07/04/02 by Jim Gilmore
While most of the Freewheelers were racing in the cool (or at least cooler) morning hours at the Twin Sizzler, I decided to sleep in and head down to Gahanna (near Columbus) to suffer in the 90°+ heat. The 3 race didn't start til 3pm, and it was hot just waiting around for it to start. There was still a good size field of 45-50, including strong showings from Tritech, CVV, and Savage Hill. The race was scheduled for 45 min plus 10 laps, which meant a little over an hour in the heat. It started out like most crits, with lots of attacks that never amounted to much. Then a tough pull by someone split the field, resulting in a group of 11 guys up the road. I was stuck in field, thinking the group was gone for good and the race was over for the rest of us. We were able to reel in 7 of the 11 guys, with two pairs of riders up the road. With ~4 laps to go, the 2 leaders, Tris Hopkins and Dave Cockley, lapped the field and the pace really started to pick up. On the final lap I took some chances through the corners and managed to get near the front and finish with a decent sprint which left me finishing 9th overall. I went straight to the car to drink about a gallon of water and try to cool down. Won just enough money to pay for dinner and a couple beers with the guys after the race. Turned out to be a decent day (any top ten is worth the trip), although next time I might set the alarm and head out in the cooler weather.