11-11-2008 My Rome Photos My Rome Photos are up at http://sadlebred.smugmug.com. I have all divisions up now.

ACC Blog The Augusta Cross Coalition has a blog here: www.augustacrosscoalition.blogspot.com

Chris and the Squirrel Update I'm happy to say that Chris is feeling better after his encounter with a squirrel last Tuesday. His shoulder is still really sore, but it's coming along.

Rome Cross Coverage The Local Rome Paper had some coverage of the cross race on Sunday.

Do You Have Any News?  Do you have any news that you would like to submit? Is your club planning something special? Does your team have an announcement? Please email me at sttarlite@hotmail.com. I'd love to post it! Other than cyclocross, news is light right now.

11-12-2008 Chicopee Night Ride From SORBA Gainesville:  The land manager has signed off on a proposal to allow supervised group night rides at Chicopee! The first night ride is scheduled for Thursday, 11/20/08 at 6:00 PM. As last year, everyone must be in the park before the main Elachee gate closes at around 6:00 PM and we must ride in a group or groups led by a designated ride leader and a designated sweep for each group. There may also be a charge for each ride in order to pay for a security guard. As the details get finalized I'll post them up here and on gainesvilleSORBA.org.


Please note, Riding after dark is only allowed at Chicopee during SORBA sanctioned group rides and anyone caught riding the trails after dark is subject to ticketing by the Gainesville City Police and also jeopardizes the future of legal sanctioned night riding at Chicopee. This is a BIG deal with the land manager as they have to protect the Elachee property as well as the golf course and we almost did not get the privilege to have night rides due to several selfish riders last year. Please, if you or someone you know is riding or planning to ride at Chicopee after dark, join the group ride and don't spoil this privilege for the rest of us.

WBL News From the WBL: The WBL home opener is scheduled for less than 4 weeks away. The natives are restless. Plenty of action planned for first event including a visit from Super-Zealots Ryan Rhino Barnett and Drewdini Johnston. Details for this 72 mile event are now posted at www.winterbikeleague.com. Plenty o stuff to giveaway too. The December calendar is:
6 December: The First Official Event: The Old Monroe Highway Jubilee (3.5 hours)
13 December: The Braselton Blister Session (4 hours) details coming.
20 December: The Commerce Classic (3 hours) details coming
27 December: The Farmington Fiasco (3 hours) details coming
1 January: The D-ville Disaster: 1st Sprint ride (3 hours) (Non Pros, 1s, 2s only!) details coming
3 January: Ladies Day: Ladies final sprint only. Intermediate $print$ for all. 4 hours.
The following ride sponsors are already on board:

* Porterfield Tire
* Jittery Joes
* Atlantis Hydroponics
* Pacesetter Steel

If you would like to be a sponsor sign up now. Sponsor a ride for $100 or $200 (World Cup), or sponsor a sprint for $25. All cash goes to rider winning event/sprint. Want to volunteer 1 weekend to sag? Sign up now. $50 minimum guaranteed
Git yo game face on. Here we come! Briggs.
 

11-13-2008 No TdG I have it on a very good source that no matter how much we want it to happen, the Tour De Georgia will not be aorund in 2009.

Upstate WBL From the SC Crew:  The Upstate Winter Bike League is about to start the fourth season of winter training rides
and you're invited to join!! All the details on ride dates, lengths, rules, points, parking, etc, can be found at www.uwbl.net!!  The rides are an absolutely great way to get in an incredible amount of winter mileage without lots of mental anguish!! The first ride takes off on Saturday, December 6th shortly after 10 AM. Announcements and ride details are shared at 10 AM and we blast off a few minutes later. Here's the best part of the ride, we have a sag that follows the group for the entire ride just in-case
you have a mechanical problem or a flat. Yes, you'll be expected to overcome personal fatigue and a route
sheet will be promptly handed to you! So, consider yourself invited to join the best winter training series in the upstate!!

OK, we have a couple of openings for a second group on the UWBL. We would like to have someone step
up to lead a second group on the 60-mile loop at a pace of 18 mph. Does that sound like you?? The second opening
is high paying!! We need a sag driver with a van to follow the group just in-case of mechanicals. In any case
it's a great way to spend a Saturday morning with an awesome group of athletes! In the past years we've had over 100
cyclists on every uwbl ride. So don't delay, grab a group of cycling friends and make a winter composite cycling
team! Good times are just a wheel away!!

Oh yea, don't forget to tip the sag drivers, else you might be left on the side of the road. Dave

Winter Avondale Pizza Ride From Mark L: Based on rider Feedback/traffic/etc.- the inaugural winter paced pizza ride will start at 6:00pm on 11/13. Sunset is at 5:36 on 11/13. If you forwarded the previous email- please forward this to same people with updated start time. As always- use your own discretion based on weather- but I’m sure there will be riders riding if temps are 40F or better.
First Ride-
Leaves Avondale Pizza Café - starting Nov 13 (weather permitting- use common sense on weather)
Bringing battery charged front and rear lights are strongly suggested
Sunset is 5:36 Nov 13
For those that might (sometimes) have a flexible work schedule…
Here’s the rationale/ride time:
1. Outdoor riding is always better than a trainer ride
2. Riding outdoors with a larger group- is more enjoyable than a solo winter ride
3. Suggested Ride Start: Leave Avondale Pizza Café at 5:15pm (if the old café location finally closes, we will move to new location)- and do a small loop at the park- if weather is great- maybe we do a large loop. Pace will be most likely be slower to the park and slower in the park than summertime Pizza ride.
4. Ride is weather permitting- i.e. use your own judgment- if it’s freezing cold/windy or raining- not many/any might show up, if it’s in the 40s or warmer a ride with a group could be a nice alternative.
For those interested- the first Winter Pizza Ride will be tomorrow- Nov 13 leaving 5:15 PM Avondale Pizza Café- weather looks to be warm- but there could be showers… if it is raining around ride start- there might not be anyone that shows… so use your own judgment

Pass this on to other riders….
 

Alabama Cycling News Classifieds From Travis Sherman:  I have my classified ad section up and running on www.alabamacyclingnews.com.  Your readers can feel free to post classifieds on the site. All they will have to do is register for the site, confirm the email that gets sent to them (verifying that they are a real person) and then load in their content. They should be cognizant of the size photo that they upload (not loading a 4000 pix wide photo), since the current module doesn’t scale the photos down for some reason. The classifieds are free to view and, currently, free to post ads. If someone feels inclined, I do have a donation box that people can leave donations (it takes credit or debit cards or Pay Pal) to help offset my expenses and fees for using the module and hosting the site."
 

Need to Put on A Race Next Year? From Tim Smith, President of Cycleworks/NGCA. you can contact him at
timsmith4242 at comcast.net If you're club is looking for an opportunity to fulfil the USA Cycling requirement as a licensed to club to promote/co-promote or organize an event, we at Team Cycleworks p/b HDR want to talk to you. We have been granted permission by GABRA and USA Cycling to have our race event weekend May 16th and 17th, 2009. If you'd like more details about how you're club can meet this USA Cycling requirement, email me directly.

Mt. Tabor Work Party From SORBA Paulding Paulding County Parks & Rec signs MOU agreement with Paudldng SORBA to begin a Mountain Bike Park located at Mt Tabor Park on 1550 East Paulding Drive in Dallas, Georgia.

Saturday Nov 15th @ 12 noon PAULDING SORBA will conduct the first official work party to start work on this project. We will begin with Corridor Clearing on this day so bring Gloves and Lopers.  http://www.pauldingsorba.org 
 

Blairsville CX This Weekend Blairsville CX this weekend!! Mountains, sunshine, coffee, hot chocolate and lots of great memories. Come join New Leaf Adventures for a day of fun and racing at the Track Rock Cyclocross challenge. This venue is as beautiful as it is challenging. If you have never tried cyclocross before we invite you to join the fun. For you seasoned riders...come test your skills and stamina. See you at Track Rock!!

Free Cross Racing For Juniors!!! All racers under 18 will be allowed to race for free in the 2008 Georgia Cross races. Bring your kids, tell the neighbors, when you’re out training and see the kid on the BMX bike sprinting against you, chase him down and tell him to try racing! All kids need to race is a helmet, two working breaks, and someone to sign their release form. The free racing is made possible by the efforts of Georgia Cross series promoters, the Georgia Bicycle Racing Association, and a grant from Dahlonega Wheelworks.

Demo Bikes Demo Bikes from Cannondale, Blue, and Trek are also available for Georgia Cross Races. Email Shey Lindner @ everett11@bellsouth.net to reserve yours. First come, first serve.

Online Registration available at sportsbaseonline.com.  This gives you free entry into the frame raffle. Sportsbaseonline.com is giving away a frame to a Georgia racer and will enter each racer who registers through them into the raffle. Click the link or go to: https://www.sportsbaseonline.com/Series.aspx?id=410  Don’t forget the series raffle, every race entered is an entry to the raffle. The raffle will be held immediately following the series finale. Must be present to win.

Fox 5 Cycling Story Fox 5 had a cycling story on the other night about sharing the road.

FFCC Update The Fulton Flyers have an update on how the team's cyclocross season is going. They are currently leading the Team Competition for the GA Cross Series.

11-14-2008 No TdG in 2009-Confirmedb Organizers have confirmed that there will be no tour De Georgia in 2009. they hope to regroup for 2010.

TdG Press Release - November 14, 2008

(Atlanta, GA) Following the conclusion of a very successful 2008 Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T, the Board of Directors of the Tour de Georgia Foundation, Inc., announced today their plans for the future of the Tour.

Speaking on behalf of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, long time member Tom Saddlemire announced that the Tour de Georgia will not be held in 2009 but will return in 2010. Mr. Saddlemire, newly retired CFO of GE Energy, explained that “with the help of the Lt. Governor, the Tour had its most successful year yet, raising close to $3.2 million in operating expenses and commitments for more than $500,000 in support of cancer research through the Aflac Cancer Center at Children’s Healthcare and the Georgia Cancer Coalition. We believe that this unique and exciting event will endure. We have decided to use 2009 as a time to plan ahead and properly position the Tour de Georgia to make the best use of the new partnerships we forged during the 2008 Tour de Georgia Presented by AT&T, such as our relationships with Blue Cross Blue Shield and Road Atlanta. The planning process for the Tour de Georgia requires a tremendous amount of time and effort and we wanted to give all of our partners enough time to plan and allocate their resources to take full advantage of the event. Therefore, we will skip 2009 and the Board will petition USAC and the UCI for the Tour de Georgia's return to the world calendar in 2010.”

Craig Lesser, former Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development said that “The Tour de Georgia was initiated by the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism (now Georgia Department of Economic Development) in 2003 with a focus on creating a world-class cycling event which fostered significant economic development, tourism and world-wide exposure. We achieved that goal. The Tour de Georgia quickly developed stature, gaining international ranking (by UCI and USA Cycling, Inc.) as a spring tradition in the professional sport of cycling. The Tour de Georgia attracted the best teams in the world and previous champions included such stars as Lance Armstrong, Tom Danielson and Chris Horner. Over the course of six years, the Tour de Georgia has attracted 3.2 million spectators, many of whom traveled to Georgia from out of state, and generated a direct economic impact totaling over $186 million. The 2008 Tour de Georgia, our most successful Tour yet, yielded over $38.6 million in direct economic impact for the State. We have come a long way since 2003.”

Chairman of the Board, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle added, “The support we received from our Georgia sponsor corporations, our host cities and the citizens of Georgia was amazing in 2008. Since April, we have had an enormous response from our partners on ways we can strengthen the Tour for the future, and we have been listening. Our host cities want to have time to prepare tourism packages and our health providers are enthusiastic about developing plans to use the Health and Wellness expos to spread their message across the state. Our cycling friends from across the state want to partner with us to create participant activities which are inclusive of the whole family. We have listened to their advice and have decided to skip one year so that the Tour de Georgia can once and for all be ahead of the game in the planning process. This is a decision I feel is wise and one that will strengthen the Tour de Georgia for years to come. I commend our Board for its thoughtfulness in arriving at this decision. We look forward to using 2009 to plan the 2010 Tour and I am committed to playing an active role in that process.”

Steve Johnson, CEO of USA Cycling, said that he “was obviously disappointed to learn that the 2009 Tour de Georgia has been cancelled for 2009. However, I am very pleased that the race will return in 2010. Since its inception in 2003, the Tour de Georgia has been an important international stage race featuring some of the top riders in the world. Equally important, it provided the impetus for major stage races in California and Missouri. We look forward to the Tour de Georgia returning in 2010.”

The Tour de Georgia Presented by AT&T is North America ’s premier professional cycling race. First held in 2003, the Tour de Georgia Presented by AT&T is an international professional sporting event that brings thousands of spectators and cycling enthusiasts to the State of Georgia each Spring . The 2008 Tour de Georgia Presented by AT&T was a six stage race, covering more than 600 miles across the State of Georgia , from the shores of Tybee Island to the mountains of North Georgia, with an exciting circuit finish in the state capitol, Atlanta. Traditionally, professional teams use the Tour de Georgia to prepare their riders for the most challenging tours held in Europe , including the Tour de France. Several teams which rode in the 2008 Tour de Georgia Presented by AT&T also participated in the 2008 Tour de France. Riders such as Christian van de Velde and George Hincapie, who were fierce competitors in the 2008 Tour de Georgia Presented by AT&T, also rode extremely well in the 2008 Tour de France. The climb up Brasstown Bald in the mountains of North Georgia, a favorite of cycling fans and a legendary stage in the professional racing circuit, is considered by professional cyclists to be the most challenging and grueling stage of any race held in North America.

For questions or further information, please contact, Phil Jacobs at 404-825-9536
 

Charlotte News Tuesday Nov 18 Charlotte Development Cyclo-Cross Series presented by Trek Bikes of Charlotte

In effort to generate more interest in cyclo-cross racing, Charlotte Sports Cycling has teamed up with the new Trek Bikes of Charlotte to host a Tuesday night cyclo-cross series which kicked off last Tuesday night at North Meck Park in Huntersville. The event went great as we had over 40 people race the twisting course at N Meck Park. The course and set up of the event received grave reviews from the race participants. The plan is to once again open the course at 5pm for riding and training with cyclo-cross guru Bob Pugh. The first set of races will start at 6:15pm and the second set of races will start at 7pm. The remaining dates for the event are Tuesdays, Nov 18 and 25 and Dec 2. Even if you don't want to race, come out and harass the people racing. You can see the whole one mile course from the finish line..its like stadium seating.

BTW, you can use a mountain bike or a cross bike on the course. For more info or to see the results, visit www.mtnbike.com
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NOVEMBER 15th - Bank of NC Short Track Series - NIGHT RACE / T-SHIRT NIGHT
The Bank of NC Short Track Series comes out after dark this week at the Harrisburg Town Park! The first 100 competitors to register will receive a custom "Racing For A Cause" t-shirt provided by the new Uptown Cycles powered by TotalCyclist. Come early to make sure you get yours! Registration opens at 4:00 pm, and racing begins at 5:00 pm. Remember, USA Cycling requires headlights and taillights. We race rain or shine.
For RESULTS FROM 11/08/08, or to view the full series flier go to www.charlottemtnbike.com . Come on out to Harrisburg and race to help eradicate polio and fund Alzheimer's research through Rotary International, and to provide affordable housing through Habitat for Humanity.
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NC Cyclo-Cross Series
Upcoming events http://www.nccyclocross.com/
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Sunday, Nov 16
Kick off the holiday season with the return of this popular Columbia, SC off road event - Race to the River. The proceeds of this mountain bike race will go to Samaritans Purse, an organization that helps families around the world. The course is a fast 6 mile singletrack loop in Harbison State Forest and sets up nicely to pit cyclocross against mountain bike.
Beginners and Women: 2 laps. Sport: 4 laps. Expert: 6 laps.

Please visit the Cycle Center website http://cyclecenter.com / for
more information on registration and the race.
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Saturday, November 15
Heel of a Race
Chapel Hill, NC

TORC, Triangle Off Road Cyclists, presents The Heel of a Race, a 6 Hour Mountain Bike endurance race in the Carolina North Forest (Chapel Hill Trails). The race course is a technically challenging, 8.1 mile single track loop. Solo and team riders are welcome.

The Race hours are 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Registration will begin at noon. (Preregistration is encouraged.) A 10W lighting system will be required for night time laps. An after-race party will be held at Tyler's Tap Room. For more information please refer to: http://www.torc-nc.org/races/hoar.shtml  See you on the bike. Neal,Charlotte Sports Cycling Inc., www.charlottesportscycling.com

Cobb County DOT Information BIKE PED PLAN
DOT recently began work on its newest county-wide planning initiative: The Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvement Plan (BPIP). This SPLOST-funded study will update the county’s Bicycle Transportation Greenway Plan of 1993. The BPIP will take an in-depth look at providing safe, convenient infrastructure for non-motorized transportation (activities such as bicycling, walking, jogging etc.) throughout Cobb County.

In addition to looking at infrastructure needs including multi-use trails, shared paths, sidewalks and on-road bicycle lanes, the plan will evaluate existing transportation and land use policies, ordinances and regulations. Other major components of the plan include the development of a Safe Routes to School program, which will be designed to help children walk or bicycle safely to schools from nearby neighborhoods. Another component is the evaluation of options for extending the Silver Comet Trail into the City of Atlanta.

Public workshops are planned for January 2009 with completion of the plan expected by October 2009. More information can be found at http://dot.cobbcountyga.gov/bikeped/
 

The Sorella Sweep Women's A podium, Holly Barrett, Tiffany Ballew, and Jenn Horn with Luca, one of the Sorellas biggest fans.

Oscar Clark (Kudzu.com) leads out the Men's A race.

11-17-2008 Blairsville Women's A Race Tiffany Ballew (Sorella Cycling) has a nice photo collage and recap of the Women's A race here.

La Ruta Final Congratulations to Thomas Turner (Outspokin Bikes-Van Michael Salon), who was 11th out of over 300 racers at the La Ruta mountain bike stage race in Costa Rica.

Blairsville Cross Photos I have all of my Blairsville Cross Photos up at http://sadlebred.smugmug.com. I have photos of the Men's A, Women B/SS/JR, Men's C, and masters.

Torre Smitherman (GTC) won the Masters 45+.

Indea Cheatham  (Sunshine-Loose Nuts) during the Women's B race in Blairsville.

11-18-2008 Aerodynamics Article Here is a great article about the cost of aerodynamic equipment and what it really costs to be aero. The testing was done at the low speed windtunnel in Charlotte, NC.

11-19-2008 Arrowhead Work Parties From SORBA OMBA:  We have two work parties in December, here are the dates and the times.

6th December @ 10 am
20th December @ 10 am

The first one we will plan on getting as many chainsaws as we can and people. Breaking off into groups and hitting the trail at different spots. If we get a bunch of help on this we could have it cut up and cleared in a hard days work. If that works out then the next one we can focus on fixing parts of the trail. So please get the gloves and saws out and help bring Arrowhead back.

Atlanta Bicycle Campaign Light Giveaway he Atlanta Bicycle Campaign invites everyone to a night ride to show the importance of bike lights (especially important during the winter months when it gets dark earlier). The inventor of the Speed Vest will be demonstrating. If you haven't seen this before, take a look at http://speedvest.com. Does your bike have lights? If not, you'll be especially interested in this event. Courtesy of REI and Free Flite Bicycles, ABC is giving away bike lights to anyone riding on a bike without a light. Ride leaves from Sopo in East Atlanta Village at 5:30PM to head over to Atlantic Station for the Tree Lighting.

Sat 11/22/2008
3:30pm - 5:30 pm light giveaway
5:30-6:30 pm ride
7:30pm tree lighting

Route goes from
Sopo Bike Co-op -> Atlantic Station
465-C Flat Shoals Ave East Atlanta Village

Power Tap TT Series Tim Kohl says that Epic Bikes will be doing this for about the next three weeks:

Epic Bikes(r) is about to start our Powertap Time Trial Series again this year. We will begin the time trial competition next week on Wednesday, November 19th. Not familiar with it? Well, it is about measuring your average wattage output for 10 minutes. We do this by first setting you up on the PT300 Powertap bike at the shop. Using your current fit on your road bike, we recreate that fit on the PT300 and allow you to warm-up for 20 minutes. Once, good and warmed up, we set you out on a 10 minute time trial (all out pace) on the machine. We record all the data such as avg speed, avg cadence, avg watts, hr, etc and than create your watts per kilogram of body weight. CycleOps PowerTap is the precise instrument that gives you access to real-time performance measurements and is accurate to within +/- 1.5%

You will than be able to base your fitness on winter goals and train accordingly. Plus, we can set up friendly competitions for some free cycling goods from vendors like Specialized, Cycleops, Defeet, Garmin, Planet Bike , and others. Sound interesting....it really is and fun. Our own Ken Barbret did one last week and his output was awesome at 3.5 watts per kilogram of body weight.

Call the store for details at 770-305-9590. Mostly flexible to accomodate your schedule but call ahead to let us know you are coming for your CRACK fix.

11-20-2008 Chily Dawg Ride #3  From Cartecay Bikes: Saturday 11/22/08 at 10am RTR Cartecay Bikes will be meeting up at the Big Creek Fire station for Chilly Dawg mania! Two routes 20 & 30 mile options. Scenic Gravel Roads! Dress warm. The Dawg will be serving chili after the ride, come out and show your bike some love. Thanks, Kevin

Call or Email for more info: Cartecay Bikes 706-635-2453 kevin at cartecaybikes.com

 11-21-2008   Fort Yargo Cyclocross State Championships November 23, 2008  Fort Yargo State Park Winder, GA
Prizes, Purse and Double-Points !
Georgia residents will also be awarded state champ medals for the top-3 places *AND* the coveted Georgia State Champion Jersey will be awarded to the top GA rider in each category. (must hold an annual USAC license with GA address to be eligible for state championship)

The course will be similar to previous editions with varying surfaces including high-speed pavement, grass, dirt, gravel and sand... deep energy-sucking sand. The terrain at Fort Yargo is challenging with roots, hills, off-camber turns and logs, also be prepared for the obligatory wooden barriers. Good luck and best wishes to all the riders!

Heads up y'all, there is a $3 parking fee at all state parks unless you have the annual state park pass.

Free Cross Racing For Juniors!!! All racers under 18 will be allowed to race for free in the 2008 Georgia Cross races. Bring your kids, tell the neighbors, when you’re out training and see the kid on the BMX bike sprinting against you, chase him down and tell him to try racing! All kids need to race is a helmet, two working breaks, and someone to sign their release form. The free racing is made possible by the efforts of Georgia Cross series promoters, the Georgia Bicycle Racing Association, and a grant from Dahlonega Wheelworks.

Demo Bikes Demo Bikes from Cannondale, Blue, and Trek are also available for Georgia Cross Races. Email Shey Lindner @ everett11@bellsouth.net to reserve yours. First come, first serve.

Online Registration available at sportsbaseonline.com. This gives you free entry into the frame raffle. Sportsbaseonline.com is giving away a frame to a Georgia racer and will enter each racer who registers through them into the raffle. Click the link or go to: https://www.sportsbaseonline.com/Series.aspx?id=410

Roller Fun There are two great roller videos on Josh Bogg's Blog.

Are You On Facebook?  Are you on Facebook? If so, I'm finally there! You can add me as a friend.

Do You Know Dreamweaver? Do you know Dreamweaver Would you wan to help me learn? If so, drop me an email at sttarlite at hotmail.com. The new design for SE Cycling is ready to go. The design looks great! A few people have had a sneak peek. Before I can put it up, I need to learn Dreamweaver CS3......

Brady Rogers (Miyogenesis) wins the sprint for 1st in the Masters 35+ race over Shey Lindner (N2 Racing).

Brad Harper (Cycleworks) and Wayne "Hillybilly" Nix (UCBI) take a dive into the sand on the beach inthe Masters 45+ race.

11-23-2008 Georgia cross State Championships Thank you to GTC for putting on a great race today at Ft Yargo. A good crowd came out to race in the State championships.