Conte's Grand Opening

Hey, Hey! We have a very cool bike store in town, now! It's on hwy 138, on the way to the International Horse Park trails.

Three 'tri' guys own the shop and are extremely nice guys. Brian is in there all the time and Brent and Trent hit the shop any time they can.

They are part of the Conte's bike shop chain and have over 300 bikes in the shop, including, Litespeed, Quintana Roo, Specialized, Electra, and Giant. These bikes run from fun, low-end, starter bikes, to 'oh, that costs more than my car' bikes.

Jansen has been fortunate enough to be able to volunteer his services a couple days a week. We really like the new mechanic that they have hired, who is moving from Virginia. Eric has already taught Jansen some great mechanics tricks.

Good luck to these guys. They are already busy with customers!

Kari

ING Marathon 2008

Ah, now that we have taken our nap, I can tell you about the GREAT day we had!



Today was the ING Marathon and we were fortunate enough to be able to ride safety for an amazing group of wheelchair racers.

The boys and I pre-rode the route yesterday, and I'm so glad we did, since we got lost a couple times. It really helped to know the turns and any bumpy roads, pot holes, sharp turns, etc. I wish I had taken pictures on the pre-ride because this route was beautiful. It takes you all over Atlanta and you go by some amazing old homes and parks. (and a Ben and Jerry's)

It was pretty cold this morning, but the rain stopped just in time for the 6:55am race time. We left the house at 4:30am and it was in the low 40's. It never warmed up, but it got a bit windy.

Our cyclists lined up by the curb and took off with the wheelers as they came by. These athletes were truly an amazing group. The boys rode with the first and second place female racers and one of them was from Australia. I rode most of the way with a very friendly guy from Marietta. He loved the downhills and detested the climbing. His rhythm was great, though, and he pulled all those hills so that he could cruise right on down the other side.

Lots of flats for the wheelers today. Probably due to the amount of broken glass that was on the street from the tornado that hit the area a couple weeks ago. I couldn't see it, but I'm sure there were slivers along the start.

Huge shout out to Kindle! This girlie just started riding the Sorella Stone Mountain rides like 8 weeks ago and was out there today mixing it up! She grows stronger with each ride and was a great asset to the wheelchair racers today. (I'm not just saying that because she brought me a bottle of wine last night...really :>)

Leslie Shapiro heads up this whole volunteer group and does an awesome job each year. She is our lead volunteer Sorella and a wonderful member of the board, as well. We couldn't do it without her.

We got the chance to hang out with Mattie today, too. Cool, even though he didn't bring us any BBQ or hamburgers or anything!

We are really looking forward to next year and hope the weather is a bit more agreeable.

Kari

Fulton Flyer Devo Team Dinner 2008

Saturday night (after the chilly junior clinic) we had the Fulton Flyer Devo Team dinner.

It was really great to see the whole group together and the amount of talent that these young men and women bring to the table is pretty amazing.

(I promise to try Jafer's pasta next year.)

I am thinking of making special tshirts for the U23 men.

Thomas - Mr. Lethargic (look it up)

Oscar - Check out my hair

Jafer - I'm in Control - back- Yes, I am, dammit

Joey - How did I get talked into this? or perhaps - Don't let the kit fool you, I've never seen these guys before in my life.

This is a very strong group of women. If it were not for Rose and Alex, I would be riding with men ALL the time!

The old guys...I mean Masters.

Kari L.

Junior Race Clinic March 8, 2008

The four of us had the opportunity to meet some very cool young men this past weekend.


We held a race clinic for junior racers who have competed in the past and want to improve their technical skills.

Five young men came out in the very cold weather. Snow flurries were blowing around early in the morning and the wind across the field was incredibly strong.





These guys were TOUGH with a capital "T" for coming out and braving the cold. (I'm sure their parents wanted to stay in bed where it was warm.)




We were the ONLY crazy people out at the Horse Park in the morning!



All these riders showed great skill and it was a ton of fun to work with them.



Thanks to all who came out to ride and learn!


We will have another junior clinic for first time racers and one or beginner riders. So, watch for the flyers.



Kari L.