WW #6- Old 37 and Anderson

It was a cold night and the buzz from Little 500 was still in the air but still a large group of nearly 30 showed up at the Sample Gates for the dreaded Northshore/Southshore test. A communal decision was agreed upon, on account of the overcast conditions and the expectation of darkness arriving early and we decided to forego the bit through Hindustan in favor of a more gentile loop through Anderson. No sooner did we make the turn when many in the group were brought to their knees by the sharp edge of the wedge defined by Atwell, Shanahan, Stuart, et al. A small group did get a way, but was brought back before the impending climbs were reached. As we began to enter the foothills of Anderson after Beanblossom we were met by standing water (left over from the tornadic conditions of the previous night) just before the cemetery climb preceding Northshore. A few forded the stream but the majority turned back. The decision was made on the fly to do one lap of Old 37/the Forest/Beanblossom and Anderson. A small group of about 7 opted to climb Beanblossom instead. The remaining 20 or so of us took up the charge and did some steady pacework to the base of the Old 37 climb when a select group made an escape; Atwell, Shanahan, Shei and Stuart. A few others tagged on but were dropped from these elite riders in the rarefied air of the Forest and ultimately came back to us. The view from the chasing group was humbling but we were able to see most of the action up ahead as Cox, Pilling, Smallman, drove the train onward. Alas, the protagonists held sway and it was Atwell who made a desperate bid for the line with Shanahan, Shei and Stuart counting down. In the end it was Stuart taking the W at the line coming off of strong Little 500 form!