November 2005

11-1-2005 No More Night Riding at Chicopee  From SORBA-Gainesville: "I received an email this afternoon that I was hoping I would never get. I was told we are not to have any more night rides. If you are riding at Chicopee on nights were there is no scheduled ride please stop. We will not be allowed to have night rides at all for now.

Someone broke the gate to the park last night. (Trish's note: Sunday night) They don't know who  it was other than a truck was parked in the bike parking lot after dark and got locked in. Instead of going and asking to be let out or going around it they broke it down. Gainesville SORBA will have to replace the gate and we are not allowed to have night rides any more.

I know the guidelines we had before us were not liked by most bikers but none the less we had to follow them. They were not my rules or rules of Gainesville SORBA's but rules we agreed to follow if we were to have rides after dark in the park. This sets us way back in the eyes of the park. We may be able to find a solution but for now we are not to ride after dark in Chicopee. Sorry to bring you all bad news. Thank you, Blake Sexton,  Gainesville SORBA"

David Farabaugh (Cycleworks) looks for the thing he lost over the last barrier at Indian Springs. Those barriers are sneaky devils...stealing stuff! :)
 

11-3-2005 Augusta CX Press Release: "Locals Look to Shine at Outspokin’ Augusta Cylocross Race University of South Carolina Student Leads Elite Women’s Field Going Into “Home” Race

Augusta: North-Augusta resident Samantha Williams aims to increase her hold on the overall lead of the Elite Women’s category of the Maxxis Georgia Cross series as it makes an appearance in Augusta this weekend for the Outspokin’ Augusta Cyclocross race. The fourth race of the statewide series takes place this Sunday, November 6, at the Augusta State University athletic complex on Wrightsboro Rd. Racing begins at 10 AM.

Ms Williams, who races for the Alan Factory team, has already won two races in the ten-event series. She took second in the only race she didn’t win, which was in Macon. Coming into this weekend, the University of South Carolina graduate student has a firm grasp on the overall lead.

Augusta is also represented in the Elite Men’s competition by Nate Zukas of the Colavita/CSRA squad. Zukas finished third in the season opener at Ft.Yargo. He injured his knee badly the following week in a crash in Macon. As a result he has dropped to tenth place in the overall results. A good result in Augusta will likely put him back in contention for the overall series. The fast course located next to the Christenberry Field House will certainly suit his abilities, as well as Ms Williams.

This is the first year the five-year old series has ventured into Augusta. If not for the intense lobbying efforts of event organizer Ross Douglas the event might not have come this far down I-20. “It has taken a couple of years to convince the Georgia Cross series organizers to come to Augusta”, said Douglas, “but I know they will be pleased when they get here. The course at the ASU complex is tremendous and our organization is ready to set the standard in Georgia cyclocross”.

Next weekend the series will head back to metro-Atlanta for a race in Marietta, Georgia. The series will then venture into Hendersonville, North Carolina. Following the jaunt out of state, the city of Monroe will hold the Georgia State ‘Cross Championship. The series finale will take place in Athens, December 4.

Aaron's Professional Women's Team Aaron’s Corporate Furnishings sponsors new women’s pro cycling team Atlanta, GA—While the team is not actually new, the Aaron’s Cycling Team is adding a full women’s professional team that will travel around the U.S. racing in NRC races. The team will be headlined by Shannon Hutchison, winner of last year’s Athens Twilight Criterium and podium finisher at the USPRO Criterium Championships. “We are very excited about sponsoring an elite women’s team that will represent Aaron’s across the nation,” said Ed Quinones, President of Aaron’s Corporate Furnishings, “The development of this team is a part of our continued commitment to the exciting sport of cycling.” Aaron’s Corporate Furnishings was the only team at the 2005 USPRO Criterium Championship to put two riders in the top five—Shannon Hutchison and Jen McRae. The Aaron’s Cycling Team will also include a men’s regional elite team and a club team (L5Flyers) based in Atlanta, Georgia. Spin Sports Inc., the same team management company that runs the Jittery Joe’s-Zero Gravity team out of Athens, GA, will manage the women’s elite team. Micah Rice will serve as the General Manager of the team, while Jeremy Krupat will act as Director.
The Aaron’s Cycling Team will be proud to be riding Bianchi Bicycles and wearing the always stylish Hincapie Sportswear.


Aaron’s Corporate Furnishings is dedicated to providing quality brand-name home or office furniture available to rent or lease. They offer free office consultations and same day delivery in most areas while providing short-term rentals at guaranteed low prices. For more store locations and more information, please visit www.aaronrents.com. For more information about Aaron’s Cycling Team, please visit www.aaronscyclingteam.com.
 

Press Releases Does YOUR team have a press release? Email it to me at sttarlite at hotmail dot com.

Things That Make You Go "Huh?" The discussion on one of the local message boards this week has been "the trainer broke my bike." I've had the Casati on a trainer since 1998 with no ill effects. I've never seen a bike break on a trainer. I've never known anyone to have a trainer break their bike. There are some things that just make me say "Huh?"

Indian Springs CX Photos I'm about 3/4 of the way through putting up the photos from Indian Springs. Thursday night I will finish the Men's C/Juniors/Women's B, so check back for the complete list. There are nearly 700 photos. The Men's A will be up by Sat.

These photos were taken by a teammate of mine that used to be a professional photographer. They are REALLY good--up close, lots of action shots. He got 2-4 photos of every in each race. Visit: http://sadlebred.smugmug.com

11-7-2005 The Greenville (SC) News had a great lead editorial the other day that follows the death of three cyclists in Upstate SC in the last few weeks.

2006 National Mountain Bike Series Schedule
May 5-7 - Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park, San Dimas, California
June 10-11 - Sugar Mountain Resort, Banner Elk, North Carolina
June 17-18 - Mount Snow Resort, West Dover, Vermont
July 8-9 - Deer Valley Resort, Park City, Utah
August 5-6 - Brian Head Resort, Brian Head, Utah
August 12-13 - Snowmass Resort, Aspen, Colorado

Awesome! There is a stop at Sugar Mountain! I'll be there!!

What Not to Wear I ran across the web page of jerseys-What Not to Wear. Hilarious! Also, Cycling Fashion Dos and Don'ts

Women's A Cyclocross In one of the closest battles for the leader's jersey in the history of the Women's A Cyclocross category, Samantha "Sam" Williams (Alan Factory) and Kim "No Pedal" Sawyer (Travel Girl) have been going head to head week after week. The competition is almost tied. Wojtek (GTC) has come up with a unique way to break the tie in the event these ladies have the same number of points at the end of the series. You will need Quicktime to see these:

Dance 1
Dance 2

Does this remind you of a really bad wedding reception? Yes, this is Romanian Polka Music. Even Wojtek, who is Polish and speaks several languages, understands none of it.

Dub Smith (NARC) and Brad Harper (Cycleworks) battle it out in the Masters 35+ at the Augusta Cyclocross race on Sunday
 

For the Disco-Philes Four USA races for Discovery Channel Discovery Channel will race in four major events in the United States for the 2006 season. The top American team released its 2006 racing schedule, dominated by the ProTour series as well as stops on the domestic circuit. The team is slated to race in the Tour of California, Tour de Georgia, USPro Championships and GP San Francisco GP, with more races to be added as the season fills out. Discovery Channel won last year's Tour de Georgia with Tom Danielson and will be looking to try to win the inaugural Tour of California, which announced its route last week.

Augusta CX Photos My Augusta CX photos are up.

Indian Springs CX Photos My teammate Doug Gravino took over 700 photos of the Indian Springs CX race. He's a former professional photographer, and the photos he took are fantastic! Check them out!

11-8-2005 Myogenesis Nutrition Presented by Landmark Dodge The new team Myogenesis Nutrition Presented by Landmark Dodge has announced their 2006 roster:
Chad Madan
Cleve Blackwell
Brady Rogers
Travis Sherman
Ron Williams
Erich Mattei
Brent Faulk
David Hall
Casey Magner
Jonathan Atkins

The team will ride Blue Competition Cycles. Maxxis Tires will supply the rubber that graces the Cane Creek wheels. The riders will wear Smith Optics glasses.

The team will be working with Camp Sunshine (www.mycampsunshine.org ) this year. They will be
sending kids to camp this summer. There are camp sponsorship opportunities throughout the year. anyone interested can contact Brady Rogers at mtbjockey@yahoo.com or speak with any of the team members listed above.

Chicopee Work Party From Gainesville SORBA: Chicopee Work Party, Chicopee Woods MTB Park Other Information: This Saturday morning we will continue work on the Outer Loop reroute project. We will get started at 9:30am. Please come 15 minutes or so early to get signed in. Wear good work shoes and bring water to drink throughout the work day. Hope to see you there. We are usually done for the day around 2:00pm Lunch will be provided. Thank you, Blake Sexton Gainesville SORBA
 

GAP Banquet It appears the GAP Banquet will be Dec. 17th at Hawkes Creek Farm?? Along with a cyclocross race...weird.

Jed Schneider (Alan Factory) in mid flight over the barriers. Jed won the Men's A race in Augusta.

11-10-2005 Marietta Cyclocross From Daryl Sawyer:

For the 4th year, the Georgia Cross Series comes to Marietta this Sunday. Like in the past 2 years, riders can expect to find the longest and fastest course of the series. Being the 5th race in the 10 race series, the racers are settling into their overall standings with some highly contested categories. With the race being the week before the double UCI races weekend, everyone will be fine tuning their skills in preparation for some real heavy competition. The course will have something for everyone: long asphalt, power grass sections, and the technical loose dirt sections. There will be 3 obstacle sections (2 wooden barriers, the infamous run-up from last year, and a new unseen dismount) and 2 pits. Gone from last year's course is the zigzag dismount.

The Georgia Chapter of Velo Bella is once again giving away a CX Survival Goody Bag (while supplies last) to all first timer women cx racers. The bags will be at registration - just say that this is your first cx race to get the bag. These bags are stuffed with all kinds of cool stuff, so drag your girlfriends, wives, and teammates out and throw them on a bike!

There will also be a short Skills Session of 20-30 minutes for the ladies at the Marietta race. This would include the "Classic" techniques dismounting and remounting (flying remounts), bike carrying over barriers, bike carrying up hills, etc. email sttarlite@hotmail.com if you are interested.

Scott Hodge (GTC and owner of the awesome Addictive Cycles) crests the top of the steep hill run up in Augusta. Many of the men were able to ride it.

 

 11-12-2005 Charlotte Trail News From Neal Boyd:
"Greetings everyone, I have compiled a couple emails I recently received about several ongoing mountain bike trail projects in the piedmont of NC. All of these projects are solely built by VOLUNTEERS, the same people that frequently ride the trails. I urge you to take a couple hours on
the weekend and help out. Your assistance is desperately needed and of course, greatly appreciated.

Lake Norman State Park(Troutman) - Bob Karriker is making progress toward the completion of Phase III. The going, unfortunately has been slow as volunteers have been somewhat scarce. The new trail will almost DOUBLE the existing length of the park, making LNSP's Itusi Trail a true
destination with over 14 miles of trails. For details, visit www.firstflightbikes.com

Fisher Farm Park(Davidson) - Mark Sullivan and crew have been making significant progress on the construction of Phase II at Fisher Farm in Davidson. The crew has cleared the corridor and is in the grubbing and grooming stage at this time.

Harrisburg Short Track(Harrisburg) - Rick Hoffarth has been leading a team that is constructing a short track race course in Harrisburg. According to Rick, Section 1 of 4 is grubbed and waiting for berm building. Section 2 of 4 needs grubbing on the last third of the section, benching in the middle, and a berm near the end. Section 3 of 4 needs grubbing. Section 4 of 4 is ready to ride. Plan on joining Rick and company  at 9:00 am at the Pavilion in the Harrisburg Park. A crew of 6-8
people will make the trail rideable, though not complete.

Mt Holly Stay tuned for information on trail construction at Mt. Holly off Hwy 16, 500+ acres on the water! This property has the potential of twenty five miles of prime mountain bike trails.
www.tarheeltraiblazers.com

Uhwarrie National Forest(Albemarle) Thanks for your past interest in  and support of UMBA's trail development efforts in the Uwharries. Just wanted to drop you a quick note to invite you to join us for a trail care day. We'll be out on November 20th and December 4th, weather permitting. We had planned to get out November 13th, but just couldn't get our  schedules to jive. Visit the www.rideumba.com for more details.

If you haven't heard, the USFS is in the process of revising it's Forest Plan for the Uwharrie National Forest. Several of us have been attending the meetings and are doing our best to make sure that the "desired conditions" for mountain biking in the Uwharries are kept on the table. Among the "desired conditions" we're pushing are: completion of the planned Wood Run MTB Trail System and "improved" camping facilities near the MTB trails. Check the UMBA message board for more details as they develop. www.rideumba.com

Sunday's Big Stampede at Charlotte Motor Speedway kicks off at 9:00. www.bigstampede.com Per4mance Training's Interactive Zone with multiple Computrainers to race against your friends or the pros! Check your wattage and learn all sorts of new ways to get better on the bike! The Trailblazers are sponsoring the Southside Spanker on the North Side of Town, 25 and 50 miles, fully supported road rides! Food by Lola's after then event! www.charlottemtnbike.com

11-14-2005 GA CX on Cyclingnews.com Cyclingnews.com Ondrej Dlask, who is battling with Jed Schneider for the overall in the GA Cross series, was interviewed this week on cyclingnews.com.

Georgia Share the Road License Plates From Georgia Bikes: The following is an update on the Georgia SHARE THE ROAD specialty licenseplate. If you want an shorter version, please see the right column of the www.georgiabikes.org homepage. Georgia SHARE THE ROAD Specialty License Plate (and a little race with NASCAR) From GEORGIA BIKES! -- November 8, 2005

The Georgia SHARE THE ROAD specialty license plate is finally going to happen...once the state receives 1,000 applications of $25 each. So let’s make it quick and fun. Let’s turn it into a friendly, unofficial, competition with the new NASCAR plates to be the first to the 1,000-point line.
 

How do you apply for your plate? You can apply for the Georgia SHARE THE ROAD plate starting on Tuesday, January 3 at the local “tag office” in your county of residence (an apply-by-mail option is in the works too). The application fee is $25. Be sure to receive and save your receipt. This receipt can be used later as credit toward each plate’s manufacturing fee. The fee will also be refundable in the unlikely event that fewer than 1,000 applications are logged by the end 2007.
 

Can we really get to 1,000 applications first? Our team may be helped by the fact that NASCAR fans already have so many opportunities to show their support of the sport and their favorite drivers.
We, on the other hand, have a number of reasons for wanting the plate beside the obvious and direct “Share The Road” and “Thank You” messages. For example, the plates show that cyclists own motor vehicles and that they pay fuel and other taxes and fees. There are also lots of people who want to support safer roadways and cycling because they have friends and family that bike. We like to think too that there are more people who own and ride bicycles in the state giving us a larger base.
Remember though, this is really win-win competition. Select funds from both the SHARE THE ROAD and NASCAR plates will be directed to the Governor’s Office Of Highway Safety for use in motorist and cyclist safety, education, and awareness projects and programs.
 

How do you get your plate? Once the 1,000 applications threshold is crossed (hopefully we will have won the race with NASCAR), the state will begin manufacturing the plates. These will be distributed to those county tag offices where applications were submitted. You will have the option of getting the plate then or waiting for your normal tag renewal date. The fees will be a one-time, $25, plate manufacturing fee (which will be credited upon showing your application receipt) and the annual, $25,
specialty license plate fee. You are still responsible for your standard, annual, $20, registration fee and any of your applicable ad valorem taxes.

Where do the extra fees go? In regards to the annual, $25, SHARE THE ROAD specialty license plate fee, the state says that “subject to the general appropriations process, it is the intent of the General Assembly that all such funds shall be utilized by the Governor’s Highway Safety Program to provide for motorist and bicyclist safety and interaction education and awareness programs and media campaigns; adult and child bicycling safety training, workshops, and educational materials; assistance in forming local bicycle advisory committees; law enforcement education and implementation programs for policing by bicycle and policing to improve bicycling conditions; and 'share the road/yield to bicycles/bicyclists may use full lane' sign installations.” FYI for the NASCAR
plates, $14.75 of their $25 annual specialty plate fee is intended to go to the Governors Office Of Highway Safety.

What should you do? You should apply for your Georgia SHARE THE ROAD specialty license plate by going to your local county tag office with your identification and $25 on January 3, or one day soon after that. Help secure the future of this specialty license plate. Be part of the winning team in the little race with NASCAR. And assist in getting of these important tags out “on the road” as soon as possible.

Dude, Let's Go Surfing!

Marietta CX I have my Marietta Cyclocross Photos up. Thanks to Daryl Sawyer and Crew for a GREAT cross race. This is truly one of the gems of the Georgia cross series! A superb job as always! Those of you that aren't racing cross, don't know what you are missing! Even my DH had a good time at his first cyclocross race!
 

2006 Calendar I'm slowly but surely working on the 2006 calendar. I expect that more race schedules will be released after Jan. 1, 2006. I'll probably post the calendar after the holidays. There really is nothing on it right now. Promoters: Please email me your 2006 race series dates to sttarlite at hotmail dot com!

11-16-2005 WBL Unofficial Rides Announcing: The official start of the Official Unofficial Rides. Beginning this Saturday, 19 November, rides will begin at 10 a.m. from Sunshine Cycles in downtown Athens. This weekend and the next will be the warm-up events before the real deal begins on 3 December. Join the gang this Saturday (Nov. 19) for the We Loathe Canadians festival ride, a 3 hour jaunt towards Quebec.

Check out the updated www.winterbikeleague.com site for a little new info. Much more to follow.



It takes a lot of tape to put on the Marietta CX race.

11-17-2005 WBL News All information concerning the first event on 3 December is now posted. Go to www.winterbikeleague.com and click on "December 3, 2005" and all pertinent info will appear. The first event will be a fundraiser for the UGA Cycling Team. Give til it hurts.

US Pro Championships To Greenville The USPRO road championships will be held over Labor Day weekend in Greenville, SC. This is very cool! They have been in Philly since their inception. I'm sure more details will be coming out in the next few months. '

Camp Highland Race Team News One of the Camp Highland Race Team's young, developing cat-2 riders, Christopher Allison, has been accepted to attend the Classics Program at the US Cycling Center in Belgium in the spring of 2006. Chris is excited to spend March 1 through mid-June training and racing with the best young cyclists from the USA in Belgium. The program could keep him over longer than that but, typically, first year participants are limited to this 3-1/2 month period. The team is really proud of the hard work and discipline that Chris has put in to make his dream a reality, and they are hopeful that he will have a positive experience in Europe.

For 2006, the Camp Highland Team news has doubled in size (12 to 24!) since its inception last year. They look forward to fielding excellent cat-2, cat-3, masters and womens teams in 2006 as the remaining M cat-4's move up to the 3's. The team will be working hard to be successful in the GA Cup events as well as many of the other SE regional races next year. Several of the newer members will be very active in the 2006 fall GA Cyclocross Series and may make the trip to Nationals next winter.

Last, Camp Highland will be sharing host responsibilities along with new teammate/organizer Mitchell Askew at the Tundra Time Trial event on the Silver Comet, Saturday, February 18, 2006. The team is really looking forward to getting more involved with the SE cycling scene in 2006.
 

11-21-2005 Lost Wheel at the Bud Plant Email bhunter@econolite.com From Bill Hunter: "On Sunday 11/13/05, I found a high end road wheel late in the day in the Budweiser Plant parking lot (45 miles north of Atlanta). Please post this so that the person who lost it can call me to describe it and get it back. My number is 404-885-9133. Thanks,  Bill bhunter@econolite.com"

Please email Bill!!!  (not me)

NC UCI CX Photos Yep, got my NC UCI CX Photos up at sadlebred.smugmug.com. Don't forget that you can purchase the photos on the website!

Lost Wheelset in NC B Men's Sunday winner Oscar Clark accidentally left his spare wheelset at the UCI CX race in NC. The front is a 600 (Ultegra) hub with a campy rim and tufo tire. The rear is an ultegra hub with open pro rim and Maxxis tire. Email Oscar at oscarclrk at yahoo dot com if you found them.

11-22-2005 Happy Ending I'm happy to report that Oscar and his wheelset will be reunited. The race promoter found them.

Thanksgiving It's Thanksgiving week. Things are a little slow in the news department.

Travis Neumuller (NARC-Free Flite) flies over one of the barriers in the Masters 35+ race in Hendersonville on Saturday.
 

11-23-2005 Jittery Joes 2006 Roster From Cyclingnews.com: A few new faces, along with some returners, will be pushing pedals and coffee around North America next season for the Jittery Joe's-Zero Gravity team. Returning to the squad is Australian sprinter Jeff Hopkins, along with Evan Elken and Craig Wilcox. New faces to the team include Australian Trent Wilson from Colombia-Selle Italia, Neil Shirley from Seasilver, Phil Wong from Fiordifrutta, Austin King from the Belgian Cycle Center, Marc Anderson from Loco's Deli and Pub and neo-pro Peter Hatton from Australia.  "We are really excited about our new additions for next year, " said Micah Rice, General Manager. "We have Trent Wilson who has finished the Giro the last couple of years and neo-pro Peter Hatton who won the KOM jersey and finished 5th overall in Australia's Sun Tour last month.
Another addition of note is former Jittery Joe's pro Jesse Lawler who will be working as the team director in 2006. "Jesse was my team-mate on Zaxby's before riding with Jittery Joe's for all four years," said Micah Rice, "it is a perfect situation because we already know how each other work and he has a lot of experience to bring to the staff side of the table."

2006 Jittery Joe's-Zero Gravity Roster
Jeff Hopkins
Evan Elken
Craig Wilcox
Trent Wilson
Neil Shirley
Marc Anderson
Phil Wong
Peter Hatton
Austin King


Well, I'm not really quite sure what Tim Barrett (Free Flite) was doing. It was about 45 degrees out.

11-27-2005 Vickery Creek, Island Ford Open for MTBing?  From SORBA:

Alert MTBer, John Burch received notice that off-road bicycling is on the table for consideration by the National Park Service and Kevin G. Cheri, Superintendent, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.  They are looking for feedback at a meeting on Tuesday Dec.13 at the Chattahoocee Nature center 6:30PM to 9:00PM. There is a feedback site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/commentForm.cfm?projectID=11174&documentId=13100

Mark your calendars to provide support for our noble sport and new local mountain biking trails.

Trish's note: I barely remember the Vickery Creek trails being open to mtbers back in 96-97 right before I moved here. It would be good to get riding established there again!

Upstate SC Winter Bike League The Upstate of SC is starting their own WBL starting Dec. 3. Details can be found here.

Covington CX Photos I have posted the photos from the Covington CX race.

Cyclocross Dance Movies **~HOT~**!  There are two new dance movies from the Covington Cyclocross race. See the ladies of cross giving it all they got! You must have Quicktime to view the movies.

Dance 1
Dance 2

11-28-2005 WBL Starts Saturday! That's right! The "other season" is about to begin with the Commerce Classic. From the WBL: "Zealots: Please check out the new and improved WBL website at www.winterbikeleague.com.

And don't forget: 1st event this Saturday, 3 December 2005: Ye Ole Commerce Classic, a benefit ride for the University of Georgia Cycling team. Remember to give freely to the UGA cycling team. And don't forget to tip the sag driver too. The weather will be clear and dry, per my orders. Come one, come all. Let's see what you have. Briggs (no longer a gentleman)."

Jansen Linder (Apalachee Cycles-Cycle Youth) ascends the runup at Covington.

SORBA Gainesville Xmas Party From SORBA-Gainesville:  "This coming Saturday Dec 3rd, Gainesville SORBA will gather at Chicopee Woods MTB Park to celebrate the holidays. We will have two rides scheduled for the day. 9:30am – Ride will cover the entire trail system of Chicopee and Gainesville College. It will be a similar route to the Ruta Del Hall we do every year. It will cover around 20 miles of mountain biking. The ride will leave the parking lot of Chicopee at 9:30am. 10:30am – We will have a social ride that will cover 7-10 miles of Chicopee trail with a slower more relaxed pace in mind. 1:00pm – We will have food, and hot chocolate. Hope to see you all there. Pass the word around. If you have questions please feel free to email gainesville@sorba.org.  We will not have the event if we have wet or bad weather. Thank you, Blake Sexton Gainesville SORBA"

Lee Farabaugh (Cycleworks) runs up the railroad ties in Covington. Lee took 3rd in her first cyclocross race.

Ooookkkkk From Georgia Bikes: Cycling Facilities At Lake Lanier Islands *Build Your Own Resort*

It just so happens that Lake Lanier Islands is under new ownership (LLI Management/the Virgil Williams family of Gwinnett County) and they are looking at "enhancing the recreational experience on the Islands." They have an on-line survey called "Build Your Own Resort" found at http://www.lakelanierislands.com/.

Note that the survey has a specific vote item for "Mountain Bike Course."

If Cathy's idea and/or the mountain bike course item appeal to you,  please complete the survey asking for such a cycling-and-running track and/or voting "yes" for a MTB course.

11-29-2005 Tour De Georgia 2006 Host Cities The Tour De Georgia has announced the 2006 host cities. See the TdG website for more info.

Stages and Host Cities – 2006 Tour de Georgia
Stage 1: Tuesday, April 18 – Augusta, Ga. to Macon, Ga.
• Augusta: Third year to host the Tour, with a Stage Start venue in 2003 and Overall Start in 2005
• Macon: Fourth consecutive year as a host city, having participated as a Stage Finish and Stage Start in 2003, a one-day Stage Circuit in 2004, and a Stage Finish in 2005

Stage 2: Wednesday, April 19 – Fayetteville, Ga. to Rome, Ga.
• Fayetteville: Returns to the Tour for a second consecutive year as a Stage Start
• Rome: Fourth consecutive year as a host city, having participated as a Stage Finish in 2003, 2004 and 2005, and having hosted the Individual Time Trial in 2004 and 2005

Stage 3: Thursday, April 20 – Individual Time Trial from Chickamauga/Walker Co., Ga. to Chattanooga, TN.
• Chickamauga/Walker Co.: Hosts a Tour stage for the first time, with the start of the ITT
• Chattanooga: First city outside the state of Georgia to host the Tour, with the finish of the ITT

Stage 4: Friday, April 21 – Dalton, Ga. to Dahlonega, Ga.
• Dalton: Fourth consecutive year as a Stage Start and home to professional cyclist Saul Raisin
• Dahlonega: Third consecutive year as a Stage Finish, and bringing its renowned Bear in the Square festival to Tour fans

Stage 5: Saturday, April 22 – Blairsville/Union Co., Ga. to Brasstown Bald Mountain/Towns Co., Ga.
• Blairsville/Union County: Returns for second consecutive year as a Stage Start
• Brasstown Bald Mountain/Towns County: A third consecutive stint as a Stage Finish, with its epic finish on The Bald, the highest peak in Georgia, and compared to the Alpe d'Huez of the Tour de France

Stage 6: Sunday, April 23 – Cumming, Ga. to Alpharetta, Ga.
• Cumming/Forsyth County: Inaugural Stage host for the Tour, with a Stage Start on the final day, in conjunction with the Taste of Forsyth; was a Sprint line host community in 2004 and 2005
• Alpharetta: A third year as the Overall Finish host city, with its signature four-mile finishing circuit

 Final CX Races The final 2 CX races of the year are this Sunday in Monroe, GA. Several of the overalls are very close! The state championships are on Saturday. Come out and cheer everyone on!

The Women's A Podium from the Covington CX: 4th-Holly Longley (NARC), 2nd-Kari Linder (Bad Lasses), 1st-Samantha Williams (Alan), 3rd-Trish Albert (OTR-Strenflex), 5th-Stephanie Gamble (Outspokin)