Summit Center Classic Wrapup

Hello Red Rockers,

i'm the new kid on the block, glad to ride with y'all. This past weekend's Summit Center Classic was a good weekend of racing, though very different than the 4-stage Memorial day extravaganza that went down last year.

Day one had a short stage up Snowbowl road, and day two was the traditional road race on Lake Mary Road.

Red Rock jerseys were few, but the team should be proud. Deborah Martin-Wille snagged down a third-place overall in the Masters' Women's category, and Mark Wille was really consistent in taking a 10th place overall in a viciously contested Masters' men category.

Gary Phillips was injured, and couldn't ride, but due to scoring problems was given 5th on the Snowbowl climb and and finished the Lake Mary Road race to be 10th overall. That's the kind of racing i want to learn to do - rest on the couch and still snag good results.

i discovered my climbing left much to be desired on Snowbowl, and got dropped on part of the long climb in the 84-mile road race. Tenacity (and a slow lead group) allowed me to bridge back to the leaders, who i eventually attacked at the bottom of the "steps" with about 10 miles to go. i caught a lone soldier out there and the two of us had a minute at the bottom of the Marshall lake climb. We needed all of it, as the lone soldier held me off for the win, and i took second only seconds ahead of the charging pack. whoa. i finished 5th overall, despite my miserable climbing skills...just gotta be a cagey sucker sometimes.

Two more hard days in the saddle down. Enjoy the long weekend and keep the rubber side down...

-Ben