Myles Standish Road Race April 26,1992 Masters 45+

The race will go down in history as the "BROKEN SADDLE DECOY". On the second lap Henry, in the middle of an attack, sat-up and began grumbling. His saddle holder had come loose and caused Henry to go immediately off the back trying to tighten the bolt manually. For the remainder of the race Henry skillfully balanced his weight on the saddle and continued to race. NEMRT had control of the race from the beginning. The pace was slow and only NEMRT mounted any serious attacks. Hammer'n Henry Wilmer attacked on the last time up the hill and rolled away from the pack to claim a 30 second victory. On the 3rd lap Derek, Steve, and Neil tried unsuccessfully to get away. Each attack was met with a serious chase. Only Derek got out of sight before the pack could break the NEMRT block. On the final lap the pace slowed to snails pace until with a half lap remaining Henry went to the front and started to set the pace. Some say he was starting his sprint as we passed the lake, 4 miles from the finish but that was unconfirmed. As the pack approached hill for the last time Henry began to open a small gap. It was quickly closed by Dick Martin. By the end of the hill Henry had attacked again and the pack could not respond, perhaps thinking Henry on a broken saddle couldn't hold-on to the finish. As the pack sat and caught it breath Neil led NEMRT to the front to slow the chase. By the time the pack realized that Henry was on a serious attempt to win NEMRT had seized control of the race. Barry got the wheel of the only chase attempt. Derek, Neil, and Steve poised and ready for the next chase attempt that never came. Knowing that NEMRT was in control the sprinters gave up the chase and raced for second. With 500 meters to go, Henry's victory assured, Clive Woakes from Worcester RC started the field sprint Barry "the bullet" went with him followed by the pack. In the final, uphill 200 meters the pack spread from curb to curb and strained to the finish. At the line only a bike length separated 2nd-10th. The final results were:

A job well done by all of the NEMRT racers. This was an enjoyable team victory highlighted by a great finish by Henry under adverse conditions. For the future weeks when the extremely part-time racer (Bill Sifleet, Doug Foy, and Mauricio) join the racing tour NEMRT should be the dominant team in the Masters 45+.