Athens-to-Atlanta Athens, GA - Sept. 28, 2003

This road-skating event starts in the rural college town of Athens, Georgia, home of several bands that made it big. It is technically not classified as a race, and with such a long distance, most are happy to simply finish.

The course runs along less-traveled roads across four counties on its way to the city of Atlanta. Pavement is mostly good, but did vary in quality. One section between miles 16 and 22 has been notoriously dubbed the "gatorback" because of its roughness. However, the most challenging aspect of this event, asides from the distance, are the repeated hills. Most of them were moderate, but short, in nature by San Diego standards.

Police support, always, was excellent for the entire race. This event is held on an open course, which means that the roads were open to traffic. Police monitored all major intersections, stopping all cross traffic and flushing all traffic in the skaters' direction as they approached. This became particularly important as skaters approached the sprawling suburbs and progressed through the streets within the Atlanta city limits. The finish line is in the Midtown district's premier park, Piedmont Park.

In addition to the grand-daddy 87-miler and the "half-distance" 38-mile race, a 50-mile race was added this year. It started midway through the course and also ended in Piedmont Park. A total of a little under 500 skaters entered across all events this year, down from the high in previous years.

The usual suspects appeared at the starting line this year along with international skaters from Colombia, Germany, and Italy. The race started promptly at 7:30am and went along at a moderate pace. Even as far as ten miles out there were almost 40 skaters in the lead pack. But leaving Athens was a mostly downhill affair. Then the hills started and the lead pack thinned down to about 20 skaters.

After Checkpoint #1 (mile 16), skaters progressed onto the infamous gatorback section. Not much has changed, with exception that it was dry this year. The hot topic this year was the 300-yard segment of road shortly after the gatorback that had no pavement. That's right: no pavement. It was under repair and was due to be completed the next day after the event. The event promoters' request to have the construction complete by that weekend were approved, but somehow it didn't happen.

As the lead pack approached this section, noted by the numerous "Road Closed" and "Pavement Ends Ahead" signs, skaters slowed down only slightly. We zipped off of the road and onto the packed dirt. When we realized that could actually skate on it, we continued to do so until we hit a softer section that was still damp from the previous night's rain. We then hopped onto the 12-inch wide concrete curb that had been left behind and coasted at 5mph. When it ended, it was a short dash through gravel, hurling ourselves over a concrete construction barrier, and back onto the pavement. As atrocious as this may sound, there were absolutely no complaints from skaters. In fact, many looked back to the adventure as amusing.

The lead pack regrouped after this affair and continued on. The man of the day was Eddy Matzger, who has won A2A numerous times. All eyes were on him. He continually attacked on most of the uphills. Surprisingly, several skaters in the lead pack actually attempted to cover many his breaks even though most doubted that he would be able to hold it alone for such a long distance.

Eddy proved them wrong. After Silver Hill and Checkpoint #5 (mile 62), he broke away from the pack. He continued to keep the hammer down and produced a lead of over 10 minutes ahead of the rest of the pack at one point. Even with the headwind, he finished uncontested at 4:42. The first chase pack trickled in around 4:49.

The women competitors knew who they were and kept an eye each other from the start. However, Kimberly Moore's ability to keep a high pace placed her far ahead of her competition. She succeeded in skating with the men, hopping ahead from one pack to the next, while the other females simply couldn't keep up. In fact, she broke away from the pack she was with a few miles from the end to also finish uncontested at 5:09.

The last and only time I've competed in A2A was in 1998. This year I skated in the lead pack until shortly after Checkpoint #4 (mile 50). Several of us dropped around the same time and I joined a chase pack of five skaters. The hills eventually got to me and, even with my refueling at each checkpoint, I was tired. Unfortunately, I dropped off of that chase pack after Checkpoint #5 (mile 62).

I realized the benefit I had received from skating in the pack as I faced the headwind myself the rest of the way. This was particularly difficult on a rough road in an open field that paralleled a train track just after Checkpoint #6 (mile 71). Following the numerous well-marked turns painted on the pavement guided me through the city and the police-staffed intersections validated my navigation. I happily finished in 5:11, four minutes faster than in 1998, crashed onto the grassy lawn in Piedmont Park, and immediately ate two Blimpie subs.

Linus finished the 87-miler in 6:36, slower than last year, but still very respectable. And hasn't-completely-moved-to-San-Diego-via-San-Jose-originally-from-Boston skater Michael Leventhal finished in 7:30. Congratulations SDSE skaters!

Elsewhere from SoCal, Jeff Slade of Belmont Shores (Long Beach), who claims to not skate very much nowadays, finished in awesome 5:33. Also there from Los Angeles county were Jenni Armstrong, Brooke Bass, and Elliot Gordon, but I don't know their times. Additionally, those who know Gary White will be happy to know that he was at A2A on his bike as an official course marshall. Congratulations to all!

A2A is America's longest road-skating event. Its long distance brings a special comraderie among the skaters that is sometimes absent at other events. This is especially apparent at the finish line as skaters relaxing in Piedmont Park cheer on others as they finish. The producers show long-term vision for the success of the event in the future.

In the news, Henry Zuver, A2A organizer, announced a "Triple-Crown" for 2004. This will be a series to rewards skaters who participate in the big three fall events: the Northshore Inline Marathon, the New York 100k, and Athens-to-Atlanta. This is not an easy feat because of the short time frame in which the events are scheduled. Exact details will be determined. Next year's A2A is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, October 24, 2004. Brrrr.

Preliminary results are already available on the A2A website at http://www.a2a.net. Additionally, I will be posting pictures that I took during the event with my disposable camera as soon as I get them developed and scanned in, hopefully by the end of the week.

Howard
SDSE-IR