Mount Joy Road Race 2011 3/4 #@*&$!

Wow. That was a mess. No, that was worse. If you found this post because you did the race, then you know exactly what I'm trying to say.

It should have been a good race, we started off with all the right ingredients. Nice rolling course, 50+ entries in the 3/4 field, perfect weather, and several teams with good representation.

And it did start off well enough. We rolled off relatively slowly, there were a few solo moves that dangled off the front for a while, but no hard racing. I rotated through for one pull to keep things rolling, and found myself dangling off the front as well, not what I intended.

At one point the moto ref came up to us and told us that another field was 40 seconds behind us and we'd better get a move on. Shortly after that, a group went to the front and really started hammering it, the field was really strung out and it felt like the race was going to start splitting up. But right then, we get pulled over and stopped by the moto ref, we were going to have to let the Elite (or Masters?) field go by. As far as I could tell, we were all together at that point, except maybe one solo guy, but the moto ref was trying to send off small groups and everyone seemed confused. Some guys got really pissed and started swearing at the moto ref. I figured, no big deal, we'll probably all end up back together anyway, and maybe this would shake things up and spark some harder racing. Besides, I think we had another 3.5 laps to go at this point, plenty of race left to sort things out. We weren't helping the situation by riding like it was a parade. However, I don't think starting the Masters 45+ only 2 minutes after the 3/4 was good scheduling.

But then, on the next lap, we get advised that we would see 1 to go on our next time through the S/F. So we're coming around towards the end of the final lap, and the pace is ramping up, when we suddenly find ourselves mingling with a group of Elite (or Masters?) racers. Their race had really broken up, and there seemed to be several groups on the course. There was a lot of confusion, as they thought we had at least another lap to go, and it wasn't clear who should get out of who's way. As soon as they realized that we were (trying) to finish, they let us on through.

Then, the finish. I was sitting somewhere in about the top 10, in good position, on the left side of the field just inside the double yellow line. It was a good spot to be, as I knew I'd have a clear shot with my sprint as soon as the road opened up, and I decided the timing was right. However, as we crest the overpass, some F&M rider (not sure who, it wasn't Drew) swung left, yelling at me that we had the whole road and I should get out of his way. He locked bars with me and almost took both of us down. This was completely idiotic, if he was boxed in at that point, then he waited too long to get a good position. My positioning was intentional, I was riding a straight line, and his move was dangerous. This guy was really hot-headed and I talked to another racer that had him picked out as a flaky rider.

Anyway, now the sprint is starting in earnest, but we're coming up to the finish along side a pace car, and it was getting really crowded, and even more dangerous, very quickly. The finish was a blur, I was trying to steer clear of the pace car, other riders, and there were a lot of speed discrepancies between the pace car, some guys sprinting, and some guys sitting up because of the situation. I was actually braking as I came across the finish line. It was incredibly dangerous.

Normally a 10th place in a 3/4 would be a good result for me, but not today. Kudos to all those smart and level headed enough to skip out on the sprint. That was wise.

Brandon fared slightly worse, he ended up with a rear derailleur in his front wheel, shredding up 4 spokes and really messing up his wheel. Fortunately he stayed upright. I can't believe that there weren't any severe wrecks.

I don't mind not getting a good result, as long as the racing was good, meaning: fast and safe. But to have the race shortened, and then choas at the finish line, was very unsatisfying. I think that it would have better to neutralize us a second time, then to have us finish a lap early, and trying to sprint in a zoo.

I'm sure that the organizers and officials got more then an ear full from a field of unhappy 3/4 racers. From what a very level-headed Pure Energy rider told me, the officials were very apologetic. They blamed it on a miss-communication due to poor radios.

Oh well, Mt Nebo is next weekend, and that's a race that will break up.

**UPDATE: Found some pictures and a post that show what happened with a little more clarity.

See this post for a clear explanation of the sequence of events that led up to this finish.

And his excellent photos document the convergence of the 3 fields on the finish line simultaneously.

And another photographer got the finish from the other side of the road.