Deer Trail, Men 55+ Road Race

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Bill Simmons 2 Comments

One of Colorado’s Classics saw Boulder Orthopedics put three into the top ten with great team action. Deer Trail hills are continuous, and big enough to make this another race of attrition… usually. Most races broke up halfway through. Our starting field of 60 still was surprisingly substantial with 15 miles left. Barry Messmer and Jerry Greenleaf had patrolled from the start. Jerry spit more out the back when he pulled back an attack and kept the pace high afterward. Bill McGinley pulled away alone and the the ensuing chase again narrowed the field. Five miles to go finally saw multiple hard attacks at our final 180 degree turnaround, leaving 10 strong usual suspects, including Mike Newsome McGinley and Bill Simmons in the mix. Many attacks followed. Mike’s firepower was still intact when he strongly bridged to a break of three. I parked in the #2 position of the chase group and endured enough grumpy comments to tell me guys were weakening, but I was surprised to see that break come back. Soon after McGinley blew out of the pack with a blistering attack. Again I was surprised to see him chased down, but with major efforts. Our final sprint was tricky in the final winds, Bill S 4th, Bill M. 8th, Mike N 10th. With strong individual and team efforts like today, podiums and wins will keep coming.