3 Villages Tour Race (Smashing Pumpkins)

Posted by Kelly on Sunday, September 21, 2008 to Race Report

It was a great day for a bike race; sunny sky, moderate temps, and a slew of orange racers. Even though the 45+ field had plenty of entrants, the 35+ and 55+ were a little thin so the promoter combined all 3 fields. At the start Paul Curley put my own thoughts into words when he expressed his displeasure w/ this turn of events. It really was a kind of bait and switch that would completely change the dynamics of the race as now we had to deal w/ the presence of some very strong 35+ guys.

When these guys made their move, the strongest 45+ guys could go w/ them and get away for the win.Mystics' job was to marshall the front and keep everything together for our sprinters, Ed and Wayne, who had some fierce competition (i.e. the aforementioned P. C.). Things started well. I was very close to the front and was able to keep tabs on things as they developed on lap 1. The pace was relatively easy and it all stayed together  the 1st time around. The 2nd lap started relatively calmly with a little more pressure as we climbed toward and past Sayles School. We were all together with the moto lead and State Police cruiser (which had all of its flashing lights on).

As we were about to make our right turn, an oncoming motorist decided that it would be a good idea to make a left turn directly in front of  the cop car, the motorcycle,and a group of about 50 racers who weren't exactly dallying. We make the turn and now the slow moving car is in front of  us all and the gap is quickly shrinking as we pick up speed. The trooper gets right on the bumper of the car as if he's trying to get it to hurry up or pull over or do anything besides continue along in front of us at 20mph.

The driver appears to be totally oblivious to all of those flashing lights 5 feet behind him/her and eventually turns LEFT into a driveway (w/ no directionals) and we continue on our way to the climb on the back side of the course.It's a little intimidating, but the long descent on the other side makes it hard for anyone to get away. The 1st  few times up that's how it plays: a little separation followed by a high speed chase and then everybody's back together again. On the 3rd lap after the descent, a few guys got away and stated out there for awhile. Mark D. left the pack to chase, but he was the victim of his developing feud w/ another rider who bridged and refused to work.( I have a feeling that we'll hear more about this in the future).

The field caught the little break  and as we crossed the RR tracks there was a surge @ the front and a split developed just as we started to climb toward the school. I didn't see any orange in the front group so I bridged over just before the speed really picked up. The field was chasing big time and by the time they caught us we were all strung out single file and breathing hard. I drifted back a little for some recovery as we made the right and approached the 2nd climb. I figured that as long as I stayed w/ the group I would be OK  because the field would come back together on the descent. Unfortunately, Bill Thompson, Mark Gunsalus, Mark Luzio, and a few others figured that if they went absolutely ballistic, they would get away for good, which they did w/ no orange in their little group.

Chip and I worked our way to the front, but w/ some blocking by teammates of the guys up the road, our efforts were too little and too late. There were still a few places up for grabs in the main bunch and as we got closer to the finish it got somewhat aggressive. About 1/2 K from the line there was a  crash in front of me to my right and it was an instant fustercluck. Roughly (and I mean ROUGHLY) 10 guys hit the deck , including Bob Meikle, Ed Deming, and Wayne Kirk.

Mark used a side street as an escape road to miss the carnage. Ya know, he's right; it is funny to watch someone ride away from the race, but I really wasn't laughing @ the time. The rest of us sort of straggled to the line and waited for a damage report: big $ in equipment  ( 1 frame, 1seatpost, 1 fork, etc.)and @ least 1 broken rib (Bob). What a stupid sport! This entire ordeal really upset me and it would be over 24 hrs. before I would race again. What a stupid guy!

 

 

 

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