Balloon Festival Classic

Mitch: Great race and great fun. I can't remember last time I laughed so hard over a span of 24 hours. Getting Josh and Steve in the back seat and Doug sitting shotgun, primed our group for massive quantities of verbal abuse.

Kudos to Jack for setting us up in a really, really nice motel space (the Knotty Pine Motel) at a great price. As for the race itself, the course is as beautiful as it is challenging. But it was HOT. Ninety degrees by 11:00 and I think many people including myself suffered from the heat. The best thing was that Ari came up with Johanna. In the category of best talent in the feed zone TOA won the race hands down (Johanna managed to take pictures and give us water at the same time!)

Doug: Ditto, Mitch, on the fun/laughing part. What a great time. Further evidence that the actual racing is only a portion - maybe a minority portion - of why I love being involved in this sport. What a course!  Gorgeous roads, constant rolling-hill action, a dirt/gravel section, and a killer (though fairly short) climb, make for a tremendous course (we did this 21 mile loop three times).

My best moment came at the base of the final (third lap) "killer" climb. This climb (over 15% according to Mitch's computer) had two distinct upward sections, which flanked a short flat area that was home to the feed zone. I saw a rider up ahead, already at the feed zone when I turned the corner to start the climb from the bottom.  I made it a goal, however random and unrealistic, to catch him by the finish line. When I got to the feed zone myself, he was totally out of sight (meaning he'd climbed the second half and was already on the descent). 

Thinking maybe my goal of catching him was a little too ambitious, I grinded through the second climb with everything I had, knowing I could recover fully on the descent. I went for it on the descent, and took the hard right turn onto Rt 22 a little too fast . . . but then I saw him again!  He was way up there, but at least I saw him. So I got into fake TT position (forearms resting on the tops of the bars) and started cranking. We both passed a few more people (mostly Masters guys, I think), and I slowly but surely gained on him. 

When we got into Cambridge and started snaking through the crit-like turns, I was no more than 100 meters behind him. When we got to the final straightaway (200 meters from the finish), I was within 50 meters of his wheel. I could also see, at this point, that his race number was in the 700s, meaning he was in my category! I stomped it, and while he did cross the line first, my front wheel was even with his rear wheel on the line. I gave myself credit for accomplishing my goal of "catching" him. Secondarily, by my watch, I was able to hold a better-than-20mph average for the race. It's the small victories, eh?

The day ended at Paul's Pizza and Pasta, in Coxsackie, where the entire lot of us converged for a post-race meal. More laughing ensued. Overall a great trip. OA may not have burned up the results list, but I wonder how many teams had more fun. [Insert cheesy "awwwww" here.]

I'm now clearing out a four-hour window of time to read Josh's upcoming account of the weekend. Josh?

Steve: Yes, not a good day for me. I blew up like one of the balloons in the festival going on. Overall I really, really had a lot of fun and enjoyed the trip, which was for me the closest thing to an actual mini- vacation this year.

Highlights of the two day trip:
- Great Mexican at Panchos (somewhere in the middle of nowhere)
- Intense crash-course on American folklore (a little too much Meatloaf for my taste)