Major apologies for the delay up front here. Crazy busy with the move and traveling for
work, so this is long overdue.
So the morning came quick, and it was CHILLY! I had packed for 80 and sunny every day, and
was nowhere near prepared for a 50 deg morning ride. The plan was to do a 80 mile ride, with an
attempt in the middle at cresting the toughest climb in Chattanooga. Boy were they not kidding!
We got about an hour into the ride, to the base of this
climb, and broke into groups. Some
people took the scenic route, others chose a hilly route that was less severe
hills, and the small group of sorry souls chose to crest the beast. No numbers of grades could give this justice. You see the guys in the tour on tv and think,
wow they are strong but I can make it up that hill (maybe not nearly as fast
but I could do it)! Well my friends,
there are some hills out there that you just aren’t going to make up in the
saddle. This hill nearly became one of
those. A 2 mile and change clime
straight up switchback roads. You turn
the corner and look for freedom and get a steeper grade, next less steep, but
you knew at every turn was disappointment because you had more and more to
climb.
(Dream team atop Chattanooga)
After making it to the top, we regrouped, caught our
breath, and had the descent ahead of us.
Just before starting the descent we found a nice scenic lookout and wow
was it pretty. It overlooked the valley
below, you could see forever! What a
great area to live and train.
After making it back from the ride, everyone was telling
their stories, how pretty it was etc.
But the one thing we all agreed on was that we were hungry and needed
some fine southern BBQ. We hit up this
hole in the wall BBQ joint down the street and man if the stereotype ever held
true about hole in the wall joints…this one didn't disappoint. Every BBQ dish you could ask for, millions of
sides, this was heaven for a bunch of exhausted and empty stomached
triathletes!
After eating ourselves into food comas, we went back to
the cabin for some relaxation before the big swim meet. JP fell asleep while reading some lady drama
on his kindle fire, Chris fell asleep on a giant rock down by the river,
basking in the sun like an iguana at a vacation resort, and the others all hung
out on the porch, catching some sun rays, and catching up. The only true warriors were stu and I who
decided that we wanted to get in a nice little run. WOW!
We headed out the road the way we did for yesterday
mornings run, and the small inclines you would never complain about in a race
shredded Stu’s and my legs! After the
first 5 mins, once we were warmed up, it went a lot smoother, but man o man
those first few mins were a struggle. We
went about 3 miles and were prepped for the swim meet!
The teams were set:
- Team Stu: Stu, Inch, Sarah L, & Chris
- Team Michelle: JP, Michelle, Sara z, & Rob
It took some major coercing to get a few of the
individuals to partake, but managed to do so and the race was on!
The race was a relay style race, 1 length of across the
river. First up, Stu vs Michelle. They both dove in and took off like bandits,
Stu gaining the early advantage, Michelle keeping her perfect distance drafting
like a champ. The lead was marginal as
the second legs were off. Chris jumping
out to an early lead, going out like a banshee, JP left behind in the
seaweed. Unfortunately the tables turned
quickly as chris had taken a path that was slightly off course. JP managed to make up a bunch of ground based
on the miscalculation, and after the second leg the race was still a near dead
heat! The Sara(h)’s were up next and
seemed to keep the competitive atmosphere tightly locked. Starting side by side, they each glided
through the water with such ease. They,
also unfortunately, miscalculated their line and were pulled downstream with
the current a little ways, and had to work against the current the last few
yards. Sarah L had managed a slight
advantage and after a quick team tag I was off.
I hadn’t swam much if at all the last 3 months, and knew if I could get
out of sight early that would be my best chance. And that I tried, taking the race as if it
were a 50. Turning the arms over as fast
as possible, kicking like I had a motor.
That was short lived as the legs locked up halfway across from the ride
earlier, and the form fell apart. In my
peripheral I could see rob making a late charge in the last bit of the
race. This was really making me nervous,
there was too much left, I had to make another surge. I gave it one last effort, and man was that
painful, but it was enough to hold of Rob and team Michelle, en route to a team
Gold in the first annual Team Stu vs Team Michelle River Relay.
Later on that evening, we all grilled, polished off as
many beers as we could, and even included moonshine into the mix, all while
attempting to capture Bigfoot evidence in any way possible. Andy and Heather came over and partook in the
festivities, reminiscing over the beautiful training and getting in the last
few moments with the team before the departure in the morning.
The True Dream Team!
Overall an unbelievable weekend in paradise. Huge props to chris for finding such a baller
spot to call home. Major thanks to Andy
and the rest of the Hub crew for all the support, the bike help, as well as
chauffeuring us around on all the workouts.
You guys really made our trip!
And also shoutout to Q-Roo and everyone there who helped educate us on
how the greatest bike manufacturer maintains its dominance in the market! Lastly, thanks to the entire team Evotri,
What an unbelievable make up of a team, the perfect group to not only have a
great time, but to get down to business and really get the most out of their
training. Thanks to you guys for giving
me this once in a lifetime opportunity!
Cant wait till next year to do it all again!
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