When we arrived in Lancaster we didn’t know if Trent would be racing with us. Last week in Richmond before the CapTec Classic Trent crashed on a training ride when we came around a corner and into a patch of gravel. His knee looked pretty mangled and he could barely walk for a couple days. He missed CapTec and drove ahead to Lancaster with Peter to try and rest up for the race while the rest of us went to Arlington for the CSC Classic. He was still limping the day before the race, but claimed he could pedal well enough to race.The race in Lancaster is held on a tough circuit that leaves very little time to rest and little room for error. So I was a little worried when I heard a crash behind me after about three miles of racing. The pack was moving fast and everyone was trying to get to the front for the biggest climb on the circuit. Moments after the crash Jesse called out on the radio that Trent was down. Phil, Peter, and Jeff went back the help Trent catch back up. It took over an entire seven-mile lap before Trent was back in the field. Jeff and Peter were done for the day after their efforts, but Phil was able to make it back into the field. During all of this excitement at the back I was up at the front trying to fly the flag for the team. It was a little weird being the only orange jersey at the front of the race for the first two laps. I was pretty happy when Trent rolled up beside me. I knew he could recover from his misfortune and still have some legs for the finish. Each lap was the same. Move up for the climb, suffer through all of the ups and downs after the climb, and then recover on the brief flat section through downtown Lancaster. My legs seemed pretty good, but on the tenth out of thirteen laps everything seemed a little bit harder and I was dropped. I was also pretty dissappointed. I only felt a little better when I saw that the lead group had been cut to about 25 riders with two laps remaing (I was watching from the feed zone at that point). But Trent was still in there for Jittery Joe’s! There was a ton of attacks at the end, but it came down to a sprint from that select group and Trent got a very impressive 12th place finish. Not bad for someone who hobbles.So that was Sunday. It is now Thursday. In the meantime the boys have been holed up at the Days Inn of Lancaster. That is except for Phil and I. When we rolled into town the day before the race Jesse informed us that two riders would stay with host housing and the rest would stay at the Days Inn. The staff was to stay at a host house that the team has been visiting for years but the last two riders were to go to a new host. Everyone wanted to stay at the Days Inn. We had just parked at the Inn and I wanted to get my room key and end the travelling. When nobody raised their hand to go to the host house. I thought hard realized that the host housing had a good chance of being better than the dirty-looking Days Inn. I raised my hand. Phil and I ended up at a beautiful house a couple miles outside of town with a heated pool, jacuzzi, and putting green in the back yard. Will and Cricket, our hosts, have been wonderful. They have fed us well. The rest of the team, however, has not been so lucky. Downtown Lancaster isn’t so pretty as the rolling countryside. The Days Inn, smelly. I feel sorry for them. But they are all grown men. Tough. They can handle it.Today we race in Reading, PA on another tough circuit. Then the finish is over a tough climb! Allez! Ugh!