Finchford_Roubaix 2007....

Door headers from the school that once stood here....

Out alone....

Jackal looking "Euro"....
Cat 5 lead group at end of 1st lap....
Beginning last lap....
Jackal finishing....
J. Fry pre-race. Oh yeah, he had his fudge rounds....

Doug E. and the missus after winning the cat 5 race....

Brent got himself a new sign....

The "man" himself.... Nice hat, Buddy....

I got up early Sunday morning and rode out to Finchford with Jackal to watch the annual "Finchford-Roubaix" road race. It was a nipply 34 or so degrees when we left his house for the 14 or so mile ride. The sun was shining and the wind was out of the northwest. A beautiful day for a ride! We stayed together out to the railroad bridge by the Retreat House where he dropped me like a bad habit. He had to get registered for the race and I knew I'd be there long before the start.

Great turnout for all classes again this year. John Adamson and all of the Bike Tech Racing guys put on a great event.

Watched the Cat 5 races with special interest because fellow blogger and childhood mate of Kerkove, Bryan Redemske, and Jackal were racing. They had a neutral start rolling downhill from the staging area to turn one then they were gone. The first lap seemed brutally fast to me with about 15 of the 27 starters staying in the lead group and a few solo riders and a couple of small groups following. Jackal lost contact with the lead group somewhere and was about 100 meters behind at the end of the first lap. I thought he'd bridge that gap and catch the group, but it wasn't to be. He hung in till the end and finished in a solid 18th. He didn't decide until Saturday night that he'd race because he hadn't been able to train as much as he would have liked to. Way to gut it out! Bryan has been training for and looking forward to this race for a long time and was able to stay at the front of the lead group right up to the final sprint. I think he was anticipating the sprint for the finish but when it happened at 300 meters it took him by surprise. He finished with the lead group with official placement of 13th. Good job, Bryan! Chalk it up to experience and go out and do it again. Go for the sprints on your group rides and you'll have it down for next race! Local racer Doug E. took the win at the line by about 6 inches with a very loud maximum effort. It was the kind of finish that everyone who loves cycling loves to see! Congrats, Doug! I got there about 2 seconds too late to get a picture. Damn!

Jeremy Fry, a.k.a. Fat Albert was there for the cat. 3/4 race with a pocket full of his favorite treats, Little Debbie Fudge Rounds. Not the little ones, either. Oh no. He likes the big ones!!!!

Another local racer, John Adamson, won his 60+ Masters class. Congrats, John!

Rode back to Waterloo with Jackal and Super Saul and then went to lunch at Toad's with Jackal, Moo Judy, and my little sweetie, Rhea. After lunch we stopped at Bike Tech to say hi to Brent and admire his new sign. He's also moved into the 21st century with barcoding on his products. Pretty cool!

I rested for a couple of hours then went out and rode down to Hudson and back, making the total for the day a little over 50 miles. I beat my vacation riding goal of 200 miles by a little over 32 miles. "Go you chicken fat, go"!

Local businessman Scott Jordan has purchased the strip mall on University where Europa Cycle is located and plans a facelift of the entire mall. I think everyone is excited about that!

That's it for now.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!