After selling my Civic (sniff sniff) I headed out to Yargo to see my friends race. Eddie and Namrita were racing a duo, with Nam racing her single speed. Paul Gazmararian was actually out on a unicycle team, as unbelievably sick as that sounds. Rob and Aimee Murphy both podiumed in the 6 hour solo category.  Kate Cook was gone by the time I got there, but I understand that Kate and Aimee took 1 and 2 in the 6 hour solo. Allison Lowery had to pull out after hour 7 in the 12 hour solo due to a food problem (most likely overeating), but I’m told she did excellent up to that point. Linda Demma and Grace finished strong. Fear the Sorellas…

I have to admit the biggest reason for driving out to Yargo was to see my buddy Andrew Gilchrist race. Whether its racing with Andrew or watching him race, he’s one of the people that inspires me and reminds me why I love this sport so much. Try asking him why he would want to do something like a 12 or 24 hour mountain bike race, he’ll reply “because I can.” Damn fine answer.

Last year at Yargo, Andrew was in 4th place with 2 hours to go. On the last lap, he left everything out on the course and finished second place only to former world champion Tinker Juarez. Probably my favorite race of all time, and I’m proud to say I was the guy who handed Andrew a Red Bull before that last lap.

By the time I got out to Yargo, Eddie was already out on the course burning it up. He and Nam won the duo category quite handily.

Scott Hodge, owner of Addictive Cycles, was having knee problems throughout the race. His knee was ballooning pretty badly, and by the time I caught up with him he was in a lot of pain. Nonetheless, he had a phenomenal race. Besides being just about the nicest guy in the Atlanta riding community, Hodge is one of the fastest XC riders out there. He has a Superman tattoo on the back of his calf, which I’ve seen many, many times, right before he disappears in front of me.

Shey Linder, fresh from a 4th place at the Cohutta 100, was putting distance on any contenders. On a single lap, he added about 10 minutes to his cushion over 2nd place. Shey’s one of those guys you might never hear about even if you spend years in the mtb community. He’s very reserved and modest. He just rides his bike really, really fast.

Artur Sagat was in command of second and rode himself into the ground to keep his place.  I’ve known artur since he was 14 or 15 and watched him race with the Bike Town wrecking crew that included his brother David, Adam and Zach Kovaley, Christian Fontaine, and Jessica Thomas.

In the men’s expert 12 hour solo category, it was Shey 1st, Artur 2nd, and Andrew 4th.

Finally, the entire Lindner family ended up on the podium. Kari, racing with her and Shey’s sons, pulled off a 3rd place in the extremely competitive 4 person relay. They came within 17 minutes of the ridiculously fast Mean Bean/Sunshine first place team.

Full results (PDF)

 
R to L: Hodge, Eddie O, and Andrew

“It worked last year…” Andrew slams his signature Red Bull before his last lap.

Shey Linder and Andrew Gilchrist on the podium.

 
Kari Lindner awards her sons their medals