by: Coach Dave
The best, most beautiful and challenging PICL/NICA course so far.
I can’t say enough about how much I enjoyed this venue. The PICL/NICA staff worked their butts off to bring us a wonderful venue, in less than perfect conditions.
Speaking of those “conditions”…
The Hindenburg disaster. Looks like Pit Zone.
The temperatures were cold. 60° and warmer on Saturday, but it dropped quick on Saturday night into the 40° range. 50°’s and very windy on Sunday.
With the sudden drop in temperature, came the predictable high winds. Gusts to 60 mph, that made the trees at the campground sway, the fire in the fire ring send sparks for great distances and make campers really wonder, “Did I push those tent pegs in far enough?”
The next day at the PitZone, the area looked like the wreck of the Hindenburg. Twisted steel and ripped tents everywhere. Tables blown over. Everything wrecked. It was quite a scene. Many team tried in vain to repair their destroyed shelters. We (luckily) had not set up on Saturday. We dodged a bullet.
Speaking of Saturday…
The team got to pre-ride on Saturday. I wasn’t there, due to a prior committment, but they said they had a blast. Unanimous high praise for the course from everyone. I heard, “It’s just like Hopewell!” excitedly, more than once on Saturday night.
Added bonus was a fairly dry venue. The first of the year that was not total mud. What a welcome change. The mud was starting to take it’s toll or riders, gear and our support people alike.
After the pre-ride, the team headed back to Elk Neck State park for our camping extravaganza. This is a team favorite location, and it proved equally enjoyable this season. On the banks of the Chesapeake Bay, the campground has nice bathrooms, wooded sites and popular playground destinations for riders to enjoy. They rode around all evening, having a good time. I’m particularly upset that I missed the sitting around the campfire, playing guitar and singing part of the evening. That sounds like what we are all about.
Around 11:00 p. it was “lights out” and thoughts of the meet on Sunday.
Speaking of Sunday…
Overnight winds wreaked havok on the Pit Zone and the course. Trees down. Tape ripped and blowing in the wind. A big mess. The crew and the teams worked hard to fix what they could.
It also rained a little, so the course was a little bit wet (of course). The winds were a blessing in this capacity. The course got back to pretty good shape before the starting gun.
In the pictures you will see bundled athletes. It was cold between heats.
We took a short “team ride” as the older boys rode in their heat. It was primarily to keep people occupied and warm. It was very enjoyable… abet short.
At the end of the day, we had some very interesting results.
Speaking of Results…
The Timer seemed to be having some difficulties with his system. He broke his arm the night before, and I don’t think that was helping matters.
The messed-up draft results were giving many teams fits. They were messed up.
Brenna took second, but the results showed her as first. She worked this out with her fellow competitor to make sure things were right on the podium. Good sportsmanship, Brenna.
Paul took a 5th. So close to making a final pass at the finish. Paul continues to improve and move up in the standings. Great work, Paul.
Sadly Grant was sick and Andrew took another direction. Both of these riders would have liked the course, and would likely have done very well for themselves and the team.
Team standings were not yet available at the time of this posting, so presently, the team is sits in 11th place in the league.
Look at the photos below for more.
