The way racing ought to be...

I just did the Tour of Millersburg this past weekend. I didn't set the world on fire. I didn't really add a whole lot to the race. But I had more fun this past weekend than I've had at a road stage race weekend in years. This town really came out behind this race and made it a super fun weekend for everyone involved. I rolled in Saturday morning for the 12 mile TT. It was a pretty good course and I was doing ok, but just really didn't have the strength to push the bigger gear like I was hoping. I finished rather unimpressively, but felt good spinning down. Maybe that was a sign that I didn't go quite as hard as I could've. After a sandwich and hanging out in the park in town, it was time to get ready for the crit. It was a really good course and the townsfolk were out and watching from their porches. The best scene was the line of older ladies who were out on the sidewalk with their lawnchairs and snack tables, each with a glass of wine on them and they were chatting and having a good ol' time. After the criterium, there was the 'Meet and greet with Bob Roll' at one of the Ned Smith Community Center. This place was pretty cool. It was built to honor Ned Smith, who was a naturalist artist and produced many paintings and prints that now command a pretty hefty piece of change to obtain. Much of his original artwork was there on display and the grounds were absolutely beautiful. While there, I was talking Barry Daub, one of the guys who were helping with the organizing of the race. Earlier in the day, I was asked where I was staying and I'd replied 'eh, I'll find a motel.' I was taking the 'God will provide' approach to finding a place. I was not disappointed this time. I'd told him my plans of getting a hotel room back near Harrisburg and he was instantly saying, 'No no no, don't do that.' He turned to his wife and asked, 'The Rowes are putting up some riders aren't they. Call them and see if they have another bed.' Within 2 minutes, I had a place to stay. Everyone at that point, was heading back to town for dinner. Wayne's Inn, was a pretty good place to eat. Even the people I was staying with, Terry Rowe and his family were there as well as around 30+ racers. There were alot of the riders from the MAC series there and we had a great time there. So many road races that I've gone to seem to be 'yep, let's race and get out of Dodge'. If they stop anywhere to eat, it's with their team and there is very little interaction with other riders. This could not have been more different. Several of the riders were put up at an Amish farm and they had fun by going on cart rides and helping with milking cows and other tasks from their stories. I was able to sleep in a bit as my race didn't go off til 1PM. We had a great breakfast in the morning. Mrs. Rowe was laughing because when she asked what I wanted for breakfast and I'd replied 'pancakes would be fine'. Apparently that is one of the little things that her and her husband don't agree on. He doesn't like pancakes and she does so she doesn't often have them at the house. If she wants pancakes, she said she usually went out to breakfast for them. We ate out on their deck which had a great view of the Susquehanna river as well as a wide open field behind their house. As we were eating, a few deer came out and were poking around. There was also a small flock of wild turkeys as well. It doesn't get much better than that. After helping clean up, it was time to get over to the race course. I got there with 2 hours to go before my race and helped hand off some water bottles to racers coming thru the feed zone. The guys putting on the race were very interested in hearing what we thought would make the race better. Is there anything that could be changed. The answer was unanimous. Not one thing! Keep it as it is, you've got it absolutely right. The road race that afternoon had its spots where there was a bit of a punch to it, but the race was between the racers, not the course. Unfortunately, I didn't pay attention to the fact that I would need the calcium and potassium supplements after the double stage the day before. Even though I kept drinking and eating during the stage (Little Debbie oatmeal cookies rule!), I wound up having a cramp in my hamstring 5 miles out from the finish. I couldn't get it shaken out in time to draft the follow vehicles, so I got left behind. At the finish, I'd found out that there were several riders looking to my wheel to be behind at the finish. I'd goofed up some plans when I disappeared from the pack. Apparently they noticed that I only took smooth lines thru the turns, no jerky movements and was able to move around the pack exactly as I wanted. No effort was wasted and with the exception of almost getting caught behind an effort on the first lap to pinch off a group of riders by the Mainline cycling guys, I was able to stay right near the front without having to put an effort in(I like to make the joke that I'm writing a book on bike racing entitled 'How to stay in the front 10, never take a pull and get away with it). The worst part of cramping up was at that point, I had picked out the couple riders that I was looking to be my sprint markers. If I'm doing that, I know I'm going fairly well. Who knows, maybe I'm coming out of the funk I've been in most of the summer. After the race, the promotors were ready with wraps and cookies for the riders, so after cooling down and getting the wheels back to the car, It was good to get something to eat before the drive home. This is definitely a race to put on your calendar. It is certainly on mine and we'll be bringing the full wrecking crew next year for both the masters and the 123s. It'll be a good one next year without a doubt. I'm getting my reservations for host housing in early next time round.