Casey Braga's Win at Lake Louisa

The Lake Louisa crits are in Lake Louisa state park. The course is hilly and very fast. There is an A and a B race. I raced and won the B race. At the start I stayed at the front half of the pack. Then I tried a solo attack and held it for a mile, till the pack caught me. For the rest of the race I stayed in the front and middle of the pack. Toward the end I was about to ease up a hill until Tracy Mullins, a strong Armada team rider told me (yelled at me) to keep going. Then 4 or 5 guys were in a breakaway 200 meters before the finish. I caught up to them and sprinted on the far side of them. Francisco, another strong Armada racer, started to sprint and try to catch me. I saw him and put more power to the pedals and sprinted to the finish. That was my first non-junior race win.

Carpe Nundinae

Carpe Nundainae (latin): Seize the weekend.

This past weekend, two members of our junior race team made a trip up to Dahlonega, GA, for some training in the mountains. This is what they wrote in response to riding the past few days up there.

Casey Braga

I felt really good this weekend. I was pretty confident while on the way to Dahlonega, GA and really looking forward to riding my favorite gap, Neel’s. In my opinion, it is one of the hardest of the 6 gaps to climb. The next hardest is Hogpen.

On Saturday afternoon we started out from Turner’s store to climb Neel’s, Wolfpen, and Woody gaps. Neel’s was the longest of the climbs that day, about 7 miles from top to bottom, with an elevation of 4,458 ft. Then it was a fast descent to our next gap, Wolfpen. It was a dramatic change in styles from the two mountain passes. Neel’s is a 3 lane road and only gradually steep. Wolf Pen Gap is a two lane back road, much more steep than the Neel’s. From the summit of Wolfpen we quickly made it to the top of Woody gap and then back to the car. We climbed a total 5,200 feet that day.

Sunday’s ride was much harder then the previous day, with the gaps Jack’s, Unicoi, and Hogpen. Leaving the car in Booger Hollow (yes, that’s really the name), we started going up Jack’s gap, reaching the top in not too much time, getting a chance to rest at the base of Brasstown Bald. Unfortunately we decided that would not be the best idea to climb up the tallest point in Georgia this time and continued on to Unicoi gap. When we got to top, it began raining, making the descent difficult but we still managed to break the speed limit at a couple of points. Then it was time for the hardest of all the gaps this weekend, Hogpen. The only thing I have to say about it is long, boring and painful and looked like it was never going to end. Seven miles from start to finish. The descent though was probably the fastest of them all, I almost reached 50 mph, which was a lot of fun (don’t tell my mom).

It was a great weekend and I think I really benefited from the climbing. Now I’m looking forward to next weekend’s state time trial championships, maybe I’ll win another Florida title…Michelle Blake

Oh, where to start when talking about this weekend!

First of all, the car ride up there. You never really know what its going to be like spending 8 hours in a car with your favorite (cough, cough) teammate. Luckily, I was prepared. The first moment Casey Braga fell asleep, I had my makeup kit out. Blue eye shadow, pink lipstick and, of course, the nail polish. Needless to say, Casey had a bit of a surprise when he woke up. The rest of the trip up though, was very uneventful.

When we started out Saturday afternoon, I was really surprised about how confident I was going up Neel’s gap. Last time we were up there, back in February, I didn’t do my best on that first climb but this weekend, it seemed to pass much quicker than before. The same held true for Wolfpen gap. Much sharper than the first, I still was going very good and kept my teammate, Casey, in sight the entire time. Woody gap passed very quickly also to my surprise and descending was extremely fun.

Before telling about the next day’s events, I’d like to add in a little note about the weather in Dahlonega GA. For those of you who have read the book Twilight, its somewhat like that of Forks, Washington. Frequently raining, and almost always overcast. The only difference is that there are no sparkling vampires who want to drink your blood. (For those who haven’t read the book, don’t bother, burn every copy you see, and just keep reading this blog in your free time) Going up every gap, I either had my rain jacket on my back or stuffed into my jersey pocket. There were a few sections of sunlight both days but the time was nowhere need equal to that of when it was overcast and/or raining.

Now on to Sunday. Our route for the day took us over Jack’s, Unicoi, and Hogpen gaps. Jack’s was long, and rather steep at points, but rather boring for the most part. My favorite gap right now is Unicoi, the second climb of the day. It passed very quickly and was not very difficult but also has an entertaining descent to accompany it. Though it started raining when we reached the top, I still kept off the brakes going down, using only my rain jacket as a parachute to slow down when needed. But as we came closer to our next and final gap, I began to dread the coming climb. Remembering my last time up Hogpen, I knew it was long, steep, and offered very little break anywhere on it. Still I climbed as best I could, reaching the top at 3,450 ft, after an excruciating dull and lengthy amount of time. Though tired, the road going down was enjoyable. At some points it was such an incline, my computer hit 48 mph, something I’ve only gotten close to riding down Sugarloaf.

I can’t believe how good I felt this weekend. I think that it was a great training experience and hope that it has helped me become more prepared for Nationals this year, in Bend, Oregon. Can’t wait until the next time we going to Dahlonega, though I still need a little bit of time to recover from this trip.

Diane Blake

We hauled our track bikes all the way up there in anticipation of riding the Dick Lane Velodrome in Atlanta on monday only to be foiled by the rain. After a dry morning, it started drizzling about 1/4 mile from the track and experience has taught us that you cannot ride a velodrome when it is wet. Bah, humbug!

Photos by Michelle Blake

Casey's Championship Win

Today I am state champion because of two people, Christian Teather and Michelle Blake. I can’t thank them enough for helping me win the state criterium championship. I was with Christian twenty feet ahead of the field and Michelle said “car back,” causing the other racers to turn their heads around. At that moment Christian whispered “go, go, go,” so I went. I sprinted off up the hill. Right then Michelle got to the front of the field and slowed them down. I had 5 laps to go and I was averaging 26 mph. It hurt! Then I finally crossed the line for the last time and became state champ.

Dahlonega

Casey Braga

In Dahlonega, Georgia, the climbs we did were insane compared to Florida. The climbs are longer and a lot steeper than anything Florida can throw at you. At one point the incline on Brasstown Bald was almost straight up .Well, it felt like it. A couple of times I was going so slow I was almost in a track stand. It was pretty cool to be at the top of Brasstown Bald knowing that pros in the Tour of Georgia ride it, much faster of course. Neels Gap was one of my favorite climbs. On that climb, I put my bike on a small gear and spun all the way up to the top. It was not straight up all the way but still challenging. I also enjoyed Jacks climbs for the same reason.

On the downhill you freeze, but on the uphill you warm right up from your body heat. My feet were numb and my braces could have frozen up it was so cold. The down time was fun because we just hung out and talked and made fun of everyone. It was nice of the hotel manager to put up with us. Even though it was cold and rainy, it was a great training trip and I cannot wait to do it again soon – very soon!