Steel City Endurance Racing

Race at the Lake Series

Race #3

Munroe Falls, Ohio

The whole team missed the first Race at the Lake (aka RATL) as we were at Lost River Barn for team camp, and I skipped RATL #2 in favor of the Presque Isle Time Trial, so I was happy to represent with Kate Bennett at RATL #3.   The Summit Freewheelers‘ RATL series is a staple of Eastern OH/Western PA spring races, and draws a good crowd of local racers looking to shake the cobwebs out, test their April/May fitness, and catch up on the latest bike racer gossip. The course is a fun circuit with a short riser to the finish line, a sweeping dowhill, a bit of false flat through the parking lot/start line, and a sinuous run up to the finish. The women’s race started with a neutral run from the parking lot to the finish line and right off the bat, just as the field crossed the line signalling the official start of the race,  Sally Price jumped hard, taking Jane Evely, Sam Brody and Erin Quinlan with her. I saw Sally jump and reacted immediatly, but was too far back to grab her wheel and by the time I got past the other racers, the four had a gap that would not be closed. It was the kind of attack that required an immediate and well coordinated chase – a chase that was not to be.  They were soon out of sight and the remains of the field rolled around for a few laps.

I am not a patient racer – not at all.  It is my weakness.  I love attacking. I want to race hard. To me, sitting on a wheel for lap after lap until the sprint is like drawing fingernails across a chalkboard. So, after a couple of laps I decided to attack – I figured I would either draw someone out or be off by myself for a lap. If someone came with me – then we could work together. If not, I would sit up, recover, and try again. So I went hard on the finish climb and by the time I got to the parking lot, a 53×11 rider had bridged up. Yippee !!  She and I worked together well, taking turns, keeping it steady, building a secure gap. But then I was bored. We had 6 laps to go – even though I was stronger on the finish climb, I knew she would be able to catch back on the downhill and that I would not be able to hold a gap. So I settled in and practiced patience.  Then we saw that Erin had dropped off the front group – which gave us incentive to reel her in, which we did after a couple of laps.

At maybe 3 laps to go, and with Erin as a third rider, I knew I had no chance of getting away with a one lap to go attack.  So it was that we came into the last lap – I took a pull on the downhill then let 53×11 take a turn coming through the parking lot.  You know how your heart just starts doing flip flops with excitement in the last 1 km as you anticipate the finish, think through how and where you want to open your sprint and force yourself to wait until the right moment? Well, mine was for sure, as I knew that ‘all’ I had to do was just to stay on Erin’s wheel until the 300 meter mark when it kicks up just a bit – I jumped first, then Erin, who got ahead of me, which meant I was able to slot onto her wheel and get a ride to the 150 meter mark and then it was just a drag race between the two of us – and she just got me at the line.  I got 5th and the last payout spot – $5 !  And Kate got 7th overall and first amongst the W4s. Good job Kate!