The nice and easy warmup on the bike path was slowed up by 2 consecutive flat tires and a pair of broken handlebars. Once we arrived in Valley Forge, the riders were treated to 3 of the longest climbs in the area: Welsh Valley, Jug Hollow and the Paoli Wall. Todd Schwartz stamped his authority on the ride early on by winning all 3 and jumping out to what would soon become an insurmountable lead. Bryan Hitch consistently finished in second place, and in 3rd-5th we saw Nick Maimone, Jay Ziegler and Bob Kehl.
After the 3 "Northwestern Climbs" and a short rest stop, we made our way back towards Conshohocken, stopping along the way at the short but steep climbs of County Line Rd. and Pleasant Ave, followed by Spring Garden St. and the narrow hidden "Col de Bryn Tydden". With wet roads, riders were forced to stay seated to avoid clipping their back wheels on the leaves. Todd Schwartz again dominated the County Line, Pleasant and Spring Garden, but finally showed a chink in his armour as he was pipped at the line by a surging Bob Kehl on Bryn Tydden. The battle for 2nd-5th tightened up as Bob, Nick, Bryan and Jay traded placings.
After the second rest stop, we made our way back down to the bike path before riding the stair-stepped Hart's Lane, the deceivingly tough Hagy's Mill and the brutal cobbles of Port Royal. On Port Royal, only one rider (Jay Zeigler) was able to make it up without dismounting on the wet "kinterkoppen". Todd shot out to an insurmountable lead in first place as Bryan Hitch started to move more solidly into second place.
Crossing the river in Manayunk, the riders rode the steepest grade of the day at the top of La Collina and then wound their way over to the stream crossing and grooved pavement of Righter's Mill. Todd was again pipped at the line by Bryan Hitch on La Collina before conceding 1st place to his teammate Bob Kehl on Righter's Mill.
The finale of the day was the infamous Manayunk Wall, where Todd again displayed good teamwork by helping Bob take 1st place. However, with consecutive 2nd place finishes on the last 2 climbs, Bryan was able to hold on to second place by the skin of his teeth.
The final points standings were as follows:
1. Todd Schwartz: 89 points with 8 wins
2. Bryan Hitch: 48 points with 1 win
3. Bob Kehl: 43 points with 3 wins
4. Nick Maimone: 38 points
5. Jay Ziegler: 23 points with 1 win
6. Ed Vescovi: 1 point
Also: Kyle Eckley: 2 points (DNF)
Michelle Bishop handily won the women's PDD goat trophy by winning all but one climb. Though there were only 2 women to finish, this was certainly no easy feat, especially for a sprinter!
Thank you to everyone who came out and attending the event. I hope that you had a great time and that you will all come back next year and bring friends.
Thank you so much to all the people that helped out:
Dean Molle for leading the riders, blowing the whistle, and keeping everything under control in the pack,
Andrea Walheim for sweeping, My father, Eric Sandberg for keeping me company in the car and taking pictures,
my brother, Rhys Sandberg for helping score,
and to John Angelini for dontating his masterfully crafted homemade chili to the prize list and sending me excellent feedback as well as elevation data.
Pictures are posted on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=157693&id=654524273&ref=mf
Please feel free to email me or comment. Feedback and suggestions are welcomed.
