Nicki Sutherland is the ultimate southern lady. Not only does she live in Columbus, Georgia in the heart of the south, She is originally from South Africa. (That is really south!) Nicki has dominated the Sport women's class this year and may move to expert next year.
BUMP & GRIND
Paul's Single Speed take on the race.....I think I got 17th out of 25 single speeders. Man there was a bunch of
them, our category had all ages and classes combined. I ran a 32X17, I think I could have pushed a 32X16 to help from spinning out on the flat sections but really would have paid on the climb up the mtn. I had to
dismount right before the bridge and walked for about 15 or so feet. I just couldn't turn the cranks.....
I think most guys were riding 29er's but feel the way to go was 26er, those 29er's didn't seem to handle well in the tight stuff due to their longish wheelbase. I had a good time and the cramps didn't show up until mile 11....I forgot to take my pills.
Nicki's write up....I had a good race. I was very excited. At the start, there was a girl that dashed off faster than jack flash, and I tried to keep up with her for a bit, and then was like "no point in blowing myself up, it's a long race!" I was able to catch up with her at that first section of the woods after we got off the road, and then once I passed her I didn't see her again...thankfully. My goal for this race is always to get to the bottom of the climb up the mountain as fast as I can so that I have distance and time between me and the other rides in case I just can't keep cranking. I felt like I had a good climb up the mountain.. It was painful, but it seemed to go by a lot faster than I was expecting. Maybe it's because I was expecting another feed zone at the top and after the feed zone before the bridge, I kept looking for more people, and they never came. Then all of a
sudden, I was at the top and I was like "THANK YOU!"...
After that, I just wanted to stay focused, not make mistakes and enjoy the ride. I find that pushing the 2 miles down that fire road after the climb can be painful too from time to time. once you dip into the downhill section toward blood rock, that's really when the fun starts. I cleared blood rock and that gave me a boost to roll through the rest of that fast section with more confidence.
I finished first, just behind 1 of the girls that started in the age group ahead of us. When I came up on her, I tried to catch her, but she was pretty fast through the woods and I wasn't able to close the distance. 1:24...I only started to feel a few twinges of cramping toward the last mile and 1/2, and only on those last few climbs, so I feel like that was a good thing.
GSC#3 - Fort Yargo, GA 04/29/2007
Today we had perfect racing conditions. Finally some warm weather (which we may not be so thankful for come mid summer) and a perfectly dry trail. I was feeling a little shaky before the start of the race. Not the nervous shaky, but the low-blood sugar shaky. I don't know if it was because I didn't eat enough pre-race, or maybe the sudden heat was draining me more than I realize. Either way, after GO, I tried to get myself motivated to get out of the starting blocks and first into the woods. I was being closely tailed by Emily (the girl in 2nd) which was a huge motivator to keep me pushing and not back off. After about 3 miles, I couldn't hold the pace and had to back off and allow Emily to pass. I recovered and continued to push myself to at least keep her in sight. This paid off as 2 miles from the end of the first lap, I was able to pass her again on a climb. Again, she remained right behind me. We chase into the start of the second lap, and I slow down to feed, at which point, she takes the opportunity to pass. I got back into rhythm, and tried to not let her get away from me too much. About 5 miles into the second lap, I came up on her again, managed to pass, and somehow managed to push past and never saw her again. It was a good race with the two of us challenging each other the whole way.
more results:
Jose came in 8th
Gabriel came in 2nd
Samuel came in 2nd
Gabe D junior came in 2nd.
good day for all! =)
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