January 14th, 2008

UPDATE! WE WILL NOT HAVE A WINTER RIDE SATURDAY!!! THE LAST RIDE WILL BE NEXT SATURDAY, JAN. 26TH, AND WILL BE THE FINALE!  WE WILL PARK AT BC GRANT BAPTIST CHURCH AND RIDE FROM THERE.  BRING YOUR SPRINTING LEGS FOR THIS ONE!

The second to last NGWCL was a big one!  10 riders showed up for the beautiful trek around Lake Seed and Rabun, as the riders semi-repeated the Ron Coker Lake Loop from earlier this season.  The Ramblin' Wreck showed up in full force, dominating every climb he approached.  Henstead came out, still nursing sickness, but too determined to ride to stay at home.  The Parks boys also showed up and took a trip with us.  The special guest of the day was none other than the Georgia State Cyclocross Champion Joseph Burch!  In true fashion, the pack left the Clarkesville square with much haste, as Riley Road Rash Parks kicked up the pace on the way to Batesville.  The pack remained tame for much of the day, and it wasn't until Burton Dam that things really picked up.  Meatgrinder tried to show off his newly "unaquired" weight by shooting up the Burton Dam climb, but the ramblin wreck would have none of it.  Thanks to him, the techies had something to be proud of this year!  Around the twisting and turning lake roads the riders went with a woosh woosh woosh!  When the time came to ride on 441, Old Man Burch recommended the pack take a detour up and around Tallulah Falls School.  Henstead was ready for the climb, and snapped the big chainring off his Campagnolo Chorus crank!  Thankfully the ramblin wreck likes us Georgia boys, and he called Mrs. Wreck to pick Henstead up.  When the riders hit the sprint line in the end, there wasn't much to be said other than the Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech and Meatgrinder got off, and the Wreck showed Meatgrinder who the King of the Mountain, er, the really big hill, really is, as he walked off in a taunting fashion to take the points and swag for the day!

Sprint Points:

1st-Andy Brackett

2nd-Dustin Mealor

3rd-Stan White

January 8th, 2008

IMPORTANT UPDATE!  We will be meeting at the square in Clarkesville Saturday.  Hopefully riding out at 12:30pm.  I don't have a map, but will mark an attack zone near the end of the ride.  We haven't had much of an issue with dropping anyone so far this winter, so we should be fine.  Bring your climbing wheels!

January 6th, 2008

The new year was started with a brave few willing to face the low-mid 40's temperatures with a fierce gritting of teeth and constant pounding of the pedals.  The small pack of Chicago Mike, The Mountain man, Clint "50 Cadence" Sauters, Chris Ross (nickname pending), and Meatgrinder.  As the pack headed out to tackle Henstead Lilly's route, better known as the "spider web", the wind whipped them like a whip from an evil stagecoach driver.  The group knew it was to be an interesting ride when the spider web got the best of them and a wrong turn was made.  It was all summed up by Chicago Mike when he made the statement "Well it's obvously Lilly's fault we're lost!".  Henstead called in sick, but the day was not ruined, as the pack soon found themselves back on course, and heading towards the attack zone.  When the time of suffering arrived, it was 50 Cadence who went for the low jab.  This was not a low jab to be ashamed of, but a literal one with his low cadence and fast accleration that shed all but Meatgrinder.  Chicago Mike showed his true grit, though, and time trialed it back to Meatgrinder and 50 (not to be confused with the rapper), by the 1k mark.  When the trio started up the hill to the finish, Meatgrinder and 50 were side by side, pedaling at a pace just begging to let the acid flow freely in the muscles.  Meatgrinder knew he needed to play it smart, so he dropped back on 50's wheel.  The jump was made with 15 yards to go, and Meatgrinder barely edged out 50 for the win.

Sprint:

1st-Dustin Mealor

2nd-Clint Sauters

3rd-Mike Penosky

Please pay for your shirts if you indicated you were interested in purchasing one. I still have some mediums and larges left that are unaccounted for, but I know who signed up for them.  Don't make me come after you with a pedal wrench!

The next ride will start from Arial Tire in Cornelia, GA.  It is pretty much next to the Cornelia Fire Department, so please google that location to find where we start from.  If you have questions, email me at wintercyclingleague@gmail.com and I'll give you more directions.

December, 30th 2007

What a better way to have the last NGWCL ride of the year than to ride for over 4 hours!  The pavement was struck again this week as 7 very lucky warriors were graced by God himself with weather fit for a king!  Layers were shed, but no people were.  The pack departed from BC Grant Baptist Church promptly at 12:00 to partake in some shedding of holiday pounds.  It was very apparent from the beginning that this was set to be a great ride, with temperatures in the high 50's to low 60's, and the sun beating down on our heads.  Newcomer Colin O'Reilly made a star appearance today, and pulled enough to escape a nickname for a while at least.  Shooting Star came out in full force, pulling the pack along with Henstead, Mountain Man, and Landis/Hefner (but not a doping one).  As the pack neared the first flat sprint into Carnesville, their leader to be unnamed made a wrong turn, but the pack was soon back on track with Dude Mahon edging out Meatgrinder for the points, and the swag.  The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, as it was just one of those days when everyone rode great, and the pace was perfect.  An executive decision was made later in the ride that inadvertently took the pack to Highway 441 for a few miles, but the traffic was very forgiving, and no one seemed to mind the welcome mat of flat highway.  When the motley crew finally reached their destination of the final attack zone, it was Shooting Star who shot off the front to make a go at it.  It seemed all hope was lost, but the pack worked together to pull him back in.  In the end it was Meatgrinder who came away with the attack zone win, and the day was complete.

First Sprint:

1st-Reilly Mahon

2nd-Dustin Mealor

3rd-Star Bridges

Second Sprint:

1st-Dustin Mealor

2nd-Stan White

3rd-Scott Hefner

December, 24th 2007 HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

This was definitely a ride to be remembered!  Not unlike a movie with many different elements making it a blockbuster, the Merry 5 Line Dash had many different elements that made it a ride that would not soon be forgotten by many!  The pack consisting of the likes of Craig Endurance Tinsley and Trace Howdy Nabors as newcomers struck the pavement with a violent whirlwind of endless sprints all day long.  The first of 5 was Lula, where Rodeo Clown charged off the front in a surprise attack to take the chalice, so to speak.  The next sprint, for points in the NGWCL overall standings, was Gillsville.  Meatgrinder tried for an off-the-front charge, but had been pulling the pack all day so far, and was struck down by the Ramblin' Wreck, and the people left in his wake.  The third sprint was Maysville, which was taken by Shooting Star by such force that even his saddle felt unworthy to be under him, and it snapped shortly thereafter, forcing him to "limp" back to the parking lot.  Meatgrinder barely edged out the Ramblin' Wreck for the fourth sprint of the day, and points towards the NGWCL overall title.  The mighty archons were visited by the likes of Nathan O'Neil for about 1/4 of their journey, and he shared his wisdom with them.  When the time came to turn off for the final attack, most of the pack headed home, for fear that their water bottles running dry would leave them in a rather nasty state of cramping.  Only four warriors, consisting of Howdy Nabors, Stephen "You're just great" Dean, Meatgrinder, and the Rambling Wreck remained.  As the quartet approached the 1k mark for the KOM of the day, It was Meatgrinder who arose victorious.  At the end of the day, the results were:

Most Aggressive: Andy Brackett

Second Sprint: (First for points)

Andy Brackett

Star Bridges

Craig Tinsley

Fourth Sprint: (Second for points)

Dustin Mealor

Andy Brackett

Reilly Mahon

December, 20th 2007

This Saturday, December 22nd, will be a day to remember.  The Merry 5 Line Dash will take place leaving from the BC Grant parking lot at 12:00pm.  The original layout of the ride was laid out to allow the 5 sprints to have payouts in the order of 1st sprint $5.00 gift card, up to the 5th one w/ a $100.00 payout.  That idea wasn't that great.  To keep people from sitting on the back of the pack all day to wait for that $100.00 line, the decision has been made to allow the cards to be distributed differently.  The first sprint winner will draw a number out of a hat 1-5.  Each card has a random number written on it, and that will be the card you get.  people will draw in the order of the sprint they won, 1st-5th.  Only the second and fourth sprints will be worth points towards league standings.  All sprints will be worth points to determine the overall "sprint leader" of the day, who will get a gift card to Habersham Bicycles.  The gift cards for the above mentioned sprints are $5.00, $10.00, $20.00, $50.00, and $100.00.  Hope to see everyone there!

Please bring your t-shirt money as well Saturday!

December, 15th 2007

The archons were in good spirits when leaving the parking lot of the Clermont Library today.  It was a nice, quiet, day; almost too quiet.  Little did the frozen pavement dwellers know they would be dwelling upon a wet, frozen, surface today.  As Chicago Mike, Attack, Henstead, Shooting Star, The Man, Meatgrinder, and Endurance Short set out upon their journey today, they set a nice tempo to begin the ride with.  Meatgrinder was reminded, as always, that this was a group ride and not a race as his power climbed in the flats.  20 miles in, the riders were graced with a few sprinkles of water, only to shrug this off with the hopes that God would be willing to grace them with enough dry weather to get their scheduled 65 miles in for the day.  They were badly wrong, and the heavens opened up with a downpour of epic proportions.  Henstead took the reigns on the water soaked asphalt as Attack grabbed a set of skis to take advantage of the water surrounding the peloton.  As the riders approached the "2 mile" attack zone, the paced vamped up.  Some say it was the Habersham Bicycles gift card , but Chicago Mike would agree that it was the 40 degree temperatures and pouring rain that caused the pace to accelerate  with haste.  As the riders approached the sprint line, it was Shooting Star who showed the pack how it's done, with Meatgrinder coming from the back of the pack for second.  Attack Mahon finished with a respectable third, and the riders were just happy that this day of misery had come to an end!

Sprint Results:

1st-Star Bridges

2nd-Dustin Mealor

3rd-Reilly Mahon

December, 8th 2007

The mighty warriors of the frozen asphalt showed their true speed in today's match of wits and skill.  They also showed that the asphalt wasn't frozen at all, but a comfortable, no warmers needed, high 60's kinda day.  As the riders blasted off down Old Cleveland Highway, Meatgrinder and Henstead Lilly lead the march for a while.  When the riders approached the long descent down Duncan Bridge Road only to hit a nice mile ascent later, it was Rodeo Clown Martin who shot off the front.  Must speculation was made about this move, but one thing was for sure, all riders involved were ready to hit the first attack zone soon to come.  As the riders first approached the attack zone, it was Sammy Diesel Arial who struck first.  All riders not aware of the reasoning behind Diesel's nickname were soon left in the dust of the fading peloton.  As the riders approached the 1k to go mark, Scott Landis/Hefner went on the assault with such speed that none of the peloton could hold his wheel.  Reilly Attack Mahon quickly moved to the front along with Meatgrinder to assess the situation and take control of the pack.  Meatgrinder was barely edged out by Attack's fierce uphill sprint for the points.

The riders hit the asphalt once again after a short hiatus at the store stop.  On the way back in, it was Ron Chippolini Coker and Stan The Man White leading the way.  What little bit of legs the riders had left they were saving for the final attack zone back to the schoolyard from whence they came.  As the riders turned onto Old Cleveland once again, it was Attack who jumped off the front for a shot at the much coveted "break away" attempt.  Henstead Lilly was having nothing of it and helped to reel Attack back in with the help of The Man.  As the riders approached the final attack it was Henstead who took the win, but NO WAIT!!  The riders were confused as to which line was the sprint line and Rodeo Clown darted around the pack to take the official win of the week, and the swag!  The results for the weekend were:

Intermediate Sprint:

1st-Reilly Mahon

2nd-Dustin Mealor

3rd-Scott Hefner

Final Sprint:

1st-Matthew Martin

2nd-Dustin Mealor

3rd-John Lilly

Most Aggressive Rider of the week-John Lilly

December, 1st 2007

The first NGWCL with official attack zones left out of the Clarkesville Square today.  Almost as quickly as the mighty Archons of the winter  left the parking lot, their winter clothes were being shed.  The mighty warriors of the icy pavement got off to a fast start as Chad Hayes shot off the front in a blaze of glory.  He insisted that this was just an "initial Zipp test", and the rest of the pack allowed him to proceed.  Jim Horn was the next to initiate the pain as he blazed along New Liberty road and strung the pack out like the warm spaghetti that was on most of their minds.  As the riders neared the first climb, Raper Mountain, Mike Penosky and Clint Sauters showed their climbing skills.  Before the riders knew it, the Burton Dam attack zone was upon them.  Chad Hayes and Matthew Rodeo Martin got things off to a good start by stringing the pack out with their strong pulls.  Reilly Mahon, Star Bridges, Stan White, and John Lilly were among the riders to come who would fan these leg burning flames and add to the already deadly momentum of the attack zone.  In the end, only three warriors remained.  Stan The Mountain Man White, Shooting Star Bridges, and Clint Low Cadence Sauters, with Shooting Star arising as victor of this battle.  The rest of the ride remained quite friendly and docile as David Shabat and the rest of the pack took it back into town.

November 23rd, 2007

The map for tomorrow has been uploaded!  I also have uploaded some future ride information.

November 18th, 2007

Thanks to all our sponsors for making the NGWCL possible!

The first NGWCL took place yesterday, as the might winter warriors John Lilly, Ron Coker, David Parks, Riley Parks, Stan White, Mike Penosky, Dustin Mealor, and Matt Shechtman took to the roads of Northeast Georgia to partake in the wonders of winter splendor!  The mighty Archons took to the roads with much haste, and the only thing to be had other than the winter chill on this day was an ever falling sun!  The day went well as the riders approached Raper Mountain, the difficult, but short, climb featured in a past Tour de Georgia stage.  Mike Penosky showed off his mountain legs as he worked his way up the mountain with ease.  After a bit of strolling along after the difficult Raper climb, the riders approached the attack zone to be in the first official points ride, and couldn't resist giving it a go.  Stan White was the first to the gun as he sprinted to the front and dragged the quartett of Shechman, Penosky, Mealor, and himself around Seed Lake.  The riders decided back off right before the finish line to let the true champion be decided at a later date.  The riders completed the rest of the ride at an admirable pace, and called it a day, hardly making back in time for daylight to be left.  They all decided that a 1:00pm start time would be much wiser from now on, with some rides beginning at 12:30 or even 12:00.

A RIDE HAS BEEN ADDED FOR NEXT SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 24TH, DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND, AND REQUEST FOR A MAKE-UP RIDE BY MANY.  Details for this ride are posted in the Ride Schedule section of the site, and the route map will be added early this week.  Hope to see you all there!

Please make haste in your decisions for NGWCL T-Shirts!  The order will be placed very soon!

November 10th, 2007

Thanks to Hayes Dealerships!  They are the most recent sponsor for the NGWCL!

The beginning of the NGWCL is near!  Next Saturday, 11-17-2007, marks the beginning of the second year for the Northeast Georgia Winter Cycling League.  The competition looks to be tight this year with the return of many previous competitors from last year.  The official map has been posted for this ride in the Ride schedule section.  Quite a few ladies have shown interest in taking part on the participation side of the NGWCL this year, and I have therefore began to work on, at request, shorter loop alternatives if anyone is interested in attending, but not necessarily doing the full loop the normal group is doing.  You will still get participation points, but no sprints points will be given obviously.  Later, maps will be posted on this site with different loops labeled.  However, since this was kind of a last minute thing, I've created a map HERE at mapmyride.com to show the short loop option available for the first ride.

There are some new rider profiles!

There has been quite a bit of interest shown in the shirts that have been made by our sponsor Graphic Image USA for the 2007-2008 NGWCL.  I will have a sign up sheet for these at the first ride on Saturday, and there is also a sign up sheet for these at our sponsor, Habersham Bicycles.  Here is a picture of what the front will look like for the shirts below.  The final result will hopefully be ready to view Saturday, and if so, an order for shirts will be placed the next Monday.  Payment for your shirt isn't required until you get it.  The shirt design is still pending a little, especially with the sponsors being final now having changed since the initial design of the shirt, but this is pretty concrete.

October 28th, 2007

This season looks to be very promising, with a wide variety of riders showing interest, from cat 4 racers to recreational riders.  The first ride will soon be upon us, coming November 17th.  The ride schedule page has now been updated with directions and start times for the rides currently listed.  I apologize for leaving those out.

Please remember to stop by Habersham Bicycles and check out the NGWCL t-shirt design to be sold this year.  Shirts will be $12.00 each, and will range in size from small to xx large.

October 22nd, 2007

The site has been updated with all current sponsor logos!  we still have one pending sponsor, and upon approval or denial, we will begin figuring numbers for how many T-Shirts we will sell.  As always, keep updated!

I have also received a few emails about what exactly the NGWCL is.  Take  a guess at which link that is (NGWCL?).  I have created a new page/link to show that.  I am also working on a new web page design that will be much nicer than the current.  Everything will stay the same minus colors, fonts, and it will be a framed page, which means it's much easier for me to manage.  Keep Updated!

October 21st, 2007

Arial Tire

Has joined the NGWCL's list of sponsors! We are very pleased, and grateful for Arial Tire's support and thank them!

October 20th, 2007

Official Sponsors to date!  The NGWCL is very pleased to announce it's sponsors for the year, in no particular order:

Ron Coker Homes

Anderson Carpet One

If you are a sponsor and do not have your logo displayed on our site, please email me your company logo at wintercyclingleague@gmail.com and it will immediately be put up the same day if possible.  We are very grateful to our sponsors, and look forward to putting their money to use making this year's NGWCL very successful!

NGWCL T-Shirts are here!

One of our sponsors, Graphic Image USA, has been kind enough to donate their time and sponsorship to making the official NGWCL 2007-2008 T-shirts!  These shirts will be $12.00 each, and will come in sizes ranging from small to extra-extra large.  Please stop by Habersham Bicycles and place your order on the signup sheet today!  Click here to view the design!

October 18th, 2007

NO MORE ADS!

Yes, a very generous sponsor has taken the liberty of abolishing our pesky ads for the site!  At this time I am waiting for approval to place their logo with a link on the site, but it will be up very soon.  Currently, another sponsor, Graphic Image USA, has taken the liberty of starting the design for NGWCL t-shirts.  These shirts will be available in a month or two, and will come in different sizes.  A sign-up sheet to pre-order your shirt will be located in our Bike Shop Sponsor's, Habersham Bicycles, store.  Please take time to drop by and sign up to get your shirt!  All proceeds for shirts will go to the NGWCL!  Your money gets swag! 

1ST RIDE, NOVEMBER 17TH UPDATE!!!

Our first ride, scheduled for November 17th, will be a replica of our second ride, which is December 1st.  The ride on the 17th will be a social ride, since it's the first one.  Signing in will get you 1 point instead of the normal 2, and there will be no sprints.  The official first attack zone ride will be the same ride, the Ron Coker Lake Loop, on December 1st.  This ride will feature the famous "Lake Attack Zone" for points, and some swag!  Keep updated!

PROFILES!!!

Send me your rider profiles to be posted in the corresponding section!

October 11th, 2007

New Update!!!

Okay, so I got the first ngwcl ride confirmed!  Come out and we'll see who gets to wear that yellow jersey (figuratively speaking)!  I'm also adding two new sections at the request of some of the guys around here.  First new addition is the "Rider Profiles" section.  You simply email me a profile of yourself through the link on that page, and I'll start a database of everyone that sends me something!  Second, I am adding a Classifieds page!  There will be a road, mountain, and cyclocross section.  I will also have a link in each section for you to send me a for sale ad.  Keep checking for updates!

October 5th, 2007

Welcome to the official website for the Northeast Georgia Winter Cycling League.  The winter cycling league was the brainchild of "Old Man" Burch in the winter of 2006.  Due to work and other circumstances, Burch has handed the league over to me, "Meatgrinder" Dustin Mealor!  I'm very excited about the league this year, and think it'll be a huge success!  As the site is currently under construction, please check back constantly for updates and info on upcoming rides.  In the meantime, take a look around!