2007 12 Hours of Tsali

May 25, 2007 on 2:45 pm | In Mountain Bike Racing |

Dry, Dusty and Fast!Anyone who raced the 12 Hours of Tsali last year in the rain and mud had their wishes for sunshine and dry conditions granted for this year’s race. The temperatures were in the 70’s with crisp blue skies. We could not have had a nicer day. The course was incredibly dry, leaving many racers in clouds of dust as others rode by. (We are still blowing the dust out of our shorts). Over 300 racers participated this year. Huge! BioWheels put 3 of our 4 teams on the podium.With these dry conditions, came a super fast course, so fast that I don’t believe I have ever seen more injuries during the course of one race. Broken collarbones, broken ribs, arms, leg injuries, dozens of cuts and scrapes and one more serious injury where someone was flown out by helicopter. (We are certainly thinking about this man and hope to hear some kind of news soon. The rumor was a neck injury, and at the time of his departure he was said to be conscious and talking.)BioWheels had many jerseys at Tsali this year. There were 2 women’s & 2 men’s teams, plus 4 solo riders. We had Amanda McKay and Bridgett Donovan from Cincinnati joining Kyley Cross and Becky Bashton for team 1. Kassi Day, Laurie Neubert, Lea Osborne and a guest appearance from Laura Bowles, (filling in for our Michelle Reams) to make up a second team. The men’s open money team was made up of Adam Ray, Matt Johnson, Park Baker, and Dennis Helton. Our men’s sport team with Matt Rice, Dave Simpson, Jeremy Hargrove, and Ian Baldwin. Mike Brown, Jay Clinton and Eli Day took Tsali on solo, totaling 19 racers for Biowheels this year, one heck of a showing! Kurt Weigand, Wes Miller, Si Ezolt, James from Cinci., and Amber Martz showed up to support.Adam, Amanda, Laura, and Jeremy, took on the task of the lemans start for the teams. Adam looked rather like a gazelle at the front of the pack for the run, with everyone else not far behind. Then we just waited to see how fast the lap times were going to be this year and how our teams would fare.The first racer came in in just over 40 minutes. Things were starting to take shape and it was looking like the BioWheels open money team was in for some serious competition if they were going to reclaim their first place from last year. Jeremy came in for the men’s sport team with a strong standard for the team with a 44-minute lap. Adam was right behind him at 45 minutes. Laura was the second woman to finish with a strong 51 minute lap time and Amanda McKay not far behind with 52 minutes. The defending women’s champions from last year were in for some competition this year as well, not only from each other, but also from a team made up of talented women on the Chix Mix team.The day continued on. Mike Brown and Jay Clinton were completing some very strong laps and every time I saw them, they were together, keeping one another motivated. Eli Day was out on a single speed and besides some stories about vomit he was sharing, he appeared in good shape and spirits.

The men’s open money team, while completing fast and consistent lap times, just could not keep up with the competition this year. There were 10 teams in this category and no one got lapped, the times were tight, some teams just consistently pulling laps in the low 40’s. Most impressive of all and perhaps the most humbling was the KHS team up from Georgia who were just crushing everyone, I think most of them just out of the junior category. Our friends Patrick, Ed & Peter from Atlanta Pro Bikes turned it on and finished an impressive 2nd place.

The sport team however was railing, as were the women. The sport men had a strong lead in first place, some riders giving our own expert team a run for the money. I was very excited to see the women with such great times. This was a new experience for Laurie Neubert and she had to be happy with her times that were right up there with Kassi and Kyley’s fantastic times. Amanda, Bridgett, Becky and Laura, were, as expected, pulling the fastest times for the women. Perhaps most impressive though was sport rider Lea Osborne’s times. Lea rode her brand new custom Ellsworth Truth with lap times approaching our expert women’s efforts.

When the event finished up, BioWheels had 3 of 4 teams on the podium, some very notable personal accomplishments from the solo riders and individuals on the teams, and a new spirit for the BioWheels team. The open money team, who come out and almost always takes a podium spot, had to settle for 9th place this year. Our mens’ humble finish reminded us why we actually get out to these races; not to dominate the podiums, but to promote cycling and good times in an inclusive fashion. Nonetheless, we’ll stack a stronger mne’s team next year!

The men’s sport team, who had a stronghold on first, lost some time due to a chain break knocking them down to 5th. They were able to climb all the way back up for a second place podium finish. The women’s teams finished with a second and third place. Our solo riders, the biggest field for the day, yielded some notable finishes with Mike brown finishing 10th out of some 46 racers. Eli took 4th in the Singlespeed and Jay Clinton 21st.

The men’s sport team, who had a stronghold on first, lost some time due to a chain break knocking them down to 5th. They were able to climb all the way back up for a second place podium finish. The women’s teams finished with a second and third place. Our solo riders, the biggest field for the day, yielded some notable finishes with Mike brown finishing 10th out of some 46 racers. Eli took 4th in the Singlespeed and Jay Clinton 21st.

Thanks to Dave & Terri Berger of Gone Riding for another well conducted event- Complete results can be found on their website here.

Here is the photo album from our old website taken by Amber on this festive occasion.

Enjoy this great slideshow from Ben Butler.