Round Four: Atlanta AlleyCat Series 4.3.10
Jason Spruill was the Overall Winner of the highly anticipated April Fools AlleyCat on Saturday night in downtown Atlanta. Matthew Reeves and The Dirty South Messengers put together this race as a benefit for the 2010 North American Cycle Courier Championships. This event also marked Round 4 of the Atlanta AlleyCat Series. Historically, the strongest rider wins a Reeves race, as Matt focuses on hard core racing rather than shenanigans.
On Saturday, everyone began to gather slowly for the 6:00pm start in Woodruff Park. “Why can’t AlleyCat racers ever be on time?” asked Reeves. At six on the dot, he handed out the manifest, which included five check points spread out from Downtown to upper Midtown. Riders were pre-warned, “I-Phones won’t help with this one; bring a map.” Ten minutes were allotted for riders to plan their courses. At 6:10, it was “GO.” As promised, several of the checkpoints were a little tough to locate, and many riders seemed to follow a similar route in the beginning. With the first four checkpoints out of the way, many assumed Woodruff Plaza was in the general vicinity of the High Museum and the Woodruff Arts Center, but it was not to be found. “Atlanta Mayor” Angel Luis Poventud thought he had figured out the April Fools joke to this event. “There is no Woodruff Plaza,” he decided, as he headed to the finish at the Highlander. Wrong! There is a Woodruff Plaza, but riders were scrambling across the city to find it. Jason Spruill and “Kan de Man” Dan McCauley headed toward The Coke Building. Justin Barber and Mike Woz, although not riding together, were also aiming toward the same area. All four finally came upon The Plaza within seconds of each other. “It was a race within the race to find The Plaza,” said Barber. “OK, Guys, leave your bikes here and RUN 5 laps around The Park!” ordered one of the Dirty South Messengers. You have got to be fuckin’ kidding me. Spruill and McCauley pulled off their road shoes and ran in their socks. Barber and Woz were hoofin’ it at the same time. “Hey, I only run when I’m being chased,” declared Barber. Running Ultra Marathons made this a piece of cake for Spruill. When he was done, he relaxed and waited for McCauley, and the pair rode off in one direction with Barber going a different way. Woz continued on his own route, pushing a massive 52 X 18 on his single speed to get as quickly as possible to the finish at the Highlander.
Once there, riders discovered the real April Fools joke. “Here you go, guys,” they were told as Reeves handed out an additional “surprise” manifest. Luckily, the two check points on this second manifest had been previously visited. They were, however, on opposite sides of Atlanta. Upon arriving at the finish for a second time, each rider’s time was recorded. Race over? Not. Here’s where a bit of Lady Luck was thrown into the pot of pain. Any riders who came in within 18 minutes of the first finisher, Spruill, were given the opportunity to sprint back to the checkpoint at W. Peachtree St. & W. Peachtree Pl. There, they would roll a single die, multiply that number by three, and use the total as the number of minutes to be deducted from their recorded finishing time. Oh, and they had 30 minutes to complete this task. Spruill, McCauley, Barber, Woz, and Mike Gerke were eligible for this challenge. Spruill rolled a 4 and McCauley a 3, so Spruill earned the overall by 3 minutes. Barber ‘s 4 was all he needed to tie with his Faster Mustache Teammate for second overall. Woz rolled a 4, which secured his fourth overall. “That was a long ride. That’s all I know,” said Woz. 5th overall went to the hard riding Gerke. Perhaps the most impressive ride of the night was turned in by the duo of Dawn and Wes, both on fixed gears. Dawn, the first woman, exclaimed, “I’m totally stoked!” In addition, the pair also shared 6th overall. “I think we are very evenly matched,” added Wes. The Strip Cat Champ, Nathan Bolster, was forced to settle for 8th tonight. In a self-fulfilling prophecy, FM’s Bob “thatsnogood” Donlan carried a floor pump with him on his back for the entire race. Sure enough, after a puncture, Donlan put the pump to good use. ”It had been a long time since I had last had a flat,” Donlan explained. Andrew Riccardi broke into the top ten for the first time in the Series, so congrats. In the end, Spruill not only rode the fastest, but he also ran around The Plaza the quickest, a deadly combination which rocketed him up to 5th place in the overall Series standings. I’m just thankful Reeves didn’t find any open water, as Triathlons Suck. The Doodle Cat is Round 5 of The Atlanta AlleyCat Series this Friday in Woodruff Park. See you there.
Kan de Man Dan
Results posted below photos
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