The GBRA BAR Competition is a year long Georgia statewide competition to crown a BAR - Best All-Around Rider annually. In addition to the GBRA BAR Competition, which is open to out-of-state riders, GBRA will annually provide individual RR, TT and Criterium state championship events where the highest placed GA resident will be awarded the state championship in each event.

For this first year of the BAR series, the winner of each BAR category will receive a custom designed GBRA BAR jersey and an award/trophy. BAR Competition awards will be handed out to the winners for each category at the end of the season.

Frazier Cycling is hosting our "Coaching Junior Cyclists - The Team Approach" Clinic on January 30-31 in Duluth. In this clinic we share what we have learned about developing our junior program. We have arranged special pricing for local coaches and parents to encourage junior development in Georgia. The $325 fee has been reduced to $125 and includes the newly published manual that is the basis of the course. This clinic is USAC sanctioned and worth 1.0 CEU credit towards coaching accreditation. Seating is limited. Contact me with questions. More info is on our website, www.fraziercycling.com.

2010 licenses are officially available for purchase. The renewal process is quick and easy. You will need to go to www.usacycling.org to begin the process. You can click on the “My USA Cycling” logo to get started immediately, and complete the process. New members can also click on that very same logo, and create a new account.

At the end of the online renewal process, you'll be prompted to take a 10-minute survey. This survey helps USA Cycling tailor its services to meet your needs. Your feedback is very important, and all renewing members are strongly encouraged to complete the survey.

This survey will be useful in helping make any changes to the Membership Program in the future. Thank you to each of you for all of your assistance in growing the sport.

The Georgia Cross series has come to an end. It seems like it was just yesterday when things got started in Macon. Even though it was cold, the FM and Sorella folks made everyone feel warm and welcome at the Georgia International Horse Park. The competition was fierce in all categories. Congratulations to all who won the day and the overall series. The results are posted on the GA Cross website.

With permission from Jim Bilotto - Aarons Cycling Team

Wow, now that was a 'cross race! At least that's the way it looks in the magazines......

We started off with a warning from John Johnson not to hit the first grassy hill (about 50 yards from the start) with too much speed. Apparently a couple of the Masters either hadn't preridden the course or just didn't care, but they launched off the top and hit the pavement on the other side. I think Neely was one of them but he landed it and kept on. Some other poor guy's race was ended right there....

So, after we all took heed and rolled over that hill, we quickly descended down a long gravel road. Right at the first left hander into some peanut buttery mud, so guy slid out. Wow, that was quick. So, we lost a lot of our momentum to get through said mud. I was going along just fine, though, then some guy endoed in front of me. I swerved, had no speed left, and did a slow motion endo into the peanut butter. Grrr.... Got up quick and away from all of that and on my way. It wasn't hard making a few places back up, as a lot of riders seemed hesitant in those conditions. Cue up mtb skillz... Through the singletrack, everything's going fine. Now onto the grassy switchbacks. OK, well those were rideable during warmup an hour ago.....now they're not. I tried the one foot out and keep riding trick, but I saw guys shouldering their bikes and getting through it a lot quicker. Mental note for next lap. Next up, a thick muddy corner. Easy. Descend some more singletrack, through some deep puddles and up to the first set of (uphill) barriers. Then, more grassy/muddy switchbacks. After that it was smooth sailing, through a gravely/muddy mix, then out onto the street, through a canopy, around a corner and up to another set of barriers through the beer garden. That was pretty cool, by the way.

Lap 2, pretty much same deal minus the endo. Made up some more places along the way. Saw my wife cheering at multiple points along the course; that's the nice thing about how 'cross courses are set up. Back at the beer garden, John Johnson is holding up a 1 lap to go sign. Really? Thought we'd be doing 4 laps, but OK, not complaining.

Lap 3, just held my tempo and tried to spot another rabbit to chase down. Nothing too exciting on this lap until the end. Spotted two riders ahead of me and went full throttle on the road section. Went into the final 200 meters or so and the lead guy had a few bike lengths on me, so I didn't have enough room to make it up. We ended up sprinting it out and I pipped the second guy by half a wheel length. Sweet. Who knew the sprint for 13th place would be so intense?

Great race. The best part of it all? The fact that we stayed there and I was able to take a hot shower and throw down some good grub and Belgian brew afterwards.

Until Conyers....