On Thursday, the cyclists of the Gay Games gathered for the Road Race
on a cold and rainy morning. Once again gathering in the Palos Forest
Preserve, the cyclists and support personnel were greeted by
thunderstorms, wet roads and mud. The Games went ahead as scheduled,
however.

Mere rain does not cancel bicycle races, as the men of Big Crank
learned at the Tour of St. Louis in April. During that competition,
the men discovered that "cold and wet" was not their favorite set of a
adjectives to describe bicycle racing, being unable to complete their
race. This day would be different.

First off the start line was Big Crank Joan Brackman racing in the
unlicensed women's category. On wet, debris strewn roads, Joan raced
strong along the two-lap, 18 mile course. As the peloton approached
the starting line to continue on the second lap, Joan could easily be
identified in her striking black and red Big Crank jersey near the
front of a group of very strong women.

The race finished with Joan chasing Paulette, Big Crank's friend from
Fast and Fabulous in New York. Paulette would eventually win the
silver medal in her age category for the race, meaning Joan was
chasing a very strong rider. Chasing her right into claiming a Bronze
medal for her efforts.

The races continued with the licensed men racing last. Don Griffith,
Jack Michael and Jay Hulsey took their places on a starting line that
again included Category 1 - 5 racers. This meant, as in the Men's
licensed criterium on Monday, that the field broke into two pelotons
very early.

Once again, Big Crank took the lead in this second pack. Jay Hulsey
pulled a large paceline for nearly half of the first lap, keeping
these riders strong for the second lap. This proved to be a strategic
error, as the pack began to break up on a very tough hill near the
finish line. Jay began to lose ground, but continued his chase until
he and Don Griffith formed their own team, pushing hard to rejoin the
second group.

Jack Michael, in the meantime, stayed strong working with men from all
over the country keeping the second pack chasing the leaders. Jay and
Don continued to gain on this pack, eventually overtaking two riders
who had been dropped.

In the third and final lap of this 27 mile course, Jack Michael
continued to perform well near the lead of the second group, working
with a member of Team San Francisco to sprint to a strong finish ahead
of the rest of the second pack.

Continuing their chase, Jay and Don shortened the gap to the second
pack and increasing their lead over the riders they had overtaken
earlier. Eventually, Jay pulled ahead through a hard curve and began
to sprint hard for the finish line.

Jack and Jay rejoined one another after Jay had finished, and waited
to cheer Don across the line. First one, then another rider crossed,
including riders that Don had passed and was leading by a substantial
amount. Eventually, after the race was closed, Don was brought back
to the finish by a support vehicle, having gotten a flat tire in the
last third of the final lap.

The riders gathered to await the results for the men's race. As the
standings unfolded, Jack Michael claimed silver in a very tough
field. Jay Hulsey, again stepped into his now comfortable Bronze
position. And as the final results were announced, it became clear
the Don Griffith would have claimed a bronze of his own had his
innertube not flatted near the end of the race.

A good day for Big Crank's racing team: a Gold, a Silver and two
Bronze. The decision to modify the French revolution's motto to
include "velocite" (loosely: speed) was a prediction, not a pun.

Go Big Crank!