Deer Trail 2008

We arrived at Deer Trail at about 6:30 on Saturday morning. I have a habit of being late and not getting a proper warm up. The temperature was a balmy 28 degrees but I was more concerned about getting out on the bike for a warm up. I rode out past the finish line to see what it was like outside the city in the wide open spaces. It was nice out there, not much wind and my hands and feet actually warmed up to the point where I could feel them again. I rode back to town and did a few laps around there. It was getting close to the starting time so I went back to the car to get my race bike ready and put the trainer away. Weeks leading up to the race, I started planning a break with two other really strong riders, Korey Kreitman from Rio and Brian Milnick from Green Mountain. These two guys were perfect to break with - great TT guys with a ton of strength. As we talked, I had it in my mind that the break should happen early. We decided that we would break at the eight mile turn. All morning I avoided talking to Brian and Korey because, as you know, I like to talk and it would be my luck that I would spill the beans. I did see Anthony, Korey's teammate, and told him that it was a go. I didn't see Brian until we were lined up at the start. I said, "Hey Brian" and nodded my head. I am sure he knew the plan was a go. I looked to see where my teammates were. Steve Muller had a nice spot in the front. Michael and Steve Ferry were set up pretty good as well. I knew that I needed to work my way towards them so they could break with us. When the peloton headed for the start, Korey and I bartered for a better position but Brian still was not set up so well. He was surrounded by his teammates and I knew he would use his wits to move his way to the break. Muller was still in the front and Michael and Steve F were still set up pretty good. We were off. Korey and I were stuck on the inside. I really don't know how it happened but Korey was on my left and I said to go to the outside. I followed Korey to the outside and there we set. I kept looking at the mileage and honestly getting a little frustrated. I had to tell myself to be patient and we will be able to work up the inside. There was a guy in front of Korey that was not holding the wheel to the guy in front of him. Also, for no reason, he kept slamming on his brakes. Twice, Korey and I had to lock up our brakes and move close the yellow line. Finally, Korey had enough and made his move and took the gap in front of him. The guy that was passed said something to Korey, not sure what. I said, "Close the gap." The guy decided to move inside and give me Korey's wheel. It was like that all the way to the corner. At the corner I got a good line and headed for the front. Some guy did a fake attack. He said, "Come on!" to a guy in front and headed out. It was obvious it was a half-hearted attempt so I yelled out, "Let him go, we will catch him in 5 minutes." Everyone one seemed to ease up so I hit it hard. I broke out of the peloton and think I caught everyone by surprise. I looked back and there were Korey and Brian but no one else. I had a rush of adrenaline and we were off to the races. We worked our butts off all the way back. Brian said, "We need to make it back to Deer Trail." I kept trying to let everyone know how far we had to go to get to the turnaround in Deer Trail, but I was not sure if I was saying it out loud or not. Finally we could see Deer Trail and the turnaround. We hit the turn and headed back with the wind at our back toward Agate. It was nice and felt great doing upper 30's for 12 miles. I kept up my fluids, rotating HEED with water and water with my Clif bloks. I knew the road back was going to be a lot of work. The ride back included long pulls for each of us. We were really working together like we had rode a thousand miles together. The tough haul back! At the turn we went right into the wind. Our 30+ MPH was now just a memory as we struggled to maintain 17. We pace lined all the way back to town passing 4's that were dropped. As we passed the 4's, I thought to myself that the peloton now will think no one is out there or confuse us for the stragglers and let up. When we got to town I could not see anyone behind us. In fact, I never again saw the complete peloton. Now it was part of the plan to work as teammates until we hit the last out and back. Actually that was probably a flaw in the plan. In that wind we needed to work more. The original plan was to have at least five in the break. That didn't happen so we had to play the cards we were dealt. Brian Milnick unselfishly worked himself into such a deficit that he had really no gas left. One of the hardest things to do is leave behind a person that worked as hard as he did. If you ever have a chance to meet Brian, I highly recommend it. This guy is the epitome of sportsmanship! I fought with that in my mind. My heart was telling me to pull him back up but my brain was saying that I would be caught if I did. I chose to fight the wind with Korey. Korey is an awesome strong competitor and he too worked himself into a big deficit. When we got to the rollers I thought it would be all over but the crying. As we went out I tried to hook his wheel and watched as he was getting whipped around by the wind. We traded front positions a few times but I really didn't work that hard down the back stretch. I really worked just hard enough to keep up or to pull a bit. I really wanted it to come down to a sprint uphill in a cross wind. I know what a great sprinter Korey is but I was hoping that wind and energy would be on my side. The last time I pulled up to Korey, he told me he was cramping and not doing too well. I went ahead of him there and thought I would pull him a bit. I looked back and I had put a gap on him. I didn't want to let up because I saw guys coming up. At this point Danny passed honking and yelling, "You're going to win!" I got a rush of adrenaline and felt some more strength from deep inside. I pedaled hard but was caught by a three-man break, two Pikes Peak Velo guys and a Bicycle Pedal'r rider. The pedal'r guy was a big guy so I went left to the outside line so I could get the good wind break. The two Pikes Peak guys stayed inside in the wind. At the 1k mark one Pikes Peak Velo guy attempted a lead out. The wind forced him in my line so I held up and crossed inside. I got the two Velo guys in the sprint but the pedel'r guy beat me to the line. Everyone I had talked to said a break at eight miles would never work. I knew how tough Korey and Brain were and figured if we could get away, one or all of us would have top finishes. I tried to do the crit on Sunday but the snap in the legs just wasn't there. I know that I gave it my all for the entire race. I can't remember a time I have been this sore.