Coach's Corner  

My 1,000th Flowery Branch 50

Sunday, December 19, 2010 will be the day that I ride my 1,000th Flowery Branch 50.  Yes, it is a milestone in my cycling career, but this is not really a milestone for me. Allow me to explain.  I've ridden more than 400,000 miles on road bikes in the past 38 years.  I've ridden more than 400 centuries and at least a couple of thousand 50 milers.  I've ridden hundreds of various courses for training and in races.  Back in my day, the rides and races were just for me.  The Flowery Branch 50 is for my club members (both past and present), my team, my group, my cycling friends, my companions, and my competitors.  My 1000th FB-50 is my tribute to all of these people.  My intention is to provide an example of dedication and discipline toward fitness and health.  It has taken 17 years to compile these 1,000 rides on our weekend's routine training course.  I encourage all of my cycling Partners, past, present, and future, to strive to achieve lifelong fitness.  Additionally, I encourage you to view my 1000th Flowery Branch 50 as an example of always going forward to attain and maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle. I wish for my 1000th to be an incentive for my members to set their own goals accordingly.  I hope you will all join me to celebrate this ride as a tribute to lifetime fitness and health.

Here are some details about the Flowery Branch 50. 

• This ride is scheduled on most Saturdays and Sundays, year round.  The only exceptions are when we have another event planned.. 

• Fifty miles is an excellent distance for endurance training - long enough for experience cyclists to benefit, but not too long for less experienced cyclists.  

• We call it the "Flowery Branch 50" because Flowery Branch, Georgia is about the halfway point in the ride.  

• In the 1990's, we occasionally rode the FB-50 course... our "regular" 50-miler was to Braselton and back to my house.  Also, we rode a fifty-miler to Hamilton Mill and then north onto Ridge Road and back.  Since then, traffic has become prohibitive, especially with so many juniors participating in our rides these days. 

• Beginning in late 1999, we started riding the FB-50 on both weekend days.  Saturday's ride is a little faster and harder... Sunday's ride is a bit slower and easier... Back-to-back, they make great training. 

• The most riders to complete the ride on a single date was 40 on November 8, 2009 - The 13th Annual Jack's Clavicle Ride.

• The record pace for the ride was set on September 7, 2002 at 25.288 mph by Tim Anderson, Steve Kester, Bill Murphy, Mike Notheis, Ming Tai, Mike Tindol, and Coach Frazier.  

• The first FB-50 was on February 13, 1994.

Field Testing - 3.2-mile ITT, October 29, 2010

Here are the number of times each year that I've ridden the Flowery Branch 50 beginning with the first one, February 13, 1994.

    Over 280 different cyclists, mostly Frazier Cycling members, have participated in this ride over the years.   Mike Tindol has the most rides at 300 as of December 12, 2010    

I keep data for all participants including their number of FB-50's, their fastest FB-50, and all course records including coldest FB-50 rides, top fastest FB-50's, and month and annual fastest FB-50's.   We post weekly results including the list of riders on our website...

See our Flowery Branch 50 web page presented by Allgood Pest Solutions>>