Oswald Cycle Works

Race Report

Date: 7/1/06

Race: Jasper Road Race

Distance: 30-something miles

I found myself bright eyed and bushy tailed on Saturday. Ok….just bushy tailed. My first order of business was to get caffeinated. I had purchased this protein mocha drink just for this occasion. After one putrid swig I promptly recapped said drink and brewed a good strong cup of Joe. After downing a mug of coffee that could have stripped paint I felt like it was ready to go. I drove to Mansfield to meet Jimmy and Tom. We piled into the team micro car and made our way to Jasper. We got signed in and met the other team members. We all took some time to go through the usual pre-race foolishness like going to the bathroom a gazillion times and pushing pins through our beautiful Oswald jerseys. We had discussed strategy and tactics before the race and sorta had a plan….maybe. Even though we didn’t have much of a plane we executed it perfectly in true team fashion. I was super excited because I knew we had a strong group. As we approached the first big climb Tom gave the signal and started moving to the front. My man jimmy made room for Jared and I to slip through to the front. Jimmy promptly closed the hole he had made for us. Tommy set a great pace at the front and eventually it was Jared, myself and two other dudes working our way to the top ahead of the group. The four of us worked together well and were eventually caught by the pack. The pack kept getting bigger as more riders caught the group. I tried to stay up towards the front. As I finished a pull at the front and was drifting back I thought I was hallucinating because I saw Tom, and Jared, and some other dude wearing an Oswald jersey. When I could take a good look I saw it was Eric (this guy rocks!). I was stoked at that point because of the super reliable team members that surrounded me. As we neared the second climb Tom moved to the front again. It was almost an exact replay of the first hill. Jared and I moved to the front and set the pace, much to the consternation of some dudes in the pack. Anyway it ended up being the same four riders climbing ahead of the group. Then disaster struck for Jared in the form of a bad chain link that caused one poor shift. That three-second ordeal caused him to lose contact with the group. After that the three remaining riders took turns pulling at the front. When we got in sight of the finish line it became a crazy fast-scary-fun downhill sprint finish. I won the sprint by half a wheel length. What a great showing by all the Oswald boys. In spite of a flat tire Eric finished a great race, Jimmy cranked out one super solid performance, Jared finished fourth, and Tom finished sixth. Great race guys!