Liberty Cycling Classic Report

By Angela Johnson

Racing at the Liberty Cycling Classic hit my brain something like winning the sweepstakes. I went from struggling to become a Cat 3 to fighting my Cat. 2 upgrade after just one Stage Race, the Tour of Ephrata.

@##=#<1,L>@##=#Next thing I know I’m emailing a team from California looking for a spot to ride in the female version of the USPRO Championships. Is this really happening? My dream come true. Bicycle John’s Serious Elite Women’s Cycling Team picks me up for the weekend. I say my dream comes true after traveling four consecutive years to Philly to stand on Lemon Hill and watch this race, dreaming of a day I might too be able to race it.

I departed from NYC Friday afternoon. Did the usual stuck in traffic find the hotel and check in. This is where the sweepstakes feeling comes in. I met a few of the girls, rummaged through little baggies that contain pieces of the “kit” I will be wearing for the weekend, settled quickly and was off to bed. I was scheduled to ride with the team early on Saturday at 8 am to get a good look at the course and go over any strategy.

It was raining on Saturday morning, but only enough to dirty the bike. Of course, the ride was great. Sandra, the captain of the team I was with, had raced Philly a few times and gave great advice. (I cannot leave out the fact that I had already been to Philly with my friends Ellen and Becky to do reconnaissance with my buddy Nick.)

Now, the event you’ve all been waiting for. The Liberty Cycling Classic was about to begin. A man on the radio told us there was 20 minutes to staging. Ladies were on trainers with umbrellas protecting them from the heat. Staging was an incredible experience by itself. 200 women in a starting pen waiting to be unleashed to find out who the winner will be. The crowd was 4-5 people deep in some places, cheering us on while we stood in the sun.

@##=#<2,r>@##=#Two of my friends, Karl and Nick found me to share last pieces of advice and a thumbs up. Over the loudspeaker there was a call for athletes to come to the line. If my memory serves, it went something like this…”Would World Champion….come to the line. Would National Champion….Would Olympic Bronze Medalist…come to the line.” Shame on me for not knowing who these women are.

We’re off. People are cheering furiously!! I am excited for myself. The race leads you along the start/finish stretch around a fountain and into the official start. The first thing I saw was a girl sliding in the middle of the pack with both of her feet on the ground a la the Flinstones, trying to keep her bike upright after she flew out of her pedals. The pace is manageable at this point. We cruised down Kelley Drive into a merge that led us into a left hand turn onto Main Street and into the approach for “the wall”. Out of the corner of my eye I saw 3 or 4 girls flying through the air. I later found out 30 girls went down in that pile up. Out of the crash there was an attack. I got separated after the climb with about 30 other women. Not bad, as I was prepared to be out the back by myself.

We rotated together, trying to keep the pace high enough to catch the main field in case the break were to get caught. Second time up “the wall” I stayed with the girls I was with. There are two right turns that lead you into the descent at the top of the climb. I was chasing out of the first turn and into the next. Suddenly, in the middle of the turn, my bike went down. Unexpected manhole cover. My bike bounced right out from under me. I got up instantly and tried to chase back on, but the race was over for me. What a bummer. Now I know why Lance starts training for next year’s Tour de France the day after it ends.

See many other excellent shots from Philly at the AbbiOrca photography site. And please consider donating to the Alzheimer’s Association.