Looking to ramp up your “A” game? Well here’s your chance! The Red Top Cycling Club is forming a Racing Team, led by Scott Flynn – check out his impressive credentials here: [thresHold Coaching]

Here’s what Scott has to say about the focus behind the team:

There would be several benefits of forming a race division: Having frequent rides with like-minded riders at similar skill levels, pushing each other to improve, sharing ideas, strategizin’, route sharing, support at races, swapping stories, etc. 

It may sound early, but race season is not so far off. One of the first road events I’m aware of begins in Dalton in mid-March. Cyclo-cross season is nearly over. Of course the season will continue until October’ish. 
This would certainly be something to discuss in the Feb planning meeting. In the mean time, if you’re interested, we can go ahead with forming a group and start training.  

Males and females welcome. If you’re interested, just respond to flynnjason@bellsouth.net with this basic information:

1. Interest: road, tri’s, mtn, bike, cross
2. Race experience: yes or no
3. Would you be interested in having a weekly ride in a team-like environment?

Don’t be intimidated if you’ve never raced before. Once we figure out who’s interested, we’ll start detailing from there. Hope to hear from you soon. 

Happy riding!
Scott Flynn, MS, ACSM CES

The team will be riding out of either the Cartersville Brewery or Sosebee Cycling Park on Saturday mornings; once the time changes a weekday evening ride after work will form too (Tuesday or maybe Thursday).

Whether you are interested in racing, or just becoming a stronger cyclist,  this sounds like a great way to up your game!

PS: a lot of the first responders to the team are also triathletes, so there may be some opportunities for brick-workouts as the team progresses.

When: Sunday, May 6th, 2012 @ 7:00am

Location: Carters Lake – Harris Branch Beach

The Details:

The swim portion will be a deep water start and will commence in waves. The swim start/finish is located adjacent to the transition area and consists of a one loop counter-clockwise course. Spectators will be able to view the entire swim course from the top of Harris Branch beach. The water temperature this time of the year is 68-72 degrees. Wetsuits will be permitted.

The bike portion is an out and back course that winds around Carters Lake then heads north to Ft. Mountain State Park. This course offers all types of terrain from flats and rolling hills to climbs, allowing athletes to experience the beautiful scenery this area has to offer. All turns will be clearly marked and manned for safety by police and volunteers. All roads are open to general traffic, please be aware of your surroundings and obey the officers and volunteers during the bike ride. There will be three aid stations located along the course.

The run course will consist of two loops along Harris Branch Rd and Camp Branch Rd within Harris Branch Park, including a short trail section at the beginning and end of the run. Aid stations will be located every mile of the run.

For more information, registration, maps, etc. see:  http://zone5events.com/mountain_madness_triathlon.php

This is a USAT sanctioned event.

Rome, Georgia has a new trail AND a new Mountain Bike Race!

When: November 5 & 6, 2011

Where: Jackson Hill, Rome, Georgia

Register Here:  www.imathlete.com.

The Details:

• Saturday’s Events:  Kid’s 10am, 1st Timers 11am and Short Track Cross Country (STXC) 1PM.
• Sunday’s Events:   Cross Country events (15 mi) for Juniors and Adult C Mens/Wmns at 10am.  Adult A/B Mens/Womens at 1PM
• A = Pro, B = Expert, C = Intermediate & Novice.  Please e-mail Julie with your classification after registration.
• Kids and Junior race registration is $25 early and race day is $30 and adult is $45/50.
• One lap is approximately three miles of fast, single track, short climbs, and a short section of gravel roads with two wooden bridges.
• Proceeds benefit the Friends of Rome and Floyd County Trails.
• The races will be held at historic Jackson Hill/Fort Norton earthen fortifications that were a part of a system of Civil War “earthworks” that helped revolutionized the science of war. Jackson Hill is one of Rome’s esteemed seven hills and provides a wonderfully calm respite in the middle of the city. Parking is available in the Rome Civic Center parking lot near the Rome Visitors Center which houses a gift shop.
• SORBA Forum Topic
• Rome News Tribune Article
• Even more details & information on imATHLETE.com

For more information contact: julie@cycletherapy.us

On October 2, thousands of people will be wearing yellow
to support LIVESTRONG and the fight against cancer.

The PedalFaster.org team will be riding on Sunday.
And wearing yellow in support of LIVESTRONG

Join us by making your pledge today.

]]> http://pedalfaster.org/2011/09/29/wear-yellow-this-sunday/feed/ 0 2pedalfaster wear_yellow http://pedalfaster.org/2011/09/28/trigeeks-brewery-ride-sunday-8am/ http://pedalfaster.org/2011/09/28/trigeeks-brewery-ride-sunday-8am/#comments Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:13:56 +0000 PedalFaster.org Team http://pedalfaster.org/?p=203 Continue reading →]]> TriGeeks will be riding this Sunday!

When: Sunday, October 2nd.  7:45am show – 8am wheels turning

Where: Cartersville Anheuser-Busch Brewery

What: Ride the BBC (Beautiful Backroads Century) course!  Most will ride the 48 / 52 (modified to the “old” BBC-52 route for a store-stop half way through and a stop at the Donkey Farm too).

Some usually ride the BBC-31 while the brave ones will tackle the BBC-67.  And the really brave ones will be running afterwards.

Dress in layers – looks like a chilly start to the day!

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Swim With Pete will also be at Red Top Saturday!

When: Saturday October 1st.  Arrive at 8:30 – swimming by 9am

Where: Red Top Mountain State Park – lodge / office area.  Just walk down the trail immediately to the right of the lodge called “Lakeside Trail” toward the cove – it is marked with a small wooden sign at the start of the trail.  You should see the water within a dozen yards (or you’re on the wrong trail).

What: Swim with Pete.  Open Water Swim from Red Top.  New swimmers need to sign a waiver.  As always we need volunteers in kayaks for safety patrol (please bring a few bucks to tip the kayakers).

NOTE: It’s Wet-suit season folks!

When: Saturday, October 1, 2011

Where: Verizon Wireless Amphitheatere, Alpharetta, GA

Route options of 20, 40, 62 and 100 miles.  Plus a 5k family fun ride and a 5k fun run / walk.

More details: http://ysctourdepink.org/atlanta

Hint: Use code RUN to receive $5 discount on your registration

Two things of note that seem to come up each year:

1) The ride is well-marked with yellow “BBC” arrows the full length.  With distance options of 15, 31, 48, 67 and 100.  i.e. look for yellow “BBC-15” or “BBC-ALL” with arrows (see picture below).  There are typically three (3) arrows before every turn and one afterwards – very hard to miss unless you are daydreaming along.

Each year a few riders get these confused with the WHITE “CC” arrow markings for the Cartersville Century – please ignore these!

2) You MUST bring a picture ID to the after ride celebration to sample the Anheuser Busch  products. Arm bands will be supplied and required – check to make sure where to have your ID checked and armband provided before standing in line for the beer sampling (there are typically two different lines – one for the armband and another for the beer cart)  ;)

All routes except the full century will be passing by the killer new Sosebee Cycling Park.  Make this your last rest stop before the end and take in the beautiful surroundings.

For more information on the event see our earlier post HERE.  Hope to see you there!

IMBA will celebrate its eighth annual International Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day on Saturday, October 1, 2011. This is a great opportunity for you to pass your passion for pedaling on to kids!

Find an event near you, or, host one of your own.

Since we believe that kids should be on bikes everyday, we’re encouraging all participants to sign up for the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA), whereby you pledge to be active at least 5 days a week for 6 weeks. Youth (6-17 years) should get moving for at least 60 minutes per day, and adults (18 years or older) should be active for 30 minutes per day. What better way to get active than to be out riding a bike?

Registration for TKMBD event organizers is now open! Register your local event and additional information will be made available to you in coming weeks. [Canadian events should register with www.imbacanada.com/kids]

Download our ready-made PDF posters which allow you to fill-in the details of your event! (horizontal; vertical)

Assistance and nationwide events are conducted by IMBA clubs and chapters, retailers, volunteer groups and numerous Trips for Kids chapters. Corporate sponsors are welcome to join in support of this nation-wide effort.

There are many ways to participate. Events range from a few kids in a neighborhood to larger festival style events in a community park, open space or trailhead. Develop a grass-roots event in your community, support the national outreach, contribute to event “care packages”, or join an existing event. Email Terry Breheny for more information on how you can get involved.

When: Wednesday September 22 to Thursday September 23, 2011

Where: Smyrna, GA – Depart from the Publix parking lot on the East/West Connector at 7AM.  Check the maps section of this blog for detailed maps of the Silver Comet Trail.

The Details:

There will be a gaggle of us riding a 2-day Anniston and back Silver Comet/Ladiga ride in a couple of weeks, and we’d like to invite anyone else interested to join us. If you’ve never done this ride before, it’s a wonderful chance to enjoy magnificent scenery unfettered by normal road traffic. We’ll meander our way through Rockmart and through the farmland on the other side to our lunch stop in Cedartown. From there we’ll ride to the State Line, and continue on the Ladiga.

The Ladiga is only thirty-something miles long, but the trail travels through the National Forest and through Piedmont, then Jacksonville University. We always stop at both places to socialize and make friends. On this ride, rather than ride to the very end of the trail and stay at the Royal Inn, we’ll spend the night at the University Inn in Jacksonville. Accommodations there are much nicer, and our dining choices are superior as well. The price for the University Inn is about the same as The Royal Inn (-Fifty something a night/twenty-five each, two to a room), so it makes better sense to stay there instead.

So here are the specifics. We’ll depart from the Publix parking lot on the East/West Connector at 7AM, Wednesday September 21st, and return on Thursday, September 22nd. Our rides are no-drop affairs, and we usually average a speed of around 14 mph, with rest stops along the way. We’ll eat lunch in Cedartown, and maybe a late breakfast in Rockmart at Linda’s. For those who want end-of-the-trail bragging rights, we can ride the few extra miles to the end, then turn back to Jacksonville. That’ll also put the distance at over a hundred miles, which qualifies as a century.

So if you have any questions, please feel free to list them here, or send a PM to me directly.

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Here’s more information, and answers to questions that others have had:

There are several of us who’ve done this ride a multitude of times in the past. Through those experiences we’ve ironed out most of the “wrinkles”. Let me share some of what we’ve learned.

The ride is basically a simple out-and-back affair, so we don’t have to worry about traffic or motorized vehicles. The trail will take us through amazing scenery, yet we’ll also ride through an occasional town or two so that we can eat and use facilities. We ride “self-contained”, which means that we carry what we need for the two-day excursion on our bikes.

The key to self-contained is to pack light! I’ve used seat post racks, handlebar bags, and small backpacks in the past. Of the three, I prefer the small backpack. The seat post rack (with bag attached) makes it difficult to swing a leg over the back when mounting. The alternative is to do the “cowboy” mount (swing your leg in front of you over the top tube). The first time you miss will always be embarrassing. The bag also throws off the balance of the bike making parking precarious (the bike develops a mind of its own and will try to fall over when you turn your back).

The same thing applies to a handlebar bag, although the bike will be easier to mount. If you pack just a change of non-riding cotton clothing and underwear, along with a comb and toothbrush, a lightweight backpack will work just fine. I use the kind that has a draw string that doubles as shoulder straps. One of the other fellows uses a camelback with the bladder removed. Either is effective and light and you won’t notice them unless you put extra non-essential stuff inside.

When we arrive at the Hotel, we shower and wash out our riding clothes. If we do that 1st, everything will be dry for the return ride.  Then a short nap before dinner will round out the ride.

I can be reached easiest by email at nbowser@mindspring.com. As we get closer to the ride date I’ll try to pair folks up. –Two to a room makes expenses ridiculously inexpensive! We also seem to divide up into two basic groups. There will be those who ride faster (and they generally blaze ahead but meet up at pre-determined places), and slower riders. I’ll ride with the slower group and hang with anyone who has problems (flats, broken shifter cables, etc). I try to carry enough stuff to handle most emergencies). We’ll also have each other’s cell phone numbers in case of an emergency.

I would carry two water bottles, although some feel comfortable with just one. There are some pretty desolate stretches further out!

via Neal at atlbike.org

Ride RESCHEDULED DUE TO RAIN for Saturday September 10th!

Start time will be 8:30 AM from Sosebee Bike Park (see post below for more information).

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There is a large group ride “brewing up” for Labor Day!

When: 8:30am Labor Day (Monday)

Where:  Ride will start and finish from Sosebee Bike Park located at 465 Simpson Rd. White Ga. 30184. Take the same exit for the brewery but take a left right after the truck plaza on Grogan Road, follow it to a T with Cassville Pinelogging Road and turn right, follow that road to Simpson Road and turn left. The park will be on the right. It is only about 3 miles off the interstate.

Details:

Here is a link to a post about the park: http://bit.ly/oOMkef.  The use of the park will allow on-site post ride fellowship. We need to keep in mind that this facility is one very generous man’s land and work so we need to respect the facility and leave NO trace when we leave. Additionally, there is a contribution box on site. I would expect all to make a contribution of some type. Mr. Sosebee’s goal is to use collected money to build a shelter and bathrooms.

We will use the same route and those who wish to do so can ride the full BBC Metic course. Since we will loose about 4 miles from not doing the run in and out of the Brewery this will lead to rides of about 48 and 60 miles.

There is usually a large group for these rides and it splits up in to pace groups from 15 to about 20+mph average. Furthermore, of late the ride has been splitting into standard and long groups at the store stop. The long group does tha BBC 65 mile route while the others do the 52 mile Holiday route. There is also usually a group that does a shorter ride of around 30 miles.

We will do a quick pre-ride meeting and try to get some pace/distance groups identified.

Visit this post on atlbike.org with questions and please check for the latest details.  Please take a look at Google Maps before you call asking directions.

via Jim@atlbike.org