Bicycles Unlimited - Sprint Down the Valley 6-5

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Sprint Down the Valley 6-5

Written by Bob Perry

Friday, 06 June 2008

It was a cloudy and somewhat cool evening when the riders started to assemble for tonight’s trip down the valley. I had another rough day today and I was ready to bail on the ride, but I managed to get a couple minutes of quiet time in the middle of the day so I decided to give it a go. I had a nice group of 17 riders behind me as I left the parking lot at a little after 6:00.

I rode down to RT. 5&10 where the group got split up in traffic. Dougie, Silko and I waited up for the group to catch up and then I went to the middle of the pack while Dougie and Silko stayed on the front. The group stayed together until we got to the end of Old Main Street in Deerfield. At this point the lead pack took off at warp speed and that left Jamie, Curt, Chris Dodson, Dougie, Don McCool and myself riding along at a 23 mph pace. As the lead group pulled away from us we caught up with Bill Haines who joined us on route. With the lead group speeding off into the distance, I asked the group how long it would take us before we caught up with Silko, who was still in the lead pack. We pedaled along as the group guessed at the point we would catch him. At this point in the ride I was still feeling pretty fresh but I did not want to do too much because I knew that I was running on pretty low energy reserves. I kept a reasonable distance from the front and managed to only do one pull. We rode up the hill on Mill Village and when we got to the turn onto Lee Road; there was Silko waiting for us. (The winner was Curt, who guessed Lee Road). We group then rode up the hill to Stillwater Road where we picked up Gary Cole and Mark Newton. After getting down the hill on 116 we headed for Whatley. The pace was a very brisk 24 mph for the run to the Whatley town line. I was on the front when the sprint went off about 100 yards ahead of the line. Curt and Silko went for the sprint, which Curt won. I managed to keep in the middle of the pack as the group swarmed ahead of me. We up and over the small hills into Whatley Center and the group mercifully slowed down as we passed the inn. I was now feeling tired and so I was being mindful of the actions at the front of the group because I did not want to get dropped. After we left the center of town the pack rolled down the hill at a pretty good clip. I was mostly on the rivet when I noticed that the speed was picking up and Curt was pushing hard. Not wanting to get shelled on the next hill I went into full sprint mode and soon I had surged ahead of the hard charging pack. I did this mainly to prevent the group from dropping me but I nearly blew a gasket in the effort. I ended up riding in second wheel behind Gary as we pedaled down Pantry Road. I was tiring so I pulled out of line and dropped back about 4 places so I could rest. After we got out onto 5&10 the pace went up to 24 mph again and I pretty much was hung on the nose of my saddle. I was able to keep up the pace and was very thankful when we slowed up to make the left turn to head into Hatfield. I went to the front as we crossed over RT. 91 and made the left turn onto Dwight Street. After we made the turn I went back to the middle of the pack and stayed there until we got to Main Street. We turned left and headed for River Road. I kept myself in the middle of the group for nearly the entire trip up to South Deerfield. As we neared the end of River Road in Whatley, I asked the group to take the left to head up to Sugarloaf Street. I knew for sure that if we were to continue on River Road in Deerfield I would have gotten dropped on the hills and the prospect of riding even a few miles alone was not appealing. The group agreed to my request and we then headed for the traffic lights at 116. Mark did a slow speed sprint for the town line, mainly because most of the rest of the riders were snoozing and did not see the sign. After we crossed the highway we rode though So Dee and at the end of North Main Street we took a right onto 5&10. With the heavy cloud cover it was now getting pretty dark so the pack picked up the pace and we went into overdrive as we headed for Greenfield. I did not see who won the town line into Greenfield because my eyes were rolled to the back of my head. I managed to hang onto the back of the pack as we took the Hope Street route back to the shop. We got back to the shop with a 21.3 mph average for the 38 mile ride. After the ride a group of us then headed for Mesa to get dinner. We had a great time and I want to thank all of the riders in the group for dragging me back to the shop.

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Last Updated ( Saturday, 11 October 2008 )

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Bicycles Unlimited carries the largest selection of bicycles and accessories in the valley. Bob oversees a staff of helpful and knowledgeable service and sales people. The shop has rides for every ability level. We will assist newer riders as well as seasoned experts with the skills needed to enjoy riding for many years.

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