December 10, 2006
Georgia Cross Finale
Indian Springs State Park was the site of our final race this year. I didn't want to get out of bed this morning and just didn't feel inspired to race. It had been a long hard work week for me with many nights of inadequate sleep. But as we stepped up to the start line I noticed a new guy among us, a strong-looking guy with a fast looking bike. Suddenly I got inspired to race.
The new guy jumped the gun and got a quick start, I kicked it and caught and passed him, he came back around me and we took off away from the rest of the pack. This dude had a big motor and I was wishing I had warmed up a little better. When we got to the technical stuff I realized this dude had skills too. He was railing the turns and not slowing down for anything.
I hung on as long as I could but he got away from me and that's cool, because it got me fired up and I raced harder than I had been all year. The new guy was Brook Watts from Colorado, he's a top-ranked national level veteran cyclocross racer in town doing some business for the upcoming Tour de Georgia bike race.
Turns out this Colorado guy nearly caught up to the leaders from the 35+ race which had started a minute before our 45+ race. I had a good ride and caught and passed all but the top-3 in the 35+ race, however I was only about 30-40 seconds behind them at the end, which means I was actually going faster than everyone except the Colorado dude on this day.
I was pleased with my ride because I always prefer second place and an inspired effort to first place without the inspired effort.
The primary goal this cyclo-cross season, besides having fun, was to win the State Championship jersey and gold medal - mission accomplished. Along the way I won five out of the seven races in the series and came in second in the other two races resulting in winning the overall series. For that I received some cool prizes including a new Redline Conquest Pro Cyclocross frame and fork.
Here's a few photos that Jim's wife Laura took at Indian Springs this morning.
Now I'm tired and I don't want to train or race for a while, so I'll just go to bed now.
Trivia: Indian Springs State Park is thought to be the oldest State park in the country. The spring waters said to have healing and rejuvenating properties were used by the native Americans for hundreds and probably thousands of years. This was a favorite spot for president FDR to come to and he was instrumental in preserving it.
Jim Bailey's photos
Jim and Laura's photos
some of my photos
My video clips