THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS TOUR TOPS!

Thank you for making this Tour so great:

We were hoping that the weather of 2005 would not return for this year but it did. We were very lucky to ride for 4 days and only got wet one time. In the mountains the weather is funny, it can rain and hail in one place and the next mountain over can be clear and beautiful. We tried to focus our rides on the clear climbs.

Daily Recap:

After a long drive from Florida to the cabins we immediately jumped on the bikes with great enthusiasum. Our cabins were located at the base of Hogpen Gap which is probably the second hardest climb in North Georgia next to Brasstown Bald. That 7 mile climb showed right away who could climb and desecnd. The asecnt speed was around 5-6 mph and one camper hit 55.9 on the descent. That was followed by a much easier jaunt up Wolfpen Gap and a return to the cabins. Off to dinner we went to a quaint little Mexican establishment in Blairseville.

Friday's ride was to be our Queen stage. We rode the race route ahead of the riders and clibmed Neels Gap, WolfPen Gap and Woody's Gap all before taking a wild 20KM descent into Dahlonega for the finish of the Tour Stage. That stage was won by American Freddy Rodriguez in front of thousands of screaming fans. Another American, Floyd Landis retained his yellow jersey after finishing in the pack. FCC Tour riders rode 65 miles in the big mountains in a very respectable 3 1/2 hours.

Saturday was to be the test on Brasstown Bald, the now famous, super steep, leg breaker that even makes the pros slow down to a crawl. A drive to the base of Brasstown to get a good parking spot and an hour warmup ride up Unicoi Gap and Jack's Gap was to be followed by the attempt of the Bald when the rains set in and we postponed the attempt as riding the Bald's 30%+ grades is hardly possible in the dry let alone the rain. Our assualt on the East's toughest climb would have to wait until Sunday. After watching the stage finish atop Brasstown Bald having taken the shuttle to the top, the weather turned perfect and so riding we went. We found the least hilly road in the valleys near the cabin and explored some beautiful roads for 20 miles. The evening light and temperature made this ride a favorite among all the campers as it was without any monster climbs.

Sunday was our final day in georgia and required the conquering Brasstown Bald. I am glad to report that every rider in our group made the climb and smiled after it was over. There were no smiles during however. It is unbelievable that the Tour de Georgia racers hit the base of that climb with 91 miles covered. We did it with 20 miles covered and that was enough. After returning to the cabins and packing up we all hit the road for the drive home. Even with the pain, every rider vows to return next year and tackle the mountains again. That was living at its best.

Thank you. You were the best!

Pablo and Tim look forward to seeing you again very soon!