12 Hours of Tsali

Beth and Stacey raced the 12 Hours of Tsali this last weekend and flat MASHED their competition. The kicker is that they were a 2 woman team racing against 4 woman teams. They did twice the work and still won!!! This was the first time they raced together, and if I was a betting man, I would stake the farm that you would see them together again. Awesome job!

Attack on Swayback

We sent 6 riders down to the Attack on Swayback, and came home with 5 medals. It should have been 6 except for an ill-timed flat for Mike Herring who was destroying the competition in his race. The team swept the Sport Men 20-29 podium with Josh in 1st, Justin 2nd, and Zach 3rd. Hardwick placed 2nd in the Expert Men 40+ race. Larry rounded it out with a 2nd in the Sport Men 40-49 race. They needed a trailer to haul all of their swag home. Crazy good effort!

Tour de Health

Alan was in Mobile, Al this past weekend racing in the The Infirmary Tour De Health. Alan raced in 2 races finishing 6th in the Master's 35+ and 5th in the Cat 4 races. Great effort considering he got hit by a car on his training ride Thursday!

Just Another Manic May

Apparently someone shot this team out of a cannon to start the month off, and there has been no let up since.

George kicked the month off on foot at Toad Suck Daze in Arkansas. George won his age class in the run, then turned around and did a 66 mile ride as part of the event.

Hardwack was also in Arkansas to kick the month off and raced in the Ozark's competing in Syllamo's Revenge. Hardwick finished 2nd in his age class, and 28th overall.

Alan ventured over to Charlotte, N.C. to race in a criterium in his old hometown.

Mitch teamed up with another mountain biker and headed out to Winder, GA to race in the Dirty Spokes 12 hour race. The team that Mitch was on finished 2nd.

Payne raced in a criterium training race down at the Shelby Co. Airport and finished 5th in the breakaway group.

Lastly, Zach headed up to Fayetteville, TN for the Dirt, Sweat, and Gears 12 Hour Race. The team that Zach was on finished 7th out of 22.

Those are just the races that the team was in. Several members of the team went out and rode in the Tannehill Ironworks Century to benefit trail construction at Tannehill, and a majority of the team was present last Wednesday for the Ride of Silence commemorating riders struck by cars while on there bikes. Laural also rode her first century of the year last weekend while riding in the Tour de Cure that benefitted diabetes research.

Stay tuned......

Gang Green Invades Anniston

The team hit the road the weekend of April 17th and 18th and took the 2 hour trip over to Anniston to compete in the Sunny King Criterium, Cheaha Challenge, and Foothills Road Race. The Sunny King Criterium kicked the weekend off for the team. Alan, Larry, Mike G., Mike H., and Mitch flew the team colors proudly in probably some of the most intense racing that the team has seen this year. All of us came back "Shinny Side Up, Rubber Side Down", which after seeing some of the crashes at this years race, was quite impressive. Though the results may not have been exactly what we wanted, we rode hard, and hung tough. We lived to fight another day.

Sunday greeted us with cool temperatures and sunny skies. Alan, Mitch, Hardwick, and Stacey flew the team flag in the Foothills Road Race. Hardwick scored a top 15, and Stacey earned her first road race podium finishing 3rd.

The rest of us went out and led an assault on Mt. Cheaha, the highest point in Alabama. Ashley, Beth, George, Liz, Larry, Mike G., Mike H., and Mick set out early in the morning to concur the route. George and Mick went the full 102 mile distance, Liz opted for the 66 mile route, and the rest off us, we did the 88 mile route.

After a full weekend of racing and riding I think we were all glad to finish our events. Now, for most of the team, the focus will switch from the road to the dirt with several mountain bike events coming up.