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It was another Sunny, gorgeous day in Montrose, PA for the annual Applefest Bike Race! Thanks to Ron, Jeanette and his multitude of awesome volunteers who worked registration, marshalled the course, and provided complete results so quickly! What a bonus to be able to sleep in, get to the race in plenty of time, hang out and eat some of those great MRS. C's cookies and still get home in time to do the weekend chores!
The 26 mile Race....our "20mph controlled start" was more like 30 and I spent the first few miles gasping for air trying to catch up to the pack only to lose them on the first climb. OOPS! Thankfully, my teammate Tami had made the break with the group and was the only woman up there. It became my job to make sure the other women did not catch up to her. After losing sight of the pack, I rode along with Holly, a VERY strong rider from PA who could climb very well; Kurt who had taken an early jump on the front but had fallen off the field when we hit the hills, and Pat, my wonderful husband who sacrificed himself to protect me for the rest of the race :) What a guy!
Holly, a long distance rider on her sleek, 15 pound Orbea was smart and strong, we had to do some nifty maneuvering to try to keep her from riding in the draft, and we still were riding well enough to start catching dropped riders. Just before the first KOM climb at mile 12, I saw a Mission in Motion jersey ahead riding solo. OH NO! Tami had dropped a chain on one of the climbs and had fallen off the pack. I immediately knew we were going to have a fight on our hands for the KOM and possibly the finish with as strong as Holly was riding. As we approached Tami with 500m to go, I yelled to Tami to GO and I hesitated to watch Holly to see if she would contest. We both stood and sprinted for the kom, Tami crossed first, I never looked back, but Pat said that Tami & I had taken of with such determination that it must have discouraged our competitor and she decided to not chase. Pat and Kurt then bridged up to us making sure not to drag anyone else along.
We began pacelining and picking up other riders and had a great group of 8 riders along the back stretch leading to the hills to the final KOM. The group started breaking apart as the sun was hot and taking a toll....we were all scattered along the hill like Autumn leaves after a windstorm. I glanced back and noticed Tami had fallen back, I could not see Holly, but not wanting to take any chances, I sent Pat back to retrieve Tami and I caught back up with Kurt to stay out of the wind. Pat did a great job pulling Tami back up to us and with less than 1/2 mile to go, I dropped my chain (something I hadn't done in over three years) Just one of those absent-minded moments of not paying attention to my gearing.
Overall, I had a great time and was able to ride with a really great bunch of people. This race brings out the nicest people!
Good Job Ron and everyone involved with putting on the race! And Congratulations to all the finishers! Awesome Job to Ruud Racing / TVC's Sergey for his upgrade to Cat 3 and his second place finish! Keep up the great work!
Get ready for Kross!
Marsha
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