End of the Season

Well, the 2010 season has transitioned to cyclocross and a few members of the team are still hanging strong.  Jamie Wright has won several races, Ralph is starting to come on strong, and Cody is continuing to add to an impressive season.

 Photo Courtesy of Don McEwan

I, on the other hand, started winding down the season right after a solid finish at the Blount Seafood Criterium in August.  Moving and work commitments cut into my training schedule and training/racing suffered.  I did snag a top 10 at the Great Osprey Road Race last month, but I definitely wasn't in top form.

Now, I am focused on 2011.  I am increasing miles and working on adjusting to the colder temperatures associated with winter training.  The work now will pay off in the spring.

The team will be getting together soon to discuss plans for the 2011 season, possible additions to the team, and the upcoming sponsorship drive.

Stay tuned for winter training details - and more cross results.

Thanks for reading...

Jeff

Attleboro and New Britain race reports

I am posting this race report for Ralph...

Jeff, Steve and I raced at Attleboro Saturday.    No great success to report, but we didn’t crash seriously.  Steve had a minor incident involving a rider damaging his front wheel, but he took his free lap and continued the race.

Jeff was strong in the Pro12 field and finished in the chase group after what looked like a fast and furious chase for a dozen or so laps.  After a 1+ hr rain delay due to lightning the Cat 3 and Cat 4 races were combined.  We started a decent rain, but it soon stopped and the roads were even drying as we finished.  Several riders discounted the affect of water on braking surfaces and caused single rider incidents, one of which forced Steve to stop completely.

Future reference if you are ever stopped like that behind a crash, the answer is YES you went down or you won’t get your free lap.

3 guys got off the front around halfway and managed to build a quick lead and stayed away to the end.  On the last lap I was in a good position going into corner two but some riders braked too much and I lost some momentum, then on the downhill one idiot sprinted down the inside (so he could be 10^th at best into the corner) and couldn’t make the turn at the bottom.  Amazingly he slid out with hitting anyone else. I finished mid pack but officially 11^th in the Cat 3’s.

Sunday Cody and I raced at Walnut Hill Park in New Britain CT.  If you’ve never raced here it’s a great course typically, fast, safe and great for spectating.

Cody and I lined up for the Masters 30+ as a warm up before our primary races of the day.  The pace was quick from the gun, but again a break went away around midway through the 20 lap race.   I ended up 12^th (3^rd apparently in the field sprint) Cody pulled out around midway to conserve for her primary race which immediately followed the 30+.

After 15 laps and no successful breaks in the race it came down to a sprint, and Cody pulled away for her second win of the year at Walnut Hill Park and earned the New England Regional Championship jersey for Cat 3/4.

Men’s Cat 3 I survived for a pack finish.  Mildly disappointed, but the heat and two consecutive days of racing finally got to me.

Keith Berger Criterium

Sunday was one of my favorite criteriums of the season, the Keith Berger criterium in Hartford, CT.  Ralph and I drove down the night before to save an early morning trip - hoping to be rested and end up with a couple of podium finishes.  Ralph raced the mens category 3 field and the mens Pro-3 field.  I decided to race the masters and Pro-3 races.

Chris Worden also showed up on Sunday to represent the juniors field, and Cody Harris arrived mid-morning to race with the womens open field.

My first race went reasonably well.  A good sized field of 70-80 racers lined up for the 40+ race.  The pace was fast, but the race was smooth.  As usual, several attacks went off from the first lap.  Because the course is flat with long straight sections, I decided to gamble on any attack being brought back - so I raced smart and conserved for the final sprint.

That turned out to be the wrong choice, a break of 12 went off the front and although we brought them to within 6 seconds at the finish, we did not catch them.  I was sitting somewhere around the middle of the pack with one lap to go; I was planning on just finishing in the middle of the filed since the money was up the road.  That all changed when I rode by Jurgen and heard him heckling me.  I moved up as quickly as possible and positioned within the top 5 coming in to the last two turns.  Once out of the last turn, I put down a big sprint and was able to take 3rd in the field sprint, only missing 2nd by the width of a tire.  No money, but good confidence builder against a large field with some big names.

The Pro-3 race went well for the first 75% of the race.  The pace was fast, but I was able to position and move to the front whenever I wanted to.  Unfortunately, the effects of the first race of the day and the 90+ degree temperature started to hit me.  Chills, nausea, and a light head were all indications of a pretty good case of dehydration.  I tried to hang in until the end, but had to pull out with a few laps left.  Lesson learned - only do one race when the temps are above 85!

Ralph raced well, Chris crashed in the category 4 race, but ended up top 3 in his junior field, and Cody snagged 6th in the womens open field.  I am sure they will be posting details soon.

The next race weekend coming up is Attelboro and the New England Championships in Hartford on July 11th and 12th.

Thanks for reading.

Spring Classics

Spring Classics: The Highly Anticipated Report From The Cat. 4 Women's Field...

Now that my tan lines are deeply formed I guess it is time for a look back at the spring racing season. But first, some background filler. I just moved up to Maine from the awesomeness of the 603. I was sad to leave a great bunch of cycling friends I had made in Portsmouth area and unsure of what to expect up in Portland. Too be honest, words can't say enough about the great cycling community up here! I quickly found great group rides, learned some local hills to hammer on and above all found the Base36 cycling club! I even scored a sweet deal on last years kit which was "on sale".

I had done a few races last summer after some encouragement from a group I was riding with but came into it late, so this year's Spring was entirely new to me. First up, Turtle Pond. There certainly weren't any of these at the race, but there were a few familiar faces. We had three laps to complete, it was hot, and my teammate who was looking super strong got taken out by someone in the pack who swerved reaching for a Tri Berry Gu, or maybe it was a Chocolate Outrage I can't remember. It was dumb luck that I didn't go down with them and managed to come in 6th overall.

On to Sterling. This race was all about the weather. I was so cold from warming up in it that by the time the neutral vehicle pulled away and let the race start I started peddling so that the race would end. After the first of three laps, I decided to mellow out as the field had been reduced on some of hills and it was down to six of us. That soon turned to 5 as one girl stood up to peddle just as she was crossing the slick white line and she went down. Down to five. I hesitated a little on the final up hill sprint but got 3rd.

The Sunapee Road Race consisted of starting only about a minute behind the juniors. The officials neutralized the juniors about five miles into the race when we caught up to them. We passed the field and continued on our way, only to be neutralized at mile ten for the junior field that this time passed us. For the rest of the race we basically rode behind the junior race and were neutralized several more times on hills which kept our field together. The finish turned into a bunch sprint and there was some confusion about the finish. There was a lot of shouting in the final 200m and I threw on my brakes as I realized we were finishing on the wrong side of the split road but it was too late. I got 11th with about ten other women because there was no way to tell who came in where. I learned my lesson about getting into better positioning going into the final sprint.

Next up was the Killington Stage Race...back from a ten year hiatus. Great three days of racing. First up was a circuit race. I went for the first KOM at the 500m mark and promptly blew up at the 100m mark as virtually the entire field passed me. Got a good position on the bunch sprint finish and came in fourth. The TT the next day was rolling with an awesome headwind. Good thing I didn't have a TT bike and aero helmet! Just kiddin. It would have been very helpful but I rode as hard as I could hunched over and got 10th. Last day had some tough hills, two in particular. One came at about mile 30 and enabled six of us to get off the front. Moto Liz, the awesome motorcycle official, kept us informed of our gap which at the greatest was 2 minutes. We were four miles out from the final climb when Moto Liz abruptly stopped us and said the road ahead was closed due to an accident. Turned out to be a really bad Cat. 4 men crash. Makes you remember that this is all just for fun and not to take risks that are too crazy. We ended up standing on the side of the road for at least 30 minutes while they airlifted the injured rider. I ran out of water but another woman in the break was super kind and gave me about half a bottle of HEED (I hope they pay me for that link if I get enough "hits"). Anyways, Moto Liz allowed us to keep our break which was down to 75 seconds and off we went. We had four miles to go before the 5k mark and the last deal breaker of a climb. My legs have never felt so sludgy before and pulling through our paceline was not as fun as it had been earlier. Our group of six splintered on the last hill. I finished 5th and got enough time on the field to move from 10th to 5th GC...in the sweet sweet money! (Almost paid for half the entry fee:-)

Last race was Lake Auburn Road Race. Another rainy day. After about ten frantic calls in the morning, and a lot of hemming and hawing, my teammate and I decided to drive up and then just go out for breakfast if it was still raining. I was debating between eggs sunnyside up or blueberry pancakes. Settled for a banana. It stopped raining and I had already paid my $25 race fee so off we went with a mixed field of Cat 4 racing with Cat 1, 2,3. It worked out well for me as I was able to grab a wheel on one of the hills in the first lap and hang on. The three of us worked together awesomely for the next two laps and while I died on the last hill, I got 3rd place and 1st overall for the Cat. 4.

I had a lot of fun racing this spring and learned a lot in the process. My legs have gotten a bit stronger, though thankfully they don't look like this. I'm hoping to learn a LOT more about crit racing this summer, most importantly cornering. Looking forward to seeing you all on the Tuesday night rides!