This was my first time doing this race and all I had heard was that it was hilly.  I took the scenic route to the start and drove down the long hill section of the course.  I decided that this race was going to be like Quabbin…fast exposed roads, some wind, and medium length but not steep climbs.  So I instructed Devin on multiple occasions to let other people burn themselves out on lap one and then on lap two we would pick up the pace on the hills and drop some of the pack to avoid another Turtle Pond finish. 

We executed lap 1 perfectly.  At one point I was literally the last man in the pack as I watched various ‘just up from cat 5’s’ trying to solo break and go fast on the flats.  Yes, the pace was slow and brakes were used, but it was easy going.  If I had a power meter the graph would have looked like a recovery ride, or worse since I was coasting a lot.  On lap two Devin and I worked our way forward comfortably during the climbs and on the last uptick of the ‘long hill section’ picked up the pace pretty hard. 

My original intention was not to break away as I thought breaks would be hard to stick, but just to drop like half the group.  Devin, Peter Sullivan, and myself were off the front but as the three of us started our descent into a fast right hander the pace car slowed way down and neutralized us.  Apparently a masters field was about to catch and pass us. So we rode at about 10mph for the next 5 miles until a masters break pack and then the field passed us.  After this, our pace stayed slow because any effort risked getting neutralized by catching the masters field.  You might think that catching the master’s 1-4 field would be optimistic, but even at our slow pace we came across the field at the next hill.  Luckily they stayed away and we were not neutralized again.  Basically the 2nd half of our 2nd lap was really slow.  Then we made the turn onto the straightaway that lead to the traffic circle that lead to the slight uphill finish (btw racing through traffic circles seemed really pro).  Now it was like Sterling, fast wide open road with wind.  Luckily, there were enough guys stringing things out that there was no chance of guys sling shotting back into the picture.  I moved up a bit on the inside before the traffic circle and carried my speed around the turn in probably 8th place. 

 Sullivan and I brushed a bit around the corner but nothing to knock us off course.  Then going up to the finish it was windy from our NW perspective.  Everyone was trying to stay protected.  I had the outside line which was bad wind wise and was in the third hole of the outside line while a few Cambridge guys had the protected inside line (sound familiar?).  I inched out to make my move a few times but backed off bc of the wind.  Then I took off just before the last uptick to the line.

At the same time, Nick from Cambridge came out of his hiding spot and snuck in 1st place and Devin and I gave the old 2-3 punch.  Because of the wind and the suffering I couldn’t hear Devin say “take me up” prior to this last effort.  Had I gone sooner we could have taken Devo to the line in 1st, no doubt, but at this point I wasn’t sure who was behind me.  The key to our success was smart riding.  We laid low and went hard when it mattered.  Awesome day, Devin.  We celebrated with Joe and Sue and some beers at a local eatery.
If you liked Quabbin, you’ll like Sunapee, and vice verse.