Deer Creek Road Race

April 12 was a windy, brisk day in Ohio. Deer Creek is just North of Chillicothe, OH. I have done well on this course in the past and was looking forward to contesting my improved fitness level racing with the 3s.

The course is about a 12 mile loop. It is mostly flat with two modest risers (hills). These are for sure big ring risers as there are flats to false flats following the risers and this is where the attacks will start. You need to be prepared to be on the gas when you crest the climb. The front part of the course is relatively flat with one riser and nearly five miles of head wind, you make a right hand turn and have approximately four miles to the finish on the back side of the course. Once you make the right hand turn, you hit the second riser and then it is on the gas. You are mostly rolling with the wind or have a slight cross wind. In the cross wind sections, if you keep your speed from the downwind segments, you can shell riders off the back. It is a bear to hold on and even harder to bridge back from being dropped.

My team (Mike, Stan, Nick, Bill, Zach) and I rolled out on the first lap with forty other combatants, and the attacks started immediately. It all came back together once we hit the head wind. My strategy was to find cover on each of the four head wind segments we'd experience in this race. The repetitive beating you take in a hard race with wind is cumulative. To have any legs to cover a real break requires you to conserve when and where you can. The second piece of my strategy was to allow gaps to open and not try to cover everything. Evaluate the breaks and if a break had the right composition, wait for a gap that I felt could cover to open and then attack the gap to bridge without taking anyone with. The third part of the strategy was to cover all the same for my mates in the event they made a break.

The first time up the riser on the back side of the course, my friend Doug, who races for a competing team, jammed the hill and was on the gas immediately after the climb. He made us all hurt immeasurably. I was finding any wheel I could follow to make sure I was not dropped. Doug and his team really strung out the field on this first lap of four. As we crossed the finish line, things came back together a bit. On the first riser after the finish line and before the head wind section, the group finally came back together and no one had the courage to leap out on the head wind section.

On the second time up the riser on the back side, another attack came. Stan, Nick and Mike jumped this attack. I was not in a great position and feared being gapped out of the race. I buried myself to cover the gap, taking turns with a few other in my chasing group. I finally caught them about one mile before we hit the head wind section, bringing about five others with. In the head wind section it all came back together.

On the third time up the riser on the back side, the Turner team attacked. They got a rider plus two up the road. One of the two was on my friend Doug's team. The field sort of let them go for a while and the gap was opening up somewhat large. It was large enough for me to grow uncomfortable. Doug's team would not help chase, they had a man up. Turner would not chase, they had a man up and their team initiated many of the early attacks. I rode up to several riders on the front to initiate a chase. Their comment was, "You have the team and numbers. It's your job to bring it back." We turned into the head wind section and the gap was growing larger. Stan, one of my mates, rolled up and indicated we need to pull this thing back together. With Stan, Nick and Mike as our sprinters, I went to the front and set a hard pace into the head wind. Stan and I took turns spelling each other as we drew the break back. Other teams with riders up mixed into our flow to disrupt it a bit, but we succeeded. With about 1.5 miles to the right hander and the final time up the back side riser, we caught the break. Nice work Stan 'Devolder' Huffman.

Stan and I dropped back to the back of the field to catch our breath and rest a bit. Once we turned right, it was 3.5 miles to the finish and mostly with or a slight cross wind. This is where the pace really quickened on the past three laps. Stan said, "Take Nick to the front and give him a sniff at the line." We did not know, however, Nick had been ill all week and had nothing left for this race. I went to the front to be ready for the launch. As we started climbing the back side riser, three guys attacked. I was marking one of the three as he attacked on lap three. I was ready and jumped their wheels. At the top of the climb, we had a decent gap and four of us. I liked my chances in this group, but my confidence was stronger than my legs. I took a pass on my first three pulls in this break as I was really feeling the effects of working on the front so recently with Stan to pull things back. My break was not happy, but I had nothing at that time to contribute. After skipping three pulls, I started pulling my share and tried to pull longer in order to make it up.

With about one kilometer to go, I knew this selection would determine the winner. I also knew I had no legs for the sprint. On the left hander coming off a direct downwind section, I took the turn at a little more than 30 MPH, I tried to jam it at that time and time trial away from these guys. They were way too strong and I was far more spent than I anticipated. They blew past me, I finished a respectable fourth about 15 seconds off their finish. Great race, great organization. I am paying for it today as my IT bands are severely strained. I need to work it out before next week. We line it up and do it again next Sunday.