Black Bear Rampage

Today was my first shot at the BBR and the first time I rode Tansai and I had a great time. We got up there Saturday night and rode around the WW Center some and then picked up our race packets and finally tried to sleep at the Ocoee WW Inn.

We got to the race at 8:00 am and before we knew it we had to START! We go less than 5 hours of sleep but were charged up because we have been waiting to do this race for weeks. Chris took off with his pack of beginner men and settled into a fast pace with ease. Not knowing the course or how much mileage was allotted to each section I was cautious. The first two miles were on the highway and uphill. I was last but picked off several men until I got to the singletrack.

The first 13 miles took me 1.5 hours. I got to Bear Paw, the next section and then flew down Thunder Rock; my 32 lbs beast of a bike makes those types of descents FUN! I was sitting at close to 20 miles but unaware of the forest road, Quartz Loop, the bypass, and the Riverview loops and climbs I had to do for the next 10 miles. Those 10 miles took me way, way too long.

Finally I knew where I was coming down Bearpaw. At the Whitewater center one of the kids filled me w some energy juice and I saw that I had been out 4 hours+, WHOA! I turned on full frnchgrl mode and zoomed across Old Copper Road, cranked up as much as I could up the street to Boyd Gap, pushed my bike FAST up Boyd Gap and then road faster than I have in months and month across Brushy Creek to come in before a time of 5:30. Had that last bleedin’ uphill road not been there I would have made it, was three minutes shy. Slow I know, but I still had fun and a good workout.

Had I picked it up just a little bit during miles 20-26 I may have moved up a spot or two for sure, coulda, shoulda, woulda. I would not have caught 1st-3rd place; those gals beat a few of the Sport women!

Congratulations to my Sorella sista are who placed in Expert, AMAZING women! And to all the Sorella’s who inspired me yesterday, GREAT JOB and so good to see you. On and a big Jonathon Davis WORD UP to The D who in spite of having a bad cold and getting no sleep my man placed 2nd, I am so proud of him and looking forward to racing again w him soon.

Kaiser Permanente Corporate Run

Finally the Kaiser Permanente Corporate Run/Walk got here. I partially assisted with event co ordination with an amazing woman I work with. To be honest, I hardly did a thing except take credit and run w Shari some before the race.

Shari is this AMAZING woman that I work with who coordinates anything and everything entertainment or philanthropy related for a zillion people I work with.

Tonight my company and several other companies participated in the run and walk event. I took part in the 5k after a day of helping to set up a tent plus goodies for 500 people.

I got to the starting line up less then 10 minutes before the gun went off. I started WAY in the back ugh. I had a ticket to get up front but I was busy talking with friends and coworkers and got a horrible start.

For 1.5 miles I dodged other runners. This is the 2^nd hilliest 5k I know of and the dodging and here and there sprinting hurt me by the top of the hill at mile 2.5. I swung into the finish 2 minutes slower than last year and was although sorely disappointed at my finish time knew I was there to promote coworkers to run or walk strong and I did that for over an hour before the start and that resulted in a good finish for a lot of happy people.

In addition, I got to hang out with people who I really like but have not got to hang out w since last years event!

Next year however I am dragging Chris out there with me and he and I willget to the FRONT line and I plan to beat my 2007 time of 26 minutes, screw hanging out, I am going to get my sprint on!

GAOC Orienteering Red Top Mountain

After a short drive, and long sleep, I decided to go do the O-Meet on Sunday, figuring it would be good for my legs after riding the 12 hour race with Brigette the day before. I ended up getting there with about 2 hours and 15 minutes left for the event and figured it would take me that entire time to finish it. I ran the road to the first checkpoint, trying to build some confidence and get a lead on my time. For the second CP, I ran cross country going out of my way a few times. I ended up using the roads for the next few, and a more direct route for the last few.

One of the CPs was on top of a huge gum-dropped shaped hill, about 20 feet high or so. Getting up was easy, getting back down the other side involved some jumping, sliding, and shoe/dirt skiing. The last few CPs were rather easy to find, although there were some huge hills and longer stretches of running. Overall it was a great day and I finished with only about 8 minutes to spare. I placed about an hour behind the leader and 40 minutes faster than last place. Results posted here.

The 12-Hours of Dauset was a lot of work but a beautiful day and a good time w family and friends.

We got there the day before and were able to set up a pit alongside the finish line with lots of green space behind us. My first two laps went well, for the first time in a long time I picked off other riders throughout both laps. My third and fourth laps were slower, 10+ miles of roots and my entire left arm was numb and the bottoms of my feet were sore. I thought I could finish after 4 laps.

Chris had a prime race day finishing every lap in less than 55 minutes never tiring during breaks while I rode. After his fourth lap we had a lot of race time left and he and our friend Mikey convinced me to do another lap, it was after 7:00 pm and darkness was looming in the woods. I said, “Fine!” and got geared up w a nightlight and it the trail one last time!

It was getting dark around mile 5 but I wanted to save the light battery, I new I was going to hit a sandy flat section so I would just go w the light left in the sky and BAM I fell onto the hard sandy ground, ouch! I got up shook it off and turned on the headlamp, ahhh, much better.

By the time I hit the last 3.5 miles of trails it was pitch dark. Darkness help me through the 3-4 climbs I had trouble w on my 4^th lap but I went too slow on the faster sections and BAM the roots swallowed me up and I was down again. I needed to get this lap over with. I picked up speed and with a mile left other lights (riders) were chasing me so I cranked it up and got to the finish where Chris was sooo proud of me for hitting the trails again and at night.

Chris cranked out his 5^th lap and was back in time to do another lap. We decided we wanted to get packed up and go although that took us so long he could have went out again. If it would have allowed us to place he would have went but we were in an open divison and the only other co-ed team had a strong man doing most of the work, kind of bogus but whatever.

We cleaned up w 100+ miles and got home and into bed by 12:30 am. It was cool meeting some of the guys we talk to on SORBA and seeing others whom we have already had the pleasure to meet. As always it is fascinating to see the caliber of athletes at these races riding for 12 hours and not even dismounting when they would refuel, incredible.

Thanks to Chris for letting me anchor w him again and to Norah for being the best crew in the world, she makes the day so much better.

Congratulations to my Sorella sistas Patti, Alison, and Bren who took home trophies in the 6 and 12 hour solo women’s division and the other gals who cranked out serious laps. And also to Carey, Julia, Kim, and Lisa who won the 4-Person 12-hour co-ed team division, GIRL POWER!

4-Hours of PIG

After going out to a friends 40th birthday bash last night and gas prices going up, we were not sure we wanted to get up when the alarm went off at 5:30 am to drive to Macon but we had a sitter and decided to go for it!

We had not ridden the Pig before and the whole ride down Brigette had butterfly’s thinking about riding a trail similar to the San Felasco course and in the heat again, ugh.

While cruising down I-75, we caught up to a couple of cars with nice bikes at a rest stop. Each carload eyed the others and it was understood that we were all going to the race. No need to ask; cyclists can pick up on these sort of things (especially when there’s bikes hanging off the back of the cars). We were treated to cool crisp air when we got out of the car, NICE!

We got to the Children’s Home of Georgia with about 45 minutes to spare. This was just enough time to set up our tent, change into our cycling clothes and organize our food and fluid needs for the next four+ hours.

The race started off with a LeMans style foot run around a pond, followed by a short ride that leads to the start of the course. I passed 6 riders within the first 10 seconds due to a root entanglement that gobbled up on of the riders’ tires. After the traffic jam, the trail was mine. The expert racers ahead and I wouldn’t see them they started to lap me far into the race.

The first part of the course wound thru a wooded area along side Rocky Creek. We rode over tight rooty drops and a short section running thru a 10-foot depression.

After riding along the creek, you shoot out onto a gas line and then up into the woods. I was able to pass a few riders on some short steep climbs, which came next.

Next the course shoots you into a pine forest that snakes back and forth. Here you can see other riders, but it is difficult to tell if they are in front of or behind you! While riding in the zigzagging pine tree forest Brigette began to think about the hedge maze from the movie The Shining, Danny boy, Daddy’s coming!

The last mile or so brings you back into a wooded area with one last downhill, followed by a longer uphill that puts you back into the start finish area and where riders could refill bottles and food.

During my 5^th lap I caught up to Brigette on her 4^th lap. I followed her for a bit and then took off. Brigette called it a day after her 4^th lap as she had secured second place. I had no idea where I stood, but with 38 miles into it, I braved the hot GA landscape one more time. I was happy to get the pedal time in.

Things got interesting in the last ¼ mile. I saw a rider through the trees on the last downhill. He was taking it easy, so I decided to use the downward pointing terrain to accelerate to catch up to him. At the bottom of this downhill, there is a u-turn then a long climb (relatively for this course). As the other rider was taking his time I gave 90% effort and caught him. He stepped on the gas and made me push closer to 95%. He asked how many laps I had, I said this is number 6. He said that he thought he also was on 6. At the very end I saw an opportunity to pass, clicked into the big ring and gave it everything I had, passing him…then I found out that I had beat him a long time ago. He ended with 5 laps with a time of about 4:45. I had finished 6 laps at about 4:45. Nevertheless the sprint to the finish was great fun and entertainment for the crowd at the finish!

The weather was AWESOME! Warm with a nice breeze all the way thru the course. And it was a GREAT day of riding, beautiful, fun fast course, nice people, good cause, great swag and an opportunity to ride together a little bit in a competition, very cool. Thanks to Charles, great event, we will be back again.

40th Birthdays

Norah went to her Aunt and Uncle's house for an overnight this weekend and on Saturday night Chris and I went to the Delkwood Grille in Marietta to help celebrate our good friend Jeff's 40th birthday.

As usual Darcy put on an excellent party, good food, great company, and a fabulous time. It was so nice to see everyone especially Jeff and Darcy! Jeff doesn't look a day over 42 :) and Darcy looked stunning as always.

Guests were treated to appetizers and I very much appreciated the hot wings, yum! After eat we adjourned to the bar area for Karaoke. This was my first Karaoke event and wow it gets the crowd going. Jeff, Chris, and another friend sang Sweet Child o' Mine by Guns n Roses and that was hilarious!

Darcy told me she was supposed to marry Axle when she was 13 because he was the fantasy love of her life, but ended up marrying Jeff....it all worked out! LOL!

We were also treated to birthday cake and wow, it was GOOD! I remember the first time we met Darcy was for Jeff's birthday and she brought him a cake, we told him then, "She is a keeper!"



Darcy had a football theme added to the cake and included the 50 yard line, what was funny is it looked like it said, "Happy 50th Birthday Jeff!" And of course Chris and I had to laugh w/at Jeff about that.


Chris and I skated out around 11:30 am as we had to get up at 5:30 am the next morning but were glad we went, good friend and good time! Happy 40th Jeff!

National Orienteering Day

Today we slept in (after being up several times during the night) and headed over to Jones Bridge Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area , Atlanta, GA for
National Orienteering Day. It was a beautiful day (a little warm) but perfect to be outside. Norah and I tackled the easy loop, Chris did it too but at light speed. We met up w Auntie Meredith and Uncle Ryan where Ryan helped Norah and I read the map. Chris caught up w us a little later and we had a nice easy hike.

The last time Norah, Chris and Meredith were here was last year for an Owl Prowl. I've been to this park for work functions when I worked in Norcross. I was happily surprised a the size of this greenspace. I found out online that the Jones Bridge spanned the Chattahoochee River from 1904-1922 falling into disrepair in the 1930's. ulton and Gwinnett counties disagreed on who should pay for the repairs and closed it down. Half of the bridge was "stolen" in 1940, neighbors didn't know the workers cutting the bridge were not authorized to do so until it was too late.

I spoke with some of the locals who told me they lived in the area since they were little kids and they would swim in the ponds and shoot the hooch every weekend in the warm seasons. Although the water was very pretty it is dirty and no part of me wanted to jump in, yuck!
Today's event was free to the public so there were a lot of people especially teenagers and I was glad to see so many of them doing something active and that required their brain (map reading and such.) The next Orienteering event is in two weeks at Red Top Mountain State Park north of Kennesaw, GA.

share the street > give 3 feet!

Chris was to do the century for today’s event but seeing as he worked his butt off since last Wed in FL driving to and from FL, back yard clean up, and riding part of a mtb race in FL yesterday. He and his sunburn decided to collapse and not set his alarm clock for today’s ride. I told him I would ride instead. I do not own a road bike but I figured me and my 1998 Stumpjumper set up w mtb slicks could do the 40 mile option.

I got to the event and with 10 minutes to spare had to change a flat and check in, ugh. I got set up and took off in the back of the pack. It was my second time riding in a pack; I am clueless about signals, shout outs, and drafting so I tried to stay out of everyone’s way. Got to the first sag at 20 miles without difficulty. Turned around and on the way back I hooked into a pack of very cool ladies. The wind (in my opinion) was making the ride a little tough; even going downhill was a little bit of a struggle with the wind. It was awesome being able to talk to other riders—even though some heckled me because I was riding an ancient mountain bike converted to a rigid with semi-slick tires on, hey, that is all I have for now!

Got back to bike shop around 11:45 am may be? I think it took me a little over 3 hours to do that ride, I don’t know what is good time, I was just glad my ole beater worked and I could keep up with a pack on the way back to block some of the wind! Chris and Norah met me at the finish (so nice!)

Not sure I am ready for a road bike but it was much better riding in a pack of cool ladies verses being alone riding. Good time…

8 Hours of Labor

8 Hours of Labor MTB Race, San Felasco, Alachua, FL Sunday, 08/31
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Team Dusack—4^th Place

Chris and I checked out this race a couple months ago and then decided to sign up for it after we made plans to visit family and friends in FL up as we could hit the event on our way back to the ATL. The title 8 Hours of Labor is exactly right, pant, pant… We haven’t ridden central FL trails in eons and ugh, we forgot about the twisting and turning and sand and the bleedin’ heat and humidity!

San Felasco State Park is beautiful and the 10-mile course was set up nicely. In my opinion it is one of the courses where technique is mastered and speed easily had with course familiarity—at least for slow mo’s like me (who fair better on a GA climb) it is, I could not pick up speed and keep a fast pace!) The last 2+ miles of the course rode us thru a bumpy grassy knoll and each time we came thru we did so right when the blistering sun poked thru the clouds thus dispiriting us slightly however we appreciated the course and the opportunity to ride and race! We raced until 3:15 pm or so and then decided to pack up for the ATL early to get home and rest for another ride on Labor Day morning. Fun time but it is a one and done race for us.

Race notables:
1.) The temps had to have reached the mid-90’s but felt 5 degrees hotter and the humidity was off the chain but every 15 min or so a strong cool breeze would grace us (lovely for the spectators and racers not riding at the moment, an untimely headwind for those on the grassy knoll)
2.) A racer in cut-off jean shorts and a white button down flying thru the trail
3.) A man howling from cramps on the trail, I stopped and gave him water (one water SAG may have been appropriate today)
4.) Big beautiful deer around the course (probably panthers too)
5.) A free suntan that even zinc oxide sunscreen couldn’t block
6.) A racer on a cycle cross bike
7.) Chris smacking his shoulder hard on a tree but then passing another rider while going over a log pile
8.) $12 entrance/parking Fee on top of race fees but which went into the park, which is supported by, volunteer efforts only

Hurricane Faye backyard Clean up

We traveled to Jacksonville last Wednesday after work to visit family and friends. Mom and Dad D were hit by the latter end of Hurricane Faye and their whole neighborhood was completing cleanup of fallen and broken tree branches and debris that week.

The parents had gotten most of everything cleaned up, Chris and I worked on the side yard and around the screened in pool pulling weeds and overgrowth. Chris concentrated on cutting down low hanging branches; we brought with us a chainsaw w an extender which worked quite well (thanks Alex M.) The ladder we used is hopefully being broken down into firewood as I write as the parents did get a new one the day we left.

While everyone worked Norah played in the pool. I left late morning to work for a few hours while Chris and Bill plowed away in the ridiculous humidity. As he finished Norah came out and found a branch w her name carved into it and she loved it! We were highly rewarded later on as Mom and Dad D took us out for an amazing seafood dinner near the beach, wow it was good!