Cheaha Challenge Ultra - Ride Report

Training - I have to preface this report by saying that I haven’t ridden on the road much lately. In fact, I hadn’t ridden on the road with a group of any kind since December of 2015 or, more specifically, in a bike club group ride since July of 2014. That's almost 3 years. My most recent non-trainer ride was with my grandson in August of 2016 when we casually rode 11 miles on the Clayton Connects Path Foundation trails at the Clayton County Int’l Park near my house. The Path Foundation also created the Silver Comet Trail.

My bike's first trip out-of-doors in months

I rode a full century on the trainer on Sunday, May 14th, and ran a 5K race that afternoon. I took my bike off the trainer on Monday May 15th and rode 30 miles with my old friends of the Southern Crescent Cycling (SCC) club less than a week before the Cheaha Challenge Gran Fondo race on Sunday, May 21st.

Cheaha Challenge 2017

Getting There - The club's plan (and the Cheaha Challenge) was to ride the from Atlanta to the end of the Silver Comet/Chief Ladiga Trail in Anniston before backtracking to Jacksonville, Alabama where we’d pick up our ride packets for the Cheaha Challenge. That was on Saturday. On Sunday we’d ride the Cheaha Challenge, some riding the 124 mile Ultra distance event, others riding the 100 mile century, and still others riding the 44 mile distance course. The event had six different distances from which to choose; 24, 44, 62, 84, 100, and 124-mile distance. We had 16 riders making the trek west on Saturday with full SAG support at various stops along the way. A few others met us in Jacksonville for the race.

The Thursday, May 18th projected weather radar map for the race on Sunday morning

We also lost a few riders who probably got scared off by the weather forecast. The race director said that the weather forecast kept the rider numbers down as well. There were somewhere around 550 riders instead of the expected 800 had the forecast been better.

Our group in Smyrna, GA before departing on the Silver Comet Trail

Coot's Lake rest stop

The group headed west toward Jacksonville, AL 

Cedartown rest stop

Cedartown rest stop

Rolling out to the next rest stop on the way to Jacksonville, AL

Eubanks Welcome Center rest stop

We also stopped in Dallas, GA, at the Georgia/Alabama state line, and briefly somewhere in rural Alabama where no one had cellphone service.

The Anniston, AL end of the Silver Comet/Chief Ladiga Trail

All our riders made it safely the entire 100+ miles to Jacksonville State University, the host venue for the event, where we checked in and picked up our t-shirts, bib numbers, and timing chips.

Ride packet coupons and finisher's cap

Race t-shirt artwork

Just as we arrived to check-in at our hotel the rain that we’d all been fearing finally arrived. It rained buckets all evening. Those staying in the upper floors of the hotel enjoyed the sound of thunder which made us all weary of the day to come, but Sunday came and, though cloudy, there was no rain. The forecast for 100% rain and thunderstorms from the previous days ended up overcast and humid with the sun occasionally peeking through the clouds to heat everything up a bit.  As the day wore on the roads would even dry out and provide a nice grippy surface to ride on.

The Race - Gran Fondos are timed events and the Cheaha is no different. There was a start/finish timing mat and several other timing mats along the course. The mats keep track of the 1st and 2nd King of the Mountain (KOM) times, and each rider's overall time which are posted in the results.

Ultra distance riders lining up at the race start

The start of the race for the Ultra riders was at 7:30 a.m. Riders lined up in front of the timing mat and waited for the call to roll out. At the start riders made a left out of the parking lot which was followed by a right turn onto Nisbet Street NW before turning right onto Highway 21, and so on. The first few miles had the riders start to string out and separate into packs. I stayed with my club mates for a bit until we got separated and I found myself off the front with another rider named Jose Acosta from Miami. Jose and I rode together until the 4th rest stop where we waited for the members of my club to arrive. After a few minutes they hadn’t arrived so Jose and I took off again. The next time I saw my club group they were going in the opposite direction headed toward Adam’s Gap. I’d see them one more time later in the day.

Cheaha Challenge Ultra elevation profile

Cheaha Challenge Ultra course map

Jose and I stopped briefly a few more times. I was sure to take in all the nutrition including gels and Endurolyte tablets every 30 to 45 minutes. The rest stops were well stocked with food and drinks, water and Gatorade, and volunteers. I don’t recall a volunteer ever before grabbing my water bottle and asking me what they could fill me up with “water or Gatorade” but they did here, I took one of each. I have to say too that the course was beautiful. I didn't know Alabama had so many pristine mountains. I would see more trash on the roadside during one trip to work than I saw all weekend in Alabama. I only work 11 miles from my house.

Me

Me and Jose

As the day wore on each hill climb became more and more difficult. I was running a compact 34t/50t crank and a 12t/25t Ultegra cassette so, as it is apparently not uncommon, I got off my bike and hoofed it up a few of the steeper hills. Fortunately I made two good decisions earlier in the day. Firstly, I decided not to wear a light jacket. It never rained so I didn’t need it. I also didn’t put on any sun screen so I did get a little sunburn. Secondly, I brought along my cleat covers. I was glad to have them as I pushed my bike up the steep inclines.

The inclines are just the forerunner of the impending white knuckle descents off mountains. The miles I’d put on the trainer had not prepared me for these. I had decided at the onset that I would brake at the start of every descent and keep braking until I was safely at the bottom. Whomever I was riding beside at the time would quickly be out of sight long before I’d come around the last turn into the valley below. I’d put pressure on my pedals to quickly catch back up with them. Jose and I eventually met up with Cody Meyer from Birmingham. The three of us pushed each other, figuratively speaking, up and then back down Bain’s Gap until at some point Jose was gone off the front. Cody and I chatted about this and that which took my mind off the task at hand and that eventually led us to the pièce de ré·sis·tance, Chimney Peak. I walked a good bit of the road to the top of the mountain as cyclists whizzed by at 60-mph or so. My maximum speed for the day was 47-mph and I only did that because I could see the end of the road.

Results - Cody and I both crossed the finish line just under 9 hours and 4 minutes after the start resulting in a fifth place finish for me in my age-group. It was a long day. I found Jose, who had finished several minutes before us, to congratulate him. I found my club mates who had also already completed their rides. They were seated nearby enjoying the bar-b-que dinner provided by the event organizers. I was the first from my group to finish the ultra course. The rest crossed the finish line together after 10 hours and 40 minutes. Results

Cheaha Challenge Ultra male aged 55 to 59 results

Since "if it's not on Strava, it didn't really happen" I've included my Strava activity as well.

Post-ride Thoughts - Afterwards, I felt bad having not stayed with my group but frankly, I was a lot more scared than I might have led on. My bike handling skills had suffered a bit from the hours I’d spent on the trainer. I felt safer with one rabbit to chase than a whole group of rabbits. I didn’t want to be that guy on the side of the road waiting for an ambulance after crossing a wheel and hitting the deck, and I surely didn’t want to ruin someone else’s day either.

Cheaha Challenge finisher's t-shirt front artwork

Cheaha Challenge finisher's t-shirt back artwork

Finisher's medal

Getting Home - The ride home back to Atlanta was shorter than the ride out, and again, we had awesome SAG support from the club. We had a few less riders, 13 in total. It was only when we were about 10 miles from the end of the trail that the bottom dropped out and we were soaked by rain. It got cold fast and I could hardly see through my dark sunglasses. The only notable events on the trip back were a copperhead snake and a loose cow on the trail. Neither of them were impressed with us.

Kudos - It was a great trip. The club’s organization was spot-on and was only outdone by the race organizers. All the rain that fell on Saturday night should have strewn debris all over the course making the descents even more harrowing but the event organizers had crews out sweeping up the course before most of us were even out of bed on Sunday morning. The volunteers were plentiful and enthusiastic. Roads were closed. Intersections were manned with police and/or other safety personnel. The residents of the city of Jacksonville and the university went out of their way to make us feel welcome. The only negative I'll mention has to do with the restaurant we chose on Saturday night. I won’t mention the name of the restaurant but I will say – don’t order the sushi! The chicken and fried rice was delicious but the sushi, not so much. On Sunday we ordered pizza which we had delivered to the hotel. That was a much better option.

The list of SCC Cheaha participants from their website includes 25 members. Some of these didn't attend. We had others who registered at the event and aren't listed.  Either way, it was a large group.

In Conclusion - Over the course of the past 12 months I’ve ridden my bike about 1,700 miles, approximately 1,400 of which were exclusively indoors on the trainer. There are two reasons for that. The first being that I, unlike most people, enjoy riding the trainer especially now since Zwift has come about. The second reason is that it’s safer. I don’t have to worry about a distracted driver killing me because they had to check their Facebook feed. The point I’m trying to make is that I felt completely safe during this race with the one caveat that I was surely gonna die on one of those hair-raising descents.

She had a bath and now old Betsy is in her rightful place again.

My pain cave

For the record, I completed 320 miles and 15,807 feet of climbing during the course of three days.

Thanks for reading.

Atlanta Ragnar Trail Race Report

I missed the cold and wet Publix Georgia Marathon (DNS) on March 22nd due to a lack of training.   That makes this the Ragnar Trail Relay - Atlanta, GA race on April 10th and 11th, the first race of 2015 that I have completed and my first relay race ever.  The Atlanta Ragnar Trail race is one of eleven located throughout the country.

I had a rough start which included working later than expected on Thursday night and getting a flat tire on the way to the venue on Friday morning.  I was finally in Conyers, Georgia at the Georgia International Horse Park just after 11:00 a.m.

I unloaded my gear and parked my truck in the designated parking area where whatever air was left in my ailing tire was allowed to peacefully hiss until it exhausted itself.  Sadly for me my spare tire had been stolen while on a trip to Oklahoma City years before and I had never replaced it.  With the help of my Ragnar team captain Chuck, I would have to deal with that later.

A small portion of the sea of tents as I arrived at the Gear Drop early on Friday

I had over packed.  I bought far too many clothes.  I decided after finishing the first course that I would remain in my own filth until the race was done.  That negated much of my wardrobe.  I brought four pairs of running shoes, one pair of sandals, about five short sleeve shirts, two long sleeve shirts, a light jacket. two pairs of sweat pants, six pairs of socks, a neck warmer/beanie, two towels, a sheet, two folding chairs, a canopy tent, a cooler, sleeping bag, yoga mat, a backpack full of gadgets (Garmin watch, Garmin Virb camera, lights, extra batteries, chargers, etc.), and a bag of food stuffs Susan had packed for me including homemade chocolate chip cookies she made the day before.  Unfortunately, I didn't find much of what Susan had packed for me until after my race was over and I was back home.  I also brought trash bags, paper towels, and the all important extra emergency toilet paper.

I was the second of the eight runners on the Worst Place Scenario team (Bib # 83), not to be confused with Worst Pace Scenario (Bib # 117), to arrive at the venue camp site.  The Running with Caesars team I mentioned in a previous post was from last year's team so we decided to change it.  The new team consisted of five Air Traffic Controller coworkers and two guys, Jared and Nate, that joined us from Knoxville, Tennessee.  Nate was the youngest and fastest of our group at 28 years old and I was the senior statesman by a thin margin just beating Thom by a few months.  I helped Chuck setup a few things before he was scheduled to volunteer at the transition tent.  The race started for some at 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning.  The last group to start was six hours later at 4:00 p.m.  The first runner from our team was scheduled to start with the 3:30 p.m. group.  Start times were based upon the estimated overall pace of the team as compared to the other teams.  Each runner entered a 10K mile minutes/mile pace during registration to allow the Ragnar race director to calculate the team's pace.  Most of us estimated about an 8:00 minute/mile pace, except for Nate who estimated a 7:00 minute/mile pace.  He must have been sandbagging because he's way faster than that.  We thought well of ourselves, as a group, to post some fast times which put us in the next to last group to start.

Our runners, in starting order, 1) Juan Mendez, 2) Neil Farmer, 3) Chuck Phillips (Capt), 4) Louis Angotti, 5) Chris Kojali, 6) Thom Mercer, 7) Nathan England, and 8) Jared Lawrence.  The race starts with the first runner completing the green course, the second runner completing the yellow course and the third runner completing the red course.  Like a stoplight - green, yellow, and red.  The fourth runner completes the green course again, and so on until twenty-four course runs have been completed.  When it's all said and done each of our eight runners should have run each course once.  Only one runner is out on the course at a time so there are breaks of about 5-6 hours between legs.

Juan, Jared, Nate, and Louie setting up another tent

Juan, Louie, and Jared killing time in the tent

Jared, Nate, and Louie watch as ominous clouds approach

All three courses were well marked albeit wet and slippery after the rain.

The yellow course was my first leg.  I just needed to estimate Juan's finish time and be at the transition tent ready to take over.  Chuck would do the same for me.  My first run started before dark.  As Juan ran into the transition tent he handed over the race belt and I was off.  The 4.6 mile yellow course was full of twists and turns.  The occasional small tree stump or rock in the trail meant that I had to keep my eyes on the narrow path.  Most of the trails were dry with only the occasional wet spot.  My Inov-8 Roclite 268 trail shoes proved their worth though and I decided right then and there that I'd wear them for all three courses no matter how dirty they were.  They would prove their worth on a steep section of the red course where two other runners were slipping and sliding, and clinging to trees as I powered past them.  I slipped a few times but never completely lost my footing.

Chuck, Louis, and Chris completed the red, green, and yellow courses, respectfully before Thom started the red course.  Not two minutes after Thom was out on the red course, the race director stopped the race due to weather.  The race was put on a two hour hold and the next two runners, Nate and Jared were skipped.  The twenty-four course runs was reduced to twenty-two.  Thom however was already on the course and, like the other runners on the course, he had to finish.  It started to rain and it rained hard.  While we huddled up inside our tent Thom was out tackling the tough red course in a monsoon.  He made it back to the tent none worse for wear.  Not all the runners were so lucky.  I think there were a lot of twisted ankles that night.

Rain outside the food tent

I started and finished the easy green course in complete darkness but for my headlamp and flashlight just before midnight and after the rain had stopped.  I found myself starting the course fiddling with my headlamp, forgetting to start my Garmin watch right away, tripping over a poorly placed tent rope twice, and briefly getting off course in the maze of tents.  I would learn from my mistakes.

I started the treacherous red course before dawn.  The course starts out easy enough for the first two miles before going crazy in the woods.  As luck would have it shortly after I entered the woods the sun started to rise.  I was saved!  The infamous granite crossing would be in daylight and not in the less than desirable flashlight.

The 2015 Rangar Trail Relay race is an experience I will not soon forget.  It was far muddier that I had expected, that said, I enjoyed the running part the most.  It was the hours of waiting between runs that was torture.  The weather, it could have been better.  I doubt it could have been worse.  As a team I think we did pretty well.  No one was injured during the race though we had two runners with previous leg problems that were still able to compete.

Ragnar Village of Souvenirs, Transition, and Food tents (l-r) 

Chris branding his Multi-tool award pouch

Ultimately the event turned out well.  The weather on Saturday was beautiful.  The ground started to dry up and I even got a little sun on my face.

This snapshot of the team standings after the 20th segment was complete shows WPS at 19:08:47 

What would I do differently?  I'd pack my gear days in advance.  I would buy and use a raised cot. I would bring a big clock to post in the tent.  At 3 a.m. it's difficult to remember who is out on the course, when they started, and when the next runner can expect to start.  A chart with those times and the runners finish time for that course would be perfect.  I'd take more pictures and use my video camera.  Bring a portable battery pack for my cellphone.  Most importantly, I will buy a spare tire for my truck.

What I did right.  I became less timid and more vocal when comparing my first transition to my last.   Consider that each runner is involved in six race belt and bib exchanges.  As they say, a race probably won't be won in transition but it could be lost there.  Part of my initial apprehension may have been because I was new to the team and unfamiliar with the process.  By the start of my second transition though, I realized that I needed to be heard to get the attention of my teammate.  At the end of my final leg I yelled my team number twice and the name of my replacement, 83... 83... CHUCK, as I entered the chute to the transition tent.  He was startled but was there to take over in seconds.

Multi-tool Finishers Medal

Multi-tool Finishers Medal

Worst Place Scenario - Neil Farmer. Juan Mendez, Jared Lawrence, Thom Mercer, Nathan England, Chris Kojali, Chuck Phillips, and Louis Angotti (l-r)

A spreadsheet of the preliminary race results, which were posted online on the Friday after the race, is shown below.  There are obviously a few anomalies including one leg which was over 5 hours in duration, which I removed, and several legs which were 00:00 (hh:mm) in duration.  These were likely errors as well.  That being said, the majority of the red course times are the longest and the majority of the green course times are the shortest which should be correct.  The red markers in the 35 minute range are a bit suspect as well.

See the preliminary race results edited by me here.

Our team competed in the Regular, Men's Open category.  We did very well.  I'm still waiting on the final results.  I'm pretty confident that we placed in our category.

Big thanks to Chuck for hauling me and my flat tire to the Conyers Tires Plus shop to get my tire patched early Saturday morning.  We left the venue just after Chuck and I had finished our final run of the race and well before our last runner, Jared was expected to finish.  My luck had changed as the estimated 90 minutes repair time was slashed in half as the customer in front of me decided to go to Firestone instead.  Winning!

Thanks for reading.

Update (4/26/15):  The final results have been posted.  Click here to download.

Two Urban Licks

Susan and I celebrated our anniversary with a dinner at Two Urban Licks in Atlanta recently.  Susan made our reservations for 6:30 p.m.  We wanted to get there early because I had a busy work schedule planned for the next day.  Since the restaurant is located on the Atlanta Beltline, the new path system in Atlanta, we wanted to also be able to enjoy the scenery.  We wanted to people watch!   We had just dined at Rathbun's two week earlier and had a great experience with our good friends Jim and Mary Ann.   We were hoping for a similar experience.

We arrived right on time for our reservation.  As requested we were seated outside on the patio along the beltline.  The patio seating can be separated into two distinct styles.  The tables and seats nearest the windows are harsh, uncomfortable, and compacted.  The seating nearest the patio railing is plush and spacious, albeit, stained in some cases.  A young lady showed us to our table jammed up next to the window.  We were the first table to be seated outside.  The table was less than desirable, in our opinion, so we requested that we be moved to a more comfortable table, one of those along the railing.  The window table was also situated where we would block the view of the party which was already dining inside the restaurant.  The young lady returned shortly and we were moved.   Subsequently, our server was also changed.

Susan and me

The Eastside Beltline Trail looking toward Ralph McGill Blvd.

The beltline looking toward North Avenue NE

As our food was served we noticed that the flies were aggressive beyond belief.  Oddly, we hadn't noticed any flies during the 2 or 3 hours on the patio at Rathbun's but on this night we would be tortured.  I would fan the food with the menu as Susan ate and she would fan my food as I ate.  That was until the server took our menus away.  We were then sitting ducks.  A smorgasbord awaited our tormentors and we were defenseless.  We gobbled down our food as fast as we could, sickened as I periodically counted and called out the number of flies waiting to attack.  "There are six of them, 1, 2, 3..."  Fortunately, our server returned our menus after our plea.

We were interested to see that more patio diners arrived and were sure that they would also soon be visited as we departed post haste.  Of course, when dining outside one takes a chance.  It could have rained but it didn't and the weather was beautiful on that day.  I can only assume that there is some sort of fly manufacturing plant nearby.  I'm also sure that those diners who elected to forgo the patio had a much better experience.

How about the food?  Our server brought us some bread and a dipping sauce.  The bread was fine but the dipping sauce lacked flavor.  However, what it lacked in flavor it made up for in fly "catch-ability".  I'll just say that the stuff was like quicksand and I'll leave it at that.

We had an appetizer of calamari.  Online reviews that Susan read before she made our reservation were very positive about the calamari.  They were right, it was good.

For our entrees, Susan had the grilled flat iron steak and I had the smoked brisket.  Susan liked her onion rings.  I found my steak plentiful but salty.  The corn was fine.

A dipping sauce for bread

Calamari

Grilled flat iron steak

Smoked brisket

Probably the best part about Two Urban Licks is the beer.  I enjoyed mine!

Black & Tan (Guinness and Sweetwater 420)

We'll probably be planning an anniversary dinner do-over at The Oceanaire Seafood Room.  We ate there a few years ago for our anniversary and they did everything right!

Thanks for reading.

Atlanta Streetcar Run the Rails Race Report

Race banner

The 2014 Atlanta Streetcar Run the Rails 5K is in the books.  My first race in over 7 months went better than expected.  My entry was decided last minute earlier in the week after finding out that my longtime running buddy Jim Macie was racing.  I figured that I'd race too and we could keep each other company on the drive to and from Atlanta.

The race finish

The finish again

The finish was at Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta.

Woodruff Park information and race packet pick-up booth

Race bib

Race t-shirt

Jim's hat was not very aerodynamic and that probably slowed him down a bit.

Jim ready to race

Jim and I arrived about 30 minutes before the 8AM start time.  Runners and walkers were milling about.  There were a few Atlanta Track Club guys there.  They were 6' 2" and 145 lbs.  I knew I wouldn't be seeing them for long.

As the runners lined up behind  the start line timing mat I positioned myself about 20 feet or 100 people back.  The horn blew and we were off.  The first 1 mile was a gradual downhill slope which I conquered in 6:24.  With the race only a third done, as I looked west up Auburn Avenue I could see the ATC runners in the distance well ahead.  The rest of the race wouldn't go so well.  Auburn Avenue was mostly uphill and my pace slowed because of it.  I clocked in at an 8:07 pace.  Jim remarked after the race that he thought the course was short.  He was right.  The distance was 2.88 miles.   I had expected to finish in about 23 minutes and if the course was 3.1 miles I probably would have.  Since it was over 2/10th of a mile short, I finished in 21:00 on my Garmin and 21:10 on the race clock.  The course was, as one might expect, pot-marked with pipe covers, metal plates, and divots although I didn't see anything that would qualify as a pot-hole.

The general make up of the racers seemed to be college aged men and women and young professionals. There were very few kids and older people, which is a good thing for Jim who received two awards at the end of the day.  He collected a medallion for finishing 3rd in his age-group and another award for being the "Oldest Runner" to participate.  Jim said that the second award will probably not be displayed prominently at the Macie household.

Me receiving my award

Jim receiving his award

My results - a 20th place finish changed to a 21st place finish in the final results

I finished 20th overall and masters male winner - first finisher over 40 years of age.

Jim's results

My "Masters Male Winner" award

Jim's "Oldest Runner" award

Jim's 3rd Place Age-Group award

The streetcar rails look like a serious hazard for cyclists.  The slick metal rails adjacent to a 2" deep trench will likely catch a number of cyclists off guard before throwing them to the pavement.

The streetcar rails

See all my pictures from the race here.

Thanks for reading.