Kinzua Classic

I decided to go up to Warren, PA for the Kinzua Classic. Jake and Scott Root made the trip, the race started at 9:00 on Sunday so we figured it would be best to get a Hotel in Warren. We left my house around 7:30 on Saturday and started out. The ride was pretty boring until we got to Tionesta when a deer ran out in front of us. The truck and everyone except the deer was OK, just a small dent in the bumper.

We checked in to the motel around 10:30 and watched some of the Olympics. Then we found out how much Scott knows about swimming. Everyone already knows how fast Scott is on a bike but Scott used to be fast in the water and still holds records at his high school. Figured that 6:30 would be a good time to get up so we would have time for breakfast. Then it was off to the race.

It seems no matter how early you plan to get a race you're always pressed for time. The three of us decided to do the long race-two laps, about 60 miles. After a short warm up it was time to go. I always like to know who the fast guys are. But of the forty people here the only two I knew for sure were fast was Steve Cummings and Jared Babik. The race started up a long climb about 2-1/2 miles but it wasn't too steep. I'm not sure what Jake was thinking but he was up in the front taking long pulls. I found out later that he regretted this poor decision. The pace was fast but not super hard then about 20 minutes in I started feeling the urge that I had to pee. I hoped that it would go away but it didn't. I was scared to pull over because it hard to catch back up to the pelaton. But at about 45 minutes in I couldn't stand it any longer. So I pulled over and went then worked very hard for the 5 minutes to bridge but finally caught on. It seems every race has a point at which the pace picks up.

So I knew it was going to happen just didn't know when and where. It finally came at about a hour into the race when we hit a steep climb. I somehow manged to stay in a group of about 15 riders. Then a few minutes later we were at the end of the first lap. Only 30 more miles to go, the pace stayed about the same and I figured the race would be won on the steep climb. I knew it was getting close and there were two groups of two riders that had a little gap on the field. Then someone attacked and I figured why not go with them. We started up the climb before the big one and he fell off. I decided to try and bridge up to the next group and finally did. Then a group of 3 caught us and they were flying and I manged to go with them. There was 5 of us and I knew the end was close. But it was then when I found out that there another climb and it was going to be an up hill finish. I stayed on for as long as I could then with about a ¼ mile to go there was one more attack and I didn't have anything left. But finished 5th overall and about 30 seconds back. Scott finished 6th in his age group and Jake had a rough day but still finished. It was a long race and after 2:40 of racing I was glad to be done. I want to thank all of the volunteers and organizers for the great event which benefits Warren County Family Services.

Here's the top 5 for the 60 miler:

#1 Steve Cummings

#2 Jared Bakek

#3 James Doan

#4 John Rowley

#5 Justin Pokrivka

You can find the full results at http://www.kinzuaclassic.com/ or at http://www.runhigh.com/

Justin