OVC Tuesday Night Ride openers always seem to draw a big crowd and this past Tuesday night was no exception. With a good mix of TNR rookies and veterans, 18 OVC riders would depart from the church in Fruitland and before the hammer was to go down, Bill H, Brian J, Caleb O, Mark L, Chris D, Dean P, Dean S, Jim D, Jim V, John J, Kevin L G, Roscoe, Russ, Sean S, Sonny, Steve, Scott H and Ted H would warm the lungs and legs for the first 3 miles of their 30 mile journey.
Making their way onto Stephens the Black n Blue Train would waste not a second getting up to speed and with a light tailwind to push the riders, speeds were already creeping above 26 mph. A few surges here and there would put some on their heels, but no one would lose their grip on the main field. Rollin into Furnacetown, there were a few tongues draggin, but not one of the 18 principals was ready to call it a night. Following the first leg of the 26 parcours, the riders would get a brief respite on Millville before making their way onto the dreaded tar n chip pavé of Sand Rd.
With an average speed so far of 25.5 mph, OVC with a headwind for their final gallop to the finish would be hard pressed to duplicate that performance for the remainder of the ride. Exiting Sand fairly unscathed, the field minus a few faces would continue on their journey home down Whitesburg and Meadow Bridge roads. Despite the loss of a few pairs of legs on Sand, OVC would still continue to build speed into the wind and with only a few miles to go on Meadow Bridge a quick glance of the cyclometers displayed a solid average speed of 25 mph.
With speeds continuing to soar, the gang in black and blue looked to be on a record setting pace for the TNR season opener. With the overpass just a few minutes up the road, a few more riders would succumb to the torrid pace leaving only Mark L, Dean P, Dean S, Kevin L G, Roscoe, Russ, Sean S, Sonny, Steve and Scott H to battle it out to the finish line under the MBROP (Meadow Bridge Rd overpass). Excluding the recovery period on Millville, Team OVC would average 25.5 mph for segment one and segment two. Even more impressive was the average speed of 26 mph for the final 7 miles into the wind on Meadowbridge.
Check out the video for a full recap of the Meadow Bridge Rd Finale. She’s a doozy. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et3IxcplY8A
Thanks OVC for a great ride and hats off to the club’s newest members Bill H, Jim D, Jim V and Kevin LG who stepped on the big stage for the first time and did a fantastic job on arguably one of the toughest training rides on the Shore.