Last time I raced 87 was 12 years ago.
[2003 Texas Flyer; photo credit unknown]
_fitness
Most training was done on the road bike. Skating was limiting to repeating the same 700-meter hill. I logged minimal flat miles and accepted I’d suck for the final 15 in Atlanta.
_losing ground
The Colony’s police was adamant this year: no skater on the street. I had my first downhill crash as the result.
I continued to practice on Windhaven Parkway but on the sidewalk.
I wore the 110mm wheels down to 94 and wondered how many more A2A's I could keep this up.
The local police had a wide range of reactions to my road skating. I never knew what I’d get when I spotted police cars.
Trishop’s bike group accepted the sole skater reluctantly this year.
_race plan
Reach Silver Hill with top women and Lenny.
Stay up right. Enjoy the day.
_slow start
Road was dry, air cool. No one hurried. The lead car went the correct way. Everything great.
Eddy casually built a gap. One young skater followed. Eddy came back—85-miles-to-go was premature for breakaway, even for Eddy.
_the poser
Somehow I led the pack down the first long hill, pushed by 4000 lb of meat.
[check point 1: lead pack: Gene McBrien, Dylan Widener, Francisco Ramirez, Sonic, David Weber, Jorge Botero, Peter, Clint Canington, Eddy, Cheyanne]
3 skaters with biblical names caught me: John, Michael, and Matthew. Marcy, Jessica, Rachel, and a hairy guy caught us before first check point, where Jessica skated over rumble strips despite warnings from herself. John and Michael did bulk of the work going through each of Jessica's favorite hills. John had crazy solo downhill speed.
_Dacula
We skated through 38-mile in 2:16 with the 38-mile winner Brian Tilley. I wasn't confident to hold the effort for next 49. I wondered where Luke was.
[49-mile start]
[The lead pack was down to 6: Eddy, Francisco, Peter, Clint Canington, Gene McBrien, and Jagrut Thaker, the hairy French who would drop me toward the end]
We lost Matthew at Dacula. The pack sucked in and spitted out skaters. I was happy Lenny joined us. Kent and Sonic were also great additions.
Rachel crashed. We waited.
_Silver Hill
We went down in small clusters. I was behind John but had insufficient mass to stay in his draft—I didn’t know this was possible at 44.4 mph.
The pack lost half the skaters on the other side of Silver Hill.
_by a thread
Sonic was the only one demonstrating pretty form by now. My quads were fried. I anticipated losing the pack by check point 5 before porta-potty, Colleen hug, nutrition grab, and 15~30 min solo stroll before Luke picked me up.
I didn't lose enough ground to justify stopping. I grab the water from a CP5 volunteer but lacked the energy to say thank you.
I slowed every time cramping set in, but the group never got far. The hills got shorter and shorter. Duck walk became distant memory. My legs tapped out others' speed. The paceline was a gift.
_mile 77
Going sub-5 hr was out of question. I hoped for 5:10. We went into team time trial mode--each taking 45-second turns. Lenny power was awesome. Our effort was disrupted by red lights. Marcy was jumpy.
_residential street race
I couldn’t wait to see how women’s race unfold.
Sonic was the first to falter. Power-to-weight ratio wasn’t a big advantage by now.
[Sonic the street skater: T shirt, shoulder bag, boombox]
Marcy attacked. Jessica responded. For a moment the gap was constant. Rachel couldn't hang on. Marcy was relentless; she broke free. The road surface was patchy. I stayed back and was uncomfortable with footing.
Kent chased Marcy. Everyone followed. I lost ground.
[Jessica left me in the dust]
I gave in to the urge to brake before turning into the tunnel. I lost sight of others after darkness. I didn’t mind; I had a great day; I wanted to go again.
[thanks for being the event photographer, Brian]
_#
Distance: 87.2 miles
Time: 5:11:38
Speed: 16.8 mph
Placement: 12th
_same men on the podium as NYC 100k
Eddy reclaimed his A2A title. Peter was recovering from a dislocated knee. Francisco’s legs were tired from previous week's wheel testing and chose to tie with Pete. Jorge Botero was 4th, 7 minutes in front of our pack.
I was surprised only 4 men beat our group. Eddy’s 19 mph put my performance in perspective.
_other results
Raluca and Bob Harwell finished 87 miles just under 10.5 hours. The alliance lifted my spirit.
Jackeline skated an extra CP after completing 38-mile race.
Luke finished in 5:37 with Sam and Michael.
I was sad not skating with Luke, proud how Michael grew as an A2A skater, and impressed by Sam's endurance
Melody’s body didn’t cooperate that morning. She chose not to challenge Silver hill.
[photo from Eddy]
Shortly after 6pm, everyone celebrated Paul's arrival at the end of his 49-mile journey.
Good Job, Paul! [photo from Eddy]
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