Rain and Accidents Mar Bicycle Race

Battling wind and rain and slippery roads, Peter Bates pedalled his way to victory in Sunday's Harvard-Wellesley Bicycle Race.

Bates and team and training mate Paul Hale broke from the pack about 15 miles into the 29-mile race. By taking turns breaking the force of the wind for each other, they were able to stay well ahead of the pack for the rest of the race.

The two--who both rode for the Fuji Northeast Team--were separated only by the final sprint with Bates flashing by his teammate to cover the 29 miles in one hour and 15 minutes.

Third Place Finisher

Gary Klein, an MIT student and a Fuji rider, had to wait for the final sprint to beat the rest of the chasing pack and capture third.

While the race moved well, the cold and the slippery roads took their toll. Only six of the 26 starters finished (and one of those, John Baldo, fell and got back up to complete the race).

Jan Barns, the only women's entry in the premiere event, rode well but was unable to maintain the 23-mile-an-hour pace set by the men. While organizers had planned a separate women's race, a disappointing lack of entries forced them to run Barns with the men.

The 16-mile men's novice race, for riders not registered with the Amateur Bicycle League, was turned to chaos by the rain and resulting slippery roads. The riders completed a control lap safely, but in the first turn at racing speed someone slipped and the resulting pile up reduced the pack of 40 to a pile of 30 scrapped riders and twisted bicycles.

Escaping the Mayhem

A lead group, Tom Morrisey, Peter Chu, Geoff White, and Kent Backey, escaped the mayhem and pedalled on to finish in that order. John Haury led a pack reassembled from the debris. The group chased the leaders, but was unable to makeup the lost ground.

Riding though pouring rain, Peggy Tergzhi won the women's novice event handily. Second and third place finishers Melony Ingles and Gladys Hopkins provided the excitement in that event ending up just seconds apart.