Eventually, I decided to go ride the course once and get the lay of the land. It was a 6.6 mi course with two decent hills to make things difficult. The wind was pretty steady so it took me a while to ride the loop solo. When I got back, they still weren't ready to start the race, so I spent most of the time chatting with my soon-to-be teammate Gonzalo Escobar. He's riding for Lees-McRae until he graduates this spring.
As we were waiting for the race to begin, it became clear that by delaying the race, weather was going to become a big factor. There were some nasty clouds moving in and once they finally had us lined up to hear instructions, there was thunder and a sprinkling of rain. Almost as soon as we rolled out of the Kendall Valley parking lot, the skies opened up and we were getting soaked. All I could think about was how this was real Belgian classics weather. Rain, rural roads, hills, it's all good.
But the rain kept getting harder until it became hard for me to see. Riding in the peloton, my eyes were getting splashed with spray from the wheel of the guy in front of me and I was having to squint to make out anything. Braking was an adventure and I was concerned about running in to people in front of me. Despite all that, the first lap was uneventful in terms of grouping. A couple folks tried some dumb solo moves, but they were brought back in short order.
About midway through the second lap, the rain became painful. It was hitting me real hard in the face and all of a sudden I noticed that it wasn't rain anymore. We were getting hailed on! Epic, but silly too. This extreme weather started to split the group and I had to jump past folks and hammer to catch back on after some gaps opened. It was hard to tell where the front of the race was, but after a while I was confident that I was still in the lead group.
When we hit the second climb, I found myself pedaling off the front with another rider. We weren't attacking really, just upping the pace on the hill, but before long we had a gap and had been joined by 2-3 others--the rain makes my memory as hazy as it was. With about two miles to go before the next lap, our group was reeled in by what seemed like a third of the original starters. I started to reintegrate into the new pack when the moto-official pulled up beside us and told us to, "Go straight to the finish." The course was a lollipop style, so we all took this to mean that this was the final lap. Haha! 2 of 8 was to be the final lap. Not quite a 50 mile road race eh?
Well, once the official told us the news I went straight to work positioning myself for the sprint and we were moving fast enough that things were almost single file. The wind was killer and the rain was relentless. I was in the top five when the finish came into sight and fortunately for me, there was a short but steep rise before plateauing for 100 yards before the finish. A Franklin Street cycles rider really led out the sprint bigtime. He was way early and so we were all trying to use him as a draft. Eventually I made the decision to go for it and found myself leading with maybe 50 yards to go. I held that lead nearly all the way, but was passed just before the line by a Blue rider. I held off third place by a bike throw.
I was thrilled to be second, but since the race wasn't even long enough to qualify as a crit and it wasn't clear if there was even a camera at the finish due to the weather, I wasn't as excited as I might have been. There was rumor of a tornado elsewhere in the county to further put a damper on things. I stood around for a while trying to find out if they were going to payout the $70 for second place and if there would be any results posted, but things were hectic and I gave up after about thirty minutes of shivering in my wet clothes underneath an overhang. We loaded up the car and went to Log Cabin for some warm and dry chopped pork sandwiches. Good stuff as always.
I made sure to email the promoter all the info I had about the finish--my place and those of the others around me. But Monday morning, we got the following email:
Attention Pro's and cat 3's that started the Remax Town & Country RR on March 15th
The severe weather that moved in during your race forced the officials to remove the camera equipment from the finish line before the leaders came in. Both races were also shortened due to the severe weather which created some confusion among the racers. After speaking with the Drew McCarthy, the chief referee, and receiving some e-mails from him it appears the finish cannot be accurately recorded. Having now gathered all the available information I have decided that each racer in the Pro and cat 3 race will receive a refund or credit with RMS. I am in the process of deciding which way is going to be best for all involved but I wanted to let you know that you will be receiving some sort of refund. We (Uwharrie Wheelmen Cycling Club) appreciate the fabulous turnout, we had 400 racers, and apologize for the inconvenience caused by the weather. Our goal is to get people in Stanly county interested in cycling and I think having 400 cyclist racing in our backyard is a great way to do it. Once I determine the way you will be refunded I will post it.
Thanks,
Chris Chapman
President Uwharrie Wheelmen/Race Promoter
Oh well, I got a taste of racing at least. My legs were certainly not in prime shape but I had a passable sprint. Had the race gone 50 miles worth of attacking, I would have been hurting. The changes of pace throughout the race all hurt a lot and my legs feel like they have a long way to go if I'm going to score points anywhere near MABRA.
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