Just on the heels of a great “B” ride on Saturday, OVC still managed to draw 18 riders on Sunday from 3rd Wave for their marquee “A” ride. Littered with some of OVC’s finest, the ride didn’t take long to get up to speed and after settling into a nice manageable pace, all 18 riders more than did their fair share of work throughout the 3 plus hour 60 mile ride.
Mixed in with a light to moderate tempo pace were a few spirited sprint/interval segments and to kick things off the Black n Blue Train would go into TTT mode on Lone Pine Rd and for nearly 3 miles the team would average 25.5 mph over less than ideal road conditions. Steve and Sir Beauchampi “side by side” would lead the high speed parade to the stop sign at Cokesbury Rd. Following the first round of high speed action, the team would regroup and reload for the shrine of short, but intense lung searing “king of the pain train segments”….Thee Sharptown Bridge Sprint Segment.
Hitting the foot of the “Wall” (aka Sharptown Bridge), Frankie was the first to go on the offensive. Soon to follow was Dean P. Dean would crest the summit first, but Roscoe countered over the top and from there it was red zone all the way. A slew of chase scenarios would lead to a final selection of Roscoe, Steve, Caleb, Brian J and Russ. Surviving the slugfest to the finish were Steve, Roscoe and Russ with Steve deservingly getting the nod over Roscoe with Russ snagging the 3rd spot on the road. Just to illustrate the intensity of this short 1.1 mile segment, Russ at 58 years of age pegged his HR at 188 bpm’s and recorded an average power of 290 watts and Dean P hit a max power of 1250 watts.
With a much needed rest stop in Sharptown, the peloton would start their trek home, but along the way they would have to brace themselves for the penultimate high speed segment on E Cross Rd and this time around Frankie would edge Dean out to capture the segment. With the E Cross Rd segment serving as an appetizer for the big finale, the group would spin for a bit before the big run into the finish in Delmar.
The Shorebreak Pale Ale Finale:
Making their way onto Rt 54, it didn’t take long for the Black n Blue Train to drop the hammer and rather than recap the finale on paper, we’ll let the video cover those fast and furious few miles. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLUDY8RdvRo
Just wanna thank all who came out today. For those who gave a 110 percent on the segments and to those who finished what they started, all 18 riders epitomize what team OVC/Culver & Pierson is all about…kudos to all!!!