Ride Recap

The Savannah Winter Bike League got off to a Rockin Good Start!!
(by Mitch Askew)
With the usual high count of riders and various ride level options several were concerned about the WBL as the newest addition to Savannah's Cycling family ride options.  The moderate 40 mixed in with the WBL riders and we had a great double pace line of about 19 - 21 mph all the way to Jon Carter road.  At Jon Carter the moderates took their usual route and the Savannah Winter Bike League participants/ victims went straight.  It was at this point that if you decided to check out the WBL there was no turning back.  Like a bad horror movie of the 70's the splitting of the moderates and WBL group was like the victims in the horror movies splitting up to go check out "that noise" in the basement and attic.  "Splitting up is always a good plan"


With almost 20 peeps on our first WBL, all were fired up!!  Considering it is Hallow's Eve and race season is many moons away the group rode mostly at ave spd of 19 with no one protesting the pace.  Most talked, enjoyed the weather and commented on the nice pace. 


At Jimmy D, the sprint lines, rules, prizes, and store stop were announced.  Everyone grew silent as the first pending attack/sprint zone neared.  Several asked what to do, to some of the veteran elite riders. The Vet's just shrugged their shoulders and said, you will figure it out.
After taking the right turn off of Jimmy D the whistle starting blowing like a tea kettle about to explode.  Several jumped up the road.  Richard Dislewrath of Con turned his cranks like someone spinning a piece of wood to start a fire.  Very quickly the group exploded like a ketchup bottle in the microwave and the lines were drawn.  With bayonets drawn this was war! 


The sprint only being open to men cat 5, Nestor cup B's and Women cat 3,4 . . . Spencer lawless Wallace was like Clint Eastwood in the Lawless wild west.  He came out today with both barrels blazing and a fist full of dollars daring anyone to challenge him.  Using the cat 2's and 3's that were mixing it up toward the sprint line Lawless Wallace wrapped them around him like a warm blanket on a cool Hallow Eve night and tucked in for the final 200 meters.  At 100 meters the elites dropped off and Wallace like a spark to a gasoline fire lit up his rivals taking the mid sprint for 3 points.  Patrick Mean Meade rolled in for solid second place in the sprint and the Mac Attack rolled in for third picking up a point.


At the BP gas station store stop, all oil was secured and the only thing spewing all over the place was the Champagne Coca Cola that Spencer Lawless Wallace was spraying at the crowd atop the podium in the leader's jersey as the first Leader of the Savannah WBL.


At the last over pass on hwy 80 the whistle blew like a freight train coming down the tracks and the group once again split like an old wooden chair under a fat man.  


Once again the Elite riders drilled the pace, but that was nothing to the Outlaw Jose Wales, Mr. Spencer Wallace.  Sporting the custom made Jersey that can only be found at your local wal-mart in the good ole boy huntin section he tucked in among the who's who of cycling in Savannah.  Most peeps including Josh Barrett himself were throwing all of their matches of energy into a bonfire pit.  That was not the case with Wallace, as he was not lighting matches today.  He was pulling the trigger on his m-249 grenade launcher and decimating the competition.


With shifters on the line as first place prize and the weight of the leaders jersey, he took the sprint like Roy Barnes taking candy from a baby.


The current official standings:
Fist place = Spencer Lawless Wallace 9 points
Second Place = The Mac Attack with 5 points
Patrick Mr. Mean Meade= 5
Bill rides anything Sellers = 2
All other riders = 1 point
Although second and third are tied the person finishing higher on the final sprint gets moved up a position.
Officially Bill Sellers is a cat 3 and not allowed to sprint but considering that he took the first sprint on his unicycle that he was riding today the committee gave him an extra point for being . . . Bill Sellers.


Sprint points only go 3 deep; attack zones= 3-2-1; final zone = 5-3-2 (Honor System)