Tour of Ephrata

April 25, 26, All That is Good Racing presents "The Tour De Ephrata."

A three-part race; I was in way over my head. I was only one of three "unassociated" riders in a 100-man field. I was also probably one of only about 10 Cat. 4 riders in the field; I've only been a Cat. 4 for about a week. This race apparently fields some of the best up-and-coming Cat. 3 racers in the country.

I held on for dear life in the road race. It was in the mid-90s. The course was super-technical (or dangerous if you want to look at it like that), the one-lane rule was in effect. Around 10 riders crashed-out in the first lap; I had to clip-out twice to avoid wrecks. I finished 41st -- only 17 seconds behind the winner. I'm happy with it all things considered. Riding in the country made me not want to come back to Pittsburgh. (52 miles)

I was psyched for the time trial -- eight miles, four of climbing, two of "intense" climbing. This was going to be my first test to see if I really am the "strong climber" I fancy myself to be. What happens? I flat four miles in, right at the base of the climb. I had to wait about 10 minutes for a new wheel (Where was the sag wagon with the Zipp 404s when I needed it?). I did finish, though -- 77th of 78 riders. Ouch.

The four-corner criterium. Twenty-five laps, .07 miles a lap. Carl went on to say it was probably the hardest, fastest crit. he's ever done. I abandoned at lap-17. I checked my computer at lap-13, while still clinging on to the back for dear life (Notice a trend?) to find my average speed was a little over 28 miles per hour. It was just too fast for me; over half the field didn't finish which made me feel a little better.

Lesson learned this weekend: As soon as we get two hours out of Pittsburgh, we're all in a little over our heads. Also, I don't really like criterium racing. Note: Every race I'll do in May will be a criterium ...

Fun times, though! Great training miles! Good weekend with good friends!