NAMRITA K. O'DEA

After last weekend, I have been anxious to race again..and the next thing on my schedule wasn't until Sept. 18. I searched the interwebs for something not-too-far away and came up with the 6/12 hour race at Tribble Mill which is at a local trail I have never ridden. I asked Eddie if he'd want to team up..he said something about being tired from all the Fool's Gold marking, take-down, and clean-up and also something about an impending race across Georgia next week..fine, fair excuses. I asked a few ladies if they would want to team up but it wasn't a good weekend on the calendar.

Just 10 days ago, the Fool's Gold singletrack was bone dry, except for the few usual puddles here and there that never seem to go away even in a drought. But, the forecast was looking questionable for race day--reports were suggesting anywhere from 40-60% chance of rain, but we figured if it rained it would happen in the latter part of the day.

Because I have to go back to school on August 23 Eddie said it was cool if I wanted to race Fool's Gold again even though it was his turn to race (I did the 100 miler last year). So...now I am doing the 100, thanks Eddie! :)

Today was great. We have had Eliza Jane the foster German Shorthaired Pointer for almost 2 months now. I really had my doubts about her ever being "adoptable"..she was so shy, so scared, and so...unsocial. But, we kept bringing her out and exposed her to other dogs, people, mountain bikes, trails, Mulberry Gap.. :) It took a while and it was not easy. Some days she completely frustrated me as I didn't feel like we were making progress with her. In the meantime, my 11 year old dog has been sick so I've been trying to give him the attention he needs, too.

No internet, no email, no facebook, no twitter

Just a lot of this

plus some nice views

some wildlife

The plan for the weekend was to do 2 long days of riding out of Mulberry Gap in the North Georgia mountains. Eddie and I arrived in the early afternoon on Saturday, just in time for the afternoon shower. Except this time it wasn't just a shower, it was a several-hour downpour. We started with a short section of gravel road and then a nice singletrack climb. The climb was hurting me. My legs were not in the game..unfortunately this has been the story much too often lately. Blood tests done last week have revealed low iron status.

I have not wanted to ride on the road at ALL lately. Maybe it's the heat..or maybe I'm just bored with the lack of good training roads in Atlanta. There's not much good scenery close-by and we live in an area with lots of truck traffic and stop lights. Lately, I've been putting more miles on our 2002 Escape which is reaching the end of it's precious life..220,000+ miles on it!!..just because all I feel like doing right now is riding mountain bikes.

Today: The day before ORAMM, one of the biggest races on the East coast. I procrastinated registering because of my bruised ribs but once I knew they would be OK for racing I found a last-minute transfer entry. I paid my monies, rested my legs, prepped my Rotwild R.R2 race machine, my nutrition products, and every other little detail that goes into a race like this. I haven't raced since June 19 and I am champing at the bit. I haven't even been nervous for this one..in fact I think I have been trying to find things, like tire choice, to be nervous about.

ORAMM. One of the legendary races of the Southeast. 65'ish miles with long gravel road climbs and awesome east-coast technical singletrack descents.

I procrastinated my registration too long but luckily I found a last-minute entry!

Summertime in Georgia means getting to the mountains as much as possible to mountain bike. Creek crossings, shade, and the daily thunderstorm all help to make you forget it's 90-some degrees outside.

4-hour mountain bike rides in the mountains have been the norm lately. Exploring some new stuff with Eddie in his preparation for the Trans-North-Georgia race and riding some old stuff like Stanley Gap, Green Mountain, Tibbs, Unicoi that I haven't ridden in awhile.