Two years ago Grant’s Tomb only had a 3/4 rather than a separate 4 field and as a freshly minted Cat. 4 I decided to give it a shot. It was a cold, windy day and I remember sitting in my car waiting for the race to start wondering just what I had gotten myself into. At the start line the wind was blowing off the river and we were all shivering trying to hear the race instructions over the wind. All I know is that four laps later I was pulled from the race. It’s safe to say that I was a bit over my pay grade at that time. Not finishing a race is bad enough, getting pulled so quickly tends to stick with ya.

Last year’s Tomb was iced out, so no shot at redemption there.

Without getting into the gory details of this year’s race, I had a great time. As usual some guys went down, some guys yelled at each other, and more guys than I am comfortable with finished in front of me. It was a nice day for Organic with one of our guys in 2nd and another in 5th. The NYU guy crash was something out of a Hollywood movie. Seeing the barricade domino effect alone was worth the entry fee.

I’m a glutton for punishment and also signed up for the 3/4 field. At the start I was in the back of the field, feeling the lactic acid seep into my legs, standing next to Aaron Wolfe when he turned to me and said, “Know what being here means? You have to kill yourself for five laps to get to the front. That’s what it means!” Great…And off we go. After seeing two crashes occur within the first few laps I was left wondering which was safer. The oft-maligned Cat. 4 field or the 3/4 fields. Talk amongst yourselves…

My goal for the 3/4 race was to hang in there with less than ten to go. I made it until eight to go when Alan ‘The Grim Reaper’ Atwood gave me the eye. It was a pleasure watching the end of the race from the finish line comfortable in my completion of the 4 race and my hard effort in the 3/4 race. All of this fun and it’s only March.

Thank you to Alex and the CU crew for putting a fun race together. It’s not an easy event to create and run and, speaking on behalf of a lot of guys I know, thanks again.

The next day of big fun on the radar, aside from our riding quickly in circles in Central Park, is Battenkill-Roubaix. My hope is to keep getting in some long rides between here and there. With baseball, softball and lacrosse season coming up it’s going to require some inventive scheduling and/or a significant lack of sleep. But, as I’ve been told, all this is self inflicted so no complaining.

Have a good week everyone.