This was what Tish sent out to the A2A mailing list, and she thought you might be interested.

Bright and sunny and hot were the three words used by most of the skaters on the dawn of the 21st Anniversary Athens to Atlanta roadskate. We had dodged the bullet as Hurricane Lily passed us by. Breathing a collective sigh of relief at NOT having to skate in inches of water, we still wondered if the predicted cold front could make it in a little early so that the skaters could have the optimum skating weather. As it was, we had to settle for clear and humid.

Who is that character with the skinny legs? It looks like a chicken.....its the BIG chicken....come all the way to Athens from Atlanta to join us on our trek! Oldtimers know who it is, but there were plenty of newbies asking "who is that guy?" The worried looks as the big bus carrying the Team in Training skaters finally arrived, less than 15 minutes before Henry's "on the dot" starting time. Sun's coming up, its getting late. The clear notes of the National Anthem played on Jono Gorman's alto saxophone underneath the American Flag that had been lashed to the starting gate and a large cheer as the last notes faded away; all was set for a day of fantastic skating!

5...4...3...2..1 and with little fanfare as is Henry's style -- the skating began. 7:31......empty streets again on a sleepy Sunday morning for the rest of Athens.

The horde was heading to Atlanta.

Checkpoint One -- friendly cops! Actually friendly along the whole route this time -- Thanks Guys! Unloading the supply truck, setting up the checkpoint. Waiting for the skaters to come down the hill. Here comes the lead pack -- what a pack! As Donna Brockman (Uwe's wife) stated -- "in 17 years the pack was never this big at Checkpoint One"! Here they come --- whoosh, they're gone.

Checkpoint Two -- laughter everywhere -- people waiting here are visiting like it was a family reunion. It is, of sorts. Crazy family driving the rural roads in Georgia to watch and support even crazier athlete friends and family. Meeting and greeting eachother -- everyone pitching in. Pack comes in....a little more segmented now -- you can count on the gator-back to start taking a bite out of someone's ankles, knees, legs. Anxiously waiting for your skater -- cheering them all on.

Checkpoint Three -- Dacula -- even though we now know its not the Half Distance -- you still fondly refer to it as such. People gathering on the curb -- locals wondering who has invaded their town. Everyone out putting up banners, sweeping the gravel off the streets, organizing the finishing chute. A few get asked what's going on, those "in the know" explain the event to the locals. Everyone's smiling. Lead pack comes through -- no one enters the chute. Those fellas are going the whole distance. Someone's phone rings. Another skater on the way -- by himself. Must have been dropped by the lead pack. Oops! This one enters the chute -- first place for the "half" -- new record, first time under 2 hours! Awesome job.

38 mile result

Checkpoint Four -- seems a long way from Checkpoint three.....lots of miles in between. Starting to get hot now. More waiting. Here come the skaters.....a lot more spread out now. Some stop to use the necessary. Some chat with the volunteers. Little kids helping hand out bananas and water -- having a whale of a time. "Look dad, he got the water I gave him!" "Ouch! I forgot to let go of that one, almost lost my fingers!"

Fast Forward -- Checkpoint Six. Lonely stretch of road....good ole' David -- yep he's still there. Eight miles to go. Can we make it?

Finish Line! Skating through the busy streets, especially up and down the speed "humps" requires another kind of skill that tired frozen legs almost don't want to negotiate. Look at the cheers and smiles for every single person who makes it to the line. Personal triumph, good sportsmanship. Is that a massage table? Can I order finish line pictures just so I can go into the air-conditioned trailer? Ahhh food -- a COLD drink. Sitting on the grass watching the agressives on their funny obstacle course. What a fine day to sit in the park.

87 mile result

Thanks to everyone who helped put on such a great day!