I received many emails requesting, (begging) for a recap of the day's events for this past Monday. A few were wondering what exactly is the Sprint Royale. Therefore, going against my better judgement of blogulating two days in a row, but knowing the fans want more, it was decided, (after much heated debate, mind you...if only with myself) to file this commentary of the Hammock ride this past Memorial Day.
Monday was a near perfect day for a ride in the Hammock. The weather was great and the roads very quiet early in the morning as the group rolled out from Maygarden and Summit. You would never know from the first few miles that this was to be a difficult day in the saddle for almost all in the peloton. The group stayed together until Mobile Hwy where that Bad Mayonnaise cruised through a red light trying to gain an advantage before the next uphill section. (I know we shouldn't be running red lights, but you can hardly blame the boy when you discover he's riding a machine that weighs in at more than twice what the rest of us are riding. And he's pedaling it with his arms! The man is an animal!) However, the others that followed suit should be firmly admonished!
The peloton began to splinter somewhat as we took on the hills along Mobile Hwy heading for Randy "Ranoldo" Riche's favorite town; Beulah. We regrouped at the left hander that goes down into the Hammock and the task at hand began glaringly clear. The Hammock for those of you unawares, is a little village of maybe 50 or so residents. It's legal name is Hurst Hammock. From the turn at the four way stop, it is just under 4 miles of gentle downslope, (1-3% gradient) all the way to the village sign and our finish line for the Hammock Sprint. Over the years this has become one of our favorite rides as there is virtually no traffic as we line up for the Sprint Royale. In the past, some of the big names of the peloton have used all kinds of tactics to gain the slightest of advantage to stand atop the Hammock Podium. Names like; Crusher, Gianni Bugno, Retro, Vortex, and Prenti to name a few, have all come away with wins...none two times in a row. It is, in fact, one of the most difficult sprints to judge as there are so many curves that appear the same and the road is heavily wooded. Once the last curve is rounded and the finish line comes into view, there are a mere 150 meters to make your move. Classic sprint!
Well, within seconds of making the turn at the top, Prenti and the Bad Mayo surged ahead gaining a gap of 70 to 80 meters. The race was on! Big Hoagie, Ashley, Retro, Nate, Fishbone and others began to assemble the posse for the chase. The pace was in the mid 20s mph. You see, that Bad Mayo has difficulty going uphill, but he has a distinct dominance, (DD) when the road slopes downward. He and the Prenti were proving a little tough to catch. However, after several hard pulls by the powers that be, the peloton latched onto their draft and the pace eased.
Just then, in a classic move, Nate the Great stomped on a vicious attack that proved to be a good move as the peloton was catching it's breath. He gained an almost immediate gap of 50 to 60 meters before the alarm bells went off in the group. Once again, the group went from spread across the road to one narrow line with speeds in the mid to upper 20s! Nate held a gap of 70 meters or so for quite a while before he was reeled in and back in the fold. Again, the pace slowed to low 20s as the group looked to recover. But, before there was any thought of refreshing oneself, Fishbone launches a cheeky move with Nate on his wheel! This one caught the peloton sleeping and the two bandits looked to have the coop of the day. However, several of the would be sprinters awakened from their slumber and the chase was on. The two proved worthy opponents to the chasers as the line was less than 2k away. Just as they passed under the 1k to go banner, all were back together and under a full head of steam! No one would be able to attack this train again as the speeds approached the low 30s!
With 400 meters to go, Retro launches an attack! It appeared he had the move of the day as no one looked to go with him. Was it still too far out? Where was the final curve? He was accelerating and gaining a small gap of 20 meters when the Vortex decided to go as well. He pulled up to his wheel just as the finish line came into view. Happy had made the move with Vortex too. At 150 meters to the line, Vortex jumps hard just as Retro is lighting the afterburners! Happy is right on the Vortex's wheel as the three have less than 100 meters to go! Vortex, with eyes blurred and stompin on his (hopefully sound) pedals is now half a wheel ahead of Retro who is charging hard. Happy is still in the draft and trying to go around with 50 meters left. They cross the line in a Sprint Royale with less than meters between them as Vortex gets the Hammock Trophy with Happy second and Retro a close third! The fans were going absolutely wild!
The group cruised back out of the Hammock about half the speed that they went in. (It's much easier to get into the Hammock than it is to get out!) After a much needed rest stop the road home was fun and uneventful. All told 55 miles as we finished on Maygarden. Great ride for a great day!
If you missed it, that's okay, we're riding again tonight! Meet us for the West Florida Wheelmen ride at 5pm leaving from the WSRE parking lot. This ride is about 25 miles and usually has a moderate to very fast pace on a somewhat hilly route. Come on out! Until then, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
No comments:
Post a Comment