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.

D.C. on Sunday

We had a great dirt ride on Saturday and our Sunday ride had been canceled with a good chance of rain.

So, the boys and I decided to head to Washington D.C. for the day. They are my favorite traveling buddies. They don't read EVERYTHING in the museum and they cruise through at just the right pace! Love it!

Tons of fun!

We took the metro to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Air and Space and then walked through the Holocaust Museum.

Next time we'll look up Sam, Jennifer and Javuan for lunch! (I didn't realize Sam was RIGHT IN the city)

February Weekends

One of Everett's pieces..........

The schedule looks something like this:

Saturday - Shey goes for a long xc ride. The boys and I sleep in, but that's a secret.

The three of us head out later in the morning for our xc ride somewhere local with friends. Yargo was a ton of fun last week! Love the new section! Any added length is much appreciated. The boys spend the rest of the afternoon building electronics, blacksmithing, reworking their rc car track, shooting large rocks from their homemade catapult, digging to china, etc

Sunday - I ride xc while the boys hike or ride for fun. Then we head to Stone Mountain for their training ride on the road. Clean up a little and head to evening mass. Our favorite mass buddy is Aimee, although she can be a bit disruptive. (we pick up a little more excercise with the kneeling/standing thing....he-he)

Kari

Thomson Day Festival 2008 Ronnie Thomson Remembered

PHOTOS BY CARL MESTA.....THANKS!!!!!

My family decided to hit the Thomson Day Festival this year, since they have been so incredibly supportive of our cycling community for so many years. Saturday was pretty cold and we knew it would rain, so we slept in a little later...love staying in my warm spot!


We got to the festival at about 10:30 and the 420 race started at 11:00am. So, we registered for the festival, race and renewed our subscription to Dirt Rag magazine. This left us with 10 minutes to change. Well, we weren't in the Hippie Van, and it took way more than 10 minutes for the four of us to knock elbows and finally get on all the layers of clothing that we needed to stay half-way warm.


All four of us missed the start of the race, but it was for 4 hours and 20 minutes, so we figured we could make up some time. Shey started first, then J and E about 10 minutes after him, then I was about 5 or 10 minutes after that.

It was pouring rain and very, very cold. The trail was SUPER cool. Very flat, but with lots of fun turns and twists, so sliding through those in the mud was very exciting. Of course my brakes started to become weak about half-way through the first lap and there were enough rutted and muddy downhills to make that a bit scary. I adjusted the brakes, but still they were not working so well. I completely expected this as I've raced so many muddy races, where you end up with your feet as your brakes. Well, I finally realized I had had a total BRAIN FART and was adjusting them the wrong way, so mid-way into my second lap I corrected them and wahlah....my brakes are back!! (this was after I slid a good ways through the forest after blowing the turn and finally bailed off the side of the bike to stop. Of course, this was VERY entertaining to the guy behind me!)


The feeling in my feet would come and go. They would go numb after the creek crossing, then would come back a bit on the climbs. As long as I kept moving, I was fine. It was funny to listen to the grown men grumble about the trail, their brakes, the rain......man, we are outside!! What could be better! I would take that over fluorescent lights in an office ANY DAY!!!!!





Shey lapped me twice and laughed at me the second time, because he couldn't believe I was still out there. Jansen also lapped me once and he was having a great time and was in a very good mood. Everett was waiting for me after the first lap, with a "you've got to be crazy to think this is fun" look on his face and he headed to the car to warm up.



The bridge washed away by the fourth lap and was laying sideways further down the creek. I put my bike on my shoulder and jumped onto it, then to some wood that was only a couple inches under the water, then on to the shore. Numb feet for 15 minutes after that little ballet number, each time!!!

The voluteers RAWKED and screamed every time we came through. All the ladies out there did a great job of playing in the mud and riding their best. I was very impressed with them all!


So, for our family entry fee we got: four Thomson certificates, key chains, Firehouse sub sandwich packs for lunch, yummy spaghetti, salad, garlic bread and cheesecake for dinner, and sweetwater and Nike shirts. When we subscribed to Dirt Rag we got brake cables, too.



Pretty good swag! Now, hopefully that will all cover new brake pads we have to buy....I'm off to wash the mud out of our spandex......





Kari L.

Tour de Felasco

The family headed down to Florida for some warm weather over the weekend. We arrived late on Friday and woke up to rain Saturday morning, oh well a little water never hurt when its warm out. The small stream under the tent was a slight problem and put us a little late for the Tour de Felasco. No matter, no rush, no race.

The ride was highly recomended by a few folks and we all had a great time. Very fun trails and a great place to spend doing some base.

Lifes not worth living if you can't pull down your pants and slide on the ice!

SSWC 2008 here I come

Going to Napa California in August, taking the Carver with me!

Why Is Kansas City in Missouri?

Well, we recently got back from the strangly named Kansas city. We went to the nationals cyclocross race. I didn't race, (been slacking off this season) but Jansen did. For his race, (which was on Friday) the thick mud left over from the previous day had frozen into concrete-hard icy ruts. In a nutshell, it was nearly impossible to ride the stuff, but Jansen managed. He placed 16th, I think. Lesson learned: When it comes to icy ruts, use mountain bike wheels. You can glide right over the slats, while other racers with thinner wheels will slide into them, impeding speed. The next day (Saturday) it snowed. Probrably the first snowstorm i've ever been in. I loved it. Lots of snow to goof off in. Most of the other people sharing our tent (Dan, Daryle,Oscar, etc.) went out and raced on this day. The course was very slick due to ice and snow, as well as the unfortunatly re-churned gloppy mud. As the day came to a end, Jansen and I managed to convince Jim and Adam to have a snowball fight. This reseulted in Jim and Adam tackling each other, as well as Jansen and me. We didn't get a movie of the ensuing ludicraty, but we did get several photos, which I am sure will make way onto the blog at some time or another. Afterwards, we left for the hotel, swam a bit in the lovly heated pool, then got up at 4:30 and flew home. It was quite a ... interesting experience. I really did like the snow, 'specially since we never get it around here.

Hmmm cartoon's

Watch out Superman there's a new man in town!

Who remembers The Tick?

Not a fan of the time change

Rushing around, trying to get a workout in before dark and three flats in two days. Sometimes I feel just like my good friend Sam!

Thanks for all the support in 07!