FLCC> Whitney Point RR

[Glenn Swan]

	Whitney Point Lakefest is not a big deal race with tons of prize money and 
racers coming from Canada and beyond....but it is a longstanding classic 
road race with a great course and dedicated promoters and volunteers. I 
always look forward to this event.  This year I expected it would be my 
opportunity to ride with the "Amish Mafia" I have been hearing about all 
spring - the young guys from Addison riding with the Big Horn Velo Team. 
Andy M and Wayne Bray, Doug Carlson and Rich Karaz and a few other well 
respected guys were in the field, so even if it was a relatively small 
race, it would be some serious opportunity to push and be pushed into the 
pain zone.
	"They're only cat4/5 riders. How tough can they be?" I kept telling 
myself. "They don't know how hard the cat 2's ride. They aren't experienced 
enough to handle masters racing..." This is while we are rolling on the 
flats up to Marathon. The race really starts when you turn right and start 
climbing out of town. The pace was set by Wayne Bray and Doug Carlson as 
the climb began. Before long the Corning guys surged by and set a pace that 
I wasn't willing to suffer that early in the race. I was getting the answer 
to the "How tough ?" question. Fortunately for me, Wayne, Andy, Doug and 
others were content to work together smoothly and 'hang them out to dry' a 
few hundred yards up the road with the hope that they would be somewhat 
tenderized when we reached the climb to German where the real race 
selection usually occurs. About the time we reached Willet, they had 
figured out what was going on and they came back to the field and rested up 
for the coming climb. (These guys are no dummies...) I tried to set a brisk 
pace on the long climb to German to make it less likely that the Corning 
guys would choose to light a rocket and blow the group apart, because I had 
already seen how strong they could climb, and I didn't relish the idea of 
having the group shatter, leaving me mano-a-mano chasing strong guys half 
my age. Over the top there were still 7 or 8 of us, and Wayne and I had a 
little laugh over the way last year's race played out when he found himself 
stuck with Ernie Bayles and me, receiving a tactical beating for the rest 
of the race. In Ernie's absence this year, Wayne offered to 'play the role 
of Ernie'  in this year's edition. As the course headed down to Smithville 
Flats conditions became truly epic. Rain and lightning overtook us, and 
even as we feared for our lives, none of us could really figure that we 
would be any safer off the side of the road than riding amidst lightning 
strikes, so we plowed on. At least the heat was no longer a problem...Andy 
M actually took shelter in someone's shed, and I think I heard that he 
ended up with company in there while the worst of the storm passed over. As 
we rolled toward the final 15 miles or so I started to go to work on the 
young guys, attacking whenever I could to draw them to chase. Doug and 
Wayne got in some good licks too, and the young Corning team had little 
choice but to close the gaps. Slowly we were wearing them down. Of course I 
was also wearing myself down. Hopefully Wayne would still feel good by the 
end... As we neared the final hill about a mile before the finish Wayne 
admitted he wasn't sure how much more he had in his tank, and Doug was 
rather quiet after his last attack had been reeled in. I was feeling some 
small cramps in my legs as well. Things were not looking so good for the 
"home team" after all. Time to be a crafty mean old man... I had to rather 
ruthlessly ride the Corning wheels until we were almost to the line. Wayne 
burst by but faded as the 200m sign passed. I dug deep to come around only 
to find that it was a very long 200m...by sheer force of will I was able to 
keep Danny Hertzler's wheel from passing mine and the race was mine. It 
took everything we had, as Cookies and Corning squared off for the bragging 
rights of the weekend. These guys were certainly up to the task and the 
racing was excellent.
	It was a small time race, but it was pretty much non-stop hard racing with 
lots of attacks and with some epic adventure thrown in. Great day.

Glenn