As the seven strong rode away, other triumphs and tragedies transpired among the tired. Dean broke a derailleur cable, rode home 35x11, swapped bikes, then returned to the Ronde as the leaders topped Moravian School for the first time.
Shortly thereafter, he bonked.
Doug and Dave got into a course cutting gruppetto with Carl and some other guy whom they towed back to Moravian to watch the finish.
Jerry H showed up an hour late and glommed onto the leaders during their first pass of Turnpike. He was last seen headed up Moravian and has not been heard from since.
Oley, PA - June 24, 2019
By the time the peloton reached Turnpike for the first time,
it had been whittled down to seven. Nobody is sure how many riders rolled into Oley for the 6th edition of the Summer Solstice Dubbel
(some say 'hundreds')
but most of them never stood a chance. With former champs Lefty, Bobby and Watts pushing the front, the Cat3 wannabes were bugs on the windshield.
Meanwhile, the riders who remained in the lead group held on for dear life gambling that Bobby might blow a tire and they'd have a chance to be the man. But the air stayed put and he accelerated alone to the hilltop finish.
