The Salisbury Road Race was held up in Gap, PA and had a forecast of low 40s and rain. Fortunately, the rain held off and the racers only had to contend with the low temperature. Both Joe and Andrew were racing in the Novice/Category 5 group.
Joe had a rough start for the day and had to turn around 30m into the drive up to the race to grab his ID that he left at his house. He made it to the race 15m before the start and ran over to registration to get checked in and suited up for the race, leaving no time for warm-up. If that wasn't enough, when he pulled his bike off his car rack, the chain had lodged itself between the crank and chain ring and wasn't going anywhere without a good amount of force. The race was lined up and was about to start, but had to wait for an Amish horse carriage to pass by, giving Joe enough time to finally dislodge his chain with one Thor-like motion, clip in, and roll up to the back of the group right before the start of the race.
The race was brisk w/ the main group carrying an overall 22.5mph pace and about 1,000ft of climbing over 20 miles. Andrew started off in the middle of the pack and Joe was able to move up to him halfway through the first lap. The course had many rolling hills and was filled with gifts from the horses pulling the Amish carts. Halfway during the second lap, the group started breaking apart and picked up the pace, where Andrew was unable to hang on, but Joe continued to press on and slowly make his way up the front. During the final lap, Joe and 4 other racers broke away from the remaining group and carried it to the finish.
There was a climb and then a slight positive grade leading into the finish line, where the entire road was opened for a sprint finish. Joe was on the leader's wheel during the climb and was where he decided to make his break for the win. He passed the leader, earning him lead into the finish line. Little did Joe know, but the guy he passed was silently and stealthily holding onto Joe's back wheel and attempted a finish-line sprint to overcome Joe and grab the win. These series of events were unbeknownst to Joe, who still secured the win and won by half a wheel length.
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| Joe and his first place prize! |
Some additional photos on a flickr pool, taken by Matthew Bunting at the race:
