Dec 18 – Mimosa ride recap
18th December 2010 by brtoone
A hearty crew of 25-30 riders braved the initially cold start to enjoy a beautiful day and some good attack zone action. It has been a long week of riding for me, and I’m a bit foggy right now about the attack zone finish so please double check what I have below and write into the comments with any corrections. Here’s how the two attack zones played out:
Camp Winnie – the roads were still a bit wet, so the attacks were limited, and we found ourselves altogether with about a mile to go. That’s when Warren St John (NY Velocity) launched his attack. He extended his lead, and it looked like he might hold it for the surprise solo win, but he came up just a bit short as we caught him at the base of the final hill. As we jockeyed for position to start the sprint, I launched out first with about 250 meters to go up the hill, but couldn’t hold it to the line. Will Hibberts (Bob’s Bikes/Alabama Masters) came flying by to take the attack zone with me coming in for second just ahead of a hard chasing Jason Kellen (Mellow Johnny’s) who got third. Behind him was Jim Brock (Bob’s Bikes/Alabama Masters) followed by Brandon Thorton (BBC).
Irondale City Limits sign – this was our first green jersey attack zone of the year. We started the AZ right after the traffic light at the shops at Grand River and then finished at the Irondale City Limits sign at the bottom of Cemetery Hill. Ed Whitehorn and I found ourselves at the front at the start of the attack zone on the long downhill. As he and I pulled over, several people attacked and pretty soon the two of us were at the back of the group. Fortunately, the group bunched up a bit going up the short hill after the Cahaba River bridge. I attacked to move up simultaneously as Jason Kellen (Mellow Johnny’s) launched off the front. This worked out perfectly for me as I was able to slot in right behind the Jim Brock / Will Hibberts lead-out train with momentum coming off the slingshot from the back to the front of the group. So when Jim started his sprint with 200 meters to go, I tucked in behind him and then came around to take 1st with Ed Merritt (BBC) coming in 2nd, Will Hibberts 3rd, Brandon Thorton 4th (BBC), and either Jason Kellen or Warren St John (NY Velocity) coming in 5th.
Sara Phelps was the sole, brave lady on the ride today, so she had a clean sweep of the two attack zones.
The points shake out was quite a battle between BBC and Bob’s Bikes/Alabama Masters with BBC taking the win by a single point! So that means all the BBC riders on today’s ride get an extra two bonus points towards their individual score.
December 18th, 2010 at 11:43 pm
Sara Phelps!
December 19th, 2010 at 8:40 am
Brian,
I was 4th in the 1st attack zone. I did not place in the second attack zone.
Jason is Jason Kellen, He usually rides in a Mellow Johnny’s kit.
Thanks to all for another fun day!!
Jim
December 19th, 2010 at 8:44 am
Thanks for a write up! The nasty morning turned out to be a very pleasant afternoon.
For the Irondale City Limits sign sprint, it was Ed Merritt that finished behind you for 2nd. I (Brandon Thornton) finished behind Will for 4th. I’m not sure who was 5th. On Camp Winnie, I’m not really sure where the finish was since it was my first time to do that attack zone, but after everyone was saying Jim Brock was 4th and I was 5th. Again though, I’m not really sure. I just jumped on Jim’s wheel for a few seconds and the next thing I knew everyone was slowing down.
Maybe it was the lower turn out, but I felt like we didn’t have any traffic problems.
December 19th, 2010 at 10:28 am
I think it was Brandon Thornton (BBC) 4th in the first attack zone. I was 2nd at Irondale and Brandon 4th, I believe. Officially we’re both Cat 5 on the road, but i’m Cat 1 on mtn bike and Brandon 2, so we probably shouldn’t count for Cat 5 points.
December 19th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
Y’all are awesome – thanks for helping me to fill in all the question marks. @Ed and @Brandon – how ’bout we count you one category less on the road for the category bonus points since you don’t have as much experience with all the tactics of road racing. @Ed, that would make you a Cat 2 and @Brandon, that would make you a Cat 3. Let me know if that sounds good. I’m going to go ahead and update the recap and points.
December 23rd, 2010 at 10:03 am
That sound good. We need all the help we can get!
February 4th, 2011 at 10:12 pm
[…] Hot attack zone action with BBC tentatively taking the team win today. Read the full details in the ride recap, double-check the current points standings, and please add the missing names/teams in the comments. […]