Torn between racing the "Georgia Pavé" at Perry-Roubaix or practicing mountain bike skills at Oconee Heritage Park, I debated until the last second.
Either a two-hour drive to Perry GA and race a strong 35+ field without any teammates on a 75-mile road course which included two substantial climbs and several miles of torturous, to some, dirt roads each of the six laps. Sounds tempting... *or* a 50-minute drive to Farmington GA, about 15 miles south of Athens, to work on MTB skills.
Race or practice? Let's do a little math.
1. Perry-Roubaix race entry fees; $50 ($35+$15 transponder fee) plus $15 for gas. Awards only 3-deep with first place getting $55. Sorry, but the promoter is doing the sport a major disservice and seriously gouging the racers!
2. Mountain bike at Oconee Heritage Park; free, plus about $3 for gas.
Coincidentally, I met up with some of the Addictive Cycles MTB team at the trail head; Bill, Bobby, Willie, Rich and we did several laps regrouping every now and then. Bobby was feeling frisky and has some skills so I did my best to stay on his wheel and follow his lines. The result was I had to push to another level to stay with him on the descents and turns. Pedaling is not a problem for me but driving a mountain bike faster through the trees is a work in progress.
Sounds like a good - and fun - decision. I have GOT to get a mountain bike. Unfortunately, I just got the very bad news that the Saab has a spun rod bearing and is not worth repairing, so instead of two wheels I'm being forced to look at four. The mechanic who looked at it said it could throw a rod tomorrow or next year, but every mile is borrowed at this point. Well, shit... Maybe if I sell off a bunch of my "extra" road stuff.
Posted by: TC at April 2, 2007 07:32 PMDang cars cost too much to own and operate. I can't wait till we run out of gas and everyone HAS to ride a bike - and a mountain bike would be a good choice!
Posted by: Dan at April 4, 2007 10:51 PMDan, I went down to Perry for my first road race. I figured with the dirt it would be a good place to start. You shavers are wicked fast man! Finished 7th, last of the breakaway group. What the heck is this sprinting thing? Wow.......
Posted by: Jason Pruitt at April 6, 2007 07:49 AMJason, you did great making the final cut and going to the line with the sprinters.
Practice! Sprint with your hands in the drops and keeping body weight over the bottom bracket. Position in the pack, timing your jump and proper gear selection are critical. Challenge your riding partners for county lines, mail boxes and other landmarks. Experiment with different strategies and tactics.
Wind, hills, corners, lead-outs and an array of other variables makes sprinting a most intense high-speed adrenaline-pumping 10-second chess match on wheels! With some practice you may find that you can play too.
Posted by: Dan at April 9, 2007 03:18 PMUsed your advice and went to the Tuesday night crit training at Atlanta Motor Speedway last night. The Myogenisis guys were there (Cleve, Casey and Andy) Man, that is harder than any MTB race. The Myo guys were very humble and helped a rookie out. Learned lots and will keep going on Tues. Think it'll help my MTB racing and I'll be ready in the next RR if I make the split again. Rumors are you'll be at Heritage this Sunday?
Posted by: Jason Pruitt at April 11, 2007 10:55 AMAt Heritage this afternoon (Friday) and Dave Berger pulled in as I was leaving. I requested a parade lap before sending everyone to the single track. Hope the rain doesn't make the trail too treacherous!
Posted by: Dan at April 13, 2007 05:38 PM