|
|
|
2004
Equinox Tour
Eric
Snider's Tale:
 Ah,
printemps, primavera, spring! The hope of warmer weather to come.
And all we had Sunday March 21 was hope. Sub-freezing
temperatures, 15-20 mph NW winds, a few light flurries. It seemed
more like a New Year's Day ride.
The
pack of nearly 50 riders split earlier than usual. The first split
was made the first time the pack turned west off Ft. Meigs Rd. If
you were not positioned in the front 20 (preferably the front 10), and
could not get some protection in the large echelon, gaps formed quickly.
Going south, the lead pack would move at 30 mph. Going west it was
18-23 mph. And when it picked up to 23, that is when the band
would stretch and snap. Before the half way point, the lead pack
was down to 18 riders.
Returning
to Ft. Meigs, going east saw speeds nearing 30 mph, going north it was
18-23. More and more riders got blown (literally) out the back, to
where the lead pack shrunk to about a dozen or fewer riders. Many
of us (Apostoli, Armstrong, Faehnle, Gratop, Iannone, Sams, Snider) who
dragged ourselves in behind the lead pack (including, I believe:
Card, Clark, Crawford, Duet, Fenton, Gwin, Houston, Komives, Regan,
Selle, Slough, Stanton, Thourot) were swearing--and also
vowing--that if it wasn't for that crosswind we'd still have been in
that lead group. All the swearing in the world would not have
changed the fact that over the last 25 miles my vastus medialis (the
quadriceps muscle directly above the knee and toward the inside of the
leg) were on the knife edge of cramping.
So
now many of us know some of what we need to do between now and the end
of April to get a bit closer to race condition.
And Steve
Sams':
A
week ago I would have told you I have been riding well, but after the
infamous Equinox Tour I would hesitate to say that. It was a cold 32
degrees Sunday morning, with sustained NNW winds of 20-25 mph. The tour
started off at a much more civilized pace than past years, probably due
to the wind. Somewhere after Haskins I apparently made what could be
considered a fatal mistake, going off the front for a few miles until we
hit Tontogany road.
After
we came out of Tontogony we headed west into the wind taking up the
whole road in a large echelon. It was difficult to get a draft, a lot of
guys were in the gutter and as soon as you would find a good spot we
would have to move over for oncoming traffic and start the whole fight
for position all over again. Before we made the next turn south I made
my graceful exit off the back of the main group. A few miles later battling
the headwinds alone Scott Main pulled up with a smile of course and
asked if I wanted to motorpace back to the group. I took him up on the
offer; a mile later, at near exhaustion, I caught the main group just as
they were turning south into Milton. I Stayed on for only about 1
minute; the pace was ridiculous, I was going 33mph and was loosing
ground. That was the second time I fell off the group.
I
rode the next 5-6 miles west into the wind alone until county road 3A
where I waited for Jim Houston's neighbor and met up with Eric Snider,
who was also waiting to pick the main group up on the way back. We got
into position as the group was coming up (and they were flying); we made
it on, fighting for some kind of draft to just get back into the groove
and pace. Well, once again the savvy rider that I am, I was in the wrong
position and got gapped off the group by the guy in front of me and
could not close it by myself. So once again I was left to battle the
wind on my own for a while. After several painful miles I hooked up with
Rob Selle and Jer Walker and we rode the remaining miles together back
to Perrysburg. I am not sure what really went on up in the front.
|
|
|
)
)
)
)
