RPI Queen's Stage Race - Stage 1

 

Stage 1 starts at historic Galena Lodge and involves 16 miles of MTB single-track followed by 27 miles on the Harriman Trail – your garden variety gravel trail. My friends, Peter, Josh, Bill, and I parked Josh’s minivan 5 miles south of the start and rode our bikes up the highway towards Galena in the frigid 36-degree weather. When we got there, we stripped out of our cold weather jackets, dropped them in a plastic bag, and toed the line with Peter bloody Stetina, Colin fricking Strickland, and a bunch of other clearly pro-looking athletes whose names I didn’t know but knew they’d put the hurt on today. 

The race began and it was an immediate frantic burst to get on the trail as far up front as possible. At the 2.5-mile mark, I jumped off my stock 2019 Specialized Crux Expert to cross a stream and begin the uphill struggle around the steep berms and twisties, barely able to crank my 11-32t cassette and needing to jump off to push my bike while everyone around me was effortlessly cruising on their gravel machines with their big SRAM Eagle setups and other drivetrains that I honestly don’t know much about except that they have to be better than my wholly unsuited cyclocross bike. I was breathing heavily from the initial burst and I think also just the stress of trying to muddle up the course while everyone else was passing me, including my buddy Peter. 

The next 12 miles were a struggle to pass folks, get passed, put my chain on my bike (it slipped off twice) and also deal with a loose cleat in my left shoe. When we crossed the road to get on the Harriman Trail, we needed to jump off to ford a stream and when I went to unclip my left pedal, my cleat was so loose that I could not get my shoe unclipped and fell over into the brush and nearby stream. I laid on the ground flapping around like a hooked trout at the edge of a lake, desperately trying to free my foot. Finally, it sprang loose, but the cleat was lodged into the pedal and no longer attached to my shoe. 

And so, for the next 27 miles, I rode the Harriman Trail mostly solo and unclipped knowing that I couldn’t put all my power into my stroke lest I slip my foot off the pedal, which I did countless times. Regardless, I crossed the line with a smile, knowing I’d done my best with the hand I’d been dealt, also taking the time to enjoy the spectacular surroundings along the way. I finished 17th and Peter finished 12th. I had no idea if that was good or bad, but I knew I’d given an honest effort and had another couple of days to pit myself against the best.


How I Got Here

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