Sackets Harbor, NY, July 28 2018 — A mainstay of the summer racing season, Spoker Ride once again proved to be an all out team throwdown between the Salty Chimps and Team 2 Cycling. The team had a very strong showing with 7 members racing: Ben Rabin, Dave Tate, Brian Hidy, Patrick McNeil, Dan Deemer, Tom Macera, and Fred Bulken.
For the first 35 miles, both teams launched repeated attacks and counterattacks in an effort to get a spot in a breakaway. Fred, Patrick and Dan all enjoyed short successes, until the final break of the day escaped with just two riders, Dave Tate and Nate Molinari from Team 2 Cycling.
“I’ve ridden in breaks before with Nate and we are good working together. I hopped on his wheel and we quickly pulled away with a mega crosswind and a slight incline to help us get some distance. My legs wanted to quit around mile 47, it was brutal. Nate was stronger but didn’t want to contest the sprint, so we decided on a truce and crossed the line at a laughably slow speed and at the same exact time. We were both awarded 1st which I’ve never seen before, but it worked out!” – Dave
Two minutes later, the main group rounded the final turn into a bunch sprint.
“Dan laid down what is about as close to a burnout on a bicycle as you can get, and just took off.” – Ben
The final bunch sprint resulted in Dan and Ben finishing 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Patrick, Tom, and Fred also medaled in their age categories.
Dave and Nate cross the finish line in a tie for 1st place. 
Dan and Ben sprinting for a 3-4 finish. 
The team did well in age-group divisions, too.
