Group Racin'

The first group ride is in the books, and it went well. With the recent warm temperatures, I expected a large group but was surprised to see that only 12 of us rolled out from the park. I guess a lot of people were concerned about the wet roads and the fact that the frigid winter kept most of us from working on our handling skills. But, the roads outside of town were great, and there wasn't anything even close to a crash. Well, there was a flat, but he stayed upright and we waited for him to change it.

We did the Fry Town loop and it was very enjoyable. We rode a double paceline at a rather easy pace for quite awhile. No one even contested the first three or four "Stop Ahead" signs. It really felt more like a late winter group ride than the first College Green race of the season. But once we headed north and hit a few hills things got a little bit faster. My legs did not have the kind of power it would have taken to keep me in the front. But I spun quickly and was able to stick with them. At the first real "Stop Ahead" sprint it was Jim Cochran who took home the victory for the Atlas/Discovery team. This is not a huge surprise, as Jim is super fast. However, it should be noted that he spent close to three hours riding with The Thrilla before the group ride. It should also be noted that Jim was riding a rather stout cyclocross bike with very beefy (read-heavy) tires. Oh, and full fenders. Almost everyone else was on super trick race bikes.

As we headed back east into town on Black Diamond Rd. the pace quickened and about eight of us kept a nice rotation going. I was happy that I was able to take just about all of my pulls. As we neared the sprint for the creek, though, the group was pulling away from me ever so slightly. Jim, for some reason, was behind me. He bridged the gap to the leaders easily enough and then proceeded to drag Hopson away from the group and then pulled off, letting Hopson get the V. A truce offering between the bitter rivals of Atlas and Mercy? Difficult to tell.

All in all, I would have to say this is one of the best first group rides of the season. I hope it is a sign of things to come.