3/25/2008 RIDE

Wow what an effort I think I won't count Ryan as a position but anyway.

There were some big players in the peloton which was sure to seperate the field.

I figure maybe 25+ guys showed up (I'm bad with numbers) for the Oley 3/25/2008 ride.

It started with the very traditional stroll up Main Street then the water street turn, and at any time past this point the heat was turned on. The motorcycle coming down forgedale caused some concern and wow there goes Dean And Ryan off the front then turning on Hoch. I started to chase then sat up and waited for the boys to come get me.

There was some turmoil in the peleton after Dean and Ryan broke away, some yelling and frustration that we can catch them, and ya I kinda got yelled at for messing up a pace line so I gotta learn some tactics on top of the fitness thing. Anyway coming into Limekiln it ended up being around 7 riders in the peleton with Dean and Ryan in the break (they were long gone), I thought I saw the lord a few times but we managed to stay in the main group.

Coming into the Sprint Zone on Mine Rd Shane goes off the front solo as the remaining boys in the field began to chase him down I was saying go go go... unfortunately Shane ended up being caught and finished 3rd for the field sprint and I just got dropped off the back of the pack near the finish line.

To all the boys in the pack, Nick, Doug, Jim, Rasta, Shane and Mark? good job!

Alan

Good ride summary! The wind made last night a killer, but it was nice to see some really good echelons forming to work together. All in all, that was fun!

BUT -- I am now officially tired of rides with heavy wind. Maybe next week will be calm, 75 degrees, sunny...

That was me yelling. I've been know to get frustrated sometimes. We had a lot of horsepower, but guys need to understand how a true paceline works. Guys cannot expect to get upfront and pull for 2 minutes, while the group slowly drops in speed, only to have to attack around someone and fight wind. The other common mistake is guys not pulling through smoothly. When the right side is the movement side, we need to stay tight and follow each other's wheel and when you hips get even with the bars of the rider on the left side, you take two more strokes, he says clear and you move over, the guy behind you should be within 1 ft, no more of your rear wheel and following the same.

A lot of guys would not be looking, have to sprint on the right which can be dangerous, then they would go 4-5 lengths and then move it. If the group works together, even with the wind, the night would have been much easier.

The derby is a great example. You can be doing 30-35 past Deka and feel like you are cruising alone at 15.

All in all, it was a fun ride. Even with my frustrations, we seem to have a very strong and safe core this year, so with some tweaking, hopefully we can do the 31 in an hour this year with one long pace line the whole night. It can me be. Jim and I have already discussed it. The final sprint was a blast and Dean had a front row seat and said it was awesome to watch the 5 of us crest the hill and be throwing attack after attack.

See you boys in two weeks. I'll be in VA all next week for training camp.

Nick's right -- it was awesome watching the sprint unfold on Tuesday! It was like watching the final sprint coming down the Via Roma in Milan San Remo, riders moving left and right to try to get clear. I wish we had that one recorded for YouTube!

Jim, any chance we can lobby to change the name of Mine Road to "Via Oley", to give the loop that nice spring classics feel?