It was a blast.
Take a really good group of riders, out to raise money for cancer, add a perfect day (seriously perfect, 65-70 with no humidity and sunny), throw in some good climbs with some scored points, and that is hard to top for a day on the bike.
(Thanks to Mark Bowman for the photos, and for organizing the whole thing.)
I biked down to Emmaus for the start, about 9 miles and got there early for the 8 am start. It's amazing how I can motivate myself to get up for a day of riding like this. We rolled out pretty easily after a few words from Bowman, the organizer. The pace was easy until we hit the first dirt climb and the whistle blew (meaning: it's ON), I was sitting pretty far back in a big group (50+ riders) and when I started to go, my chain dropped for the second time this week. I've got to figure that out before Battenkill. Apparently 4 guys flatted on the first dirt section, so we lost Dave for a while as he stuck around to help them.
Anyway, on the second climb I had a better start towards the front. At first I followed Selene and passed her on a false flat section in the middle of the climb. Someone on a mountain bike surged past and I couldn't match his speed, so I rolled to the top in third place.
The next few climbs went well, I had a 4th, and another 3rd, then we hit this ridiculously steep section. It was hard to go in a straight line, let alone pass anyone. Whenever I stood on the pedals, I only started slipping around and losing traction. My arms were sore after that one.
Here comes David up Mt. Mary.
One of the middle climbs was a shallow section of dirt road and I was completely out powered by the entire lead group, so I decided to just save my legs.
On what I think was the last climb of the day, I felt pretty strong and was riding well. Selene and another guy were right behind me on a short flatter section in the middle of the climb when he told me that my rear had flatted. I looked down in denial, hoping that it wasn't actually flat, but sure enough, soon I felt the gravel hitting my rim so I pulled over. Pinch flat! I think at that point I was in second and feeling good, so I probably could have hung on for at least 3rd or 4th again.
After that, the lead group was gone. The size had dwindled constantly during the day and now I was out, fortunately there were only a few miles left at this point. Back at the shop, after 75 miles, it was good to just sit back for a while and listen to the stories. First and second place were separated by only 1 point! Gabe Lloyd (Van Dessel factory team) beat Bobby Lea (Bahati Racing) in the end.
David rolled in with a flat rear tire that gave out 2 miles from Emmaus, it was just shredded from old age. I'm surprised that it made it through all the gravel and pot hole sections just to give out on the streets of Emmaus.
The riders came from a wide range of experience levels, from recreational weekenders to two current pro riders (one of which was a 2008 Olympian). Greg and Steve rode well, it was an excellent Battenkill preparation ride, hopefully it helps us all out in 3 weeks when we head to NY for the main event.
Final results:
- Top Monkey - Gabe Lloyd 46 Pts.
- Bobby Lea 45 pts
- TIE Aaron Snyder and Andy Munas 23 pts
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- Marten Beels 15 pts.
- Jasen Thorpe 13 pts.
- Stefan "Geronimo" Kincade 10 pts
- Ryan LOF Pomajevich 8 pts.
- Jordan 4 pts.
- Selene Yeager (1st place female) 2 pts.
- Matt Allyn 1 pt.
It's pretty cool even being on the same list as 2 professionals, a Cat 1 rider, 2 Cat 2 riders, a semi-pro mountain biker, and an Ironman triathlon winner!
