Helen for the Weekend

Shey wanted to head to Helen for the weekend, so we could ride with the Cycle Youth Devo guys at the course that was the last race of the local xc series.


We headed out early on Saturday, so we could meet them for a pre-ride of the Helen race course, at 10:30am.


5 or 6 of the young men and a few fathers came out for the pre-ride. Lot's of FUN! It's neat to watch these guys grow in strength and handling skills. (forgot to get pictures, but it was cool to have a trail of young riders heading into the woods together)

I got to ride with Asa and his dad, Monty. Asa has a ton of talent and enjoys hitting the climbs head-on/full force. He has no fear, but is also a smart rider; what a great combination.

It was hot, but the course was in excellent condition. After Shey had the devo guys practice their starts, the four of us did another lap, then headed into town to eat.



(this is Helen's flip flop tree)
The boys have wanted to hit this haunted house for awhile, so they talked Shey into going through it with them. They liked it alot and had some great stories to tell.

We wanted to tube the river, but there were a ton of people and the water was low, so we will wait for a better time.







Jafer met us at our campsite in Unicoi State Park and he brought us some yummy beer, so we hung out until it was way after dark and time to get some sleep.

Sunday morning was Shey's birthday, but since I gave him his gifts before we left and it was race morning, I completely forgot! Town for breakfast, then once we were back at the campsite, we accidentally locked the keys in the car....AGAIN. Thank goodness Shey's gear was at the campsite and not in the car.

So Jafer gave us a ton of tools to use and Jansen bought a fly swatter and worked to get the door unlocked. In the meantime, Shey and Jafer headed out to their race.


We got the car unlocked and made it just in time to see the guys on the line. (Jafer had offered his cherokee to me with instructions: It doesn't always start, so you have to put it in neutral and jiggle the handle around a little, jump up and down three times, spin around in a circle and ask it to please start in a sweet voice........) :>)

Jafer and Will Black (on a single-speed) rode the first lap together, then Jafer turned up the heat and hit the next two laps at a faster pace for a solid 1st. Shey finished 2nd in his cat, then hit the cold creek immediately to cool down.




The boys and I headed into town, so Shey and Jafer would have time to visit with everyone and hang out for podiums. The boys and I headed back out to the park to pick up Shey, but it had been way too hot for them, so they were in Cleveland eating lunch. All the driving and heat made for a grumpy chauffeur, but we did get to pick up Shey eventually and headed home.

Shey said I was not allowed to be grumpy on his birthday. On the way home we stopped and got a chocolate cake.



Then we stopped at a Starbucks, which happened to be inside a Kroger, so we set up a mini party. Jansen blocked the view of the employees so we could light up the candle.

There's nothing quite like celebrating your birthday in a grocery store......


Coffee made me happy and awake, again, so the rest of the drive home was good.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHEY!!!!!!!


*

*