Photo courtesy Dave Maialetti, Philadelphia Daily News.

As some of you may know, I've been training for Nat's since early this spring-- working on my position, some sweet modifications to my Brompton S2-X, and more than anything, doing sprint fold reps.

The race format was unusual, but I knew that through my hours of prep-work, I'd have as good a chance as any one for the Stars and Stripes Cumberbund that goes to a National Brompton Folding Bike Champion. We staged our bikes by registration number in a large grid, Le Mans style on the grass near the starting line, and then were directed behind the starting line some 50 feet distant. All 65 contestants were dressed in the required garb: collared shirt, dress pants, necktie and suit jacket. I chose a lightweight grey wool blend as my primary uniform. I knew that getting on the road fast was critical to success, so I staged myself appropriately. The gun went off and we sprinted for our Brommies, I wasn't first to the bikes, having run around the back side of the staging area for a clean shot, but my fold technique was good, practice had paid off and with about a 12 second fold, I was in good shape. I sprinted again to the road, mounted my steed and was off. There were two riders ahead of me at this point, Peter, who works at the Trophy Bikes Garage and who is a veteran Brompton Racer, and another unknown gentleman in a dashing white linen jacket. I put down some serious spin in my 56x12 (on 18 inch wheels) and caught up to Peter, where we formed the breakaway group. The dapper fellow in white dropped back, but there were still some riders working to bridge up as we rounded the bend and headed down Black Road. Black Road is treacherous on 700c wheels, but the 18s made it all the more exciting. I was able to avoid overcooking any of the turns and actually, the only crash I saw happened after the finish; brompton riders are a safe bunch.

Peter and I worked together pretty smoothly for the first straightaway, and then we proceeded to pull away from the other riders up Greenland drive and back around to the southbound leg of MLK. Peter seemed to have used up a bit too many matches in the start: he managed to fold his bike while running on the road, and we struck a gentleman's agreement not to sprint until the pillars. I was doing most of the pulling by this time, and while I suppose that we could have slowed a bit and saved some energy for the hill, I could smell the pastures of home, and I wasn't interested in getting caught by the competition. We turned back onto Black Road and I downshifted from my high gear into low, and we powered up the climb. I didn't make any strong accelerations at this point, but I managed to inch away from my breakaway partner up the hill and around the final turn. By the straightaway I knew that victory was mine. I was the United States Brompton Champion.
There are a number of good photos of the spectacle to be found here

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/multimedia/Knowing_When_to_Fold.html

I'm looking forward to Worlds in October. Roberto Heras (no I'm not kidding, and yes THAT Roberto Heras) won it last year, but I mean to give him a run for his money. ENGLAND HERE I COME!! Many thanks to Mike McGettigan at Trophy Bikes, for dreaming up this ridiculous event, making it happen, and loaning me a surprisingly sweet ride. Bromptons are fun.  Couldn't have done it without you.