Zoar Road Race

Good race, but I wish it would have been longer. The Junior race was only one lap- it would have been alot more interesting if it would have been at least two, but nonetheless it was still a fun event. The pace started out at a decent pace until the first climb. We were about 3/4 up the first climb when billy came up to me and sugested an attack. We went and no one else came with us. We caught the cat 5 field just before the second climb - wich made things a bit more interesting. The finish caught us by suprise, seeings how we didn't have a lap to scout out where the finish line was. Anyway it came down to a sprint and billy had me at the line.

Great race, Beautiful day! I enjoyed the course.. 2 good climbs, nice open downhills. I knew to keep close watch on the Stark Velo ladies (Sam & Mary Ellen). I saw that we had strung out the field on the first time up the big climb and I got anxious to go. Mary Ellen reminded me that we had 3 laps to go and hinted that we should sit in for one more lap... I'm glad we did. On the second time up the big climb, the 3 of us took off. We worked well together and had a good time doing it for the remainder of the race! I knew at the beginning of the 4th lap that my legs were starting to fizzle. I hung on until the final climb and off they went! Thanks Stark Velo for a great race!

First time at Zoar. Great race. Nice course, good pavement, well organized. Attack happened up the second climb in lap two. I kept trying to chase on for most of lap three, but just couldn't get there. The two climbs weren't all that bad until you did them four times. We don't often get to do a 40mile road race. It was good to have teammates around as well.

Thanks again to the Grimms for making me feel at home, your a great family and I really enjoyed my stay.The cinnamon buns were great!!!!!
I think I found my new pre race breakfeast, thanks jeremy.

The race was tough, Jeremy and Stubna were super aggressive this race. I wish you could have witnessed in person the speed of jeremy when he passed the field on his solo attacks. It would have been nice to get a breakaway going, but I have to admit it was nice that we didn't fall in to the same ol' let a break go and then the field slows down.

Thanks to stark velo club for hosting such a tough and well organized race.

This was a weird race, I didn't expect beforehand that it would come down to a field sprint. Jeremey the energizer bunny was awesome . . . once after I towed him back to the field on the 4th lap the next thing I know he's flying by me at 35mph on a flyer. Tried putting in several attacks on the flats, on the hills . . . nothing seemed to do much except to motivate the field to start chasing as a pack. The pace would slow up again after the catch. The last time up the big hill Swain and two other guys had a little bit of a gap but again the other 15 guys who made it over chased it down and then it came down to a field sprint, which I had no chance at.

Last year a break got established early in this race. So the pace in the field was fast, but manageable. This year a break never got away. The overall pace was slower but there were lots of attacks as people tried to get off the front, especially on the climbs. It was a *lot* tougher for me. When I mentioned the difference to Ryan he said "Sounds like you guys were *racing* this year" That's for sure...but racing hurts more :)

Jeremy was great. On the 2nd lap he countered his own move three times and finally got a nice break going. The only problem was he was out there solo. Stubna tried to stir the pot and get a counter-move going up the road but it didn't work. It seemed like most of the day the field would let 1 or 2 get away at a time, but nothing more.

I still need to work on my confidence in the 1-3s. In the 3/4s I know that I can handle the pace and the surges even if it hurts sometimes. In the 1-3s, the temptation to give up is a lot greater when the pace is high because I still don't know what the limits are. Today I gave up with 1.5 laps to go. I'm not sure I would have survived to the end. But I feel like I cracked more mentally than physically. It makes me want to do more 1-3 races.

As I was standing on the start line I was thinking this could be a really long day as I'm I'm still reeling from the sinus and ear infections I picked up at Toona. Then I started talking to some people. I think half the people around me are sick or have been over the last week, including most everyone who went to Toona (I knew there was a reason I left Pennsylvania).

The pack kept me on an extremely short leash on the 2 attacks I put in. Already being dehydrated forgetting to drink for most of the second lap was a mistake I'd later pay for as the cramps started to hit on lap 3 up the second climb. After drinking as much as possible I held them off for a while. Up the 2nd climb for the final time I was definitly cramping more and losing the leaders. After a good chase back I was back with the group. Unfortunately my hole closed in front of me and I was trapped at the back of the main field. I can't complain, after all, only 24 hours earlier I was sitting in an urgicare waiting to be seen.

Great event but boy do I hate hills. Got dropped on the second climb and had to work real hard the rest of the day. I chased down a few other guys that got dropped and most of us worked together right up to that last climb where I got dropped again! This time I didn't have enought to chase back on and finished in the back of the field. This is definitely something I will be working on this winter.

I am not a field sprinter, and I need to be more aggressive. The hills were not bad and we would get a gap every lap, but with the long decend it was easy for the stragglers to get back on. I was fifth wheel coming into the finish, and I was swarmed with about 250 meters.

side note: On lap 3, some parasite decided to make me his host and chew on my back for a while. Don’t ask me. All I know is I am climbing one handed as I am trying to kill whatever is eating me. I ended up with three bites and it makes sitting at this desk all day even more enjoyable.

Yesterday Swain said he wanted to do some hills. So I took him out on a 3.5 HR hilly ride. We found some nice hills but his pace ripped my legs in half. Easy ride he said, Whatever! Next time we will go on the bike trails. Tim ended up spending the weekend at our place. He is doing a report on Lyme Disease for his summer class. My family can't thank you enough as well as other Lyme Sufferers. Get the word out ya'll! If you need me to send you a e-mail out I can, my address is JCGrimm7@aol.com Thanks again Tim, Leslie and all youin's for helping out.

Today was very hard, especially going up and down the steps at home. Thanks again Tim! Somehow I was running late, time flies when your having fun. Jim Flesher and I got together to pray, what a great guy. Prayer is changing my life right now. Just this past week I had to be a Juror for two days. I prayed with the others and sometimes it hurts to make the right decision.

So the race started off slow and the hills hurt cause the guys sprinted up them. They slowed down at the finish line and I took off. Ten miles by myself and no one came up to help me. This helped my team though and that set it up for a hard lap. Dropped twice on that lap and bridged on the down hill. Tris and I worked together. Then we blew by the field. They didn't let us go, of course. I got pushed up some hills today and towed up to the field. I must have looked pretty bad cause everyone was helping me. Thanks to Mike Stubna, Bob Martin and Tris Hopkins for the help. Thanks for the advice Will, also great to see all those Savage Hill Jerseys out there. Jim Flesher was yelling and running beside me up the last hill. Jim that helped me so much! Tris and I caught the group after getting dropped. The last lap hurt bad! 500 more meters and it would have been great! I will take a hard ride any day, by now I hope I have enough form for Natz!

Thank you Jesus for keeping us safe and enjoying the day today.Psalm 28:7 NIV
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

This was a very hard race for me for Three reasons. First I Was riding with kids three or more years older than me so I was Dropped early in the race. Second I couldn't handel the hills what with riding only in columbus. Third because I crashed. However I did manage to finish I just was in to much pain to stay for the awards. Hence the reason I put crash as my place. It was a fun race though.