April Fools..….they were racing all weekend!

CBR Master's team pictured


The Green team was out this past weekend. We had riders racing in Perry, Georgia and Bryson, North Carolina.

Tsali Trail – Bryson, NC The mountain team was Paul Hein and Joseph Grimes. They raced the SERC series race in Tsali, in the rain. The conditions started bad and got worse. Paul said he lost most of his braking about 5 miles into a 20 mile race. He had an impact around 10 miles in that resulted in what looks like one or two broken fingers and one eye that is blood red. If you’ve ridden with Paul, you know he rode on because he is stubborn and cheap. He was getting the value for his race dollar and he hates to quit. I almost got him over the quitting thing the year he raced road with me. Joseph prepared the following blow-by-blow account of his race. So far he has already gotten 8th and 10th place in the Charlotte short track series.




Joseph’s report:
Tsali was great. It was raining off and on all morning during the beginner rides and as Paul and I were warming up. My race was good. To put it shortly, I was in the top 5 or 10, moving along, and flatted. I repaired it and got back in it, I ran a lot, as I've learned to do from watching CycleCross and general NC riding, and passed some people on muddy climbs. I climbed my way all the way up the 2nd muddiest steepest hill and passed a few more people. Coming through the feed-zone I did the smartest thing of the race... got off my bike, stopped totally, and lubed my chain. I'd put grease and wet lube on it to start the day, but it was all gone and metal on metal squeaky. Then the 2nd smartest thing was dumping water from my bottles onto my forehead to wash away some dirt/mud from my eyes. My gloves were too dirty to do that task!! The last four miles or so, I could see, and I had a nicely lubed chain. I passed every rider except one that I could get my eyes on, regardless of their age group. I felt good near the end. I finished 16th out of 25, which wasn't so bad. My goal was to get a top 15 and I was really hoping for a top 10, but with the flat I am happy with 16th.

I survived the course for the most part. It was really tough. Anyone who was at Dauset trails last May should know full well how muddy this event was. It may even have been worse!! I basically made away with dirt in my eyes and a few little scrapes on my arms from thorns and the like. One older fellow went down on a muddy switchback and though I don't actually know what he suffered, it looked and sounded like a broken collarbone. Anyways, I felt good. My KENDA tires suited me well, karma 2.0's... oh wait, you're not a reporter, just Steve. The tires really did work well though, a lot of people were going soooooo slow through corners and I was hitting most with no brakes. It was a good time. I'm happy with my placing, I've corresponded with my "coach," a CTS guy that is friends with Boone Bike, and I'm looking forward to Athens, GA.

Sport Men – 35-40
Paul Hein 8th place

Sport Men – 19-29
Joseph Grimes 16th place

Perry-Roubaix – Perry, GA

Time Trial

Although a smaller race venue than the Georgia Cup Series, the Perry courses are great for racing. The turnout was slightly lower as well. Our team turnout was one for the record books! Perry is around 90 miles from Columbus, so it is a good day trip race. The course was a rolling route along a 4 lane divided highway. There was some wind, but all in all it was quite manageable. Scott Matty had a great day with his 4th place finish. The master’s field had some very accomplished riders and Scott put down the hammer on most of us. I thought my time was pretty good until I saw Scott’s.
9.5 mile Time Trial:
Name..........Category........Time.....Placing

Kevin Adam........5..............23:58.....11th

Barry Carswell....Master.........22:01.....15th

Scott Matty.......Master.........20:59.....4th

Steve Murray......Master.........21:32.....12th

Darren Sorrells...Master.........22:47.....18th


Scott Matty & Barry Carswell

The circuit race was a 2.6 mile loop with four turns. There was some wind and open expanse which raised the difficulty level for the team. The Master’s had 10 laps and they hammered from the start. The race kicked off and the pace started up from there. The TEAM One/Memorial Health team had a large group and they were probing and sending off guys to test the waters early. One of their strong men, Steve Carrell, went solo at around 3 or 4 laps in. His team worked to block and cover any attacks, but the peleton worked and pulled him in with two laps to go. We only had our Master’s group racing the circuit and we almost had the full team. We didn’t have a clear strategy as many of our riders are just finding their fitness. We did not do much other than ride the pack. Steve Dozier went up in the first lap and did a pull. Scott Matty did go up and work with some of the Outspokin team to pull in Steve Carrell. The rest of us just worked to keep from getting dropped. All our guys finished what was basically a 1-2 race. The average speed for 26 miles was 24.9 mph. The high points were the finale where several riders from the CBR were in good position. Scott did some good work to plow the road and lead out Barry and Butch toward the finish. Butch got blocked out on the final turn and still managed a top 10. Barry was in the final sprint and pulled off 3rd place. Phenomenal effort considering he didn’t feel like he had the legs at the beginning of the race. I thought I was in a good spot half way to turn four on the final lap when I got enveloped in the surge and then put in everything I had after the final turn. I had about 1000 meters to cover and I made up some positions but the legs could not do it. I passed Scott within sight of the finish, but he passed me back. My legs were shot. It was a very good race for the team. We fielded our first good sized group and everyone rode and finished the race with two top 10’s and a podium.

Circuit Race
Name..............Category..Placing

Butch Brookins.....Master...10
Barry Carswell.....Master...3
Steve Dozier.......Master...23
Glenn Kalnins......Master...24
Scott Matty........Master...15
Steve Murray.......Master...16
Darren Sorrells....Master...17


The road race is where the weekend gets its’ name. The town is Perry and South Georgia’s version of cobbles are Georgia red clay dirt roads. Each lap had a section. The route was hilly, had dirt roads and rain was pending all day long. The cat 5 men took four riders and it was the first race for two of the men. The C5 guys finished prior to the rain. They had their work cut out for them as the field broke apart in the first lap. Jeff Davis made the 10 man break and did too much work on the front and also took a spill on the “Georgia Pave” (dirt road). Jeff lost the lead group and fell back into the chase group. The rest also had their own trials and tribulations, but ended the day upright and with their first race of the season under their respective belts. Unfortunately Barry was the sole Master there and he got to finish his race in the rain. For Barry, the previous day’s efforts were torturing his legs, but he rode very, very well. The “Pave” also took its toll with wrecks in the master’s field. Barry spent several minutes pulling some guys handlebars out of his Krysiums. He finished the day in 8th place. A three man group went off the front and he was the 5th finisher in the field. His overall weekend results were 6th overall. All in all, a fine weekend of racing.

Perry-Roubaix Road Race
Name.........Category.....Placing

Kevin Adams.....5.........30
Barry Carswell..Master....8
Jeff Davis......5.........29
Shane Irvin.....5.........25
Bill Swain......5.........26

Congratulations to all the mountain and road racers on a fine weekend!!