Coastin’
Our next club meeting will be at 6:30 on
Monday, May 7, 2001, at Alfred & Charlie’s, 815 S. New Hope Rd, Gastonia. Newsletter Updates: Contact John Price at 704 867 2669 or at
coastineditor@yahoo.com.
Ride Schedule (Through September, 2001)
Monday – start 6:00 – Forestview HS, S. Union
Rd (25 miles) course marked with “M”
Tuesday – start 6:00 - Warlick School, Ranlo,
(32 miles), pace: 17-19 course marked with “T”
Wednesday
– start 6:00 – Forestview HS, S.
Union Rd (34 miles) course marked with “W”
Thursday
– start 6:00 - Warlick School, Ranlo
(32 miles), pace: 17-19 course marked with “H”
Sunday
– start 1:30 - Forestview High
School, Union Road. The ride usually
follows marked loops, either the 30 mile “W” route or the 50 mile “A” route, and
usually has a good turnout.
Club Jerseys & Shorts
Have Arrived!
Ahead of schedule, our custom designed club jerseys and shorts are
in and available for pick up at Cycling & Fitness. The blaze orange really
stands out, and the design really sets our club apart.
Thanks to Matt Derstine for taking on the whole project of
creating a design, obtaining our ordering options, relaying the information to
the club, collecting & tallying the orders, placing the actual order, and
sorting the clothing for pick-up at Cycling & Fitness. This took a lot of time and the club
appreciates Matt’s effort.
Race Results –
Cooper River
Bridge Run 10k (April 7,2001) A fun
weekend, including some great restaurants as well as the run, was had by all in
Charleston for the Cooper River 10K race. The best part was finally meeting
Margot Rott’s sisters. Runners: Ralph
Rutledge & Melissa Magee, Reese Wilson & Frances Scott, Hal Angel,
Ronald Hutchins, Suzanne Nutt, Jim and Paula Weant , and The Rott Sisters: Taffy, Ginger, Margot, & Paula (Margot’s
siblings, not a country singing group).
Walkers: Charlene Angel and
Stephen Dow. Athletic Supporters -
Jerry, Jeanette, & Rebekah West, and Leeann Dow. Times are not available
but all were really fast.
Challenge
to Succeed (April 8, 2001) On a sunny, 85 deg
day, 61 riders rode the annual event sponsored by the GCC and starting from
Crowders Mtn State Park. Participants
divided evenly amongst the 21, 42, & 63 mile options. Thanks go to Jack Moore for organizing the
event, and to Scott Moss and Paula Finney for assistance.
M.S.
Walk Lineberger Park (April 21, 2001) -
Thank you to the Gaston County Cyclists who participated in the 5 mile walk
(not race) for Multiple Sclerosis. There were over 80 total participants who
raised over $10,000. Team walkers = Leann & Stephen Dow, Charlene Angel,
Melissa Magee & Ralph Rutledge , Reese Wilson, and Jim & Paula Weant.
Boston Marathon
(April 16,2001) Jim Weant 3:56, Paula Weant 3:56 (congratulations on completing
Boston for the first time.) Please see
Paula’s synopsis of the event at the end of the newsletter!
Knob Scorcher
Mtn Bike Race – Tsali Recreational Area – (April 15, 2001)
Sport Class 23 mile race: Chad Leigh 1st place in 1:28,
Blair Craig 11th in 1:35,
Scott Moss didn’t place, finished in 1:42.
More results…
Come See Me
Events Rock Hill, SC Criterium, Category 5 (April 7, 2001) Scott Moss 7th.
Road Race, Category 5 (April 8, 2001) Scott Moss 9th.
Greenville Training
Series Road Race (April, 2001) Chad Leigh 1st place, Blair Craig
3rd, Scott Moss 4th.
First
Charter Criterium Shelby, NC (April 27, 2001) Category 5 - Blair Craig (top
10 finish)
Professional Race:
Won by Jamie Paolinetti of NetZero.
The $100 prime sponsored by Gaston County Cyclists was the first awarded
and went to Dean Laberge of the Marathon team as the winner of lap #2.
Mtn Bike Mania & Lite Collettsville, NC (April 28, 2001) Mania (62 miles, 79 participants)
John Price 5:42 56th place. Lite (41 miles, 37 participants) Troy Bush 3:03 2nd place, Margot
Rott 3:04 3rd place, Jim Weant 3:15 4th place, Paula
Weant 4:07 26th place, Melissa Magee 4:07 27th place,
Ralph Rutledge 4:07 28th place.
Upcoming
Running / Cycling Events
Assault on Land Harbor (June
2, 2001)
The fourth
annual, Assault On Land Harbor is scheduled for June 2, 2001. The 100
mile ride will begin promptly at 7:00am at Parkdale World Headquarters on South
New Hope Road in Gastonia. The ride will end at the Weant and Richardson houses
in Linville, NC. To date, I do not have a sag volunteer, but I will probably
drop a car, that morning at the bottom of the mountain that some one can drive
up. The cost of the ride will $20 nonrefundable
and with that we will provide Saturday evening pizza and drinks, as well as
breakfast, before our hike on Sunday. Please bring snacks, towels and a
sleeping bag unless you have been assigned a bed, then sheets. We should be
home that afternoon around 3:00 PM. I
will reserve your space upon receipt of your check. They may be mailed to
me, Jim Weant, at 2150 Wynbourne Drive, Gastonia NC, 28046.
Warning! This is a very difficult ride (100 miles, hot weather, & approximately
3000 ft of climbing) and with limited sag support, so you should be well
prepared to take on this challenge. I also strongly encourage anyone in the
club who wants to start out with us and turn back to do so.
Blood, Sweat
& Gears (June 23, 2001) 100 mile and 42 mile ride in Watauga County
(contains, Boone, NC). Sponsored by the
Watauga Red Cross. This route covers
idyllic mountain roads and is highly recommended. For more info contact:
http://www.bloodsweatandgears.org, phone: 828-264-8226, or write
BS&G 842 West King St Suite 18 Boone NC 28607.
Biker-Hiker Weekend (July 20-22, 2001) from Jim
Weant
Bryson City, Biker hiker weekend is
scheduled for July 20 and 21,2001. I have reserved 10 rooms at the Ridge Top
Motel (formerly LuCroy) under our club name. we have a special rate of $50 for
single and $55 for doubles. They have a limited amount of non smoking rooms so
make your reservations early (828-488-6363). Weather permitting, I plan to
trail ride Friday evening, hike Saturday morning, ride that afternoon and ride
on Sunday. Between all that activity, well you know, rest and such. Come one
and all, even if you do not mountain bike, you can tube, raft, shop or just
rest and enjoy the mountains.
Editor’s note: Bryson City
is a 15 minute drive from the Tsali Recreational Area in the Nantahala National
Forest. The Tsali Rec Area is home to
about 40 miles of the smoothest, least technical, & well marked single
track trails that can be found anywhere in the country. Bordering on Lake Fontana, these trails
offer scenic views through a pristine forest.
Time Trials
Lowe’s Motor Speedway (May 14, June 29,
July 27, August 15, September 20) For May 14 event, gates open at 5pm,
registration closes & event starts at 6:30 pm. Sponsored by the Tarheel Cyclists and Humpy Wheeler of Lowe’s
Motor Speedway. 10 miles long. $5 members, $8 non-members. For more info. see
http://www.tarheelcyclists.org or call John Talani 704-504-1875
May 6 - May Day Biathalon & 5K, Morgaton -
828 438 4786
May 19 – Assault on Mt Mitchell (to get a ticket, click on guest
book at http://members.aol.com/freewhspa/)
July 4 – Fabulous 4th Metric Century Tryon Middle
School, Polk County, NC 8:00 am $20 http://www.polkcounty.org
July 8 – Dog Days of Dallas ,
Dallas 704 263 4542, Melissa Magee
Boston Synopsis by Paula Weant
The Boston Marathon was certainly an experience I will never
forget. It was a dream of mine for several years to run Boston and I can
finally mark it off my "things to do" list.
The town of Boston is fabulous and there is so much to see and do
but unfortunately most of it involves walking. Jim and I arrived in Boston late
Saturday morning. We went to the running expo to pick up our numbers and to buy
the all important official 2001 Boston Marathon jacket and official 2001
poster. After all our money was spent, we started touring. We walked all around
Boston on their tourist Freedom Trail.
Sunday, we ran in the 2.61 mile warm-up for families. There were
over 2,000 participants. Thankfully, everyone ran at a slow pace. After the
run, we walked all the streets we did not cover on Saturday and managed to see
every inch of Boston by Sunday evening. By 7:00 p.m., Jim & I collapsed in
our hotel room from exhaustion. All I could remember was how Troy complained
when we all came to Boston several years earlier for he and Jim to run the
marathon and we all walked till our feet ached. Well Troy, I finally understand
why you were complaining and many years later, I am sony.
Monday morning came very early and our feet and legs did not feel
a bit rested. Jim & I had to catch our bus to go to the start area @ 7:00
a.m. We arrived in Hopkinton (start town) a little before 8:00 and prepared for
the 12:00 start. There wasn't that much to do for the four hours but eat,
drink, stretch, & stand in line for the port-a-johns. Jim & I started
going to our staging area about 11:20. Those of us with 11,000 and above
numbers needed the extra time to pass the start line, walk down a hill, turn a
comer, walk up a hill to get to our start area. They said the starting gun went
off at 12:00 but the "conservative" runners could not hear or see the
starting line. Approximately 8 minutes later we arrived at the official start
line and was able to start a slow jog. We stayed in a crowd the entire race and
since everyone around us had the same qualifying time, we all had about the
same running pace. There were people lined along the entire course yelling and
chearing for the fish camp jam twins in matching striped shorts. There were
plenty of official water stops and the people had water and food stops in
bewteen the official stops. The course is not that difficult and "heart
break hill" is nothing compared to what we run up on our local running
routes.
Jim & I completed the race in 3:56. Both were hurting but had
no injuries. I am very glad I ran Boston and what made it even more special was
having Jim with me. Jim had been suffering from back problems and was unsure if
he would be able to run. I really wanted him to run with me but not if there
was a chance he would injure himself. He started the race that morning with no
idea if he could finish so he carried cab and subway money. I prayed as we
passed each town that he would not have to stop. We successfully completed our
journey together. He was with me during my first marathon and with me during my
biggest. I never would have dreamed that when we started running together 17
years ago that one day we would run in the most famous marathon together. This
will certainly be an experience for us to talk about when we are old and in the
bike club retirement home.
Call Him Wrong Way Blair
It was a blazingly hot day in July and the race was a flat
stage of the 1950 Tour de France. With
most of the peloton content to sit in, an African rider named Abdel-Khader Zaaf
broke away, eventually building a lead of
20 minutes. Under such sweltering
conditions, however, Zaaf soon became weary and started to zig-zag on the
road. Thinking better of his attack, he
pulled off for a quick nap, only to awake and find that the entire race had
passed him by. He decided to give
chase, but unfortunately took off in the wrong direction! Although he eventually discovered his error,
it wasn’t before his ineptitude became known amongst the race fans and he
became somewhat of a celebrity.
Now the story turns to this year in Shelby, NC. Only instead of a 150 mile road event in the
desolate French countryside, it’s a downtown event on a closed circuit 8/10 of
a mile in length. The category 5 race
has just begun and with his strong legs, Blair Craig is competing in his first
criterium and leading from the opening gun.
The details are a bit murky of what happened next, but apparently Blair
was following the wrong motorcycle.
Thinking he was leading the race, he was disappointed to find himself
stopped at an ice cream shop at the end of a dead end street, only moments into
the race, facing a motorcyclist with a quizzical look on his face. Most of the other riders had made the
correct turn, so Blair valiantly chased down the field and eventually caught
back on. Exhausted from the effort,
Blair still managed a top 10 finish!
Blair is riding very strongly, so look for him to excel at the upcoming
Assault on Mt Mitchell. But let’s hope
he sees the Mitchell entrance. If not,
it could be hundreds of miles to the end of the Blue Ridge Parkway…