Coming to an end

Last weekend marked the "official" end to my 2009 road season. I raced the P12 criterium in Portsmouth, NH - it was super-fast and my tired legs suffered greatly. Ben Forbes put in a spectacular performance in the category 3 race, almost pulling off a break-away win with 3 other riders. He gave the team a ton of press time. Nice job Ben! My son, Jake, did the 10-12 year old kids race because there wasn't a junior field - he crushed the competition, but only a handful of racers were hard-core. Regardless, winner-winner-chicken-dinner! Nice Work!

The previous day was the Saco Bay criterium in Biddeford, ME. I drove the pace car instead of racing, but Ben, Chad, and Ryan lined up with the category 3 racers while Jamey Jones raced in the category 4 race and the master's 35+ field. Jamey ended up with a top 10 finish and Ben ended up with a podium spot - it was awesome to watch.

At the same race, Jake lined up with the Junior field which included racers between 10 and 17. A break of 5 racers broke away in the first lap and Jake was attentive enough to make the separation. After a few laps two of the stronger riders attacked the group of 5 and got away. Jake knew he couldn't hang with the pace that the oldest rider was putting down, so he wisely stayed back and worked in the chase group of 3. A few laps later, Jake and Chris attached the remaining rider in their group and brought it down to 2. The 2 continued to work well together trading pulls until the last lap. Chris attacked with 1/2 lap to go and Jake couldn't close it down before the finish, so he ended up 4th overall, but 3rd in the 10-14 category. I couldn't have been more proud. He raced smartly on a very difficult course against more experienced riders. Nice job man!

Now that the season is over, I will start to cut back on the training and enjoy a bit of family time and relaxation - and cyclocross...

Thanks for reading.

Family

Now that the newness of my upgrade has sunk in, I started to think about the number of races required to upgrade and the hours of training I put in to get ready for the races. I realize that it wouldn't have been possible without an extremely supportive family. I spend much time away from them on the weekends while racing - I miss soccer practices, don't mow the lawn, and don't help out much around the house to be able to spend time training.

My wife, Leslie, is always super. She never complains because she knows that cycling is my passion - most guys aren't so lucky. My son, Jake, shares my passion for cycling and thinks I am the a better sprinter than Mark Cavendish; he helps provide the motivation to train and race hard, and I look forward to providing the same support to him as he starts racing in the Junior ranks.

Anyway - family support makes it possible to spend time participating in the sport - I will be forever grateful...

Finally

Well, I finally sent in my request for a category 2 upgrade after 3 years of racing as a category 3. I had many top tens, but until this year, couldn't seem to get enough top 6 finishes to get the points required for an upgrade.

The Spring started off pretty good, then the crash in Pennsylvania set me back for a few weeks and things did not look good, but the past few weeks had been very good. It started with back to back days in the points at Attleboro and New Britain. Then the next week I hit the points again at Norwell. I finished things up with back to back weeks in the points at Wells Avenue - 25 - just enough for an upgrade!

I sent my resume in to Diane the USCF Regional Director and held my breathe - checking my e-mail at least once an hour while waiting for a reply. Well, I got the thumbs up! I will be racing as a 2 in the Mayor's Cup and Portsmouth Criterium. This is going to be a blast!