lead group consisting of Mark Hendershot (Syndicate/Santa Cruz), Garth Prosser (BearNaked/Cannondale MTN Bike Team), an unknown rider (Independent Fabrications), and Peter Joski (Atlanta Pro Bikes). The group of five riders was to splinter after each stop and I lost contact with Mark H, and Garth P after the 4th stop. Going into the last section of single track, the race had taken its toll on the two leaders, as I finally made contact with them. It felt great to finish with the leaders and complete an epic day in the saddle. The race was very well run and the prizes first class. There were six full stocked drop stations, roughly 15 miles apart for the racers aids. Different bike shops from around the area organized each aid station. Had a great time and highly recommend this race to anyone interested in an epic and uplifting experience next season. I will be back. According to the promoters New Leaf Adventures this race will be part of the National MTB Ultra Endurance Series for 2007. Stats: Distance 100 miles, Time 7:49:43, Ascent 10840, average speed 13.1, 2nd place. Shey LindnerBear Naked/Cannondale Mtn Bike Team.

Caesars Head Overlook

The crew at Caesars Head on our way to our thru-hike. More to come......

Pert vs. Cassette

Me and my cap at BUMP in first! Yipee!



This is a post from my Badlasses.com blog......


Okay, so I finally made it in to get my hair cut! I gave her the usual instructions....."Do whatever you want, but leave enough to pull most of it back in a ponytail, and all of it back in pig tails." (This is of utmost importance when wearing a cycling helmet or ball cap.)

I also asked her to fix the mistakes I had made when cutting my youngest son's hair a few days earlier. You see, I was talking and he was looking down and when I was through and he looked up....well, you could see a significant amount of forehead! It looked like that classic, homemade bowl cut. Over the course of the next few days, whenever he would tease me about something, I would simply say, "Laugh it up bowl boy!" But, I digress................

When she had finished with both of us, I met her at the counter to pay. It was here that she offered me a wonderful discount on these top of the line hair products. It would make my hair silkier, shinier, more volumptuous (uh, we're talking hair here, nothing else!) and of course, I was worth it. She then asked me what line of hair products I was using now. Without blinking, I replied, "Pert Plus green bottle!!" Oh, the look of astonishment and a tad bit of disgust. She then explained to me why these products would be so good for my hair. To this I simply replied, "Yes, but can you shampoo and condition in one super fast step?"

How could I explain to her that those four bottles on her counter could not equal the dream of a new cassete for this next spring?

How could I make her understand the uneasy feeling of a chain that skips or the awesome feeling of knowing that you will be able to shift smoothly and easily during the entire 24 race ahead of you?

She would never guess that my hair is something that keeps me warm in the winter, sometimes distinguishes me from the male racers, and is my ball cap keep-er on-er, when I pull the pony tail through the back loop of my favorite red cap.

All I could do was smile and say, "Oh, that sounds really great, but I had better wait until next time."

I am still saving for my cassete and maybe even that chainring that I so desperately need. Ah, but when I get them and I am on a long climb in the middle of nowhere, I will be thankful for the smooth, quiet transition of my chain moving effortlessly from one gear to the next.

But mostly.....................I will be thankful for my PERT, which helped me to get there!