Grand Prix of Granville

As noted above, it was a beautiful day for a race!

The first few laps were just sitting in and not working too hard, as the pace was slow. Although the voice in my head said not to, I did dangle off the front a little maybe, thereby incurring the wrath of Blair :-)

The pace got pretty fast on the fourth lap --- everyone stretched out and then finally came back together. Right then turned out to be a good time to attack and 5 guys got away. SHC was excellently positioned at the front and I was hoping to have more of us in the break when I took off . . . next time. The break was similar to two weeks ago at Mid Ohio: Tym Tyler, John Lowry from Stark Velo, myself, and two other guys. We worked together and gained a sizable lead. It was definitely fun hammering to make the break stick, and making sure everyone in the break was suffering as much as me. Thanks to all my teammates in the main group who covered the chases.

On the last set of hills I tried attacking the break but didn't manage to stay away long. Tym and another guy put in token counter attacks which I covered and then everybody settled down for the final sprint. I was happy to come up with second in that.

Also I have to mention my brother Steve, who came out from Pittsburgh to do his first race ever and placed second in the unlicensed cat. Look for him on the PSU cycling team in a year!

I'm saving all the winnings from the previous races for when we go out for a team lunch after a race! Thanks for the support guys. If you want to wait until 2050, due to the miracle of compound interest, I might be able to buy a full dinner for all at somewhere uber swank like Wendy's (possibly, if we don't order frostys for dessert).

Finished my first race of the season. Does not get any better than that!

Best race yet for me. Good race for the team, though we should have sent more guys sooner to bridge up to the lead pack. We left Stubna all alone. It was a strange race and the way the lead pack got away was strange too - just a slow pulling away. I guess that's what they mean by breaking the elastic. Mike and a few others just kept hammering on the front until the pack was all strung out; a few gaps got created and no one was able to close that first one to the lead group and they were gone.

As for me - I tried a solo flier over the last riser and almost stayed away for 7th or 8th, but couldn't hold off the pack, led by none other than BRF! Actually, I would have been caught no matter what the other SH riders did. Still lacking that extra punch I had in July last year. Fortunately, it's still early in the season. Kudos to Mike for making the break and finishing 2nd.

Felt good today unfortunately bit off more than I could chew attempting a bridge, should have stopped when I got up to Todd. Good to see Mitch out again after his crash. Todd and Rich it was nice meeting you guys today.

It's great to be racing again. Great to see the gang again-both from our team and many of the familiar faces from other teams. Will was right-Mike Stubna is our new Chris Bean-a powerhouse. He knows how to race, too, since he was right where he needed to be when the break formed, and he immediately went with it.

Enjoyed the race today. Was able to stay near the front and answer all attacks by Breakaway cycling until the last lap. Found myself just off the back of the lead group after the last attack and just couldnt manage to catch back up. Nice job by Dave Tingler pulling the group for almost a complete lap.

This was my first race of the season, so my expectations were not high. I had two goals for this race: FINISH and NOT BE LAST

I accomplished both.

What a great race. The Weather was great, the scenery was great, and the company of SHC team members was great. After chasing down one pretty meager solo attempt on the first lap, and trying to match some pretty hard accelerations at the beginning of the fourth lap, my legs started to feel a little hosed. Thinking I would only need a few seconds to recover, I let the passing wheels get away. Note to self: when the pace starts to get pretty hot, grab a wheel and stick to it or you will quickly find yourself shelled off the back. When the pace didn't seem to let up, and I was trying to pull the group back alone, the wind started to take its toll. After a few miles of constant effort, I realized that there was no way to get back in touch with the group alone. So I did like any rational person would do…I sat up and enjoyed the sunshine.