RoadSkater.Net - Comments for "Athens to Atlanta (a2a)"

Here's the link again

In reply to Athens-to-Atlanta Roadskate A2A 2010 Inline Road Skate Rollerblading Ultra Marathon:

Sorry. Here's a better-looking link:

http://www.active.com/more-sports/athens-ga/a2a-athens-to-atlanta-road-s...

Please Sign Up as a ROADSKATER.NET Team Member

In reply to Athens-to-Atlanta Roadskate A2A 2010 Inline Road Skate Rollerblading Ultra Marathon:

Hi to all. I wanted to reiterate that we would love for ROADSKATER.NET (all caps if it'll let you do it) as your team when you register for skating, cycling, walking or other events...or the first or one of your teams...as long as you like what we are trying to do on here. There's no fee or process required, although it helps a lot to join the website of course (and post!).

Some of us are from North Carolina but it is not intended as a localized team...it's for the universe of skaters who want it to be theirs. If that's you, come on and skate or bike some charity events with or while representing us. It just takes a little bit of skateylove. Sorry you don't get prizes to be on the team, or not ones that cost anything! Represent roadskating with love to people of good will. We try; sometimes fail; try again.

Also, listing us as your team helps the website get some traffic so we can help other people start roadskating, or continue it, or learn about it and the charity events we do...A2A, Tour to Tanglewood, Carolina Century, Tour de Lions, Tour de Kale, many more.

Also it is a special thrill to see that so many of you skate A2A and other events in your ROADSKATER.NET jerseys from the past five years. Thank you! Even if I forget to mention it, this is very important to me, and makes the work and worry over colors and fabric worthwhile.

A2A photos from Jay & Deb

In reply to A2A Results are up!:

Jay took pictures at the 38 finish and later at the 52/87 finish on A2A day. He did his best to get most everyone that came past the 38 finish and checkpoint 3, and most who came across the line at the 52/87 after the 87 finish clock hit 6:22. I think he did a great job, especially since he was watching his young daughter at the same time! To see the pictures:

Go to http://www.daycphotography.com/ and click on the "Check out your proofs on line!" link.

From there, click on the "Athens to Atlanta Skate 09" link.

It will ask you to register, and you will need to provide an e-mail address, but only to communicate with you about this event, and will not be used for any other purpose.

I like the scrolling design for finding a particular photo/participant.

These animations are pretty

In reply to Carolina Century 102-Mile and Athens to Atlanta 87-Mile Route Elevation Profile Comparison:

These animations are pretty cool for comparison.

GO TEAM F.A.S.T.

Cool stuff - looks like they flattened that one hill

In reply to Athens to Atlanta A2A Roadskate 2008 to 2009 Detour Elevation Profile, Distance, Route Changes:

Nice pic of switching back and forth! You can easily see where the extra distance was added in - it almost looks like they took that one steep hill around 57mi and flattened it into a few smaller hills. I'm sure the extra distance made up for the "flattening" though.

Hardly F1...

In reply to Athens to Atlanta Roadskate 2009 A2A Detour Video:

...but with my gear changes, probably just as loud :-)

I *SO* wanted to stop that guy and buy one!

I didn't think my 12 year old clutch could handle many more shifts, hence the rolling stop sign. Excuses excuses!

good to see the detour

In reply to Athens to Atlanta Roadskate 2009 A2A Detour Video:

Whoa....not a gap that can be leaped.

The video is a great preview of what to expect. Although, at 2.00 min.mark, with the sun blazin' and such, perhaps stopping the street vendor for a fudgecicle would have been a good call..........that, and at the 3.50 min.mark you rolled the stop sign. Other than that though ---- looked good. ;-)

No way to jump it!

In reply to Athens to Atlanta Roadskate 2009 A2A Detour Video (a2a-2009-cruse-road-closed.jpg):

Without the aid of a huge ramp, at least!! And there's no way to go around it on either side, unless you want to trudge through creeks and hack through a forest.

Great We'll Hope to Be There Both Times

In reply to Roadskater.net Photo and Jersey Meetup at Statue of Athena, Classic Center, Athens GA plus Early Dinner:

We will try our best to make both times, and if we're not there when you get there, feel free to call. So far we're looking good for scheduling, but I'm thinking about working on a video of the detour. Hmm.

might make the 5:30 photo

In reply to Roadskater.net Photo and Jersey Meetup at Statue of Athena, Classic Center, Athens GA plus Early Dinner:

Just re-read the schedule, and we ought to be able to make the 5:30 photo... See you there!

- SM -

see you there

In reply to Roadskater.net Photo and Jersey Meetup at Statue of Athena, Classic Center, Athens GA plus Early Dinner:

Lisa and I will come in on Friday, and we will make a point of being there for a picture on Saturday. Jonathan S

probably won't be there...

In reply to Roadskater.net Photo and Jersey Meetup at Statue of Athena, Classic Center, Athens GA plus Early Dinner:

Jaime & I are driving down on Saturday... We probably won't get to Athens until 4:30 or 5:00. The plan is to get there with enough time to check in to the hotel, pick up my registration packet and pick up any last minute things at the expo before Henry's rant. (I think an hour should be sufficient for all that.)

So we'll miss the picture, and probably just do dinner after the rant... We'll definitely see you there though...

- SM -

The statue of Athena meet is

In reply to Athens to Atlanta A2A Road Skate Absolute First Timer:

The statue of Athena meet is on Saturday, right? Just saw the list of registered skaters, nobody else from Charleston. I lieu of a Roadskater jersey, looks like I'll be wearing my Charleston Dragon Boat jersey, which is bright red and at least easy to spot.

Yes Philly has a Strong Skate Crowd

In reply to A2A 2007 - My Toes are Still Bruised:

Hey. The email list for Philly is landskaters and they're on yahoogroups.com. There may be more recent setups of course, meetup or facebook or whatever, but for a semi-private email based one, yahoogroups is not bad. The Philly Freedom Skate and later iterations have been great fun, and I'll be back when I have the bucks.

Your city's skating scene

In reply to A2A 2007 - My Toes are Still Bruised:

Your city's skating scene sounds great - is this still going on? Maybe I could take a long weekend there, both skating and dragon boating....

What he said

In reply to 2009 Inline Skate Calendar of Events for the Roadskater.net Community will be helpful:

Thanks for the link to the clip.

Racing or Touring

In reply to Athens to Atlanta A2A Road Skate Absolute First Timer:

If you're racing, you'll likely want to stay light, but I've seen some of the fastest skaters wearing hydropacks under their skinsuits, still grabbing water at every chance. The fanny packs are great if you practice getting them open and filled in good order. I usually bring my own mix in zip bags. For the 48 oz. I use a couple of scoops of ade with 1/2 tsp. of Morton Lite Salt (sodium, potassium). I drink water along the way with that. Later in the day I mix it a bit lighter sometimes, depending on how hot it is and how soaked my jersey is. Sometimes I squeeze the air out of the empty water bottles and put them in the back of my jersey or even in the front if not worried about the Santa Claus effect too much! You might leave a pack at the stop before the longest gap between stops. Also the longer I skate the less I bother with any other food other than gels/goo. I can make myself eat that almost regardless of the situation (by force sometimes, but at least the calories go in). Then I look at stuff on the tables and if it strikes me and doesn't have fat in it, I eat it. I'm fond of carrying dried cranberries many tens of miles only to not eat them, though I did eat the ones on day 2 of T2T this year. I've found them to be most excellent along with oatmeal an hour or more before the start. I've also written a comment on some old strategy notes here...

http://roadskater.net/a2a-athens-to-atlanta-road-skate-survival-strategy

Cell phone numbers off line

In reply to Athens to Atlanta A2A Road Skate Absolute First Timer:

Hey Cat Brother. We'll likely meet at the statue of Athena in front of the Classic Center in the mid to late afternoon. I am thinking I'd like to eat dinner before the rant (Henry's route and other notes, very important this year after the flooding), but I haven't checked with others on this. You can use the contact form for a member to send a message to them. Also you might want to join the InlineNC group on yahoogroups.com. You can reach me by sending to my user name at the website name. I'll post here and on InlineNC what I hope to do about getting together for a photo and some hanging out, food or not. Every year I try to get more sleep than before, and usually, my plan fails, but I'm doing better sometimes! I think I got more sleep at T2T this year than ever, especially the night before. It still wasn't much, but lots more than usual. I think this helped my heart rates and performance both days.

Some things have changed but here are some tips

In reply to A2A Athens to Atlanta Road Skate Survival Strategy:

Thanks to Gustavo for reminding me of this. I use a CamelBak brand waist pack that holds about 48 oz I think it is. I really like this pack and am generally glad I've dropped the m.u.l.e. 100 oz. I used to use. If you have tried fanny packs but not a recent model of the CamelBak, give it a look. One great feature is you can loosen the side straps when you fill it, then as you drink the contents, just pull forward on the straps and it keeps it all tight and not sloshing. I got the optic yellow version and I think it can't hurt and probably helps people see me. I have a second pack of the same style and will likely leave it at 38 to pick up, either the pack or just the bladder. Not sure but it's an idea.

Just made hotel

In reply to Athens to Atlanta A2A Road Skate Absolute First Timer:

Just made hotel reservations, also....yep, decided to be there Friday night, also. Will we have a cell phone # swap or something, so the whole Roadskater gang can meet up, or what?

carrying liquids

In reply to Athens to Atlanta A2A Road Skate Absolute First Timer:

You'll see all manner of liquid carrying.

The minimalist approach is to simply grab a water bottle from each rest stop. Some will carry the bottle in their hand, or put it in a jersey pocket.

I have a water bottle holder that I wear like a fanny-pack. I always have two water bottles - one in the water bottle holder and another in a jersey pocket. This is in case I miss a handoff at a rest stop, or in case I run out. Like you said, 15 miles is pushing it for 12 oz of water.

You can find a bottle holder like this at any sporting goods store. (I like the selection at REI...) They also have double bottle holders too.

Camelbaks are very popular, they're just a little difficult to fill while you're rolling down the road. If you don't mind stopping to refill it, go for it. But keep in mind that the other skaters in your pack might not stop. I'd say that 1-liter (32oz) should be plenty big enough for just about anyone. Anything over 48oz is overkill, and just extra weight you'll be lugging up the hills. Of course, the tradeoff is you won't have to stop to refill it as much.

Be sure to take in some electrolytes when you drink. You can either mix a sport drink (like gatorade) on the go or just add some electrolyte mix. I use a concentrated electrolyte mix from http://www.eletewater.com/ and just squirt it into the water bottles when I grab them. Others might carry gatorade mix and use it when they refill their camelbaks.

- SM -

A bit Old but I am sure Great Tips for A2A

In reply to Athens to Atlanta A2A Skate Strategy Guide:

A bit Old but I am sure Great Tips for A2A Thanks for sharing. I'll be doing the 52m A2A this year
GustavoAMH

I'm doing the double

In reply to Athens to Atlanta A2A Road Skate Absolute First Timer:

I'm doing the double marathon this year, not the 87, but 15 miles can still be awhile. As far as how to carry liquids, I have both a Camelbak and various Nalgene-type bottles. Does anyone skate with a small backpack?

pack light

In reply to Athens to Atlanta A2A Road Skate Absolute First Timer:

Vinegar? I've never heard of that one...

Take whatever tools you need to tighten your axles and brake pad. If you have a spare axle, take that. A spare brake pad couldn't hurt. Put your cellphone in a ziploc bag, just in case.

Take whatever food you want to eat during the event. You also have the option of having a bag taken to a specific rest stop on the course. But it may take some time to locate your bag when you get there.

Take some money just in case you need to stop at a convenience store along the way.

For myself, I start out with gatorade and switch to water on the course. (Since that's what they hand out at the rest stops.) I carry Gu gels to eat. They usually have bananas on the course, so I'll grab a banana when they're available and save my gels.

I think the longest you have to go between rest stops is 15 miles (at the very beginning, then later in the course.) So you don't need to carry any more water than what it takes to go 15 miles, assuming you refill at each stop. You might want to have a little more as a "reserve". But carrying much more than that is just extra weight. The turn sheet says there is a water station at 66 miles, but I've never seen anyone there. It's a fire station, so I'm sure they'd give you water if you asked, but I'd plan on getting all the way to the 71 mile checkpoint.

I used to carry all kinds of other stuff -- extra wheels, bearings, etc... It's not necessary and is just extra weight. In the very unlikely event that you lose a wheel, you can always move your remaining wheels around and skate (if necessary) and skate with one less wheel on that skate.

It may not seem like much, but every little bit adds up over 87 miles. The less stuff you carry along the way, the easier it will be.

- SM -

Since deciding to do the

In reply to Athens to Atlanta A2A Road Skate Absolute First Timer:

Since deciding to do the race in K2's, I've felt much better. Chafing just won't be an issue, nor will braking or maneuvering. I'm staying off the bridge, as it's not skate-friendly (maybe I'll try a midnite skate tonight), but am doing bursts of 1-leg squats while skating on my normal flat route.

Here's one I meant to ask - besides a wrench to tighten screws, what's on your list of stuff to have on you, the whole race? I've heard vinegar to clean wheels, and I figured a cell phone in case of catastrophe, and whatever munchies I pick (currently skating on a mix of maltodextrin + protein powder I make myself, with some lemonade mix tossed in). So, what to have in a fanny pack/small backpack?

very cool news clip

In reply to 2009 Inline Skate Calendar of Events for the Roadskater.net Community will be helpful:

Thanks for that clip GustavoAMH. This event looks like a ton of fun.

Get your training for A2A in BEFORE 7-10 days BEFORE A2A

In reply to Athens to Atlanta A2A Road Skate Absolute First Timer:

There'll be little training effect and maybe damage if you do lots of training in the last week to ten days before A2A. Authorities (and the rest of us) disagree on this and maybe some more knowledgeable can comment, but get your training in BEFORE that last week, then do some recovery skating and walking, maybe some brief fun skate sprints, and leave it at that.

Get lots of SLEEP if you can for as many days before the event, and ideally, get yourself on the time zone you need to be in to wake up and be ready. (I usually opt for 12 hours off of this ideal schedule.)

Drink plenty of fluids in the last week, get some good protein during the week, and yes, I think carbohydrates do help in the last days too. But mostly, make sure you take carbohydrates on the road (some of us find gu or powergels to be the easiest, quickest, most convenient road food, but many prefer other items...find out what works for you ahead of time).

If you will be skating over 4 hours especially, be sure to drink fluids with electrolytes instead of only water (water's good, but on a 4+ hour skate it can thin the sodium or potassium or other electrolytes in your system dangerously). Take in electrolytes all day, avoiding fat where you can during the event. For some of us, this means adding a half teaspoon of Morton Lite Salt to our skaterade mixes we put into zips and carry or send to the stops.

Secret dead mouth weapon: Atomic Fireballs, larger size. These marvels of sugar and cinnamon provide a sugar-drip to wake up your mouth and give you a constant carbo kick and for some, another kind of pain to think about besides the legs, heart, lungs and psyche!

First Time Advice

In reply to Athens to Atlanta A2A Road Skate Absolute First Timer:

I did A2A, 87 miles, for the first time last year. (I did the 10k in 2007.)

My advice?

1. Practice hills. You can always rest and catch your breath. But you can't get your legs back when they've turned to rubber after too many hills. Better to do 10 mile practice skates with many hills than 50+ mile skates that are flat.

2. Know what your body needs in terms of electrolytes, water, and food. This would be one exception to the practice advice above--you might need one long skate to try out what electrolytes you need.

I was lucky and had a good group to skate with, but our group dwindled to just two of us at the finish. It goes without saying that you need skates that you'll be comfortable in the whole way.

-Tom

On the Matter of Roadskater.net Jerseys

In reply to Athens to Atlanta A2A Road Skate Absolute First Timer:

Oh yeah no pressure to wear a Roadskater.net jersey or to put us down as your team, but we love it when you do.

Right now I have a few Tangerine jerseys left in sleeveless, and I think the numbers are accurate on the page eebee referred to.

We do Tour to Tanglewood this weekend and if someone doesn't want the jersey they ordered, there may be one for sale. Nobody knows the color yet, other than me, and I still haven't seen it in the daylight on a real jersey. Friday early evening is when we find out if anyone wants them! After T2T I should know what I have available if Tangerine isn't your fave or if I don't have a color or style you like in that color. I wasn't able to buy extras this year, but we might do some reprints once we've seen this year's version and have tried them.

Sorry for the delay! Thanks to others for answering!

In reply to Athens to Atlanta A2A Road Skate Absolute First Timer:

Hey Cat Brother and Danielle. I'll add quick ones. I usually like to go on and on. Busy now with Tour to Tanglewood. Come up and skate this weekend! It's for a good cause, but a bit pricey late, at $240 (because you have to pony up the fundraising at registration if you don't reg early).

I used K2 Flight 76s that were hopped up to 80mm my first A2A. It rained. Others were blistered and bleeding when we came in soggy and happy head to feet. First A2A I think K2s or similar are perfect as long as they're not new to you.

It's hilly and you need to be able to stop at intersections, but the countryside hills have nice runouts. Still you want to catch some air to slow down, don't get anywhere near too scary fast. You can go back later and go down the hills faster. The first time, just be safe and finish if you can!

If you're in a paceline and start to freak, raise your left hand and say somthing like "I'M OUT" and come out of the paceline BEFORE you brake or some folk in the packback will be snarly with you for making them get dropped.

A good thing to do is get to the back of the pack on the big downs so you can drift off when you need to, but get some of the benefit before that.

In Charleston you might try skating that big bridge, if they let you. It'd be practice slowing coming off of that puppy too.

So I say K2s with a brake first year at least, and many of us would be better off this way for longer, maybe forever. At some point you become better with the speed skates than the rec skates, and the rec skates might even rub your shins or whatever, but for now, use skates you know, K2s are great, and a new brake pad (or carry a new one with you with whatever tool you'd need).

We find that oatmeal with dried cranberries about an hour before starting works pretty well.

Drink electrolytes early on before you need them. Keep drinking them as long as you can. It's too late once you need them. Don't use any new food items in general. Test everything beforehand on your regular skate trips.

First time we did Tanglewood (90 mils in 2 days) we had only done 32 miles in one day I think. Do half the total ahead of time or maybe a bit more and the adrenaline of the day will take you there.

Wear a heart rate monitor if you have one and practice ahead of time with that. Learn what heart rate you average over an hour or longer, and try to stay at or below that average heart rate as you go, getting above it briefly, but getting below it enough to make the average OK.

Don't redline (skate so hard you can't say a sentence without breathing in the middle, and I mean something longer than "Jesus wept.") for more than a minute or two max, especially early, if you're new to all this. You can have your pain early and suffer the rest of the day, or enjoy the day and suffer in a sprint to the finish. You pick.

You can leave stuff at a rest stop and they'll bring it back to ATL, so you can even drop a big Camelbak at the last stop if you think you don't need the weight...but bring your keys and money and ID along.

Ask questions when you meet skaters who've done A2A when you go to the Friday skate if you go, and on the bus to Athens if you take that Friday night. Get out to see what's going on Saturday and ask questions, make some potential friends.

In the event, stick with at least one other person whenever you can without exhausting yourself. You may have to trade down to a slower person, but you both may pass that faster one before the finish, hanging out by a ditch somewhere. Being in the wind HALF as much is TWICE as good and conversation can really pass the time nicely.

Search this site for a speed map of A2A and look at the speeds you can expect on the section you plan to skate. I hope to clean all this up later, ha!

STUDY THIS MAP...CLICK IN CLOSER...COLOR SHOWS SPEEDS...THIS IS THE BEST THING I HAVE TO SHOW YOU WHAT TO EXPECT...use the dropdown to see other map styles...
http://roadskater.net/photos/athens-to-atlanta-roadskate-a2a-2008-87-mil...

STUDY THE SATELLITE MAP IN 3D..."play" the route if you know how to in Google Earth...
http://roadskater.net/photos/athens-to-atlanta-roadskate-a2a-2008-87-mil...

COMMENTS ON 2008 87-miler...
http://roadskater.net/athens-atlanta-ga-roadskate-2008-87-mile-a2a-road-...

THE FRIDAY NT SKATE
http://roadskater.net/athens-atlanta-ga-roadskate-2008-friday-night-skat...

CHECK THIS SEARCH and the "Similar Entries" section of the sidebar...
http://roadskater.net/search/node/%22athens+to+atlanta%22

OK I need to sleeeeeeep!